WaffleDinosaur
´ ͜`
The only 2 players I can think of are Axe and Anther.
What makes Pikachu so unlikable, is it his lack of "PMness"?
What makes Pikachu so unlikable, is it his lack of "PMness"?
-
Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!
You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!
Why is there such a lack of high level Pikachu players?
- Thread starter WaffleDinosaur
- Start date
ForgottenLabRat
Smash Journeyman
He is very gimpy in my opinion. Characters like Fox,Lucas, and other technical characters are hard to play but rewarding as you can create hype as hell combos as well as having a very high skill ceiling so there is always room for improvement. I feel like Pikachu just isn't as rewarding to play compared to the other characters because a big part of what pikachu does is gimp. This isn't saying he can't do other cooler things like QA combos but they are kind of gimmicky. Pikachu has a lot of tech in terms of movement like QAs and edge cancels but lacks tech in other areas. I have tried to play Pikachu multiple times and I always find that he isn't as hype as other characters. I know I'm gonna get some hate from pikachu mains but I'm giving the reason why I don't play him.
Pikachu or particularly Axe, is super hype in melee because he is a low tier hero and any character other than fox,falco,marth,sheik, or puff is hype because it shows how good the player is and maybe that these characters can be serious threats in tournaments if people put in enough time. Hell even link is super hype in melee, but do you really think Link would be hype if he was top tier (sorry if I offend and link mains)? The problem is that Pikachu is an even playing field now against characters like Fox and Sheik which eliminates the low tier hype not leaving him with much left. IMO, I think they need to change pikachu up a bit moving away from 64/melee pikachu and create a whole new PM pikachu which is more hype and a
crowd-pleaser.
I'm sure I'm gonna get some angry pikaplayers ranting at me but I think Pikachu is a super cool character in PM but just needs a little tweaking (as well as other characters) to appeal to more players.
Pikachu or particularly Axe, is super hype in melee because he is a low tier hero and any character other than fox,falco,marth,sheik, or puff is hype because it shows how good the player is and maybe that these characters can be serious threats in tournaments if people put in enough time. Hell even link is super hype in melee, but do you really think Link would be hype if he was top tier (sorry if I offend and link mains)? The problem is that Pikachu is an even playing field now against characters like Fox and Sheik which eliminates the low tier hype not leaving him with much left. IMO, I think they need to change pikachu up a bit moving away from 64/melee pikachu and create a whole new PM pikachu which is more hype and a
crowd-pleaser.
I'm sure I'm gonna get some angry pikaplayers ranting at me but I think Pikachu is a super cool character in PM but just needs a little tweaking (as well as other characters) to appeal to more players.
Choice Scarf
Smash Journeyman
Lack of hype is probably a big part of it, but that's a bit difficult to adjust considering Pika's playstyle. Since his moves are quick, light, and overall modest looking, there's less visual conveyance to the audience of where the hype is. The speed of the moves is of course fantastic for any fighting game, but because they are low in power and overall not very flashy it's hard to look like the kills are deserved. Lack of hitstun means limited combos, lack of range means limited control, and lack of startup and power on finishers means its harder to appreciate Pika's traditional fighting game KO methods to the casual observer. When a general audience gets hype over Pikachu (outside of QA which is movement so besides the point), it's usually not about the super quick, hard to miss Upsmash but the call of the flashy Thunder that comes after it. Tailspikes and gimps in general are nowhere near as powerful looking despite being more reliable and integral to Pika's play, and it's harder to appreciate the skill needed when just looking at it and seeing a weak hit net the same effect (KO) as a power move or a long, hard earned combo.
But the biggest reason for lack of players is simply because he's a hard character to play. Axe and Anther are extremely precise in their movement, spacing, and option selection, but even watching their play it seems to always feel like and uphill battle against most match-ups. Both players still make mistakes (Anther's particularly infamous for his SD's) and have frequently used secondaries. Outside of Pika's speed and recovery, there isn't much about him that conveys intimidation or conventional tactics. Small wavedash, negative priority on DD, small shield and grab, poor air mobility, low weight, lack of power for hitstun/clanks and lack of general range and disjoint forces immediate reliance on more technical things like SHFFL and QA and as little of screwing said tech up to make up for the lack of perceived power. Couple that with Pika's lack of hype and you get a character that's hard to pick up, hard to keep up, and hard to get the impression of getting reward out of it.
