Nanaki
Smash Lord
Watching to Learn - A Guide to Watching SSBB Videos
By Nanaki
I did a few searches, and couldn't find anything quite like this. If something like this already exists, feel free to close this thread.
Purpose of this thread:
So you've finally picked a main, figured out how to effectively used their moveset, and are starting to figure out general strategies. You therefore decide to watch some videos of the best and brightest of your main's players in order to pick up some new ideas on how to improve your game.
This thread is directed at up-and-coming smashers who are trying to get over that nasty 'hump' where they've mastered the basics but just can't seem to compete with more experienced players. That said, hopefully everyone can learn something from this guide.
With recording equipment being heavily used at most tournaments, the amount of media available to you is massive. This guide will explain how to get the most out of your video watching time, and some pitfalls to avoid when watching.
Table of Contents:
I) Resources for Beginners
II) Where to Find Videos
III) First Viewing - Pacing, Spacing, and Positioning
IV) Second Viewing - Your Character
V) Third Viewing - Opponent's Character
VI) Final Viewing - Tips and Tricks
VII) Things to Avoid
VIII) Credits and Closing Remarks
I) Resources for Beginners
As stated above, this thread aims to guide players who are beyond the beginner level, but not yet able to compete with the 'big boys'. If you are still relatively new to the game, you may want to check out some of these resources before reading through this guide.
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=226635
SCOTU wrote this amazing guide on playing smash competitively, it's in the stickies here in Brawl Tactical Discussion. Here you will find ways to improve quickly and incorporate yourself into the community. I highly recommend reading the entire thing, it will help you more than anything else around. I like to think of my guide as a small addendum to this masterpiece.
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=227773
Also by SCOTU, this list of standard terms will help you understand the lingo around these boards and at tournaments. Another highly recommended read, also in the stickies here in Brawl Tactical.
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=221969
Swordgard's guide on DI and Survival is an excellent resource for beginners. Learning how to properly DI is essential not only to surviving longer, but to avoiding multi-hit moves and getting out of dangerous situations. Doing these things WILL win you matches.
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=174236
SamuraiPanda, in his infinite wisdom, created this Q&A thread as a place for anyone to ask those things not answered by these other resources. Use this thread instead of making new ones to ask questions, it will keep the boards clean and get you quick answers to your questions.
And, as always, check your character specific boards for guides and other learning centers. Many people have put in hours and hours of work to make these resources for new players, you might as well put them to good use!
II) Where to Find Videos
This is pretty straightforward, but it still needs to be said. Please bear with me.
The first place to look is DMG's "The Best Vids of Each Character!" thread here in Brawl Tactical Discussion: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=185253.
Here you'll find videos already reviewed by DMG, a notoriously strategic member of the SSB community. Each video is handpicked to show characters at the top of their metagame, and generally show a variety of playstyles.
Another valuable resource is your character's specific board. Most boards have a video collection thread, organized by player or character matchup. Many also have 'hall of fame' videos, though these may not necessarily be the most informative for learning purposes.
Searching youtube will give you a large pool of videos to peruse, but those posted on the sources listed above will generally have already been reviewed at some level and are a better bet for finding quality videos.
International videos can be an interesting variation for your viewing pleasure. Top players from Japan and Europe do things differently from those here in the States and Canada, and you may learn something useful to incorporate here. Some good international video resources:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ssbbmania1
This YouTube channel contains a large pool of Japanese player videos. Masashi (Pit), Li (Ganon), Niku (Bowser), YUI (Fox), RAIN (Falco), Souther (Snake), RATS (Sonic) and others are very good players, and you can certainly learn from them.
I admittedly don't know much about the European smash scene. If someone could enlighten me and suggest some indicative videos of top level European play, I would gladly add them here.
Choosing which videos to watch can be a tricky business. The best way to maneuver the mass amount of media at your disposal is to have a purpose in mind.
Are you trying to learn basic techniques with your character?
-Watch tutorial videos of your character and try to incorporate those that appear to be most useful.
Are you having trouble with a particular matchup?
