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So why Helicopter Kick > Piston Punch?

Ridel

Smash Ace
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
801
Location
Lucidia
NNID
Lowly_RiDEL
Switch FC
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I've been using both moves back to back and I don't quite understand why HK is used so much more over PP now. Is there something I'm missing?
 

wizrad

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Aug 11, 2015
Messages
496
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Europe, hopefully
NNID
nin10L3ro
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Helicopter Kick kills earlier on most stages. In addition, I personally find it easier to combo into.
 

AEMehr

Mii Fighter
Moderator
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Jun 16, 2009
Messages
7,702
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SoCal
The blast zones to the sides are usually closer than the one above. Which is why it is usually preferred.
 

Zoramine Fae

Smash Journeyman
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Nov 24, 2015
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227
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United States of Go Screw Yourself
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I have to say that pretty much what everyone else is saying is true. Halberd and Delfino if memory serves have low upper blastzones making Piston Punch preffered there but other stages have closer side blastzones, making Hurricane Kick better. Hurricane Kick also offers more left-to-right recovery while Piston Punch very heavily reminds me of Little Mac's recovery. It's also easier to hit people with Hurricane Kick since you can cover some horizontal distance with it on stage while Piston Punch can only catch people next to you or jumping.
 

T0MMY

Smash Master
Joined
Sep 20, 2005
Messages
3,342
Location
Oregon
It should be noted that the blast zones' distance referenced are probably being estimated at the extreme edge of the main Stage platform. Helicopter Kick may not KO earlier when calculated from more mid-distance locations and Piston Punch would probably come out as a better KO option from platforms above Stage, especially considering 4 of the 7 most commonly used Stages have significantly elevated platforms and 2 others have not-extremely elevated platforms. Two of these commonly used Stages also have shorter-than-average ceiling KO areas (Dreamland and Town & City). Bringing Delfino and Halberd into the equation (which I heard may be used at Evo2k16) really brings out the KO'ing potential in PP.
Keep in mind that some characters may be KO'd out of the top area easier than side areas and also the setup into these moves are a thought factor.
As far as recovery options go, the Feint Jump offers supreme horizontal recovery and suppliments PP excellently both for distance and mixing up timing/area recovery options. I personally run Burning Drop Kick with my Piston Punch, doubling up on horizontal recovery.
In summary, I have used PP since day 1 of Japanese 3DS release and still run with it.
 
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