Link to original post: "Clones"...why do people care?
This has been a question that has concerned me for a while. While talk of these subjects has died down now that we are nearly a year away from the Landmasters fiasco, I've always wondered why, particularly the more casual audience, are so picky about these so called "clone characters?"
I'm quite sure this question has been asked many times throughout the course of Smash history. A classic perhaps.
Yes...why do people take issue with it? Isn't a clone simply an aesthetic similarity, yet with key mechanics slightly tweaked? Has humanity lost its insight and can only see what is right in front of them?
In Melee, Sakurai promised to get rid of "clones." While taking that literally, we could see his logic for Mewtwo, but what of Dr. Mario, Pichu, Roy, and Young Link? Why were thet removed from Brawl while Falco and Ganondorf were spared? Was it fanbase? Or was it...
Playstyle?
Ah, with my '08 join date and ignorance of the roots of Melee competitive play (actually, might as well make it casual play too), I will beseech to you my understanding of Sakurai's thought process.
To my understanding, Sakurai understood clones as not aesthetic similarities, but how the character is played.
For example, the casual fanbase will see Melee Fox and Falco as almost near-copies. Yet, are they in the midst of battle? They share common traits and strategies such as SHFF lasers, but move selection, comboing, the mindset behind it all, the mentality, is different...at least more so than...Dr. Mario and Mario. To my understanding. Dr. Mario had an arguably better forward aerial, no? But overall, he could be played similar to Mario and still have some success, and vice-versa, yes? But one could not say that with Fox and Falco, for strategies, real-time tactics are different. You could play Ganondorf and Falcon similarly, but Ganon emphasizes bair and dair to techchasing, while Falcon tries to get a grab off to set up into a knee. Again, they can play similarly, but their prevailing tactics are arguably...unique.
Yet...
Marth and Roy could be played similarly, although the success of sharing playstyles is questionable. However, their bread-and-butter is stereotypical...fair and fsmash. Marth was dominantly played more offensively than Roy due to his speed, the attribute of his Falchion being a sweetspot at the tip for optimum rewards for spacing safely, and less lag, plus superior combo ability as he had actual hitstun on his moves.
Roy had to be played more...defensively, no? With little hitstun, few poking moves and laggier aerials, plus as a fastfaller, perhaps succumbed to much more severe punishment, led to his optimum play being more defensive, baiting with dtilt, retreating with SHFFL fairs perhaps?
But Sakurai perhaps did not think that far, perhaps he simply saw the playstyles were similar enough...that they were clones not in an aesthetic sense, but would feel like a copy in the hands of the player as well.
In Brawl, the key targets for "clone comparison" are Link and Toon Link, Fox, Falco, and Wolf, perhaps at times Ness and Lucas.
One would say that Sakurai had failed, that the number of clones has not decreased, arguably, it has worsened.
But in his eyes...perhaps this was the greatest effort at perfection...well, in a Brawl perspective.
Link and Toon Link...they play differently. Toon Link has the mobility to do hit and run, his attacks are more easily chained together once he finds an opening, his moves of priority are different from Link's. Link cannot resort to hit and run as he does not have as much aerial mobility. However, he has excellent reach and power to swat away at enemies that do get through his line of defense. Can you play them the same? Sure, why not? Would it produce equally successful results? I would garner to say no.
Fox, Falco, Wolf. Perhaps the trio that gave new birth to this topic at the rise of Brawl. Yet as we all know, all three play distinctly different. Wolf is a character that demonstrates stage control through melee tactics, safe spacing, baiting and punishment. Falco can pressure at long-range, can play arguably the best hit-and-run game with phantasm, an excellent damage racker but lacks overly powerful kill moves that aren't telegraphed beforehand.
Instead, he ignores this by setting up gimps and racking up enough damage that a simple bair may kill fresh. Fox lacks a good approach, his camping game is inferior as his laser's deal no stun and he can no longer retreat with them. He is the "glass cannon." He is fragile, dies early, and if prone to mistakes, can be punished in a multitude of ways. Yet if he can capitalize on his opponent's mistakes, he can rack up quick damage, and also finish quick with his excellent smash attacks.
I could go on...but it seems my message has been delivered. For anyone who still dislikes these "clones" and feel Sakurai has done disservice to you in this way, you are wrong.
For he has created characters that if you look from an aspect beyond pure aesthetics, from the point of view of the controlling player, you will see he has delivered his promise. He has created unique characters with unique attributes.
