Vs Ness

[Phoenix502]

all right, so I now have a Wii U, as well as one of the custom Classic Controller Pros (gamecube shaped), and lately i've gone on for glory with a good portion of my 3DS training translating well... unfortunately, as the title suggests, I've found myself having a serious problem dealing with "That stupid PK Fire runt". sure, striking around that stuff is easy enough as Little Mac, but trying to go toe-to-toe against Ness with Robin is frustrating. besides PK Fire, the other things that kill me are roll around back throws and Down Throw to Fair combos... with the occasional dash attack and Nair when I try to strike with the Levin Sword.

suffice it to say, I'm a little short on proper ideas on how to counter him, PSI Magnet or not, I don't like to fight at a distance for too long, and trying to punish with Nosferatu is a tall task without a plan.

so, help me out here, please, what the hell works wonders against that brat?

(PS if you haven't noticed, I'm typing this almost immediately affer getting trashed by one, so saltiness abound.)

 

[SoBMudkip]

Soo... Ness is a tricky matchup, but as you pointed out, only a few things are really big threats. To address the PK fire, most Ness players usually try to follow up with a grab or a dash attack. What I like to do is try and stay just out of the range of the pk fire, then dash grab as soon as it disappears. Dash attack, shorthop aerial, and shorthop Nosferatu are all options too, dash attack being the most risky.

Down throw to fair is a go to chain for Ness, and it is very hard to escape at low damages. My best advice is to air dodge very early, or nair as soon as possible. Once you get hit with the first fair, it is very easy for Ness to do a second one so the best way to counter this is to prevent being hit by the first one.

Try not to Smash attack unless you are very sure you can hit with it, or it will lead into the down throw into fair combo very quickly. Jab and tilt in close range to prevent easy punishes from Ness. At medium-close range, arcfire to arcthunder to back throw is a nice chain for Robin that will rack up the damage quickly and is fairly easy to pull off. Arcfire to fairs or dash attacks are also good chains for quick damage. I try not to use the down throw to upair too often, because it gets predictable.

 

[Laggalot101]

If you get down-thrown, DI upwards and pray your % is high enough to avoid Fair follow-ups. If you do get caught in a string, I believe DI'ing away is the most likely to let you escape, but I'm not completely sure. And even if you manage to avoid the initial string, be wary of Uair, because that deals some nasty knockback. Remember that Arcfire, Arcthunder and Thoron, especially Thoron don't heal Ness much when he uses PSI Magnet, because it only absorbs the first hit. The rest of the attack will still be denied, but at least it makes these moves a little safer to throw out. I recommend Thoron for this match-up over the other Thunder variants (maybe the occasional Arcthunder for mixing things up). It heals Ness the least, its the fastest, and it pierces all projectiles he can throw at you. You can punish PK Fire with it if you're quick and just out of his range.

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

Ness can be tricky. Those mean disjointed attacks and the bat can hit hard if he finds an opening. but as of late I've learned to easily DI out of F-Air-follow-ups.

A lot has been covered already, but I could also say that be mindful of using spells as while they might not heal Ness, it can be used to cripple your zoning tools if taken good advantage of and timed. You can however fake your opponent to numerous free hits if he tries to do it too much (since PSI Magnet leaves Ness bit open). So it's a lot about mindgames. Also preferably keep Ness above you rather than opposite. SH U-Airs and B-Airs can be good here, along with Elfires to punish dash attack rushing. Robin is also good on air game so don't feel too intimidated during aerial combat.