Ness (Super Smash Bros.): Difference between revisions

'''Ness''' (Japanese: '''{{tt|ネス|Nesu}}''' ''Ness'') is a playable character in the [[Super Smash Bros. series]]. Along with characters like [[mariowiki:Mario|Mario]], [[zeldawiki:Link|Link]], and [[wikirby:Kirby|Kirby]], Ness is a member of the "{{Sw|perfect attendance crew}}" who have been in every ''Super Smash Bros.'' game.

Ness is voiced by [[wikipedia:Makiko Ohmoto|Makiko Ōhmoto]] in all Smash Bros. games

== General information ==

Ness is depicted as being a slow middleweight character. Ness has a variety of different PSI moves used for his special attacks: [[PK Flash]] is his neutral special starting in Melee. It is a damaging move that gets stronger as the player charges it, when fully charged it is a powerful move that deals a lot of damage and can KO at low percentages. [[PK Fire]] is Ness's neutral special in the original Super Smash Bros, and his side special from Melee onward. Ness fires a lightning bolt that ignites into a piller of electrical fire upon hitting an opponent. Characters will get trapped in the flame piller as they also gradually take damage, making it a useful move for racking up damage and combos. [[PK Thunder]] is his up special. Ness fires a ball of lightning that can be controlled by the player, which damages an opponent upon contact, but disappears as it does. However if the player hits Ness with it, Ness will be launched like a missile which is very powerful and as it sends him far it can be used as a {{Sw|Recovery}} to get him back to the stage if he gets launced. [[PSI Magnet]] is Ness's down special. It functions as a shield surrounding Ness which absorbs energy based projectiles such as fire or ice and heals Ness as a result.

==In [[Super Smash Bros.]]==

 

In the early days of competitive Smash 64, Ness was considered to be top tier, among the ranks of [[smashwiki:Pikachu (SSB)|Pikachu]] and [[smashwiki:Kirby (SSB)|Kirby]]. One of the main reasons was for his aforementioned [[smashwiki:Double jump cancel|double jump cancel]], which was a big threat early on. However, as the years went on, Ness's flaws, specifically his poor range and recovery, became more apparent and abusable, causing Ness to drop to low tier. Currently, Ness sits at 10th out of 12th on the official tier list, however for Smash 64. Due to Ness being stronger in the Japanese version, however, the Japanese tier list ranks Ness as 5th out 12, in the high tier.

==In [[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]==

Despite being considered a low tier character in Smash 64, Ness had been heavily nerfed during the transition into Melee, similar to [[smashwiki:Pikachu (SSBM)|Pikachu]], [[smashwiki:Kirby (SSBM)|Kirby]], and [[smashwiki:Yoshi (SSBM)|Yoshi]]. Although his aerial game is superb thanks to his double jump cancel and he has access to some cheap kill options via the Yo-yo glitch, his KO power is extremely lackluster, which is made worse by the fact that his range, while significantly improved from the previous game, is still among the worst in the game. Furthermore, Ness's recovery via PK Thunder travels a shorter distance which, coupled with unfixed issues from the previous game, makes it arguably the worst in the game. As a result of his nerfs and poor viability, he is currently ranked 23rd out of 26 characters on the official Smashboards tier list, a slight fall from his placement on North America's Smash 64 but a significant drop from his placing on Japan's Smash 64 tier list.

==In [[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]==

Ness returns and is once again an unlockable fighter. To unlock him play five VS. matches, reflecting ten projectiles, or have Ness join the player's party in the {{Sw|Subspace Emissary}}.

Ness has achieved better tournament results in Brawl, being 26th out of 38 on the tier list. He was mostly buffed in his transition to Brawl, with his speed and KO power increased, although his double-jump cancel technique was removed. However he suffers from one major flaw: his grab-release animation is 10 frames longer than other characters, a trait he shares with [[Lucas (Super Smash Bros.)|Lucas]]. This makes him vulnerable to grab-release followups by many characters, including zero-to-death chain-grabs from characters like [[smashwiki:Marth (SSBB)|Marth]] and [[smashwiki:Donkey Kong (SSBM)|Donkey Kong]]. This trait is generally disliked by players and many Brawl [[smashwiki:gameplay modifications|mods]], such as {{Sw|Project M}}, remove the extra grab-release frames, and overall he performs much better there.

==In [[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U]]==

Ness is playable in both versions of the game, he is unlockable in the 3DS version and a starter in the Wii U version. Ness was buffed in his transition to this game: his extra 10 grab-release frames were removed so he is no longer vulnerable to grab-release combos. His recovery was greatly improved, it no longer disappears when hitting an opponent until the "tail" leaves his body, additionally Ness has a small window where he can use PK Thunder again if he crashes into a wall or ceiling. Due to these buffs, Ness is now a high tier character ranked 28th out of 58 characters, tied with Lucas, being his best placement to date and similar to his placement in the Japanese version of the original game.

==In [[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]==

As the game brings back every past {{Sw|veteran}} from previous games, Ness once again returns, now he is unlockable as the starting roster consists only of the original eight starting fighters from the original ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'', however he is usually the first character to be unlocked. This time Ness has been buffed significantly: most of his moveset has recieved increased KO power and combo potential, as well as reduced lag. His specials have been buffed, with PK Flash being faster no longer making him {{Sw|helpless}}, PK Fire has reduced lag, PK Thunder dealing more damage and knockback, and PSI Magnet now deals direct damage. His up and down yo-yo smashes are now reverted to their pre-SSB4 render, where they are now active while being charged. They have also regained their KO potential from the original Super Smash Bros. game, and most infamously, they now hang off ledges, which combined with their KO power, makes it a lethal edge-guarding technique. The return of directional {{Sw|air dodging}} greatly improves his recovery, as it is much safer to use when closer to the stage than PK Thunder. Because of these buffs, Ness is now a much stronger fighter than he has ever been in previous games. He has achived excellent tournament results in Ultimate's early metagame, whith many players reguarding him as a high tier, even a few players considering him as a top tier fighter.