Cazcom
Smash Apprentice
So I don’t want to sound rude, but I’ve been unimpressed with the match-up guides so far. Everything was a bunch of ness players chattering about what works for them, but eventually devolving into complaining about chain-grabs and how the match-up isn’t ranked correctly. I (like most ness players) would actually like an in-depth match-up guide for the characters.
In that spirit, I decided to write one myself. Please note that everything I write is merely my opinion, from the experiences I have had playing brawl.
This *HOPEFULLY WILL BE* a guide for how ness stacks up against each of the 37 characters in brawl. This also includes suggestions for how to approach each match-up The thoughts in this guide are my own, and represent my beliefs on each individual match-up. It is my hope that this guide will evolve over time to include the beliefs and tactics of the best ness players, and that when someone is stuck against a certain character, this will help them find some tactics to utilize against their opponent.
I will rank the match-up on a scale from 1 to 5. Pretty simple:
1 = Ness is at a big disadvantage
2 = Ness is at a small disadvantage
3 = There is not at a notable disadvantage or advantage
4 = Ness is at a small advantage
5 = Ness is at a large advantage
I know I only started with one character, but I thought I should get it out early, to help the most people the soonest as possible. Also, I started with Zelda because my Doubles team partner is Zelda, and we do a lot of training together.
Zelda : Thursday, June 19, 2008
Pit : Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Please let me know what character you want to see. I'm thinking of doing either mario, snake, or pit next, but I'm open to suggestions. If I don't play tourney matches against that character, it may take me a little longer to research videos, etc.
I hope you find this useful, despite its incompleteness.
__________________________________________________________________________
Overview:
This is one of the easiest match-ups for Ness. Most Zelda users rely heavily on Din’s Fire for their distance game. This major part of their game should be a non-factor now that they are facing an opponent who can heal.
Ness can effectively DI out of a variety of Zelda’s most powerful moves as well, limiting Zelda to only a few Kill Moves.
Ness can also effectively edge-guard Zelda. Plain and simple; She is one of the easiest opponents to edge-guard.
Ness has a better ground game than Zelda, and should really only be incredibely wary when he is even with Zelda in the air. Zelda’s Lightning Kick will end Ness’s life, quickly…
Approach:
An experienced Zelda player will start the match with Din’s Fire. Because you have 0% damage, there is no risk in them using the attack until they score a hit. Try to close the gap by intermixing PSI magnet (with lag canceling), power shielding, and/or spot dodging. Be careful when closing the second half of the distance. Vary how you approach tail end, and be careful to watch out for the Zelda, who may decide to rush you.
They will also try to attempt this when you come back from a death. Upon dying, use your invincibility to close the gap between you and Zelda. When you have some damage on you, punish any Zelda stupid enough to try to Din’s fire you. Assuming the Zelda knows what they’re doing, they won’t Din’s Fire you at all unless they “know” they can get it. With that said, especially when you’re off the edge, be ready to PSI magnet at any moment for a free 15-20% health.
Approaching the Zelda can be done with a dash attack, but be careful for a powersheild --> DownSmash from Zelda. This can be deadly at over 100% damage. Try to hit with the second or third hit from the dash attack. SH Fair, as well as a sliding UpSmash also work well against Zelda.
Just be aware that Zelda can counter a normally short hopped fair with her upsmash. She gets priority iirc. It's easy to fall into if you don't know about it.
If the Zelda is standing still, expect them to be very defensive, and approach in ways that aren’t very punishable. The Zelda is probably wanting to power-shield or spot dodge to set up her UpSmash or DownSmash.
Zelda’s dash attack is fairly weak, and if your opponent consistently uses a dash attack during their approach, punish with PK fire. Most Zelda’s will also mix in a SH fair/bair, known as the Lightning Kick. This is very deadly, but only if sweet-spotted, and the sweet-spot is fairly small. Ness can spot dodge or roll from that very easily.
Ground:
Zelda has a fairly good ground game, the main moves to look out for are her FSmash, UpSmash, DownSmash, UpTilt, and DownTilt.
Zelda’s FSmash is a series of small hits with a large final hit knocking you away from her. Try to DI away from her while the small hits are coming, but DI up and Towards the stage when the last hit comes, if you didn’t get out of the smash.
Zelda’s UpSmash, like the Fsmash is a series of hits, with a large final hit that knocks you straight up into the air. At low percentages, this is easy for Zelda to chain, so try to get farther into the air in hopes of minimizing damage. As soon as you get caught in this, try to DI down and to one side (the side of Zelda you are on). Continue this pattern to avoid large knock-back.
Zelda’s DownSmash spins her 360 degrees, and lands two hits, one on each side of her. Be very, very careful of this move if you are over 100% damage. Any DI against this move results in pain and suffering, as the moves sends you very quickly, nearly parallel to the stage.
Zelda’s UpTilt has similar knock-back to the UpSmash, but condensed into one swift motion. It is very dangerous, and Ness should not attempt to Dair Zelda if she’s on the ground.
