NESSBOUNDER
Smash Master
THIS NESS GUIDE CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN THE MELEE DISCUSSION ROOM. I WISH SOMEONE WOULD DELETE THE FIRST COPY FOR ME...BUT I'M TOO LAZY TO ASK!!!
(NESS) – You should be able to find him between Fox and the Ice Climbers. He sits there with his thumb in the air and grins stupidly. A lot of people think he sucks, simply because they can’t harness his potential. Why would you want to choose this creepy demon kid as your character?
Check below to see if Ness is for you.
a) If you don’t like floaty characters, then don’t even bother.
b) If you like characters with awesome recovery, then don’t bother.
c) If you instinctively hit down on the C-stick when your opponent is close, don’t bother.
d) If you can’t handle unusual second jumps, don’t bother.
e) If you love doing great huge amounts of damage all at once, ignore Ness and play as Gannondorf.
If you still think you want to try Ness, then you must be warned, he has a steep learning curve, but once you master him, he is lethal!
Strong points:
Awesome aerial game.
Great mind game.
Great edge guarding game.
Can take on higher tiers and still stand a chance.
Pretty heavy for his size.
KILLS fast fallers.
Groovy throws.
Alright range.
Nice wavedash.
Nice sidestep
Fast tilts.
PRIORITY
Nice shield
Quite fast. (Yes, I’m not joking.)
Good roll that you can actually use.
Very maneuverable.
*plus, he looks cool*
Weak points:
Recovery stinks.
Up and down smashes are non-existent.
Grab is one frame slower than most other characters (like that matters.)
Only average reaction time.
Therefore, Ness is a very solid and well-rounded character with over 100 tricks up his sleeve. He is a fighter Jet rather than a groundhog, and should usually be attacking from the air.
USING NESS:
Don’t listen to the trophy. Ness’s greatest weapon is NOT his mind, it’s his BIG HEAD!! Most of your combos will involve a PK headbutt (Up-air) or two. More on that later.
Anyway, Ness’s recovery SUCKS, so you don’t want to be sent flying too far. Ness is at his best when he’s playing mind games.
A run-in-and-attack strategy doesn’t usually work all that well. It’s best to let your opponent come to you, or try to fake them out.
Then there’s the short hop. Most of Ness’s best options are born from his short hop, so practice that. Also, wavedashing. I actually find that wavedashing is not as useful for Ness as with other characters, as you can usually get the same effect with a fox-trot away from you opponent. Ness rolls fast. Don’t be afraid to roll behind your opponent every now and again, but don’t abuse this. Ness can also make use of triangle Jumping, light shielding, L-cancel, swing jump, foot cancel and the DjC.
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On the OFFENSIVE:
All of Ness’s moves have a use. Here are how his more important moves should be used for attack.
PK SHOVE: (Front-air.) This is probably Ness’s most useful move. It does 15% damage if all the sparks hit, has awesome range and a disjointed hitbox. Shorthop to PK shove is a good starting move and creates combos. L-cancel this move before the last spark hits in and your opponent will be reeling for a grab, kick or other fast move. Another good way to use this is to swing jump into it. To do this, perform as second jump and use PK shove just before Ness is about to go up. You’ll be swung forward horizontally while doing the attack, and it makes a fantastic counter strike. (more on that later.) Doesn’t KO at any reasonable damage...BUT SO WHAT? THIS IS NESS'S BEST MOVE!! USE THIS LOTS!!! SPAM IT (intelligently) LIKE IT'S YUMMY!!
-FUN FACT: if you use this move DIRECTLY out of a short hop, you don't need to L-cancel it. Yay!
PK HEADBUTT: (up-air) Another very good move. The PK headbutt has deceptive range, awesome priority, does a nice 13% damage, and is quite fast. DjC this move and Ness now has a sort of up smash! Once your opponent is in the air, this is the move you should be using. It is the bane of fast fallers, as you can rack up scary amounts of damage simply by DjCing the move to repeatedly smack them around. Will KO Mario on around 130%. Spam this one too.
DROPKICK: (Back air) A pretty good move. The dropkick does 16% damage on the sweet spot, and 10% damage on the other spot. Hitting with the sweet spot will KO Mario at around 110%. This move doesn’t have the best range, though. But don’t be afraid to swing jump into it. It's also great to swing this out of a foxtrot or a wavedash to punish your opponen's miss.
STEP KICK: (Down air) A spike. Don’t use this move to attack your opponent from above directly, as it’s easily shield-grabbed, and very predictable. 12% damage. You can also aero-fake from above into this move very nicely. This move's hitbox stays out for a very long time, considering it's a spike, making it one of the best spikes in the game.
FLAIL: (neu-air) Flail is a rather overlooked move. It’s fast, doesn’t have all that much priority, and does about 11% damage on the sweet spot. However, the knockback of this move often will lead to a great opportunity for a PK headbutt or an aerial combo. Shorthop into this move or swing jump every now and again for a somewhat useful combo starter.
If you hit with the not-so-sweet spot, you can often L-cancel and shield grab your opponent. This move can also be used as an edge guard.
KIDDIE PUNCH: (neu-A,A,A) Not much to say about this one. 10% damage and very fast and annoying. Use if your opponent is up close to you. Can be comboed into a Bat sometimes.
SCHOOLBOY KICK: (Forward tilt) A good move. Fast, useful and has a lingering hit box, nice priority and can edge guard. Can be directed, and should be done so if your opponent is trying to short hop you or coming in from above. 10% damage.
