Ranking EVERY Down Air Animation In Smash Ultimate

Down airs are the most common type of spiking move in Super Smash Bros., so you may expect them to look the same as well, but I was surprised by how different they can actually be, both by concept and by...quality. Better make a down air animation tier list to take a closer look!
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Music used:
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"MockRock is Here" - MockRock
"Night of Big Blue" - F-Zero GX OST
"Farside Fjord" - Pokémon Quest OST
"Gear Getaway" - Donkey Kong Country Returns OST (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Remix)
"PAC-MAN'S PARK/Block Town" - PAC-MAN OST (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Remix)
"Ahead of the Path" - Fire Emblem Warriors OST
"Calling Heart" - SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy OST
"Here We Go!" - Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story OST
"Dracula's Castle" - Castlevania Judgement OST
"Dark Pit's Theme" - Kid Icarus: Uprising OST
"Determined Journey (Flare)" - Fire Emblem Engage OST
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"Ganondorf" - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess OST
All original music, as well as its stems, are available for download to patrons, KZbin members, and Twitch subscribers.
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Thanks for watching!
#SmashUltimate #Nintendo #SuperSmashBros

[@MockRockTalk]

Thanks for watching! Been awhile since I've done one of these and the middle of a heat wave was a great time to commit to marathon recording sessions again 🙃 Down airs ended up being a more interesting move type to look at than I originally expected, what did you think? *Main channel:* kzbin.info *Twitter:* twitter.com/MrMockRock *Patreon:* www.patreon.com/mockrock *Twitch:* www.twitch.tv/mockrocktwitch *Teespring:* teespring.com/stores/mockrock *TimeBolt affiliate link* (excellent software I use to speed up editing on my videos, use code "MOCKROCK" for a discount): mockrock--timebolt.thrivecart.com/order-page/

[@SpholeYT]

Normally on these type of videos i tend to disagree on some small details like how the framing and overall movement or impact of the attack affects the flow or sort of vibe the move gives of. This time is not the case but I feel like this definetly needed some sort of D or B+ tier to allow for A, B and C tier to have some more distinct ideas or expressions (i really cant find a way to explain what i mean) and that made some of the rankings feel sort of un-cohesive at times and some tiers ended up cluttered up. Going with only the tiers you chose i think the list is ok but i still would love to see it with more variated ratings. Still, really good video, as an amateur-ish animator and game dev i love this sort of deep dives because they allow for a sometimes much needed second look at how something should work or feel and as im working (just concepts still) on a platform fighter inspired kind of YOMI hustle + rounds platform fighter right now, its nice to see this types of vids. Thanks I guess, really liked it.

[@SpholeYT]

TLDR: its a great vid but it should have had a D tier in my opinion

[@demonssinglosongs]

i honestly think you were too kind to donkey kong's, i find it to be the most confusing animation in the game. i never actually knew he was using his foot for it until fairly recently, i always thought he was punching downwards, it's conveyed so strangely. i actually have the exact same problem with diddy kong's up air ironically lol

[@Flow-Rez420]

Onto the Nairs!

[@jobot0114]

One complaint I've _always_ had with Bowser's down air is that it has a small shockwave hitbox.... and down special _doesn't._ I maintain that this makes literally no sense and it's continued to bug me for years.

[@ballisticboo7808]

Especially considering that in the Mario series, bosses using that move usually stun any characters on the ground when they land

[@bogermansjonnecsg2439]

The landing hitbox on bowser's down special is small, but it's definitely there. You can see it easily if you start a down special right above an opponent, the initial spiking hitbox will hit and the landing hitbox, as apposed to just the hitbox that sends up.

[@OrigamiAhsoka]

Same 😭

[@dprototype6431]

Agreed, his Bowser Bomb’s had shockwaves since 64.

