teflon_climbers
Smash Lord
EDIT 12/07/2005: Added Reverse SHB buisness and wake-up SHB dealie.
Aight, I've been getting a lotta questions on how to Short Hop Blaster effectively, or what a 'SHB' is. This guide is here to stop those questions, and hopefully for everyone to get the hang of Falco's projectile. Feeling that this is one of the most important aspects to Falco's game, I think it deserves it's very own GUIDE, being that I am, by nature, a Falco player. I hate seeing peeps start to tunuva blaster, so this is for them! No spam required, just added for flavor and satisfaction! Tell me what to add/take out, and feedback is hot... :D
-------------------
DEFINITIONS
SHB: Acronym for 'Short Hop Blaster'. It's what this guide is based on.
Tunuva Blaster: It's this guy who's in my crew who just doesn't care to SHB. He doesn't play Falco as a main, but just to fool around in 4 player dittos, ect. Well, whenever we just decided to old fashion B on the ground, we call it the Tunuva Blaster. It's so... akward and uninviting when I do it, that it hurts. Tunuva blaster only on occasion. This honor of getting a 'technique' named after you, is not so honorable in this situation :D.
Gayzer: Fox and his little blaster, just running around a level, shooting the **** out of you and making sure he stays away. A very Gay laser.
-------------------
Why?
Why would anyone want to go through all the hassle of doing this 'infamous' technique, when they could just tunuva blaster? Does it really improve Falco's blaster that much?! It does, and it's a trademark of a worthy Falco. The fact behind the matter, is that the blaster doesn't recover instataneously on the ground -- you have a lotta lotta lag time before you can fire off another bolt of that Zeus Lightnin', but when you Blaster from the air, you have nothing after the blaster. The gun dissapears, Falco's mind is back in the game, and most importantly, you're NOT vulnrable to any attack some idiot-with-a-sword would like to forcibly impose upon you.
To sum it up -- it allows you to do things you'd never be able to do against many peeps, like smell better than them; you can also use cool sentence additives to make a run-on sentence into a COOL sentence.
-------------------
How-to
This section is relatively simple. How do you perform the SHB? Well, you have to be well accquainted with short hopping, first. In order to short hop, simply press X or Y lightly, and you should notice that Falco doesn't try to KO himself via the ceiling. He'll jump about as high as his height. Then you gotta gotta know how to fast fall. To fast fall, press down at the apex of your jump, which should be a short hop. Now practice short hopping and fast falling until you're relatively comforatable doing so.
Next you have to include the blaster shot into that. Pressing B is easy -- knowing when to press it is the challenge. You need to press the B button before you fast fall. if you press it anytime after you fast fall, the beam will not get off before you hit the ground, and subsequently put away your blaster. At this point, as long as you can get off a shot from your SHB, regarding it's height, it's good. Now get relaxed with that, but make sure you don't get set into a pattern quite yet -- a lot of things could be wrong with your SHB still. You just have the vague jist of it. It's like your first Wavedash. How long does it take to use it effectively in battle? Go team! Smell good!
-------------------
How to practice your SHB -- the BEEF OF THE STEW
... or the substance of the guide.
Introduction
The practice of becoming a proper SHBer is divided up into four basic sections and experience. First is the Height. Second, moving across the platform/stage. Third, speeding it up. Fourth, following up after the SHB, and as previously noted, getting real experience using the SHB. Sometimes you'll have to merge some of these sections in practice, to make your SHB more flexible(experience and following up?). Just be aware that these are the basic principals of the SHB, and are the most important aspects of the beam. I've tried to put them in chronological learning order, the way I learned it, the way I think it should be learned, and which ones are the most important.
I. Height of the blaster beam
Height of your SHB is something that will change with the circumstance, but for practicing sake, we should try to aim for a point that is as low as possible. If you can't hit a crouching Jigglypuff, or pretty much any crouching character, you're not able to SHB low enough. Aim for as low as you can, getting the blaster shot and fast fall as close together as possible without not getting a beam. For this practice, not getting a beam is just fine. Just make sure you're consistent with whatever height you're trying to hit. Once you're comfortable at the really low level, try shooting medium, and then try as high as the short hop will allow. You won't be able to fast fall the blaster if you're shooting as high as you can, but it's better than not hitting someone that IS that high
.