PISTON KICK: (Down tilt) I love this move. It stuffs up so much stuff, and transforms would-be ground combos into mulch. Rapidly hit the A button to push you opponent away from you and quickly fox-trot, sidestep, shield or roll backwards before they can hit you. You can also roll behind your opponent while they’re doing an attack and pump this move into their ankles, or wavedash to it. How annoying. Does 3% damage for the first hit, and then gradually drops to 1% for each hit after much usage. Rather than fully crouching to use this move, try to hold the Controll stick only half the way down and then press A. Ness will use the move without crouching, making it even faster.
VOLLEYBALL: (Up tilt) Very fast, has silly priority, and decent range. Use this to prop your opponent up perfectly for a PK headbutt. Does about 9% damage. A good move.
BAT: (F-smash) Ooooh…the bat…Ness makes up for his lack of up and down smashes with this move. It has insane range and priority, does a whopping 24% damage if you hit with the very tip and is fast, can’t be shield grabbed and can be used to edgeguard nicely. Use it to finish combos against fast fallers as well.
It’s not even very obvious and very hard to punish, so you don’t need to worry about using it.
However, do not spam this move. KO’s Mario at around 85% damage with the tip if he doesn’t DI up. It’s the eighth most powerful horizontal smash in the game. (Just so you know.)
As an added bonus, the bat also reflects projectiles if you hit them just right! The projectile must hit Ness’s body as the bat comes out. I find it best to turn around so the move hits your back instead of being clash cancelled by the bat, but this is risky and only recommended if you are an absolute freak.
AROUND THE WORLD: (U-smash) No, don’t be mistaken, this is not a smash attack. Think of it as an extra up and forward tilt that exchanges speed for a disjointed hitbox.
There are two ways to use this move. One, on an opponent attacking from above, (then follow into an up tilt/PK headbutt) or to get an opponent in front of you over your head so you can hit them with a volleyball. Don’t try to charge it under them, because you’ll get bashed. Instead, charge it so the Yo-yo creeps forward and hits with the weak “charge) part of the move and then immediately release. It should hit twice and hoist your opponent over your head where you can either use volleyball of shield grab. Use jump-canceling to use this move as a running attack. Altogether, around the world does 10% damage at the most. (Unless your opponent is stupid and lets you charge it up under them.)
CAN BE USED TO DO THE AWESOME MEMORY LOOP/ YO-yo GLITCH!!! OMG, MORE ON THAT LATER!!!
WALK THE DOG: (D-smash) Another extra tilt. This should be used on opponents who land behind you for some reason, or you can turn around so your back is to your opponent and immediately use it for a "frontal" attack. It packs more punch than around the world, but you should NEVER try to charge this under your opponent because it doesn’t creep forward. Just hit with the sweet spot. 11% damage. If your opponent is right in front of you, do not use this move, expecting a quick get-away move that you can crouch cancel to. Use the piston kick instead.
SPARKLE RUSH: (running attack.) A very good move. It has incredible range and is practically a projectile. Don’t go thinking that your opponent will go flying along on a scary angle like the level nine computer player does. No, a human player will only do that if they smack DI to upwards as soon as the move hits. Instead, they will get juggled around for a lovely 12% damage and shot up into the air, all floaty and weird. (Quite often, they won’t be spinning at all, but simply “falling” upwards while looking around.)
This just screams for you to follow up with a PK thunder Fake out (more on that later!!)
You can also try and hit someone with the last spark for a similar effect, only they will be spinning this time.
PK FIRE: (Forward B) an EVIL projectile that is made for the sole purpose of annoyance. DO NOT SPAM THIS MOVE!!! It will get you blasted. Instead, be a sneaky little tool and use it as a fake out or and edge guard. (More on PK fire later.) If all flames hit, it does 15%, but most players will simply DI out of it. If this move hits, you should follow it up with a PK shove. Also, shoot someone who's recovering back to the stage and then wavedash off the edge and edgehog. Hee hee hee heeee...eeeevil...
PSI MAGNET: (down B) Not all that useful. Use only on camping Foxes who like to laser you, and on Marios and Dr. Marios, Zeldas who use Din’s fire, Pikachu, Pichu and Luigis. Everyone else will simply punish you for using this move, and even against these guys you should be careful.
Probably best to avoid this one, unless you're playing friendly fire team mode. $_$
PK THUNDER: (Up B) I like this move. No, not the bit where you hit yourself in the bum to become a dead person in the hands of a good edge guarder, but the little 8% damage mind bullet that comes out of your head. You can control this around like a guided missile and zap people! How cool is that?
Of course, you need to use this move sparingly and smartly in order for you not to get punished. And that is why I invented the PK thunder fake out. (Or perhaps I didn’t, but I’ve never seen anyone else do it before…)
You’ll learn how to do that later.
Now about recovery…almost any fool knows that you have to direct the zappy thing around to your behind and masochistically blast your anus, causing a propulsion. But this move is so easilly edge guarded against, that you’re better off using it only when you have no other option. This does 25% damage if it hits, but that will never, ever happen. Meh, Ness’s recovery is almost as bad as Falco’s…
PK FLASH: (B) Now this is fun. Hold down the B button and direct this move over to your foe and release once fully charged for a big PSI cluster bomb! YEEE-HAW!! However, it’s very slow and should only be used as an edge guard, or when you opponent is sleeping or groggy from a shield break. Unless you think you can use it to hit a falling opponent, but that’s just stupid. This move does 35% damage when fully charged, and is considered “fully charged” by the time it starts to descend. KO’s Mario at around 30%. Try using it directly after you've used a throw back and direct it behind you to try and blow up the recovering opponent. A good edge guarder if you've got good timing.
