Natch
Smash Ace
I decided to edit this thing in word and re-post it here, but it turns out there's more to this than I thought. It's going to be longer. I'm currently at about 2,500 words for my revision, and I'm lucky if I'm 1/3 done. In contrast, what you see before you is about 1,500 words.
To be honest, the "revision" is more akin to an entirely new Dissertation than an actual edit. I'll probably have to open a new topic so I can spread it out among two or more posts. I'm sorry I'm not done yet, but I promise you it will be amazing once I finish it.
Before anything important happens, I’d like to tell you about my history with Brawl and Smash in general.
I’ve been playing since SSB, but I was far too young to even know about the competitive community. Same with SSBM-later on, I had a brief interest in tournaments-check my join date to see the timeframe-but I never actually went to one. I did know about Wavedashing and L-Canceling, and actually tried to learn how to do them consistently. It didn’t go anywhere, but the point is that I knew about the competitive Smash community, but only just. To give you an idea, I thought Gannondorf was somewhere around Low Tier in Melee until just a month or two ago.
Time passes, I lose my interest. There was too much happening in those years for me too have an interest. Fast forward. Brawl is announced, and I along with everyone and their dog wants Ridley in (**** you Sakurai. On an unrelated note, I had planned to use MK when I got the game-he looked cool. I never actually ended up doing so). Brawl comes out, and my interested in competitive Smash is rekindled. I still didn’t know much about things, but I was reading stuff and trying to do ATs and such.
Fast forward to late Sept ’08; I go to my first tourney and get owned-lost twice in a row. Winner’s, Loser’s, and then out of the tournament. This trend continues. It keeps continuing. People start to recognize that I know my stuff, but nothing beyond that-the nickname in my signature is a running joke down in SoCal. At my most recent tourney-one that actually had a big turnout with respected players-I got 49th out of 87 people, the best I’ve done so far.
M’kay, now that you know more about me, I’m moving on. Before anything else, I’m going to make a few statements/disclaimers so you know where I’m coming from.
Notes and Disclaimers:
1. I’m not forcing you to do anything. Use whatever control scheme you like.
2. I’m not perfect-if I have something wrong, tell me in a non-threatening manner. I’m looking to make a good guide, and this is a dissertation after all.
3. This is for the Gamecube controller ONLY, though you can apply the logic used here to the Classic Controller as well-it has the same functionally and general button location, except it has an extra shoulder button.
4. I am assuming you DON’T claw the controller as part of your normal gameplay. If you claw the controller for certain ATs, this will still work for you.
5. If you make any sort of changes, keep in mind you are going to suck while you’re relearning the muscle memory.
6. I shall quantify how “good” a control scheme is by figuring out how many things it requires your fingers to do, and how easily can you perform them.
7. I have big hands. I’m 6’ 3.5’’, and my hands are larger than average. This may affect what I’m about to say, but I feel the principal still stands.
Default Control Scheme-Where are the Fingers?
Left Index Finger: This one was on L.
Left Thumb: This one was on the Analog Stick. You can move around and Jump.
Right Index Finger: This one was on Z and R.
Right Thumb: This one was on X/Y, A, B, and the C-Stick.
What does all this mean? Well, enough among this control scheme, there is an optimal way to use it. Ideally, you would use L with your Left Index Finger so you could dedicate your Right Index Finger to Z. The Y button would rarely be used, since your Thumb naturally tends to follow an arc if you move it from the C-Stick, to B, to A, and then finally to X. Y’s only use would be to offer you a way of pressing Y after hitting A. From my testing-assuming your Right Index Finger is on Z-your entire hand has to shift in order to hit Y.
So, after the amending changes, we come up with this.
Left Index Finger: This one covers L.
Left Thumb: Analog Stick
Right Index Finger: Z button. No reason to use R.
Right Thumb: This one was on X/Y, A, B, and the C-Stick. Y is used less frequently, as X is the better option more often than not.
Common Changes to the Default Control Scheme:
Tap Jump Off: Even though I myself use this, I now believe Tap Jump Off has an unbalanced Pros:Cons ratio. The Cons outweigh the pros. The benefits you gain are as follows:
1. You can more easily perform a Utilt.
2. You can more easily aim your shield upwards without jumping out.
3. You won’t risk using your second jump if you Uair or Up+B.
The cons are as follows:
1. You can no longer Up+B or Upsmash out of Shield without doing some crazy **** with your hands.
It is still possible to perform Utilts or aim your shield without jumping out with Tap Jump on. It’s just more difficult. In the case of number 3, jumping with X, then hitting the C-Stick eliminates the Uair problem. The Up+B problem remains, but it’s not really a problem. I see no reason why you would not want to use your second jump before using Up+B.
Setting Grab to Y: There’s nothing wrong with this. I’ve seen it often enough-I used it myself, and still do. It’s just an easier way to grab if for reason Z bothers you, or you like to shield with R instead of L.