[@technorave555]

Bowswer's Down B Dedede's Neutral Air K Rool's Neutral Air All of these giants landing with their full weight has no landing hit box But Mythra, a lightning fast skinny sword wielder, does have a landing hitbox $5.99

[@Sean_Bird]

16:50 Fun Fact: In Sephiroth’s gameplay showcase, this move is called Hell’s Gate, a name that was also used for the attack in Dissida: Final Fantasy. In the sequel to Dissida, Dissida Duodecim, Aerith appears as an assist only character. If you summon Aerith against a CPU Sephiroth who has Hell’s Gate, his AI has a quirk that will make him attempt to use Hell’s Gate on Aerith as long as she’s still on the field. It’s darkly hilarious.

[@AtJoee230]

I shouldn't be laughing at this but I can't help it lmao

[@OrigamiAhsoka]

THAT’S CRAZY 😭😭

[@whatdoievenputhere11]

It also appears in the FF Remake games, and you can use it while playing Sephiroth in Rebirth.

[@mauricesteel4995]

his AI will often try to use Hell's Gate if you summon Aerith to cast Holy, which while she is charging it, she has a barrier that blocks most but the strongest physical attacks, Hell's Gate being one of those that can interrupt her, Dissidia being a very aerial game, makes sure that Sephiroth will be above you most of the time, which will ensure he will use Hell's Gate instead of his other attack to interrupt Aerith, which he must, as if he fails to interrupt her, she will cast Holy and potentially end him. May be just coincidence, may not, but if it was mere coincidence, it still is marvelous how all the pieces fell together like that.

[@pandalenz6534]

NNNNAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

[@patoa3481]

MockRock in 2030 making a "ranking all ledge grab animations" video

[@pottedplant7460]

Wii Fit Trainer finally seeing the light of S tier

[@darkax1140]

2035 "Ranking every running turn around animation"

[@WhosCurtio]

⁠​2040 ranking every parry animation

[@Squiferz]

@@darkax1140lowkey it would go hard

[@darkax1140]

@@Squiferz I love doing the turn around dance as King Dedede, it looks like he is spinning around his hammer

[@lasercraft32]

Peach's down air in Ultimate is SIGNIFICANTLY better than it was in Brawl... In Brawl her legs were _completely_ obscured by her dress, making it look like her dress just _vibrates_ to attack opponents or something.

[@sukmykrok3388]

Ganondorf: S tier. I accept NO OTHER PLACEMENT. One hour and fifty-seven minutes later, and my heart is happy!

[@ActualMamaLuigi]

incineroar and doc do it better

[@sukmykrok3388]

@@ActualMamaLuigi they certainly do so it. That's really all that can be said about my other 2 mains. Ganon is king.

[@lasercraft32]

What's sad is that even Ridley's boss battle in Brawl incorporated the tail poke more than Ridley's actual moveset. :/

[@franciscofranco1314]

Ehh, it was more of a tail scrape than tail pogo, but you're still not technically wrong. What i find weird is that he has that down air when his down smash is better execution of replicating that falling stomp move he did in Brawl. Not only is down air bad visually and in gameplay, its also redundant.

[@JB_CY]

Samus has a down air that by all logic shouldn't feel as satisfying as it does, yet I love landing it. Then there's Ridley.

[@Terracrafty]

Why on Zebes is Ridley's down air NOT a tail pogo? That's one of his most iconic moves and it's just completely absent from his Smash moveset!

[@pocketvices]

How tf yall make it this far believing Dk down air was a punch lol

[@demonssinglosongs]

it’s way more clear in a game like melee (its MUCH better there, even) but the particle effects and wind-up animation on his arm just make it really confusing. i think it’s the single most baffling animation in the game next to diddy kong’s upair which has the same problem

[@pochocho8225]

Same

[@captainmega6310]

Because a lot people are stupid

[@Scarecrow545]

The first thing that grabs the eye is him winding up jabbing downward with his fist. At speed his arm and leg can kinda run together.

[@x8bitpixel]

My dad sometimes calls it a punch whenever I use it lol.

[@crawlinggoose]

Fun Fact: Roy's down air is called "Half-Moon."

[@calamitous_Calamitas]

Roys got Luna confirmed

[@yussufmohamed1664]

For the longest time i thought palutenas down air was a staff swipe.

