The following is a rather complete analysis of R.O.B. and more importantly for those of us fondly familiar with the mechanical pal - how he has changed from Brawl.
Comments
R.O.B. is back in a very familiar way, but not without a little polishing and a few new tricks!
Players of R.O.B. from Brawl may have an easier time with this veteran fighter than other players of other characters because of how similar he is and how most of his changes are buffs to some problems he had before which do not impact on gameplay. However, there are a few changes which really confuse me when playing him, specifically the B-Air and the lack of the "Glide Toss" technique, but more on that below.
Standing & Crouching
R.O.B.'s standing/idle animation runs through the same where he looks around and his arms play through an up & down motion whilst he glances about.
His crouch looks to be about as low as it ever was and plays through a similar animation as in Brawl.
Even his "teetering" animation is very similar to Brawl's (where he stands at the edge of a platform/Stage).
Nothing too much seems to be different just by looking at him... but he sure is cute ([^ ^]
Movement
R.O.B. moves very similar to how he did in Brawl, those of us who have acquainted ourselves with him will have no problems adjusting to his updated version. In fact, we may be pleasantly surprised just how well he handles while staying familiar in our gyraptoric claws.
Just a side note, I was hoping his movement would include a "crawl", but he is without such (probably too good to be belly dragging with us). However, there is an "advanced technique" I developed in Brawl to overcome this, which is essentially just walking forward and crouching frequently, kind of silly, but it never looked better than it does in the new game!
Jumps
One obvious change in how R.O.B. handles is the speed of vertical movement, which I think may be from the overall game physics itself, as the game seems to have more "gravity" to it. However, this movement isn't too much to throw off to much of R.O.B.'s game and I think he actually benefits from this quite a lot as it speeds up his seemingly now-contrasting Brawl clunkiness.
Now, one thing that has changed significantly about R.O.B. that may not be due to overall game mechanics is his "Fast-fall" speed - the speed of movement downwards when inputting "down" with the control stick after reaching the apex of a jump. R.O.B. now falls much faster, and this is very much welcomed. This new falling mechanic I find to greatly speedup his overall game and puts him into positions whereby he would not normally be able to benefit from. Very nice indeed, try it out when you can.
Dodges
His rolling dodges play through an identical animation as he spins to and fro with relative easy despite not having feet or legs, but these rolling dodges seem to be smoother and/or faster than his earlier Brawl version - I'd have to check the frame difference on this, as it could just be how the game functions and my personal perception of it, but it still works out well for dodging incoming attacks.
His side-step is as G.O.D.like as ever, but this may well be faster as well. The animation for this move has changed a bit where he tilts to one side as he side-steps, it's cute, I'm sure you'd agree. However, I am unsure if he enters into a "z-axis" like he did in Brawl where he would be less likely to be hit by hitboxes that travel along just the 2d plane.
Air dodges are similar in fashion, may be faster, may have more invincibility frames. I think all air-dodges suffer from extra landing lag in this game for game design purposes, so watch out for that.
All in all, R.O.B. will be moving in a familiar fashion, although a bit speedier; just don't let his faster falling physics fool you for fear of festering phantoms flying fortuitously and fantastically fancier (this alliteration was placed here to test my /collapse tags for fanciful forum formatting, please excuse the excessive emotive and extenuated errs of every ending. Alas, it was in vain).
Attacks (on the ground standards)
: Standard Attack
A.K.A. The "Mecha Jab"
3% & 3% (6% total)
The animation looks very similar to Brawl's, where R.O.B. delivers a one-two punch.
The reach is about as far and the hitboxes hit in a familiar area.
However the first hit has changed, this does not pop the opponent up in the same fashion as it did in Brawl. The opponent will barely leave the ground until much higher damage percent making a combo into a F-Smash or other attack practically nonviable.
The first hit quickly leads into the second in much the same fashion as it did before. There are no "rapid jab" animations that this attack runs through like the other characters have been given, it's just the two hits whether you hold the button down or mash on it.
<= or => (to Dash) + : Dash Attack
A.K.A. The "Tronic Impact"
This looks a little different from how it did in Brawl, but functions very similarly. This attack now has R.O.B. visibly swinging his arms down... pretty much like before, but it is clearly visible what exactly he is doing now: He basically clobbers his opponent over the noggin and it shows thanks to the new "air slash" effects in this game. *Bonk* Ouch, that smarts.
:Grab/Hold
A.K.A. The "Mecha Grapple"
Essentially the same animation and similar collision area properties as we'd expect from Brawl. R.O.B. targets his opponent like they were a delicious Gyro ready to be spun and grapples them in his mighty robotic claws.