The Optimal Control Scheme-What buttons are required, and what do they do?:
I shall only list what they do if things change from the Default Control Scheme.
Left Index Finger: L button.
Left Thumb: Analog Stick
Right Index Finger: Z button. This one Jumps.
Right Thumb: C-Stick, B, A, and X buttons. X is Grab.
Basically, all I did was switch X and Z. Why?
It’s better to dedicate a single finger to Jumping instead of Grabbing. Here is a sample case; you are running at the opponent and you shorthop, intending to C-Stick your next aerial for whatever reason. Their shield goes up after you short hop. Your thumb is all the way at the C-Stick, and would have to move back to X. Pressing up on the Analog stick may be viable, but you’re a little more limited in terms of aerial control when you do that, and your thumb has to move a longer distance than your finger would if it’s pressing Z.
If you had set Z to Jump, you can chose to Jump again sooner-and with more control-than you have otherwise. Sure, you only jumped a few frames or so sooner, but those frames count. You want every advantage you can get, don’t you?
On the flipside, setting X to Grab is simply because your thumb moves in that nice little “arc.” If you have to angle your hand off of the controller somewhat to hit Y-assuming your index finger’s on Z-and that makes for a more sluggish reaction time.
The reason I choose Z over R is because you’ll be quicker to press Z than you would R, if only by a few frames, Those springs take longer to press down than Z would.
Now, R and Y are wildcard buttons that should be used rarely. These buttons can be set to whatever you want. For example, I set R to Grab for the purposes of still being able to Mortarslide with an approximate muscle memory. If for some reason I need to Jump instead of Mortslide, there’s no worry. By the time I need to hit R, I’ve already committed to the dash attack-I would have to choose to jump before I hit C-Stick down. As a bonus, the slight delay on pressing R-in comparison to Z-doesn’t apply here, as the button I have to press first is the C-Stick. I can just press R sooner than I would Z.
For Y, I also have that set to Grab. As Snake, I learned how to do his Boost Grab-canceling his Dash with a Grab. I practiced hitting A, then rolling my thumb to Y. I find can do this without having to move my hand as much.
I whole-heartedly believe that setting Z to Jump, X to Grab, leaving Tap Jump On, and shielding with L instead of R is the best control scheme you could have-it provides the quickest reaction, and leaves all of your fingers immobile except your Right Thumb. Your Right Index Finger will move occasionally, but not nearly as much as your Right Thumb is.
Besides that, thank you for reading. I hope you take something from this.
To be honest, the "revision" is more akin to an entirely new Dissertation than an actual edit. I'll probably have to open a new topic so I can spread it out among two or more posts. I'm sorry I'm not done yet, but I promise you it will be amazing once I finish it.
Before anything important happens, I’d like to tell you about my history with Brawl and Smash in general.
I’ve been playing since SSB, but I was far too young to even know about the competitive community. Same with SSBM-later on, I had a brief interest in tournaments-check my join date to see the timeframe-but I never actually went to one. I did know about Wavedashing and L-Canceling, and actually tried to learn how to do them consistently. It didn’t go anywhere, but the point is that I knew about the competitive Smash community, but only just. To give you an idea, I thought Gannondorf was somewhere around Low Tier in Melee until just a month or two ago.
Time passes, I lose my interest. There was too much happening in those years for me too have an interest. Fast forward. Brawl is announced, and I along with everyone and their dog wants Ridley in (**** you Sakurai. On an unrelated note, I had planned to use MK when I got the game-he looked cool. I never actually ended up doing so). Brawl comes out, and my interested in competitive Smash is rekindled. I still didn’t know much about things, but I was reading stuff and trying to do ATs and such.
Fast forward to late Sept ’08; I go to my first tourney and get owned-lost twice in a row. Winner’s, Loser’s, and then out of the tournament. This trend continues. It keeps continuing. People start to recognize that I know my stuff, but nothing beyond that-the nickname in my signature is a running joke down in SoCal. At my most recent tourney-one that actually had a big turnout with respected players-I got 49th out of 87 people, the best I’ve done so far.
M’kay, now that you know more about me, I’m moving on. Before anything else, I’m going to make a few statements/disclaimers so you know where I’m coming from.
Notes and Disclaimers:
1. I’m not forcing you to do anything. Use whatever control scheme you like.
2. I’m not perfect-if I have something wrong, tell me in a non-threatening manner. I’m looking to make a good guide, and this is a dissertation after all.
3. This is for the Gamecube controller ONLY, though you can apply the logic used here to the Classic Controller as well-it has the same functionally and general button location, except it has an extra shoulder button.
4. I am assuming you DON’T claw the controller as part of your normal gameplay. If you claw the controller for certain ATs, this will still work for you.