-Watch videos of that matchup and glean what you can from them.
Are you becoming overly predictable with your character?
-Watch videos of top players and pay specific attention to how they mix up their game.
Having a strategy will save you time and give you more opportunities to put your knowledge into practice. Use your time wisely!
II) First Viewing - Pacing, Spacing, and Positioning
You've selected a video, time to start watching!
Firstly, if you're streaming the video, allow the whole thing (or almost) to buffer prior to watching. Having to wait for it to buffer disrupts the flow of the match, which is what you should be trying to get a grasp of the first time you watch a vid. Try not to pause the video at all the first time through for the same reason.
Pacing
Don't look too much for specific 'combos' or strings from your character, just get an idea of which speed seems to work best for them, and how they can control the tempo of the match to best serve their toolset. Momentum is huge in smash, and if you play at a pace that your character isn't built to handle, you're probably in trouble. Try to determine how the character resets the match when things get out of control, and how they can continue to keep the momentum in their favor when things are looking good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7-_kLw3r5k
This match features Lain's King DeDeDe vs. Omniswell's Meta Knight. It's old, and Omni doesn't play very well in it, but Lain takes full advantage and keeps the match at a pace that suits him. He's very slow and methodical, and only speeds up when things are clearly in his favor.
Spacing
Controlling space is as important (maybe more so) than controlling the tempo of the match. The ability to control space very much defines the playstyle of the characters in this game. Try to ask yourself as you watch the match: Is the character playing aggressively, defensively, or some of both? Are they doing most of the approaching, or are they trying to force an approach? What seems to be their best spacing (or anti-spacing) tool? Where do they seem to function best in relation to their opponent? Try to mentally answer these questions as you watch the match the first time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTorQI42uZM
Samus requires proper spacing to have any chance of winning, and Xyro does it was well as anyone. Notice how many times Legan's zair falls just short with Xyro in perfect position to counter it.
Positioning
Position is also key to victory. If you are constantly near the edge with someone like Olimar or Link, your odds of getting gimped are increased exponentially. Ask yourself as you watch: Where does the character tend to fare better - near the edge of the stage, or in the middle? Do platforms seem to help or hurt their ability to function? How do they avoid being juggled? How do they juggle their opponent? Does being on the ledge or offstage tend to be an advantage or a hassle for the character?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaE_S9_bzCE
The thing to look for in this video is where the Olimar (NC-Echo) always seems to gravitate towards. If he ends up too far towards the edge, he quickly retreats to the middle to prevent being sent offstage and gimped whenever possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV4N_F2QaPU
DMG is famous for just this sort of thing. This is a great example of all 3 of the things to watch for in your first viewing. He keeps the match at the pace he desires, doesn't close the space until it's advantageous for him, and keeps himself in a position where he is totally safe for pretty much the entire match. It may be boring, but it's ridiculously effective.
Watching the match with only these things in mind will greatly simplify things and allow you to watch both characters at once, which makes observing proper spacing, speed, and positioning much easier.
This is the foundation of your game. If you can't space, don't place yourself in advantageous positions, and can't adjust to the pace of the game (or make it adjust to you), you have no chance competitively - regardless of your technical prowess.
III) Second Viewing - Your Character
Now that you've got an idea of general pacing, spacing, and positioning, you should start the video over and focus almost entirely on the character you're trying to learn from. You'll mostly want to focus on things like pressuring, recovery, and KOing.
Applying Pressure
Pressuring is absolutely essential to some characters' game, and almost totally nonexistent in others. An obvious example of a high-pressure character is Diddy Kong - a constant stream of bananas, peanuts, and dash attack combos can make life very difficult for many characters, and you'll often wonder how you ended up at 200% so quickly against a good Diddy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qlPs1tdE8c
While watching this video, try to pay specific attention to the method behind the madness that is AlphaZealot. It may look like he's just flying all over the place chucking bananas, but he always has a plan and he's always trying to position himself and his bananas to apply maximum pressure. Try to predict his actions as you watch and understand why he does some of the things he does. When you have this type of control over a match, it's almost hard to lose.
