smash_brothers_fox_a.txt - it ain't final just yet! ^_^ (109kb / 2184ln) ---------------------- (72 character width file) ----------------------- PentaroX's SB Fox Multiplayer FAQ ( 7/13/2001 ) Version 2.0: Preliminary Final Version to be corrected, edited, and then re-released as 'final' contact> pentarou@NOSHPAMnekonekowai.com (remove 'NOSHPAM') see bottom for copyright/duplication info Written in memory of that Korean guy who died from playing videogames =P Also written in honor of Smash Brothers, one of the greatest timewasters of all time. I haven't counted, but rest assured, I've wasted countless hours on SSB (although I have slowed down lately). You can find the newest version of this FAQ on GameFAQs (gamefaqs.com), some of the other sites (I believe VGStrategies has a copy), and last, but not least, occasionally I post these things up on my website (http://www.pentarou.f2s.com/faq/). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0.01) TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To skip straight to these sections, search for the keywords listed on the right. For example, searching for "fox32_notice" will take you straight to the copyright notice at the end. #) Topic ....................................................... Keyword 0.05) Why a Fox FAQ? fox00_intro 0.1) What's new? fox01_news 1) Basic Move List - Well, um, it's thorough. Definitely fox10_moves not your typical move list ;P 1.5)The Fox Spike - Deserves its own section, of course. fox15_spike 2) Multiplayer Strategies - fox20_multi a) General Strategy fox21_strat b) Dueling (1v1) fox22_duel c) Time FFA / Battle Royal (3+ players) fox23_time d) Stock FFA / Battle Royal (3+ players) fox24_stock e) Team Games (2v2) fox25_team f) Other Team Games (1v3, 1v2) fox25_other g) Edge Guarding Guide fox26_edge 3) Quick Credits List fox30_creds 3.1)Feedback fox31_email 3.1516) Copyright, duplication information fox32_notice I think this should be a fairly comprehensive (although specific) FAQ on StarFox. No, I don't provide history, or cute wittle pictures, or trivia facts, but I do have the important stuff. :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0.05) Introduction: Why write a SB-Fox FAQ? fox00_intro ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - If only because Fox is so unpopular. Frankly, I would attempt to pull a Kao Megura ;) and do an entire SB FAQ, but it's been done...over and over again. So, no need to do a complete FAQ, but I happen to be known as "The Annoyance that is Fox" by my friends. Yes, I eat, sleep, dream, and think Fox. Admittedly, I really don't, but pay no attention to that. > It seems that I should change "is" to "was" -- a lot of people seem to have started playing Fox. Hey, that's always good ^_^ - Having looked over the Fox FAQs on GameFAQs - I found only one, done by Dr. Seuss. It's good, but it doesn't cover multiplayer very well - rather, it doesn't cover multiplayer, period. :) Thus, I see no need to cover singleplayer, but I will do multiplayer. I've filled this FAQ with information which I hope is all original and useful. At least mostly original. - I've been playing SB ever since the game came out. Unfortunately, that also means I've come fairly close to mastering them all. =P For the sake of doing so, I'm going to list the characters that I use. This list has changed a bit over the years, and my friends have mastered a large variety of characters. In fact, all of them, even. Well, except for Pikachu; nobody's really gotten him down. I guess nobody cares much for the little guy. Mastered | Good | Fair ---------+------------+------------ Fox | Link | Jigglypuff (strong affinity for Down+B ;_;) | Ness | Falcon (haven't mastered the air) | Kirby | Samus (Don't play her often) | Pikachu | Donkey Kong (too slow for my tastes) | Mario | Luigi (again, too slow for my playing style) | Yoshi | I used to have "Good," "Fair," and "Mediocre," but I think my have Fox almost mastered to the point at which I'm completely bored with him. =P Also, I would like to point out that all of these characters are well- balanced out and even quite formidable...if you master them. I know one person who has absolutely MASTERED Falcon. You should watch him play...it's amazing ;) Well, or not. I also know some others who have mastered Kirby, Link, DK, Luigi, Yoshi, Mario, and Samus, and I know people who are close to that point for all the other characters. Where I play, the games are often quite even. So, please, none of this "So-and-so r0x0rz!!!! So-and-so suX0rz!!@%#$#!!!!" stuff, mm-kay? I see a lot of people have taken to Fox as their favorite character these days, but you should really try to diversify and master other characters--in the least, it will help out your Fox game to understand how to play the other characters. Also, if you do play Fox, you're going to be spoiled after awhile as you become used to his speed/jump/ roll style. Don't become spoiled. ;P - Ah, SSB 2 is in the works. Well, I don't plan on writing a FAQ unless I'm still around and have access to the game. Certainly I'd like to see the new characters (Sheik! Sheik! Sheik!), but ... well, whatever. I may be in med school by that time, or just terribly busy, so we'll see what happens. - In the meanwhile, I'm playing around with Pikachu's soft-hits and drill buffer-combos. Fun, yes. Annoying, yes. ^_^ But I don't know many good Pikachu players where I play, and so I'm trying to master the little bugger myself. Um, that assumes I have the time to do so; see above ;P ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0.1) What's new? fox01_news ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 07/13: I never did upload the June version; rather, I never finished it to begin with. ;) Well, this should be it for awhile. You may have noticed a slight change of email address--things should be okay now. Go ahead and email me, but my responses are bound to be *very* slow--I'm busy. A'right, then, until next time... To recap: Everything has been re-written. Things have been re-organized, more or less. The Strategies section ... well, I could reorganize that, but I'm not sure just how I would go about it. Soft moves have been added to the move list. Of particular note: The Tailsweep. If you've been reading prior versions of this FAQ, then at least read the notes on the tailsweep. 06/07: I've been reading through Scott Ong's Final Fantasy 8 FAQ, and decided that his "search keyword" idea was really neato-eleeto. So, I've put them in here. 05/16: Changed my email address. Also, I've completely re-written the FAQ. It needed cleaning, and my style has changed a bit since I first played the game. This is a NEAR FINAL revision, not inclusive of any revisions or grammatical fixes. Which means that if you see anything minutely wrong, lemme know and I'll fix it, but otherwise I doubt I'll add anything more. I've also wiped out the old 'what's new' updates. They were kinda getting all ... long, and stuff. By the way, I peeked in a few of the SSB forums out there. Ugh. I have a strong preference for email, so send me emails if you want to ask me questions. I'm busy, so I may not be able to respond, but certainly I'll try. ^.^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1) Basic Move List fox10_moves ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0. Fox's Moves (overall) -- Section A: Hard Attacks -- 1. Power Kick ( Fwd+A - ground) 2. Upwards Powerhit ( Up+A - ground) 3. Clearout Powerhit (Down+A - ground) 4. FireFox ( Up+B - ground / air) 5. Throw, Backthrow (R+Fwd, R+Back - ground) 6. Alternate Throw (Z+A or Z+R - ground) -- Section B: Soft Attacks -- 7. Chun-Li Kick Flurry (Tap A repeatedly - ground) 8. Quick Punch (Tap A - ground) 9. Dash Attack (Dash+A - ground) 10. Non-Smash Power Kick (Fwd, A - ground) 11. Tail Sweep (Down,A - ground) 12. Soft Up-Kick (Up, A - ground) 13. Laser (Tap B - ground / air) 14. Reflector (Down+B - ground / air) -- Section C: Air Attacks -- 15. Tricky Kick ( A - air) 16. Drill Kick (Down+A - air) 17. Two-hit Juggle ( Up+A - air) 18. Fwd. Kick ( Fwd+A - air) 19. Back Kick (Back+A - air) -- Section D: Miscellany -- 20. Roll (Z+direction) 21. Jump (C) 22. Roll Recovery (Z+Fwd/Back - special) 23. Edge Recovery Attack (A - edge) This FAQ now does cover most, if not all moves that Fox uses. Most players tend to stick to smash-power moves, the three B-button moves, rolls, jumps, and throws. If you want exact damage percentages, I suggest you read Dr. Seuss' or anyone else's FAQ. It used to be that I only carried the power moves and the specials in the FAQ, but at some point, when you begin to master a character, you will begin to find specialized uses for the soft attacks. Especially the soft Down+A...it rocks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Key/Legend/Glossary: Delay Time: Delay before you do the move. Recovery Time: Delay after you do the move. Duration: Amount of time where you can hit someone during a move. (1 Quick - 5 Avg. - 10 Terrible) Fox is a lightweight character, so you'll need to be careful in your consideration of these three...You need to be able to move out after you complete your attack. And quickly...Fox can't take that much damage; after all, he is a lightweight. Also note that high Duration moves often see a loss in Priority after the beginning of the attack. (Try the ground Up+A.) Range: Area that Fox can cover with his attack. (1 Low - 5 Avg. - 10 Exceptional) It's good to have extra range in some cases, such as the Down+A, but remember that this also means that you're a bigger target. Have you ever noticed that Fox is easily thrown out of his Powerkick (F+A)? Damage: Relative - %-wise, from low to high (Mediocre, Low, Average, High, Excellent) Why it's important: You may have the greatest move in the world, but hey, if it does 1% with no hit stun, it's not going to be worth much to you... Stun: Relative to Damage and Priority (Low, Normal, Exceptional) Most moves are listed with "Normal" stun. "Exceptional" stun denotes a move which does low damage, or has low priority but still gets a lot of hit stun. Hit stun is a KEY ingredient of SSB play. Distance: Distance against most enemies - low to high Two classifications: Distance - Low, Average, Good, High, Exceptional Variability - Low, Normal, High Often, % Damage is misleading on its own, you do need to know how far a move sends opponents, in addition to hit stun and damage. These are the three main points to consider when you're using different strategies. If you play for awhile, you will probably notice that distance and damage are proportional to speed and hit-stun. Notice how Jigglypuff can send you flying FAST and stuns you for quite awhile, but Fox's Down+A air drill sends you downwards very slowly with very little stun. Direction: Direction enemies go flying in. Forward, Up, Arc Up, Arc Down, [angle of attack] Horizontal moves are better than diagonal-up moves, because they destroy an opponent's comeback far more efficiently, and keeps them generally lower, making it much easier to edge-guard as they come back. The reflector is the only move in the game which consistently throws enemies downwards (Arc Down) along with Exceptional hit stun. This is really important (to be discussed later). Oh ... and remember your angles, neh? Very few regular attacks send people flying 90 degrees upward; the closest is usually around 85 degrees or so (Up+A ground). The major exceptions to this are the FireFox and the Up+A air juggle. 