Literally just started not sure who to learn

[Vorlaith]

I didn't play melee, I've only just started Project M and I was wondering who would be a simple character to learn to play as my first character?

 

[TheKmanOfSmash]

Personally, I would play Mario. And not just because he's supposed to be the "average" character of the series. He has a really powerful projectile (fireball, neutral b) that's very easy to use and spam...., he has pretty decent normal moves, great conversions off of grabs, very good recovery, strong edgeguarding ability [fireballs, back air, cape (side b)], and a great kill move that can also function as a meteor smash based on how you time it (forward air). He also has other great kill moves in f-smash and even up-smash and down smash. He's a really strong pick in Project M for sure, imo.

 

[Vorlaith]

Thanks for the advice, I'll try him out c:

 

[Booster]

Mewtwo is pretty fun, but if you want infinite power try Roy or Pit

 

[Vorlaith]

I heard mewtwo is really powerful he feels really easy to control imo

 

[Saito]

Seconding for mario.

Really good character.

10/10, I'd recommend him for someone who wants to get the basics of a melee style environment down.

 

[Rizner]

What type of gameplay do you want? Reaction, aggressive, shield pressure, combos, etc.
Looking for something similar to your melee main, different?
Liking for quick results or getting good at the basics or character specific options?

 

[Vorlaith]

What type of gameplay do you want? Reaction, aggressive, shield pressure, combos, etc.
Looking for something similar to your melee main, different?
Liking for quick results or getting good at the basics or character specific options?

As I said in the OP I didn't really play much melee so I didn't have a main, I'm mainly looking for a character who I can use to learn the game and how to play better such as just learning simple techs like wave dashing and L cancelling.

 

[Bellioes]

I am thirding the Mario suggestion. is that even a word? Lol

Hes not too much reliant on heavy tech-skill apart from the basics which is what you should really be focusing on learning. After that, you can pick a character that fits your playstyle more ( more speed, power, projectiles etc. You get the picture)

 

[Zujx]

Just try a bunch of different characters and pick out the ones that you genuinely enjoyed playing than ask a friend or read up online how much tech is really required to play that character & base your decisions upon that

Around me I've helped alot of new players get started and I generally see a much higher success rate over time from new players playing who they like not who is the easiest to get down

 

[Hinichii.ez.™]

Mario
If you wanna get good at executing stuff, try a spacie, maybe.

 

[Vorlaith]

Mario
If you wanna get good at executing stuff, try a spacie, maybe.

What is a spacie?

 

[Hinichii.ez.™]

What is a spacie?

Fox falco and wolf.
Lucas can sorta be counted~
Those are characters that are kinda like high risk, high reward. They require a good amount of tech skill and if you aren't proficient with it, you'll lose games because of that. It's not something you have to do, it's just something I have done, as well as a few friends of mine.

 

[Vorlaith]

Ah right thanks for your help ^^

 

[TheKmanOfSmash]

What is a spacie?

Spacie refers to Fox, Falco, and Wolf and it is short for the term "Space Animal" since in the Star Fox series Fox is a humanoid fox, Falco is a humanoid bird, and Wolf is a humanoid wolf.

Edit: Also, they're know for the high tech ceiling requirement to use them because of the techniques they can do with shine and by using quick SHFFL'd aerials. As ez said, some people consider Lucas as a mini-spacie (even though he's an actual human) because he can be a highly technical character to use, some may even argue more technical than the original spacies.

 

[Fortress]

Mario. He's got all of the tools that you could find with most any other member of the cast, so transitioning with Mario tactics will carry into whomever you choose. Plus, Mario's a very solid character all his own, so if you decide to main him you'd probably be just fine. I did for a long time.

Moreso than your character pick, focus on your fundamentals first. Ignore any trash advice that tells you "go pick X character and practice Y tech until you're blue in the face". Tech skill is only going to get you so far without a solid foundation, and the only people you'll wind up beating are those with even worse fundamentals than yourself. This is what I had to say on it in another thread:

Big things to work on at your level, in no real order:

1) Movement. Tons of people will say "focus on wavedashing", "learn these Falcon wall jump tricks", "practice waveshining", or some specific tech. Think broader. Focus on learning how to move your character, and how to get them from point A to point B in the safest, fastest way possible. Just get down good control over your character on screen before going into specific tech. Wavedashing will be a part of it, sure, but it's more a supplement to your movement than your primary movement option (provided you aren't, you know, Weegee).