A note about the name: I like the name "Power Claw" too, but maybe that should be used for something a little more special?
<= or => (to Dash) + : Dashing Grab
A.K.A. The "Tronic Grapple"
Essentially the same a in Brawl both in form and in function where R.O.B. latches out and squeezes his opponents into his claws.
The timing for the Pivot Grab works out nearly the same as well in execution, so don't let the new Pivot Tilts come out instead and throw your game off.
Hold +: Pummel
A.K.A. The "Piston Press"
2% each strike
Same ol' pummel as in Brawl, where it looks like he's squeezing his victim's life-breath right out of their lungs. Brutal.
Strong Attacks (A.K.A. "Tilts")
or (depending on facing) + : Strong Forward
A.K.A.The "Robo Hook"
8% (far)
6% (close)
Not much different here, R.O.B. throws out a metallic left-hook for considerable reach and decent knockback (I used to KO with this in Brawl, not sure about that this time around). Although it seems like a little slower of an attack, it also feels like there may be more weight behind it (read: knockback) with a "sweet-spot". Could be a bit shorter range, but difficult to tell without visible hitbox detection; the amount of effort to do a proper comparison wouldn't be worth the accurate depiction, so I'll leave that conjecture at a "maybe" for now.
(nudge) + : Strong Down
A.K.A. The "Piston Punch"
5%
Nearly identical to Brawl's version. Seems to string into itself about as well and may force a trip about as well (though I am not sure how to accurately contrast the trip rate without looking at the new version's code). However, just going by gut instincts I'd say it might be tripping a bit less frequent.
Also unsure about the range of hitboxes, but I feel like it might have been shortened just slightly.
(nudge) + : Strong Up
A.K.A. The Piston Push
5% (close)
3% (far)
Raise the roof once again; seems to look and function nearly identical to the Brawl version, but doesn't seem to quite hit out along the sides as well (pretty sure of this). So the silly trick to use against fast-fallers (read: Fox) does not work anymore either due to the side hitboxes being shrunk or eliminated or just due to the physics changes of the game itself.
Grabs, Holds, & Throws
R.O.B.'s Throws have been both buffed and nerfed in ways, but overall I am happy with how they have changed. In brawl his Throws uniformly dealt 10% damage, but now they have a variety of amounts depending on which way you toss 'em.
Hold + or (depending on facing) : Forward Throw
A.K.A. The "Reject Eject"
8%
Same animation where R.O.B. looks like he "pushes" his opponent away like they are a rotten Gyro. The daqmage reduction is saddening, but not too traumatic, we'll get over it, I'm sure. Think of it this way, if you accidentally grab your teammate in a team battle you can use this throw to get rid of them for minimal damage.
Hold +: Up Throw
A.K.A. The "Robotic Piledriver"
12%
Still the "Robotic Piledriver" as the commentators at EVO 2009 poetically dubbed it 5 years ago. This usually caught my opponents off guard in Brawl well enough I could follow it up with a meaty U-air attack scoring a satisfying amount of damage, but now at low damage it pretty much guarantees a combo into U-Aiar (which as nerfed damage, but more on that later) - also look for other avenues of follow-up attacks such as F-Air, U-Tilt, or even... (drool) an U-Smash.
Hold +: Down Throw
A.K.A. The "Turbo Jackhammer"
10%
As with the U-Throw this hasn't changed much, as it still deals the same damage as in Brawl, but now you can combo out of it better. Very welcoming change due to the physics of the game, I am sure, so have fun with this one (hint: You can score a KO out of this with the U-Air... WOW!)
Hold + or (depending on facing): Back Throw
A.K.A. The "Retro Spin-dry"
10%
Very similar to Brawl's version, nearly the same if not in form & function then practicality. It is still there to toss someone away and most likely for using it to throw an opponent off stage for R.O.B.'s awesome stage guard finishes (eat a D-air, k?).
Smash Attacks
or (depending on facing): Forward Smash
A.K.A. The "Zapper Eye-gun"
6% (far)
11% (mid)
15% (close)
This looks great and receives buffs as well as looks. R.O.B. now crouches down and stares intently at his opponent before blasting out a coherent beam of LASER. The buffs it receives are mostly in range where it seems there is another hitbox at the end which extends the reach even further. As much as this may seem awesome, it is a much lighter hit (6%), but it is still a welcomed buff.
Yes, this attack can still be angled three different ways (up, side, down).