90 45 | / Eheheh...just in case you've forgotten your angles ;) |/ @--- 0 Priority: Priority against other moves. Laser priority is against those with "air immunity" (Yoshi/DK during comeback). Priority ensures that if you are attacking at the same time as somebody else, you get the hit and they don't. Yes, spikes included...anti-spike maneuvers are vital to winning in multiplayer games. The other obvious use for Priority is when stealing jumps. Your opponents aren't stupid; if they can counter your jump-stealing move, spike, or whatever, rest assured they'll do just that. This is why Ness' spike is so hard to counter. Quick note: A Spike is any attack (usually Down or Forward+A) which sends the enemy flying downwards, used off the edge. Sometimes this is considered cheap, but among experienced players, it is actually quite commonplace. Simply put, if it hurts and you think it's cheap, instead of complaining, try to find a way around it. I believe I can lay claim to spreading the term around the 'net *grins* although it was one of my friends who actually coined the term (DK, Fwd+A vs Kirby, which led to the comment "Hey, it looks like a volleyball...") DK, Yoshi, Samus, and Ness have good spikes with fairly high priority. Kirby gets the award for spike flexibility; his/its Down+A is easy to pull off, and the Up+B and R spikes have their uses. For more stuff on this, check section 1.5 (Fox Spike) for details. Or, you might want to read through X1375's Cheap Moves FAQ. Moves which can spike: (* asterisks denote _useful_ moves ;P) Donkey Kong: F+A*, D+A Kirby: D+A*, U+B, R Samus: D+A* Falcon: D+A* Yoshi: F+A*, D+A Ness: D+A* Fox: D+B*, D+A Mario: D+B**, D+A Luigi: D+A Jigglypuff: D+A ** Mario's D+B can be mastered as a spike, but I haven't seen anyone do so just yet. My hunch is that it can be pretty useful in a 'duel' (1v1) setting, but most Mario players simply prefer to use the D+B/ Up+A headbutt combo. Link, Pikachu: None Item: Bumper (D+A*, F+A*) X1372 (Robert Pollack) has a Cheap Moves FAQ now available at GameFaqs.com...so you probably want to go check it out. If you're confused, note that he calls spikes "Super Send Downs." Either way... spikes are an integral part of SSB play. I think other FAQs are beginning to speak about spikes and stuff, but I haven't been reading too many of them lately, admittedly. I spend more time on Panel de Pon. ^_^ Anyhow, two last entries: Overall: Overall recommendation on my part. 1 = Worst, 10 = Best. Strategy: A recommendation on the usage of the move. 1 = Pure Defensive, 10 = Pure Offensive, 5 = Combination (note that 1 is not "worst", and 10 is not "best"!) And on to the moves. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Legend) Name of Move (X+A) -----------------------------. Delay: 10 (Terrible) | Damage: Excellent Recovery: 1 (Exceptional) | Stun: Normal Duration: 5 (Average) | Distance: Exceptional Range: 10 (Excellent) | Dist.Var: Low Overall: 8 (Good) | Direction: Arc Down Strategy: 10 (Offensive) | Priority: Poor -----------------------------' 0. Fox Overall -----------------------------. Delay: 3 (Excellent) | Damage: Substandard Recovery: 5 (Average) | Priority: Average Duration: 5 (Average) | CB Recov: Long* Range: 10 (Excellent) | CB Prior: Average* Overall: X (N/A) | CB Dist.: High* Strategy: 4 (Combination) | Speed: Very Fast -----------------------------' *CB Recov: Comeback Recovery (time) CB Prior: Comeback Priority (vs. spike) CB Dist.: Comeback Distance (range) Fox is second only to Falcon in terms of running speed, but his jump and roll are arguably the best in the game. Fox has an excellent combination of offensive and defensive moves, which make him a worthy opponent when played by a skilled player. Fox is definitely not a beginner's character--he has few obvious killing moves, unlike characters such as Mario (breakdance/bighead), Ness (throw/spike), and Kirby(powerkick/spike)--but MASTER WIELDING IT AND YOU CAN HAVE THIS. Er...I meant to say that if you master Fox, you may find that he is unexpectedly overpowered in many ways. -----[ Section A. Hard Attacks ]--------------------------------------- These, of course, are the most important moves if you're trying to kill. Some work as edge-guard moves, others as defensive moves, and yet others work well as both offensive and defensive attacks. If you intend to master Fox, you're going to need to learn to use all of them, but my long-time favorites in this section are the Clearout Down+A and the various throws. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Powerkick (Fwd+A - Ground) -----------------------------. Delay: 4 (Average) | Damage: Good Recovery: 3 (Good) | Stun: Normal Duration: 10 (Terrible) | Distance: Good Range: 10 (Excellent) | Dist.Var: Normal Overall: 8 (Good) | Direction: Arc Up/45 Strategy: 7 (Offensive) | Priority: Poor! -----------------------------' This is NOT a standard-fare powerkick or even a standard powerhit. It is recommended that you use this move sparingly if you are not used to playing Fox just yet, as it is a good offensive move but has terrible priority and a long, long duration. The duration can be used to your advantage, since it goes hand in hand with the range of the move...but more often than not, you'll find that you're being hit out of it because of the low priority. Note that most characters can throw you out of the powerkick; DK and Ness can do so with ease. 2. Upwards Powerhit (Up+A - Ground) -----------------------------. Delay: 5 (Average) | Damage: Excellent Recovery: 5 (Average) | Stun: Excellent Duration: 9 (Terrible) | Distance: Exceptional Range: 3 (Mediocre) | Dist.Var: Low Overall: 10 (Great) | Direction: Arc Up/85 Strategy: 10 (Offensive) | Priority: Excellent -----------------------------' The Upwards Powerhit is Fox's single most powerful move. It does a load of damage, kills at decent percentages, and all that jazz. Fox's Up+A is second in power only to Mario's. The drawback, however, is that the duration of the Upwards Powerhit is quite long. Look closely and you'll notice that Fox can hit people behind him; if those people are at high enough damage, it will stun them just long enough so you can recover and run away or attack. However, the range is kind of mediocre if you try to hit people behind you, so chances are you'll get hit out of it. Bottom line: Don't miss when you use the Up+A, or you're screwed. 3. Clearout Powerhit (Down+A - Ground) -----------------------------. Delay: 2 (Superb) | Damage: Excellent Recovery: 7 (Long) | Stun: Excellent Duration: 2 (Short) | Distance: Very Good Range: 7 (Very Good) | Dist.Var: Average Overall: 10 (Great) | Direction: Arc Up/20 Strategy: 5 (All-Purpose) | Priority: Excellent -----------------------------' An excellent move. Recovery time isn't so good, but once again, if you connect you won't have to worry about it. Fox likely has the best two- way split clearout (it hits both directions at once, similar to Kirby's spin, and unlike Mario's forward-back breakdance / Ness' back-forward yo-yo). In fact, I would prefer to use this over the Up+A at high health, as it has a much higher probability of killing due to the amazing horizontal distance it gets. 4. FireFox (Up+B - Anywhere) -----------------------------. Delay: 10 (Very Long) | Damage: Average Recovery: 5 (Average) | Stun: Normal Duration: 8 (Long) | Distance: Average Range: 7 (Very Good) | Dist.Var: High Overall: 3 (Usable) | Direction: Straight Up Strategy: 1 (Recovery) | Priority: Excellent -----------------------------' I wouldn't recommend using this move as anything other than a recovery move for two reasons: the delay and the direction. It's simply not useful unless you're trying to get back on the playing field. The FireFox has extremely good priority versus spikes, but you need to get the timing down--the initial blast has priority, but anything after that isn't going to be worth terribly much to you. If you can't hit with the initial blast, it's better if you try to evade instead. Don't firefox if you don't have to. Should you HAVE to FireFox your way back, almost always FireFox forwards unless you have a need to go in another direction. You may wish to aim the FireFox straight upwards, though, if your opponents have figured you out. ;P 5. Throw, Backthrow (R+Fwd, R+Back - Ground) -----------------------------. Delay: 0 (Instant) | Damage: Good Recovery: 1 (Quick) | Stun: Normal Duration: 2 (Quick) | Distance: Below Avg. Range: 3-5 (Average) | Dist.Var: High Overall: 10 (Excellent) | Direction: Arc Up/50 Strategy: 10 (Offensive) | Priority: Average -----------------------------' Remember to dash before you throw to get a little extra range. My personal playing style uses a lot of dash throws, and only a few select powerhits, juggles, and other moves as necessary. Style, however, is up to you. If you prefer juggling, that's fine...but in any case, the throw is a powerful, *quick* move that builds up damage pretty quickly. Does it kill? Not easily... that's what edge-guarding is for. 6. Alternate Throw (Z+A or Z+R - Ground) Strategy: 1 (Defensive) [all other info is the same] When you're blocking, simply press A to throw. This is the best way to get out of a tight situation--although of course generally, it is better to evade than to block. -----[ Section B. Soft Attacks ]--------------------------------------- These are much more specialized attacks for special situations. An experienced player can use all of these for his own benefit--most of the time, this involves using counterhits for setting up combos. Master using at least the Down+B--it's useful. Really damn useful. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Kick Flurry (Tap A Repeatedly) -----------------------------. Delay: 3 (Short) | Damage: Mediocre Recovery: 3 (Short) | Stun: Low Duration: X (Variable) | Distance: Low Range: 4 (Average) | Dist.Var: Low Overall: 3 (Poor) | Direction: Variable* Strategy: 2 (Defensive) | Priority: Poor -----------------------------' * three kicks -> three directions, but the distance is so low that it doesn't matter. Purely a defensive move. You could try for an "infinite combo" by keeping someone against a wall...but why bother? It does about 1% per hit, anyhow. Probably not worth your time. And besides, Fox's kick- flurry is probably the worst of all the tap-a-repeatedly moves (with Kirby and Link having the best ones), which means that it is fairly easy to avoid being hit by Fox's kick flurry. 8. Quick Punch (A) -----------------------------. Delay: 10 (Excellent) | Damage: Poor Recovery: 1 (Exceptional) | Stun: Normal Duration: 5 (Average) | Distance: Low Range: 5 (Average) | Dist.Var: Low Overall: 6 (Usable) | Direction: Arc Up Strategy: 1 (Defensive) | Priority: Poor -----------------------------' Much like the Kick Flurry, the standard A move is extremely quick, and extremely weak. Unlike the Kick Flurry, it's a decent startup for comboing with Fox, but typical of all soft moves, it gets poor damage and stun. The reason this is marked as defensive is because chances are you will be using these as counter-hits(as they are a LOT quicker than your opponent's powerhits). [Evade, counter-hit, then combo. Try using this move and then immediately using a tailsweep.] 9. Dash Attack (Dash+A) -----------------------------. Delay: 1 (Very Fast) | Damage: Average Recovery: 7 (Mediocre) | Stun: Normal Duration: 5 (Average) | Distance: Low Range: 5 (Average) | Dist.Var: Low Overall: 6 (Useful) | Direction: Arc Up/40 Strategy: 8 (Offensive) | Priority: Poor -----------------------------' Dash attacks are virtually useless against 0-20% characters, as they barely send them flying away. You know what that means: crappy hit stun. The dash attack is good for a couple of things, though... it can be used as an edge-guard, it is WONDERFUL for setting up Fox Spike combinations (due to the small distance, and the arc-up direction), and it is possible to end some combos with dash attacks(try dashing after a powerhit). Some people like to dash-dash-dash as a 'combo'. I'd recommend against it...the damage isn't worth the trouble, it's generally hard to pull off, and certainly your opponent can find ways around it. In some situations, however, it is possible to hit your opponent in the middle of hit stun; this is applicable whether powerhitting or using the Reflector. Like all soft moves, don't overuse the dash; there is very little room for error. If you miss and your opponent blocks/evades, count on being hit or thrown. 