P.S - I wanted to write something as I waited for my Code Geass fix...but it got out of hand...again. <_<
This has been a question that has concerned me for a while. While talk of these subjects has died down now that we are nearly a year away from the Landmasters fiasco, I've always wondered why, particularly the more casual audience, are so picky about these so called "clone characters?"
I'm quite sure this question has been asked many times throughout the course of Smash history. A classic perhaps.
Yes...why do people take issue with it? Isn't a clone simply an aesthetic similarity, yet with key mechanics slightly tweaked? Has humanity lost its insight and can only see what is right in front of them?
In Melee, Sakurai promised to get rid of "clones." While taking that literally, we could see his logic for Mewtwo, but what of Dr. Mario, Pichu, Roy, and Young Link? Why were thet removed from Brawl while Falco and Ganondorf were spared? Was it fanbase? Or was it...
Playstyle?
Ah, with my '08 join date and ignorance of the roots of Melee competitive play (actually, might as well make it casual play too), I will beseech to you my understanding of Sakurai's thought process.
To my understanding, Sakurai understood clones as not aesthetic similarities, but how the character is played.
For example, the casual fanbase will see Melee Fox and Falco as almost near-copies. Yet, are they in the midst of battle? They share common traits and strategies such as SHFF lasers, but move selection, comboing, the mindset behind it all, the mentality, is different...at least more so than...Dr. Mario and Mario. To my understanding. Dr. Mario had an arguably better forward aerial, no? But overall, he could be played similar to Mario and still have some success, and vice-versa, yes? But one could not say that with Fox and Falco, for strategies, real-time tactics are different. You could play Ganondorf and Falcon similarly, but Ganon emphasizes bair and dair to techchasing, while Falcon tries to get a grab off to set up into a knee. Again, they can play similarly, but their prevailing tactics are arguably...unique.
Yet...
Marth and Roy could be played similarly, although the success of sharing playstyles is questionable. However, their bread-and-butter is stereotypical...fair and fsmash. Marth was dominantly played more offensively than Roy due to his speed, the attribute of his Falchion being a sweetspot at the tip for optimum rewards for spacing safely, and less lag, plus superior combo ability as he had actual hitstun on his moves.
Roy had to be played more...defensively, no? With little hitstun, few poking moves and laggier aerials, plus as a fastfaller, perhaps succumbed to much more severe punishment, led to his optimum play being more defensive, baiting with dtilt, retreating with SHFFL fairs perhaps?
But Sakurai perhaps did not think that far, perhaps he simply saw the playstyles were similar enough...that they were clones not in an aesthetic sense, but would feel like a copy in the hands of the player as well.
In Brawl, the key targets for "clone comparison" are Link and Toon Link, Fox, Falco, and Wolf, perhaps at times Ness and Lucas.
One would say that Sakurai had failed, that the number of clones has not decreased, arguably, it has worsened.
But in his eyes...perhaps this was the greatest effort at perfection...well, in a Brawl perspective.
Link and Toon Link...they play differently. Toon Link has the mobility to do hit and run, his attacks are more easily chained together once he finds an opening, his moves of priority are different from Link's. Link cannot resort to hit and run as he does not have as much aerial mobility. However, he has excellent reach and power to swat away at enemies that do get through his line of defense. Can you play them the same? Sure, why not? Would it produce equally successful results? I would garner to say no.
Fox, Falco, Wolf. Perhaps the trio that gave new birth to this topic at the rise of Brawl. Yet as we all know, all three play distinctly different. Wolf is a character that demonstrates stage control through melee tactics, safe spacing, baiting and punishment. Falco can pressure at long-range, can play arguably the best hit-and-run game with phantasm, an excellent damage racker but lacks overly powerful kill moves that aren't telegraphed beforehand.
Instead, he ignores this by setting up gimps and racking up enough damage that a simple bair may kill fresh. Fox lacks a good approach, his camping game is inferior as his laser's deal no stun and he can no longer retreat with them. He is the "glass cannon." He is fragile, dies early, and if prone to mistakes, can be punished in a multitude of ways. Yet if he can capitalize on his opponent's mistakes, he can rack up quick damage, and also finish quick with his excellent smash attacks.
I could go on...but it seems my message has been delivered. For anyone who still dislikes these "clones" and feel Sakurai has done disservice to you in this way, you are wrong.
For he has created characters that if you look from an aspect beyond pure aesthetics, from the point of view of the controlling player, you will see he has delivered his promise. He has created unique characters with unique attributes.
P.S - I wanted to write something as I waited for my Code Geass fix...but it got out of hand...again. <_<