GRAB: (Z button or Shield + A) Ness’s grab is one frame slower than most other characters. It grabs at 8 frames as opposed to 7, but who cares? Ness has some of the most lethal throws in the game! Jump-cancel your grab from a run instead of using Ness’s horrible running grab. And only use his bashing attack (A when holding target) if your opponent is damaged beyond 10%. It does 3% for each headbutt.
ROTOR RODEO: (up throw) Does 10% damage and is good for a PK thunder fake out or aerial combo if you’re feeling daring. Against fast fallers, this move is a BANE!! After throwing a Fox/Falco/Falcon/Roy into the air, start using DjC'd PK headbutts IMMEDIATELY to make some fast-faller-FONDUE!
PSI ROCKIN A: (Forward throw) Throws opponent a set distance unless they’re on very high damage. Brilliant for edge guarding and setting up a spike. Does 10% damage.
PK PYRO: (Down throw) Combo move. Does about 8% damage and sends opponents flying away in a flaming arc. Combo to a shortopped PK headbutt, unless you think your opponent won’t DI away from you. In fact, this move doesn't really compo, it just props your opponent into a sticky situation. (In the air, on fire, and there is a NESS on the ground!!)
PSI ROCKIN B (back throw.) THIS IS THE MOST POWERFUL HORIZONTAL THROW IN THE GAME!! KO’s Mario on 85% near the edge of Final Destination. FROOOOT!!
When attacking, try to mix up your moves a bit. Ness’s only spammable move is probably his PK shove. So go sparingly on that as well.
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On the DEFENSIVE:
SHIELD: Ness’s shield covers his whole body. Be careful when shield grabbing, though, because his grab has limited range. Light shielding is useful if you’re on high damage and just want to get out of your opponent’s attacking range, because you’ll slide. Some good attacks from a shield are DjC'd PK headbutt and shorthopped flail.
RECOVERING FROM A LEDGE GRAB: Ness’s wonky jump means he can’t use an aerial attack from a ledge. It’s best to press R and roll away, then run. Or, if you're feeling lucky, drop down, jump, direct your jump away and around into a half-moon shape and use PK shove as you float back onto the stage.
FOX DODGING: easy. Simply fox trot away from your opponent as they attack you and try to parry with a bat or something.
DASH DANCING: Ness can grab from a dash dance or use a running attack. Highly recommended against Marth or Roy.
TRIANGLE JUMPING: Against Marth/Link/Roy and their blades, tri-jumping is one of Ness’s best weapons. Yes, this does work. Don’t argue with me about this, Kay?
Short hop at your opponent, and they’ll suspect a PK shove and try to tip you with their swords. Instead, triangle jump into them and grab, piston kick, anything that you can pull off while they’ve got lag. It’s probably best to shield if they used a fast attack, though.
ROLLING: don’t be afraid to roll, but don’t overdo it.
SIDESTEPPING: Ness has a good sidestep, but not as good as Fox’s. Keep this in mind, and try to sidestep just before your opponent attacks. You can then go into a piston kick, grab or kiddie punch, or even a volleyball.
WAVEDASHING: wavedashing should be used to get around if you want to go faster than running. Apart from that, it’s risky to wavedash grab or attack opponents unless you’re absolutely sure it will hit. Fox dodging is easier and altogether faster for evasion. Youc can wavedash into a piston kick, and sometimes it's good to wavedash so you can catch your opponent with an attack just as they almost land from a jump, or use it to quickly slide in and punish an attack you just evaded. Or if you want to be really tricky, wavedash back to avoid an attack, then quickly wavedash back in and grab/kick whatever.
COUNTERING WITH SWING JUMP: If you’re opponent has just sent you flying, don’t just fall on the ground and tech away, SWING JUMP RIGHT BACK AT THEM as soon as you can move and counterattack with a PK shove! This surprise tactic is VERY useful, and you should practice it on a Lvl 9 CPU. But beware that good human players will usually block this if they are still on the ground. It’s still a fantastic counter, though, and you can always L-cancel and go to a piston kick before they can shield-grab. This will eventually get your opponents freaked out if you use it well. Fly at their face and stick a hand-full of sparklies up ther nose-holes, YEAH, BABY, YEAH!
DI: Always DI up. Use crouch canceling if you want to, but mostly you should be DIing away and up, or out (?).
RECOVERY: Just try not to get hit out of your second jump, and always try to recover with an air dodge if you can.
FOOT CANCELLING: A technique that is useable by many characters, yet out of them all, is most useful to Ness, seeing as he can do it with ALL of his air moves. If you've been hit and are spinning, and you don't want to tech, simply use a dair just before you hit the ground. You should land in the beginning frames where Ness is lifting his leg, and it should cancel out all the lag and allow you to run or attack as soon as you hit the ground. Learn to do this instinctively. (Discovered by MasterOfFlames.) You can use his other airs too, but Dair is the best choice.
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Combos and Fake outs.
NOTE: Ness's "Comboes" are not really, well, comboes. But they serve the same purpose as in dealing lots of damage to a helpless opponent. They work because of Ness's priority, but if you do them in training mode, they won't register as a true combo.
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:Fakeouts:
PK FIRE FAKE OUT: this is a great mind game. In its most simple form, you just run up to your opponent, and just before you come within range of their attacks, use PK fire. This stops you in your tracks, and they’ll be too busy doing that move that was meant to hit you to stop the little spark that will burn them.
