Journey of the Star Lord: The War Room

[Emblem Lord]

Consider this thread an off shoot version of a normal match-up thread. It serves as the main hub of discussion for a special endeavor. That endeavor being the collection of match-up data through online play. I was saving this for the Wii-U version, but boredom kicked in and I honestly could wait no longer. Although we do know that online play is flawed, especially on the DS it is still infinitely useful for collecting data and learning the nuances of a match. This thread is for that purpose.

The fun part about this thread is that it's actually one piece of a bigger puzzle. On a biweekly basis I will create other Journey threads on the character forums. They are essentially challenge threads where members on both forums are invited to engage in many 1v1 battles with their characters to learn the match. I encourage matches to be recorded and posted online. This way everyone learns. I will also crique any vid that gets posted in the threads though everyone is encouraged to give advice and help players grow stronger. When the 2 weeks is up, I myself will write a match-up analysis. The analysis will be broken down by pros and cons, long range, mid range, close range, edge guarding/traps and general summary.

NO MATCH-UP RATIO WILL BE GIVEN BY ME!!!

That's not what this thread is for. This thread is to encourage high level understanding, gameplay, and brotherhood among players on SWF and the general online smash community.

And with that the King of Koopas, Bowser is up first. I prefer to go in alphabetical order as I find it to be very simple, but if popular demand chooses a character then so be it.

Let us embark on a journey of self discovery and unlock our potential.

Link to Vs Bowser thread - http://smashboards.com/threads/journey-of-the-star-lord-vs-bowser.377696/

Link to Vs Robin thread - http://smashboards.com/threads/journey-of-a-star-lord-vs-robin.387747/

 

[Foodies]

I'll try to participate in this when the Wii U version is out. My 3DS control stick is currently unusable.

I don't have much experience fighting Bowser, but from what I can tell it seems like it would be similar to Brawl's MU in that you are still trying to outdisjoint him. But now he's a bit faster so it'll be harder. Fire breath seems more annoying to deal with (don't think it's possible to DI into him and punish him for hitting it anymore). Other minor things include being aware that his dair has a landing hitbox and not to shield his downB anymore (fully, at least). His recovery is better too but I think it's still possible/easy enough to fair/bair/counter him out of it. But again, I don't have much exp/have only play bad Bowsers so I could be wrong

 

[Xinc]

I'll try my hand at this... since my Marth is the right hand man to my Ganon. But timing might be an issue.

I feel Marth has an easier time, as he has more range control over Bowser, as well as a general speed advantage, despite Bowser's buffs.

 

[Random4811]

I'll give it a shot sometime this week, I just don't know when exactly.

 

[Emblem Lord]

Post in the link guys. The more support we show for the thread the more players in the other forum will show interest. Show your enthusiasm but curb the desire to say things regarding who has an easier time in the match. It takes away from what the thread is supposed to be about.

 

[UltimaLuminaire]

I'll try to participate in this when the Wii U version is out. My 3DS control stick is currently unusable.

I don't have much experience fighting Bowser, but from what I can tell it seems like it would be similar to Brawl's MU in that you are still trying to outdisjoint him. But now he's a bit faster so it'll be harder. Fire breath seems more annoying to deal with (don't think it's possible to DI into him and punish him for hitting it anymore). Other minor things include being aware that his dair has a landing hitbox and not to shield his downB anymore (fully, at least). His recovery is better too but I think it's still possible/easy enough to fair/bair/counter him out of it. But again, I don't have much exp/have only play bad Bowsers so I could be wrong

Oh snaps, sorry to hear about your 3ds thumb pad.
I'm here to level the playing field in case people want info on Bowser's moves, but don't have time to go through all the information spread out across our Moveset Thread, Matchup Thread, and threads complaining about... well, everything.

Addressing Firebreath

Spoiler

• The first thing to know is that this game uses an auto-spacing mechanic for flamebreath. This means Bowser will be pushed backwards so long as an opponent is in the flame's flinch box. Do not try to DI into Bowser. You will suffer damage upwards of 19% this way.
• The flame is separated into two parts: flinch box and wind box. Both deal damage.
• The first 3/4 of the flame is the flinch box and functions as you've come to expect from the last 2 iterations.
• The last quarter is the wind box, where you are pushed to the edge of the flame, take some damage in the process, but are not interrupted from moving, attacking, etc. Standing in the wind box without thinking will lead to free damage. The wind box's only other practical effect is to get lucky gimps off of recoveries that fail to sweetspot the ledge.

Addressing DAir

Spoiler

• While not subject to KB from an attack, the DAir has a massive draw-back animation before coming down. With it, it is possible to force attacks to whiff.
• The initial frames of DAir spike. Hard.
• DAir can be angled during decent to try to catch retreats.
• Otherwise functions like the Bowser Bomb in purpose and is almost as punishable if missed.

Fortress Recovery

Spoiler

• By mashing B, Bowser can gain significant height on his recovery. With a second jump, Bowser can recover close to the bottom of the screen on an omega stage.
• Because the button must be mashed, many Bowsers will screw up and buffer a ledge attack upon ledge snap. Don't be afraid to abuse this mistake.
• If Bowser must recover low, he is extremely vulnerable. Fortress has lost a lot of its priority and no longer has invulnerability on start-up. You can go deep if you feel like a god and attempt a footstool.
• Reverse up b cannot sweetspot the ledge. If you see a Bowser in this situation, charge up that forward smash or let rip a short hop dair.

I wish everyone participating in the Bowser match-up challenge good luck. I'll be available here until the time is up, and I can always be found over on the Bowser boards. Thank you for your time!

 

[Emblem Lord]

Bowser write-up is complete. Posting link here. I think I want to do Robin next.
http://smashboards.com/threads/journey-of-the-star-lord-vs-bowser.377696/#post-18418288
Link to the Bowser write-up.

 

[Emblem Lord]

Robin thread created. Link is in the first page. Post more guys so I can stop double posting kthnx

 

[EternalFlame]

Robin thread created. Link is in the first page. Post more guys so I can stop double posting kthnx

Don't think you need to mind double posting if you're posting updates. I was doing it for months on the old version of the Marth/Lucina guide and no objections were raised. Locuan nor Shaya probably won't will mind one bit really xD

 

[Novaseer]

Are you going to do a post matchup analysis for Robin like you did for Bowser? I found your insights valuable.

 

[Emblem Lord]

I do it for every character. This is something I did on SRK for Sagat, so I figured it could work here too.

 

[Leojm]

Ohhh tough question........I'd say that F-smash or Up air I use it a lot and is really fun seeing that low weight fellas going down at like 65% or the ones like bowser going down early cause I land a F-smash tipper near the edge of the stage haha. Although I don't see the top Marth player (at smash 4) using it a lot maybe cause of the lag of the move.......Is funnier when you are in rage lol.

Sorry I posted that here it was mean for another threat.......OOOOOPPSS