[@ToonaDrift]

yoooooo Cinderace pfp W human go u ur amazing

[@Lira_orpheus]

Yep. It really looks like that.

[@zacpadilla2432]

tbf, the keyblade has those sounds in KH cause it’s meant to be a small pestering/combo weapon (and it doesn’t really look like a painful weapon) Most of Sora’s “strong” single hits in KH have a big wind up or a flourish of magic (kind of like his up smash and down smash). I feel like they could’ve figured something out (either give him less single hard hits, or give them bigger flourishes) but it’s a tricky weapon to work with sound design wise

[@aguywithgames3135]

It’s understandable, but it still would’ve been nice to have other keyblades if only for the different sound effects they use.

[@callmefleet]

@@aguywithgames3135 When people were theorizing that a character other than Sora would be the KH character joining smash, I was hoping for Roxas to be like a more aggressive version of Pit. Oathkeeper and Oblivion would've had some sick particle and sound effects.

[@silverrath]

I actually think the sound effects they used for Sora are mostly original, as I don't recognize the particular sound effects they used from any of the original games. You can even hear some of Smash's native sound effects sorta mixed in on some of Sora's hit sounds. KH has some really satisfying and recognizable sound design, so it's strange that they didn't just import those sounds from there.

[@tonydigital808]

Bro I’m in absolute awe that K. Rool does a full flip for his down air. I never would have guessed but it definitely registers subliminally

[@wingedbluj1674]

There's always those moves that you don't realize are different from what you think it looks like. For example, Falco's up smash. It looks like he's pushing up with his left foot, kicks with his right foot, twists, then uses the momentum to kick with his left foot. Except it's NOT that at all! He only ever uses his left foot the whole time! This means he jumps off the ground, kicks, does a full 360 spin, then kicks again, ALL with the left foot!

[@murpsanddurps3810]

1:33:54 Fun Fact, Palm strikes are actually illegal in boxing, making this all them more weird. Yes, I know jump attacks in general aren’t allowed, but seeing as they tried to keep Mac faithful to his boxing style, it’s just still kinda jarring.

[@GrassiestGrassy]

He also uses hammer fists for his Down Throw animation, which are also illegal in boxing.

[@ehhorve857]

so what you're saying, is that mac HIMSELF can be added to the blacklist. man i love punch-out.

[@Toastguy716]

I think I just realized why Mewtwo’s weird down air pose is the way it is, because if you look closely at it, it looks like Mewtwo is using their hand to wave down a blast of energy in addition to the stomp (That would also explain why the energy particles are so high on Mewtwo’s leg as that never made sense to me)

[@theturtleking2454]

This is so strange I’ve never noticed that before. It looks cool but if they wanted something that convoluted they should’ve at least committed to it fully but having a bit of psychic energy be placed by his hand and then kicked by his foot?

[@burbusburbus8782]

Maybe cold take, but i think luigi would feel much more like luigi, in both gameplay and animations, if they based him off of the "mario and Luigi" rpgs

[@insomniacnerd5592]

My boy Ridley needed to be baked more in the oven, I swear.

[@jonathanhargraves2241]

It's extremely funny looking at Min Min's kick and thinking about Robin's devious double knee drop, only to see it right after with ZSS's weak down air

[@Sylvastier]

Ness seems less like he's focused on delivering a strong defined kick, and moreso focusing on aiming his PSI for a precise strike. Which would explain why he changes from a florish (using it for ensuring his position and aiming which is why he eyes are following through) into the sudden strike. That also goes along with Lucas' portrayal where he's firing off multiple kicks and hoping his last/stronger one lands which feels in character with their smash characterization where Ness is confident and expirienced with PSI while Lucas is more chaotic.

[@GameMasterWLC]

That is a pretty good way of putting it yeah. I think that characterization was especially present in their Smash 4 renders

[@yotomoe5953]

Yeah It's weird to see him make Ness Jump as many times as he did and not realize that a lot of Ness's characterization in the air leans off his very "floaty and mystical" feel. The spin is less to build momentum and more to fit the floatiness of Ness's air movement. The PSI being main force generating most of the knockback.