But that’s the most simple method. After you’ve knocked your opponent into the air, run towards them, and they’ll think you’re about to do a PK shove and they’ll attack. Instead of doing a PK shove, however, you’ve done a PK fire fakeout, and they’ll be hit just as they touch the ground.
There are other ways to use this technique. Experiment with it, but don’t abuse it, whatever you do!
PK THUNDER FAKE OUT: Just like the PK fire fakeout only vertical. Jump up to a falling opponent as if to hit them with a PK headbutt, but use PK thunder early. Their attack will whiff you and they’ll experience a sensation that is the psychic equivillant to a taser shock to the nuts! Then you have to fast fall and run for it. This is safer than just PK headbutting, but ends the juggle. So mix it up. You can do this out of a running jump to glide out or harm’s way, or into the path of your target.
Remember, this is best used as a follow-up from a normal PK headbutt. PK headbutt, fall, PK thunder fake. Easy as pie.
AERO FAKE: Not as easy to do. Do a PK thunder fakeout, except instead of doing a PK thunder, use a DJC’d PK Headbutt so it misses your opponent and your opponent misses you. Then fast fall to the ground and hit them with a real PK headbutt as they’re still suffering from jet lag.
AERO FAKE FROM ABOVE: quite good. just before being attacked by an opponent on the ground, jump to avoid thier attack (single high jump, not short jump). just before you reach the peak of your jump, use D-air (with C stick) and then fast fall as soon as you can towards your opponent. Awesome combo starter. If you do this right, you don't even need to L-cancel it, giving in no lag!
SHORT FAKE: shorthop at your opponent and hold backwards on the control stick. You should stop moving forwards and the opponent may whiff you. Then fast fall and go on to whatever. This works every now and again, but shouldn’t be abused.
:Combos:
PYRO SMACK: down throw to short-hopped PK headbutt. If your opponent DI’s away from you, do it anyway, but don’t use the PK headbutt until you’re almost touching the ground.
You will most likely trade blows. If your opponent is a fast faller, you can go straight from a throw to a bat, or a whole bunch of DJC’d PK headbutts. This is not guaranteed to work every time.
SHOCKER!!: bat/whatever to jumping PK shove, then swing jump under opponent and use a PK headbutt. If you use PK shove just after you’ve left the ground for a full forwards jump, it will be easier to hit with the last spark. This may not work against some characters, so you may want to do it differently: Shorthop to PK shove to DJC'd PK headbutt.
HOT N’ TINGLY: PK fire to PK shove.
TAZE AND MIX: shorthopped/swing jumped PK shove, L-cancel to whatever.
LOOPER: Around the world to volleyball. (on medium damage only.)
SCHOOLYARD BRAWL: A,A,A. Nothing special. Sometimes it's not even a combo, but what the hey.
PISTON PUMPAGE: rapid piston kick. (submitted by Silvenswordsmanx)
ULTRAFLAIL: short-hopped/normal/swing jumped flail to L-cancel to jumping flail.
TASERFLAIL: Flail to jumping PK shove. (Or flail to shocker!!)
CRISPY ANNOYANCE: Aptly named combo submitted by FangOfTheRabbit. PK fire, then while they're still burning, pull off a Shocker!!
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EASTER EGGS
Poop! Right out of the Easter bunny's butt. Ness only has one notable easter egg and that is the legal glitch known as the Yo-yo glitch, or, as I like to call it, The Memory Loop
This trick can be reached through the humble Around The World U-smash yo-yo. And this is how it's done.
STEP 1: attack foe with yo-yo. Charge it.
STEP 2: As the 'strong' part of the yo-yo hits opponent, they will be flung into the air and away from your attack. Keep charging, and allow the yo-yo to creep forwards just a tiny bit.
STEP 3: before you start flashing, release the yo-yo. The looping part of the yo-yo will miss and it's hitbox will be dropped onto the ground. Anyone who walks into this will get hit.
NOW HERE'S THE COOL BIT, if Ness attacks while a hitbox is on the ground, it will fly across the stage to get to him, HITTING ANYONE IN THE WAY WITH THE ATTACK YOU JUST USED! This goes for grabs and anything other than projectiles. So it's a simple matter of remembring where you dropped that dirty little hitbox and getting your opponent between it and you. Master this move. It's awsm. (Thanks to dan smith and LonelyNess for figuring this out. You guys are watermelon deflectors.)
Whoops...too much Wario Ware...
Using the memory loop directly out of a shield will not work. HOWEVER, it is possible! Simply release the shield and then as Ness is doing the "putting away" animation, use and charge the yo-yo. (manual, not C-stick) The animation will be cancelled and the glitch will still occur! It's almost the same as a shield smash, just slightly slower.
(If you have more Ness combos, please tell me, and I’ll add them. You’ll get credit, of course.)
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Edge-Guarding.
Ness edge-guards well using just his bat. However, if you want to go for a more advanced method of edge guarding, you can jump out and interrupt a second jump with flail, dropkick or even a step kick. If you don’t want to get off the ground, try and hit with a PK fire and get ready to use a schoolboy kick or a bat (or edgehog.) You can also edge-guard with PK flash if you have good timing, and if you’re a real risk taker, you can jump up, use a PK fire to strike from above and then double jump and air dodge to recover.
DO NOT use the piston kick to edge guard, or your Yo-yos. It just doesn’t work.
Against players like Mario or Marth who have predictable recovery patterns, try to shield grab their first recovery attempt, forward throw them, then wavedash to an edge hog. If you stop being invincible before they’ve used their up B, never fear. Just press R before they hit you. PK shove also makes a great interruption move, and in some cases is better than the flail.