Zelda’s DownTilt is a very good trap. It’s a trip-kick with long reach. If you get caught in this, do not panic! Simply DI away from Zelda while simultaneously trying to time a power-shield, and you should be out of this combo without taking more than 20%.
Initially, it may seem like Zelda has a better ground game than ness, but that’s not the case. There are a lot of weaknesses to exploit.
Ness should be able to DI out of most attacks he gets caught in fairly quickly as long as you’re under 75% or so, and it’s very easy to grab Zelda, or catch her with nearly any of Ness’s moves. As long as you are aware of the moves you may get caught in, and are ready to DI out of them, this should be cake.
The best thing you can do with Zelda is get her into the air, so here are a few maneuvers that work very well against her if you aren’t able to get her in the air for an extended period of time by mixing in the rest of your attacks.
If you catch a Zelda with a PK fire, the Zelda will most likely try to spam Nayru’s Love to counter it. If you do a SH over the Zelda, and follow it with a Bair as you land, you can rack up a lot of damage. As you land, it’s also fairly easy to catch them with another PK fire, to do this again (this is because most Zeldas will focus on trying to get back to the ground instead of distancing themselves from you).
Another trick since Zelda’s expect you to bring them into the air, try using a Dthrow, and instead of following up with an aerial, try Firebound Jumping. If you can’t master this, a Fair may work, but most Zeldas will be ready for the Fair, not the Firebound Jump.
Air:
The Air is where you want Zelda, and although she has a powerful UpAir, Fair, and Bair, if you position yourself correctly, Ness should be able to have an easy time with an airborne Zelda.
Zelda’s UpAir is a big explosion with a decent radius of knockback, but it is very easy to avoid. If you are worried about this, then you’re not air-dodging, fast-falling, or PSI-stalling well enough.
Zelda’s Fair/Bair are very powerful when sweet-spotted. I can’t emphasize enough that you do not want to be even with Zelda in the air. Floating down next to here is a guaranteed Lightning Kick from any good Zelda player.
Zelda has a very small sweet-spot for her Dair, and if hit it will spike pretty hard. It’s just something to be careful of, although the best they can do is break even with you, as your UpAir will send Zelda Up and the Spike will send you Down at the same time. Just be careful if you’re off the stage.
If you are in the air with Zelda, it’s very easy to UpAir her. This w be you main form of attack. It’s fairly simple to chain 2-3 UpAirs followed by a PKT when Zelda is at low damage.
The Fair, and Bair work very well too, just make sure that you are slightly above Zelda. Her Lightning Kicks come out of the bottom half of her body, and careful positioning can greatly reduce your chance of receiving one of those high-heels of death to the face.
Edge-Guarding:
Zelda is, by far, one of the easiest people for ness to Edge-guard. If jumping out after the opponent is your style, feel free. Be careful of the lighting kicks and the spike, but it’s very easy to read Zelda’s jumps, so you should be okay. Nair works well against her. Spiking is also very easy if you read when Zelda is going to teleport, since the teleport has pretty long start-up lag.
If you prefer staying on land, PK flash works pretty well for the Zelda who likes to barely get back on stage. Zelda’s UpB will have an explosion around her when she ends her teleport, and Zelda’s like to use this to get back to land safely. Bring a PK Flash directly over your head, and time the explosion when they try to teleport. If done correctly, you may receive the knock back from her teleport ending, but your flash should still catch her.
the PKT2 false edgeguard works wonders on Zelda. Just put PKT around the ledge with the tail so she cant sweetspot. She will be forced to recover on stage. When she does, PKT2 her. If she doess go for the sweetspot, she will get tailwhipped, drop under the stage, and be gimped completely. A good Zelda will be able to teleport into you for the knockback, so be ready it may take some practice on when to circle the PKT off the edge and when to come back and hit yourself.
Edge-hogging is pretty easy since you are given a large window in which to get onto the edge. Just know that if you run out of invincibility, here UpB does give knock-back when she reappears. It’s best to edge hog when Zelda is below the stage.
When you are off the edge, be ready to PSI magnet against Din’s Fire, since some Zelda’s like to think they can edge-guard you with it.
DF is really Zelda’s only edge guarding move, so there shouldn’t be many worries. If you need to PKT2 to get back to the stage, just make sure you are far enough down to avoid a short-hop lighting kick from Zelda and you should be fine.
Counter-Pick Stages:
Assuming You’ve half a brain, you’ve banned Yoshi’s Island
so you don’t have to worry about that. Zelda will likely pick levels with platforms, such as BF or PS or PS2 in order to have a better chance of landing her lightning kicks. When playing on these stages, or stages such as these, just try to remember to stay low. Zelda’s aerials are really good, and you have to position yourself carefully to win the air battle.
If you’ve lost to the Zelda, you always have the standard flat counter picks like FD and Smashville, but other classic ness CP stages also work. Green Greens is okay, but has no large advantage over Zelda. Since her jumps aren’t the best, levels with water are also a plus. And because we love to gimp Zelda, try to steer clear of levels without a solid floor. If Zelda can UpB through the floor, it makes it much more difficult to Edge-guard her.