10. Non-Smash Powerkick (Fwd,A. May be aimed diagonal up, down) -----------------------------. Delay: 4 (Short) | Damage: Average Recovery: 3 (Short) | Stun: Normal Duration: 4 (Short) | Distance: Below Average Range: 6 (Good) | Dist.Var: Normal Overall: 5 (Average) | Direction: Varies* Strategy: 3 (Defense) | Priority: Average -----------------------------' * Direction depends on where you're aiming the kick. Usually it's Arc Up, I think. A quick powerhit; it has its uses but I find myself rarely using it. If you need to hit someone, and quickly, this will do the trick. Most likely, if you're edge-guarding while someone is about to charge towards you, use this move to hit the person coming back, so you can recover immediately and then powerhit the person behind you. Also, it's a bit slower than the Tail Sweep(right below--the soft-down), and you'll mostly be using powerhits to kill, as it is. 11. Tail Sweep (Down, A) -----------------------------. Delay: 2 (Excellent) | Damage: Average Recovery: 2 (Very Short) | Stun: Good Duration: 4 (Average) | Distance: Average Range: 8 (Great) | Dist.Var: Normal Overall: 10 (Excellent) | Direction: Straight Up Strategy: 2 (Defense) | Priority: Average -----------------------------' This move ... kicks ass. It ranks way up there with the Reflector Shield as a defensive move--it's so ridiculously fast you can parry a good number of moves, or at least stun people, getting them ready for a combo / juggle attack. If you observe, you'll also notice that you get a good amount of range forwards--in fact, you get more than you would with a power Down+A hit. I use this move a hell of a lot more than the Fwd,A soft hit. At about 0-10%, it's also good as a stun-ground powerhit combo attack. Use a soft-down tail sweep, and then powerhit (F+A usually, you may be able to hit using Up+A). After that, however, they fly too far up; use a juggle or air attack. If you have a bat/saber/rod, you should be able to do this up to, say, 20%. The Tail Sweep is lethal at high, high damage, but it rarely kills--it just stuns your enemies for a hell of a long time, since it sends them straight up. A little bit of testing seems to show that 0% is the best damage if you intend to combo ON THE GROUND with the tail-hit, otherwise you're going to have to jump in the air and attack. Between 10%-30%, you probably want to juggle; above that you may not even be able to hit them :P The only problem with the soft-down is ... well ... that it hits up and not forward, so if you're going to edge-guard, be sure not to use the move. [It may work as an edge-guard at low % damage (again, sweep > air hit).] If you're not too sure what I'm talking about, check Pikachu and Yoshi's soft-down moves; those are especially good for edge-guarding as they are both quick and surprisingly powerful. It should probably go without saying that you don't always have to powerhit when you're edge-guarding; it's more important simply to try to hit them before they recover their jumps. ... >> Free kills at 0% if you have a baseball bat! Tailsweep and then powerhit. I have finally had a chance to try this, and it works quite, quite well. Only at 0%, though. If you've got a bat, stick to tailsweep>air combos. 12. Soft Up-Kick (Up,A) -----------------------------. Delay: 4 (Short) | Damage: Average Recovery: 4 (Short) | Stun: Good Duration: 5 (Average) | Distance: Below Average Range: 1 (Specific) | Dist.Var: Normal Overall: 5 (Average) | Direction: Straight Up Strategy: 4 (Defense) | Priority: Average -----------------------------' Much like the roundhouse tailkick but with a much more specific range - directly above Fox. I don't use this move, but there are people who do so quite effectively. It's good for comboing, often into an Up+A. Not quite as good as Kirby's soft up+a, but still quick and effective. A suggestion, although I haven't tried this myself, would be to start with an enemy at 0%, then using soft-down, and then soft-up until the opponent is able to recover in air; at that point begin to juggle, finish off with a Down+B in air to stun, then jump up and either use the Fwd or Back+A air kicks to hit them off the edge. I don't know how easy it will be to pull off (likely not easy at all), but if you can get it working, you should be able to score kills against enemies with 0%. And if not, at least it's 80 or so % camage. Some experimentation on my part seems to show that the soft-up really doesn't have enough range to hit anything useful. Stick with the tail sweep. 13. Laser (B) -----------------------------. Delay: 3-5 (Short)* | Damage: Low (5%) Recovery: 4 (Short) | Stun: Good Duration: 5 (Average) | Distance: Zero Range: 10 (Exceptional) | Dist.Var: Low Overall: 8 (Good) | Direction: Zero Strategy: 7 (Offense) | Priority: Low -----------------------------' * The laser fires much faster in the air, due to the fact that Fox does not put away his laser gun during the recovery time. This is both a good and a bad thing, though--try not to fire too much when coming back, as you will NOT be able to FireFox if you are still recovering from the laser, and instead will shoot another laser. Hands-down, the best quick-and-annoying, straight-shooting projectile. It's fast, and if you jump, often you can hit twice (10%) with the laser. After you powerhit or throw, immediately jump slightly *forward* and hammer on the B button, firing about three lasers--usually you will hit with at least one. If you're playing team games with the sole intention of winning, overuse this move. I'm weird, so I prefer to go suicidal and reflector-shield my opponents as much as possible(although this does, of course, get me killed much more often). That is to say, I don't really play to win these days. Yes, Samus does have a charge shot that kills and all, but it's slow, and definitely not as annoying as the Fox laser. Also, it seems that some people have trouble hitting people with the Laser. You're going to have to learn the default height of Fox's jump, and how to jump and fire sideways--that should be more than enough for you to hit people. If you still have trouble, then go weave baskets. :) 14. Reflector Shield (Down+B) -----------------------------. Delay: 3 (Excellent) | Damage: Poor (3-5%) Recovery: 5 (Average) | Stun: Exceptional Duration: X (Variable) | Distance: Low Range: 6 (Average) | Dist.Var: High* Overall: 10 (Excellent) | Direction: Arc Down/40 Strategy: 5 (All-Purpose) | Priority: High -----------------------------' * In case you haven't realized what Dist. Var is, try using the Reflector Shield on a 150% setting(instant death in most cases). Compare this to most other moves on 150%...200% is a different story, as a lot of moves kill on 200, but the Fox Reflector is special in that it is possibly the only easy-kill move on 150%. The Reflector Shield is, in essence, Fox's secret overpowered weapon. Learn to use it, as it will definitely score you a couple extra kills at a low percent health. More on this in a later section. Hit stun is nummy. -----[ Section C. Air Attacks ]--------------------------------------- Some of the most important attacks a Fox player has...All air moves have a long recovery time, but are decently powerful and quick. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 15. Tricky Kick (Tap A) -----------------------------. Delay: 2 (Short) | Damage: Average Recovery: 8 (Long) | Stun: Good Duration: 0 (*) | Distance: Zero Range: 4 (Average) | Dist.Var: High Overall: 7 (Good) | Direction: Arc Up/? Strategy: 6 (All-Purpose) | Priority: Average -----------------------------' * For the Tricky Kick, Recovery and Duration are one and the same, although you do get more priority right when you press the A button. Quick, easy, and often painful. It has its uses, but I tend to go with either one of the other air kicks (fwd/back) and the reflector shield instead. Do note that some characters have very strong tricky kicks-- try Falcon, or DK, for instance. The potency of the tricky kick is definitely not something to be underestimated. 16. Drill Kick (Down+A) -----------------------------. Delay: 2 (Short) | Damage: Low (2-3%/hit, I think) Recovery: 10 (Terrible) | Stun: Poor Duration: 6 (Average) | Distance: VERY Low Range: 5 (Average) | Dist.Var: High Overall: 3 (Okay) | Direction: Straight Down Strategy: 10 (Offense) | Priority: Very Low -----------------------------' DO NOT use this move off the edge unless you're really that good. It can be used as a buffer into a Reflector Shield or some other move, but use it sparingly. You need to time the move properly in order to buffer it; otherwise when you land on the ground you'll have a long recovery time. Definitely not for defensive use. It is possible to spike with this move by using a powerhit/throw off the edge, and then immediately jumping forward and using the Down+A. Make sure you land on the edge, of course ;) you should be right above the edge when you pull off the Down+A, sending the enemy down a little bit, and then veer back onto the ledge quickly. This works a lot better as Samus, Ness, Yoshi, Falcon...DK...Mario, Luigi... oh heck, just about everyone other than Fox, but that doesn't mean that it's impossible as Fox. If you really want to get all your hits in with this move, jump from below and drill. This isn't very useful, since you're Fox, but in the least you can buffer into another move, like the Up+A. Although the stun is listed as poor, if you're going to buffer/chain into a powerhit, the stun is actually quite excellent. Finally, the Drill Kick is like all other Down+A moves: press Z as soon as you land, and you'll stop, virtually eliminating the recovery time. 17. Two-hit Juggle (Up+A) -----------------------------. Delay: 3 (Short) | Damage: High (~9% x 2hit) Recovery: 5 (Average) | Stun: Very Good Duration: 7 (Long) | Distance: Excellent Range: 7 (Good) | Dist.Var: Low Overall: 9 (Excellent) | Direction: Straight Up Strategy: 10 (Offense) | Priority: Good -----------------------------' Many people consider this move to be Fox's greatest move. I think it's boring, so I don't use it. Call it a whim. ;) Actually, if you're playing to win, by all means overuse this move. It sends people up high, does two hits (it's the only move that does two power-hits upward), nets a lot of damage, and most importantly, stuns people for a long time. It's versatile; it can be used both on its own, and in combos (try the tailsweep). 18. Forward Kick (Fwd+A) -----------------------------. Delay: 2 (Short) | Damage: Average Recovery: 5 (Average) | Stun: Fair Duration: 5 (Average) | Distance: Low Range: 7 (Good) | Dist.Var: High Overall: 8 (Good) | Direction: Arc Up/30 Strategy: 8 (Offense) | Priority: Low -----------------------------' Part of a balanced breakfast. Also good for edge-guarding. Basic combo: Tailsweep, jump, air-forward kick, jump, laser-laser. Decent damage, decent stun, and you get to edge-guard. 19. Back Kick (Back+A) -----------------------------. Delay: 2 (Short) | Damage: Average Recovery: 5 (Average) | Stun: Fair Duration: 5 (Average) | Distance: Low Range: 7 (Good) | Dist.Var: High Overall: 8 (Good) | Direction: Arc Up/30 Strategy: 8 (Offense) | Priority: Low -----------------------------' Also part of a balanced breakfast. Essentially the same as the forward kick, but maybe with a little less range. I prefer to use this move, but basically it's just a question of which direction I'm facing when I jump ;P Again, this move is good for edge-guarding. Face away from the edge, so you can attack anyone coming toward you, and when the person off the edge gets close enough, jump up and kick him back away from the edge. -----[ Section D. Miscellany ]----------------------------------------- Miscellaneous stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 20. Roll (Z+Left or Right) Fox has, hands down, the best roll in the game. Overuse this all you want. One good strategy as a beginner is to roll straight into the enemy and then immediately attack; this is not going to work so well against experienced players though. In the end, rolling is purely an evasive maneuver. The nice thing about the roll is that when you finish the roll, you auto-magically face your opponents so you can begin attacking. However, it is a little bit slower than running(due to the slight recovery time), so watch yourself. 21. Jump (C) Again. Fox has, hands down, the best jump in the game ^_^ And he's got a good dash, to boot. Learn to use his jump; actually it's not very hard to learn because of its speed and flexibility. In any case, you should try to remember how far Fox jumps, how quickly he jumps, and how quickly he falls. That way, you'll know how to time your hits when you try to pull off air attacks or combos. 22. Roll Recovery (Z+Left or Right[special] after falling) Hold Z and a direction as soon as you land, and you can roll out. This is incredibly useful in a lot of situations. Make sure, though, that if you're next to an edge, roll *away* from the edge, as if you roll toward the edge, you'll hit the edge but continue rolling for the duration of a standard roll (leaving you vulnerable). It is also possible to do a Recovery attack when you land, but this is a bit less useful. To do a recovery attack, press the A button right when you land -- this takes timing, though. Personally, I'd stick to the roll-recover. 