I’ll do a section on strategies later.
If You disagree with something, please correct me, as this is my first guide and I may need some help!
(NESS) – You should be able to find him between Fox and the Ice Climbers. He sits there with his thumb in the air and grins stupidly. A lot of people think he sucks, simply because they can’t harness his potential. Why would you want to choose this creepy demon kid as your character?
Check below to see if Ness is for you.
a) If you don’t like floaty characters, then don’t even bother.
b) If you like characters with awesome recovery, then don’t bother.
c) If you instinctively hit down on the C-stick when your opponent is close, don’t bother.
d) If you can’t handle unusual second jumps, don’t bother.
e) If you love doing great huge amounts of damage all at once, ignore Ness and play as Gannondorf.
If you still think you want to try Ness, then you must be warned, he has a steep learning curve, but once you master him, he is lethal!
Strong points:
Awesome aerial game.
Great mind game.
Great edge guarding game.
Can take on higher tiers and still stand a chance.
Pretty heavy for his size.
KILLS fast fallers.
Groovy throws.
Alright range.
Nice wavedash.
Nice sidestep
Fast tilts.
PRIORITY
Nice shield
Quite fast. (Yes, I’m not joking.)
Good roll that you can actually use.
Very maneuverable.
*plus, he looks cool*
Weak points:
Recovery stinks.
Up and down smashes are non-existent.
Grab is one frame slower than most other characters (like that matters.)
Only average reaction time.
Therefore, Ness is a very solid and well-rounded character with over 100 tricks up his sleeve. He is a fighter Jet rather than a groundhog, and should usually be attacking from the air.
USING NESS:
Don’t listen to the trophy. Ness’s greatest weapon is NOT his mind, it’s his BIG HEAD!! Most of your combos will involve a PK headbutt (Up-air) or two. More on that later.
Anyway, Ness’s recovery SUCKS, so you don’t want to be sent flying too far. Ness is at his best when he’s playing mind games.
A run-in-and-attack strategy doesn’t usually work all that well. It’s best to let your opponent come to you, or try to fake them out.
Then there’s the short hop. Most of Ness’s best options are born from his short hop, so practice that. Also, wavedashing. I actually find that wavedashing is not as useful for Ness as with other characters, as you can usually get the same effect with a fox-trot away from you opponent. Ness rolls fast. Don’t be afraid to roll behind your opponent every now and again, but don’t abuse this. Ness can also make use of triangle Jumping, light shielding, L-cancel, swing jump, foot cancel and the DjC.
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On the OFFENSIVE:
All of Ness’s moves have a use. Here are how his more important moves should be used for attack.
PK SHOVE: (Front-air.) This is probably Ness’s most useful move. It does 15% damage if all the sparks hit, has awesome range and a disjointed hitbox. Shorthop to PK shove is a good starting move and creates combos. L-cancel this move before the last spark hits in and your opponent will be reeling for a grab, kick or other fast move. Another good way to use this is to swing jump into it. To do this, perform as second jump and use PK shove just before Ness is about to go up. You’ll be swung forward horizontally while doing the attack, and it makes a fantastic counter strike. (more on that later.) Doesn’t KO at any reasonable damage...BUT SO WHAT? THIS IS NESS'S BEST MOVE!! USE THIS LOTS!!! SPAM IT (intelligently) LIKE IT'S YUMMY!!
-FUN FACT: if you use this move DIRECTLY out of a short hop, you don't need to L-cancel it. Yay!
PK HEADBUTT: (up-air) Another very good move. The PK headbutt has deceptive range, awesome priority, does a nice 13% damage, and is quite fast. DjC this move and Ness now has a sort of up smash! Once your opponent is in the air, this is the move you should be using. It is the bane of fast fallers, as you can rack up scary amounts of damage simply by DjCing the move to repeatedly smack them around. Will KO Mario on around 130%. Spam this one too.
DROPKICK: (Back air) A pretty good move. The dropkick does 16% damage on the sweet spot, and 10% damage on the other spot. Hitting with the sweet spot will KO Mario at around 110%. This move doesn’t have the best range, though. But don’t be afraid to swing jump into it. It's also great to swing this out of a foxtrot or a wavedash to punish your opponen's miss.
STEP KICK: (Down air) A spike. Don’t use this move to attack your opponent from above directly, as it’s easily shield-grabbed, and very predictable. 12% damage. You can also aero-fake from above into this move very nicely. This move's hitbox stays out for a very long time, considering it's a spike, making it one of the best spikes in the game.
FLAIL: (neu-air) Flail is a rather overlooked move. It’s fast, doesn’t have all that much priority, and does about 11% damage on the sweet spot. However, the knockback of this move often will lead to a great opportunity for a PK headbutt or an aerial combo. Shorthop into this move or swing jump every now and again for a somewhat useful combo starter.
If you hit with the not-so-sweet spot, you can often L-cancel and shield grab your opponent. This move can also be used as an edge guard.
KIDDIE PUNCH: (neu-A,A,A) Not much to say about this one. 10% damage and very fast and annoying. Use if your opponent is up close to you. Can be comboed into a Bat sometimes.
SCHOOLBOY KICK: (Forward tilt) A good move. Fast, useful and has a lingering hit box, nice priority and can edge guard. Can be directed, and should be done so if your opponent is trying to short hop you or coming in from above. 10% damage.