Summary:
When approaching Zelda, be ready to PSI magnet her Din’s Fire, and know that a SH Fair or sliding UpSmash should be able to beat most things Zelda will try to approach you with. Also, be careful with the Zelda that stays in one spot during your approach. Use hard-to-punish moves then.
On the ground, just be ready to DI out of the attacks she catches you in, and you should be fine. Most of your moves should be able to beat out hers.
As long you aren’t in line of her lightning kicks, Zelda is a piece of cake for Ness to defeat in the air. Try chaining your aerials together. PKT juggling is also very effective.
There are so many ways to edge-guard Zelda, so basically any edge-guarding technique you’ve ever learned should be effective against Zelda. Her jumps are very predictable, and her UpB has a long start-up lag. Avoid Lighting kick and Din’s Fire on your recovery.
And be extra careful any time you are near a platform. Zelda is most dangerous when she is in the air and at the same height as you.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Overview:
In nearly every aspect Ness should have an advantage over pit. In fact, unless you’re playing a really good Pit, Pit is a pretty easy match-up for ness. It is when you start playing pits who are really good with the mirror shield and know how to wing-dash properly that Pit starts to have the upper hand. Because of this, I find pit to be an even match-up against ness.
Ness has the ability to gimp pit, and prevent him from using his Wings (Up-B) to their full advantage.
Approach:
This is where pit’s tend to think ness has them beat. Pit has a few basic kill moves, mainly his U-smash and D-smash. However, both of these moves get hurt quickly by stale-move redundancy. This is why most pits tend to try to rack up damage with arrows, Nairs, and the Angel Ring. Ness has the ability to take the arrows, the most prominent of those three, away from pit.
When approaching pit, use that PSI magnet. If your opponent is predictable with trying to arrow you as you get close (pits tend to do this because it prevents them from using their kill moves, and also provides a short stun) feel free to fake an approach and then PSI magnet, or try to hit with the last hit of Ness’s Dash attack.
Since a good Pit player will realize his arrows = fail, they will tend to approach with either a glide or a SH nair. The glide attack can be powershielded, or if you’re confidant, you can PKT the glide before it reaches you. The SH nair can be countered by Ness’s SH Fair. It’s important to note that timing is the key here. You must get your Fair out before his Nair in order to ensure priority. Because you both will be relying on one main form of approach, as you approach pit, be ready for a shield grab.
Also, the approach can seem difficult for both parties because it is a lot of mind-games and reading your opponent. When approaching pit, try to always be ready to counter his SH Nair with Fair, but be wary not to always follow up your Fair towards him. If you can play defensively, and maintain distance until there is an opening, you should have the advantages in the approach.
Ground:
The ground, sadly, is where a good pit will have you beat, although not by much. You should also note the advantage is only slight.
Pit’s two main finishers are going to be his F-Smash and D-Smash. Both of these are pretty good killing moves. The D-smash hits both sides, so that is something to note. These come out quick, and hit hard, meaning you can’t DI out of them mid-attack. SO when you are at high percentages, make sure to try to not leave yourself open for these two attacks.
Pit’s Up-Smash is pretty good when he slides, but it isn’t something a floaty character like ness should have any trouble with. You can beat it with most moves, but I wouldn’t suggest D-airing against it because of it’s quick start up.
Pit’s only good tilt against Ness is the F-tilt. The D-tilt and U-tilt don’t have the horizontal range to really pose a threat. The D-tilt could be used to combo Ness after Pit power shields, but Pit has much better moves to follow up with.
Pits arrows should not be a problem at all, and this is why a lot of pit players find ness to be a very difficult match-up. Use this mentality to your advantage. Always be ready for the arrow, and don’t be afraid (assuming you’re at safe distance) to use PSI magnet occasionally just to remind them that they shouldn’t use their arrows. (Note: a good pit will try to use his arrows as he knocks you back. If you don’t have the ability to PSI magnet yet, try to time a dodge or a F-air to negate the arrow).
Pit has the ability to reflect projectiles with 2 attacks. His Angel Blade (Forward-B, and his Mirror Shield (Down-B) both reflect projectiles. This means that for all you PKF techniquists out there should be careful. It is important to note that only the area in front of pit reflects, meaning you can PK jump the PKF to hit over the shield/blades in order to still land a hit. This can set up nicely for a fire walk, since pit is tall enough to pull this off against.
Wing-dash : This is what makes the good pit players annoying. Pit has an advanced technique called wing-dash (SH to Up-B to Dair) which makes his Up-B show up and cancel relatively quickly. This tech gives a slight push back (stronger than the PSI wind), and also NEGATES PROJECTILES. This will cancel out your PKT and your PKF (not sure on PK Flash). There is also a variation on this where Pit will just (Up-B to Dair) in order to hit a dashing opponent. This is something you need to figure out if your opponent uses, and react accordingly. Don’t let it throw you off, but be ready to have a Fair or SH Nair ready after your PKF. Most Pit players tends to follow this technique up with a F-tilt.
