I’ve been playing Smash since 08 and have remained at the same skill level throughout, while the people I play with have. We play casuall, but I’m done and over with being the punching bag of the group. I want to start winning. What can I do? I can’t even beat level 9 CPUs.
If you're serious, please read.
SSBU is its own game, so even if you've been playing the series since the SSBB era, that doesn't matter. Playing casually won't drastically improve your skill, nor will playing against level 9 AIs. Picking up a top tier doesn't necessarily help, either. First, select a character you'd like to learn to play as. Go to Training Mode and start learning about each move. How much range do your moves cover? Which moves are the quickest on the ground and in the air? Does your character have any combos? It seems you main Mr. Game & Watch (G&W hereafter). A "main" is a character you use most of the time. More often than not, one feels comfortable and confident in using their main more than any other character.
Let's start with terminology. A jab is simply the "A" button. It doesn't matter if your character swings a weapon (e.g. sword) or shoots (Mega Man's Mega Buster). It's always referred to as a jab. Or you may refer to it as a standard neutral attack. Tilts require you to tap or hold the left analog stick in any direction, including diagonal directions. A forward tilt, or "f-tilt" requires that you tap your analog stick toward your opponent, even if your opponent is behind you, and tap the "A" button. Sometimes forward tilt is called side tilt because if your opponent is behind you, you tap in the direction he or she is located. Other tilts include up tilt (u-tilt) and down tilt (d-tilt).
There are also smash attacks. Like tilts, these attacks are referred to as up smash (u-smash), forward smash (f-smash), or down smash (d-smash). Then there are aerials. Neutral aerial (n-air; rarely called the "sex kick") is when you jump in the air and tap the "A" button. This attack doesn't require that you move in any direction, although you can move in any direction, immediately let go of the left analog stick, and then tap "A". This allows you to retain momentum. Then there's up aerial (u-air), forward aerial (f-air), back aerial (b-air), and down aerial (d-air). Unlike the grounded attacks, aerial moves have a true back move, so in this instance one should avoid using the term "side aerial".
Finally, you have special attacks. I'll be ignoring throws and other moves that aren't important here. For G&W, these specials are Chef (neutral special), Judge (forward or side special), Fire (up special), and Oil Panic (down special). Now that I've explained these (even if you might have known these terms), I'll go ahead with some options. G&W's fastest grounded move is jab 1. It's active on frame 4 and lasts for 15 frames. Sometimes, performing a single jab is a better idea than jabbing continuously. Down tilt seems to be the second fastest with it being active on the 6th frame. It also has a bit of range. Then there's forward tilt, which is the third fastest grounded attack. It offers you range.
At times, smash attacks can be good options. G&W has invincibility when he performs an u-smash. It has a deceptive hitbox, i.e., the collision detection of a move interacting with another object. However, you don't want to always use smash attacks, at least up until your opponent can be killed. There are times where smash attacks are useful, such as if you find a read on what your opponent is going to do next (i.e., predict your opponent's next move). Even if your opponent isn't close to having a stock taken off, smash attacks will deal extra damage. There are times you might make mistakes and use smash attacks when you meant to use a tilt. You can always go into the control settings and change your C-stick (right analog stick) to "Tilt" if that's a problem.
G&W's safest out of shield (OoS) option is Fire (up special). It has an active hitbox so once you block your opponent who is foolish to land on or near you, you can perform this move. It also doesn't put G&W in a helpless state, i.e., a state in which your character is vulnerable and cannot perform any options. Some players will use d-air. This attack seems to have a disjointed hitbox, or a hitbox that doesn't put your character in danger. Another safe aerial G&W has is b-air. You might want to practice using b-air as you approach your opponent because you can space yourself in a way so that you won't get hit. This may be safe against characters who don't have projectiles or characters with shorter range.
There is a top player who uses G&W named Maister. You can go on YouTube and type something like "maister mr game and watch" to find how he plays and what he does against his opponents. Also, after looking up Maister on YouTube, be sure to look for an icon that says "Filter". By clicking on that, you can find the most recent uploads. You'll have options like "Last hour", "Today", "This week", "This month", or "This year". I usually look for "This week" or "This month" because it covers more. "Last hour" and "Today" are more narrow search results. By filtering "This week" under "maister mr game and watch", I found
these recent results. You can watch these videos to examine how Maister plays. Watch videos, even if the character you main is losing. You want to be sure to know why your main lost and what you can do to prevent such events.
You should also save your replays. Don't save them, yet fail to review them. Reviewing your replays may help you realize what mistakes you made and what worked. When you're playing against others, be sure to practice learning how to watch what your opponent is doing. Sometimes you can know what your opponent is doing, yet not know how to deal with it. Finally, be sure to look at your opponent's character, not your own. You should know what you're doing without having to see what your character is doing. After all, you're using a controller, but you don't watch your fingers tapping buttons. Why look at your own character? Focus on your opponent.
Mr. Game & Watch Frame Data