[@xenozora7239]

I always thought dk used his arm for his down air, i guess you learn something new everyday

[@Dante...]

Wtf? I never noticed that Little Mac's dair is actually a palm strike instead of a punch. Why would he do that lol.

[@legendarysoil1064]

1:00 One thing that makes Falcon’s dair animation so good is that it’s one of the few moves that provides him with tangible hurtbox shifting, instead of extending his hurtbox in some way

[@devin5201]

Mario really said "I'll try spinning, that's a good trick wahoo!"

[@Aidswayz]

Honestly an issue I have with down airs are how some of them look like they’re hitting you with a different part of their body. For example: DK and Palutena. For the longest time I thought DK was hitting you with his hand and Palu with her staff due to their animations, but no, they’re both hitting you with their foot. I keep having to remind myself they are using their foot instead of what I thought before. Makes it more weird for me to know it isn’t what I think it looks like

[@MockRockTalk]

I don't get the DK one because that's always seemed like an obvious stomp to my eyes, but for Palutena, tbh I can see it. I still thought it was a kick, not a staff swing, but it wasn't the same kick trajectory I expected when I slowed it down.

[@Aidswayz]

@@MockRockTalk for why I see DK as a hand slam instead of a foot stomp, his arms and hands take the spotlight and are front in center for the animation. The foot kind of gets pushed to the back, which is why my eyes gravitate towards his arms and hands, therefore, think it’s a hand slam. For Palu, it’s really about the particle effects and the curve of her kick. Kicks usually come out straight, instead of a swipe. The staff would make sense to have it be a swipe. And like I said, the particle effects make it look more “heavenly” rather than human. If that all makes sense

[@thatfedoraguy1112]

For me the reason I thought dk was using his fist was because his backhand raises up before the hit actually comes out like most other moves

[@OrigamiAhsoka]

I thought dk’s was a punch until this vid 😭

[@SSM24_]

I feel like the shape of DK's feet also contributes to the confusion. If they didn't literally just look like hands due to him being a gorilla and all, it'd probably be more clear.

[@peppermintzoro4907]

I remember thinking that DK's down air was a big single punch for the longest time before a friend pointed out that it was a stomp and slowed down the animation.

[@lasercraft32]

Okay... So DK's down air... Just imagine what it would look like if the motions were almost exactly the same, but instead of using his foot he punched downwards with one arm. I think it would work really well, and would be much more fitting for DK (he even sticks his arms up at the start, which looks like he's winding up for a punch).

[@mrmediocre848]

I think it could be a palm strike to better mimic his current dair, but a punch works for me.

[@lukevanamerongen5622]

That would look really weird to me. It would look so cramped and awkward and wouldn’t have any power behind it unless they completely change the animation.

[@stev7074]

I think a neat defense for ZSS is that shes falling so fast that she needs to rocket heels to provide another force in the opposite direction, doesn't really save it since that isn't conveyed in the physics or momentum but I thought about it after noticing that detail

[@mattgibson9337]

maybe testing wii fit trainer on a stage with a mostly white background was a bad idea, couldn't really see her down air when it was zoomed out and still had issues when it was zoomed in

[@OrigamiAhsoka]

Wii fit’s grab looks like the intended landing animation for down air LMAO

[@Mojomanmax123]

while i think the jet boots don't work physically in zero suit's down air. the striking blue spikes silhouettes coming out of the bottom of her shoes really makes the move 10 times more flashy and memorable. without them it would not be nearly as cool.