Grabs. Pit’s grabs suck. Ness’s grabs rock. That’s about all there is to it. You should be able to grab pit relatively easy, although you should be careful of the push back from the Wing-dash, and also Pit has a slight pivot slide ability. It often works best to power shield grab or SH F-air grab. And Start B-throws at about 100% or so.
Air
In the air, you have the advantage in almost every situation, as long as things are timed well. Fair, like usual, will be your best friend. Pit has two moves with disjointed hitboxes, and those are his Nair and his Uair. Ness is able to out-range the Nair, and a very precise Dair will beat his Uair. You should note that his Uair can be a killer, so I wouldn’t try it unless you’re below 100% or very confident in your Dairs.
Pit’s Bair is one of his best kill moves, but it has very short range. Conveniently, your Bair out-ranges his, in both sour-spot and sweet-spot.
Pit’s Dair is weird. It sends the opponent upwards. It has a mid-slow start up time however, which means you should feel comfortable launching a few Uairs from time to time.
I tend to use Nair less against pit because pit does have some quick-start up moves with longer range, but rising nairs should tend to work well against pit’s slow starting Dair.
Edge-Guarding
This is a very tricky situation. In my opinion, the edge-guarding decides the game in this match-up. I’ll start with the terrible news. You have no PKT2 recovery in this match-up. Don’t use it. A good pit player will hop off the edge and use his mirror shield to bounce you back. The worst part is, the timing isn’t that precise, since he can keep the mirror shield out for as long as he wants. You…Will…Die…
With that said, there are a few things you can do to minimize the danger. For starters, most pits won’t try to hit you with arrows since they know about your PSI magnet (make sure they’re well aware of your PSI magnet). This ends up working to your advantage because the PSI magnet stops your horizontal movement, making it more likely that you’ll end up having to use PKT2 to recover. If pit does use arrows against you, try dodging them like normal, or if you are rising up while he shoots, try a Fair, the disjointed hit box can often negate the arrows. Whatever you do, just make sure you spend as little time off the stage as possible. (note : also be careful PKT2’ing anywhere near the edge)
When edge-guarding pit, you should have one thing on your mind. Get him to use his Up-B. You should note that pit has 4 jumps before he has to use his Up-B. Keep this in mind as you try to keep him away. A series of Fairs & Nairs should work, or you could also try to PKT him. When pit uses his Up-B, use your pkt to chase him. If you hit pit with any attack while he has his Up-B activated, he does not get his Up-B back. This should be your main strategy for keeping him off the edge.
Counter-Pick Stages
Pit works well where he has a lot of room to move freely. Pit loves to be able to grab onto a bunch of ledges, and play on levels where the floor isn’t solid underneath. Pit may pick stages like Norfair, delfino, or halberd, especially if you beat him on the neutral stages he likes (FD, BF, or Smashville). Also, Be warned, pit does very well on Hanabow. It would be my suggestion that you do not pick yoshi’s island as your stage ban. Yoshi’s is a very poor stage for pit as well, so it may be better to ban Hanabow (if it’s legal in your area) or Norfair, since those are his best two stages.
If you find yourself in a stage with a bottom he can jump through, be ready for him to do a series of jumps followed by Uairs as he jumps under the stage. This can be easily avoided, but then he comes back to the stage. A well timed Dair may send him to his grave though.
In a map with a lot of ledges, be prepared for lots of arrows, lots of jumping with Uair, and lots of running away in general. The pit will do a lot of bouncing around the stage, but by intelligent use of PSI magnet, you can deny him free spam damage. On these stages, it’ll be about closing the gap without taking damage.
Pit’s worst maps are maps that he cannot fly under to grab the edge on the other side of the map. With that in mind, like I said before, it may be in your best interest not to Ban Yoshi’s Island. There’s a good chance pit already banned it, so when picking your counter-pick, you should look to other levels where you have some stage help like pictochat, and Pirate Ship. Jungle Japes may also be a good stage, but only if you are comfortable that your ness can work well and still avoid all the stage hazards.
: I would suggest pirate ship because you don’t have to worry about pits gimping ability :
Summary:
Pit is a tricky match-up, if mainly for the fact that a lot of Ness players find Pit to be difficult to play against…. And a lot of Pit players find Ness to be difficult to play against. The key to this match-up is playing on your strengths. The match-up has relies a lot of the ability to read your opponent. When approaching, use F-airs to approach, while being careful not to get shield grabbed. Also make sure you are taking advantage of PSI magnet to limit Pit’s spam game.
On the ground, be careful not to leave yourself open to Pit’s two finishers, F-smash, and D-Smash. In the air, don’t leave yourself open to his U-air or his B-air, but know that you can out range almost everything.
When being edge-guarded, TRY TO RECOVER WITHOUT USING PKT2. When edge-guarding, just make him use his Up-B, and you should be able to gimp him. Also note that pit is light and can be B-thrown at 100% or so.