PISTON KICK: (Down tilt) I love this move. It stuffs up so much stuff, and transforms would-be ground combos into mulch. Rapidly hit the A button to push you opponent away from you and quickly fox-trot, sidestep, shield or roll backwards before they can hit you. You can also roll behind your opponent while they’re doing an attack and pump this move into their ankles, or wavedash to it. How annoying. Does 3% damage for the first hit, and then gradually drops to 1% for each hit after much usage. Rather than fully crouching to use this move, try to hold the Controll stick only half the way down and then press A. Ness will use the move without crouching, making it even faster.
VOLLEYBALL: (Up tilt) Very fast, has silly priority, and decent range. Use this to prop your opponent up perfectly for a PK headbutt. Does about 9% damage. A good move.
BAT: (F-smash) Ooooh…the bat…Ness makes up for his lack of up and down smashes with this move. It has insane range and priority, does a whopping 24% damage if you hit with the very tip and is fast, can’t be shield grabbed and can be used to edgeguard nicely. Use it to finish combos against fast fallers as well.
It’s not even very obvious and very hard to punish, so you don’t need to worry about using it.
However, do not spam this move. KO’s Mario at around 85% damage with the tip if he doesn’t DI up. It’s the eighth most powerful horizontal smash in the game. (Just so you know.)
As an added bonus, the bat also reflects projectiles if you hit them just right! The projectile must hit Ness’s body as the bat comes out. I find it best to turn around so the move hits your back instead of being clash cancelled by the bat, but this is risky and only recommended if you are an absolute freak.
AROUND THE WORLD: (U-smash) No, don’t be mistaken, this is not a smash attack. Think of it as an extra up and forward tilt that exchanges speed for a disjointed hitbox.
There are two ways to use this move. One, on an opponent attacking from above, (then follow into an up tilt/PK headbutt) or to get an opponent in front of you over your head so you can hit them with a volleyball. Don’t try to charge it under them, because you’ll get bashed. Instead, charge it so the Yo-yo creeps forward and hits with the weak “charge) part of the move and then immediately release. It should hit twice and hoist your opponent over your head where you can either use volleyball of shield grab. Use jump-canceling to use this move as a running attack. Altogether, around the world does 10% damage at the most. (Unless your opponent is stupid and lets you charge it up under them.)
CAN BE USED TO DO THE AWESOME MEMORY LOOP/ YO-yo GLITCH!!! OMG, MORE ON THAT LATER!!!
WALK THE DOG: (D-smash) Another extra tilt. This should be used on opponents who land behind you for some reason, or you can turn around so your back is to your opponent and immediately use it for a "frontal" attack. It packs more punch than around the world, but you should NEVER try to charge this under your opponent because it doesn’t creep forward. Just hit with the sweet spot. 11% damage. If your opponent is right in front of you, do not use this move, expecting a quick get-away move that you can crouch cancel to. Use the piston kick instead.
SPARKLE RUSH: (running attack.) A very good move. It has incredible range and is practically a projectile. Don’t go thinking that your opponent will go flying along on a scary angle like the level nine computer player does. No, a human player will only do that if they smack DI to upwards as soon as the move hits. Instead, they will get juggled around for a lovely 12% damage and shot up into the air, all floaty and weird. (Quite often, they won’t be spinning at all, but simply “falling” upwards while looking around.)
This just screams for you to follow up with a PK thunder Fake out (more on that later!!)
You can also try and hit someone with the last spark for a similar effect, only they will be spinning this time.
PK FIRE: (Forward B) an EVIL projectile that is made for the sole purpose of annoyance. DO NOT SPAM THIS MOVE!!! It will get you blasted. Instead, be a sneaky little tool and use it as a fake out or and edge guard. (More on PK fire later.) If all flames hit, it does 15%, but most players will simply DI out of it. If this move hits, you should follow it up with a PK shove. Also, shoot someone who's recovering back to the stage and then wavedash off the edge and edgehog. Hee hee hee heeee...eeeevil...
PSI MAGNET: (down B) Not all that useful. Use only on camping Foxes who like to laser you, and on Marios and Dr. Marios, Zeldas who use Din’s fire, Pikachu, Pichu and Luigis. Everyone else will simply punish you for using this move, and even against these guys you should be careful.
Probably best to avoid this one, unless you're playing friendly fire team mode. $_$
PK THUNDER: (Up B) I like this move. No, not the bit where you hit yourself in the bum to become a dead person in the hands of a good edge guarder, but the little 8% damage mind bullet that comes out of your head. You can control this around like a guided missile and zap people! How cool is that?
Of course, you need to use this move sparingly and smartly in order for you not to get punished. And that is why I invented the PK thunder fake out. (Or perhaps I didn’t, but I’ve never seen anyone else do it before…)
You’ll learn how to do that later.
Now about recovery…almost any fool knows that you have to direct the zappy thing around to your behind and masochistically blast your anus, causing a propulsion. But this move is so easilly edge guarded against, that you’re better off using it only when you have no other option. This does 25% damage if it hits, but that will never, ever happen. Meh, Ness’s recovery is almost as bad as Falco’s…
PK FLASH: (B) Now this is fun. Hold down the B button and direct this move over to your foe and release once fully charged for a big PSI cluster bomb! YEEE-HAW!! However, it’s very slow and should only be used as an edge guard, or when you opponent is sleeping or groggy from a shield break. Unless you think you can use it to hit a falling opponent, but that’s just stupid. This move does 35% damage when fully charged, and is considered “fully charged” by the time it starts to descend. KO’s Mario at around 30%. Try using it directly after you've used a throw back and direct it behind you to try and blow up the recovering opponent. A good edge guarder if you've got good timing.