NEW
Something I discovered recently, is that if you hit your opponent while he/she is on the ground w/the SHB, you force them into a slow get-up process. It's guarenteed to force them to get up right where they are, and sets you up nicely for a forward smash or spike. It's important to get the SHB as low as possible for this purpose. if you can hit people every time with this, you'll be forcing them to attempt to tech every time. If they don't tech they'll just get hit!
II. Moving across the platform and stage
All right, when you short hop with Falco, you can get a 'running start' and basically fly over the ground, or you can jump, and barely move. Try using the SHB with these jumps/movements. The whole point of the blaster is to keep your opponent busy while you come in for a free hit. If you can't move, all you're doing is trying to be a Fox using his GAYZER. And for that purpose, it's not NEARLY as cool. I'd rather Gayzer with fox than Gayzer with Falco.
NEW
Eventually in dealing with moving around, you'll want to be able to turn around while running away. An example of where you'd use this is when a Marth is rushing you down with Forward airs, and you need to gain some ground. A good Marth won't give you the time you need to stop, turn around, and start your SHB. You need to be able to run away and spin around on the fly!
To do this you just short hop like normal, then tap the opposite way you're jumping in the air, then B and then fast fall it. Common problems with this is to phantom across the stage or off the ledge at first.
III. Speeding up
The hardest part is speeding it up. You think you're shooting it just fine, until some Out of stater kicks your ***, or maybe even someone from your own backyard. It helps to really pay attention to your landing. I know I used to loose a lot of speed on my landing, thinking it took longer than it really did to recover. It is INSTANT when you land -- you're recovered! No more cold! Remember that. If you practice speeding it up without moving, it will be pie.
But moving and being speedy is tough. Lots of movement on your analog stick...
IV. Following up on the SHB
Since your SHB recovers instantaneously, and you can move in for the kill, what would be a good thing to tack on? Well, something powerful, combo starting, or defensive(if the need comes up). A forward smash is a first instinct for me, and against someone not used to the blaster, extremely effective. But this leaves you vulnrable. It's nice against an airborne opponent you nailed with the blaster. He has no chance to shield, and boom. It's like setting up a super combo in street figher... Anyways, you can grab out of the SHB, dodge, WD back, do anything. The sky is the limit. Find out what works well, and mix it up!
V. Experience tips
I put this at the end, because you'll always be accquiring new tactics and methods for each character. It's a neverending campaign, of sorts. Here are some tips I've learned throughout the years for your blaster pleasure...
-Against Jigglypuff, your blaster is your best friend. Make sure that you distance yourself well with it, and JP will usually try to float above your blaster shots. Against Jiggs, usually shooting high will yeild positive results, unless she starts approaching on the ground, which isn't very likely. If she crouches, make sure you can hit her with your super-low shots. And if she IS floating above, a short-hopped UpAir isn't too bad of an idea to punish her.
-When dealing with characters who have lots of frames in their initial jump animation(e.g., Gannon, Link), you can really keep them nailed to the ground by being really quick with your SHB. A Gannon will have a tough time escaping the SHB, and since he has mucho power, make sure you keep him pestered so he can't use it.
-Teaming up with Peach, you can SHB over her head, to stop any opponent from going airborne. It's a great tactic, and sometimes will end up putting them right smack dab in front of her downsmash... *shudders* e.g., Marth trying to Fair your home-slice Peach.
-In a Falco ditto, right off the bat, it will be benificial to be able to throw up your reflector right when you hit the ground from a SHB. If you do this, you can potentially throw his blaster shot and your blaster shot right back at 'em. I've seen a lot of people reflector just to reflect it, and then stop shining. GG them ^^.
