Analyzing the SAFEST Moves in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:16 - Cloud Back Air
2:10 - Mr. Game and Watch Up Smash
3:07 - Link Neutral Air
3:49 - Meta Knight Forward Smash
4:32 - Sonic Side Special
5:10 - ROB Down Tilt
5:49 - Steve Up Tilt
6:33 - Kazuya Electric Wind God Fist
7:22 - Outro

[@SwiftlyTheFunny]

Steve up tilt being MINUS ONE on sheild is genuinely unacceptable

[@eltrolololol2563]

What you gonna do about it? CHANGE THE FRAME DATA?

[@ValianceGames]

Yeah I didnt know it was THAT safe. Crazy frame data for sure

[@nathanlevesque7812]

it has less horizontal range than the average jab

[@im_Spade_]

​@@nathanlevesque7812doesn't matter, pichu jab is -11 on shield lol there is no excuse

[@thetopicwarden8926]

@@nathanlevesque7812 Brother he can move with it, it doesn’t matter if the range is awful he can Bob and weave to find his opportunity in

[@eanderson9599]

I know it’s old news but if you told me in 2019 that minecraft Steve would come to smash bros AND be unfathomably broken, I would’ve dropkicked you. the most cursed timeline

[@tazabstrakt2432]

When I saw Steve get announced I saw my life flash before my eyes. I remember playing smash with the bros when joker came out and one of them jokingly said “we’re getting Steve in ultimate” and we all laughed it off… indeed the worst timeline

[@TwinHacari]

You would get wrangled.

[@Super_EpicGuy]

Fun fact: against the heaviest characters, Kazuya's EWGF on their shield has a chance (7%) to cause a trip, and if they trip Kazuya will be +15, and since they're not even in shield anymore he can just hit them with another EWGF Kazuya can true combo you from hitting your shield

[@Centiz0]

Captain falcons up smash is unbelievably safe

[@LunaiMusicBox]

yeah but it has a lot of startup

[@Centiz0]

@@LunaiMusicBox no it doesn't?

[@Centiz0]

@@LunaiMusicBox my brother is a falcon main and I play main DK the first hitbox comes out extremely fast and is near unpunishable

[@LunaiMusicBox]

@@Centiz0 idk every time I fight a C. Falcon it's quite easy for me to react to his Up Smash, and I think it's -17/-7 on shield

[@dogyX3]

I wouldn't say unbelievably safe, you maybe able to fit an aerial or tilt in if he misses. Maybe. It is a big and pretty fast up smash after all

[@cesurgonzalez437]

MinMin tilts and fair/bair has safe options: - Hit shield and immediately walk or jump away - Hit with one arm and intercept with the second arm for out of shield options or jumps (preferably with RamRam) - Same goes for landing fair/bair - Follow up with another move if they whiff punish

[@nathanlevesque7812]

yeah double arm attacks are crazy safe even after the nerfs

[@banan9377]

"this style of (Link) neutral air" I see you've avoided the technical term to avoid demonitization 😂

[@Thatoneguy64243]

I wonder why they call it a “sex kick” though

[@goGothitaLOL]

@@Thatoneguy64243only because it “peaks” at the start, and twiddles down afterwords

[@layelaye]

@@goGothitaLOL I still don't get it. Sex peaks at the end

[@DetoxSSB]

Wolf and Sonic's Forward Smash, Young Link's Grounded Up Special, Wario and Luigi's down tilt and Captain Falcon's Up smash could be viable honourable mentions. Plus, I'd argue that Lurcario's Neutral Air is even better than Links 👍🏻 Great videos and very informative. Keep em' coming 👌🏻

[@kennygutierrez6809]

YL up special is not safe lol. You meant all his aerials landing lag blud

[@DetoxSSB]

@kennygutierrez6809 have you tried punishing his grounded up special? It has next to no animation lag. I suppose I would add his bair to the list as well, though.

