Kink-Link5
Smash Hero
Every new Smash introduces new mechanics, and every new Smash removes mechanics from the previous game. Melee removed full Z-canceling in favour of double-speed L-canceling, and Brawl removed late dash dancing, shield during initial dash, momentum changing airdodges, and several other mechanics, while adding in mechanics of its own- Tripping, hitstun canceling, Backwards ledge grabbing, to name a few.
What mechanics from Brawl do you feel should be removed or heavily changed?
I'll list off a few of mine
-Random Tripping: I feel like this was added as a simple means of making Running not optimal to walking in every way, giving risk to using the faster movement option.
-No Shield during initial dash, dashturn, and dashstop: Another mechanic that seems to only serve to deter running, making it a "dedicated action" with suboptimal actions out of it, for a pay off that isn't worth faster movement.
-Hitstun canceling as it exists currently: This mechanic feels like it was just made to help people recover more easily from heavy hits, which is not inherently a bad idea. In fact, looking at training mode will show that the game registers combos even when it is possible to cancel the hitstun. The fact that it could be used to break out of combos seems to be a side effect. The easiest solution would be to make the technique have a knockback threshold that must be overcome before it becomes possible to act out of the stun.
-Other miscellaneous running mechanics: The problem that comes about from having a dash that can easily be acted out of is that the option comes to vastly overpower walking as an option. Melee had crouch canceling during the full running animation, and it came to be that walking was only used during close quarters to seldomly offer more precise movement. A solution to this would be to let the run animation flow into the walk animation when the stick is let up a little. Fully releasing the stick would still cause a dashstop, but easing the stick in would break into a walk, allowing both movement options to coexist and benefit each other- Running lets itself step aside to let walking apply pressure at close quarters, and walking lets running take over easily when needed. Melee dash dancing could stay or go, but if the idea is to let both shine in certain areas, it would probably be better to have closer to Brawl dashdances.
-Backwards grabbing as it exists currently: The idea was a good way to make recovery more accessible, but in execution it took away a lot of the role a player need to play when making it back. Project M's "Grab backwards only during the first few frames of fallspecial" is the best of both since it still allows recoveries to be done from under the stage, without the drawbacks of grabbing backwards at any time.
-Current Shield mechanics: I've long been a proponent of changing the way defense works in Smash. My personal take is that shields should be smaller overall, but be able to be angled more, emphasizing a play between shield pokes and changing shield angles. As well, notably higher longevity for shields, slower shield regeneration, more shield DI, higher shield stun and move specific shieldstun, independent of move damage, would all add up to make the defensive game much more intuitive and less linear. Shield angling could stand to be easier as well, with OoS options requiring harder flicks of the control stick, to emphasize this change in shielding dynamic.
Go on now. This is just the start of what could make a huge difference in pace and feel for the game.
What mechanics from Brawl do you feel should be removed or heavily changed?
I'll list off a few of mine
-Random Tripping: I feel like this was added as a simple means of making Running not optimal to walking in every way, giving risk to using the faster movement option.
-No Shield during initial dash, dashturn, and dashstop: Another mechanic that seems to only serve to deter running, making it a "dedicated action" with suboptimal actions out of it, for a pay off that isn't worth faster movement.
-Hitstun canceling as it exists currently: This mechanic feels like it was just made to help people recover more easily from heavy hits, which is not inherently a bad idea. In fact, looking at training mode will show that the game registers combos even when it is possible to cancel the hitstun. The fact that it could be used to break out of combos seems to be a side effect. The easiest solution would be to make the technique have a knockback threshold that must be overcome before it becomes possible to act out of the stun.
-Other miscellaneous running mechanics: The problem that comes about from having a dash that can easily be acted out of is that the option comes to vastly overpower walking as an option. Melee had crouch canceling during the full running animation, and it came to be that walking was only used during close quarters to seldomly offer more precise movement. A solution to this would be to let the run animation flow into the walk animation when the stick is let up a little. Fully releasing the stick would still cause a dashstop, but easing the stick in would break into a walk, allowing both movement options to coexist and benefit each other- Running lets itself step aside to let walking apply pressure at close quarters, and walking lets running take over easily when needed. Melee dash dancing could stay or go, but if the idea is to let both shine in certain areas, it would probably be better to have closer to Brawl dashdances.
-Backwards grabbing as it exists currently: The idea was a good way to make recovery more accessible, but in execution it took away a lot of the role a player need to play when making it back. Project M's "Grab backwards only during the first few frames of fallspecial" is the best of both since it still allows recoveries to be done from under the stage, without the drawbacks of grabbing backwards at any time.
-Current Shield mechanics: I've long been a proponent of changing the way defense works in Smash. My personal take is that shields should be smaller overall, but be able to be angled more, emphasizing a play between shield pokes and changing shield angles. As well, notably higher longevity for shields, slower shield regeneration, more shield DI, higher shield stun and move specific shieldstun, independent of move damage, would all add up to make the defensive game much more intuitive and less linear. Shield angling could stand to be easier as well, with OoS options requiring harder flicks of the control stick, to emphasize this change in shielding dynamic.
Go on now. This is just the start of what could make a huge difference in pace and feel for the game.