Recovery
Recovery is, of course, essential to success in SSB. Anyone who's played this game for an hour knows the basics of recovery - use your jumps and upB to get back to the stage. At high levels of play, that's simply not good enough. Mixing up your recovery, ledge tricks, and careful observation of your opponent's edgeguarding tendencies are critical to your ability to survive. While watching videos, try to predict how your character will recover and try to understand why the player recovered in the manner that they did. If you can easily predict how a character will recover, odds are the opponent can too.
KOing the Opponent
KOing seems like a very straightforward thing - you use a KO move, and if it hits, you kill your opponent. In practice, landing a kill is one of the harder things to do in Brawl. Many KO moves are so telegraphed and punishable that it becomes a very large risk to throw them out wantonly, hoping for them to connect. Watch your character as the opponent gets near kill % and try to figure out the best methods for setting up KO's safely. Do they tend to wait and punish a mistake to land the KO? Do they keep racking damage until they have a large pool of KO options? Do they insist on throwing out a specific KO move because it's relatively safe (Snake utilt seems to have this perception) or it's their only "kill move"? Do they tend to get a large portion of their kills from spikes or gimps? Taking a stock before your opponent is an enormous advantage, allowing you to rack damage on the next stock while you remain in kill %. You must know how to finish your opponent effectively to gain this advantage.
IV) Third Viewing - Opponent's Character
This viewing will be very similar to the second one, except you're going to try to view the match from the other character's perspective. The main things to be watching for here are openings and the resulting punishment. Like the previous viewing, pausing and reviewing repeatedly are recommended here.
Punishing Mistakes
As you watch, try to spot openings in the defenses of the character you're watching. When he makes a mistake, does it get punished? If so, what is the method of punishment? Would something else have worked better? How did the mistake come about in the first place - did they throw a move out randomly, or were they baited into it? Did they roll, tech, spotdodge, or airdodge predictably? Punishing is huge for characters like Wario and Sonic, who rely almost entirely on their opponent misreading the situation and opening themselves up as a result.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rA--ufdwRg
It doesn't really matter which side you watch in this match, they're both constantly trying to create openings to punish. If watching from Malcolm's POV, try to find instances where he commits to a spindash or an aerial when PhantomX is in position to punish it. From the other POV, try to spot instances where PhantomX leaves himself open by maneuvering too close while trying to get into position to punish a spindash (only to have Malcolm cancel it and punish). It can get confusing trying to read player intent from a video, but you can usually spot several instances where something worked to create a punishable opening.
Watching a match from both sides gives you valuable information on how and when to push a match in a certain direction. Do your best to get as much out of each of these viewings as possible.
V) Final Viewing - Tips and Tricks
Now that you've fully analyzed the strategical side of the match, simply go through the match looking for interesting move combinations and useful move strings. Watch for anything you feel you can incorporate into your game, be it a simple combo or a stage-related technique. Pause, review, or just watch at any pace you find comfortable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PYHLL94u3U
The combo to finish this match is pretty hawt. Generally good Nair combos from UTD Zac.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6rpqEJ_w4k
More UTD Zac shenanigans. Stalling under the rock is pretty hilarious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9_dnN7cZiQ
Boss knows how to Uair combo.
VI) Things to Avoid
Combo Videos
Combo videos, while entertaining and ridiculously cool, are generally something to avoid. If you're truly 'Watching to Learn', combo videos don't hold much value for you. They're mostly big compilations of ridiculous things happening, most of which you'll be unlikely to pull off once in a real match, ever.
However, meticulously analyzing videos to try to improve does get boring once in awhile. Take a break and watch some combo videos for enjoyment every now and again (or you could, you know, go outside or something). Just remember, trying to improve by watching only combo videos will likely get you nowhere.
The Dangers of 'Auto-Pilot'
It's very easy to go on 'auto-pilot' when watching match videos and stop actually looking for things that will help you get better. If you catch yourself doing this, take a break. Go actually play the game, or do something else entirely. Just randomly watching matches without any actual thought on your part won't help you get better.
