Is speed more important than techs and strats?

[RODO]

There are some things that people want back from Melee, and some things that are putting people off from wanting to try SSB4. One of my friends thinks the game is too slow looking, but I'm fine as long as the gameplay is solid. So what is more important to you guys? Is faster gameplay in general a priority? or is it techs that you are more worried about?

 

[MasterOfKnees]

Speed gets the adrenaline pumping, where as techs are just things to make the game harder to play. For me the Melee techs have always just been a way to achieve the speed.

I could live with a fast game that's easy to play, but I wouldn't want a slow game with overcomplicated gameplay. So yeah, I think speed is a lot more important, though I don't feel that both are essential.

 

[RODO]

The same could also be said for a game that plays fast but isn't fluid or fine tuned. I don't care for some of the melee techs, but I care about a solid, deep experience before I care about it being super fast. Not that I don't want it to be a little faster than brawl was.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

One thing I liked in Brawl over Melee is that being heavy or slow wasn't a death sentence. I don't know if that was due to Melee' physics or slightly skewed balance.

 

[The Real Gamer]

The ATs in Melee were merely tools that helped augment the amount of speed + movement options that were available to the player.

As long as the speed and combos are there, I couldn't really care less about how many ATs there are.

My #1 gripe with Brawl is how slow the game plays overall. Trying to play Brawl after Melee for a while makes your character feel like they're moving through quicksand.

EDIT: Just look at the difference between these 2 examples of high level Melee/Brawl play... The difference in speed/movement is alarming.

 

[Networker1]

I really don't think it needs to be very fast... maybe a bit faster than brawl, but still slower than melee. It seems to me that Brawl is more about mind games and timing because of it's slower speed.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

The same could also be said for a game that plays fast but isn't fluid or fine tuned. I don't care for some of the melee techs, but I care about a solid, deep experience before I care about it being super fast. Not that I don't want it to be a little faster than brawl was.

Whether the game is fluid or not has little to do with techs though, but more so how they built the engine. Techs are more like stepping stones to try and achieve what you will, but they can always be automated for easy and fast gameplay.

I'm just hoping for a game with speed in-between Brawl and Melee personally, don't really care about techs too much, but if they are in there I'll adapt. The most important thing is that the game plays well after all.

 

[RyanR]

For me techs and strats are far more important then speed. I personally don't mind slower passed fighting games.

 

[Amazing Ampharos]

By and large, speed draws in strong players while accessibility draws in weak players. Having a fast paced and accessible game appeals to all, and I think that's what Sakurai is going for.

I should point out that "tech" and "strats" are two completely independent things. While Melee is a lot more technical than Brawl, I think the two of them are strategically pretty similar in terms of overall depth (though it's certainly the case that which particular strategies are good vary quite a bit between the two!). Just looking at how diverse the mechanics are for the four newcomers we have, I really don't think having a lot of varying strategy in the new game is going to be a concern regardless of your preference on other matters.

 

[CrimsonDivine]

Floaty physics made brawl less enjoyable than Melee competitively, but when I was playing with my friends made it more chaotic and fun. Anyone else agree? Hopefully Sakurai can find a perfect in-between this time.

 

[ZelDan]

I'm more worried about gravity than speed. While Smash 4 being faster than Brawl is nice and all, Smash 4 still seems to have brawl-esque gravity, which I am not crazy about.

As far as technical stuff goes, I liked how technically deep melee was though honestly it is not a requirement or anything for me for the next smash to have that much technical stuff in it (I certainly do not expect it to either). I'm more concerned about there not being another metagame-dominating character like metaknight, there not being any stupid crap like tripping and hitstun.

 

[mimgrim]

One thing I liked in Brawl over Melee is that being heavy or slow wasn't a death sentence. I don't know if that was due to Melee' physics or slightly skewed balance.

I disagree. Both games suffer from the same problem. None of the top tier characters in either games are exceptionally slow and both have heavier characters in the top tiers. Being heavy has never been a death sentence in any way however, Fox is one of the heavier characters in Melee and is considered the best character in the game. But both games have the same problem when it comes to slow characters basically.

 

[Morbi]

I think speed is more important; I don't really care about the techs in the game. I just want the game to be fun, I would honestly save the techs and strats for a fighting game.

 

[Renji64]

Speed is more important but i would like both. Brawl is just about cheap tactics and pretty much camping. Where melee came down to speed and mastery the game being faster is great and more offensive based hopefully. I have yet to see anything melee like in smash 4 yet for a game that is aiming for a middleground

 

[Networker1]

Speed is more important but i would like both. Brawl is just about cheap tactics and pretty much camping. Where melee came down to speed and mastery the game being faster is great and more offensive based hopefully. I have yet to see anything melee like in smash 4 yet for a game that is aiming for a middleground

By "cheap tactics" are you referring to the ability to spam D-Smash? Because that is the only thing I hate about Brawl.

 

[the_suicide_fox]

Speed trumps tech IMO. Also important is the ability to do combos and strings. Both of these areas is where Brawl falls short for me. I can deal with there being less tech, but if the game isn't fast enough then it just gets way boring.

 

[NoLife]

I think speed is more important; I don't really care about the techs in the game. I just want the game to be fun, I would honestly save the techs and strats for a fighting game.

smash is a fighting game......

 

[D-idara]

Strategy>Speed>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Muscle Memory

 

[JediLink]

Want I want is to at least have some decent hitstun (and not being able to cancel out of it), proper combos, non-Moon physics, and the Knee of Justice.

L-cancelling may have allowed for stuff that would have otherwise never been possible, but the concept is still silly so I'm not going to lose sleep over it not returning. Wavedashing added a lot of depth to Melee and I'm kind of sad that it's gone but I can understand why Sakurai wouldn't want it. The input really is ridiculous.

In the end, cerebral skill should be rewarded over technical skill. That's the ideal.