23. Edge Recovery Attack (A when hanging onto edge, at low %) Most edge-recovery attacks have very high priority, for whatever reason. Fox's is no exception, and it gets a LOT of range. If you're hanging onto the edge, begin tapping A rapidly until you do your attack, and Fox will do a kick that looks somewhat like his powerkick, but is a whole lot weaker. It's good for stunning enemies that are standing close to the edge, and it does get a good bit of range, so you can even hit enemies further back. If you're good, you can also steal jumps with it, although this requires that the circumstances are favorable (that is, you'll need to be lucky). If your percent damage is at, say, 80% and up, don't bother with the recovery attack (as always, unless you know you can hit!), as it is a lot slower and gets very little range. Instead, you have two good options: roll back onto the edge(Z+direction) or jump off, jump up, and use a quick air attack (fwd/back+A is good; the reflector probably won't get you enough range to hit). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ************************************************************************ 1.5) The Fox Spike: Its importance, its invincibility, fox15_spike and most of all, its general coolness factor... ************************************************************************ A Brief History of Spikes ------------------------- The term "spike" was coined when a friend of mine (a certain P. Cheong...wait, that's too obvious...then Paul C. will do) was playing DK and managed to pull off a Fwd+A/air/off the edge, knocking a Kirby senselessly down into the abyss. Kirbies do look somewhat like volleyballs, don't they? There are approximately *FIVE* kinds of spikes. The first, and standard, kind involves using a Down+A/air/off-edge(heretofore referred to as "Down+A/spike") move to knock someone into the abyss. This is an instant kill, at most forms of health (say, 20% and up). Everyone has one of these 'cept Pikachu and Link, and they vary in priority and speed from Fox (worst) to Samus (2nd) and Ness (best), in order. However, a good player can spike you with ANY character, so keep on guard for the characters with higher-priority spikes. The second form of Spike involves using a Fwd+A/spike move. These are rare: only Yoshi and DK have them. However, Fwd+A/spikes are considerably more dangerous, as it is harder to hit Fwd+A/spike users (and ESPECIALLY Yoshi) with a comeback move. Link and Falcon have a little bit of luck here, as they have some range to the side when using Up+B/air. Still, you'll find that a good Yoshi player in particular can and will spike you senseless when you're in midair hit stun. The third, and most difficult, form of spiking involves using a special move to knock people down. This can be done with: Kirby's Final Cutter - The downward slash hits downward. Kirby's forward throw - Stand at the edge, facing inward. Use a forward throw. You commit suicide, but you still get the kill. Falcon's forward throw - From the edge... I think? Mario/Luigi's tornado - Hard!! - Hit them with your feet Fox's reflector shield - simply Down+B. This kind of spike is generally HARD to pull off, and therefore unexpected. With the exception of Fox's reflector shield...which is fairly easy to do. A fourth "spike" can be seen in Peach's Castle: use an Up+A to knock someone under the pinball bouncer thingy (the guides on the two sides of the pinball dealie); if they are at high enough damage they will be sent flying downwards. How does that work? They bounce off, and since Up+A moves get much more distance than Fwd+A moves (as it takes more distance to send someone up and off the edge), and by the time they recover and can jump, they are too far down to come back. You can also pull this off with forward throws, powerhits, et cetera--it's generally harder that way, but it's also easier to kill in that way, because they fly down-forwards. The fifth spike is done using a bumper. Most items when thrown knock enemies forwards/up, with the exception of the fan (up-only, great juggle item!), the fireflower (forward; stun), and the bumper (depends on how you hit). Simply jump above an enemy, and use Down+A. You'll throw the bumper and knock the person below you to Kingdom Come. The disadvantage, of course, is that you have to bother with using ONLY B attacks, and you may as well use the forward throw... but it's easier for enemies to evade the forward throw by simply jumping / using Up+B. Also, don't bother spiking with the fireflower unless you feel like it--in my experience, it doesn't have enough priority. Well, try it if you like...if I'm wrong, email me ;) [yes, I am wrong: the flower does send them up a bit, especially at higher % damage. Ah, well. It's still a good edge-guard thrown item.] The Fox Spike(tm) ----------------- Those of you who have played Fox before, or have been carefully reading through my FAQ, know that Fox has no good Down+A or Fwd+A spike. He does, however, still have a spike little known to the majority of SSB players: the reflector shield. Hmm, maybe that line is a little outdated as the word has been spreading around, I think ^_^ ... Anyway, Fox Spiking (as I call it) is extremely hard to pull off if you have not actually practiced using the spike, but once you master it, it is hard to counter due to its high priority and speed. After playing for awhile with the Fox Spike, your friends will probably begin to adapt to your playing style and avoid the spike. Well, that's not the end of the story, all it means is that you need to specialize a little bit. What you really need to know is who to spike, and when to spike. With that knowledge, you can wipe out most characters at a measly 0-40% if you have the opportunity to do so (assuming that your opponents are good, you probably will only be able to do this 1-3 times per 5-minute / 5-stock game or so...if you're good). Of course, you can use the reflector shield simply to stun people; that's always good in combos and team games. But that's another section entirely ^__^ ... well, I suppose I can cover it here anyhow. Since the Spike is the only standard move that consistently sends people downward and forwards at the same time, *and* can be used on the ground, you will have opportunities to send people into traps, or off the edge to combo into another spike. More on that later. Mastering the Fox Spike ----------------------- I don't recommend that you Spike if you're a beginning player; if you're still learning to play, in fact, I would suggest that you practice using Luigi's Up+B fire punch. It has about the same range (actually, it has a little more range above), and is actually quicker than the reflector shield. Also, it has about the same strategy--most of the time you'll be trying to hit people from below. What about reflecting? ---------------------- Let's face it...most good players know better than to throw green shells at you left and right. So in those cases, you'll have to attack directly instead (if they're holding items, they can't attack unless they throw or use B moves, right?), and use the reflector a lot in the process so that if they drop the item, you'll reflect it and hit them automatically. But yes, you can and should still use the reflector shield as much as possible - watch for items, predict when the opponent will throw, and in which direction, and also for the special attacks in each level (Pokemon/Saffron City, Arwings/Great Fox, etc). I used to have a list of items you can reflect; I'm cutting that down to these important items: > Pokeballs - as an evasion maneuver. Shield the ball, and it will drop right in front of you. If the opponent is off the edge when he throws the ball, make sure you're next to the edge, and the ball will fall conveniently off. :) Mind you, the pokemon that drops out of the ball DOES NOT belong to you! If that were the case, SSB would be completely unbalanced, and Fox would be so incredibly powerful, it would not even be funny. > Pokemon - Don't even bother. It's not worth your time. If it's your Pokemon, though, try to shield other people into the monster; if they hit it directly (charizard/meowth/etc) they'll be in some serious trouble. > Eggs / capsules / boxes - Another parry maneuver. Very useful... unless the egg / capsule explodes ;) ... well, that usually doesn't happen, of course, and if you parry properly, you can pick up the item that drops before someone can get close enough to attack you. You'll probably find a lot of people throwing items like the above at you, because they figure it can't hurt them. They're wrong. > Shells. You can reflect a shell three times before it begins doing crazy (upwards of 100%/hit) damage. Try a red shell, as a booby trap. Set it, shield three times, and then try to send people into it. They won't die, but one hit from anything else and they most definitely will. Once in awhile, they'll get stuck "in" the red shell, which will do multiple hits (causing ~300+% damage.) > Correction: Red shells reflected three times do 60% damage per hit. That's still not too shabby, though. It's possible to get the damage-per-hit higher, but I haven't worked on figuring that out yet. Do note that red shells and bumpers reflected three times have a much shorter half-life than regular 1x-damage shells and bumpers. This isn't always true for green shells, though. So, really, the usefulness of a red shell is quite limited. :( Also, there's a risk of yourself falling into your own trap, so make your decisions carefully. You might want to try setting traps like these near the edge, and then staying somewhere safe nearby. > More on green shells: Two reflections and a green shell should kill at about 30% health; three and it kills at 0-10%. Obviously, nobody will be throwing green shells at you if you're not in hit stun. * By the way, to send people into traps you've set, you can shield them in from above, or hit/throw them from below. For this reason, set traps at the bottom, so opponents can't hit/throw you into the traps you set yourself! ... Well, at least, not as easily. Experienced opponents will dash-attack or soft-attack and try to hit you just far enough. In the case of mines, you're a little better off, though, because you can try to recover-roll (See Section 1D-Misc. Moves) > Mines: Yes, mines. Unlike Pokeballs, mines become your property. Great for setting traps, among other things. > Arwing blasts. The Pokemon in Saffron City don't really matter, as you can't hit anyone consistently enough; however, the Arwing blasts do a ton of damage when multiplied 1.5x by your shield. Try to catch people unawares; you'll be guaranteed a kill that way. > Bombs and Bob-ombs. Please note that with only a few small exceptions, you can ONLY reflect bombs which are thrown sideways. This includes Bob-ombs, which do massive damage when reflected. But nonetheless, most Link players love their boomerang and bombs, and you ought to love them too. > Bumpers...this is like gambling, though. Be careful when you reflect a bumper, because you'll have to remember to keep the shield up as long as the bumper is still bouncing back and forth. Also, remember that when you touch the ground, the shield disappears and you have to Down+B again! ... Um, anyhow, if you're lucky, you'll be able to send people off in various directions and stuff. Use this against the people who like to throw items when they come back. > Finally, and most importantly: People! Shielding people is often more useful than the "spike" aspect of the Fox Spike. Always remember that the Fox Spike gets a lot of hit stun, speed, and priority. If you can't use Down+A/ground to clearout, and you can't run, then use the Down+B. The Fox Spike has a lot of other uses--it makes a great juggle finisher, among other things. Send people into the air, jump up, send them back down with your Spike (and maybe into your teammates' hands), and continue comboing by sending them off the edge. Really though, the spike does very little damage, so it's somewhat like using a jab in Capcom fighters. > Let me repeat again: The reflector is much like using a jab: don't expect it to save your puny behind. It's very fun to use, but it's not *that* amazing. > Probably the most effective method of shielding on the