The Importance of Practice
Learning from videos is an excellent way to improve your thought process while playing, but you will only truly progress if you take that knowledge and apply it in actual play. Don't get yourself into a rut of only watching or reading to improve, head over to your Wii and play the game!
When practicing, try to focus as much on the basics (pacing, spacing, and positioning) as possible until it's completely second nature to use these things to your advantage. Once you can do that, you can start to incorporate some tricks and advanced techniques into your game.
Try to practice against real people offline as much as possible, as it will help you the most in the long run. Wifi really won't be much use, especially in learning the basics, unless your connection is green/blue. The lag from wifi makes most of the basics trivial, and adapting to the lag the more important factor in winning. Avoid training yourself to deal with the lag; it will make your offline game worse.
Playing against computers is not necessarily 'bad' inherently, but you should be practicing the basics more than anything. It's easy to fall into a pattern of exploiting the AI's weaknesses (Kirby's Stone will almost aways hit and go unpunished, as an example) instead of practicing things that really matter. Play a relatively low level computer (no higher than 5) and try to take as little damage as possible, maintain your space, and punish the computers' mistakes as hard as possible.
VII) Credits and Closing Remarks
Thank you to the mods for making this place such a great place to discuss everything Smash.
Thank you to DMG for maintaining his 'The Best Vids of Each Character!' thread and for his insightful campfest against Razer on Brinstar.
I'd also like to thank everyone else I used video of in this post for providing quality footage (Lain, Omniswell, Xyro, Legan, NC-Echo, LDPK, UltimateRazer, AlphaZealot, SamuraiPanda, PhantomX, MalcolmM, UTD_Zac, Dojo, Boss, and Matador).
And finally, thanks in advance to anyone who helps me with advice on how to improve this guide. I realize that I'm far from perfect, and will greatly appreciate any constructive criticism or good video examples to add to the guide.
Now, get out on those interwebs and learn something useful!!
Update Log
9/19/2009 - Added 'Resources for Beginners' section, international video information, 'The Importance of Practice' section.
By Nanaki
I did a few searches, and couldn't find anything quite like this. If something like this already exists, feel free to close this thread.
Purpose of this thread:
So you've finally picked a main, figured out how to effectively used their moveset, and are starting to figure out general strategies. You therefore decide to watch some videos of the best and brightest of your main's players in order to pick up some new ideas on how to improve your game.
This thread is directed at up-and-coming smashers who are trying to get over that nasty 'hump' where they've mastered the basics but just can't seem to compete with more experienced players. That said, hopefully everyone can learn something from this guide.
With recording equipment being heavily used at most tournaments, the amount of media available to you is massive. This guide will explain how to get the most out of your video watching time, and some pitfalls to avoid when watching.
Table of Contents:
I) Resources for Beginners
II) Where to Find Videos
III) First Viewing - Pacing, Spacing, and Positioning
IV) Second Viewing - Your Character
V) Third Viewing - Opponent's Character
VI) Final Viewing - Tips and Tricks
VII) Things to Avoid
VIII) Credits and Closing Remarks
I) Resources for Beginners
As stated above, this thread aims to guide players who are beyond the beginner level, but not yet able to compete with the 'big boys'. If you are still relatively new to the game, you may want to check out some of these resources before reading through this guide.
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=226635
SCOTU wrote this amazing guide on playing smash competitively, it's in the stickies here in Brawl Tactical Discussion. Here you will find ways to improve quickly and incorporate yourself into the community. I highly recommend reading the entire thing, it will help you more than anything else around. I like to think of my guide as a small addendum to this masterpiece.
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=227773
Also by SCOTU, this list of standard terms will help you understand the lingo around these boards and at tournaments. Another highly recommended read, also in the stickies here in Brawl Tactical.
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=221969
Swordgard's guide on DI and Survival is an excellent resource for beginners. Learning how to properly DI is essential not only to surviving longer, but to avoiding multi-hit moves and getting out of dangerous situations. Doing these things WILL win you matches.