[@dunsparce3883]

@@DetoxSSByoung link grounded up b is -17 Multihits can be annoying to punish sometimes since you need to know when they're over, but if you do, young link up b is very punishable

[@DetoxSSB]

@dunsparce3883 you're right, I guess, on shield, it's not the safest move. Can still be a hassle to punish depending on which character you play though

[@kennygutierrez6809]

@@DetoxSSB no its just not safe period. the animation lasts long enough to get a feeling for the timing to punish it every single time. Nair OoS is a frame faster jumpsquat included. Its literally just a bad move.

[@riqua27]

Corrin Up Air is arguably the best Aerial in the game. - It's safe on shield - It's a combo starter - it's a combo extender - It deals decently high damage - It kills relatively early - It's a combo ender in some regard - it's your juggling tool - It frame trap like crazy This move does everything.

[@ErTitoLewis89]

Yes but steve's upair exists

[@riqua27]

@@ErTitoLewis89 I'm talking about it in a vacuum. Steve Up air without block and Diamond/Gold is worse than Corrin.

[@gianz2066]

It being good in frame traps isn't really ​being in a vacuum. I bet jigglypuff with it's fall speed wouldn't be able to frame trap with corrin up air @@riqua27

[@lucasz8892]

Also bair is very nice with how far it pushes you back

[@cavaliersarecute6899]

Gnw nair and uair

[@BigFroa]

Secondary Ice Climbers is the safest move

[@SwiftlyTheFunny]

After playing against you I think I know that

[@jasonnightstone]

All Rosalina's aerials are positive on shield with luma, but the most impressive one is Backair, because if you use it on a perfect lunar landing, the move is +14 on shield, and that's because the move start after Rosalina lands and she's been able to do anything. She can cover half of the stage by doing a perfect lunar landing at the edge of the stage and running to the center stage.

[@tenenbaummark]

This whole video is "he can't keep getting away with it"

[@carterjohnston8600]

i think mewtwo down smash deserves to be in the same tier as meta knight and gnw’s smash attacks already featured, as it has a lot of the same features and arguably more. it has 21 frame startup with comically low endlag, but unlike the other 2 it’s hitbox is criminally massive, which makes it even safer to simply throw out in neutral, and is one of the easiest, strongest and safest 2-framing options in the game(also because it has 3 active frames). while it’s “”””only”””” -8 on shield, it’s pushback is so high that a lot of the cast cannot shield grab it even point blank, and spacing the move at all makes it exponentially less punishable. finally, the rest of mewtwo’s kit really synergizes well with it: down tilt almost always easily checks/out-pokes whatever they try afterwards, mewtwo’s movement attributes and teleport relieves any pressure they might be able to mount on you, and if you whiff down smash in neutral or just have a hard read you can buffer disable and use its heaps of full-body invincibility to hard punish whatever dash attack or landing aerial they try foolishly whiff punishing down smash with. i cannot tell you how many stocks and even sets i’ve cheesed out on players much better than me, even some sets on a couple of my region’s local pr lmao i think an honourable mention goes to mewtwo fair. i personally think it’s the best fair in the game(only really bowser or maybe shulk is in contention here). it’s wickedly fast at frame 7, kills earlier than a lot of smash attacks, has a really large hitbox, is only -3 on shield, starts(easily hit confirmable due to really high hitstun & hitlag) combos at low-mid %, is active for a full 3 frames and on top of all that you don’t need to go through all the trouble of RAR-ing and positioning yourself well like you do with back airs because it’s obviously a forward air. looking at it objectively it’s a faster, larger, stronger and safer, and easier to use fox bair. the only problem is that it’s on mewtwo, who’s floatiness does not lend itself well to abusing this move like a fastfaller could and absolutely would(although it’s still amazing for intercepting aerial approaches when using it as a rising aerial).