ground is in a setup so that you can dash and throw right after you hit them. In the air, you're setting them up so you can hit them again with an air attack of your choice. Heh...I don't use this much anymore, usually I finish air combos with a shield, then either pull off a dash-shield combo, or else a throw. Why Fox Spike? -------------- > For the element of surprise. Catch people off-guard. Even if they think they have their super ultra powerful move (minus Ness and Samus, who actually DO have priority moves), if your timing is good, you can counter all of these moves. > It has priority, and is quick. High priority, high speed - if you and an opponent try to attack at the same time, chances are you'll hit first, with enough time to run away or combo. > Lots of hit stun. See below (How to Spike) and you'll understand :) How to Fox Spike ---------------- Align yourself properly. Press Down+B. Voila. You get enough time to run away if you managed to hit. To Spike with the Fox Shield, do it at the edge and in the air (again, "you can take it anywhere"). If you hit people when they have just finished their second jump and have not yet used their recovery move, they will go into hit stun, and by the time they (1) realize they have no second jump or (2) use their Up+B move, they will have fallen down too far to grab the edge. If they manage to get close enough to the edge, spike them again. Try to only use your first jump, though, if you use your second jump you become a sitting duck. Also note that this works a lot better (obviously) at higher damage, because the hit stun lasts longer, sending them further down. If you find that you are spiking with ease now, move on to the next level ;) and jump off the edge to pull off the spike (but only when it is safe!). Or, you can spike them while right at the edge, then jump off to repeat spiking until they are far down enough...then jump back and firefox back to safety. (Which, BTW, is the only way to spike some characters, ie Kirby, Mario, Pikachu). Then, you're probably going to want to know how to pull off a spike consistently, or in a combo. The following "combos" aren't really combos, but whatever...mostly these are just ways to get people in range so you can hit them with a Reflector. Immediate Combo 0.5: 1) Tailsweep (10-30% is good). 2) Jump and Reflector. (Actually I don't suggest that you use this combo; if you're using the tailsweep you should chain into something more damaging, like a juggle) Immediate Combo 1: 1) Throw off edge (not powerhit; you get faster recovery with a throw) 2) Immediately jump off (only one jump, mind you) 3) Shield. This should eliminate the opponent's first jump if they have the misfortune of timing their jump just as you shield. 4) If you like, fall down a bit and shield again. If you want to sacrifice your own life, continue repeating this step. 5) Use your second and third jumps to recover. Try not to use your third jump if you don't have to, though, because some characters can still hit you if they haven't used their first jump. And if it happens to be Falcon, then all your work is for nothing, plus you'll be thrown onto the wall and bounce back, which is much like being spiked yourself. 6) If you skipped step four and jumped straight back onto the platform, edge-guard at will. Use a soft-forward, even, if you're lazy. The Fox Spike combo above is probably the easiest way to go into edge- guarding mode. It seems obviously simple, and it works very well. If you're more conservative in using the Spike, this is DEFINITELY one of those times where you simply shouldn't hold back when using the Shield. In Saffron City, you can throw people on the wall at the bottom left corner, and then jump up and spike. After awhile, your friends will probably not allow you to play on Saffron City. ;) Immediate Combo 2: 1) Check opponent's health. If it's around 40 or higher, Fox Spike them while you're on the edge. 2) Don't even jump off--FALL off. Spike, and repeat as necessary. 3) Come back, but see part 5 of the previous combo--be careful. In fact, against Falcon, you probably want to make sure he's at 60 or higher before you try this. Immediate Combo 3: 1) Check opponent's health. Generally, 15-60% will be good. Higher is not so good, unless it's DK. 2) Dash attack. Make sure, of course, you can hit before you dash, since you have to wait for the dash to recover (slide) before you can move again. This is, by the way, why you're checking the health before you attack: you need to make sure that you can send the opponent exactly up and forward a little bit. Between 15-60%, you should be able to spike them with ease. 3) Jump forward (again, only one jump!) and spike. 4) Again, you can drop down and continue spiking, or else jump back on. I'd recommend jumping back on. 5) Edge-guard at will, or come back if you picked the latter option. Why am I calling these combos? Well, because you can pull off the moves in conjunction without any real penalty, and besides, there are no real combos past four or five moves in SSB, because of the game mechanics (% damage makes things REAL difficult to combo/chain consistently). No, none of those 30-hit combos like in SFEX2+AlphaOmegaTurbo... although those big-hit combos ARE kinda fun to pull off, I'll warrant ^_^ I never actually thought of including descriptions of air combos, because I figure this is something you should ad-lib. However, I'll list one here as an example: Example Air Combo (% Damage is approximate) (0%) Dash Attack > Tail Sweep. (enemy is now in the air, if not, try a soft- or power- up+A) (15%) Air Up+A Juggle [x2] (x3 if you really can) (40%) Reflector Shield (44%) Dash-Throw > Jump forward, Laser x2 (60%) Edge-guard to your heart's content. This is fairly hard to pull off, again, because of the inconsistency between character weights, % damages, et cetera--this is why ad-libbing is a good idea. For example, after the Reflector Shield, you may not be able to catch with the throw, in which case you might want to try a dash attack to catch them if they get up. And don't forget...creativity is a big plus. Yes, develop your'n imaginations, young ones...or something to that end. Who to Fox Spike ---------------- It is possible to spike _ANYONE_. However, you ought to focus your spiking efforts on: > Vertically-challenged characters [Samus, Link, Falcon, DK] Unless they know how to play well, they're probably mostly dead. Send them off the edge, Fox Spike, and goodbye! Um, watch out for the high priority comeback attacks, though; move back and let them pull off the moves before you attack them again. DK, in particular, is harder to spike, because you have to wait until nearly the *end* of the Spinning Kong in order to hit him, and if you do try to spike him earlier, you will be sent backwards, and he is guaranteed a recovery. > Even more vertically-challenged characters [Jigglypuff, Ness, Kirby] These three characters fly especially far when you hit them with the Fox Spike at low health. That doesn't necessarily make them easier to spike, though. Jigglypuff: Hard to spike because of her high air AND ground priority, but if you do connect, she is completely and utterly done for. Ness: Very easy to spike because of his speed. Send him off using any of the standard Immediate Combos; although because he flies so far from your hits, #2 is probably the best choice. Upon spiking, he will PK Thunder, and frankly, he CAN make it back if he aims it correctly. ... So, either stand above him and reflect the PK Thunder away, or else simply attack him with the Reflector Shield and watch him fall down. He won't be able to recover the second time...at least, usually not. Kirby: Actually easier to spike than Jigglypuff. Most smart Kirbies won't bother using an Up+B to attack (you can reflect the beam), and instead they will Up+B and cling onto the ledge. Hit them with the spike as they come down from the Final Cutter; be careful not to be hit though (note: the Final Cutter only hits with the blue 'blade' portion...not Kirby's body). You'll have to jump down and spike one more time to complete the spike, because otherwise they can still Up+B their way back to the ledge. It is quite possible to use Immediate Combo 2 to spike Kirby, but this is a lot of trouble and you will, in most likelihood, have to suicide (continuous spike) if you want Kirby to die. In other words, your best bet is to him him out of the Final Cutter. > And as for the remaining characters, which are much harder to spike: Yoshi: You can steal his jump if he's at HIGH high damage, like, say, 100% or so (it has to be at the end of his jump, so in theory this can be done at lower damage, but you won't find many chances to do so). Stealing jumps may be cheap, but if you didn't steal his jump, you'd still have edge-guarded him...and he would have been dead anyhow, at that % damage. Luigi: Easier to spike than Mario. Immediate Combo 2 works wonders, but it's also basically the only way to spike him. Unlike Kirby, you don't have to wait for him to use Up+B, but it is still preferable as his Up+B is faster than your spike, so pulling off Immediate Combo 2 is easier if he uses the recovery move. Mario: See above. Harder to spike than Luigi, because his Up+B is generally better. Pikachu: You can hit him out of the teleport ("agility") if you're lucky, or if you practice ;P but for the most part, you won't be able to spike Pikachu. I'd just stun him with the shield in order to dash-throw. I'd say that Pikachu is _definitely_ the hardest to spike. Where? ------ > Spiking itself should be done near the edge. But, reflecting should be done: > Anywhere when mines or bumpers are nearby. Throw mines discreetly, then cautiously lead your enemies to them...try to aim your spike so that they land in the vicinity of the mine. This works INCREDIBLY well, and may very well be your > Saffron City - the level which has "FOX" imprinted all over it. The skyscrapers mean death for just about anyone else(even Kirby, Pikachu, and other Fox players!) if you Fox Spike correctly. Against those people with little vertical recovery, you are almost guaranteed to win. Include DK this time, as he dies a lot on this level. > Planet Zebes, Hyrule Castle. Standard edges, but they have "traps" (the acid / the whirlwinds). Try to Fox Spike them not off the edge, but rather into the traps. If you want to do a regular Fox Spike, lead them onto the left edge in Hyrule Castle, which is more convenient(you can be trapped pretty easily on the right end). On Zebes, if you throw people into the acid, and they're flying below the main platform, try to line yourself up with where they come up when they fly up. Use a Down+A, and you're guaranteed either a kill or a crapload of additional damage if you hit. You could use Down+B, too, if you're mean and stuff. Don't be mean, mmkay? > Great Fox. Standard edge, good enough to spike. Left edge is preferable--because it's convenient when the Arwing comes. Roll out of the way and let the Arwing hit people to the left, then jump into the shots and shield to hit people to the right. Eventually, players will simply scatter (and run!) whenver they see the Arwing coming...but it has such good range that you can still catch experienced players off guard (or busy, rather). Careful on the Great Fox, though! Since the Arwing flies very close to the ground, make sure you know when you'll fall on the ground: when you touch the ground, good-bye Down+B--and you'll have to do it again, if you're not already dead. > Kirby's Dreamland, Yoshi's Stage: Nice, nice, SMALL level = lots of opportunities for kills. The minus side is the tree, of course, and the platforms above the edge. The tree can be fatal...don't use Down+A/ground if you're on the edge, because if you manage to fall off the edge because of the tree before you use Down+A, you'll end up losing a life (presto, whammo, BAM! -- see, I can do an Emeril, too). On Kirby's level, there's that annoying upper ledge that people can catch onto, conversely, there are clouds on Yoshi's stage. Well, oh well. If people fly onto the clouds on Yoshi's level, simply shoot them a bit to up the damage counter. In a game with skilled players, damage is very important, so an extra 5%/hit is always good. > Peach's Castle: Even smaller than Kirby's Dreamland! Spike on the lower level. On the top level, either dash-throw, or else spike them downwards so that you can spike them again >:) And it's DEFINITELY easier to spike on this level than on Kirby's / Yoshi's levels. > Don't spike on the DK stage, unless you know you have a good chance to kill. That barrel...ugh...I hate the DK stage. Even Jigglypuff stands a good chance against your spikes...but luckily, Link/et al still have trouble getting back up. Try timing a Down+A when people shoot out of the barrels, and you can get essentially an instant kill; if they learn and begin to use the edges, jump out and whack them with a Fwd/Back+A (air) when they come out. I think Back+A gets more damage, but I'm not sure, really. If you're really going for insults, try using Down+B when people come out ;) > The OG-Mario stage is actually alright, since you can kill the platforms in the center. Lurk around the center and try to spike. If you're good at throwing, though, you should do that instead, since the two ends are good for anyone with a decent throw. