I'm inclined to agree on underrating Needle Storm though.
Ugh that move haha, definitely stupid good. Genesis 3 just pounded it in my face HOW good it actually was, more than I thought it was already, even.
Meanwhile, what was that tournament? It was EVO or something before and I remember when ZeRo used single needles to pop people up over and over. It was, frankly, gross.
Lavani said it already, but it's not the end lag, recovery, that's a problem, it's mostly knockback. Needle Storm has an insane 180 growth for a move that does 1.9% close or 1.2% far per needle. The closest I could find was Robin's Arcthunder's last hit, 280, and Thoron's 230. That makes sense when those are multi-hit projectiles meant to kill. Oh, and Arcthunder does 1% per hit while Thoron does 2.6%. Other projectiles are usually in or below 100 growth. For example, Ryu's Hadouken? Input or not, it only has 10 growth. Shakunetsu's last hit has 60 growth which once again, makes sense when it's a multi-hit meant to push people back. It still pops you up, but not to the levels of Sheik's. Does more damage, but it doesn't cause the kind of knockback or hit stun like Sheik's. Oh, and it can't be spammed either since it has to hit or disappear before Ryu can fire another and even then, a fast Hadouken isn't as fast as Sheik's Needle Storm. How fast is Sheik's Needle Storm travel speed anyway? It's probably as fast as Fox's laser.
Needle Storm wouldn't be as stupid without its growth. Boost Kick and Helicopter Kick wouldn't be stupid with their growth. I get it, they're supposed to be multi-hits that launch people, but do you realize what happens when you can jump that high and/or can set them up? Really early deaths. It becomes stupider when you realize that there are other multi-hit Up Special finishers that aren't as powerful, but still useful: Blazer and Mario's Super Jump Punch. Meta Knight's Shuttle Loop at least has an excuse since it's more difficult to setup when his Uair is a smaller hitbox and it can fail if you don't aim properly with Shuttle Loop which only hits twice. Then on the flipside, Luma has really stupid base knockback.
On another note, did people notice how Villager could not run from Rosalina? Rosalina not only took away Villager's tools, but she also can glide in and pressure Villager just by being there. Not a lot of characters can do that to zoners and it's really scary when Villager's melee range and moves aren't as safe? - thinking that's the word I'm looking for - compared to say Link, Lucas, or Mega Man's. Then you add in how Rosalina completely outspeeds Villager and it looks terrifying. When VoiD was zoning, he was able to run and create space. When Ranai tried, he was like a hunter who ran out of ammo getting chased by a wild animal.
