Super Smash Bros./Gameplay: Difference between revisions

This is a very simple concept.  Hitting the Z-button brings up a spherical colored shield that surrounds your character, protecting him/her from all attacks that touch it, with the exception of throws.  This shield concept makes a lot more sense than does blocking in your average Street Fighter style game, where Chun-Li can block a Hadoken from Ryu by just putting her forearm in front of her face.  Anyway, you have a shield that surrounds your character that will stay as long as you hold the Z-button.  However, as time elapses, the shield will slowly shrink, so you can’t just stand there with your shield up.  Secondly, damage to the shield causes it to shrink faster, so your opponent can beat at the shield in order to open up a piece of your body to hit around the shield (hitting your unprotected body while you have the shield up will knock the shield down).  By gently tilting the control stick, the shield can be moved to cover different parts of your body, but if allowed to get too small, it will eventually break, leaving your character dazed and senseless (in Jigglypuff’s case, breaking her shield sends her sky-high for no particular reason).  So, you will eventually want to let go of that shield.  However, when you are attacked, you are stunned for a moment and cannot release your shield.  The more powerful the attack, the longer the stunned period.  AND the shield is not infallible; even when it is at full strength, people can still throw you out of it.  So, don’t depend on your shield overmuch, but it is still a very useful defensive technique.