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2) Multiplayer Strategies fox20_multi ------------------------------------------------------------------------ _____________________ A) General Strategy \ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ| What you need to know, what you need to master, and that kind | of miscellaneous junk. | fox21_strat | _______________________________________________________________________| Before we even begin with multiplayer games, there are a few things you absolutely need to master if you are a beginning player. 1. Fox's speed. Make sure you're used to rolling, jumping, and running before you bother with multiplayer. I'd suggest playing through singleplayer to do this, as it's not good for that much else, really. 2. Hitting the target. Laughing, are you? Well, it's obviously important, though, isn't it? ;) You might try singleplayer, again, and if you're trying to learn to Fox shield, use Training Mode, and see how far your opponent flies and where you have to fall in order to pull off the three Immediate Combos, at various percentages. Samus is a good choice for training mode, since she's heavyweight, but also be sure to try the other end of the spectrum (Jigglypuff). 3. Up attacks, and juggling. I don't juggle much, because I'm lazy, but it's your best method of building up damage, since Fox doesn't do that much to begin with. Learn to time the Up+A, though. The best way to do this is in singleplayer, but you can do this by playing multiplayer a lot, too. Just don't expect to win, because people will take advantage of your recovery time / duration. 4. Dash-throwing. Really, really, really important--I don't think I can stress it enough. The throw is quick, useful, and it gives you a free projectile, even. Dashing before you throw nets you a little more range on the move. 5. Attacking from above. Know when to, and when not to. You may wish to learn to veer in a direction and then side-air kick when you attack from above. Actually, Fox is probably better off attacking from below, but if you like drill kicks and buffering from a drill into another move (that is to say, if you've been playing a lot of Jigglypuff and Luigi), you'll have to get used to Fox's drill. 6. The art of "item-whoring." I didn't coin that term, either... well, in any case, learn to listen for the item-drop and star-drop sounds and begin to run off looking for them. Always, by the way, throw items directly on the ground (jump up first in case it explodes) so you can take whatever's inside. Well, you could throw the items at your opponents, but I'd rather have what's inside personally. 7. Using items. Stick items (saber, rod, bat, fan): Learn the four basic hit patterns: > Tap hit: Gets good all-around range above and forward, and is amazingly quick with good recovery time. > Soft hit: Only gets you range forward, but it's very fast and generally powerful. Also, just like when you have no stick weapon, you can aim the hit a little bit up, and, more importantly, _down_. > Powerhit: Less above-range than the tap hit, but more forward range, and of course it's...powerful. Delay is kind of long, so make sure to stun before you powerhit. Also gets a little bit of backswing, which may come in handy with the bat and saber. Bad recovery time. > Dash: Hits forward, and a little little bit up. Range is tremendously increased. On the downside, the recovery is also increased considerably. The lightsaber is a godly weapon. No, really. Stick mostly to tap and soft hits, and try to keep it as long as humanly possible. Powerhit if you have the opportunity to do so, and dash if people run away from you. If you're afraid you will drop it, then throw it off the edge as an edge-guard. With the star rod, stay away and stick to soft hits, sending out short-range stars. Use tap and powerhits as applicable. Throw the rod when you're done: it's EXACTLY like a Fox shield, but so much more powerful! At high health, almost everyone will die from a direct hit with the thrown star rod. The bat isn't so useful, and besides it doesn't do that much damage, but you can at least use the tap and soft hits in melee, and in team, you have a *lot* of chances to get instant kills. Problem with the bat is that most people will start trying to kill you so that either they can have the bat or, rather, that you drop the bat. It makes a great thrown weapon, too...Actually, you can get some free kills by using tailsweeps at 0% (no higher!) and then immediately using your powerhit...it's not as good as Link's soft-up/boomerang, but it still works with good consistency...at 0%, that is. Fans are definitely good. Tap-tap-tap, or powerhit. The damage sucks, though. It's pretty good as a thrown weapon, as it works like a juggle. You might try using a fan tap hit, then Up+A, then jump and use an air Up+A, and *then* throw the fan straight up. Well, it might not even hit... I've only gotten ... maybe three kills by throwing the fan in free-for- all games. Over two or three years. ;P I mean, in regular 100% damage, no-handicap FFA games. Pokeballs: Eh, I don't need to explain this. Good thrown weapons, but better to throw them on the ground strategically sometimes. Bombs: Also self-explanatory. Throw them downward if need be, and _especially_ against other Fox players. Bumpers: Good near the edge, or anywhere: throw and immediately reflector shield. Try to spike with the bumper, too. Flowers: I'm impatient, personally, but flowers are still good. Excellent stun damage when thrown. Hammers: If you've got a hammer, don't jump unless you have to. ... Enough said, I think. Watch for falling Ness, Link, and Kirby players, and jump to avoid the range-throws of Link/Samus/Yoshi. Likewise, if someone else has a hammer, try to get beneath them, and then air combo, or else simply shield them (shielding is quicker and often more effective). Boxes/Barrels: Laser from a distance. Do not attempt to pick these up. If someone else picks one up, go ahead and run toward them and attack; if they throw the box/barrel, reflector-shield, and if not, then hit them (the box /barrel will disappear). Shells: Green ones are self-explanatory; red ones have already been discussed in section 1.5 (the Fox Spike). Mines: Take them, and drop them. Try to be discreet. If you want to have some fun, drop off the edge, throw the mine directly on the side of the edge, and then jump back up (firefox so you don't hit the mine). I think any other items out there that I forgot to mention are more or less self-explanatory. ... That's basically it. Now, on to ... _____________________ B) Dueling (1v1) \ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ| Basics of the one-on-one "duel" match. Considerably different | from free-for-all and team games, but still important. | fox22_duel | _______________________________________________________________________| Duels put all of your Fox skills to the test, and especially against experienced players. In a duel, you should really be counting damage and lives, whether the game is time or stock. Most of what happens in a duel seems pretty obvious to me, so I'm not really sure what to write here. ... Probably the best Fox strategy is to build up damage a little bit through combos and juggling, and then rushing in and dash-throwing off the edge at an opportune time (preferably after stun). Note that if you fire a laser and your opponent blocks, you should definitely consider that to be *stun* time, because it takes time to block a laser shot... a LOT of time. Which means, it's time to dash-throw. I don't know how much difference there is between forward and backthrowing, but they're both quick, and kinda weak, so just throw in the direction of the edge. Then, all that's left to do is edge-guard. And that's not too hard; simply attack them at an opportune time if you can (through whatever means--Down+A, Fwd+A, Up+A, air attacks, reflector shield), and if they get back, try to dash-throw off the edge or else soft-down and start an air-attack chain. Fox is, overall, an excellent edge-guarder (he has some good quick-kill moves), although he doesn't have a horizontal- distance Soft-Down move. Which is too bad (try Yoshi/Pikachu/DK/Falcon, they have some excellent soft-down edge guard moves--especially Yoshi).. You will probably find that your own Fox is better against certain characters and not so good against others. Here's my personal list. Fox is good vs.: > Jigglypuff. Not everyone is good against Jigglypuff, and Fox has the speed to take Jigglypuff out easily, plus a lethal spike. Also, Fox has a lethal Soft-Down. It won't kill Jigglypuff, it just means that Jigglypuff will have some serious troubles attacking you head-on with powerhits. > Ness. Again, a lethal spike, plus Fox's speed, are more than enough to overwhelm your average Ness player. Watch for his throw, though- you should be able to out-throw Ness, but be careful. And don't use the forward powerhit too much. > Kirby. Fairly lethal Fox spike, speed, and plus Kirby has low damage tolerance. > Luigi. Watch for his Up+B--it's fast, which means you shouldn't use the reflector shield too much, and also look out for his spike-and- fire punch combo. Having said that, he's just too slow. > Most Link players. Link has stunningly mad priority and some great moves to boot (quick range-throw, soft up+A, Fox is even vs.: > Skilled Jigglypuff players. Jigglypuff has some great powerhits, and pretty good air priority, so you won't be able to spike her repeatedly if the Jigglypuff player is any good. You still, however, can throw her left and right. > Skilled Kirby players, who make use of every move that Kirby has, will be able to keep you off the edge quite consistently, spiking you from time to time. > DK players. DK has a good edge-guard (Up+B), plus an excellent throw, and besides that, excellent damage tolerance. You, on the other hand, have speed, the Down+A and Down+B edge-guards (kill at 60-100%), and a quick throw, evening out the battle. > Pikachu players. Fox is not so good vs.: Well, he's not really bad against anyone; the characters are mostly balanced after all. Some characters can prove to be real pains in the behind, and these are: > Samus players who only use four moves: Charge B, Up+B, Air Back+A, Air Down+A. Some of these people have it down to an art. Yeouch. Look out for a combo like this: - 1. Samus charges B, and carries around the charge shot. - 2. [optional] Samus spikes you on the ground (Down+A). - 3. Samus uses Up+B. - 4. During hit stun, Samus lands, jumps, and uses Back+A in air. - 5. Samus will now edge-guard using a spike (Down+A-air) or the charge shot (B). Chances are the former, since after all, you _are_ playing Fox. > Ness players who only use two moves. Guess which two those are. - Combo 1: Spike, spike, jump, spike, spike, jump, spike, spike, air hit (up+A, fwd+A, back+A). Hard to avoid once you get caught in it, but you could try a roll-recovery. - "Combo" 2: Throw, dashthrow, throw, dashthrow. Spike, throw, or yo-yo to edge-guard. Avoidable, but you need to get used to Ness' speed and throwing patterns in order to be successful at avoiding them at all. > Kirby players who love to spike. Obviously, this is hard to avoid, and this renders your 'advantage' of higher damage tolerance to be absolutely null and void. On the plus side, you can still Fox Spike them, but that takes practice, and lots of it. > Suicidal