________________________________________________________________________________________
In that spirit, I decided to write one myself. Please note that everything I write is merely my opinion, from the experiences I have had playing brawl.
This *HOPEFULLY WILL BE* a guide for how ness stacks up against each of the 37 characters in brawl. This also includes suggestions for how to approach each match-up The thoughts in this guide are my own, and represent my beliefs on each individual match-up. It is my hope that this guide will evolve over time to include the beliefs and tactics of the best ness players, and that when someone is stuck against a certain character, this will help them find some tactics to utilize against their opponent.
I will rank the match-up on a scale from 1 to 5. Pretty simple:
1 = Ness is at a big disadvantage
2 = Ness is at a small disadvantage
3 = There is not at a notable disadvantage or advantage
4 = Ness is at a small advantage
5 = Ness is at a large advantage
I know I only started with one character, but I thought I should get it out early, to help the most people the soonest as possible. Also, I started with Zelda because my Doubles team partner is Zelda, and we do a lot of training together.
Zelda : Thursday, June 19, 2008
Pit : Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Please let me know what character you want to see. I'm thinking of doing either mario, snake, or pit next, but I'm open to suggestions. If I don't play tourney matches against that character, it may take me a little longer to research videos, etc.
I hope you find this useful, despite its incompleteness.
__________________________________________________________________________
Zelda (5)
Overview:
This is one of the easiest match-ups for Ness. Most Zelda users rely heavily on Din’s Fire for their distance game. This major part of their game should be a non-factor now that they are facing an opponent who can heal.
Ness can effectively DI out of a variety of Zelda’s most powerful moves as well, limiting Zelda to only a few Kill Moves.
Ness can also effectively edge-guard Zelda. Plain and simple; She is one of the easiest opponents to edge-guard.
Ness has a better ground game than Zelda, and should really only be incredibely wary when he is even with Zelda in the air. Zelda’s Lightning Kick will end Ness’s life, quickly…
Approach:
An experienced Zelda player will start the match with Din’s Fire. Because you have 0% damage, there is no risk in them using the attack until they score a hit. Try to close the gap by intermixing PSI magnet (with lag canceling), power shielding, and/or spot dodging. Be careful when closing the second half of the distance. Vary how you approach tail end, and be careful to watch out for the Zelda, who may decide to rush you.
They will also try to attempt this when you come back from a death. Upon dying, use your invincibility to close the gap between you and Zelda. When you have some damage on you, punish any Zelda stupid enough to try to Din’s fire you. Assuming the Zelda knows what they’re doing, they won’t Din’s Fire you at all unless they “know” they can get it. With that said, especially when you’re off the edge, be ready to PSI magnet at any moment for a free 15-20% health.
Approaching the Zelda can be done with a dash attack, but be careful for a powersheild --> DownSmash from Zelda. This can be deadly at over 100% damage. Try to hit with the second or third hit from the dash attack. SH Fair, as well as a sliding UpSmash also work well against Zelda.
Just be aware that Zelda can counter a normally short hopped fair with her upsmash. She gets priority iirc. It's easy to fall into if you don't know about it.
If the Zelda is standing still, expect them to be very defensive, and approach in ways that aren’t very punishable. The Zelda is probably wanting to power-shield or spot dodge to set up her UpSmash or DownSmash.
Zelda’s dash attack is fairly weak, and if your opponent consistently uses a dash attack during their approach, punish with PK fire. Most Zelda’s will also mix in a SH fair/bair, known as the Lightning Kick. This is very deadly, but only if sweet-spotted, and the sweet-spot is fairly small. Ness can spot dodge or roll from that very easily.
Ground:
Zelda has a fairly good ground game, the main moves to look out for are her FSmash, UpSmash, DownSmash, UpTilt, and DownTilt.
Zelda’s FSmash is a series of small hits with a large final hit knocking you away from her. Try to DI away from her while the small hits are coming, but DI up and Towards the stage when the last hit comes, if you didn’t get out of the smash.
Zelda’s UpSmash, like the Fsmash is a series of hits, with a large final hit that knocks you straight up into the air. At low percentages, this is easy for Zelda to chain, so try to get farther into the air in hopes of minimizing damage. As soon as you get caught in this, try to DI down and to one side (the side of Zelda you are on). Continue this pattern to avoid large knock-back.
Zelda’s DownSmash spins her 360 degrees, and lands two hits, one on each side of her. Be very, very careful of this move if you are over 100% damage. Any DI against this move results in pain and suffering, as the moves sends you very quickly, nearly parallel to the stage.
Zelda’s UpTilt has similar knock-back to the UpSmash, but condensed into one swift motion. It is very dangerous, and Ness should not attempt to Dair Zelda if she’s on the ground.
Zelda’s DownTilt is a very good trap. It’s a trip-kick with long reach. If you get caught in this, do not panic! Simply DI away from Zelda while simultaneously trying to time a power-shield, and you should be out of this combo without taking more than 20%.
Initially, it may seem like Zelda has a better ground game than ness, but that’s not the case. There are a lot of weaknesses to exploit.
