I never said he was a straight pick up and play character. There is a lot to him and hes definitely one that takes practice and skill, but im saying of hard to use characters he's not quite up there. Pikachu is still piss easy to pick up and use compared to a lot of characters but that doesnt mean he isnt hard to use. Swiftness doesnt matter unless you come from a chracter who is bulky and slow naturally, only then is it a hard shift.
I do agree that fox is a pick up and play much more so than pikachu, but if your looking at it from just a pikachu's players perspective i dont think you realize how comparable the effort is, especially when your u smashes are both excellent in killing. Pikachu and fox ironically have some similar way of getting percents and killing. They bot have fantastic f and smashes, their areials both can lead into other moves, and both have a couple throw set ups, though pikachu has more and his are far superior.
And frankly, to says tiers dont matter at all is very ignorant. Theres a reason the tier list exists, its a representation of who does better in the meta game and as it stands the top tiers have the best match ups. It is very true that a low tier can beat a high tier with player skill, but the thing is the difference in skill has to be fairly large for a zelda to beat a sheik or something of the like. The reason the tier list exists is because it shows which chracter reach their limits faster. The lowest of the tiers can only go so far before they get capped and have no more options available as compared to the top tiers who have a drastically higher amount of options. And personally i think because pikachu players re not on everyones eyes due to a lack of players, not to say they dont exist but there arent as many, that pikachu players as a whole are mostly ignorant to the fact that they simply have a good character with excelllent match ups, who has the tools needed to take down almost anyone.
The argument that no one is the same dwindles down a little when you realize that a lot of characters ARE similar. When you have a game with such drastic differences when they do exist, such as pikachu's smaller hurtbox, you need to keep some options restricted to ensure they cant get away with a lot of things other characters can while doing things the others also cant. I think the best example is G&W who CAN have a insanely small hurtbox but he doesnt have insane kill options or set ups like other characters do. Pikachu simply isnt like this and can avoid a lot of basic punishes because of the safety of his moves.
And frankly i still disagree, i still think its just a blindness pikachu players have that their character is perfect. This isnt limited to only pikachu players though dont get me wrong a lot of players have the same ideas. But s you said, pikachu has fast attacks that lead into very handy set ups that can lead to kills. Pikachu also has aan incredible gimp game. He has good smashes. Is fast and can recover from almost anything. He is lighter than some other characters but thats also a good thing, If he was a heavier character or a fast faller that small hurtbox would matter less because then combo's against him would be a lot esier, but because he's lighter, while he may be easier to kill he's harder to combo. Another pikachu complaint i see is that he lacks kill power but this is a non issue when you actually try to go for reads. if you cn read your opponent pikachu's usmash and f smash should not be an issue at all and most of his aerials gimp enough.
Personally i think the perfect example of a fast character that is balanced is brawl sonic. He can be extremely fast but he lacks the options other characters had. He relied on combo's that required on the spot thinking and didnt have anything that made that too easy. That said that sort of character aslo had its flaws and deserved some buffs. I would hate to see something similar happen to pikachu but i do feel some of his moves should be given less hit stun, do less damage, or have more base knockback so that they dont chain together in such an easy manner.
I would also like to point out that this very thread is based on reasons to not like pikachu and thats all im doing, im giving you reasons. :3 Though i do agree with the whole psychological warfare aspect, pika is very much that sort of character XD
I would have no issue seeing a tweak or nerf on pikachu but i do think he would deserve a buff in some area to counteract said thing as long as its an equal buff.
And as a note, i do want to point out that criticism isnt a bad thing As a sonic main i'm very well experienced in being hated or criticized for my character choice but i love the character and no nerfs or hate will change that so i respect your decision to keep playing pikachu in the face of aggression or hate. Its a great quality that you should keep, but if your not willing to see the positives your character has or accept that sort of criticism your not doing yourself any favors.
Anyways Have a Good Day :3
(Also when the major complain with sonic was his campiness, nerfing him in a way that makes him more campy doesnt help.
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