Sieguest
Smash Master
Things always seem to happen when I should be asleep lol. Anyway, Lux came to me with a question concerning Nana and I decided to look into it and this thread is just showing what I've confirmed. Having an awareness of how Nana behave may help you come up with a few more creative ways to spice up your game a little.
A little something about Nana
The Four Stages of Nana
A little something about Nana
Most of you know about the buffering mechanic in this game, if you don't then buffering is basically inputting the commands for another action as the character finishes performing an action they are currently executing. Once the character finishes execution of their current action then they will perform the action you input on the first available frame they can take action. Most people generally recognize buffering as going from one attack to another or from attack->shield or vice versa, but notice how the definition includes "action" and not "attack". The reason for this is because you buffer things out of walking and dashing too. If Nana somehow is separated from you and you hold the b button, then once Nana returns to sync range and receives the input she will fire off an ice block. Buffering explains that little tidbit which is pretty important later on in this post.
The Four Stages of Nana
The way Nana behaves can be categorized into four categories. There is the "normal" state, the "separated" state, the "recovery" state, and the "distressed" state. The way Nana behave in each is very distinct. This thread will explain the details associated with each stage.
Now how is this of use to you? Knowing how Nana behaves in each of her states may help you formulate creative ways to take on your opponents. For example if you know that Nana accepts inputs from you whenever your opponent is between the two of you and you are incapacitated then you can hold a special (that isn't squall) and once Nana gets into sync range she will do it, this may lead to you getting a grab or at least tacking on some nice damage. One other thing to note is that when Nana is in a "distressed" state and you are trying to make something of it, the last thing you want to do is hold the attack button whenever she is coming towards (provided the four conditions are met), because doing so will cause her to dash attack in the direction opposite she was running AKA away from you and the opponent which is your opponent's ticket to free ****.
That is all for now.
Credits to EA for preliminary information to use as a springboard.
Normal State
The normal state is the most simple and the one most of you are already very well acquainted with, this is when Nana is under your control and will accept the inputs you give her. Your goal as an ICs player should be to keep Nana in this state (whether synced or desynced) as much as possible as this allows you to use Nana to effectively set up traps, apply pressure, and tack on damage.
Separated State
Most players are also familiar with the separated state. Nana goes into this state whenever she has by some way or another, become distanced from Popo. In this state, Nana's priority is to return to Popo as quickly as possible. This however causes a problem, it's easy for opponents to take advantage of how Nana has prioritized in this state. Since her focus is on Popo, Nana's AI is completely oblivious to your opponents actions. All an opponent has to do is charge an fsmash in her path or throw out any sort of move as she comes near them and knock her away and even chase her which could lead to her very untimely demise, leaving you in a horrible situation. To facilitate exiting this state, you as a player may either try and get past the opponent and get to Nana as soon as you can, or go after your opponent and keep them busy until Nana returns to you.
Recovery State
Again, most ICs are familiar with Nana's recovery state as well. When Nana is knocked offstage without Popo she enters this state. As she comes towards the stage she will shoot IBs to cover her coming in and on occasion if an opponent goes out to edgeguard her she will attempt to airdodge through them. Her priority in this state is survival although she will still head towards Popo. Once Nana is reasonably safe from offstage danger she will go back to her separated state. If Popo happens to be knocked offstage on the same side as Nana at a later time, Nana will exit from the recovery state and go into the separated state.
Distressed State
This is the state that a good majority of IC players do not know too much about in detail, and the state that Lux asked me about. Nana enters the distressed state whenever Popo becomes incapacitated. Times when a character is incapacitated include when they are KO'd, during their "flying away" animation of being Star KO'd, during their "hit the screen" animation during a foreground KO, and whenever a character is frozen, planted, or being held in a grab. When Nana enters a distressed state the AI for Nana takes over and all player inputs are ignored, even when Nana is within the sync range. Nana's priority at this point is to protect Popo from taking any more damage, or in the case of Popo being KO'd to tack on as much damage as possible before disappearing. Either way, her focus is on her opponent (although there is a difference). Now this state may seem the most useless, but the mechanics behind it may actually lend itself to a way of fighting your opponent. As stated earlier, Nana ignores all player input even when in sync range. The only exceptions to this rule are buffered inputs. If you buffer an input then Nana will perform the action you input after she finishes the AI input's action. If you remember from the intro, when Nana enters sync range, if you are holding a button the game actually buffers that input in.
If Nana happens to be knocked away and then say Popo is grabbed, when Nana runs back into sync range, whatever input you're holding is what Nana will perform. The only problem is that this is under four conditions:
1. Nana cannot be performing another action besides walking or dashing when she enters sync range. If the AI has already input an attack or shield input, then the input you are holding will not be buffered in upon Nana reaching sync range.
2. Nana must not be in the air, no player inputs are accepted by the CPU whenever she is in the air.
3. The opponent must be between you and Nana, otherwise Nana will not receive your inputs even if in Popo's sync range.
4. Smash, grab, jump, squall, and directional inputs (unless being used in conjunction with the special button) cannot be what you are trying buffer in to Nana, for some reason the game doesn't register these inputs even if condition 3 is met.
If Nana happens to be knocked away and then say Popo is grabbed, when Nana runs back into sync range, whatever input you're holding is what Nana will perform. The only problem is that this is under four conditions:
1. Nana cannot be performing another action besides walking or dashing when she enters sync range. If the AI has already input an attack or shield input, then the input you are holding will not be buffered in upon Nana reaching sync range.
2. Nana must not be in the air, no player inputs are accepted by the CPU whenever she is in the air.
3. The opponent must be between you and Nana, otherwise Nana will not receive your inputs even if in Popo's sync range.
4. Smash, grab, jump, squall, and directional inputs (unless being used in conjunction with the special button) cannot be what you are trying buffer in to Nana, for some reason the game doesn't register these inputs even if condition 3 is met.
Now how is this of use to you? Knowing how Nana behaves in each of her states may help you formulate creative ways to take on your opponents. For example if you know that Nana accepts inputs from you whenever your opponent is between the two of you and you are incapacitated then you can hold a special (that isn't squall) and once Nana gets into sync range she will do it, this may lead to you getting a grab or at least tacking on some nice damage. One other thing to note is that when Nana is in a "distressed" state and you are trying to make something of it, the last thing you want to do is hold the attack button whenever she is coming towards (provided the four conditions are met), because doing so will cause her to dash attack in the direction opposite she was running AKA away from you and the opponent which is your opponent's ticket to free ****.
That is all for now.
Credits to EA for preliminary information to use as a springboard.