2) When to attack, when to reset to neutral, when to play it safe. Before we even get to that, there's this to take in: Think Street Fighter, think 'confirming hits'. Don't try and hit your opponent with the first thing that comes to mind, or the easiest thing to throw out. Think long-term; "sure I can use X move, but what can I do after that if anything at all?" Pick the safest moves you can, that allow you to position your character the safest distance from the opponent. Movement is pretty much everything in Smash (with superb control over your character, and solid fundamentals, you can best even the most tech-savvy of opponents who lack the other two components), but positioning will play a huge part once you've moved from A to B.

Move to where you need to, then position accordingly once you're ready to attack. Once you are, put out an attack that the situation calls for. Did it connect? Is a follow-up immediately viable? Or would it be better to be patient and wait for the opponent to land, and follow their roll (tech chase)? Did you connect on a shield? Is shield pressure an option, or is it too risky to continue? Should you back out if the opponent has more favorable options than you if blocked?

3) Reaction to being attacked. Was I hit? Did I block? Those two questions will answer what to do next. Is DI an option to safely get out of there, and reposition? Can I counterattack the attack I blocked during their recovery frames? Was I hit hard enough to be sent off the stage? Am I still in danger of being combo'd, and if so where do I position my character now?

TL;DR: Gain superb control over your characters movements, learn when it's okay to attack, when it's okay to back off, when it's time to reposition, and when it's time to get to neutral.

Once you've developed a strong foundation and solid fundamental skills, then you can focus on learning that sweet Falcon walljump jank. Without good fundamentals, you won't be able to tie that sweet Falcon trick into your normal game, or have the discipline to know when it's best to use it. Tech will supplement your play, add to your mixups, and extend your ability, but a good foundation will lay out when it's actually okay to use said tech skill. I used to be the kind of player who put high tech skill above everything else, and thought that just because I had spend 100+ hours on Smashwiki studying everything I could lay my eyes on that I'd be able to beat anybody in my group. Turns out I didn't, because I didn't know when to use all of the fancy jank I knew, I just threw it out whenever I could and for no reason, and got punished for it.

Like somebody said before, different characters are going to demand a certain amount of technical prowess out of you in order to be played properly. A 'general' order that's probably agreed upon would be:

Tech-Heavy Characters: Fox/Falco > Mewtwo > Lucas > Sonic > Snake > Diddy Kong > > Ice Climbers > Lucario > Link/Samus > Squirtle(?)

In-Betweeners: Wolf > Olimar > DeDeDe (D3) > Yoshi > Ness > Mario/Luigi > Toon Link/Zelda/Pit > Kirby(?) > Marth/Roy

Relies on Strong Fundamentals: Captain Falcon/Ganondorf > Ike > Wario > Zero Suit Samus > Meta Knight > R.O.B. > Charizard/Ivysaur > Olimar > Sheik > Jigglypuff > Bowser > Donkey Kong

Those are in no means in order within their own categories (DK probably requires more tech knowledge than Sheik for all I know), but that'll give you a rough idea about which characters are going to demand more fingerwork and technical knowledge from you, and which rely more on a very deep understanding of the basics to make up for their lack of technical options. And, of course, that list in no way tells you which character is 'better' than another. Sheik could easily be considered 'better' than D3 or Marth, but doesn't demand as much out of you to do so.

 

[Brim]

Personally, I would play Mario. And not just because he's supposed to be the "average" character of the series. He has a really powerful projectile (fireball, neutral b) that's very easy to use and spam...., he has pretty decent normal moves, great conversions off of grabs, very good recovery, strong edgeguarding ability [fireballs, back air, cape (side b)], and a great kill move that can also function as a meteor smash based on how you time it (forward air). He also has other great kill moves in f-smash and even up-smash and down smash. He's a really strong pick in Project M for sure, imo.

Basically this. But, the way I look at Mario is compare him to Ryu from Street Fighter because he's like Ryu. He's average at everything, and so getting good grips with Mario is a sure-way to learn the mechanics better. Oh and don't forget Mario's like top-tier now too. Not to mention since he's average, being so, he doesn't require a firm-mastery of anything in particular except for "Dunking"; and he's got some neat other tools like being able to completely gimp your opponent of a recovery with his cape, and the fact that cape throws just about any projectile back at your opponent.

 

[RascalTheCharizard]

Mario is the way to go.

If you're just trying to learn tech (which you probably shouldn't be doing at this point) then Marth is a good pick IMO. His physics allow for a decent timing for things like L-Cancelling, whilst not being so lenient that the skill won't transfer to other characters. His Wavedash and Dash-Dancing are also quite long, fast and easy to understand the boons of using.