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=174236
SamuraiPanda, in his infinite wisdom, created this Q&A thread as a place for anyone to ask those things not answered by these other resources. Use this thread instead of making new ones to ask questions, it will keep the boards clean and get you quick answers to your questions.
And, as always, check your character specific boards for guides and other learning centers. Many people have put in hours and hours of work to make these resources for new players, you might as well put them to good use!
II) Where to Find Videos
This is pretty straightforward, but it still needs to be said. Please bear with me.
The first place to look is DMG's "The Best Vids of Each Character!" thread here in Brawl Tactical Discussion: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=185253.
Here you'll find videos already reviewed by DMG, a notoriously strategic member of the SSB community. Each video is handpicked to show characters at the top of their metagame, and generally show a variety of playstyles.
Another valuable resource is your character's specific board. Most boards have a video collection thread, organized by player or character matchup. Many also have 'hall of fame' videos, though these may not necessarily be the most informative for learning purposes.
Searching youtube will give you a large pool of videos to peruse, but those posted on the sources listed above will generally have already been reviewed at some level and are a better bet for finding quality videos.
International videos can be an interesting variation for your viewing pleasure. Top players from Japan and Europe do things differently from those here in the States and Canada, and you may learn something useful to incorporate here. Some good international video resources:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ssbbmania1
This YouTube channel contains a large pool of Japanese player videos. Masashi (Pit), Li (Ganon), Niku (Bowser), YUI (Fox), RAIN (Falco), Souther (Snake), RATS (Sonic) and others are very good players, and you can certainly learn from them.
I admittedly don't know much about the European smash scene. If someone could enlighten me and suggest some indicative videos of top level European play, I would gladly add them here.
Choosing which videos to watch can be a tricky business. The best way to maneuver the mass amount of media at your disposal is to have a purpose in mind.
Are you trying to learn basic techniques with your character?
-Watch tutorial videos of your character and try to incorporate those that appear to be most useful.
Are you having trouble with a particular matchup?
-Watch videos of that matchup and glean what you can from them.
Are you becoming overly predictable with your character?
-Watch videos of top players and pay specific attention to how they mix up their game.
Having a strategy will save you time and give you more opportunities to put your knowledge into practice. Use your time wisely!
II) First Viewing - Pacing, Spacing, and Positioning
You've selected a video, time to start watching!
Firstly, if you're streaming the video, allow the whole thing (or almost) to buffer prior to watching. Having to wait for it to buffer disrupts the flow of the match, which is what you should be trying to get a grasp of the first time you watch a vid. Try not to pause the video at all the first time through for the same reason.
Pacing
Don't look too much for specific 'combos' or strings from your character, just get an idea of which speed seems to work best for them, and how they can control the tempo of the match to best serve their toolset. Momentum is huge in smash, and if you play at a pace that your character isn't built to handle, you're probably in trouble. Try to determine how the character resets the match when things get out of control, and how they can continue to keep the momentum in their favor when things are looking good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7-_kLw3r5k
This match features Lain's King DeDeDe vs. Omniswell's Meta Knight. It's old, and Omni doesn't play very well in it, but Lain takes full advantage and keeps the match at a pace that suits him. He's very slow and methodical, and only speeds up when things are clearly in his favor.
Spacing
Controlling space is as important (maybe more so) than controlling the tempo of the match. The ability to control space very much defines the playstyle of the characters in this game. Try to ask yourself as you watch the match: Is the character playing aggressively, defensively, or some of both? Are they doing most of the approaching, or are they trying to force an approach? What seems to be their best spacing (or anti-spacing) tool? Where do they seem to function best in relation to their opponent? Try to mentally answer these questions as you watch the match the first time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTorQI42uZM
Samus requires proper spacing to have any chance of winning, and Xyro does it was well as anyone. Notice how many times Legan's zair falls just short with Xyro in perfect position to counter it.