[@ValianceGames]

Phenomenal video. I love the exploration of this topic. For missed moves, what about Peach's ground-level float cancel aerials? Float cancel Nair/Bair has to be pretty good right? Does Hero with buffs count since they're integral to his gameplay? They make some of his less safe moves much safer, and he reasonably fishes for them a few times each stock, making them relevant when dealing with him, even in the one instance with Psyche Up. Let me know your thoughts!

[@canyon2981]

I think Pac-Man dash attack should be considered for the next list, since it is only -3 on shield and every other dash attack is approximately -20 million.

[@coasterthekid8867]

In reality though, Steve should be in a tier of his own so it’s not as balanced as presented

[@bing0bongo]

Great video

[@a-dogo]

As a kirby main i say that his safest moves is up tilt, down tilt and side tilts basically all his tilts because they come fast and have good range and up tilt combos a lot and for last his neutral aerial is basically link neutral air

[@Xx_GobbaGamer69_xX]

The jump kick move you described on link is known as a ”sex kick”. Im not making this up its on the smash wiki

[@banan9377]

He probably knows and decided not to say it so he doesn't get demonitized.

[@x_bell1142]

@@banan9377exactly

[@s.a.k.i7768]

Wise decision because it's gotta be the stupidest fanmade term I've heard in my life

[@userj6x83g]

@@s.a.k.i7768glad i’m not the only one that thinks this

[@dhans9662]

​@@s.a.k.i7768Its origin is even dumber

[@62049]

I was sent away for nine months to a place with no internet access and very limited game time. While there, there were occasions where smash bros would be played as a social event and not be considered for game time, so I got an opportunity to be better than most of the people there. I became well known for my "unbeatable" kirby while I was there, but someone tried to tell me that Link's neutral air was not that good. I responded by spamming it for the entirety of the next match, and it worked. On a side note, the meta has changed a lot since I was there.

[@mjdevlog]

Your video is amazing, but i have one suggestion. Could you add some text whenever you talks about frame data? Like edited text in the video? So that people who watch doesn't easily forget what you're talking about? Especially when you're comparing two character's frame data. Thank you🙏

[@FinnishArsonist]

A contender would be lucas f-tilt - although it is only -8, it is ridiculously disjointed and in general crazy fast - not to mention it's crazy reward. It kills, it's safe, it 2 frames, it does so much it's insane. It's also a *safe 2-frame*, you can literally just back up if you whiff it.

[@Spectre153]

Moves like Lucas's fair, uair, ftilt, zair and down b should appear in the next video (well not all the should appear in the video but are some examples)

[@shadowsun_coil69]

Joker’s Gun that thing is actually crazy

[@llliwwille]

Saying you main G&W made me second guess subscribing 😂

[@TwinHacari]

Marth should be on this list for sure.

[@user-uk1xq1cf6z]

Wario's falling up air (-2) Lucas's zair (-2)

[@Nox0w]

is steve diamond fsmash the same as mk?

[@quinn7427]

ROB nair can be plus on shield if he uses up b

[@annabethchase2569]

Pac man dash attack and Falcon Up smash should be here, but overall good video

[@steeveedragoon]

I know that sephiroth's F-tilt can is considered to be the best in the game based entirely on it's sheer size. Not that it's competition is that great anyways with F-tilts often times not being the greatest. I know that the other one that can be considered is snake's with it being fast.

[@thearrivalcyberseignister8898]

Ironic that EWGF is both amazing in smash and tekken itself

[@charlesnicks6539]

Isn’t Lucario’s nair with a bit of aura more safe than link’s?

[@Djenix_]

Lucario's n-air is positive on shield as for Link it's -2 or -1 when well made. But Link's n-air is better in like every other point so i gess this is why he choose Link's for this video

[@mr.einwood2384]

PLEASE make a video about safe smash attacks There are very few, so it shouldn't be a problem

[@badfish321]

Mii Gunner forward air....

