B1gBandJazZ
Smash Cadet
Hey guys, just wanted to post some of my thoughts on why 3-stocks for Smash 4 can, and should be, the norm.
Before I go on, *Please take a look* at this extremely hype money match between Izaw (Link) and Haze (Captain Falcon).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBrvgR-c1VQ
It's an incredible Best of 7 set. Here, we see two very high-level Smashers, playing five matches on four different stages, and neither player playing as Diddy Kong (nothing against Diddy players though, haha).
This is probably my favorite video of competitive Smash 4 so far, for a wide range of reasons:
Stock Count
Notice how every game is 3 stocks. Yet, (at least to me), none of the stocks felt like they were dragging or getting boring. In fact, the longest drought (time between a stock being lost) was in game 3, which lasted only 1 minute and 12 seconds. (starts at 8:57)
Game 3 also had the shortest drought in the entire set, lasting a mere 9 seconds (starts at 10:12).
I did some math, calculating the amount of time it took for each player to take the other's stocks:
On average, there was a drought of 41.71 seconds between each stock. In my opinion, that's not too bad.
Speaking of time, I think it's quite interesting to see how long each game took:
Game 1 - 3:43
Game 2 - 2:33
Game 3 - 2:39
Game 4 - 2:58
Game 5 - 2:43
None of these games ever passed 4 minutes in length, which I think is extremely impressive.
Offstage Play
Check out 11:10 in the video. Here in Game 4, Falcon down throws Link and waits for Link's air dodge to go for an Up air. At this point, both players are off stage on the left hand side. For the next 10 seconds, Izaw and Haze battle it out off stage, before going back to neutral.
While this may not be the most entertaining segment of the set, it illustrates a major point of this game that I believe not enough players are utilizing in their play: offstage gameplay.
One of the main criticisms I've seen of Smash 4 is that the recoveries of most of the characters are ridiculously good. Couple this with the ledge trump mechanics, and it would appear that players have incredible difficulty at netting those K.O.'s
This is, of course, if we're talking about just staying on stage and getting our K.O’s by smash attacks and Star K.O’s.
Every iteration of Smash can be boiled down to certain, basic levels of gameplay:
That last part is incredibly huge in this newest iteration of Smash, as now players can utilize their “ridiculous recoveries” and “ledge trumping mechanics” to secure their K.O’s far off the stage. Not only does this allow for quicker matches, but can also lead to some extremely hype offstage play.
Speaking of hype…
Hype
There was some extremely hype highlights in this match. Just check out the sick stomp KO, starting at 10:11, or the insane off stage gimps starting at 13:44, as well as a plethora of hype kills during the montage starting at 17:06. Obviously, both these players are aware of their characters’ offstage presence, what attacks string together with other attacks, etc. There’s a lot going on in just this video alone, and I believe that it’s a great example of how future Smash 4 matches can go if players utilize their offstage gameplay more and take more risks with their edge guards. Just this alone can lead to some hype sets, and I’m quite excited to see how the competitive scene evolves.
Thanks for reading guys, and I’d love to discuss your thoughts on everything I’ve talked about here.
TL;DR: More offstage gameplay and riskier edge guards can lead to hype sets, making 3 stock matches exciting to watch.
Before I go on, *Please take a look* at this extremely hype money match between Izaw (Link) and Haze (Captain Falcon).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBrvgR-c1VQ
It's an incredible Best of 7 set. Here, we see two very high-level Smashers, playing five matches on four different stages, and neither player playing as Diddy Kong (nothing against Diddy players though, haha).
This is probably my favorite video of competitive Smash 4 so far, for a wide range of reasons:
Stock Count
Notice how every game is 3 stocks. Yet, (at least to me), none of the stocks felt like they were dragging or getting boring. In fact, the longest drought (time between a stock being lost) was in game 3, which lasted only 1 minute and 12 seconds. (starts at 8:57)
Game 3 also had the shortest drought in the entire set, lasting a mere 9 seconds (starts at 10:12).
I did some math, calculating the amount of time it took for each player to take the other's stocks:
On average, there was a drought of 41.71 seconds between each stock. In my opinion, that's not too bad.
Speaking of time, I think it's quite interesting to see how long each game took:
Game 1 - 3:43
Game 2 - 2:33
Game 3 - 2:39
Game 4 - 2:58
Game 5 - 2:43
None of these games ever passed 4 minutes in length, which I think is extremely impressive.
Offstage Play
Check out 11:10 in the video. Here in Game 4, Falcon down throws Link and waits for Link's air dodge to go for an Up air. At this point, both players are off stage on the left hand side. For the next 10 seconds, Izaw and Haze battle it out off stage, before going back to neutral.
While this may not be the most entertaining segment of the set, it illustrates a major point of this game that I believe not enough players are utilizing in their play: offstage gameplay.
One of the main criticisms I've seen of Smash 4 is that the recoveries of most of the characters are ridiculously good. Couple this with the ledge trump mechanics, and it would appear that players have incredible difficulty at netting those K.O.'s
This is, of course, if we're talking about just staying on stage and getting our K.O’s by smash attacks and Star K.O’s.
Every iteration of Smash can be boiled down to certain, basic levels of gameplay:
- Neutral - Players tack on damage and try to gain positional advantage. Keitaro and False from Rush Hour Smash have an excellent video on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYWXCTKKDV0
- Punish- Taking advantage of an opponent's mistake(s), and capitalizing on it to rack on huge damage or gain the K.O.
- Ledge - Knocking a player off the stage, and securing the K.O with either an edgeguard or edgehog.
That last part is incredibly huge in this newest iteration of Smash, as now players can utilize their “ridiculous recoveries” and “ledge trumping mechanics” to secure their K.O’s far off the stage. Not only does this allow for quicker matches, but can also lead to some extremely hype offstage play.
Speaking of hype…
Hype
There was some extremely hype highlights in this match. Just check out the sick stomp KO, starting at 10:11, or the insane off stage gimps starting at 13:44, as well as a plethora of hype kills during the montage starting at 17:06. Obviously, both these players are aware of their characters’ offstage presence, what attacks string together with other attacks, etc. There’s a lot going on in just this video alone, and I believe that it’s a great example of how future Smash 4 matches can go if players utilize their offstage gameplay more and take more risks with their edge guards. Just this alone can lead to some hype sets, and I’m quite excited to see how the competitive scene evolves.
Thanks for reading guys, and I’d love to discuss your thoughts on everything I’ve talked about here.
TL;DR: More offstage gameplay and riskier edge guards can lead to hype sets, making 3 stock matches exciting to watch.