[@jackhamson6161]

I knew Ganondorf was going to be S tier lol

[@ShokoArc]

Wish Mario's dAir was the ground pound instead, the spinning could be his Nair

[@blocks4857]

Why? It has no purpose in his kit

[@StanzoSAP]

I think you should have looked at the spike silhouettes more because the kill screens for the spikes play a big part in how satisfying they feel

[@e.m.2168]

53:08 I actually kinda like that his body doesn’t react; even without the context of knowing it’s from zelda 2, it does give that vibe of being like a retro sprite, and just adds to the humor of the move (and I think pogo sticking off of your opponent using a sword is a pretty humorous move concept to begin with) Also, with the landing animation, it looks like his left leg hits the ground first and then his right leg extends to catch himself, somewhat explaining the change in pose

[@jinsye4713]

If I had to say, I think my most wanted animation tier list would be a tier list for the Victory Animations. Lots of them are filled with so many charming moments and references that I'd love to see them analyzed in-depth. Of course, it'd be a lot of work, but I really think it would be cool.

[@MrMinimicrobe]

I figure ZSS's boots constantly going off is supposed to reflect that the move is a spike the whole way through while she's going straight down with the same magical momentum every other stall and fall has. Doesn't explain the one diagonal rocket boot, but yeah

[@UnSaxon51]

Great list! One follow-up regarding Banjo-Kazooie: While the lingering hit during the fall is only middling in power, it DOES have a powerful spike on that initial thrust. Not sure if that would have been enough to bump it up, but figured it was worth mentioning. 👍

[@MrCow-ir4gw]

If I had a nickel for every time MockRock was disappointed by a Luigi animation in smash i’d have two nickels… which isn’t much but it’s weird that it happened twice.

[@SugarMeowYT]

If i had a nickel for every time mockrock disliked a mii swordfighter attack, id be a millionaire 😭😭😭 i feel like bro has a vendetta against swordfighter. (Yes im aware the dair is in a tier in this video)

[@PikminAnd]

I hate that Olimar's animations always tend to look either really bland or really amateurish. Not making Olimar do a full front flip during his down air is a mistake even a random intern could notice, let alone a group of professional animators. It's like they just didn't care.

[@jonathanlgill]

April Fool's Video suggestion: an animation tier list (or general gameplay review) of PlayStation All-Stars. Seems like it'd be funny to do for an off-brand Smash clone. For the actual video: I too find Dr. Mario's downwards stomp to be a bit weird looking. For me it's a B-tier.

[@tymunster]

I think the olimar down air backflip situation is because he's pulling the pikmin back up, and I kinda like it from that perspective. Like he swung them down, then they had enough force down there that pulling them back up flips him around.

[@AtJoee230]

1:52:09 I just noticed that Sonic's landing animation has a bit of a problem: After he hits the ground, it looks like he should continue his momentum and catch himself with his right hand, instead his hand contorts in this very odd way so his left hand is the one that touches the ground, which just makes the whole thing look very unconfortable and strange.

[@jstar3382]

9:46 its a claw swipe. It doesn't need a ton of buildup

[@jstar3382]

21:45 my issue is the effect on it. The wind makes it seem more like a slap than a big slam

[@locknessmonster3827]

I think that I might be crazy, but does Joker place himself in the hangman positions of the tarot cards. It is a unusual detail.

[@boogsss2]

Very on brand for Joker

[@Ultrapredator1H]

20:45 and it EXPANDS

[@MockRockTalk]

... ... ... ...Okay.

[@tapatorta]

🐵👍

[@riqua27]

Thankfully you didn't talk anything bad about Corrin Beautiful Leg Drill. Cause some Terry main out there will be mad if you said anything bad about Corrin Beautiful Leg Drill!!!

[@SkeleXon]

35:16 guys he said the thing!!

[@marthlowell9029]

babe wake up new "ranking every animation" video dropped

[@RedBoi88]

15:21 this should be Robin's down-air if he ever gets into Multiversus

[@Imprez2564]

"The landing animation for this one fits Snake well, very SOLID" NICE

[@2350CST]

One thing they defo could’ve done with Kazuya’s down-air to sell more commitment while maintaining accuracy to the source material is simply making it so he goes into a mistech situation afterwards Demon Scissors, or [4~3] in Tekken is a strong damaging move where he hurls his entire body at you, but the drawback is that he ends up in a knockdown state and has to get up as if he were in one This could solve the lack of commitment the Smash rendition has while offering more faithfulness to the original series, plus I think sending yourself into a mistech situation is neat and underused and only seen on two characters (Charizard side-B, aerial Banjo side-B without any uses left)

