Parallax
Smash Cadet
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2005
- Messages
- 57
I am writing this out of inspiration of my cousin. This was only the second time we've met and SSB64 came up in conversation. Him, being a scrub, immediately asserted that he was the best at the game. In order to test his intelligence, I showed him a few of Isai's videos, explaining to him that Isai was indisputably the best player. His reply to the videos were: "me and all my friends play like that, nothing special."
If he can say that, how is it possible that I 5 stocked him over and over again to show him he is not the best? How can he assert he is the best, after watching videos of the best? Why is it that it took battling an experienced player for him to realize how underdeveloped his skills are? These questions intrigue me because I was once at this stage in my smash skill and mindset, and many of my peers were as well.
I have figured out an answer: watching pro videos as a scrub does not improve skills/awareness because a scrub cannot see the 'fight'. Think of when Gohan from Dragonball Z was a little boy, watching Nappa and the Z fighters battle; his powerlevel was too low to actually see what was going on. The same applies here; if a scrub doesn't know what pivoting or teleporting is, how will he watch for it in a video? If a scrub doesn't know what spacing is or DIing is, how can he appreciate it? A scrub must grasp and attempt at these concepts, and only then can he rapidly improve. Because there is so much to learn in the realm of 64, I have formulated a checklist, which revolves around three principle points: Spacing, Comboing, and Recovery.
Efficiently Spacing
□ Can I pivot to quickly attain positions?
□ Can I teleport to adjust positions?
□ Do I know which moves are most efficient to approach with?
□ Do I know which of my approaching moves can out-range or out-prioritize my opponent's so in case of a collision, I win?
Perfect Comboing
□ Out of an array moves, do I know which next move will prolong this combo the longest (for maximal damage or knockback)?
□ Do I know how to finish the opponent in the combo?
Efficient Recovery
□ Can I slide DI?
□ Can I smash DI?
□ Do I know which directions to apply DI to use to escape a combo or recover from an edgeguard?
□ When recovering from offstage, can I efficiently forsee/guess my opponent's edgeguard strategy and find a way to dodge it?
0 / 17 Answers Checked = Typical Scrub / Noob / Starter
5 / 17 Answers Checked = Player in Improvement
12 / 17 Answers Checked = Experienced Player
17 / 17 Answers Checked = Professional Player
I find it very funny AND sad that my cousin, a person who claimed he was on the same skill-level as Isai, would answer 'no' to every single one of these questions if confronted with this checklist. However, he is not alone. There are thousands of local smash players (of each game; 64, Melee, and Brawl) who still talk sh** about the top players of smash, yet couldn't touch an amateur tournament player, simply because they cannot see the fight.
I hope you enjoyed this. I know a lot of the pros may find this a waste of time, but think about how mind-blowing this checklist is for a noob/scrub; they can react two ways: 1) have the epiphany they needed or 2) reject it and continue their scrubdom for all of scrub eternity, never improving. Please scrubs, start seeing the fight.
-llåxative
If he can say that, how is it possible that I 5 stocked him over and over again to show him he is not the best? How can he assert he is the best, after watching videos of the best? Why is it that it took battling an experienced player for him to realize how underdeveloped his skills are? These questions intrigue me because I was once at this stage in my smash skill and mindset, and many of my peers were as well.
I have figured out an answer: watching pro videos as a scrub does not improve skills/awareness because a scrub cannot see the 'fight'. Think of when Gohan from Dragonball Z was a little boy, watching Nappa and the Z fighters battle; his powerlevel was too low to actually see what was going on. The same applies here; if a scrub doesn't know what pivoting or teleporting is, how will he watch for it in a video? If a scrub doesn't know what spacing is or DIing is, how can he appreciate it? A scrub must grasp and attempt at these concepts, and only then can he rapidly improve. Because there is so much to learn in the realm of 64, I have formulated a checklist, which revolves around three principle points: Spacing, Comboing, and Recovery.
Efficiently Spacing
□ Can I pivot to quickly attain positions?
□ Can I teleport to adjust positions?
□ Do I know which moves are most efficient to approach with?
□ Do I know which moves carry minimal punishment (if I miss the attack)?
□ Do I know which moves set up for a combo?
□ Do I know all possible moves my opponent may approach with?□ Do I know which moves set up for a combo?
□ Do I know which of my approaching moves can out-range or out-prioritize my opponent's so in case of a collision, I win?
Perfect Comboing
□ Out of an array moves, do I know which next move will prolong this combo the longest (for maximal damage or knockback)?
□ Do I know how to finish the opponent in the combo?
□ Do I know what percentage and what move to use to finish my opponent?
□ Do I know the opportunities my opponent has to slide and smash DI out of a combo and how to handle them?□ Do I have back up moves to continue the combo if they escape the combo through these techniques?
□ Can I tech-chase my opponent if necessary?Efficient Recovery
□ Can I slide DI?
□ Can I smash DI?
□ Do I know which directions to apply DI to use to escape a combo or recover from an edgeguard?
□ When recovering from offstage, can I efficiently forsee/guess my opponent's edgeguard strategy and find a way to dodge it?
0 / 17 Answers Checked = Typical Scrub / Noob / Starter
5 / 17 Answers Checked = Player in Improvement
12 / 17 Answers Checked = Experienced Player
17 / 17 Answers Checked = Professional Player
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I find it very funny AND sad that my cousin, a person who claimed he was on the same skill-level as Isai, would answer 'no' to every single one of these questions if confronted with this checklist. However, he is not alone. There are thousands of local smash players (of each game; 64, Melee, and Brawl) who still talk sh** about the top players of smash, yet couldn't touch an amateur tournament player, simply because they cannot see the fight.
I hope you enjoyed this. I know a lot of the pros may find this a waste of time, but think about how mind-blowing this checklist is for a noob/scrub; they can react two ways: 1) have the epiphany they needed or 2) reject it and continue their scrubdom for all of scrub eternity, never improving. Please scrubs, start seeing the fight.
-llåxative