[@DYLisDEAD]

you forgot to mention sonic side B has i-frames at the beginning of it, so it kinda turns into a timing game that sonic players usually win

[@jadriellaracuente2692]

Were just gonna forget g&w up b is get out of jail free card

[@leaffinite3828]

Im maybe meming with lil mac ftilt but i kinda thought sora would make it on here. He has so many spammable moves, but maybe its just he has like all 80% safe moves instead of one or two 90% safe ones

[@eanderson9599]

Pac-Man dash attack is a war crime

[@bananafactory9242]

No Shiek fair? That move is like -2. Either way, good video

[@Themostcring]

my list for top 10 would prob be: ewfg steve uptilt rob downtilt palu bair ramram mythra fair pyra fair incin nair (with revenge) peach bair cloud bair

[@WarningStrangerDanger]

Dedede Jet Hammer hits like Warlock Punch, breaks shields if blocked, and you can move and jump while charging it. It has a 1-frame turnaround animation so you can expect it to cover either side. An uncharged Jet Hammer is faster than any of Dedede's smash attacks, but the fact that it can be used for the safe super srmor, shieldbreak potential, and instant release to either side makes it a seruous contender for safest all-in power attack in the gsme.

[@Themostcring]

@@WarningStrangerDanger na that's a crazy answer btw, firstly, what do you think that DDD hammer is better than out of my list?... also DDD hammer is kinda shit. its only real use if for clips, EXTREME HARD READS, or shieldbreak punish, it's slow, both in terms of frame data, and also DDD moves so slow while charging. it gets beaten by any projectile, or just coming at DDD from above or below, also everything else on my list is safer on shield and more practical to use. DDD down b (uncharged) is -39 on shield, while most of the things I stated are sub 10 on shield. the full charged version is -26 on shield, and I don't think that it can fully shieldbreak a full shield. so unless your opponent is holding shield while you charge it, or if it was almost broken before you hit their shield, you are not one shotting someones shield with it

[@CipherKnighto]

How about Roy dtilt?

[@masonfason8925]

3:10 For some reason these types of aerials is called a sex kick

[@JAPANESE_MAPLE]

yea

[@Rodrigo-70]

What about Terry power dunk?

[@mannysantana7425]

What about it?

[@CipherKnighto]

Yeah what about it?

[@Red-ud8fd]

Lucas psi magnet

[@CipherKnighto]

His Zair better

[@bovid2750]

corrin bair tho

[@Jinxypoo100]

I’d say zss zair is pretty safe

[@giancarloandretorresguzman7717]

They did Links nair

[@J242D]

Peach Bair

[@CEOofCunnySlurper]

The community immediately put Steve in bottom tier made his potential undetected when balance patches still exist so...

[@goGothitaLOL]

*still existed

[@RuneTacticss]

Roy down tilt or jab

[@CipherKnighto]

Yessir

[@SkullTheLegless]

We all know the answer is falcon punch

[@theway1784]

lol yeah that’s all the falcon players do in neutral it’s so not hype

[@darkdraconis]

Limit cross slash is basically unpublishable too

[@Noja2]

No

[@darkdraconis]

@@Noja2 lol esam said that even pika back air has to be perfectly time to punish it and it's just best to try and. Ot punish it, check the frame data, super safe move

[@bustnq2513]

It’s literally one of the easiest moves to parry in the game. It’s DEFINITELY punishable

[@darkdraconis]

@@bustnq2513 hahaha right, that's why Leo, Acola, Tweek, Light and all the other top players punish it on shield and on whiff right? Oh wait, you have obviously no clue what you are talking about. Except ofc you think you can do it better than literally all of the top 100 players :) Pls tell me they parry/punish it all the time. For every 1 time you show me where they did, I'll show you 25 where they didn't "basically unpublishable" you don't seem to know what "basically" means

[@bustnq2513]

