As the game develops, do you still see Greninja as a strong character?

[Funkermonster]

The only other characters that I'd say are more agile than Greninja are Sheik and Zero Suit Samus x.x

You forgot the fastest thing alive:

 

[Br0kenEng1ish]

I think my biggest problem is that Greninja feels a little slower than I'd like for him to be. In matchups I've had against good opponents I've often felt like I had to change from an offensive approach to more of a defensive/offensive mix, which isn't quite as much my playstyle. In the past it's often seemed like the really fast and twitch-response characters are the ones that reach the higher tiers (it's hard to defeat a character you can't touch), and since Greninja feels fast but maybe not the fastest, I wonder if he'll ultimately be considered top-tier or not, except maybe amongst the most exceptional players.

Honestly my biggest gripe with Greninja is he is super telegraphed. His mixup a while good wen applicable is few and far between, and there are only so many times I can fake a short hop nair befor opponents adapt. But his ability to go between offence and defence more than makes up for this in my books. He's super well rounded and excels at swapping play styles a on the fly to keep the game moving at his own pace, which is the main attribute to me still playing Greninja over characters like Shiek.

At this stage and with my hours on greninja I honestly can't say how he will end up as the meta progresses, I expect high tier to top of mid at worst.

 

[Spirst]

Honestly my biggest gripe with Greninja is he is super telegraphed. His mixup a while good wen applicable is few and far between, and there are only so many times I can fake a short hop nair befor opponents adapt. But his ability to go between offence and defence more than makes up for this in my books. He's super well rounded and excels at swapping play styles a on the fly to keep the game moving at his own pace, which is the main attribute to me still playing Greninja over characters like Shiek.

At this stage and with my hours on greninja I honestly can't say how he will end up as the meta progresses, I expect high tier to top of mid at worst.

That coupled with the fact that he has just about no true combos hurts him, I feel. Nevertheless, you're right in saying that his adaptability is one thing that definitely keeps him up there. I've heard a few people claim that Sheik and Greninja are quite similar but honestly, I never really could get into the former. Greninja feels a lot more adaptable than Sheik does and doesn't have much issues cycling playstyles, whether it's offensive or defensive. I can't speak for Sheik much, but it doesn't feel like she does so well on the defensive side. None of his matchups feel particularly one-sided either and so I don't see him dropping below high tier.

 

[Br0kenEng1ish]

That coupled with the fact that he has just about no true combos hurts him, I feel. Nevertheless, you're right in saying that his adaptability is one thing that definitely keeps him up there. I've heard a few people claim that Sheik and Greninja are quite similar but honestly, I never really could get into the former. Greninja feels a lot more adaptable than Sheik does and doesn't have much issues cycling playstyles, whether it's offensive or defensive. I can't speak for Sheik much, but it doesn't feel like she does so well on the defensive side. None of his matchups feel particularly one-sided either and so I don't see him dropping below high tier.

No true combos is a big problem for most the cast sadly. It's somewhat made up for with good lingering hit boxes, mostly on his airials.

Shiek and Greninja have a lot of similarities, but Shiek really wants to play a relentless rush down I feel. Not to say she can't play defensive, but her pressure is amongst the best in the game.

Greninja plays more like melee Shiek, mostly because of shurikens disgusting priority are comparable to single needle. His b-air is similar and even the f-air plays similar roles, albiet with more delay. Both also play a similar off stage game and again it is an area where Greninja really stands above most the cast.

Right now I agree if he had true combos he would be in a much better state. He's currently sitting in the spot of not being the best at anything but really damn good at everything, a trait that made Marth very formidable in brawl.

 

[LunarWingCloud]

I see him staying solid. He's like a Pokemon version of Shiek, just a tad not as good in some regards (but better in a few others). Still has plenty of tools to stay a relevant threat.