Re4gNarsil
Smash Cadet
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2015
- Messages
- 44
Hey everyone, now that EVO has come and gone (and boy was it incredible to watch! Almost 100000 viewers for the Grand Finals!) and with so many people wondering what the future of Smash will be in terms of customs, I thought it may be a good idea for everyone to take a fresh look at this unique addition to Smash 4 and what they offer or subtract from the game and the way it’s viewed by the community. I’ll come right out and say I am pro-customs for the most part, but there are many good arguments for and against customs that should be looked at and considered before deciding whether or not to allow/ban customs from tournaments. Let’s look at several of these as unbiasedly as possible and hopefully leave with a fresh perspective. I am not helping to determine the future of customs in any way, so feel free to leave any opinions below so long as they’re as respectful as possible.
Starting with the most common arguments I am aware of, many people say they hate customs when they see a KO take place that was only possible due to a custom move that either turned into an easy kill setup or was the finishing blow itself; while I agree some customs like Pikachu’s Heavy Skull Bash can kill really early (40 – 60 %) in some circumstances, I can also tell most of these kill options are very difficult to execute and have the smallest of margins for error, and if you miss them you’re often left wide open to a punish or have to at least accept a less than optimal ending for your efforts. Not only that, there are plenty of default moves like ZSS’ Booster Kick that if used properly can kill almost as early. Just look at Nairo, who kicks his opponents high up into the air at 40, lands a couple of u-airs, and finishes them off while there is almost nothing they can do about it. Are we then complaining about insane kill options, or just insane kill options we don’t like?
These next two arguments can be used to support either side really, depending on how you want to view them. Many people who enjoy customs say they balance the game more so than it is by default, and far more characters have an opportunity to compete with already viable characters if given access to movesets that aid them in particular matchups or just improve them in an area they typically struggle in. Ganondorf is a great example, who lacks recovery until equipped with his Wizard’s Dropkick which gives him better horizontal reach at the cost of its kill power. Palutena’s Super Speed is another case of improvement, where she gains a great approach option that can lead into smash attacks, aerials, or even a grab.
But some professionals, like ZeRo, argue that fighters who are already top-tier like Pikachu and Sheik shouldn’t have access to customs that can make them even scarier, and to be sure a really good Sheik using Gravity Grenade becomes an even greater threat; that being said, if Ganondorfs customs allow him to jump from say a 6 out of 10 to 8 out of 10 while Sheik rises from 9 to 9.5, isn’t it worth it? The disparity between the characters diminishes, even if not by a lot; any reduction should be seen as a gain. That being said, let me be quick to add some fighters, like Sonic, will just become all the more annoying to fight against when armed with customs, which can certainly be aggravating.
And even though I wish it was otherwise, those who are for customs have to accept the fact that they really don’t make many more characters viable than default. I have watched several tournaments over the last few months, and it’s not common for a Donkey Kong, Ganondorf, Palutena, or any other less than high tier character to win the event even with customs. This could be an argument that customs should be left in if they are clearly not all that broken, or an argument to leave them out since those who really want to win will go with fighters like Sheik, Sonic, or Rosalina anyway.
How do the Japanese view this variable the game has introduced? From what I’ve heard, most of Japan more or less despises customs, stating that turning to customs shows a lack of skill. How you ask? Because players are trying to find an out to a bad matchup or weakness, rather than adapt and optimize the strengths of your character. Not only that, most players will simply abuse one or two really good moves they have, instead of learning how and when to use every attack at your disposal. Now this is an interesting viewpoint, and I must say there is logic in it. While I believe those who are the best will still learn the ins and outs of their mains with or without customs, I have seen some matches won by characters who spam Kong Cyclone against an opponent who doesn’t know how to deal with it. Pros will learn to get around this especially crazy custom, but most everyone else falls prey to it over and over again.
And that brings us to perhaps the greatest argument against customs. The way the world views them. If the majority of people who played Smash liked customs perhaps they would be good for the community, but when around half of people in America (and perhaps Europe) are for them and most of everyone else is against them, is it really a good thing to support something that will likely become divisive down the road? Not just internationally, but here in the US as well?
Many want to try and reach some sort of compromise, like banning particular customs or having a limit to how many default moves can be exchanged with customs during any particular battle; the problem with compromise is trying to find a solution that pleases most everyone, which is almost impossible to do. For better or worse most people complain when something is done that is less than ideal with them in particular, rather than looking at how good it is for everyone. No, I agree with Nairo when he says all customs should be allowed or all should be banned, for simplicities sake.
So, are you for customs, or against them? Do you like sticking with the original rules to Smash Bros (especially in light of the fact that the DLC characters do not have custom movesets), since they are tried and true and have gathered many loyal fans, or do you want to see Smash 4 evolve in such a way as it never has had the chance to before, and may continue to do so in future Smash games? Myself, I like the freshness customs allows, since it’ll keep things more interesting for long; I’d love to see Mr. Sakurai’s team balance the custom moves in addition to the default moves so more people could enjoy them, but I can see how that’d be a lot of work and it’s already difficult to properly balance even the default characters.
Like I said, I am not personally trying to save or ban customs, I just want to give everyone a good look at several aspects to take into consideration. I have included a poll just because I'm curious what people will vote/say after reading this, but the ones doing the most research and data collecting is probably OneSmash.
