Super Smash Bros./Ness

'''Ness Advanced Strategy '''

Throwing

Often regarded as the best throw in the game (or maybe Pikachu), Ness's pyschic toss is extremely powerful, as well as quick. Needless to say, this move should be used extensively by any competent Ness player. Be sure to take advantage of the slight, stunning damage done to other players near Ness during the "wind up" before the throw. Throwing techniques are quite extensive, and are best learned by practice. Another thing to note is that Ness remained invulnerable while he is executing his throw, so in multiplayer games timing a throw after an opponent is grabbed can often avoid an attack from another player.

(The PK fire is a great [and usually unexpected] way to set up a player for a throw.)

Juggling

Ness's tilt up is the best for juggling, especially at low damage with against heavier characters. However, starting this juggle is a bit tricky, since if you tilt up while on the ground you will jump instead. The simplest way to do it is to jump, then attack the enemy with dair, followed immmediately by a tilt up. The idea is the hit them up while they are bouncing off the ground from the dair. Make sure you tilt the joy stick up before you hit the ground, or you will instead jump. A great way to finish the juggle is with a smash up, but must be timed to avoid the invinciblity the enemy has when getting up.

The throw can also be effectively used for juggling. You have to throw the player against a or other object, so they bounce off and come back to you. This is excellent on the Great Fox level, where the wall is tilted slightly down. They will always bounce right back to the ground, where you can grab them again right as they hit. As their damage increases, you must adjust your position further away from the wall. This is impossible to escape from if performed correctly.

Edge Play

One of the most lethal edge moves in the game is Ness's dair. Spiking w/ Ness is quite common, and involves jumping out and smashing the opponent directly down with a dair. To prevent Ness from flying downwards, the dair is ideally perform immediately after the first or second jump, and with minimal tilt of the stick. KO's can be achieved against even 0% oppenents, using a quick throw/spike.

In the case of a missed spike, PK thundering yourself directly at the oppenent while they are climing back up is a great recovery/attack tactic. (Just don't hit the wall)

If you realize you have jumped too short / too late, always remember to use fair, or even uair if necessary.

The dsmash is also great for those who are just barely making it back. Because of intial back swing of the yo-yo, timing is important, but it does protect you from those trying to attack you from behind and take your K0.

(Note: when fighting other Ness's, you can hit their PK Thunder with one of your own when they are coming back. They cancel each other, and he will fall helplessly to his death)

Free Health

Never forget the PSI Magnet (Bdown). While difficult to use against human players, it is especially effective against computers, and more importantly, certain environment hazards. Pokemon such as Starmie, Meowth, Blastoise, Charizard, Charmander and Venosaur have projectile attacks that can be absorbed quite easily. Just jump above the projectile stream and Bdown while falling into it. Don't hit the actual pokemon, though, as it will still hurt you. The best place to absorb damage is from the Arwing on the Great Fox level. Each shot recovers you 40%, and the ship almost always shoots when you jump if front of it. This method is liable to piss off opponents to no end, and has even been called "cheap" on the Great Fox level. If for some reason a player wanted Ness to fall slowly, the PSI Magnet slows down his descent.

Shooting yourself

Become an expert at shooting yourself accurately. With a little practice, you can snipe entire groups of people with this attack. Be warned, this move has a long down time afterwards, leaving Ness extremely vulnerable. Also, it is easy to see it coming, so it is most effective against groups already engaged with each other.

When shooting yourself back to the edge, special techniques must be used to avoid the downtime after the move. Otherwise, oppenents will sheild while you shoot yourself, wait for you to land, and throu/smash you back off during the downtime. This is probably one of the more difficult things to deal with in advanced play, and can completely negate the massive recovery abilities of Ness. When falling from above the level, an effective strategy is to try to launch yourself exactly parallel to the ground. Ness will fly along the ground, and when he comes to a stop, he won't experience any downtime. Another tactic is to DI yourself below the edge, and shoot yourself up so that you grab the edge. This allows you to take advantage of the short invincibilty when climbing up. (Note: shooting yourself directly at the edge, without falling below it first, often results in Ness simply "bouncing off". This is incredibly annoying and should be avoided at all cost)

Also, your enemy might figure out that if he jumps out and purposely gets hit by your PK Thunder, then you will die. To avoid this, go around Ness the other way with the PK Thunder if you see him coming. It is possible with a little practice.

Baseball

Ness's bat is quite powerful, and the "homerun" sound is quite satisfying. However, is is rather slow, and is best used only in combination with another stunning attack. Against a low to medium damaged enemy, a dash attack immediately followed by a bat is quite effective.

The bat will reflect most projectiles back where they came from. Usually absorbing the attack is better, but it is fun to try your hand at some baseball. A great level to practive on is the Great Fox level with the Arwing. If you are in front of the Arwing, it will usually shoot at you. If you watch the Arwing closely, you will see a green flash right before the lasers come. This helps you time the bat better. Batting the lasers at someone else is an incredible feat, and may cause them to cry.

(Note: A glitch in the game will occur if you bat a PK Thunder that Fox has reflected back at you. The PK Thunder becomes double tailed, and the games freezes as soon as it hits anything.}

Kirby - PK Thunder

Kirby is especially difficult for Ness. It is difficult to bring down an aerial Kirby, because of Ness's slow, loopy jump. If the Kirby is stupid enough to try the brick or bup, a simple roll/throw is quite effective.

An interest note is that, when floating around, kirby can't use his shield against Ness's normally useless PK Thunder. If your oppenent insists on flying away constantly, just assault him with PK thunders until he comes down. The small damage will add up, especially agaist the light Kirby. Just remember that ness is very vulnerable while doing this.