It's debatable how big of a flaw this is or not (considering Pika's still somewhat successful at the highest levels of play), but the fact is that Pika's just not a noob friendly character, and judging by the lack of Pika players in any game save maybe 64, that's just how he's always been. He's still a very solid character with balanced strengths and weaknesses, but when the rest of the cast has more room for error then you can see why he's not particularly used. People I play also describe him as hard to hit or living forever, so maybe from the opponent's view he may not be fun or fair to play against either. And when the classic casual impression of a Pika player is to spam Thunder it doesn't help the case very much.
I really wish for more Pika players at all, then maybe we can get more high level players from that. Until then just be flashy in your own ways. Use F-smash and Dair and even footstools more. Do crazy QA mixups. Go for the reckless Skull bash finish offstage! Push Pika in all directions, discovery as much "PMness" as we can, and maybe then other players will want to pick him up too.
But the biggest reason for lack of players is simply because he's a hard character to play. Axe and Anther are extremely precise in their movement, spacing, and option selection, but even watching their play it seems to always feel like and uphill battle against most match-ups. Both players still make mistakes (Anther's particularly infamous for his SD's) and have frequently used secondaries. Outside of Pika's speed and recovery, there isn't much about him that conveys intimidation or conventional tactics. Small wavedash, negative priority on DD, small shield and grab, poor air mobility, low weight, lack of power for hitstun/clanks and lack of general range and disjoint forces immediate reliance on more technical things like SHFFL and QA and as little of screwing said tech up to make up for the lack of perceived power. Couple that with Pika's lack of hype and you get a character that's hard to pick up, hard to keep up, and hard to get the impression of getting reward out of it.
It's debatable how big of a flaw this is or not (considering Pika's still somewhat successful at the highest levels of play), but the fact is that Pika's just not a noob friendly character, and judging by the lack of Pika players in any game save maybe 64, that's just how he's always been. He's still a very solid character with balanced strengths and weaknesses, but when the rest of the cast has more room for error then you can see why he's not particularly used. People I play also describe him as hard to hit or living forever, so maybe from the opponent's view he may not be fun or fair to play against either. And when the classic casual impression of a Pika player is to spam Thunder it doesn't help the case very much.
I really wish for more Pika players at all, then maybe we can get more high level players from that. Until then just be flashy in your own ways. Use F-smash and Dair and even footstools more. Do crazy QA mixups. Go for the reckless Skull bash finish offstage! Push Pika in all directions, discovery as much "PMness" as we can, and maybe then other players will want to pick him up too.
Capitulize
Smash Rookie
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2014
- Messages
- 22
hes ***** hard lol
fleskywood
Smash Rookie
- Joined
- May 1, 2015
- Messages
- 20
- NNID
- flesky
- 3DS FC
- 2578-3364-1466
he's actually kinda fun to play
then again i always think the harder characters are fun, so i'm not sure
i mean, i don't think pikachu is that hard, you just run up, usmash, uairx3 until you have enough damage to kill the opponent
ofc it's not that simple, but that's all you have to do for his offensive play, it feels like
then again i always think the harder characters are fun, so i'm not sure
i mean, i don't think pikachu is that hard, you just run up, usmash, uairx3 until you have enough damage to kill the opponent
ofc it's not that simple, but that's all you have to do for his offensive play, it feels like
sheNanagans
Smash Apprentice
very high sill requirement for very little reward. Pika has quite a few horrible matchups too.
I've had success in the past with Pika, but the way it tends to play out is that he feels a bit more gimmicky than I'd prefer. By that, I mean I generally can find really successful first games or a couple stocks of greatness, but then a couple adjustments by the opponent and it's become significantly harder. I used him like 50% of the time at an IaB and got to Winner's Finals against Sethlon. Pika didn't work out for the rest of the day and I got 3rd, and swapping off the character mid-day was difficult. Rest of my chars were now bad.
More of a commitment to a character than I'd like. If I preferred his playstyle or personality over say Falcon, I'd play him pretty extensively. But I don't, and to maintain him at any decent level, you have to play him quite a decent amount imo. Not a character you keep in the pockets, making lint piles, just to whip out.
More of a commitment to a character than I'd like. If I preferred his playstyle or personality over say Falcon, I'd play him pretty extensively. But I don't, and to maintain him at any decent level, you have to play him quite a decent amount imo. Not a character you keep in the pockets, making lint piles, just to whip out.