Perhaps we could have default and customs on a rotational basis, where half of large (and probably small) tournaments like Apex are standard, while the other half like Evo allow customs? Trying this for another year or two would be the best of both worlds in my humble opinion, and would certainly allow us to see how customs really affect the game. Sadly, in conclusion I have to say I suspect customs are going to fade from the competitive scene, but I’d love to see them remain at least sometimes; either way, this game seems to be shaping up to be a great game in terms of diversity in viable characters. Thanks for reading this – as long as it was lol – and happy smashing!
Starting with the most common arguments I am aware of, many people say they hate customs when they see a KO take place that was only possible due to a custom move that either turned into an easy kill setup or was the finishing blow itself; while I agree some customs like Pikachu’s Heavy Skull Bash can kill really early (40 – 60 %) in some circumstances, I can also tell most of these kill options are very difficult to execute and have the smallest of margins for error, and if you miss them you’re often left wide open to a punish or have to at least accept a less than optimal ending for your efforts. Not only that, there are plenty of default moves like ZSS’ Booster Kick that if used properly can kill almost as early. Just look at Nairo, who kicks his opponents high up into the air at 40, lands a couple of u-airs, and finishes them off while there is almost nothing they can do about it. Are we then complaining about insane kill options, or just insane kill options we don’t like?
These next two arguments can be used to support either side really, depending on how you want to view them. Many people who enjoy customs say they balance the game more so than it is by default, and far more characters have an opportunity to compete with already viable characters if given access to movesets that aid them in particular matchups or just improve them in an area they typically struggle in. Ganondorf is a great example, who lacks recovery until equipped with his Wizard’s Dropkick which gives him better horizontal reach at the cost of its kill power. Palutena’s Super Speed is another case of improvement, where she gains a great approach option that can lead into smash attacks, aerials, or even a grab.
But some professionals, like ZeRo, argue that fighters who are already top-tier like Pikachu and Sheik shouldn’t have access to customs that can make them even scarier, and to be sure a really good Sheik using Gravity Grenade becomes an even greater threat; that being said, if Ganondorfs customs allow him to jump from say a 6 out of 10 to 8 out of 10 while Sheik rises from 9 to 9.5, isn’t it worth it? The disparity between the characters diminishes, even if not by a lot; any reduction should be seen as a gain. That being said, let me be quick to add some fighters, like Sonic, will just become all the more annoying to fight against when armed with customs, which can certainly be aggravating.
And even though I wish it was otherwise, those who are for customs have to accept the fact that they really don’t make many more characters viable than default. I have watched several tournaments over the last few months, and it’s not common for a Donkey Kong, Ganondorf, Palutena, or any other less than high tier character to win the event even with customs. This could be an argument that customs should be left in if they are clearly not all that broken, or an argument to leave them out since those who really want to win will go with fighters like Sheik, Sonic, or Rosalina anyway.
How do the Japanese view this variable the game has introduced? From what I’ve heard, most of Japan more or less despises customs, stating that turning to customs shows a lack of skill. How you ask? Because players are trying to find an out to a bad matchup or weakness, rather than adapt and optimize the strengths of your character. Not only that, most players will simply abuse one or two really good moves they have, instead of learning how and when to use every attack at your disposal. Now this is an interesting viewpoint, and I must say there is logic in it. While I believe those who are the best will still learn the ins and outs of their mains with or without customs, I have seen some matches won by characters who spam Kong Cyclone against an opponent who doesn’t know how to deal with it. Pros will learn to get around this especially crazy custom, but most everyone else falls prey to it over and over again.
And that brings us to perhaps the greatest argument against customs. The way the world views them. If the majority of people who played Smash liked customs perhaps they would be good for the community, but when around half of people in America (and perhaps Europe) are for them and most of everyone else is against them, is it really a good thing to support something that will likely become divisive down the road? Not just internationally, but here in the US as well?
Many want to try and reach some sort of compromise, like banning particular customs or having a limit to how many default moves can be exchanged with customs during any particular battle; the problem with compromise is trying to find a solution that pleases most everyone, which is almost impossible to do. For better or worse most people complain when something is done that is less than ideal with them in particular, rather than looking at how good it is for everyone. No, I agree with Nairo when he says all customs should be allowed or all should be banned, for simplicities sake.
So, are you for customs, or against them? Do you like sticking with the original rules to Smash Bros (especially in light of the fact that the DLC characters do not have custom movesets), since they are tried and true and have gathered many loyal fans, or do you want to see Smash 4 evolve in such a way as it never has had the chance to before, and may continue to do so in future Smash games? Myself, I like the freshness customs allows, since it’ll keep things more interesting for long; I’d love to see Mr. Sakurai’s team balance the custom moves in addition to the default moves so more people could enjoy them, but I can see how that’d be a lot of work and it’s already difficult to properly balance even the default characters.
Like I said, I am not personally trying to save or ban customs, I just want to give everyone a good look at several aspects to take into consideration. I have included a poll just because I'm curious what people will vote/say after reading this, but the ones doing the most research and data collecting is probably OneSmash.
Perhaps we could have default and customs on a rotational basis, where half of large (and probably small) tournaments like Apex are standard, while the other half like Evo allow customs? Trying this for another year or two would be the best of both worlds in my humble opinion, and would certainly allow us to see how customs really affect the game. Sadly, in conclusion I have to say I suspect customs are going to fade from the competitive scene, but I’d love to see them remain at least sometimes; either way, this game seems to be shaping up to be a great game in terms of diversity in viable characters. Thanks for reading this – as long as it was lol – and happy smashing!
