Does Robin suck?

[Clemente]

I've never lost to one. I actually thought on day one that it might be a good character, but once you have a basic idea of what it does, it seems like it can't really do anything do you.

The closest I've come to losing was one who rolled away until Sudden Death charging lasers. It just seems like everything Robin does is slow and predictable.

 

[AustarusIV]

Robin is not an easy character to master. You must know about the limits as to how many times he/she can use their tomes, as well as using them carefully and not using the most powerful spells right off the bat.

You must have only encountered players who were really bad, because I have played with Robin mainers who were really good at using him/her.

 

[PK Gaming]

...Isn't that just your anecdotal evidence though?

I haven't lost to a single Rosalina player, but that doesn't mean she's a bad character.

 

[Clemente]

...Isn't that just your anecdotal evidence though?

I haven't lost to a single Rosalina player, but that doesn't mean she's a bad character.

That's pretty impressive. In my head she would be EXTRA hard for Robin. But yeah it's not so much that I'm beating them, it's just that the moves all seem pretty slow and not that good.

 

[Kenith]

The problem with Robin is not Robin him/herself.
It's the fact everyone else is Little Mac and Sheik.

 

[PK Gaming]

That's pretty impressive. In my head she would be EXTRA hard for Robin. But yeah it's not so much that I'm beating them, it's just that the moves all seem pretty slow and not that good.

It was just an example. Even I faced a 100 Rosalina, my experience wouldn't count for much if they were all bad. In any case, you're off base about all of his moves being slow (his/her Jab and Nair are actually exceptionally fast, and his/her aerials have decent start up)

It just feels like you fought a bunch of crappy Robin players, and deemed him terrible as a result

 

[False Sense]

Isn't it too early to deem characters as good or bad?

 

[IronFish]

Robin has all the tools to be good, people just need to learn how to use his tools.

 

[Moonlighter]

Given that you last reported that all of the Robins you were fighting were just spamming dodge-rolls, no, I am pretty sure you were just fighting bad players. In any case, ultimately, where Robin will stand as a 'good' or 'bad' character will be something left to months, if not at least a year, of meta-development and match-up data. It's not something anyone by themselves can decide from a handful of matches they won or lost.

Robin has fast aerials, fast projectiles, and diverse options, though, so I don't even understand where you're coming from there.

 

[Tino]

I will say that Robin was a bit tricky to master when I first played him but that doesn't mean he's a bad character.

 

[OHIYO]

I reckon the short answer is no

 

[DavemanCozy]

Just look for videos of Nairo playing Robin, and you'll see the answer is no.

Robin may not be a contender for the top spots in the eventual tier list that will form, but from what I've seen, he/she can hold his/her own against the entire cast.

From observation, I believe the most problematic matchups seem to be the fast, rush-characters that don't let Robin play his/her game like Fox, Little Mac, and Sonic, or characters that just straight up out-range him like Rosalina, Zero Suit Samus, and Greninja. Even then, these matchups are far from being hard-counters to Robin.

 

[Dust the Baptist]

Robin's a solid character, some people just can't get use to his play style.

 

[Altais]

Like others have said, Robin is by no means a bad character. He/she just has a steeper learning curve, compared to the likes of Meta Knight. I really sucked with Robin at first, but after I got the hang of him/her I have found Robin to be a very fun character to use. Plus, Robin fits well with mine defensive playstyle.

So yeah, Robin isn't the easiest character to use, but he/she packs a punch.

 

[Volt@ge]

I will admit, I loved the look of his/her kit when I first saw it. When I initially took Robin online, I basically spammed projectiles. Which against lesser players, actually sort of works. Then I fought some better players and got rolled.

And then I realised, there's more to Robin than projectile spam, and in fact his/her air game, from my experience, is freaking brilliant. The up aerial can juggle certain characters into a Levin sword up aerial for a KO off the top. Short hopping aerials against most of the cast is safe and effective, and I've fallen in love with down smash. Feels like it comes out really fast, although that might just be me.

Grab cancelled rolls (or roll cancel grabs? xD) also add a lot to the ground game, making Robin's grab range deceptively long.

 

[Pazzo.]

I admit that I've had trouble with Robin, but with hard work and patience, I've found my 'notch'.

Robin has a tricky, pseudo-defensive play style that relies on him controlling the battlefield. Never approach unless you have a projectile in from of you. Arcfire, Elthunder, and tilts are good keep-away tools, with Arcfire into dash attack being a solid approach. D-Smash is brilliant too.

Of course, I'm still learning. There are no doubt numerous flaws in my playstyle, but the high skill level of Robin is what makes him/her a satisfying character to play as.

 

[Ultimastrike]

Robin is by no means a Tactician to be trifled with(in the right hands). As others said above, he has a defensive playstyle and a steep learning curve.

I haven't seen the greatest Robins in FG(#Mac'sPlayground), but I've seen many people have fun with him/her. Sure, you may run into some Derp matches here and there, but if you want Clemente I could play and show you how nuts Robin can be.

 

[loveless mango]

Robin isn't a character you can just pick up and do really well with. I don't see a lot of Robins online but when I do its very clear whether the person knows what they're doing or not. almost immediately. I don't think Robin is one of the best characters in the game by any means but he definitely doesn't suck.