Positioning
Position is also key to victory. If you are constantly near the edge with someone like Olimar or Link, your odds of getting gimped are increased exponentially. Ask yourself as you watch: Where does the character tend to fare better - near the edge of the stage, or in the middle? Do platforms seem to help or hurt their ability to function? How do they avoid being juggled? How do they juggle their opponent? Does being on the ledge or offstage tend to be an advantage or a hassle for the character?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaE_S9_bzCE
The thing to look for in this video is where the Olimar (NC-Echo) always seems to gravitate towards. If he ends up too far towards the edge, he quickly retreats to the middle to prevent being sent offstage and gimped whenever possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV4N_F2QaPU
DMG is famous for just this sort of thing. This is a great example of all 3 of the things to watch for in your first viewing. He keeps the match at the pace he desires, doesn't close the space until it's advantageous for him, and keeps himself in a position where he is totally safe for pretty much the entire match. It may be boring, but it's ridiculously effective.
Watching the match with only these things in mind will greatly simplify things and allow you to watch both characters at once, which makes observing proper spacing, speed, and positioning much easier.
This is the foundation of your game. If you can't space, don't place yourself in advantageous positions, and can't adjust to the pace of the game (or make it adjust to you), you have no chance competitively - regardless of your technical prowess.
III) Second Viewing - Your Character
Now that you've got an idea of general pacing, spacing, and positioning, you should start the video over and focus almost entirely on the character you're trying to learn from. You'll mostly want to focus on things like pressuring, recovery, and KOing.
Applying Pressure
Pressuring is absolutely essential to some characters' game, and almost totally nonexistent in others. An obvious example of a high-pressure character is Diddy Kong - a constant stream of bananas, peanuts, and dash attack combos can make life very difficult for many characters, and you'll often wonder how you ended up at 200% so quickly against a good Diddy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qlPs1tdE8c
While watching this video, try to pay specific attention to the method behind the madness that is AlphaZealot. It may look like he's just flying all over the place chucking bananas, but he always has a plan and he's always trying to position himself and his bananas to apply maximum pressure. Try to predict his actions as you watch and understand why he does some of the things he does. When you have this type of control over a match, it's almost hard to lose.
Recovery
Recovery is, of course, essential to success in SSB. Anyone who's played this game for an hour knows the basics of recovery - use your jumps and upB to get back to the stage. At high levels of play, that's simply not good enough. Mixing up your recovery, ledge tricks, and careful observation of your opponent's edgeguarding tendencies are critical to your ability to survive. While watching videos, try to predict how your character will recover and try to understand why the player recovered in the manner that they did. If you can easily predict how a character will recover, odds are the opponent can too.
KOing the Opponent
KOing seems like a very straightforward thing - you use a KO move, and if it hits, you kill your opponent. In practice, landing a kill is one of the harder things to do in Brawl. Many KO moves are so telegraphed and punishable that it becomes a very large risk to throw them out wantonly, hoping for them to connect. Watch your character as the opponent gets near kill % and try to figure out the best methods for setting up KO's safely. Do they tend to wait and punish a mistake to land the KO? Do they keep racking damage until they have a large pool of KO options? Do they insist on throwing out a specific KO move because it's relatively safe (Snake utilt seems to have this perception) or it's their only "kill move"? Do they tend to get a large portion of their kills from spikes or gimps? Taking a stock before your opponent is an enormous advantage, allowing you to rack damage on the next stock while you remain in kill %. You must know how to finish your opponent effectively to gain this advantage.
IV) Third Viewing - Opponent's Character
This viewing will be very similar to the second one, except you're going to try to view the match from the other character's perspective. The main things to be watching for here are openings and the resulting punishment. Like the previous viewing, pausing and reviewing repeatedly are recommended here.
Punishing Mistakes
As you watch, try to spot openings in the defenses of the character you're watching. When he makes a mistake, does it get punished? If so, what is the method of punishment? Would something else have worked better? How did the mistake come about in the first place - did they throw a move out randomly, or were they baited into it? Did they roll, tech, spotdodge, or airdodge predictably? Punishing is huge for characters like Wario and Sonic, who rely almost entirely on their opponent misreading the situation and opening themselves up as a result.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rA--ufdwRg
It doesn't really matter which side you watch in this match, they're both constantly trying to create openings to punish. If watching from Malcolm's POV, try to find instances where he commits to a spindash or an aerial when PhantomX is in position to punish it. From the other POV, try to spot instances where PhantomX leaves himself open by maneuvering too close while trying to get into position to punish a spindash (only to have Malcolm cancel it and punish). It can get confusing trying to read player intent from a video, but you can usually spot several instances where something worked to create a punishable opening.