-When people are in the air, just a nice little SHB will set them up for a forward smash. if someone's coming down, SHB and Fsmash. You'll get 'em every time.
-Any other good tips for anyone that I'm fo' gettin'?
-------------------
Conclusion
Aight, to wrap it up, your SHB should move you from point A to point B with as much hassle for your opponent as possible, set you up for a decent move, and has NO RECOVERY animation afterwards. It's the reason you should play Falco. That and the spike. Also because you smell good.
-------------------
FAQs
Q: When I try to get as low to the ground as possible, I get no blaster -- just the noise of the gun. What's wrong?
A: You're pressing down too early or B too late. What you need to do, is press B before your fast fall. It's like the Price is Right, if you go over, you're screwed. If you press B too late, too bad. No SHB. In a game situation, of course you're going to want the laser to come out before anything else, but you want to be able to shoot as low as possible to hit crouching yoshis, Jigglypuffs, ect.
Q: What does smell have to do with playing Falco?
A: If you're a true Falco player, you'll know that you need to look good and smell good at all times. ESPECIALLY at gaming events. If a fine-*** hottie walks into the room, and she plays smash, you gotta make sure she's going home with you. Even if it is just to play smash. So smelling good is the #1 advantage you'll have on all the other smashers. People have a hard time cramming into a shower designed for a private section of society. This will win you the game. And plus, if your opponent catches a whiff of your scintillating scent, he might have his mind on how he can smell like you. Yes, your scent will flash and sparkle if you do it correctly. Just make sure you Lcancel it.
Q: How do you use semicolons and dashes so hot?
A: That's a simple question; I like to use them. Dashes are cool -- but semicolons are a lot tougher to use. Ain't grammar pimp?
Q: Who taught YOU all this?
A: A lot of it was this crazy mofo from Alaska, and a lot of it was the top Falco players in the states. Either way, it's a good idea to find a decent Falco player and take all the advice they throw your way. You'll become a LOT better a LOT quicker. The practice tips I really wasn't given. Most people practice differently, and I have some other things I do, do with the blaster, but decided not to put in this guide.
Aight, I've been getting a lotta questions on how to Short Hop Blaster effectively, or what a 'SHB' is. This guide is here to stop those questions, and hopefully for everyone to get the hang of Falco's projectile. Feeling that this is one of the most important aspects to Falco's game, I think it deserves it's very own GUIDE, being that I am, by nature, a Falco player. I hate seeing peeps start to tunuva blaster, so this is for them! No spam required, just added for flavor and satisfaction! Tell me what to add/take out, and feedback is hot... :D
-------------------
DEFINITIONS
SHB: Acronym for 'Short Hop Blaster'. It's what this guide is based on.
Tunuva Blaster: It's this guy who's in my crew who just doesn't care to SHB. He doesn't play Falco as a main, but just to fool around in 4 player dittos, ect. Well, whenever we just decided to old fashion B on the ground, we call it the Tunuva Blaster. It's so... akward and uninviting when I do it, that it hurts. Tunuva blaster only on occasion. This honor of getting a 'technique' named after you, is not so honorable in this situation :D.
Gayzer: Fox and his little blaster, just running around a level, shooting the **** out of you and making sure he stays away. A very Gay laser.
-------------------
Why?
Why would anyone want to go through all the hassle of doing this 'infamous' technique, when they could just tunuva blaster? Does it really improve Falco's blaster that much?! It does, and it's a trademark of a worthy Falco. The fact behind the matter, is that the blaster doesn't recover instataneously on the ground -- you have a lotta lotta lag time before you can fire off another bolt of that Zeus Lightnin', but when you Blaster from the air, you have nothing after the blaster. The gun dissapears, Falco's mind is back in the game, and most importantly, you're NOT vulnrable to any attack some idiot-with-a-sword would like to forcibly impose upon you.
To sum it up -- it allows you to do things you'd never be able to do against many peeps, like smell better than them; you can also use cool sentence additives to make a run-on sentence into a COOL sentence.
