• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Melee Commentator Tier List

Blaster1235

Smash Rookie
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Messages
2
S: Vish, Moon, Mango, PPMD
A: DJ Nintendo, Westballz, Armada, Webs, Wobbles
B: Phil, Lovage, Blur
C: Scar, HMW, Slime
D: D1, Tafo, Fendy
F: Toph, Hugs, Ken, Prog, Fauster

Reasonings:
Vish
: Very professional, focuses on the gameplay, gives great insight to what's happening
Moon/Mango: Naturally funny, great personalities
PPMD: Expansive game knowledge and describes the match well
DJ Nintendo: Great all around commentator
Westballz: Doesn't commentate much but he's on the list because he makes commentary interesting and makes astute observations
Armada: Similar to PPMD but talks a bit slow because English is his second language
Webs: Solid all around, focuses on gameplay
Wobbles: Intelligent commentator, also game focused
Phil: A little too casual but talks fast and is interesting
Lovage: Knowledgeable, but a bit boring and dull
Blur: Average all around
Scar: Never focuses on the match, goes off topic way too much. Completely distracting from gameplay. Still is C tier because of personality and humor, but Mango/Moon do that better.
HMW: Solid, but resorts to same talking points over and over. For example, at the start of every set, "so what do you think of the matchup? I think Marth lowkey wins."
Slime: Funny, but tries a little too hard to be funny and doesn't know much about the game.
D1: Feels fake, like he's putting on a show or trying too hard to sound professional. Doesn't seem genuine, and is quite boring. But could be a lot worse.
Tafo: Perhaps the most boring and dull commentator. Makes a lot of mistakes too. But he focuses on analyzing the match at hand which is good.
Fendy: Generally obnoxious and gets really excited at random times
Toph: Irritating, talks over people, thinks he's funny but he's not, extremely biased. Was very disrespectful to players in the past while on the mic.
Ken/Hugs: See Kings of Cali Mango vs PPMD. Also, "it can go either way."
Prog: Has the same issues as D1, only worse. Extremely dull and boring as well.
Fauster: Probably the worst commentator of all time. So many great moments and combo's are ruined by him screaming into the mic. Please end this man's career.

Feel free to agree/disagree, these are just my personal opinions.
 
Last edited:

B-Will

BRoomer
BRoomer
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
1,807
Location
Palo Alto, California
Your list is solid IMO. I generally agree with it.

However, I disagree with a few outright.
1) I think you are too hard on toph. I think he can be funny, and I like his chemistry with Scar. I feel like they belong in the same tier because they go hand in hand. I, personally, love listening to both of them. I would put them both in B tier.
2) I actually like Fendy. You dislike him being sporadically excited - I like it. I would put him in the C tier at the least.
3) Haven't seen much of Ken and Hugs, honestly, but from what I remember, I found them entertaining. "It can go either way" is hilarious to me.
4) Lastly, I would like to see where you would throw in Wife, Husband, and the retried? Dogysamich. Personally, I would put Wife in S tier (my favorite commentator of all time) and put husband close behind him, probably somewhere in A tier. Dogysamich I am a little torn on - I liked his style of commentating, but he lacked excitement at times. I would probably put him somewhere in C tier, which isn't a bad thing.

Of course this tier list is all purely subjective! Thanks for this thread and post it was a good read.
 
Last edited:

KEYLIME SSB

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 9, 2017
Messages
217
Location
Lazytown
I definitely prefer listening to commentators that have immediate on hand technical knowledge about a match, and respond accordingly to different play styles.
 

tsmfoxmaster

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Messages
127
Slippi.gg
FGOD#520
I like PPMD and Mango commentary they are s tier commenters.
 

Mr_towel_Man

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Mar 1, 2016
Messages
109
Location
FD blows
I also agree with D1's low placement. I feel like as time has gone on he has gotten more and more fake overall. I don't know how he was years ago but now whenever I see a, (usually I see him commentate Smash4 but sometimes Melee), tournament it always seems like someone carefully constructed it to be "hype".
 

KEYLIME SSB

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 9, 2017
Messages
217
Location
Lazytown
Commentator says who know and have seen any given player play before are definitely preferable to scream-Into-the-mic-highlight-reel types.
 

R3D3MON

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Messages
436
NNID
KeeHwang2010
I also agree with D1's low placement. I feel like as time has gone on he has gotten more and more fake overall. I don't know how he was years ago but now whenever I see a, (usually I see him commentate Smash4 but sometimes Melee), tournament it always seems like someone carefully constructed it to be "hype".
This is most likely because he is mostly commentating Smash 4 matches nowadays, where oftentimes the situations are distinctly not very hype but you still have to entertain the viewers somehow, thus the ensuing artificial "hype" generated by D1 and other Smash 4 commentators. Plus D1 lost his static commentating partner.

Toph is way too low on the OP's tier list, I would rank him somewhere in the S or A tier. Tafo is way too low also. I would rank him solidly in the B tier. Tafo's hype moments are actually hilarious btw.

Mang0 commentary is actually insane. He reads players' motives and metal states and predicts decisions and events 2 or 3 steps before they are ever played out. Also his laughs are funny af.
 

Blaster1235

Smash Rookie
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Messages
2
Alright I can see why people would rank Toph higher, I just have a personal disliking for him. I don't think his commentary can really be put above B tier though.
 

Nohbl

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
357
Location
Chicago, Illinois
OP, I won't call your list crap. Because you know what? It's a matter of preference. In my opinion, a commentator tier list is one of the most subjective Smash lists one could formulate. While you seem to care about bias, I give zero hoots.

