Opinions on Mirror Matches?

[VivaReverie]

This was brought up partially in another thread but I want to see some discussion about this, because I think I'm in a minority about it.
Talking from a For Glory 1 on 1 perspective, I find mirror matches (Playing the same character as your opponent) pretty fun, being a completely equal test of skill between two different playstyles using the same moveset, making it akin to a duel or something.

Matches between two good players of the same characters makes it feel more equal of a fight, this way you can't complain about "Unbalanced projectiles" "Not enough recovery frames" or simply "Bad matchups" because you have them too, it's a 1 to 1 comparison between two different players.

...That being said, and the reason I bring this up, is that I'm seeing a very common trend of "I hate mirror matches" on these boards, and I'm curious as to varying opinions as to why. So, do you like mirror matches? If you don't, why? And, if you do, I'd also like to see your personal opinions on the subject.

 

[RamenKing1]

It's a good way to test you knowledge of your own character. Knowing your weaknesses means you know your enemy's. If your enemy doesn't know their own weaknesses, they will lose. I personally like mirror matches because it tests out one's abilities.

 

[Raijinken]

Unless a friend of mine shares a main (something I already dislike), I won't voluntarily mirror-match unless they challenge me to that mirror match specifically. That's part of why I hop characters so much.

Of course, an exception is always made for a Four For All Falcon Punch contest.

 

[SuaveChaser]

I like them it is a good way to see how your playstyle is different from someone else and a great way to learn from them.

 

[RespawningJesus]

I usually do mirror matches for fun. I rarely do them seriously, since not many people I know mains my characters.

 

[Starman15]

I see nothing wrong with it, if anything it's even more fun. You can learn from your oppenent's playstyle or you can teach them something new.

 

[Rysir]

Mirror matches are fun and educational! It is forever amusing when in a mirror match and me and my opponent end up doing the same attacks after a while, which is why lucario mirror match ups are the best! We both try repeatedly to do the A combo but only end up giving each other a high five for several seconds.

 

[SevenYearItch]

I think most of the hatred lives in the "You beat me using my original main, so I'm going to switch to the character you're playing out of rage!" that happens a lot in For Glory. That is something that I could do without simply because it never goes well for the person.

Straight up mirror matches with people who have the same mains are great. I've learned some amazing stuff doing Falcon dittos that made me WAY better at playing him. I also take huge pride in winning dittos against good players. Validates my skill as a player to be the better player of that main

 

[Green Spiny]

I'm one of those who dislikes mirror matches. The match often becomes stressful because it feels like a contest for "who's better with the character", especially when it's someone's main. Even though beating a player's main in a mirror only shows the knowledge of one matchup, it can be demoralizing to the loser and I avoid trying to do it.

The other reason is that one of my favorite things about smash is about each character pressing their advantages, which is difficult when you know both players have the same options. There's still prediction, tech skill, and strategy of course, but it's just different.

Obviously there's nothing wrong with them competitively and we all fight them from time to time, but they're not my cup of tea.

 

[Squadaloo]

I personally don't have a problem with them but I know others do so I try to avoid them. Even if it's one of my main 5 or so characters I rotate between, I won't use them if the other person is entirely because I don't want them to think I'm just trying to be a copycat.

If they switch to my character, I enjoy it: it can create some hilarious moments of both people using the exact same attack at the exact same time.

 

[yahooda]

Shiek mirror matches are the best. Very fast paced when you're against a good player who doesn't spam burst grenades.

 

[A Gray Person]

I wouldn't avidly go out of my way for mirror matches but they are some of the most tense match-ups in the game in my opinion. I mean both players have the same strengths, weaknesses and tools at their disposal and it's a matter of trying to figure out how they are going to use the character.

 

[ChikoLad]

Rosalina mirror matches are confusion incarnate.

If 8 Player Smash is a thing, an 8 way Rosalina ditto would be insane.

 

[SwoodGrommet]

They either buff up my ego like nobody's business or I'm left with my confidence absolutely shattered

 

[ミスティック Speed]

They either buff up my ego like nobody's business or I'm left with my confidence absolutely shattered

^This.