GRAB: (Z button or Shield + A) Ness’s grab is one frame slower than most other characters. It grabs at 8 frames as opposed to 7, but who cares? Ness has some of the most lethal throws in the game! Jump-cancel your grab from a run instead of using Ness’s horrible running grab. And only use his bashing attack (A when holding target) if your opponent is damaged beyond 10%. It does 3% for each headbutt.
ROTOR RODEO: (up throw) Does 10% damage and is good for a PK thunder fake out or aerial combo if you’re feeling daring. Against fast fallers, this move is a BANE!! After throwing a Fox/Falco/Falcon/Roy into the air, start using DjC'd PK headbutts IMMEDIATELY to make some fast-faller-FONDUE!
PSI ROCKIN A: (Forward throw) Throws opponent a set distance unless they’re on very high damage. Brilliant for edge guarding and setting up a spike. Does 10% damage.
PK PYRO: (Down throw) Combo move. Does about 8% damage and sends opponents flying away in a flaming arc. Combo to a shortopped PK headbutt, unless you think your opponent won’t DI away from you. In fact, this move doesn't really compo, it just props your opponent into a sticky situation. (In the air, on fire, and there is a NESS on the ground!!)
PSI ROCKIN B (back throw.) THIS IS THE MOST POWERFUL HORIZONTAL THROW IN THE GAME!! KO’s Mario on 85% near the edge of Final Destination. FROOOOT!!
When attacking, try to mix up your moves a bit. Ness’s only spammable move is probably his PK shove. So go sparingly on that as well.
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On the DEFENSIVE:
SHIELD: Ness’s shield covers his whole body. Be careful when shield grabbing, though, because his grab has limited range. Light shielding is useful if you’re on high damage and just want to get out of your opponent’s attacking range, because you’ll slide. Some good attacks from a shield are DjC'd PK headbutt and shorthopped flail.
RECOVERING FROM A LEDGE GRAB: Ness’s wonky jump means he can’t use an aerial attack from a ledge. It’s best to press R and roll away, then run. Or, if you're feeling lucky, drop down, jump, direct your jump away and around into a half-moon shape and use PK shove as you float back onto the stage.
FOX DODGING: easy. Simply fox trot away from your opponent as they attack you and try to parry with a bat or something.
DASH DANCING: Ness can grab from a dash dance or use a running attack. Highly recommended against Marth or Roy.
TRIANGLE JUMPING: Against Marth/Link/Roy and their blades, tri-jumping is one of Ness’s best weapons. Yes, this does work. Don’t argue with me about this, Kay?
Short hop at your opponent, and they’ll suspect a PK shove and try to tip you with their swords. Instead, triangle jump into them and grab, piston kick, anything that you can pull off while they’ve got lag. It’s probably best to shield if they used a fast attack, though.
ROLLING: don’t be afraid to roll, but don’t overdo it.
SIDESTEPPING: Ness has a good sidestep, but not as good as Fox’s. Keep this in mind, and try to sidestep just before your opponent attacks. You can then go into a piston kick, grab or kiddie punch, or even a volleyball.
WAVEDASHING: wavedashing should be used to get around if you want to go faster than running. Apart from that, it’s risky to wavedash grab or attack opponents unless you’re absolutely sure it will hit. Fox dodging is easier and altogether faster for evasion. Youc can wavedash into a piston kick, and sometimes it's good to wavedash so you can catch your opponent with an attack just as they almost land from a jump, or use it to quickly slide in and punish an attack you just evaded. Or if you want to be really tricky, wavedash back to avoid an attack, then quickly wavedash back in and grab/kick whatever.
COUNTERING WITH SWING JUMP: If you’re opponent has just sent you flying, don’t just fall on the ground and tech away, SWING JUMP RIGHT BACK AT THEM as soon as you can move and counterattack with a PK shove! This surprise tactic is VERY useful, and you should practice it on a Lvl 9 CPU. But beware that good human players will usually block this if they are still on the ground. It’s still a fantastic counter, though, and you can always L-cancel and go to a piston kick before they can shield-grab. This will eventually get your opponents freaked out if you use it well. Fly at their face and stick a hand-full of sparklies up ther nose-holes, YEAH, BABY, YEAH!
DI: Always DI up. Use crouch canceling if you want to, but mostly you should be DIing away and up, or out (?).
RECOVERY: Just try not to get hit out of your second jump, and always try to recover with an air dodge if you can.
FOOT CANCELLING: A technique that is useable by many characters, yet out of them all, is most useful to Ness, seeing as he can do it with ALL of his air moves. If you've been hit and are spinning, and you don't want to tech, simply use a dair just before you hit the ground. You should land in the beginning frames where Ness is lifting his leg, and it should cancel out all the lag and allow you to run or attack as soon as you hit the ground. Learn to do this instinctively. (Discovered by MasterOfFlames.) You can use his other airs too, but Dair is the best choice.
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Combos and Fake outs.
NOTE: Ness's "Comboes" are not really, well, comboes. But they serve the same purpose as in dealing lots of damage to a helpless opponent. They work because of Ness's priority, but if you do them in training mode, they won't register as a true combo.
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:Fakeouts:
PK FIRE FAKE OUT: this is a great mind game. In its most simple form, you just run up to your opponent, and just before you come within range of their attacks, use PK fire. This stops you in your tracks, and they’ll be too busy doing that move that was meant to hit you to stop the little spark that will burn them.
But that’s the most simple method. After you’ve knocked your opponent into the air, run towards them, and they’ll think you’re about to do a PK shove and they’ll attack. Instead of doing a PK shove, however, you’ve done a PK fire fakeout, and they’ll be hit just as they touch the ground.
There are other ways to use this technique. Experiment with it, but don’t abuse it, whatever you do!
PK THUNDER FAKE OUT: Just like the PK fire fakeout only vertical. Jump up to a falling opponent as if to hit them with a PK headbutt, but use PK thunder early. Their attack will whiff you and they’ll experience a sensation that is the psychic equivillant to a taser shock to the nuts! Then you have to fast fall and run for it. This is safer than just PK headbutting, but ends the juggle. So mix it up. You can do this out of a running jump to glide out or harm’s way, or into the path of your target.
Remember, this is best used as a follow-up from a normal PK headbutt. PK headbutt, fall, PK thunder fake. Easy as pie.
AERO FAKE: Not as easy to do. Do a PK thunder fakeout, except instead of doing a PK thunder, use a DJC’d PK Headbutt so it misses your opponent and your opponent misses you. Then fast fall to the ground and hit them with a real PK headbutt as they’re still suffering from jet lag.
AERO FAKE FROM ABOVE: quite good. just before being attacked by an opponent on the ground, jump to avoid thier attack (single high jump, not short jump). just before you reach the peak of your jump, use D-air (with C stick) and then fast fall as soon as you can towards your opponent. Awesome combo starter. If you do this right, you don't even need to L-cancel it, giving in no lag!
SHORT FAKE: shorthop at your opponent and hold backwards on the control stick. You should stop moving forwards and the opponent may whiff you. Then fast fall and go on to whatever. This works every now and again, but shouldn’t be abused.
:Combos:
PYRO SMACK: down throw to short-hopped PK headbutt. If your opponent DI’s away from you, do it anyway, but don’t use the PK headbutt until you’re almost touching the ground.
You will most likely trade blows. If your opponent is a fast faller, you can go straight from a throw to a bat, or a whole bunch of DJC’d PK headbutts. This is not guaranteed to work every time.
SHOCKER!!: bat/whatever to jumping PK shove, then swing jump under opponent and use a PK headbutt. If you use PK shove just after you’ve left the ground for a full forwards jump, it will be easier to hit with the last spark. This may not work against some characters, so you may want to do it differently: Shorthop to PK shove to DJC'd PK headbutt.
HOT N’ TINGLY: PK fire to PK shove.
TAZE AND MIX: shorthopped/swing jumped PK shove, L-cancel to whatever.
LOOPER: Around the world to volleyball. (on medium damage only.)
SCHOOLYARD BRAWL: A,A,A. Nothing special. Sometimes it's not even a combo, but what the hey.
PISTON PUMPAGE: rapid piston kick. (submitted by Silvenswordsmanx)
ULTRAFLAIL: short-hopped/normal/swing jumped flail to L-cancel to jumping flail.
TASERFLAIL: Flail to jumping PK shove. (Or flail to shocker!!)
CRISPY ANNOYANCE: Aptly named combo submitted by FangOfTheRabbit. PK fire, then while they're still burning, pull off a Shocker!!
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EASTER EGGS
Poop! Right out of the Easter bunny's butt. Ness only has one notable easter egg and that is the legal glitch known as the Yo-yo glitch, or, as I like to call it, The Memory Loop
This trick can be reached through the humble Around The World U-smash yo-yo. And this is how it's done.
STEP 1: attack foe with yo-yo. Charge it.
STEP 2: As the 'strong' part of the yo-yo hits opponent, they will be flung into the air and away from your attack. Keep charging, and allow the yo-yo to creep forwards just a tiny bit.
STEP 3: before you start flashing, release the yo-yo. The looping part of the yo-yo will miss and it's hitbox will be dropped onto the ground. Anyone who walks into this will get hit.
NOW HERE'S THE COOL BIT, if Ness attacks while a hitbox is on the ground, it will fly across the stage to get to him, HITTING ANYONE IN THE WAY WITH THE ATTACK YOU JUST USED! This goes for grabs and anything other than projectiles. So it's a simple matter of remembring where you dropped that dirty little hitbox and getting your opponent between it and you. Master this move. It's awsm. (Thanks to dan smith and LonelyNess for figuring this out. You guys are watermelon deflectors.)
Whoops...too much Wario Ware...
Using the memory loop directly out of a shield will not work. HOWEVER, it is possible! Simply release the shield and then as Ness is doing the "putting away" animation, use and charge the yo-yo. (manual, not C-stick) The animation will be cancelled and the glitch will still occur! It's almost the same as a shield smash, just slightly slower.
(If you have more Ness combos, please tell me, and I’ll add them. You’ll get credit, of course.)
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Edge-Guarding.
Ness edge-guards well using just his bat. However, if you want to go for a more advanced method of edge guarding, you can jump out and interrupt a second jump with flail, dropkick or even a step kick. If you don’t want to get off the ground, try and hit with a PK fire and get ready to use a schoolboy kick or a bat (or edgehog.) You can also edge-guard with PK flash if you have good timing, and if you’re a real risk taker, you can jump up, use a PK fire to strike from above and then double jump and air dodge to recover.
DO NOT use the piston kick to edge guard, or your Yo-yos. It just doesn’t work.
Against players like Mario or Marth who have predictable recovery patterns, try to shield grab their first recovery attempt, forward throw them, then wavedash to an edge hog. If you stop being invincible before they’ve used their up B, never fear. Just press R before they hit you. PK shove also makes a great interruption move, and in some cases is better than the flail.
I’ll do a section on strategies later.
If You disagree with something, please correct me, as this is my first guide and I may need some help!
but I need a strategy against Marth...
