I am a n00b.

[Crystanium]

So, I fought against a friend of mine who calls himself Platinum Shadow, or PlatS in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I lost many, many times against him and only won twice today. I won with Samus against Snake and Ganondorf, but everyone else, I fell. I also lost against my friend when he played as Samus, and I doubt he mains Samus. So, that was extremely saddening for me. I can fight well against players if there are two or three. If it's one-on-one, I can't. So, here I am, humbly asking for tips on how I can play smart with Samus.

I understand that some of you might say u-tilt, z-air (I couldn't perform this well, due to a slight lag), Homing Missile cancel, &c. These were useless. I guess I timed them incorrectly, since others can do better. My problem is that I think I am not spacing enough, even though I want to. The reason is because my opponent comes at me, which really limits my attacks. Sure, I use the d-tilt, but if that's blocked, then I have the possibility of being grabbed. (Note: I know that using d-tilt against characters without long-range grabbing protects Samus from being grabbed, if she is one character away.)

Please help your fellow Samus player. My signature shows how low I feel about myself.

 

[n00b]

I, too, am a n00b.

 

[Gum]

Well for one thing, Smash in general is about your frame of mind. Don't get discouraged, and get a good feel for your characters of choice. If you play Samus, then you have chosen a character with one of the highest learning curves in the game. Go into training mode, and mess around a lot. Learn her physics, learn which moves are good for spacing, which are good for KO'ing, which are good for starting combos and building up damage. Here are some points to focus on:

1. Use moves that are not easily punishable. In other words, moves that don't have a lot of start up or ending lag, such as her aerials and her jab. Things that cannot be easily punished are your best freind. Samus' aerials have no landing lag, so they are not easily countered out of a defensive standpoint. You still have to space though.

2. With Samus, utilize control. Short hopped homing missiles are great. If your opponent closes in, use bombs, use her jab, and use her aerials to get out of tight spots. Also, her upB out of shield is still really good. Defensively, you want to work on you spot dodge timing, because it can allow you to retaliate quick, and not get hit my hard attacks and grabs.

3. Know that with Samus, you are dealing with a combo fiend. Samus does a lot of damage per hit, and she can hit a lot. Pretty much all her ground attacks can be done straight from her aerials upon landing. Try out different combinations and find out what you like.

Hope this helps a bit. Just don't get discouraged!

 

[theguyfromlabyrinth]

What is it about the word "shadow" that makes everyone think putting it in their name insta-cool? I swear, gamers have a collective hat of "cool" (lame) nouns like "shadow," "hunter," "blade," "death," and "night" that they draw from randomly to get names like "ShadowHunter," "NightShadow," "DeathHunter," or even "ShadowNightDeathBlade." I saw someone once named something like "Nightwalk Dawnstalker," following a typical "time of day - movement verb" pattern for BOTH names. It's ridiculous. Yet so widespread. It just blows my mind. I mean names beginning with"Shadow" alone span FOURTEEN pages on the member list (72-85 in S). I just don't get it.

And then there's the deal where they throw in something like "Cloud" or "Sephiroth." Especially with "shadow." Oh man guys Sephiroth is such a badass, but the name's already taken, what can I do? I know, ShadowSephiroth. Still taken? I'll throw Xs on both sides! +infinite badass points gargarrrgrgg

Anyways, for this reason, I hope you get better and start beating this PlatinumShadow fellow.

I intend to pick up Samus and have been stalking these forums for a while, but without a lot of experience I can't add much to the table. Gum (who is a badass) gives good advice; you really do have to space with Samus and luckily she's amazing at it. The bomb is a good temporary and often unexpected retreat if someone gets in too close. Homing missiles and Zair are amazing, and don't forget to throw a few smash Super missiles in as well because they do naughty things to shields and do a respectable amount of damage if they connect. However, it's not just about throwing them out when you feel like it; you need to take every advantage of what they provide and there is a time and a place for using homing missiles vs using zair vs going in for a kill. Homing missiles for example are incredibly useful for limiting an opponent's options since they move so slow, but if you use them too much you might sacrifice a good KO opportunity. Also, don't underestimate the charge shot - sure, it's been weakened, but it can still KO. Watch Tudor's videos in the video thread, especially vs. JHNY5, for some great examples of Samus play.

Just keep practicing and like Gum said don't get discouraged; a positive mindset really does wonders.


edit: oh and the spike. Learn it. Love it.

 

[Solo Assass1n]

A pretty handy thing is definitely drop down Fair from the ledge - I always manage to hit my opponents with it for a pretty decent amount of damage, which you can then combo into Dtilt, Up B, etc. If you can somehow provide a video of your gameplay, that'd greatly allow us to examine what you are doing right and wrong, but it's understandable if you can't.

 

[Crystanium]

I've been training against level 7 CPUs. First I would start with level 4 and see if I could beat that level. If I could, I would move up to the next level, and if I didn't do as well, I would remain with that computer level until I did better. Anyway,

What is it about the word "shadow" that makes everyone think putting it in their name insta-cool? I swear, gamers have a collective hat of "cool" (lame) nouns like "shadow," "hunter," "blade," "death," and "night" that they draw from randomly to get names like "ShadowHunter," "NightShadow," "DeathHunter," or even "ShadowNightDeathBlade." I saw someone once named something like "Nightwalk Dawnstalker," following a typical "time of day - movement verb" pattern for BOTH names. It's ridiculous. Yet so widespread. It just blows my mind. I mean names beginning with"Shadow" alone span FOURTEEN pages on the member list (72-85 in S). I just don't get it.

