I quote Earthbound360:
About Ness, let me say some things
Yes, PKT is kinda easy to intercept, but that's often not the opponents best option.
It covers great distance
Ness midair jump helps his recovery greatly due to distance and maneuverability
Ness has the largest sweetspot range in the game
He can sweetspot the edge at any time during PKT2 in 1 frame
His wallhuggin ability is unique as he actually changes direction
PKT2 is one of the highest priority recovery moves in the game (at least in the beginning)
It has invincibility frames
There are recovery defending PKT techniques like reverse edgeguards, anti-edgehogs, inverse PKT2 recovery, delayed PKT2 recovery, and more. I'm pretty sure you guys wouldn't want me to go on now would you? :razz:
Annoying made me wanna do this.
But I think this thread is dead anyways. :/
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Ness' recovery also has extremely high priority compared to other recovery moves in the beiggining 10 frames.
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Distance: Ness covers a great distance while using PKT2. It’s generally the same as Fox’s Firefox move. Also, it takes similar start up time, unless you are aiming for special recovery. Not to mention Ness has the largest sweetspot range in the game.
Eaten Thunder: People also complain that Ness’ thunder is too easy to eat and screw him. First, they should note that only some characters can do this. Characters like Mario and Falco wouldn’t want to attempt this. Also, if the Ness is smart, he will try to keep it away from the stage making it harder for opponents to eat it. Not to mention PKT is fast in itself, making it even harder to catch. With inverse PKT2s (Putting PKT in front of Ness instead of behind him) and delayed PKT2s (waiting before hitting ness with PKT), eating PKT is just plain not a great edgeguarding option. And if you are out by Ness anyways, why not just hit him?
Other Facts: Ness can easily sweetspot the ledge very quickly. In one frame from ANYWHERE during PKT2. he is also provided with a good amount of invincibility frames in the beginning. During that time, PKT2 has just as much priority as Peach Parasol. PKTB is like an off stage shield, so edgeguarding one who has mastered this isn’t easy. Also, Ness’ unique wallhugging ability can help him greatly. If you hit him in the air while he is using PKT, he CAN reuse it. Not to mention the obvious “Any direction you choose’ thing. Also, his recovery is among the most versatile, and you can even mindgame his recovery. Also, interesting note, Ness' recovery CANNOT be caped.
Character Recovery Comparison: Now, some may say that Marth has better recovery. Well, think of it this way: If you hit a Marth back off stage while he is recovering, there is probably little chance that he can make it back. Hit Ness off again while he recovers, and he can still have a chance. The same goes for Mario, Falco, and Yoshi. Ness can take multiple hits off stage and still have a chance at making it back. Now, some might say he is too vulnerable during PKT2. well, after the sweetspot, he is vulnerable, but just as vulnerable as many other recoveries. FireFox, Green Missile, Dark Dive, and Final Cutter leave all of their respective characters relatively vulnerable in comparison. And please, it was once thought that Bowser and DK had better recoveries. They only go horizontal, and just about as far as Ness does.
Recovery Aid Techniques:
Fair! (IIRC, this has more range than Marth's fair)
PKTB
PKTBC
Inverse PKT2 (Putting PKT in front of Ness before hitting him instead of behind him)
Delayed PKT2 (Waiting a bit after releasing PKT before hitting Ness)
Wallhugging (important to Ness since his is different than others as in he changes direction)
Perfect sweetspot (1 frame)
PKT Reverse edgeguard (Tailwhip foe and recover either hitting them, edgehogging them, or edgeguarding them afterwards.)
Pray (Anti-shinespike)
Double sided sweetspots (crash into the ledge during PKT2 and Ness can grab on both sides of him)
PKT2 Crawls (Just barely shoot past the ledge and Ness will follow the ground above to avoid edgehogs)
Anti-edgehog (Wallhug a vertical ledge to shoot up past it to avoid edgehogs)
Recovery Diagram:
If you cant see it, yellow means sweetspot only
Dark blue border is where you can recover with a perfect horizontal
Black border is where you can PKT2 crawl
Pink border is where you can use an inverse PKT2
Light blue is where you should wallhug as Ness
Green borders indicate areas in which a perfect vertical PKT2 will allow recovery