In my humble opinion the best buff this move got was in the way of a new animation where R.O.B. spins his head - This is top tier in Charging Smash Animations, right up there with Jigglypuff's charging D-Smash animation. I am sure you will agree when you see this new F-Smash charge ([^ ^]
: Down Smash
A.K.A. The "Turbo Rotor"
1%, 2%, 5%, 5% (13% total)
Although this looks very similar to Brawl's version this now sends the opponent horizontal when hit, which makes it a better tool to snuff foes down to their doom, especially those who have less than awesome vertical recoveries.
Like the F-Smash, this also has a new charging smash animation, but this time R.O.B. will look like he is flexing mightily before striking.
: Up Smash
A.K.A. The "Retro Burner"
3% & 13% (16% total)
This was a great K.O. attack in Brawl and it is even better this time around if but for one buff: a new hitbox strikes low which launches the opponent right into the strong blast for quite a burning wallop.
Aerial Attacks
(in air): Neutral Aerial Attack
A.K.A. The "Spire Burner"
8%
This seems very similar to his former N-Air, but this is one move that has been "nerfed" through it could be for the better: The nerf lessened the damage done and it is nearly impractical to be used for a KO.
The good thing about this nerf is it puts the N-Air right into its rightful role of a combo starter which I extensively used it for and tried to refrain from pushing too much for its (over) use of a KO option.
N-Air starters at low percentages work just as good in this as in Brawl if not better, still has its timing to get down an IASA or auto-cancel, however you want to call it, but be aware of the new gravity and fast-falling mechanics as this may blunder your bunson into picking up some unwanted lag.
or (depending on facing) + : Forward Aerial Attack
A.K.A. The "Circuit Breaker"
7%
This looks very similar to Brawl's version but with the new "air slash" effects it now looks more like an overhead wallop similar to how the Dash Attack looks like one.
Sadly (?) this too has been nerfed, but like other nerfs it is not without some compensation as the nerf comes in lessened damage which may result in possible better repeated wallopings given the circumstances. But I have to opine the other nerf which is the reduced duration of active hitbox frames, as the later hitbox frames are no longer there so I can't "tap" my opponents when desired.
or (depending on facing) + : Back Aerial Attack
A.K.A. The "Back Burner"
12%
This got both nerfed and buffed, but unlike the other attacks that got nerfed, the changes did not create any kind of benefit whatsoever and one of my favorite KO options (and attacks in general) is just a shell of its former mix-up self.
First off the "shoulder" hitbox is gone so you can't ram into an opponent with the front of R.O.B.
Secondly, the startup is much longer (and noticeably so, yuck).
And lastly, the landing lag cancel just isn't there for R.O.B. like it used to be, so no speedy last-minute B-Air opportunities.
Were these nerfs justified? Was the move just "too good"? I do not believe so; not sure why they decided to nerf this so much, but for whatever reasons (if any) we'll just have to make the best of it.
The good news is this attack seems like a bit larger, or maybe it is just the animation effects, but it sort of feels like it is also hitting at a more horizontal trajectory. Still seems to hit about as hard, not sure if there is a change to the knockback.
+ : Downward Aerial Attack
A.K.A. The "Meteor Burner"
11%(far)
12(close)
Very similar to the Brawl D-Air that we've come to love, but the explosion looks fantastic. Not sure if it is any bigger in the hitbox range, but the looks of the attack seem bigger and, if anything, it would be more intimidating.
The functionality still remains the same, blasting opponents straight down to their fiery deaths.
Unfortunately that one little hitbox still lurks within it that occasionally pops the opponent up rather than sending them down. I wish they got rid of it as even in this new version there seems to be no use for it.
Also a rather unfortunate detriment to this attack is now being unable to run off the side of a Stage and blasting a D-Air immediately so as to pop R.O.B. back up onto the Stage with no lag. I believe this is due to the physics of the game and/or R.O.B.'s new weightiness. I am very sad about this as I used to use this a lot to trick my opponents into thinking I just lagged myself quite a bit with a D-Air only to find they are eating a Smash attack.
Special Attacks
: Robo Beam
7% (close)
4% (semi-charged)
10% (fully charged)
I'm going to jump right into what is new about this attack which otherwise is nearly the same: A new level of Charge! That's right, R.O.B.'s Beam just got better with a more powerful laser to be unleashed.
The first level is an "uncharged" blast that fires a heat shock in front of R.O.B.'s face for 7%.
The second level is the "fatty blast" we would have as the final level of charge in Brawl (seems the thin laser beam is gone).