DK players. Well, these are more amusing than annoying ;P > Master Pikachu players. Much like the Kirbies who love to spike, a person who has mastered Pikachu is a formidable opponent. Watch your health, and, um, well, try to stay on the level at all times, because once you're off the edge, don't expect to get back. It's worth a try, though. ;P Don't forget to use the tail sweep from time to time if Pikachu charges at you. - On the side, I have found that with a little practice, a Pikachu player can buffer the air drill (Fwd+A) directly into an air- tail swipe (Up+A), which has a similar effect to Falcon's "horizontality" move (it's a little weaker, and generally sends people a bit up as well). Um, well ... ouch. _____________________ C) Time FFA (3+) \ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ| Free for all, or "battle royal" games. Bottom line: Watch | your kill-to-loss ratio carefully. | fox23_time | _______________________________________________________________________| Time FFA is probably the best option for newer players, because it gives players a lot of time to experiment, but on the other hand, since Time counts kills, a lot of kill-stealing is bound to occur, which isn't particularly good for a Fox player (since Fox's moves really aren't all insta-kill moves). Where I play, we have a preference for five-minute time or five-stock games, since there are usually quite a few people waiting. If you can dominate the field, by all means do so. This is most easily accomplished by dash-throwing everyone off the edge. Be forewarned that this strategy allows those off the edge to spike and counterspike each other to death, but on the plus side, your score doesn't go down and theirs most likely won't go up, either. Try to attack with lasers after you've thrown people off the edge...easier said than done, eh? ^_^ In reality, it is probably a better idea to try cornering one person, and then beating that person down (if you can). After you've sent your first victim off the edge far enough so that (s)he cannot recover, rush to the other end where the other two players are. You have two options; the first is to charge in and attack both players (if you're succesful, good for you...two kills ;P), and the second is to allow one player to hit the second off the edge, and then rush in during the recovery time and dash-throw the first player out (if you can, throw him into the second player!). Watch the person you killed, however, as he should be in invincibility-respawn time at that moment, and will probably come back seeking revenge, or at least a quick kill ;). One of the most important strategies in Time is to steal kills. You don't have to do all the damage, so it is often easier simply to run away, and strike only when necessary, or when the opponents are at lethal damage. This is easily accomplished because of Fox's speed, but often you will find that people are giving you dirty looks if you do this. ;) Run away in moderation. In the rare event that the game is set at 150-200% damage, go berserk with the reflector shield and throw, as they are both lethal (powerhits are not as good of an idea--lower Dist.Var). Watching the score in Time is not so hard. Count the number of kills you have versus the number of deaths. If your kills are above your deaths, chances are that you didn't get fourth place. ^_- You should, however, still be very In all FFA games, you're going to want to remember to use your "escape" moves so you can run away as needed: the Throw(+block/dash), the Reflector, and the Tailsweep. These are so ridiculously important that I probably should be writing more than four lines about them ^__^ _____________________ D) Stock FFA (3+) \ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ| Stock free-for-all games. Bottom line: Watch your lives. :P | Mechanics change considerably from Time. | fox24_stock | _______________________________________________________________________| Stock follows basically the same rules as Time, but running away is even more advantageous here. Keep a safe distance from everyone, and wait for a good moment to run in, strike, and edge-guard. Much like Time, you should be counting lives, but this time, check everybody's lives. In an even Stock FFA game, all players will lose lives at about the same rate, so try to keep one or two lives ahead of everyone else if you can. As with Time, if the items are on, run about collecting items whenever they drop, throwing capsules on the floor. Mines you no longer need to worry about reflecting, since a mine kill simply means one life lost to whomever steps on the mine, as opposed to one point gained for the owner of the mine in Time games. Stock FFA games allow you to run away as much as you want. However, this is boring, so I don't follow this myself. It's just that you have the ability to do so, successfully, and if anyone decides to chase you, you can easily take care of them with one hand tied behind your back. Some newbies have been known to use this strategy (not picking people off, but just running away) to gain a significant life advantage at the end of the game (see below), but that is usually easily taken care of... Unlike Time, the end of a Stock game is always a Duel situation. Stop running and begin to attack, however you prefer. Same game, same rules, but one person almost always has a handicap of damage or lives to begin with. If you're playing carefully, that will always be you. With items on, however, this can easily change much like the stock market does-- so again, be on your guard. Again, remember your escape moves. Lives are much more valuable. And remember the most important two words: Don't die. =P Doesn't get much more obvious, does it? _____________________ E) 2v2 Team \ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ| What Fox does, or should do, in a team game. | fox25_team | _______________________________________________________________________| Heh... well, Team games really depend on your style, and how well you work with the second member of your team. Fox is flexible mostly because his incredible speed allows you to do whatever the heck you want and get away with it (most of the time ;). Fox is pretty good as a support character because of his speed and his escape moves. If you're playing with a power character as your team- mate, you might want to double as support when you're not off throwing people left and right. As support, use the Laser a lot more than when you're actively on the offense--you have more room for error when you play support. When on the offense, you might want to consider using faster moves (escape moves, air hits, throws), since you can't forget that your teammate is always there and you may have to switch to support at any point in the game. Edge-guarding, as always, is important. _____________________ F) Other Team (Nv1) \ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ| What to do if you're hunting, and what if you are the hunted? | (Handicaps, of course, are assumed.) | fox26_other | _______________________________________________________________________| Hunting: Fox isn't a very good hunter, to be honest with you. His moves are too weak. When hunting on a 1-9 handicap, the throw and reflector shield are utterly worthless. Your best bet is to go with the "item-whoring" strategy and find various ways to pester the 9-handicapped player with lasers and other damage-building moves. Juggling is a good idea. If you use a 1-1 handicap (which you shouldn't!), do whatever. Your opponent is guaranteed to die. Don't be so mean when you're hunting in a 3v1 game--in the least, a difference of 3 should be required. Hunted: 9-1 handicap? 5-1 handicap? Whatever the case, just stick to reflector shields--the other players are absolutely no match for you. Throws will work, too, and tailsweeps if you like screwing around for no particular reason. However, if you happen to be using a 1-1 handicap, against skilled players, you may be in a bit of trouble. ;) Throwing is the best idea at this point, since you can use your enemies as projectiles and escape from a lot of sticky situations. Since this is 3-1, feel free to Fox Spike as much as you want (under the assumption that you have mastered the spike). _____________________ G) Edge Guarding \ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ| The heart of a Smash Brothers game. Broken down into convenient | (or not really) character-by-character analyses. | fox27_edge | _______________________________________________________________________| 1. Donkey Kong DK's Up+B often keeps him rather high, and it has some decent air priority. In this case, wait for him to land (block-throw/Z+A) and toss him back off the edge again. Don't bother with other moves. You will need to know DK's Up+B timing, however, because you can hit him fairly easily at the end of the Spinning Kong (use an air attack). Finally, if he is low enough, luckily for you (Peach's Castle is good for this), use Down+A for a free kill. If he's a little higher than that, or if you prefer humiliation value, Down+B will do the trick. On the other end, DK has a decent variety of edge-guards himself. Some skilled (or not quite so) DK players will use the Up+B to edge-guard; this can be really annoying if you don't watch out for it. If you are below the platform, most DKs will try to time a Down+A spike or else a powerhit Down (spin) to hit you, and some of the sneaky ones will use a soft-down and kill you instantly. Watch yourself, and know your edge- catch timing well. ^_^ 2. Captain Falcon Falcon has one of the more annoying Up+B moves. Although he is an easy spike target (free kills), you're going to want to wait for his recovery to finish before you spike him. If you're impatient, use a Down+A, but remember that Falcon can still catch you occasionally with the airthrow. In the event that Falcon is above you, I recommend that you just wait for him to fall down before you attack him. When coming back, Falcon's edge-guards are also quite powerful. Most Falcon players know better than to air-throw you; they probably can't catch you. However, skilled Falcon players understand the value of the soft-down move and the regular powerkick in edge-guarding. They, um, hurt. Worse than that is the 'horizontality' juggle-if the Falcon player is good, he WILL consistently hit you directly sideways. This spells disaster. Nonetheless, it is safest to FireFox from above, unless you have the edge-catch timing down to an art. Remember that you may have to *attack* Falcon with the Up+B from time to time instead of going past him. 3. Fox Fox's spike works wonders on ... Fox himself ;_; ... Well, it's all good though. If you have trouble timing the spike against Fox (while he's standing still charging the Up+B), just go with an air kick. You may have some troubles if he comes from above, but again, the air kicks should do the trick for you. Coming back, you want to fly as far above Fox as you can. Do not approach Fox from below, if it is at all possible. A good Fox player can quite easily spike you. Also, don't go for the direct attack with the FireFox, since Fox is quick enough to move out and hit you out of your charge. 4. Jigglypuff Jigglypuff is nutritious. Ehrm, rather, just go with throws if you're skilled enough (or rather that the Jigglypuff lacks skill), and spike only if you're feeling sadistic. Against good Jigglypuff players, you will RARELY find chances for spikes due to Jigglypuff's good air priority and powerhits. You may even have trouble throwing her off the edge to begin with, if the player is good enough. Either way, go with powerhits and throws unless you have a chance to land a spike. Continually attempting spikes spells out sudden and unhappy doom for a Fox player. Jigglypuff has no good edge guards above, so FireFox over her if you can...just time your fall and dodge her as you drop. This isn't too hard, since Jigglypuff herself falls very slowly in the air. 5. Kirby Kirby, surprisingly enough, isn't too hard to Fox Spike. Having said that, it is fairly hard to edge-guard a Kirby at less than 50% health successfully, without attempting to spike. Do your best to hit him before he lands and gains his jumps back, though. If Kirby is stupid enough to Up+B without noticing you, run forward, and time a spike OR powerhit to hit him on the way down from the Final Cutter. Powerhits may be a better option if you're afraid you can't hit with the Spike... you just want to knock him away. Don't reflect the Cutter's beam unless you really feel like it; he'll get his jumps back. ... A Kirby edge-guarding a Fox can be a bad thing. On the plus side, Kirby is fairly slow in the air, but on the minus side, he has a whole variety of spikes, air attacks, a powerful Down+A powersplit, and that incredible Fwd+A powerhit. Try to land on the other side of Kirby, if you know he's going to hit you; otherwise, same as always... 