[@dootdoodle569]

just yesterday i was thinking we hadn’t had an animation ranking in a while, now i know how i’m going to spend my afternoon :D

[@firstwaddledee9182]

It’s crazy to me that you mentioned Incineroar’s legs being stubby when Doc, Pac Man, and ESPECIALLY Charizard go unmentioned

[@PhillipMoore-td5yi]

He hates how much incineroar uses his legs. Almost every arial in fact

[@firstwaddledee9182]

@@PhillipMoore-td5yi ok… that doesn’t change my point though. He doesn’t like Incineroar’s kick moves because they’re stubby (which is a crazy idea on its own but whatever) which is just amplified by how many aireals are kicks.

[@PhillipMoore-td5yi]

@@firstwaddledee9182 I agree dude I am not arguing with you I am giving his reasoning as far as I understood it. Also dk kinda has short legs for his down air as well

[@Geneolgia]

This reminds me how Mii Gunner has a few animations that would look cooler on Samus such as down air or down smash.

[@mrbister8714]

Best part of Corrin down air is the fact that her feet magically grow thumbs during it

[@ShadowNite1105]

57:09 I'm so glad I'm not the only one who hates T. Link's sword sfx. It sounds like someone's cutting you with a blanket if that makes sense

[@Jeffrey_Watkins]

I really like watching these, it's interesting to see the criteria that goes into the rankings and it's fun to watch all the movements in slow motion and dissect the physics, fluidity, and personality in each one - even the ones that end up in the lower brackets

[@dextra_24703]

Sephiroths down air is one of his moves in his Boss fight called Hells Gate, it normally sends out six projectiles into each direction of the Shockwave effect.

[@Roto-J]

With Hero, I imagine that he sticks the sword into the ground, lets go to push up on it with reverse grip, then has to let go again to grab it with the correct grip. The push off itself is what loosens the sword and makes it start to slide down when he lets go

[@SonicTheCutehog]

Sephiroth's Down Air is literally killer

[@Mr.D0rAdE517]

1:14 Mario 20:28 Donkey Kong 52:29 Link 35:31 Samus 15:58 Yoshi 1:27:44 Kirby 7:58 Fox 1:22:22 Pikachu 5:00 Luigi 31:37 Ness 0:33 Captain Falcon 1:32:41 JigglyPuff.

[@jasonramirez1064]

The thing with Banjo's is that even in the original game Kazzoie doesn't do a flap to increase momentum

[@SharurFoF]

Now that you bring up the twin sword thing, Pit dair should probably be the swords slashing from opposite sides and crossing in the middle.

[@ElecManEXE]

Aw yeah, glad to see these come back. Always love an excuse to use over an hour looking at some great animations in-depth. I never realized just how awkard Palutena's Dair looked. That is some seriously strange motion. Then again it took me a long time to realize it was a kick and not a staff swipe. Just kind of a strangely animated move overall I guess, which is a bit odd since so many of her other animations are so smooth. Not really sure why they made it a kick in the first place, in addition to not really fitting with most of her other attacks it seems like it did no favors for animation either. Probably wouldn't have changed the overall score, but you did seem to overlook the snarky grin on Piranha Plant during the dair. Or maybe you just didn't think it was worth mentioning, but you did bring up the fact that the move lacks the character that other moves can sometimes display. I dunno, seems like a decent character detail to me. And keeping that grin visible might be partially the reason for less overshoot.

[@ABAgamer_]

Been definitely looking forward to this move tier-list for a while, and hearing your opinions on these is what I love about these videos.