And the ultimate laser level is a scorcher of a blast for a full 10% damage. It really sounds (and looks) better than it is because the damage is about the same as a full charge in Brawl, but this huge blast looks as though it has significantly reduced knockback. Say goodbye to off-screen KO's for the most part, the "Duck Hunt" combo is gone (Throw off Stage, Fatty Laser).
HOWEVER... the good news is the charging time for the lasers is significantly less! That is 3 seconds for the penultimate stage and only about 10 seconds for the ultimate laser. Quantity over quality at least.
or (depending on facing) + : Arm Rotor
1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 3% (12% total)
It's back... I know what your first reaction may be (and I was there too... I was there...), but it is back in a big way!
No longer must we facepalm every time we see this thing spin out (more than likely by accident when we wanted a Gyro). Why? Because the nerfs it received make it usable!
The multiple hits actually have a pretty good system to link them together... AND... there is now a final hit! The final hit has R.O.B. unleashing a bare-knuckle attack that knocks the opponent hard and very far away (although with only 3% damage), and yes it is possible to KO with this now. Although possible to KO, it really isn't anything special and most likely will not be used to KO, but it is possible, haha.
However, ANY change to the previous F-Spec is a welcomed one as any change would be better than how the previous functioned (or didn't really function). It would have been difficult to have made this attack any worse.
Note: This still gives R.O.B. some horizontal momentum when used in the air, so it may be possible to use to cancel momentum when recovering to stop from being KO'd off the side (guess we'll have some experiments to test out).
+ : Robo Burner
Once again another move which is very similar to previous versions, but this one has some control changes in that he does not go upward the same way nor putters around in the same machinations.
This will take some practice to get used to and as of this writing I am not sure if the new controls are beneficial or detrimental in comparison (I'm thinking detrimental, unfortunately, but I will remain hopeful). More investigation will be required for a more accurate understanding of this move.
I will note that his "ledge snap" seems greatly reduced but I could see why as it looked like an oversight how he "teleported" to the ledge in Brawl.
The new animation where R.O.B. puts his arms up when initiating a fuel burn to ascend is charming, though I am not sure why a robot would do such a thing unless it reduces air resistance and I don't think R.O.B. was made to do such calculations (as far as my knowledge) but I'll assume he upgraded this with the rest of his buffs.
To cancel the burn is the same in this game as before where an attack is used in the air and cuts the engines. So far this is the only way to cancel it - sorry, no Z-cancel or Jump-cancel or anything that I noticed.
I will note here that R.O.B. does not keep his momentum after canceling the burner, which saddens me as one of the only ways the N-Air was viable was to use it out of an U-Spec and "putter" a little after over my opponents heads and watch them whiff an otherwise punish. Oh wellz.
And finally we have my favoritest move EVAR:
+ : Gyro
8%, 9%, or 10% (depending on charge)
Ahh... the good ol' Gyro, R.O.B.'s defining move. There's a lot that is familiar about this move, but also some special tweaks it has received.
First off, the Gyro is weaker when charged, but stronger less charged than it was in Brawl; It dealt less damage in Brawl for the same amount of less-charge, but it quickly jumps to it's maximim damage in shorter time (sound confusing? It really isn't). The shorter time to reach a maximum damage may sound like a good thing, but what is really going on here is that the Gyro's damage due to charge is maxed at only 10% - any further charging is solely there to send the Gyro out further when fired.
This boggles my physical science mind! What were all those long hours studying and pricey classes for learning physics and natural philosophy for just to find that calculating for force, momentum, impulse, etc. amounts to less than a bucket of bolts? 10%? Outrageous.
This scientifically and personally amounts to a sad state of nerfing one of man's greatest inventions, the beautiful and elegant Gyro.
Scientific tirade aside, what else do we have here?
Well, it looks like we have a faster Gyro charge cancel (that is the amount of time taken before being able to cancel R.O.B.'s Gyro charging). What will become of this newly discovered mechanic of "Quick Charge Canceling"? Reverse-momentum Quick Charge Cancel Mixup Grab Games? Super Uber Quick Charge Flatbottom Chuck-grinding? Flying Butt Pliers Momentum Drift Fading?
Or maybe nothing really will come of it at all. But one can dream! (of electric sheep?)
Ending Comments
Unfortunately Glide-Tossing is out, so don't bother asking me about all the cool Glide Toss combos I've come up with.
But least I still have my many Gyro setups with Gyro-drops! G-drop to D-Air is still there, baby! (unfortunately the B-air is nerfed so G-drop to B-Air mixup is no more).
The Gyro is by and large still the Gyro. So the future is bright!