 

[Moydow]

I think most of the hatred lives in the "You beat me using my original main, so I'm going to switch to the character you're playing out of rage!" that happens a lot in For Glory. That is something that I could do without simply because it never goes well for the person.

Basically this for me, most of the time. Salty Robin mirrors are the worst, because either the other person is completely terrible as Robin and you end up beating them even worse, or they prove somewhat competent and the match goes to sudden death after five minutes of camping.
That said I did get someone once whose main I bodied pretty bad as Lucina, so s/he switched to Lucina as well. Half an hour or so later, s/he had learned nearly all my tricks and was actually giving me a pretty good mirror match by the end, so that's probably one of the better examples.

 

[VivaReverie]

I might've figured out why I'm in the minority? Just a theory, but since I use rather underused characters (DHD, Shulk, Ness) I get more enjoyment fighting others who play them, considering their scarceness. For a Little Mac player, I can only imagine how irritating constant mirror matches would be, while a match between two skilled Ganondorf's otherwise sounds kinda like fun.

Anybody else in a similar boat?

 

[Saikyoshi]

I love mirror matches. The comparison to a duel in the OP is accurate; each character is a different kind of weapon, and though some ways of using a given weapon are more effective than others, two wielders will always hold them differently, presenting still-endless possibilities. That's the beauty of combat, and that's the beauty of competitive fighting games.

 

[KurashiDragon]

I think I only fought a mirror match once and I loved the heck out of it. It was with my Megaman. I was surprised how similar our playstyles were and yet there was always that small difference. He liked to approach using fair while I preferred a more defensive approach of punishing his approaches with shield and Pummel. (Mind you this didn't always work.) That battle was very interesting and I hope to face more Megaman in the future.

 

[kyxsune]

Ive started learning Little Mac only so i can mirror people that use him throws a major wrench in their strategy half the time.

 

[MarioFireRed]

Shulk is definitely one of the more interesting dittos imo. The Monado Art battles as well as each player's different playstyle is pretty fun to play in.

 

[Dsull]

for some reason i love lucario mirror matches. i watch replays of FG battles i had with other lucarios and i just laugh at the failure we simultaneously keep doing lol.

Other mirror matches are annoying to me. Some characters have mechanics that go whacko when facing their own mechanic, such as dedede's sideb. its unpredictable ive noticed as to which is going to fly where and how hard lol.

 

[Evello]

Shulk is definitely one of the more interesting dittos imo. The Monado Art battles as well as each player's different playstyle is pretty fun to play in.

Agreed, I've had a lot of fun Shulk mirror matches that have given me some cool strategies to try out.

Mirror matches are pretty polarizing. When you win one it feels great, since it's a fair test of your skill and cunning. But when you lose one as your main it's pretty humiliating. Normally, I'm all for them, since even when I lose I learn a lot about my character. But I did have one annoying match where I played Ike and lost terribly to a Captain Falcon. Then the guy switched to Ike and proceeded to crush me half a dozen times with my own main. I get it. You're better than me at my main. Why even bother kicking the crap out of me that many times as the same character? After a few matches of trying to adapt to beat him (to no avail), I switched from Ike to some of my other favorite characters, but he stayed Ike until I quit. I don't like when people use mirrors intentionally to humiliate.

 

[SwoodGrommet]

Agreed, I've had a lot of fun Shulk mirror matches that have given me some cool strategies to try out.

Mirror matches are pretty polarizing. When you win one it feels great, since it's a fair test of your skill and cunning. But when you lose one as your main it's pretty humiliating. Normally, I'm all for them, since even when I lose I learn a lot about my character. But I did have one annoying match where I played Ike and lost terribly to a Captain Falcon. Then the guy switched to Ike and proceeded to crush me half a dozen times with my own main. I get it. You're better than me at my main. Why even bother kicking the crap out of me that many times as the same character? After a few matches of trying to adapt to beat him (to no avail), I switched from Ike to some of my other favorite characters, but he stayed Ike until I quit. I don't like when people use mirrors intentionally to humiliate.

And then they taunt after every KO :s

 

[Flaxr XIII]

The closest thing I've had to a Mirror Match was Pit vs Dark Pit (I forget which one I was at the time because I main both.) It was definitely a good match.