Ness should be able to DI out of most attacks he gets caught in fairly quickly as long as you’re under 75% or so, and it’s very easy to grab Zelda, or catch her with nearly any of Ness’s moves. As long as you are aware of the moves you may get caught in, and are ready to DI out of them, this should be cake.
Tricks
The best thing you can do with Zelda is get her into the air, so here are a few maneuvers that work very well against her if you aren’t able to get her in the air for an extended period of time by mixing in the rest of your attacks.
If you catch a Zelda with a PK fire, the Zelda will most likely try to spam Nayru’s Love to counter it. If you do a SH over the Zelda, and follow it with a Bair as you land, you can rack up a lot of damage. As you land, it’s also fairly easy to catch them with another PK fire, to do this again (this is because most Zeldas will focus on trying to get back to the ground instead of distancing themselves from you).
Another trick since Zelda’s expect you to bring them into the air, try using a Dthrow, and instead of following up with an aerial, try Firebound Jumping. If you can’t master this, a Fair may work, but most Zeldas will be ready for the Fair, not the Firebound Jump.
Air:
The Air is where you want Zelda, and although she has a powerful UpAir, Fair, and Bair, if you position yourself correctly, Ness should be able to have an easy time with an airborne Zelda.
Zelda’s UpAir is a big explosion with a decent radius of knockback, but it is very easy to avoid. If you are worried about this, then you’re not air-dodging, fast-falling, or PSI-stalling well enough.
Zelda’s Fair/Bair are very powerful when sweet-spotted. I can’t emphasize enough that you do not want to be even with Zelda in the air. Floating down next to here is a guaranteed Lightning Kick from any good Zelda player.
Zelda has a very small sweet-spot for her Dair, and if hit it will spike pretty hard. It’s just something to be careful of, although the best they can do is break even with you, as your UpAir will send Zelda Up and the Spike will send you Down at the same time. Just be careful if you’re off the stage.
Tricks
I’ll be blunt. PKT juggle Zelda like there is no tomorrow, there is nothing she can do. A good Zelda will try to air dodge it, but you can circle it around to catch her very easily. As she approaches the ground, be ready to shield grab and get her back in the air. A Zelda above you is the easiest kind of Zelda to face.If you are in the air with Zelda, it’s very easy to UpAir her. This w be you main form of attack. It’s fairly simple to chain 2-3 UpAirs followed by a PKT when Zelda is at low damage.
The Fair, and Bair work very well too, just make sure that you are slightly above Zelda. Her Lightning Kicks come out of the bottom half of her body, and careful positioning can greatly reduce your chance of receiving one of those high-heels of death to the face.
Edge-Guarding:
Zelda is, by far, one of the easiest people for ness to Edge-guard. If jumping out after the opponent is your style, feel free. Be careful of the lighting kicks and the spike, but it’s very easy to read Zelda’s jumps, so you should be okay. Nair works well against her. Spiking is also very easy if you read when Zelda is going to teleport, since the teleport has pretty long start-up lag.
If you prefer staying on land, PK flash works pretty well for the Zelda who likes to barely get back on stage. Zelda’s UpB will have an explosion around her when she ends her teleport, and Zelda’s like to use this to get back to land safely. Bring a PK Flash directly over your head, and time the explosion when they try to teleport. If done correctly, you may receive the knock back from her teleport ending, but your flash should still catch her.
the PKT2 false edgeguard works wonders on Zelda. Just put PKT around the ledge with the tail so she cant sweetspot. She will be forced to recover on stage. When she does, PKT2 her. If she doess go for the sweetspot, she will get tailwhipped, drop under the stage, and be gimped completely. A good Zelda will be able to teleport into you for the knockback, so be ready it may take some practice on when to circle the PKT off the edge and when to come back and hit yourself.
Edge-hogging is pretty easy since you are given a large window in which to get onto the edge. Just know that if you run out of invincibility, here UpB does give knock-back when she reappears. It’s best to edge hog when Zelda is below the stage.
When you are off the edge, be ready to PSI magnet against Din’s Fire, since some Zelda’s like to think they can edge-guard you with it.
DF is really Zelda’s only edge guarding move, so there shouldn’t be many worries. If you need to PKT2 to get back to the stage, just make sure you are far enough down to avoid a short-hop lighting kick from Zelda and you should be fine.
Counter-Pick Stages:
Assuming You’ve half a brain, you’ve banned Yoshi’s Island
so you don’t have to worry about that. Zelda will likely pick levels with platforms, such as BF or PS or PS2 in order to have a better chance of landing her lightning kicks. When playing on these stages, or stages such as these, just try to remember to stay low. Zelda’s aerials are really good, and you have to position yourself carefully to win the air battle.If you’ve lost to the Zelda, you always have the standard flat counter picks like FD and Smashville, but other classic ness CP stages also work. Green Greens is okay, but has no large advantage over Zelda. Since her jumps aren’t the best, levels with water are also a plus. And because we love to gimp Zelda, try to steer clear of levels without a solid floor. If Zelda can UpB through the floor, it makes it much more difficult to Edge-guard her.