@@darkdraconis it’s -12 on shield. Literally every character with a good or even mediocre out of shield option can punish it out of shield, and I’m not even talking about on Parry. On parry every character in the game can punish it with ease. also you don’t see top players parry the move because spargo (and most other top cloud players) aren’t dumb enough to use it on shield because they know they will get hella punished if they do use it on shield

[@quint8340]

Ganon neutral b def the safest

[@CipherKnighto]

Fax 😂

[@omegalilbchass8270]

Why is zss zair not on here? Insanely low commitment, -2 even at point blank, completely unpunishable from afar even on whiff, etc. HM to her uair, which is literally tied for the lowest landing lag of any aerial in the game (5 Frames).

[@x_bell1142]

Because I forgor 💀

[@omegalilbchass8270]

@@x_bell1142 damn 😭

[@jj6148]

Zss zair is so stupid and fun to use (-2)

[@omegalilbchass8270]

Finally someone else said it

[@keylarous467]

You missed Little mac's counter attack

[@CipherKnighto]

Who cares about a counter 😂

[@ilikestamps2978]

Man, nobody talks about this, but EWGF is coded like it is in tekken. If you crouch or use a crouching attack like a down smash or down tilt, EWGF can not hit you. I keep telling people this, yet they never use it, and not only does it look cool when you evade it, but it's also very easy to punish. Now I'm not sure if the crouching part is true for every character, but I know for a fact every single down smash and down tilt beat EWGF

[@Gambit-YT]

Not true. Also even if it was, I might get 12% from a dtilt in neutral. Kazuya gets a stock. Kazuya also has like 7 other moves that combo into EWGF so crouching isn’t very useful at all

[@ilikestamps2978]

@@Gambit-YT the down tilt is 100% true I'm telling you lol

[@WarningStrangerDanger]

I wonder if getup attacks count as low hits.

[@stereng]

Is it coded like that? Or is it simply the character ducking under the hitbox? Because if it is then most down smashes would still get hit by it.

[@ilikestamps2978]

@stereng Well, I'm actually wrong about the crouching thing. That only works for some characters. However, crouching EWGF actually makes you immediately fly up, probably due to crouch canceling. The down tilts I know 100% work. Even DK's down tilt beats EWGF every single time. It might be possible to hit him if timed correctly, but I have always noticed it winning the interaction. I wouldn't put it pass Sakurai to code that in because random details like that are common place in smash. EWGF in tekken is a high and loses to lows. Would have been cool to be able to crouch it, too. As for down smashes, I would have to test that more, but I've seen bowser down smash beat EWGF before so idk. I only say it's coded because Kazuya is invincible during EWGF, so the fact I'm getting hit even though I'm significantly invincible is suspect

[@leaffinite3828]

You know whats a safe move? Lil mac ftilt

[@Noja2]

No

[@CipherKnighto]

Thats like double digits minus on shield. Are you kidding me?

[@leaffinite3828]

@@CipherKnighto yes

[@CipherKnighto]

@@leaffinite3828 I found your other comment my fault

[@leaffinite3828]

@@CipherKnighto np

[@strikerali2160]

Saying Game and Watch needs it is criminal

[@x_bell1142]

It was a sarcastic he needs it

[@strikerali2160]

@@x_bell1142 No worries I know, I should’ve added a laughing emoji or something cus I genuinely thought it was funny. No salt promise 🙏🏾

[@TheGameMan76]

I'm tired of the mac and ganon slander. Ganon is somewhat understandable but considering characters next to them if your going to bully mac and ganon bully the other guys. Even if they are the worst Ganon has his strengths of 1 or just 2 reads taking stocks and Mac has certain advantages in his play while his recovery can be more slippery than most bottom tiers.

[@CipherKnighto]

What does this have to do with safe moves

[@hightensionjapanesegoblin9821]

Kinda did game and watch dirty. His up-b is a frame-2 out of shield option. Basically nothing can pressure his shield. Also, Hero? Most of his spells come out frame 6 with large hitboxes. Some even come out frame 2.