5. If you make any sort of changes, keep in mind you are going to suck while you’re relearning the muscle memory.
6. I shall quantify how “good” a control scheme is by figuring out how many things it requires your fingers to do, and how easily can you perform them.
7. I have big hands. I’m 6’ 3.5’’, and my hands are larger than average. This may affect what I’m about to say, but I feel the principal still stands.
Default Control Scheme-Where are the Fingers?
Left Index Finger: This one was on L.
Left Thumb: This one was on the Analog Stick. You can move around and Jump.
Right Index Finger: This one was on Z and R.
Right Thumb: This one was on X/Y, A, B, and the C-Stick.
What does all this mean? Well, enough among this control scheme, there is an optimal way to use it. Ideally, you would use L with your Left Index Finger so you could dedicate your Right Index Finger to Z. The Y button would rarely be used, since your Thumb naturally tends to follow an arc if you move it from the C-Stick, to B, to A, and then finally to X. Y’s only use would be to offer you a way of pressing Y after hitting A. From my testing-assuming your Right Index Finger is on Z-your entire hand has to shift in order to hit Y.
So, after the amending changes, we come up with this.
Left Index Finger: This one covers L.
Left Thumb: Analog Stick
Right Index Finger: Z button. No reason to use R.
Right Thumb: This one was on X/Y, A, B, and the C-Stick. Y is used less frequently, as X is the better option more often than not.
Common Changes to the Default Control Scheme:
Tap Jump Off: Even though I myself use this, I now believe Tap Jump Off has an unbalanced Pros:Cons ratio. The Cons outweigh the pros. The benefits you gain are as follows:
1. You can more easily perform a Utilt.
2. You can more easily aim your shield upwards without jumping out.
3. You won’t risk using your second jump if you Uair or Up+B.
The cons are as follows:
1. You can no longer Up+B or Upsmash out of Shield without doing some crazy **** with your hands.
It is still possible to perform Utilts or aim your shield without jumping out with Tap Jump on. It’s just more difficult. In the case of number 3, jumping with X, then hitting the C-Stick eliminates the Uair problem. The Up+B problem remains, but it’s not really a problem. I see no reason why you would not want to use your second jump before using Up+B.
Setting Grab to Y: There’s nothing wrong with this. I’ve seen it often enough-I used it myself, and still do. It’s just an easier way to grab if for reason Z bothers you, or you like to shield with R instead of L.
The Optimal Control Scheme-What buttons are required, and what do they do?:
I shall only list what they do if things change from the Default Control Scheme.
Left Index Finger: L button.
Left Thumb: Analog Stick
Right Index Finger: Z button. This one Jumps.
Right Thumb: C-Stick, B, A, and X buttons. X is Grab.
Basically, all I did was switch X and Z. Why?
It’s better to dedicate a single finger to Jumping instead of Grabbing. Here is a sample case; you are running at the opponent and you shorthop, intending to C-Stick your next aerial for whatever reason. Their shield goes up after you short hop. Your thumb is all the way at the C-Stick, and would have to move back to X. Pressing up on the Analog stick may be viable, but you’re a little more limited in terms of aerial control when you do that, and your thumb has to move a longer distance than your finger would if it’s pressing Z.
If you had set Z to Jump, you can chose to Jump again sooner-and with more control-than you have otherwise. Sure, you only jumped a few frames or so sooner, but those frames count. You want every advantage you can get, don’t you?
On the flipside, setting X to Grab is simply because your thumb moves in that nice little “arc.” If you have to angle your hand off of the controller somewhat to hit Y-assuming your index finger’s on Z-and that makes for a more sluggish reaction time.
The reason I choose Z over R is because you’ll be quicker to press Z than you would R, if only by a few frames, Those springs take longer to press down than Z would.
Now, R and Y are wildcard buttons that should be used rarely. These buttons can be set to whatever you want. For example, I set R to Grab for the purposes of still being able to Mortarslide with an approximate muscle memory. If for some reason I need to Jump instead of Mortslide, there’s no worry. By the time I need to hit R, I’ve already committed to the dash attack-I would have to choose to jump before I hit C-Stick down. As a bonus, the slight delay on pressing R-in comparison to Z-doesn’t apply here, as the button I have to press first is the C-Stick. I can just press R sooner than I would Z.
For Y, I also have that set to Grab. As Snake, I learned how to do his Boost Grab-canceling his Dash with a Grab. I practiced hitting A, then rolling my thumb to Y. I find can do this without having to move my hand as much.
I whole-heartedly believe that setting Z to Jump, X to Grab, leaving Tap Jump On, and shielding with L instead of R is the best control scheme you could have-it provides the quickest reaction, and leaves all of your fingers immobile except your Right Thumb. Your Right Index Finger will move occasionally, but not nearly as much as your Right Thumb is.
Besides that, thank you for reading. I hope you take something from this.
but it just works for me better