Summary:
When approaching Zelda, be ready to PSI magnet her Din’s Fire, and know that a SH Fair or sliding UpSmash should be able to beat most things Zelda will try to approach you with. Also, be careful with the Zelda that stays in one spot during your approach. Use hard-to-punish moves then.
On the ground, just be ready to DI out of the attacks she catches you in, and you should be fine. Most of your moves should be able to beat out hers.
As long you aren’t in line of her lightning kicks, Zelda is a piece of cake for Ness to defeat in the air. Try chaining your aerials together. PKT juggling is also very effective.
There are so many ways to edge-guard Zelda, so basically any edge-guarding technique you’ve ever learned should be effective against Zelda. Her jumps are very predictable, and her UpB has a long start-up lag. Avoid Lighting kick and Din’s Fire on your recovery.
And be extra careful any time you are near a platform. Zelda is most dangerous when she is in the air and at the same height as you.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Pit (3)
Overview:
In nearly every aspect Ness should have an advantage over pit. In fact, unless you’re playing a really good Pit, Pit is a pretty easy match-up for ness. It is when you start playing pits who are really good with the mirror shield and know how to wing-dash properly that Pit starts to have the upper hand. Because of this, I find pit to be an even match-up against ness.
Ness has the ability to gimp pit, and prevent him from using his Wings (Up-B) to their full advantage.
Approach:
This is where pit’s tend to think ness has them beat. Pit has a few basic kill moves, mainly his U-smash and D-smash. However, both of these moves get hurt quickly by stale-move redundancy. This is why most pits tend to try to rack up damage with arrows, Nairs, and the Angel Ring. Ness has the ability to take the arrows, the most prominent of those three, away from pit.
When approaching pit, use that PSI magnet. If your opponent is predictable with trying to arrow you as you get close (pits tend to do this because it prevents them from using their kill moves, and also provides a short stun) feel free to fake an approach and then PSI magnet, or try to hit with the last hit of Ness’s Dash attack.
Since a good Pit player will realize his arrows = fail, they will tend to approach with either a glide or a SH nair. The glide attack can be powershielded, or if you’re confidant, you can PKT the glide before it reaches you. The SH nair can be countered by Ness’s SH Fair. It’s important to note that timing is the key here. You must get your Fair out before his Nair in order to ensure priority. Because you both will be relying on one main form of approach, as you approach pit, be ready for a shield grab.
Also, the approach can seem difficult for both parties because it is a lot of mind-games and reading your opponent. When approaching pit, try to always be ready to counter his SH Nair with Fair, but be wary not to always follow up your Fair towards him. If you can play defensively, and maintain distance until there is an opening, you should have the advantages in the approach.
Ground:
The ground, sadly, is where a good pit will have you beat, although not by much. You should also note the advantage is only slight.
Pit’s two main finishers are going to be his F-Smash and D-Smash. Both of these are pretty good killing moves. The D-smash hits both sides, so that is something to note. These come out quick, and hit hard, meaning you can’t DI out of them mid-attack. SO when you are at high percentages, make sure to try to not leave yourself open for these two attacks.
Pit’s Up-Smash is pretty good when he slides, but it isn’t something a floaty character like ness should have any trouble with. You can beat it with most moves, but I wouldn’t suggest D-airing against it because of it’s quick start up.
Pit’s only good tilt against Ness is the F-tilt. The D-tilt and U-tilt don’t have the horizontal range to really pose a threat. The D-tilt could be used to combo Ness after Pit power shields, but Pit has much better moves to follow up with.
Pits arrows should not be a problem at all, and this is why a lot of pit players find ness to be a very difficult match-up. Use this mentality to your advantage. Always be ready for the arrow, and don’t be afraid (assuming you’re at safe distance) to use PSI magnet occasionally just to remind them that they shouldn’t use their arrows. (Note: a good pit will try to use his arrows as he knocks you back. If you don’t have the ability to PSI magnet yet, try to time a dodge or a F-air to negate the arrow).
Pit has the ability to reflect projectiles with 2 attacks. His Angel Blade (Forward-B, and his Mirror Shield (Down-B) both reflect projectiles. This means that for all you PKF techniquists out there should be careful. It is important to note that only the area in front of pit reflects, meaning you can PK jump the PKF to hit over the shield/blades in order to still land a hit. This can set up nicely for a fire walk, since pit is tall enough to pull this off against.
Wing-dash : This is what makes the good pit players annoying. Pit has an advanced technique called wing-dash (SH to Up-B to Dair) which makes his Up-B show up and cancel relatively quickly. This tech gives a slight push back (stronger than the PSI wind), and also NEGATES PROJECTILES. This will cancel out your PKT and your PKF (not sure on PK Flash). There is also a variation on this where Pit will just (Up-B to Dair) in order to hit a dashing opponent. This is something you need to figure out if your opponent uses, and react accordingly. Don’t let it throw you off, but be ready to have a Fair or SH Nair ready after your PKF. Most Pit players tends to follow this technique up with a F-tilt.