[@x_bell1142]

It’s a frame 3 out of shield option and it’s actually more punishable than you might think when using it more as an offensive tool than a defensive tool. Hero’s spells are a good suggestion though that I will consider for part 2

[@CipherKnighto]

No way you said frame 2

[@hightensionjapanesegoblin9821]

@@CipherKnighto Yeah, I was misinformed. Frame 3 is still kinda nutty though.

[@CipherKnighto]

@@hightensionjapanesegoblin9821 you not wrong fr lol

[@nathanlevesque7812]

cross slash is safe even if it gets parried

[@omegalilbchass8270]

No it isnt

[@nathanlevesque7812]

@@omegalilbchass8270I've lost count of how many top players got hit by it after a parry, but sure, keep pretending

[@CipherKnighto]

@@nathanlevesque7812 yeah no. Even the limit variant is like -12

[@nathanlevesque7812]

@@CipherKnighto if you think that number explains everything then you have no idea how the game works

[@CipherKnighto]

@@nathanlevesque7812 the limit variant isn’t as easy to punish but the original one that you mentioned literally gets Up B’d or grabbed. Do you never see this? That move is not safe

[@jackattackhissnack]

Ironically, most mid level or better players can consistently punish link nair. The meta has come a long way.

[@SwingSwordsChopLords]

Well that's because link players are super predictable with their nairs, whiff punishing it is pretty easy, but punishing it on shield is not happening unless you play gnw or mario, or another character with a frame 3 oos option

[@omegalilbchass8270]

unpunishable on shield, not literally unpunishable in every scenario. You can punish every move in the game if you're good.

[@bustnq2513]

@@SwingSwordsChopLordslinks nair is -1 if hitting the strong hit on shield so it’s even unpunishable on shield against characters with the fastest out of shield option. Damn even the late hit is -3 so it can still be safe on shield against gnw. Move is broken as hell

[@PavelR1]

Fuck this game

[@Sockacroc]

“Ultimate is the most balanced game in the series” Melee:

[@AhmadKazan-wk7ei]

No one in ult has an up throw up air kill confirm at 40 and a frame 1 invincible hitbox that can be canceled by jumping and linked into itself,no swordie can combo fair into dair at like 40 and kill,ultimate is way more balanced than melee.

[@userj6x83g]

Melee is 2nd but calling it more balanced than ult is cap 💀

[@leaffinite3828]

Melee isnt more balanced... i think whether its balanced better is a matter of opinion though. Imo everyone being basically either s, a, or b tier is pretty boring but it is "more" balanced

[@Retryfx]

falcon up air, mario up air, roy/chrom nair, mac up and down tilt, ganondorf nair, any pit move, any mythra arial.

[@instant7856]

Any pit move is crazy

[@Retryfx]

pits nair is so fast bro fym, and his dair@@instant7856

[@instant7856]

@@Retryfx but Not his whole moveset

[@CipherKnighto]

Bro none of Mac’s tilts are safe are you joking lmao

[@Retryfx]

@@CipherKnighto down tilt and up tilt are safe af

[@Schlog]

luigi zair and dtilt are -2 :(

[@andreazhab]

Samus's Charge Shot? Mii Gunner's Grenade Launch? Link's nair? Ryu's nair? Lucario's Max Aura nair? So many missed moves imo

[@x_bell1142]

Link’s nair was literally on the list. The rest you mentioned are all very good suggestions that I will consider for part 2!

[@evilded2]

No plus frame having ass game. :(

[@leaffinite3828]

There arent a lot of frame one options though

[@omegalilbchass8270]

Good. Why do plus frames need to be in a movement based game? Just mix ur opponent to continue shield pressure.

[@CodyTheBlackChickenSubscribe]

Ok Sakurai. If you're watching this these are some moves that should be nurfed in 14.0 ok now?