This game is horribly inconsistent with inputs and, at least with the pro controllers, very prone to input error. Hitting the attack stick in one direction has a very good chance of sending out the wrong move. In Smash 4, inputting a diagonal on the C stick would send out a neutral - not great, but most characters' neutral aerials aren't that bad to accidentally throw out. Since they got rid of that, the 45° angle now splits evenly between two directions. If you accidentally jiggle the control stick slightly down before mashing it to the right, the Fair you wanted now comes out as a Dair, which in some characters can mean instant SD. That's a programming issue related to how the game treats controller input data.Can you explain to me an example of how less “responsive” this game is to smash 4? I’m not here to exactly argue here, just want to know more on what your thought process is.
The buffer is really bad and leads to SDs, especially online. I've had techs miss and turn into directional air dodges offstage at low % because I pressed shield just as I was hitting the stage. I missed the tech and released the button, but the move still came out as a DAD a full 15 frames later. I've had Ganondorf SD off the stage with Down Special because I did his wizard kick to end at the sweet spot on the ledge, only to have him throw out another Down Special simply because I pressed 'B' twice when I first did the move. Same thing with Simon trying to do a double down tilt, having it interrupted by an attack, then the move comes out off stage as a Dair long after I've stopped pressing the button.
The buffer itself is inconsistent - moves will buffer from other moves, but not from certain grabs.
Then there's the input errors related to frame perfect attack cancelling: Trying to do things like reverse Bair rushes is all fine and dandy... but if you do it fast enough to trigger the frame perfect turnaround, you just a regular Fair, and vice versa. It's kinda cool and gimmicky that you can do stuff like that, but not when it punishes you with the wrong move just for being faster with the exact same inputs you'd normally do.
Editing to add a few more:
Many Up Specials can be reversed by inputting a diagonal up in the direction you want to send out the move or quickly moving the stick from up position to the direction you wish to turn... except when it doesn't. Many characters lose their magnet hands when they're facing the wrong way, so folks like Chrom, Simon and Peach can easily end up facing away from the ledge with what should have been a simple straightforward recovery. This gets worse online where frame perfect inputs often get misread or simply don't come out at all.
The game itself just FEELS inconsistent - sloppy, even. Too many moving parts for the developers to really get right. Flashy concept executed with mediocrity. The Cheesecake Factory of fighting games.
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