And then there's the deal where they throw in something like "Cloud" or "Sephiroth." Especially with "shadow." Oh man guys Sephiroth is such a badass, but the name's already taken, what can I do? I know, ShadowSephiroth. Still taken? I'll throw Xs on both sides! +infinite badass points gargarrrgrgg

This made me laugh. I selected the name "Dryn," because it's the name of the Chozo who was a "key scientist in Power Suit technology." The Chozo bust can be found in Junction at SkyTown in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Anyway...

I intend to pick up Samus and have been stalking these forums for a while, but without a lot of experience I can't add much to the table. Gum (who is a badass) gives good advice; you really do have to space with Samus and luckily she's amazing at it. The bomb is a good temporary and often unexpected retreat if someone gets in too close. Homing missiles and Zair are amazing, and don't forget to throw a few smash Super missiles in as well because they do naughty things to shields and do a respectable amount of damage if they connect. However, it's not just about throwing them out when you feel like it; you need to take every advantage of what they provide and there is a time and a place for using homing missiles vs using zair vs going in for a kill. Homing missiles for example are incredibly useful for limiting an opponent's options since they move so slow, but if you use them too much you might sacrifice a good KO opportunity. Also, don't underestimate the charge shot - sure, it's been weakened, but it can still KO. Watch Tudor's videos in the video thread, especially vs. JHNY5, for some great examples of Samus play.

I have been watching Tudor's videos. I sent him a message here at SB and told him that I really like his videos. One of the things I picked up from him that I have found useful is grabbing your opponent and then using Samus' Chozo chop. It's the fastest jab attack. I laugh sometimes when I do it and tell my brother, "I punished him." I don't underestimate the Charge Shot. Sometimes I use it when I am returning after having been thrown out. I've defeated many Fox, Falco, Wolf, Pit players because they least expected it.

edit: oh and the spike. Learn it. Love it.

If by spike, you mean jump out and go after your opponent, I've been trying that out, because it makes Samus more threatening. I've seen Tudor take out Fox and Ike in less than two minutes because of this.

A pretty handy thing is definitely drop down Fair from the ledge - I always manage to hit my opponents with it for a pretty decent amount of damage, which you can then combo into Dtilt, Up B, etc.

I have been using Samus' f-air more often than before after watching Tudor's videos. I also found it useful to be at the edge and drop, only to use the f-air to hit my opponent. (I found another one upon practicing. I used the Screw Attack as I got up from the ledge.)

Thanks, everyone. I'll try to keep a positive mind, too.

 

[Crystanium]

Two months and two days later...

Lately I haven't been able to win any matches. What's worse is that this friend of mine, whom I am angry with right now, beat me with his stupid Luigi. Then he goes the next match to fight against my Samus with his Samus. This is the same thing that happened two months ago. So, I lose one life, and I take one of his. Then he defeats me again. So I have two stocks left while he has three. I end up getting so angry that I just end it in No Contest. I thought that it would be better to have not won or lost, seeing where the match was going.

What makes me so angry is that he played as Samus again, the same color, too. And what makes me angry is that I main Samus, practice as Samus, try things out with Samus, and still, I am the same freaking scrub I was two months ago. It seems like I have not made any progress at all. I screw up with that **** d-tilt, when I should be doing a d-smash instead. My opponent ends up behind me, and I get hit. Or, I'll roll out of the way, but I end up getting punished. If I don't roll, I get punished. Either way, I lose.

I could go and blame Wi-Fi for its ridiculous lag, but what's the point? It seems that when I took a two day haitus from Wi-Fi, I became worse. I thought I was getting better, because I relied less on my z-air and Homing Missiles, and I was able to fight in close-combat. But now, I just suck. All my attacks are predictable. "Switch it up a bit." Yeah, because pre-determining my own moveset is going to help me out. If anything, it's like rote learning in which you have all this information, but you're limited. You haven't thought for yourself. If anyone can give me a convincing reason why I should even continue with this cursed game, then convince me. Otherwise, I'm pretty much going to quit the game and let dust rest on it.

 

[ll Mafia ll]

Ha, fail.
That happened to me once. I am referring to trying to give up, but I was more concerned with Samus.

And then I had some more fun playing n00b.
Now I am happy.

 

[Crystanium]

Ha, fail.
That happened to me once. I am referring to trying to give up, but I was more concerned with Samus.

And then I had some more fun playing n00b.
Now I am happy.

Well, I'm feeling a bit better. I won twice against my friend. He was playing as Ganondorf the first time, and then he played as Falcon the other two times. I won against his Ganondorf, and then lost against Falcon. But I won against Falcon again on Yoshi's Island. (I've loved that stage ever since I saw Tudor fight on it. When I was brawling with my friend, I was reminded of Tudor when he brawled against 9001's Captain Falcon.) What's great is that I was able to save this replay.

 

[TechnoMonster]

You're thinking about the game wrong. You're thinking how can I win, just play to avoid losing and punish opportunities, then look for ways to step it up from there.

Tudor is a great Samus, but undeserving of worship; he doesn't win every game, and even then most of his videos date back to him playing in Reno which was just after Brawl's release. He's also very offensive with Samus but his best attribute is that he makes himself look open while staying safe.

Oh and he ****s around on the edge and he will kill your *** if you go over there.

 

[n00b]

dryn
less QQ
moar pew pew
i know you're better than you make yourself sound. you don't have to play better, just play smarter.
once again

I, too, am n00b.