So bright, R.O.B. wears shades ([0 ~]
General Control
Comments
R.O.B. is back in a very familiar way, but not without a little polishing and a few new tricks!
Players of R.O.B. from Brawl may have an easier time with this veteran fighter than other players of other characters because of how similar he is and how most of his changes are buffs to some problems he had before which do not impact on gameplay. However, there are a few changes which really confuse me when playing him, specifically the B-Air and the lack of the "Glide Toss" technique, but more on that below.
Standing & Crouching
R.O.B.'s standing/idle animation runs through the same where he looks around and his arms play through an up & down motion whilst he glances about.
His crouch looks to be about as low as it ever was and plays through a similar animation as in Brawl.
Even his "teetering" animation is very similar to Brawl's (where he stands at the edge of a platform/Stage).
Nothing too much seems to be different just by looking at him... but he sure is cute ([^ ^]
Movement
R.O.B. moves very similar to how he did in Brawl, those of us who have acquainted ourselves with him will have no problems adjusting to his updated version. In fact, we may be pleasantly surprised just how well he handles while staying familiar in our gyraptoric claws.
Just a side note, I was hoping his movement would include a "crawl", but he is without such (probably too good to be belly dragging with us). However, there is an "advanced technique" I developed in Brawl to overcome this, which is essentially just walking forward and crouching frequently, kind of silly, but it never looked better than it does in the new game!
Jumps
One obvious change in how R.O.B. handles is the speed of vertical movement, which I think may be from the overall game physics itself, as the game seems to have more "gravity" to it. However, this movement isn't too much to throw off to much of R.O.B.'s game and I think he actually benefits from this quite a lot as it speeds up his seemingly now-contrasting Brawl clunkiness.
Now, one thing that has changed significantly about R.O.B. that may not be due to overall game mechanics is his "Fast-fall" speed - the speed of movement downwards when inputting "down" with the control stick after reaching the apex of a jump. R.O.B. now falls much faster, and this is very much welcomed. This new falling mechanic I find to greatly speedup his overall game and puts him into positions whereby he would not normally be able to benefit from. Very nice indeed, try it out when you can.
Dodges
His rolling dodges play through an identical animation as he spins to and fro with relative easy despite not having feet or legs, but these rolling dodges seem to be smoother and/or faster than his earlier Brawl version - I'd have to check the frame difference on this, as it could just be how the game functions and my personal perception of it, but it still works out well for dodging incoming attacks.
His side-step is as G.O.D.like as ever, but this may well be faster as well. The animation for this move has changed a bit where he tilts to one side as he side-steps, it's cute, I'm sure you'd agree. However, I am unsure if he enters into a "z-axis" like he did in Brawl where he would be less likely to be hit by hitboxes that travel along just the 2d plane.
Air dodges are similar in fashion, may be faster, may have more invincibility frames. I think all air-dodges suffer from extra landing lag in this game for game design purposes, so watch out for that.
All in all, R.O.B. will be moving in a familiar fashion, although a bit speedier; just don't let his faster falling physics fool you for fear of festering phantoms flying fortuitously and fantastically fancier (this alliteration was placed here to test my /collapse tags for fanciful forum formatting, please excuse the excessive emotive and extenuated errs of every ending. Alas, it was in vain).
Attacks/Moves
Attacks (on the ground standards)
: Standard AttackA.K.A. The "Mecha Jab"
3% & 3% (6% total)
The animation looks very similar to Brawl's, where R.O.B. delivers a one-two punch.
The reach is about as far and the hitboxes hit in a familiar area.
However the first hit has changed, this does not pop the opponent up in the same fashion as it did in Brawl. The opponent will barely leave the ground until much higher damage percent making a combo into a F-Smash or other attack practically nonviable.
The first hit quickly leads into the second in much the same fashion as it did before. There are no "rapid jab" animations that this attack runs through like the other characters have been given, it's just the two hits whether you hold the button down or mash on it.
<=
or => (to Dash) + : Dash AttackA.K.A. The "Tronic Impact"
This looks a little different from how it did in Brawl, but functions very similarly. This attack now has R.O.B. visibly swinging his arms down... pretty much like before, but it is clearly visible what exactly he is doing now: He basically clobbers his opponent over the noggin and it shows thanks to the new "air slash" effects in this game. *Bonk* Ouch, that smarts.
:Grab/HoldA.K.A. The "Mecha Grapple"
Essentially the same animation and similar collision area properties as we'd expect from Brawl. R.O.B. targets his opponent like they were a delicious Gyro ready to be spun and grapples them in his mighty robotic claws.
