masterwumpus
Smash Journeyman
I haven't seen anybody else post much about this, so I will post what I know.
If you don't know what moonwalking is or how to do it, please watch this video first:
Moonwalking
Please note that I didn't make this video.
C Falcon is not the only character who can moonwalk. Here is a list of all the characters who can.
Top
C Falcon
Link
Y Link
High
Mewtwo
Yoshi
Middle
Ganon
Peach
Zelda
Low
Samus
Bowser
Kirby
Bottom
Everybody else
Basically, top tier can moonwalk with a purpose. It is good enough to use for mindgames, edgehogging, and to get more distance out of a jump. High tier can use it for a surprise edgehog, maybe a mindgame or two. Middle tier can use it to edgehog, barely. Low tier can move backwards, but not enough to get off the edge, so I don't know how it would help them. Bottom tier can't do it at all. Italicized characters can moonwalk into a sliding up B edgehog.
Also, when a character is wearing a Bunny Hood, their ability to moonwalk is greatly increased. Every character gains at least the ability to moonwalk into an edgehog, and most can moonwalk a considerable distance. This list goes from longest to shortest moonwalk while wearing a Bunny Hood. If this is wrong, it is only by a pixel or two, it is very very close to correct.
Falcon
Mewtwo
Yoshi
Y Link
Link
Ganon
Sheik
Samus
Luigi
Bowser
Kirby
Falco
Fox
Peach
DK
Roy
Zelda
Jiggs
Marth
Pikachu
Pichu
IC
Doc
Mario
Ness
G & W
Common Questions
Application
This is the most common question about moonwalking. "Why do I need to do it? It seems so unimportant." Well, it isn't very important. If you are still working on learning advanced techniques, there are many that are more important and more helpful than moonwalking. However, there are still a few applications. The most important of which, edgehogging and getting more distance out of a jump, are shown in the video. Another important variation is the moonwalk to sliding up B edgehog.
Another technique with moonwalking is what I call a "crawl". A crawl is a dash that moves much slower than a normal dash. To do it, start a moonwalk and rotate the stick back towards the direction your character is facing as soon as the moonwalk starts. If you rotate correctly, your character will start a dash but will move very slowly and will take a while to speed up to full dash speed. This technique works with some characters that can't moonwalk, but is much more effective when started with a moonwalk. EDIT: this is actually called a "sticky walk", and is further explained in the picture further down the page.
Basically, moonwalking is very subtle and will probably never win you a match. It is just another way to move around the stage, and more options is always better.
Why does it work?
To my knowledge, nobody is sure why certain characters can moonwalk and which factors determine how well a character can moonwalk. If this information becomes known, I or somebody else will post about it.
Post any questions, comments, or other information about moonwalking in this topic. Hopefully I will be able to answer your questions.
And yes, I came up with the lists and statistics myself after doing the testing on my own. If you see a problem with them, let me know.
Here is a picture created by Red Shirt KRT that helps explain the controller movements for moonwalking and sticky walking.
Hosting problems, just look at page 5 for the picture. Sorry.
If you don't know what moonwalking is or how to do it, please watch this video first:
Moonwalking
Please note that I didn't make this video.
C Falcon is not the only character who can moonwalk. Here is a list of all the characters who can.
Top
C Falcon
Link
Y Link
High
Mewtwo
Yoshi
Middle
Ganon
Peach
Zelda
Low
Samus
Bowser
Kirby
Bottom
Everybody else
Basically, top tier can moonwalk with a purpose. It is good enough to use for mindgames, edgehogging, and to get more distance out of a jump. High tier can use it for a surprise edgehog, maybe a mindgame or two. Middle tier can use it to edgehog, barely. Low tier can move backwards, but not enough to get off the edge, so I don't know how it would help them. Bottom tier can't do it at all. Italicized characters can moonwalk into a sliding up B edgehog.
Also, when a character is wearing a Bunny Hood, their ability to moonwalk is greatly increased. Every character gains at least the ability to moonwalk into an edgehog, and most can moonwalk a considerable distance. This list goes from longest to shortest moonwalk while wearing a Bunny Hood. If this is wrong, it is only by a pixel or two, it is very very close to correct.
Falcon
Mewtwo
Yoshi
Y Link
Link
Ganon
Sheik
Samus
Luigi
Bowser
Kirby
Falco
Fox
Peach
DK
Roy
Zelda
Jiggs
Marth
Pikachu
Pichu
IC
Doc
Mario
Ness
G & W
Common Questions
Application
This is the most common question about moonwalking. "Why do I need to do it? It seems so unimportant." Well, it isn't very important. If you are still working on learning advanced techniques, there are many that are more important and more helpful than moonwalking. However, there are still a few applications. The most important of which, edgehogging and getting more distance out of a jump, are shown in the video. Another important variation is the moonwalk to sliding up B edgehog.
Another technique with moonwalking is what I call a "crawl". A crawl is a dash that moves much slower than a normal dash. To do it, start a moonwalk and rotate the stick back towards the direction your character is facing as soon as the moonwalk starts. If you rotate correctly, your character will start a dash but will move very slowly and will take a while to speed up to full dash speed. This technique works with some characters that can't moonwalk, but is much more effective when started with a moonwalk. EDIT: this is actually called a "sticky walk", and is further explained in the picture further down the page.
Basically, moonwalking is very subtle and will probably never win you a match. It is just another way to move around the stage, and more options is always better.
Why does it work?
To my knowledge, nobody is sure why certain characters can moonwalk and which factors determine how well a character can moonwalk. If this information becomes known, I or somebody else will post about it.
Post any questions, comments, or other information about moonwalking in this topic. Hopefully I will be able to answer your questions.
And yes, I came up with the lists and statistics myself after doing the testing on my own. If you see a problem with them, let me know.
Here is a picture created by Red Shirt KRT that helps explain the controller movements for moonwalking and sticky walking.
Hosting problems, just look at page 5 for the picture. Sorry.