I personally enjoy Ludwig and Slime commentary. Is it serious? Hardly. Is it hilarious? Definitely. Is it accurate? It's good enough, at least. I think really high level and high stakes SSB indeed deserves really careful analysis, but for most other matches, you're not going to learn much that you couldn't from the higher level play, so there is less of a need to treat it seriously.

https://youtu.be/ZkW_DJn9ULY?t=5m33s
5:33 -- 6:28
6:33 -- 7:19
7:45 -- 8:24
32:06 -- 32:57

https://youtu.be/SYlpWpmE3Ao?t=2m51s
2:51 -- 3:27
5:26 -- 5:50
5:57 -- 7:33
their best segment I've seen yet

I actually really like Scar/Toph commentary. I think as a duo, they bring a sufficiently humorous and insightful perspective to their matches, but they especially give a lot of uncommon background knowledge and context to the scene that often goes unmentioned. I also find it interesting how even though Scar has toned things down nowadays, speaking generally more chill, he still manages to say interesting things. When I feel like it, I'll hunt for good clips of their commentary.

HMW: Solid, but resorts to same talking points over and over. For example, at the start of every set, "so what do you think of the matchup? I think Marth lowkey wins."
I think your critique is on point. I can't think of something else he could be doing instead to improve; it's a shame Phil threw in the towel because I think he complemented HMW's commentary very well. Phil's pretty entertaining. But did you forget famously shouted, "Get yo' ass whooped!"? I think the expectations the nu-community has now for what counts as acceptable commentary provide a stifling and unnatural environment for him, to a certain extent.

I agree that D1's commentary has been on the decline since primarily commentating tr4sh, but I'll never forget the job he and Prog did here. D-struction.

https://youtu.be/_JpcxpHZG0E?t=3m12s

I like Webs.

Ken/Hugs: See Kings of Cali Mango vs PPMD. Also, "it can go either way."
Yup. I remember.

I'm sure I'm forgetting to say stuff, so I'll add more later. Good thread.
https://youtu.be/_JpcxpHZG0E?t=3m12s
 

Sinn0h

Thot
Joined
Oct 4, 2017
Messages
29
Location
7-Eleven
Mango's commentary has always been consistently entertaining throughout the years, while it's always interesting to hear a god's perspective on a match (due to their insane skill and understanding of the game), Mango has a very unique way of viewing the game. He's also a lot smarter then he initially lets on, and that side of him tends to come out during commentary, which is nice.

I'm gonna take my lips off of Mango's ass now.

D1 is Jimmy Fallon fake and Tafo makes my eyelids heavy.

Not shots, just opinions.
 
Last edited:

notsuchabadguy

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jan 26, 2016
Messages
78
> scar c tier
> d1 d tier
> mango s tier
This list is cursed and everyone who's looked at this thread is cursed by proxy.
 

iAmMatt

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 18, 2015
Messages
452
Location
Southern RI
NNID
mattgw420
I like commentators who are knowledgeable about the game but also know when and how to get hype. I agree with your placement of Mango for this reason. However, I don't agree with your placement of Prog. While he isn't seen as much today, his commentary showed both incredible knowledge of the game and a certain level of excitement. I think he's a good balance of Fauster's hype and Lovage's or DJ Nintendo's technical knowledge of the game.
 

Crooked Crow

drank from lakes of sorrow
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
2,248
You can tell who all the new players are; the ones not here when Melee was underground and entirely grassroots.

D1, Prog, HomeMadeWaffles-this is the holy trinity. Always has been.
 

GrownManJones

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 3, 2014
Messages
50
I agree with the list except I would say Prog should be higher. Prog had a simple style and soothing voice. Great for a new player without much knowledge of the game and I believe he did this on purpose.

Also, Wife is SSSSSS tier. Legit the best ever. I hope someone grabs him from the shadows and brings him back. He would grow any scene he's in.
 
Last edited:

PixelSun

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jan 30, 2018
Messages
111
Location
México
Wife must be B tier, although he knows a lot about the game and how does it work. It ends up being kind of boring and doesn't talk too much (most of the time his partner is commentating instead of him).
 

JustCallMeJon

Smash Lord
Joined
Dec 5, 2017
Messages
1,072
Location
Editing posts after posting posts...
3DS FC
3067-7373-5050
Switch FC
SW 4274 8573 0226
If I could say about this tier list, I would probably say that there are two D1's: Pre-Smash 4 D1 and Smash 4 D1. Pre-Smash 4 D1 is much better than Smash 4 D1 from all sakes.

Sure Pre-Smash 4 D1 has some fake moments but some moments are very memorable and fantastic. I mean, you probably remember his destruction yell after Axe 4-stock SilentWolf or how he yelled "Mega Man!" when Mega Man does a final smash against Rosalina.

Right now, D1 is fine but I haven't seen him having that much compassion and burst in reaction after a fantastic match than previous. Smash 4 really hurts him, especially Smash 4's gameplay is comparably slower and jankier than Melee.
 
Last edited:

GrownManJones

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 3, 2014
Messages
50
If I could say about this tier list, I would probably say that there are two D1's: Pre-Smash 4 D1 and Smash 4 D1. Pre-Smash 4 D1 is much better than Smash 4 D1 from all sakes.

Sure Pre-Smash 4 D1 has some fake moments but some moments are very memorable and fantastic. I mean, you probably remember his destruction yell after Axe 4-stock SilentWolf or how he yelled "Mega Man!" when Mega Man does a final smash against Rosalina.
Ahh yes I remember that "DESTRUCTIIIIION" from that Axe 4stock. That was really good.

I see him like corporate Kane from WWE if you get that reference. Just doing what he had to do for a job, but it's just not good as it used to be.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom