Razgriz
Smash Journeyman
I propose a feature in Brawl where if you predict exactly which attack your opponent is going to use, you can press the corresponding buttons and the shield button at the same time to perform a counter. Example: You're Marth, and you're fighting a Sheik who just wont quit with the down tilt to FAir combo; He charges you with a grab, you spotdodge, and of course Marth's spotdodge has a long duration and Sheik has broken recovery time, and once again Sheik is going to down tilt to FAir you, so you tilt down and press A+L just as you get hit. (Give the counter a window of about 5 frames or so. I don't want to kill comboing.) Your character performs a flashy ground-based animation (there will be an air-based and grab-based animation as well) for the counter and Sheik is tought a lesson about being predictable.
Marth, Roy, and Peach already have counters, but what I'm proposing works completely different. For one thing, existing counters last a long time, and are a lot easier to pull off, and they are VERY punishable, and of course you can't do them when you are in the midst of recovery, thus you rarely see advanced players using them. What I'm proposing can be done during the recovery time after an attack, or during the time when you are helpless after an up-b or airdodge, or during hit stun, or during shield-hit-stun, or even during wind-up lag, so slow moves can be utilized as bait for a brutal mind game. Think about the oohs and ahhs this would provoke from an audience, the depth it would add to the game, and the alternative it would offer to the rather frustrating cycle of recovering and being edgeguarded repeatedly.
I certainly don't want to go for a traditional fighter feel for Brawl by throwing in a counter, quite the contrary. I also want the game to be faster. I was rather upset with Sakurai when he insinuated that Brawl would be slower. However this change would not change the overall flow of the game. With a frame window of 5 frames, it's gonna be 4 times as hard to pull off as edge-teching, and how often do people do that? And unlike edge-teching, where all you have to predict is that fact that your going to be hit (kind of like in DOA, Soul Calibur, or just about any fighting game for that matter), with this you need the forthought to predict exactly what you're going to be hit with. And also unlike edge-teching, in which you know exactly when the other guy has to hit you, you must predict when you are going to be hit as well. With all of these stipulations, the only reason it would be used as often or more often than edge-teching is that it would be applicable in many more situations. Because it is so difficult to pull off, you'll only see more advanced players doing it, and then it'll be on rare occasions, and they will be moments of glory. Keep in mind that putting this in the game with a window of 20 or 30 frames would be a bad idea, and would indeed have a huge impact on the way the game is played, and not necessarily for the better.
Adding such a feature to the game would provide yet another technique that would serve to further widen the gap between the noob and the pro, and anything that does that is a good idea. The number of ways a game provides for you to apply new skills and improve shares a direct correlation with its fun factor and replay value, and such is the reason that games like Smash Brothers have remained fun for so many people for so many years, so keep this in mind before you write this off as a superfluous technique that would frighten away newcomers. Melee has not come as far as it has by being merely another party game that offers immediate gratification without dedication or ability. This is just what the game needs. Let me know what you think.
Marth, Roy, and Peach already have counters, but what I'm proposing works completely different. For one thing, existing counters last a long time, and are a lot easier to pull off, and they are VERY punishable, and of course you can't do them when you are in the midst of recovery, thus you rarely see advanced players using them. What I'm proposing can be done during the recovery time after an attack, or during the time when you are helpless after an up-b or airdodge, or during hit stun, or during shield-hit-stun, or even during wind-up lag, so slow moves can be utilized as bait for a brutal mind game. Think about the oohs and ahhs this would provoke from an audience, the depth it would add to the game, and the alternative it would offer to the rather frustrating cycle of recovering and being edgeguarded repeatedly.
I certainly don't want to go for a traditional fighter feel for Brawl by throwing in a counter, quite the contrary. I also want the game to be faster. I was rather upset with Sakurai when he insinuated that Brawl would be slower. However this change would not change the overall flow of the game. With a frame window of 5 frames, it's gonna be 4 times as hard to pull off as edge-teching, and how often do people do that? And unlike edge-teching, where all you have to predict is that fact that your going to be hit (kind of like in DOA, Soul Calibur, or just about any fighting game for that matter), with this you need the forthought to predict exactly what you're going to be hit with. And also unlike edge-teching, in which you know exactly when the other guy has to hit you, you must predict when you are going to be hit as well. With all of these stipulations, the only reason it would be used as often or more often than edge-teching is that it would be applicable in many more situations. Because it is so difficult to pull off, you'll only see more advanced players doing it, and then it'll be on rare occasions, and they will be moments of glory. Keep in mind that putting this in the game with a window of 20 or 30 frames would be a bad idea, and would indeed have a huge impact on the way the game is played, and not necessarily for the better.
Adding such a feature to the game would provide yet another technique that would serve to further widen the gap between the noob and the pro, and anything that does that is a good idea. The number of ways a game provides for you to apply new skills and improve shares a direct correlation with its fun factor and replay value, and such is the reason that games like Smash Brothers have remained fun for so many people for so many years, so keep this in mind before you write this off as a superfluous technique that would frighten away newcomers. Melee has not come as far as it has by being merely another party game that offers immediate gratification without dedication or ability. This is just what the game needs. Let me know what you think.