A note about the name: I like the name "Power Claw" too, but maybe that should be used for something a little more special?
<=
or => (to Dash) + : Dashing GrabA.K.A. The "Tronic Grapple"
Essentially the same a in Brawl both in form and in function where R.O.B. latches out and squeezes his opponents into his claws.
The timing for the Pivot Grab works out nearly the same as well in execution, so don't let the new Pivot Tilts come out instead and throw your game off.
Hold +
: PummelA.K.A. The "Piston Press"
2% each strike
Same ol' pummel as in Brawl, where it looks like he's squeezing his victim's life-breath right out of their lungs. Brutal.
Strong Attacks (A.K.A. "Tilts")
or (depending on facing) + : Strong ForwardA.K.A.The "Robo Hook"
8% (far)
6% (close)
Not much different here, R.O.B. throws out a metallic left-hook for considerable reach and decent knockback (I used to KO with this in Brawl, not sure about that this time around). Although it seems like a little slower of an attack, it also feels like there may be more weight behind it (read: knockback) with a "sweet-spot". Could be a bit shorter range, but difficult to tell without visible hitbox detection; the amount of effort to do a proper comparison wouldn't be worth the accurate depiction, so I'll leave that conjecture at a "maybe" for now.
(nudge) + : Strong DownA.K.A. The "Piston Punch"
5%
Nearly identical to Brawl's version. Seems to string into itself about as well and may force a trip about as well (though I am not sure how to accurately contrast the trip rate without looking at the new version's code). However, just going by gut instincts I'd say it might be tripping a bit less frequent.
Also unsure about the range of hitboxes, but I feel like it might have been shortened just slightly.
(nudge) + : Strong UpA.K.A. The Piston Push
5% (close)
3% (far)
Raise the roof once again; seems to look and function nearly identical to the Brawl version, but doesn't seem to quite hit out along the sides as well (pretty sure of this). So the silly trick to use against fast-fallers (read: Fox) does not work anymore either due to the side hitboxes being shrunk or eliminated or just due to the physics changes of the game itself.
Grabs, Holds, & Throws
R.O.B.'s Throws have been both buffed and nerfed in ways, but overall I am happy with how they have changed. In brawl his Throws uniformly dealt 10% damage, but now they have a variety of amounts depending on which way you toss 'em.
Hold +
or (depending on facing) : Forward ThrowA.K.A. The "Reject Eject"
8%
Same animation where R.O.B. looks like he "pushes" his opponent away like they are a rotten Gyro. The daqmage reduction is saddening, but not too traumatic, we'll get over it, I'm sure. Think of it this way, if you accidentally grab your teammate in a team battle you can use this throw to get rid of them for minimal damage.
Hold +
: Up ThrowA.K.A. The "Robotic Piledriver"
12%
Still the "Robotic Piledriver" as the commentators at EVO 2009 poetically dubbed it 5 years ago. This usually caught my opponents off guard in Brawl well enough I could follow it up with a meaty U-air attack scoring a satisfying amount of damage, but now at low damage it pretty much guarantees a combo into U-Aiar (which as nerfed damage, but more on that later) - also look for other avenues of follow-up attacks such as F-Air, U-Tilt, or even... (drool) an U-Smash.
Hold +
: Down ThrowA.K.A. The "Turbo Jackhammer"
10%
As with the U-Throw this hasn't changed much, as it still deals the same damage as in Brawl, but now you can combo out of it better. Very welcoming change due to the physics of the game, I am sure, so have fun with this one (hint: You can score a KO out of this with the U-Air... WOW!)
Hold +
or (depending on facing): Back ThrowA.K.A. The "Retro Spin-dry"
10%
Very similar to Brawl's version, nearly the same if not in form & function then practicality. It is still there to toss someone away and most likely for using it to throw an opponent off stage for R.O.B.'s awesome stage guard finishes (eat a D-air, k?).
Smash Attacks
or (depending on facing): Forward SmashA.K.A. The "Zapper Eye-gun"
6% (far)
11% (mid)
15% (close)
This looks great and receives buffs as well as looks. R.O.B. now crouches down and stares intently at his opponent before blasting out a coherent beam of LASER. The buffs it receives are mostly in range where it seems there is another hitbox at the end which extends the reach even further. As much as this may seem awesome, it is a much lighter hit (6%), but it is still a welcomed buff.
Yes, this attack can still be angled three different ways (up, side, down).
