If you compare Smash to just about any other 2D fighter out there you will notice one clear difference. Instead of being boxed in by invisible walls, Smash is played on stages. Being knocked off the stage too far in any of the four cardinal directions is death. It doesn’t matter how heavy or how low of a percentage you are at; the edge can be a dangerous place for anyone. Because of this, keeping someone from getting back to the stage and likewise, recovering from being knocked off, is a large portion of battle. Both of these strategies would be simple tasks if it weren’t for the edge.
To put it simply, an edge is any part of the stage you can grab and hold on to. Some stages have two edges. Some have more than two, and some have none. When recovering from being knocked off a stage, being able to grab on to the edge allows characters to recover from greater distances. Instead of having to aim and then successfully land on top of the stage, the character can aim close to the edge and grab on. This is critical. If the only option was to land on top of the stage, then all one would need to do is wait until the opponent lands (or just before), and then smash them right back off.
The only thing that prevents players from smashing each other off edges is a momentary period of invincibility. By grabbing the edge, all characters have a moment of invincibility to use however they want. Fortunately the player has a number of options. From hanging on the edge you can drop down, jump backwards, jump up, stand up, attack up, or roll up. If any of these actions are performed while the invincibility time is still active, they can be turned into effective strategies. It’s amazing what a little invincibility can do.<!--more-->
What’s great about the edge invincibility is that it provides a way for the momentum to shift into the hands of the player on the edge. In other words, if your opponent couldn’t prevent you from getting back to the stage, then you have an opportunity to successfully turn the tables. And because the opponent in this case would probably be on or near the edge to prevent you from getting back, they’ll still be a dangerous place when the tables turn. It’s all about risks and rewards.
There are other places where small amounts of invincibility were added to help maintain the balance of risk/reward and offense/defense. When you’re hit into the air you have a couple of recovery options the moment before you collide with the ground . You can either tech left, tech right, tech in place, or do nothing. When teching you’re invincible, which helps you escape from tricky situations. If you decide to do nothing you will eventually bounce/slide to a complete stop. From this stopping point you can roll left, roll right, stand up, or get up while attacking. When attacking from the ground, you’re invincible and your attack has a unique hit that knocks enemies away short distances. With proper timing, you can turn the tables on your opponent and knock them to the ground as you’re getting up successfully switching your position from defense to offense. All of your other options don’t attack and therefore don’t put the opponent at any risk of being hit. Choosing the attack get up sacrifices movement for the chance of a reversal. This is how the balance is maintained.
Certain attacks even have small amounts of invincibility in them. Donkey Kong’s charge B punch has a moment of invincibility when the punch his released at max charge. Mario’s up smash has a small amount right where his head is at the beginning of the smash animation. This allows Mario to overcome many attacks with a proper timing. Little touches like this are what make the moves and characters more fluid. If it weren’t for such little touches of invincibility, some moves would be too hard to pull off. Unfortunately, Melee wasn’t balanced enough to fully flesh out such ideas among all the characters. Brawl is another story.
We’ve already been told that some of the “bad” characters were going to be tweaked with new styles or flavors. And we know that the heavy characters are going to have unflinching moves. Efforts like these can only be to balance out the characters and to make the game more playable. This is a good sign. Just think, if DK’s foward+B attack was unflinching, then perhaps he could actually use the attack. The way it is now, it doesn’t have enough range, power, or benefits. How about this frightening thought: FALCON….(unflinching)… PUNCH!
To put it simply, an edge is any part of the stage you can grab and hold on to. Some stages have two edges. Some have more than two, and some have none. When recovering from being knocked off a stage, being able to grab on to the edge allows characters to recover from greater distances. Instead of having to aim and then successfully land on top of the stage, the character can aim close to the edge and grab on. This is critical. If the only option was to land on top of the stage, then all one would need to do is wait until the opponent lands (or just before), and then smash them right back off.
The only thing that prevents players from smashing each other off edges is a momentary period of invincibility. By grabbing the edge, all characters have a moment of invincibility to use however they want. Fortunately the player has a number of options. From hanging on the edge you can drop down, jump backwards, jump up, stand up, attack up, or roll up. If any of these actions are performed while the invincibility time is still active, they can be turned into effective strategies. It’s amazing what a little invincibility can do.<!--more-->
What’s great about the edge invincibility is that it provides a way for the momentum to shift into the hands of the player on the edge. In other words, if your opponent couldn’t prevent you from getting back to the stage, then you have an opportunity to successfully turn the tables. And because the opponent in this case would probably be on or near the edge to prevent you from getting back, they’ll still be a dangerous place when the tables turn. It’s all about risks and rewards.
There are other places where small amounts of invincibility were added to help maintain the balance of risk/reward and offense/defense. When you’re hit into the air you have a couple of recovery options the moment before you collide with the ground . You can either tech left, tech right, tech in place, or do nothing. When teching you’re invincible, which helps you escape from tricky situations. If you decide to do nothing you will eventually bounce/slide to a complete stop. From this stopping point you can roll left, roll right, stand up, or get up while attacking. When attacking from the ground, you’re invincible and your attack has a unique hit that knocks enemies away short distances. With proper timing, you can turn the tables on your opponent and knock them to the ground as you’re getting up successfully switching your position from defense to offense. All of your other options don’t attack and therefore don’t put the opponent at any risk of being hit. Choosing the attack get up sacrifices movement for the chance of a reversal. This is how the balance is maintained.
Certain attacks even have small amounts of invincibility in them. Donkey Kong’s charge B punch has a moment of invincibility when the punch his released at max charge. Mario’s up smash has a small amount right where his head is at the beginning of the smash animation. This allows Mario to overcome many attacks with a proper timing. Little touches like this are what make the moves and characters more fluid. If it weren’t for such little touches of invincibility, some moves would be too hard to pull off. Unfortunately, Melee wasn’t balanced enough to fully flesh out such ideas among all the characters. Brawl is another story.
We’ve already been told that some of the “bad” characters were going to be tweaked with new styles or flavors. And we know that the heavy characters are going to have unflinching moves. Efforts like these can only be to balance out the characters and to make the game more playable. This is a good sign. Just think, if DK’s foward+B attack was unflinching, then perhaps he could actually use the attack. The way it is now, it doesn’t have enough range, power, or benefits. How about this frightening thought: FALCON….(unflinching)… PUNCH!
