SkylerOcon
Tiny Dancer
http://skylerocon.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/neku/Neku
Ah, TWEWY. I love that game. Probably the DS game that gets the most attention from me. However, please note that these will be applied complaints to all parts of the set where they aren’t mentioned:
- Killing percentages
- Range
- Priority
These three are still missed sometimes by even the best MYM-er, and making it a point to include them will definitely help you out.
At a glance, the jab combo looks good. It’s very generic, though it would serve its purpose in a real match. However, how fast does it go? I know, it’s a jab, it should be assumed that it has incredibly little lag, but it’s still a nice thing to tell me, to clear up any confusion.
The next thing I noticed was that two of your tilts can hit for incredibly good damage. A possible 18% on the Ftilt (which is practically guaranteed if you hit with it)? 15% with your up tilt (not to mention ‘considerable’ lag on a tilt, which even for 15% damage tilt, seems like too much). The Dtilt does reasonable damage and is a pretty cool move, I think.
The dash attack is a bit off – it does five percent but high knockback? And why would a move that you used on the stage put you into helpless (much less keep you in helpless after you get hit by an attack)? The ending lag also seems a bit much (Jigglypuff’s dash attack can kill at 100% and has nearly unnoticeable ending lag).
And now we have a forward smash that lasts two seconds? Hate to use an example that’s been beaten to death, but a Falcon Punch only lasts three quarters of a second. And for two seconds we get at most 16% with set knockback? This move would be absolutely useless in even casual play! In any case, whenever a move has set knockback you want it to be quick and nearly lagless. If the move is going to be laggy, you’re going to want to be able to kill with it (or I suppose you could reciprocate from the fixed knockback with incredibly high damage, but that would still seem very weird). Pretty much, this move needs less lag, more damage, and more knockback.
First thought on the down smash is that the damage-only parts need to do more damage. Second thought is that the blue fire also needs to do more damage. Third thought is that you don’t tell me how laggy the attack is, or how long it lasts. Other than that, the move is good.
The Down Smash is a great idea, but it isn’t described very well… how high up, exactly, does the ring go? Is it directly above Neku? Is it five stage builder blocks above Neku? Other than that, no problems here.
The neutral air is good. The forward air just needs a decrease in the total amount of time it takes (1.5 seconds? Ouch!), but other than that, it’s a cool move. The back air is pretty cool, as is the up air. With the down air, how many hits can it cause? For all I know, you get 4% per every hundredth of a second the attack is in use!
Now then… Specials for Shiki. The neutral special is a good idea, and I never would have thought to include the O-Pin in such a way. The up special good, though it could probably deal a bit more damage. The side special is great, no qualms here. The down special needs a SERIOUS decrease in start-up lag, however.
Josh’s specials now. The neutral special needs a decrease in start-up lag, but other than that it’s fine. The up special’s description is a bit weird, but after re-reading it once or twice, I understood what you meant (and love the move). I assume that Neku can move after he shouts Josh, and he won’t be stuck in place for two seconds in the side special, so that move is all good. The down special works great too. I’m really loving the flame/splash core interactivity here.
As for Beat, the neutral special is great. I was initially turned off by how long it took for Rhyme to move onto the screen, but then I realized that it was perhaps better that way. This prevent people from gimping opponents by just pressing B whenever their opponent is offstage! Instead, they have to predict when they’ll manage to knock ‘em off and use Rhyme according.
The up special, however, is a bit weird. One second is dangerously long for this move to take. I’d suggest bumping it down to three quarters of a second, but only allowing Neku three seconds of flight time. I like how that the up special and side special are very good recovery options – chances are, you’ll only be using Beat on your third and final stock, so a great recovery is good.
I like the idea of the down special, but on the effect for having two splash cores, four seconds is a bit much. I’d say tone it down to two. But the move is awesome; I love it.
The throws are good, no comments on those. Same as with the Final Smashes.
So, overall, we have a set that’s good for a newbie set. It certainly won’t be a top contender, but I can see how some of your future sets will be. An increase in detail (As mentioned above) will help, as well as an increase in focus on playstyle (it was there, just not fully realized. It’s like you grasped at the concept of a playstyle, but you didn’t really make one) will help you here.
I look forward to seeing more from you, Apemasta.