Watching a match from both sides gives you valuable information on how and when to push a match in a certain direction. Do your best to get as much out of each of these viewings as possible.
V) Final Viewing - Tips and Tricks
Now that you've fully analyzed the strategical side of the match, simply go through the match looking for interesting move combinations and useful move strings. Watch for anything you feel you can incorporate into your game, be it a simple combo or a stage-related technique. Pause, review, or just watch at any pace you find comfortable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PYHLL94u3U
The combo to finish this match is pretty hawt. Generally good Nair combos from UTD Zac.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6rpqEJ_w4k
More UTD Zac shenanigans. Stalling under the rock is pretty hilarious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9_dnN7cZiQ
Boss knows how to Uair combo.
VI) Things to Avoid
Combo Videos
Combo videos, while entertaining and ridiculously cool, are generally something to avoid. If you're truly 'Watching to Learn', combo videos don't hold much value for you. They're mostly big compilations of ridiculous things happening, most of which you'll be unlikely to pull off once in a real match, ever.
However, meticulously analyzing videos to try to improve does get boring once in awhile. Take a break and watch some combo videos for enjoyment every now and again (or you could, you know, go outside or something). Just remember, trying to improve by watching only combo videos will likely get you nowhere.
The Dangers of 'Auto-Pilot'
It's very easy to go on 'auto-pilot' when watching match videos and stop actually looking for things that will help you get better. If you catch yourself doing this, take a break. Go actually play the game, or do something else entirely. Just randomly watching matches without any actual thought on your part won't help you get better.
The Importance of Practice
Learning from videos is an excellent way to improve your thought process while playing, but you will only truly progress if you take that knowledge and apply it in actual play. Don't get yourself into a rut of only watching or reading to improve, head over to your Wii and play the game!
When practicing, try to focus as much on the basics (pacing, spacing, and positioning) as possible until it's completely second nature to use these things to your advantage. Once you can do that, you can start to incorporate some tricks and advanced techniques into your game.
Try to practice against real people offline as much as possible, as it will help you the most in the long run. Wifi really won't be much use, especially in learning the basics, unless your connection is green/blue. The lag from wifi makes most of the basics trivial, and adapting to the lag the more important factor in winning. Avoid training yourself to deal with the lag; it will make your offline game worse.
Playing against computers is not necessarily 'bad' inherently, but you should be practicing the basics more than anything. It's easy to fall into a pattern of exploiting the AI's weaknesses (Kirby's Stone will almost aways hit and go unpunished, as an example) instead of practicing things that really matter. Play a relatively low level computer (no higher than 5) and try to take as little damage as possible, maintain your space, and punish the computers' mistakes as hard as possible.
VII) Credits and Closing Remarks
Thank you to the mods for making this place such a great place to discuss everything Smash.
Thank you to DMG for maintaining his 'The Best Vids of Each Character!' thread and for his insightful campfest against Razer on Brinstar.
I'd also like to thank everyone else I used video of in this post for providing quality footage (Lain, Omniswell, Xyro, Legan, NC-Echo, LDPK, UltimateRazer, AlphaZealot, SamuraiPanda, PhantomX, MalcolmM, UTD_Zac, Dojo, Boss, and Matador).
And finally, thanks in advance to anyone who helps me with advice on how to improve this guide. I realize that I'm far from perfect, and will greatly appreciate any constructive criticism or good video examples to add to the guide.
Now, get out on those interwebs and learn something useful!!
Update Log
9/19/2009 - Added 'Resources for Beginners' section, international video information, 'The Importance of Practice' section.
Thanks for the compliment!