-------------------
How-to
This section is relatively simple. How do you perform the SHB? Well, you have to be well accquainted with short hopping, first. In order to short hop, simply press X or Y lightly, and you should notice that Falco doesn't try to KO himself via the ceiling. He'll jump about as high as his height. Then you gotta gotta know how to fast fall. To fast fall, press down at the apex of your jump, which should be a short hop. Now practice short hopping and fast falling until you're relatively comforatable doing so.
Next you have to include the blaster shot into that. Pressing B is easy -- knowing when to press it is the challenge. You need to press the B button before you fast fall. if you press it anytime after you fast fall, the beam will not get off before you hit the ground, and subsequently put away your blaster. At this point, as long as you can get off a shot from your SHB, regarding it's height, it's good. Now get relaxed with that, but make sure you don't get set into a pattern quite yet -- a lot of things could be wrong with your SHB still. You just have the vague jist of it. It's like your first Wavedash. How long does it take to use it effectively in battle? Go team! Smell good!
-------------------
How to practice your SHB -- the BEEF OF THE STEW
... or the substance of the guide.
Introduction
The practice of becoming a proper SHBer is divided up into four basic sections and experience. First is the Height. Second, moving across the platform/stage. Third, speeding it up. Fourth, following up after the SHB, and as previously noted, getting real experience using the SHB. Sometimes you'll have to merge some of these sections in practice, to make your SHB more flexible(experience and following up?). Just be aware that these are the basic principals of the SHB, and are the most important aspects of the beam. I've tried to put them in chronological learning order, the way I learned it, the way I think it should be learned, and which ones are the most important.
I. Height of the blaster beam
Height of your SHB is something that will change with the circumstance, but for practicing sake, we should try to aim for a point that is as low as possible. If you can't hit a crouching Jigglypuff, or pretty much any crouching character, you're not able to SHB low enough. Aim for as low as you can, getting the blaster shot and fast fall as close together as possible without not getting a beam. For this practice, not getting a beam is just fine. Just make sure you're consistent with whatever height you're trying to hit. Once you're comfortable at the really low level, try shooting medium, and then try as high as the short hop will allow. You won't be able to fast fall the blaster if you're shooting as high as you can, but it's better than not hitting someone that IS that high
.NEW
Something I discovered recently, is that if you hit your opponent while he/she is on the ground w/the SHB, you force them into a slow get-up process. It's guarenteed to force them to get up right where they are, and sets you up nicely for a forward smash or spike. It's important to get the SHB as low as possible for this purpose. if you can hit people every time with this, you'll be forcing them to attempt to tech every time. If they don't tech they'll just get hit!
II. Moving across the platform and stage
All right, when you short hop with Falco, you can get a 'running start' and basically fly over the ground, or you can jump, and barely move. Try using the SHB with these jumps/movements. The whole point of the blaster is to keep your opponent busy while you come in for a free hit. If you can't move, all you're doing is trying to be a Fox using his GAYZER. And for that purpose, it's not NEARLY as cool. I'd rather Gayzer with fox than Gayzer with Falco.
NEW
Eventually in dealing with moving around, you'll want to be able to turn around while running away. An example of where you'd use this is when a Marth is rushing you down with Forward airs, and you need to gain some ground. A good Marth won't give you the time you need to stop, turn around, and start your SHB. You need to be able to run away and spin around on the fly!
To do this you just short hop like normal, then tap the opposite way you're jumping in the air, then B and then fast fall it. Common problems with this is to phantom across the stage or off the ledge at first.
III. Speeding up
The hardest part is speeding it up. You think you're shooting it just fine, until some Out of stater kicks your ***, or maybe even someone from your own backyard. It helps to really pay attention to your landing. I know I used to loose a lot of speed on my landing, thinking it took longer than it really did to recover. It is INSTANT when you land -- you're recovered! No more cold! Remember that. If you practice speeding it up without moving, it will be pie.
But moving and being speedy is tough. Lots of movement on your analog stick...