Grabs. Pit’s grabs suck. Ness’s grabs rock. That’s about all there is to it. You should be able to grab pit relatively easy, although you should be careful of the push back from the Wing-dash, and also Pit has a slight pivot slide ability. It often works best to power shield grab or SH F-air grab. And Start B-throws at about 100% or so.
Air
In the air, you have the advantage in almost every situation, as long as things are timed well. Fair, like usual, will be your best friend. Pit has two moves with disjointed hitboxes, and those are his Nair and his Uair. Ness is able to out-range the Nair, and a very precise Dair will beat his Uair. You should note that his Uair can be a killer, so I wouldn’t try it unless you’re below 100% or very confident in your Dairs
. Pit’s Bair is one of his best kill moves, but it has very short range. Conveniently, your Bair out-ranges his, in both sour-spot and sweet-spot.
Pit’s Dair is weird. It sends the opponent upwards. It has a mid-slow start up time however, which means you should feel comfortable launching a few Uairs from time to time.
I tend to use Nair less against pit because pit does have some quick-start up moves with longer range, but rising nairs should tend to work well against pit’s slow starting Dair.
Edge-Guarding
This is a very tricky situation. In my opinion, the edge-guarding decides the game in this match-up. I’ll start with the terrible news. You have no PKT2 recovery in this match-up. Don’t use it. A good pit player will hop off the edge and use his mirror shield to bounce you back. The worst part is, the timing isn’t that precise, since he can keep the mirror shield out for as long as he wants. You…Will…Die…
With that said, there are a few things you can do to minimize the danger. For starters, most pits won’t try to hit you with arrows since they know about your PSI magnet (make sure they’re well aware of your PSI magnet). This ends up working to your advantage because the PSI magnet stops your horizontal movement, making it more likely that you’ll end up having to use PKT2 to recover. If pit does use arrows against you, try dodging them like normal, or if you are rising up while he shoots, try a Fair, the disjointed hit box can often negate the arrows. Whatever you do, just make sure you spend as little time off the stage as possible. (note : also be careful PKT2’ing anywhere near the edge)
When edge-guarding pit, you should have one thing on your mind. Get him to use his Up-B. You should note that pit has 4 jumps before he has to use his Up-B. Keep this in mind as you try to keep him away. A series of Fairs & Nairs should work, or you could also try to PKT him. When pit uses his Up-B, use your pkt to chase him. If you hit pit with any attack while he has his Up-B activated, he does not get his Up-B back. This should be your main strategy for keeping him off the edge.
Counter-Pick Stages
Pit works well where he has a lot of room to move freely. Pit loves to be able to grab onto a bunch of ledges, and play on levels where the floor isn’t solid underneath. Pit may pick stages like Norfair, delfino, or halberd, especially if you beat him on the neutral stages he likes (FD, BF, or Smashville). Also, Be warned, pit does very well on Hanabow. It would be my suggestion that you do not pick yoshi’s island as your stage ban. Yoshi’s is a very poor stage for pit as well, so it may be better to ban Hanabow (if it’s legal in your area) or Norfair, since those are his best two stages.
If you find yourself in a stage with a bottom he can jump through, be ready for him to do a series of jumps followed by Uairs as he jumps under the stage. This can be easily avoided, but then he comes back to the stage. A well timed Dair may send him to his grave though.
In a map with a lot of ledges, be prepared for lots of arrows, lots of jumping with Uair, and lots of running away in general. The pit will do a lot of bouncing around the stage, but by intelligent use of PSI magnet, you can deny him free spam damage. On these stages, it’ll be about closing the gap without taking damage.
Pit’s worst maps are maps that he cannot fly under to grab the edge on the other side of the map. With that in mind, like I said before, it may be in your best interest not to Ban Yoshi’s Island. There’s a good chance pit already banned it, so when picking your counter-pick, you should look to other levels where you have some stage help like pictochat, and Pirate Ship. Jungle Japes may also be a good stage, but only if you are comfortable that your ness can work well and still avoid all the stage hazards.
: I would suggest pirate ship because you don’t have to worry about pits gimping ability :
Summary:
Pit is a tricky match-up, if mainly for the fact that a lot of Ness players find Pit to be difficult to play against…. And a lot of Pit players find Ness to be difficult to play against. The key to this match-up is playing on your strengths. The match-up has relies a lot of the ability to read your opponent. When approaching, use F-airs to approach, while being careful not to get shield grabbed. Also make sure you are taking advantage of PSI magnet to limit Pit’s spam game.
On the ground, be careful not to leave yourself open to Pit’s two finishers, F-smash, and D-Smash. In the air, don’t leave yourself open to his U-air or his B-air, but know that you can out range almost everything.
When being edge-guarded, TRY TO RECOVER WITHOUT USING PKT2. When edge-guarding, just make him use his Up-B, and you should be able to gimp him. Also note that pit is light and can be B-thrown at 100% or so.
________________________________________________________________________________________
