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Palutena Pros & Cons?

goodspeed87

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
227
Location
Fresno, CA
Reading over the analyses, I'm having trouble picking out +/-'s for Palutena.

Who does she fare poorly or well against?

Initial impression, how powerful or viable do you think she is?
 

TsuKiyoMe

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 30, 2008
Messages
281
Location
Sicklerville, NJ
Pros:
-Every aerial is good
-Down Throw is an amazing combo tool that setups combos at almost any percentage, even kill shots
-Plenty of kill moves to choose from (All Smashes, All Tilts, and All Aerials but FAir have ways to kill someone)
-Strong Jab
-Great Recovery, although that seems common in this game. She has multiple ways to go under stages completely and still recover.
-Has 3 Meteors (Down Air, NAir & Up Air w/ Sling Spiking)
-Rolls and Sidestep animation are deceiving to opponents.
-Dash Attack comes out fast, sets up things, and most importantly is projectile invincible
-Back Air is projectile invincible
-Strong Anti Airs (Up Smash, Jab, Dash Attack, Counter, Fireworks, Up Tilt, etc.)
-Fireworks (Custom Down B#3) is full body invincible on startup making it a strong option defensively.
-Reflector recovers fast and can make zoning characters have a hard time against her, as well as doubles as a way to gimp certain characters (Greninja's Up B)
-Has probably the strongest pool of custom moves to choose from allowing you to essentially counter pick your opponent without having to ever change your character

Cons:
-Most ground moves, especially tilts are very slow and punishable.
-Projectiles are easily dodged and can be punished.
-Smash Attack range is much lower than the wings animation/laser animation lets on.
-Custom move reliant. Her default setup leaves her approach tools weaker outside of Teleport gimmicks & her safe defensive options become extremely limited making her prone to getting rushed down by characters like Falcon, Sonic, Fox, and Little Mac.
-Certain hitboxes on moves will completely whiff if not spaced properly (NAir, Up Air)
-Meteors are hard to hit with, especially sling spiking.
-Isn't exactly the fastest or heaviest character. (Edit: Well, without using Glide & Super Speed canceling)
 
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Ragna22

Smash Ace
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
904
Palutena REALLY is the definition of a defensive character, she's got the reflector, she's got a parry, she's got a teliport, which is all good but her normals leave her open so easily so you really gotta be patient with learning her, I'm going to dedicate an online session to learning Palutena real soon cause her and Hades are my favorite Kid Icarus characters.
 

Starbound

Worlds Apart, But Still Together.
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
4,083
Location
Canada
A huge con for her is that her close range game is really bad.

FTilt is very slow and easy to punish on a whiff. Side and Down Smash are also very slow, though the windbox does make punishing difficult. Down Tilt lacks range.

Playing her kinda reminded me of playing Mega Man in the demo as you kinda felt SOL if your opponent got close enough to you, so you had to keep them at midrange.
 

Green Spiny

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 4, 2014
Messages
34
Here's a quick list after playing her and doing some For Glory.

Pros:
- Safe recovery
- Nigh impossible to juggle thanks to Warp
- Many moves have long duration (Ftilt, Utilt) and/or extended hitboxes (Usmash)
- Fast dash makes for a good grabbing game
- Reflector, Counter, and Warp make her difficult to harass

Cons:
- Tilts and Smashes leave her vulnerable afterwards
- Difficulty approaching enemies
- Only projectile is unreliable and leaves her open

Just to note, her dash attack is very good, and isn't slow like her other ground moves. Also her DAir is an easy, powerful spike.

Ragna22 is right that she's a defensive character. This took me a while to get used to, but now she's my favorite and tied for best.
 
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