[@JEWong47]

One thing i like about Wolf and Fox's dairs is how their tails are consciously included in the design of the attack, where most of the time they're sort of an aftethought. Fox's wraps his tail around his body as he spins, and Wolf's tail shoots out the moment he slams downward to help convey a little bit more of the power he's putting behind the swinf

[@birds1062]

I'd love to see a down smash animation tier list, theres so many cool ways that characters hit both sides that it would be nice to see you rank them

[@googyta]

Kazuya's dair was a little lost in translation. It makes more sense in Tekken where it's a front flip TOWARDS the opponent. Getting rid of that forward motion makes it look like he's leaping onto a bed with some enthusiasm. Since Tekken is not a game with much aerial interaction beyond juggling, choices were always going to be limited and I'm glad they went with a weird choice to stand out from the other fighter characters.

[@Funky_Mode]

PERFECT timing. I just got home after a bad day. Thanks!

[@weegee69]

I’ve been looking forward to this specific tier list for a long time!

[@jonathanlgill]

I never realized that Mewtwo's dair was a foot-attack. I always assumed he was thrusting his palm downwards to emit dark, psychic energy. Wow.

[@d-tergent7899]

Shoutouts to Project M where Ivysaur down air has enough recoil to make it a viable recovery for long distances

[@dc_dachi]

For the most part, I think Ness’s animations have all gotten way better since most of them were reworked Smash 4/Ultimate, but one thing I do miss is his old dair from 64/Brawl/Melee. In those games it was definitely super clear that Ness was just stomping the shit out of you. No psychic powers, just this kid dropping his foot with all of his weight. It’s a lot less clear what he’s doing now. One reason for this is, like you mentioned, the spin into the stomp. Originally, the spin was a part of the recovery frames after delivering the stomp. Smash 4 changed this so the spin was incorporated into the startup, but the problem with this is that a spin doesn’t really generate the kind of power necessary for a strong stomp attack, so it makes the motion confusing, especially combined with the lack of in-between frames. This is also one of the moves where adding the new PSI particle effects doesn’t add much, and just sort of breaks up the silhouette of the attack. And this might just be me, but a magical PSI-infused kick somehow feels less brutal than just fucking slamming the bottom of your foot onto some dude’s head, idk why that is exactly.

[@ciawn1218]

I was recently thinking of these videos, glad you decided to do them again!

[@tlt_foxy617]

Yayyy !!! Animation tier lists!! Love to hear your feedback on the animations on ultimate, which, while having a monstruous number of moves, still has some on the cleaner and snappier animations in newer video games imo. I hope these videos will come to Nintendo in any way or form because your analyses (especially on feel of power/weight shown through the startup and recovery of the moves) are genuinely helpful for animating. I myself saw many of my mistakes on my own animations thanks to your seriously incredible and in depth analyses, so, thanks a lot for doing this.

[@geridax7027]

Mewtwo needs bonus points for the smooth backflip

[@ericmartinez813]

At 21:17 when talking about Diddy's Down Air, I think that extra oomph he's missing with it is a spin. Most characters, when putting a bunch of effort into a rotational attack do a spin for the ending animation. Diddy, despite the effort he's clearly puting into the double handed slam, doesn't spin at the end. Donkey Kong does with his Forward Air, but Diddy doesn't despite the similar concepts, or Kong-cepts, so to speak.

[@ringss_]

I think K. Rool's flip adds to the down air in giving his legs a reason to be tucked, it'd be kinda awkward if he just raised his legs outward as his stomach stops them from being raised in front of him like Ganon or Falcon

[@Scienceboy0]

There are unique landing animations for each aerial!?!?!?!? This game's detail is insane.

[@CarbonMalite]

This has me curious what you'd think about every jump animation. That and up smash, because apparently Falco's is anatomically insane

[@legendarysoil1064]

21:30 Diddy’d down air is actually the 3rd strongest spike behind Ganon and Byleth’s dair

[@threes_leaves]

I think the problem with Dedede and Plant not having good follow-through is that the animations seem to be made assuming you're hitting at the sweet spot, where all of the momentum would flow into the opponent. But that makes it so on a miss it just looks awkward.

[@shadowflame68]

Really love this video, thanks for all the effort you put into these. I think it'd actually be cool to see you rank animations in other fighting games at some point too; even if you don't play them, a little research into who the characters are for context would be enough to rate animations.

