Zigsta
Disney Film Director
Hey Bowser bros!
Something's been REALLY, REALLY bugging me in watching other Bowsers play--not all Bowsers, mind you, but there's a good bit of Bowsers doing this, most notably people who are new to the character in this game (ie didn't main him in Melee or Brawl). And it's a godawful habit that makes no sense and NEEDS to stop.
Empty hopping backwards with Bowser. Repeatedly.
Just to be safe here, I'd like to clarify exactly what the purpose of empty hopping is. Stay with me now!
As you all should know by playing Bowser, our guy packs a crazy strong punch. And kick. When opponents see you select Bowser, they're likely going to be thinking one of two things (or even both):
1) I'm gonna combo this fool for days.
2) I'm gonna die at 50.
Best of all, both of these initial thoughts play into our favor as Bowser players. Why, you ask? Because Bowser excels in an environment where your opponent is scared. Bowser gets combo'd easily, yes. But thanks to rage, Bowser can make comebacks INSANELY fast in this game--hence how your once cocky opponent thinking option 1 starts thinking option 2. A scared player makes for a defensive player, and not in a good way (at least not for them!). Scared players play overly defensive, often undercommiting to significant moves and leaning more on defensive based options like shielding, rolling, spotdodging, airdodging, and camping/running. When players start playing scared, they subconsciously start revealing bad habits, and bad habits can be read--and reads lead to early kills.
BUT ZIGSTA. YOU'RE TELLING ME STUFF I ALREADY KNOW. WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH EMPTY HOPPING BACKWARDS???
Glad you asked, Caps Lock Man!
The purpose of empty hopping is to make an opponent think you're going to initiate an attack.
A tricksie I've been using since Brawl is empty hopping to bait an airdodge, then landing and dtilting the opponent as they hit the ground. It still works in Smash 4 for the same reason: I jump in the air, and the opponent is expecting a fair. They airdodge the predicted attack, only to be hit by dtilt--which is a great option for when your opponent is at KO percents, especially when they're close to the ledge.
To be clear: This likely isn't something you can implement in the early game, especially if you haven't played this opponent before. This is a fantastic mid to late game option to score KOs or to pile on damage. Case in point: After going for lots of upthrow> fairs or upthrow>upairs, try going for upthrow>empty hop...and read the opponent's airdodge with a fsmash. You've conditioned your opponent that upthrow leads to aerial followups, so they airdodge as soon as possible when they see Bowser jump--only for that to be the death of them. I've been doing this more and more, and it works REALLY well, especially thanks to upthrow's lessened cooldown post-patch.
But what about empty hopping backwards?
As I said earlier, the purpose of empty hopping is to make an opponent think you're going to initiate an attack. Empty hopping backwards can be useful to zoning characters, but in order to put pressure on the opponent, Bowser needs to get CLOSE TO THE ENEMY. Bowser's longest range attack in Firebreath. Do you think your opponent is scared of Firebreath? No, of course not. Your opponent is scared of literally ANY other move. A Bowser empty hopping backwards is both inviting the opponent to close the gap and telling the opponent that the Bowser doesn't know how to keep his pressure game on point.
So long story short: Use empty hopping as a way to psychologically pressure your opponent into making a mistake, then punish them for it.
Something's been REALLY, REALLY bugging me in watching other Bowsers play--not all Bowsers, mind you, but there's a good bit of Bowsers doing this, most notably people who are new to the character in this game (ie didn't main him in Melee or Brawl). And it's a godawful habit that makes no sense and NEEDS to stop.
Empty hopping backwards with Bowser. Repeatedly.
Just to be safe here, I'd like to clarify exactly what the purpose of empty hopping is. Stay with me now!
As you all should know by playing Bowser, our guy packs a crazy strong punch. And kick. When opponents see you select Bowser, they're likely going to be thinking one of two things (or even both):
1) I'm gonna combo this fool for days.
2) I'm gonna die at 50.
Best of all, both of these initial thoughts play into our favor as Bowser players. Why, you ask? Because Bowser excels in an environment where your opponent is scared. Bowser gets combo'd easily, yes. But thanks to rage, Bowser can make comebacks INSANELY fast in this game--hence how your once cocky opponent thinking option 1 starts thinking option 2. A scared player makes for a defensive player, and not in a good way (at least not for them!). Scared players play overly defensive, often undercommiting to significant moves and leaning more on defensive based options like shielding, rolling, spotdodging, airdodging, and camping/running. When players start playing scared, they subconsciously start revealing bad habits, and bad habits can be read--and reads lead to early kills.
BUT ZIGSTA. YOU'RE TELLING ME STUFF I ALREADY KNOW. WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH EMPTY HOPPING BACKWARDS???
Glad you asked, Caps Lock Man!
The purpose of empty hopping is to make an opponent think you're going to initiate an attack.
A tricksie I've been using since Brawl is empty hopping to bait an airdodge, then landing and dtilting the opponent as they hit the ground. It still works in Smash 4 for the same reason: I jump in the air, and the opponent is expecting a fair. They airdodge the predicted attack, only to be hit by dtilt--which is a great option for when your opponent is at KO percents, especially when they're close to the ledge.
To be clear: This likely isn't something you can implement in the early game, especially if you haven't played this opponent before. This is a fantastic mid to late game option to score KOs or to pile on damage. Case in point: After going for lots of upthrow> fairs or upthrow>upairs, try going for upthrow>empty hop...and read the opponent's airdodge with a fsmash. You've conditioned your opponent that upthrow leads to aerial followups, so they airdodge as soon as possible when they see Bowser jump--only for that to be the death of them. I've been doing this more and more, and it works REALLY well, especially thanks to upthrow's lessened cooldown post-patch.
But what about empty hopping backwards?
As I said earlier, the purpose of empty hopping is to make an opponent think you're going to initiate an attack. Empty hopping backwards can be useful to zoning characters, but in order to put pressure on the opponent, Bowser needs to get CLOSE TO THE ENEMY. Bowser's longest range attack in Firebreath. Do you think your opponent is scared of Firebreath? No, of course not. Your opponent is scared of literally ANY other move. A Bowser empty hopping backwards is both inviting the opponent to close the gap and telling the opponent that the Bowser doesn't know how to keep his pressure game on point.
So long story short: Use empty hopping as a way to psychologically pressure your opponent into making a mistake, then punish them for it.