6. Link Link is, contrary to common opinion, not the easiest to edge-guard. If anything, Samus would fit in that category. Link dies more easily, but that's because his comeback doesn't get as much distance. It is harder to Fox Spike Link because of the sideways swipes his sword gets when he uses the Up+B. Even a Down+A powerhit doesn't always hit him out of it, so you may want to wait for him to come close to landing from the Up+B and then dash-kick/throw (kick to steal jump, throw if he's at lower damage). Smart Link players have a good variety of edge-guarding moves. I'll repeat again... your best bet is to try to get above him. If he hits you from below (usually with a Down+A), you can expect him to jump and air combo. Most Link players have some knowledge of the Powerhit Fwd+B--some of them will accidentally save your jump thusly, while others are skilled and will steal your jumps consistently with it. Also, if you think you can do it, FireFox into Link...you may be able to hit him before he hits you with the powerhit, but do note that if he DOES hit you, you're dead. There's a slight chance that Link will try to catch you into a Soft-Up chain (soft-up, soft-up, soft-up) when you come back, and then he'll finish with a Fwd+A powerhit. This is bad. Bad. Bad. No way out of this one. Actually, he's more likely to do this during combat, when you're on the edge, and not when you come back, but what the hey. Some Links edge-guard with the Air Down+A downstab. This is a bad omen. Try not to get hit by it; I think it's stronger than the Up+B. 7. Luigi 8. Mario These two are, for the most part, about the same in terms of edge- guarding. You can spike them, but it's pretty hard to pull off a Down+A if you want to hit them normally. Instead, sit back and use a powerhit if you're going to edge-guard. Kind of boring... The breakdance, however, is a very effective (and thus annoying) edge guarding maneuver. Unlike Link's Down+A swipes, the breakdance sends you flying forward/up, so if you get hit, you may be in trouble ;) Lucky for you, they're really not all that quick, so they may not get to you. Some players, however, prefer the dash-throw, in which case you'll just have to stay as far away as is possible. Roll-recover if you can, then if you're still next to them, tailsweep. 9. Ness Possibly the easiest character to edge-guard, although you will have some difficulty killing him by spiking. Ness is the one character for which I would wholeheartedly recommend spiking, since he flies quite far from the spike and is required to PK Thunder. If you hit him on the edge with the Reflector and he's at low health, he will jump up, right? But the problem with that is his first jump will send him forward... giving you an opportunity to power-Down+A split and kill him before he can grab onto the edge. If not, then jump off and either get hit by his PK Thunder or just spike him again. Ness doesn't have the same air priority Jigglypuff does, except with that spike...well, so it would be good for you to stay ABOVE Ness. ;) Ness has spikes, the two PK moves, and a yo-yo. Recommendation, again, would be to stay ABOVE him--mostly because of the spikes, but also because if he PK Thunders you, you need to still be able to FireFox back. Finally, should he yo-yo and you go over him, there's a chance he'll either miss you with the yo-yo, or he'll send you flying in the wrong direction, giving you a chance to recover. 10. Samus Samus is pretty easy to spike. It's true that she has that corkscrew, but you can pretty easily evade it if you have any foresight at all. Know your enemies... If you don't spike Samus, you can always go with your other moves. Down+A will work wonders if you can pull it off, and if not, throws and Forward+A powerhits are always good too. Up+A ... well, Samus is a heavyweight, so it'd be better for you to send her off the edge and then guard. FireFox ABOVE Samus if you can, since she has a spike. If you can FireFox from below, that's also good, because her Down+A is weak and sends you upwards, and also because she can't hit you with the charge shot too easily in that case. If you don't have to FireFox, then don't; you want to be able to be ready to Down+B if you can. Watch out for the Wings move (Air Back+A), it packs a punch. If Samus corkscrews, don't worry, you get sent backwards anyhow, and you get a chance to recover to boot. In the event that Samus tries to spike you and you're right below and in front of her, Firefox forwards and not upwards like most people do to evade it, or else go straight upwards...even diagonal down if you must. 11. Pikachu Pikachu is also fairly easy to edge-guard. Do NOT spike Pikachu unless you're trying to force him to Up+B so you can powerhit/throw him. You can't expect to get a spike kill very often (you'd have to repeatedly spike the Pikachu about two-three times), so instead, just hit him on the edge or in an air combo if you're using the Reflector, and stick to powerhits. Predict where he can land with his Teleport, and act accordingly; throwing is a good idea since you're probably going to be dashing as it stands. If you can Up+A safely, by all means do so. With Pikachu, it is extraordinarily important to FireFox above him. He has some pretty nasty attacks-- Down+B - Call Lightning. Well, this is relatively tame, plus sometimes it sends you in the wrong direction...just don't touch Pikachu itself. Soft Down+A - Small tail swipe, which is quick and deadly. I've got a hunch that Pikachu has the strongest soft-down attack of them all...although Yoshi's is probably deadlier. Power Down - This is worse than the soft down, since it's faster, but at the same time, it gets a lot less range. Soft Up - Just like Link, albeit less powerful. Power Up - Not as good as Mario's, but close. He won't do this often. If he does, however, count on him using Down+B right afterwards, so veer away as soon as you get hit. Air Drill - If he's any good at buffering into an Up/Down+A after the drill, you're as good as dead... actually he doesn't even need to use the drill; the Up/Down+A are good enough on their own, and he can do a Semi-Horizontality with the Up+A. B - Projectiles can steal your jump, remember? He may also hit you if you're in the middle of your FireFox. Don't let him do that. As you can see, though, all of these moves cover mostly the forward and downward areas...so, stay above him! The Down+B is very weak, so you're not going to die if you get hit by it. 12. Yoshi Yoshi is not too hard to edge-guard. Don't bother with attacks, unless you really have a good opportunity to Down+A, or if you really want to steal his jump (Down+B/Fwd+A... aww, don't do this more than once). Instead, I suggest you allow him to land, and then throw him. (Or, even throw him before he lands, if you like.) You're just trying to build up damage so he can't come back with that third jump of his. If you're really mean, you can also steal his jump with, yes, a Tailsweep. Beware the Ides of March... Er, I mean, the soft-down sweep. Yoshi has a terribly powerful AND FAST soft-down. He has a tendency to dash- attack and combo into a soft-down. Ugh, is that combo ever powerful. Suffice it to say, against Yoshi, you're gonna die, and you're gonna die miserably. My advice to you would be to FireFox, once again, over Yoshi if you can, or else hope he screws up and mistimes his hits. Or you can also hope that the Yoshi player you're up against isn't any good. Which he very likely isn't, because not too many people have really mastered Yoshi. If you are still not convinced that Yoshi makes a mean edge-guarder, let me list out his edge-guard moves. 1. Fwd+A spike. Good Yoshi players know how to use this well...VERY well. Believe me on that one. 2. Down+A spike. A good Yoshi player doesn't suicide when using this; rather, he stays right over the edge and uses the Down+A in a combo, so that he lands on the edge when he's done, while you are spiked and fall down, failing to get up. 3. Up+A powerhit. Geez, that's powerful. 4. Down+A powerhit. Hard to connect, but if it connects, you're thorougly screwed. 5. Soft-Down sweep. You think the Up+A powerhit is bad? At least you aren't guaranteed a death when you get hit by it. A good Yoshi uses the soft-down much more often than the power-down. 6. Up+B artillery. These are VERY annoying. 7. Down+B. Gives Yoshi the ability to stand from behind and hit you when you land on the ledge, if he does it from the ground, and otherwise, it's just powerful in general. The stars are good, too. 8. R. Yes, Yoshi has a range-throw. Most people underestimate the power of the weakest range-throw in the game...it's still good if used properly. 9. Fwd+A. I rarely see this used, since the soft-down and power-up are a bit more effective, but still... ... Conclusions of Sorts ******************** That's basically it. Remember, the kuroneko says nyao. If I managed to forget anything, go ahead and email me. (pentarou@NOSHPAMnekonekowai.com - remove the NOSHPAM) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3) Quick Credits List fox30_creds ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In no particular order: Friends - Quasipun, Darkforce, CowGoddess, Syveril, the Jungle Commando, and some others. All of which play SB. ... P.Cheung (DK) for coining the term "spike," and some others. Yes, I know about 30 or so people who play SB. Often a scary thought, no? Mogster11 for having come and gone. Like it or not, we all miss that half-assed giggle of yours ^_- good luck in your endeavors, wherever you are! A. Lee (I think) for coining the term 'Tricky Kick.' M. Gayed for coining the term 'Horizontality'. J. Hsieh for learning Fox to about the same length as I have, J. Kubicki for learning Fox with a completely different style compared to mine, and finally, B. Pancost for having the courage to learn to play Jigglypuff against three good Fox players ^_^ Contribs- Kyle Hawk for a bunch of edge-guarding strategy and other information. Good stuff. Thanks a lot. :) X1372 (Robert Pollack) for pointing out that I had forgotten Yoshi, and some other edge-guarding stuff. I think he's going to have a FAQ at some point, so if you see it, you might want to take a look at it. And I'd like to see him beating down that Pikachu's butt sometime. >:) Other people who have contributed feedback - thanks! I've lost my email backlog, but whatever ;P And you - I suppose for reading this. :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1) Feedback Guidelines fox31_email ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For the purpose of reminding those who wish to send me feedback: 1) In case I haven't mentioned it, my new email address is pentarou@NOSHPAMnekonekowai.com. My pentaro.net email is now gone. You probably know to remove the NOSHPAM before emailing, eh? 2) I prefer constructive criticism. I don't like flames, or self-righteous people who wish to tell me that I am being childish and irrational. When I posted up those earlier flames, that was because I was a little ticked off. If you can't read through a little bit of humor, don't bother sending me a lecture or two. ^_^ 3) Please don't tell me how worthy you are as a Fox player. I keep an open ear, and I *always* read emails, whether or not I reply. 4) I'm busy. If you don't receive a reply, I'm sorry, I've just fallen behind on emailing people, or else I'm just busy. Thanks much. ^_^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1416) Copyright / duplication information fox32_notice ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This document is copyrighted work by PentaroX(1999-2001). If you wish to use this document in any way, such as on your website, give me an email, and don't alter this text file. And no, you may not use this commercially or sell it translated into Swahili in printed form. Have a nice day.