IV. Following up on the SHB
Since your SHB recovers instantaneously, and you can move in for the kill, what would be a good thing to tack on? Well, something powerful, combo starting, or defensive(if the need comes up). A forward smash is a first instinct for me, and against someone not used to the blaster, extremely effective. But this leaves you vulnrable. It's nice against an airborne opponent you nailed with the blaster. He has no chance to shield, and boom. It's like setting up a super combo in street figher... Anyways, you can grab out of the SHB, dodge, WD back, do anything. The sky is the limit. Find out what works well, and mix it up!
V. Experience tips
I put this at the end, because you'll always be accquiring new tactics and methods for each character. It's a neverending campaign, of sorts. Here are some tips I've learned throughout the years for your blaster pleasure...
-Against Jigglypuff, your blaster is your best friend. Make sure that you distance yourself well with it, and JP will usually try to float above your blaster shots. Against Jiggs, usually shooting high will yeild positive results, unless she starts approaching on the ground, which isn't very likely. If she crouches, make sure you can hit her with your super-low shots. And if she IS floating above, a short-hopped UpAir isn't too bad of an idea to punish her.
-When dealing with characters who have lots of frames in their initial jump animation(e.g., Gannon, Link), you can really keep them nailed to the ground by being really quick with your SHB. A Gannon will have a tough time escaping the SHB, and since he has mucho power, make sure you keep him pestered so he can't use it.
-Teaming up with Peach, you can SHB over her head, to stop any opponent from going airborne. It's a great tactic, and sometimes will end up putting them right smack dab in front of her downsmash... *shudders* e.g., Marth trying to Fair your home-slice Peach.
-In a Falco ditto, right off the bat, it will be benificial to be able to throw up your reflector right when you hit the ground from a SHB. If you do this, you can potentially throw his blaster shot and your blaster shot right back at 'em. I've seen a lot of people reflector just to reflect it, and then stop shining. GG them ^^.
-When people are in the air, just a nice little SHB will set them up for a forward smash. if someone's coming down, SHB and Fsmash. You'll get 'em every time.
-Any other good tips for anyone that I'm fo' gettin'?
-------------------
Conclusion
Aight, to wrap it up, your SHB should move you from point A to point B with as much hassle for your opponent as possible, set you up for a decent move, and has NO RECOVERY animation afterwards. It's the reason you should play Falco. That and the spike. Also because you smell good.
-------------------
FAQs
Q: When I try to get as low to the ground as possible, I get no blaster -- just the noise of the gun. What's wrong?
A: You're pressing down too early or B too late. What you need to do, is press B before your fast fall. It's like the Price is Right, if you go over, you're screwed. If you press B too late, too bad. No SHB. In a game situation, of course you're going to want the laser to come out before anything else, but you want to be able to shoot as low as possible to hit crouching yoshis, Jigglypuffs, ect.
Q: What does smell have to do with playing Falco?
A: If you're a true Falco player, you'll know that you need to look good and smell good at all times. ESPECIALLY at gaming events. If a fine-*** hottie walks into the room, and she plays smash, you gotta make sure she's going home with you. Even if it is just to play smash. So smelling good is the #1 advantage you'll have on all the other smashers. People have a hard time cramming into a shower designed for a private section of society. This will win you the game. And plus, if your opponent catches a whiff of your scintillating scent, he might have his mind on how he can smell like you. Yes, your scent will flash and sparkle if you do it correctly. Just make sure you Lcancel it.
Q: How do you use semicolons and dashes so hot?
A: That's a simple question; I like to use them. Dashes are cool -- but semicolons are a lot tougher to use. Ain't grammar pimp?
Q: Who taught YOU all this?
A: A lot of it was this crazy mofo from Alaska, and a lot of it was the top Falco players in the states. Either way, it's a good idea to find a decent Falco player and take all the advice they throw your way. You'll become a LOT better a LOT quicker
. The practice tips I really wasn't given. Most people practice differently, and I have some other things I do, do with the blaster, but decided not to put in this guide.
. Hi no life!