[@ChargedBonsai98]

I feel like hero's landing animation is meant to be seen later in the attack, so its just gravity taking the sword into the ground, rather than any force from hero himself.

[@nicolask.3825]

until just now I thought DK's down air actually *did* have him punch down instead of stomping, it just doesn't read super well at full speed.

[@wyrmworks6991]

Even in slow motion, it really looks to me like he’s winding up to punch down, not kick. It’s pretty odd to me, actually.

[@kirbylover37]

His hands are tan and contrast his body, and you see his hands stay at head level. I don't see how people get confused with DK's down air

[@Driff97]

Bayonetta's landing animation had to be good because it's where the Bullet Arts for Down Air comes from.

[@Iamverykarpy]

im surprised you didnt mention puffs down air being one of the few times a smash multi hit actually has a distinct final hit, also wtf i swear ive never seen that palu animation before i thought her down air was like zeldas

[@trollcatgirl]

My guess for why Sheik lands on her opposite hand is because her body is moving in that direction, so it makes stop herself with that arm. I agree though, it definitely looks weird

[@cooperrondinelli6576]

I gotta be honest, I've been browsing these videos in the last couple weeks and seen them going back years and I assumed you had finished them all - kinda crazy to see them still running 😂 keep up the dedication and good work. These videos are incredible

[@heroichero8662]

It's been a while since we've gotten an animation ranking tier list. I personally look forward to these videos the most. And, in the meanwhile, I was thinking about what MockRock would do next. Maybe a Smash Attack? How 'bout a tilt attack? Nope, just going straight for the exciting Down Aerials!

[@maxwellseely7359]

Something about squirtles dair is that the “off the axis” feel I think lends to his shell feeling heavy and giving him some momentum

[@ltrigga219]

I watched all the way through just to hear the obviously expected “Ganondorf stomp animation is S tier. Duh.” 😍

[@Point5_]

eating candy on a friday evening after a work week while watching one of my favourite youtuber's new video rn and I'm so fucking happy

[@theovereditedarena5672]

For Inceneroar, a double stomp is a pretty common wrestling move, whether in American wrestling, Japanese wrestling, or Lucha, you see a lot of double stomps. Inceneroar’s down air seems more based off the Finn Balor double stomp than say, Super Dragon’s double stomp, and if you see the Finn Balor stomp it looks a lot like that, especially the extension.

[@ZeoLightning]

while i know you arent beholden to not judge for accuracy, Beak buster (the move its called in the the game) doesnt have Kazooie flap, so it would feel outta place to add that kind of flourish to the otherwise faithful renditions of the move

[@joey5745]

You should hold an animation contest. Give your audience a prompt like fix the F tier Down Air animations Then review your favs in a video, that’d be cool to see,

[@aydenator2770]

I like this series, but im really glad its not a special so that we can see ALL the animations of the move In the special move rankings, there were quite a few cases where animations weren’t shown in the video, such as aerial or (usually) grounded variants of the move. Other times specials had hidden animations that only happened under certain circumstances…

[@freeformboozler]

Little bit of something as a fan with vision problems, wii fit trainer on an all white background is surprisingly hard for me to see, perhaps using a darker stage like FD would work better for those segments in the future

[@ashdenhayden2672]

6:31 I see Luigi’s down air landing differently. I feel like it looks weird because it should be. He put too much energy into the attack causing him to spin too much which made his legs move faster than his upper body by the time he landed. 11:40 I think Ivysaur’s bulb should actually give him a little bit of a height boost as that would make the move seem a bit more powerful. 36:15 I think Samus’ down air also works when not looking at us because her legs are moving allowing those particles to be shown naturally instead of clipping through. 1:11:39 I think the reason Pyrrha’s seems so good is because it’s not actually a relaxed swing, it feels as if the sword is so big and heavy that she’s having trouble pulling it down. 1:30:13 I feel like the abruptness of this one sells how powerful it is because of how far dedede pulls back. The rapid stop makes Dedede feel as powerful as the rest of his moves. Especially since in his games and the tv show he is shown to actually work on training himself to fight Kirby