In my humble opinion the best buff this move got was in the way of a new animation where R.O.B. spins his head - This is top tier in Charging Smash Animations, right up there with Jigglypuff's charging D-Smash animation. I am sure you will agree when you see this new F-Smash charge ([^ ^]
: Down SmashA.K.A. The "Turbo Rotor"
1%, 2%, 5%, 5% (13% total)
Although this looks very similar to Brawl's version this now sends the opponent horizontal when hit, which makes it a better tool to snuff foes down to their doom, especially those who have less than awesome vertical recoveries.
Like the F-Smash, this also has a new charging smash animation, but this time R.O.B. will look like he is flexing mightily before striking.
: Up SmashA.K.A. The "Retro Burner"
3% & 13% (16% total)
This was a great K.O. attack in Brawl and it is even better this time around if but for one buff: a new hitbox strikes low which launches the opponent right into the strong blast for quite a burning wallop.
Aerial Attacks
(in air): Neutral Aerial AttackA.K.A. The "Spire Burner"
8%
This seems very similar to his former N-Air, but this is one move that has been "nerfed" through it could be for the better: The nerf lessened the damage done and it is nearly impractical to be used for a KO.
The good thing about this nerf is it puts the N-Air right into its rightful role of a combo starter which I extensively used it for and tried to refrain from pushing too much for its (over) use of a KO option.
N-Air starters at low percentages work just as good in this as in Brawl if not better, still has its timing to get down an IASA or auto-cancel, however you want to call it, but be aware of the new gravity and fast-falling mechanics as this may blunder your bunson into picking up some unwanted lag.
or (depending on facing) + : Forward Aerial AttackA.K.A. The "Circuit Breaker"
7%
This looks very similar to Brawl's version but with the new "air slash" effects it now looks more like an overhead wallop similar to how the Dash Attack looks like one.
Sadly (?) this too has been nerfed, but like other nerfs it is not without some compensation as the nerf comes in lessened damage which may result in possible better repeated wallopings given the circumstances. But I have to opine the other nerf which is the reduced duration of active hitbox frames, as the later hitbox frames are no longer there so I can't "tap" my opponents when desired.
or (depending on facing) + : Back Aerial AttackA.K.A. The "Back Burner"
12%
This got both nerfed and buffed, but unlike the other attacks that got nerfed, the changes did not create any kind of benefit whatsoever and one of my favorite KO options (and attacks in general) is just a shell of its former mix-up self.
First off the "shoulder" hitbox is gone so you can't ram into an opponent with the front of R.O.B.
Secondly, the startup is much longer (and noticeably so, yuck).
And lastly, the landing lag cancel just isn't there for R.O.B. like it used to be, so no speedy last-minute B-Air opportunities.
Were these nerfs justified? Was the move just "too good"? I do not believe so; not sure why they decided to nerf this so much, but for whatever reasons (if any) we'll just have to make the best of it.
The good news is this attack seems like a bit larger, or maybe it is just the animation effects, but it sort of feels like it is also hitting at a more horizontal trajectory. Still seems to hit about as hard, not sure if there is a change to the knockback.
+ : Downward Aerial AttackA.K.A. The "Meteor Burner"
11%(far)
12(close)
Very similar to the Brawl D-Air that we've come to love, but the explosion looks fantastic. Not sure if it is any bigger in the hitbox range, but the looks of the attack seem bigger and, if anything, it would be more intimidating.
The functionality still remains the same, blasting opponents straight down to their fiery deaths.
Unfortunately that one little hitbox still lurks within it that occasionally pops the opponent up rather than sending them down. I wish they got rid of it as even in this new version there seems to be no use for it.
Also a rather unfortunate detriment to this attack is now being unable to run off the side of a Stage and blasting a D-Air immediately so as to pop R.O.B. back up onto the Stage with no lag. I believe this is due to the physics of the game and/or R.O.B.'s new weightiness. I am very sad about this as I used to use this a lot to trick my opponents into thinking I just lagged myself quite a bit with a D-Air only to find they are eating a Smash attack.
Special Attacks
: Robo Beam7% (close)
4% (semi-charged)
10% (fully charged)
I'm going to jump right into what is new about this attack which otherwise is nearly the same: A new level of Charge! That's right, R.O.B.'s Beam just got better with a more powerful laser to be unleashed.
The first level is an "uncharged" blast that fires a heat shock in front of R.O.B.'s face for 7%.
The second level is the "fatty blast" we would have as the final level of charge in Brawl (seems the thin laser beam is gone).
And the ultimate laser level is a scorcher of a blast for a full 10% damage. It really sounds (and looks) better than it is because the damage is about the same as a full charge in Brawl, but this huge blast looks as though it has significantly reduced knockback. Say goodbye to off-screen KO's for the most part, the "Duck Hunt" combo is gone (Throw off Stage, Fatty Laser).
HOWEVER... the good news is the charging time for the lasers is significantly less! That is 3 seconds for the penultimate stage and only about 10 seconds for the ultimate laser. Quantity over quality at least.
or (depending on facing) + : Arm Rotor1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 1%, 3% (12% total)
It's back... I know what your first reaction may be (and I was there too... I was there...), but it is back in a big way!
No longer must we facepalm every time we see this thing spin out (more than likely by accident when we wanted a Gyro). Why? Because the nerfs it received make it usable!
The multiple hits actually have a pretty good system to link them together... AND... there is now a final hit! The final hit has R.O.B. unleashing a bare-knuckle attack that knocks the opponent hard and very far away (although with only 3% damage), and yes it is possible to KO with this now. Although possible to KO, it really isn't anything special and most likely will not be used to KO, but it is possible, haha.
However, ANY change to the previous F-Spec is a welcomed one as any change would be better than how the previous functioned (or didn't really function). It would have been difficult to have made this attack any worse.
Note: This still gives R.O.B. some horizontal momentum when used in the air, so it may be possible to use to cancel momentum when recovering to stop from being KO'd off the side (guess we'll have some experiments to test out).
+ : Robo BurnerOnce again another move which is very similar to previous versions, but this one has some control changes in that he does not go upward the same way nor putters around in the same machinations.
This will take some practice to get used to and as of this writing I am not sure if the new controls are beneficial or detrimental in comparison (I'm thinking detrimental, unfortunately, but I will remain hopeful). More investigation will be required for a more accurate understanding of this move.
I will note that his "ledge snap" seems greatly reduced but I could see why as it looked like an oversight how he "teleported" to the ledge in Brawl.
The new animation where R.O.B. puts his arms up when initiating a fuel burn to ascend is charming, though I am not sure why a robot would do such a thing unless it reduces air resistance and I don't think R.O.B. was made to do such calculations (as far as my knowledge) but I'll assume he upgraded this with the rest of his buffs.
To cancel the burn is the same in this game as before where an attack is used in the air and cuts the engines. So far this is the only way to cancel it - sorry, no Z-cancel or Jump-cancel or anything that I noticed.
I will note here that R.O.B. does not keep his momentum after canceling the burner, which saddens me as one of the only ways the N-Air was viable was to use it out of an U-Spec and "putter" a little after over my opponents heads and watch them whiff an otherwise punish. Oh wellz.
And finally we have my favoritest move EVAR:
+ : Gyro8%, 9%, or 10% (depending on charge)
Ahh... the good ol' Gyro, R.O.B.'s defining move. There's a lot that is familiar about this move, but also some special tweaks it has received.
First off, the Gyro is weaker when charged, but stronger less charged than it was in Brawl; It dealt less damage in Brawl for the same amount of less-charge, but it quickly jumps to it's maximim damage in shorter time (sound confusing? It really isn't). The shorter time to reach a maximum damage may sound like a good thing, but what is really going on here is that the Gyro's damage due to charge is maxed at only 10% - any further charging is solely there to send the Gyro out further when fired.
This boggles my physical science mind! What were all those long hours studying and pricey classes for learning physics and natural philosophy for just to find that calculating for force, momentum, impulse, etc. amounts to less than a bucket of bolts? 10%? Outrageous.
This scientifically and personally amounts to a sad state of nerfing one of man's greatest inventions, the beautiful and elegant Gyro.
Scientific tirade aside, what else do we have here?
Well, it looks like we have a faster Gyro charge cancel (that is the amount of time taken before being able to cancel R.O.B.'s Gyro charging). What will become of this newly discovered mechanic of "Quick Charge Canceling"? Reverse-momentum Quick Charge Cancel Mixup Grab Games? Super Uber Quick Charge Flatbottom Chuck-grinding? Flying Butt Pliers Momentum Drift Fading?
Or maybe nothing really will come of it at all. But one can dream! (of electric sheep?)
Ending Comments
Unfortunately Glide-Tossing is out, so don't bother asking me about all the cool Glide Toss combos I've come up with.
But least I still have my many Gyro setups with Gyro-drops! G-drop to D-Air is still there, baby! (unfortunately the B-air is nerfed so G-drop to B-Air mixup is no more).
The Gyro is by and large still the Gyro. So the future is bright!
So bright, R.O.B. wears shades ([0 ~]
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