Ranking EVERY Forward Smash Animation in Smash Ultimate

[@MockRockTalk]

Thanks for watching everyone! As mentioned in the video, this is a total experiment, so let me know what you thought. Full disclosure, I have no idea if this is going to become a larger series or not, this was fun to make but took a long time to put together by second channel standards and is a bit of an untested concept. There'll be at least one more episode that I'll have patrons/KZbin members/Twitch subs vote on, after that no promises, its viability will entirely depend on performance. Also aware of some minor audio issues at a few points, the game capture was mixed a bit too loud for certain sound effects so I had to some heavier post-processing in a couple spots to keep my voice audible, will be fixed for the next one. Appreciate it, hope you enjoyed! EDIT: A few details the comments have pointed out: -Steve's fsmash apparently is actually a reference to the Minecraft series. -Marth's tipper sound effect comes from Ragnell, not the critical hit sound. *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/

[@williamhowells806]

smash's animation never gets enough love keep it coming

[@scottcrocker3265]

Long content good

[@jaydonnorman2270]

Yeahm Steve's Fsmash is supposed to be his sweep attack that you can only do in java apparently

[@DonkeyDoormatDrive]

OK you said wait to like until the end and I gotta say, this has to be one of the most charming and well thought out videos of yours I've enjoyed in a WHILE, I love this sort of long form discussion content and your voice is really made for it. Personally I would love to see "Ranking the Animations for all Side Bs" next, side B's are so variable and have so many different roles in a character's kit and that adds SO much context to their animation.

[@randomguy8107]

When you say « Link doesn’t use his sword with two hands in any other move », I am not sure… don’t his Dair and Up-air do that as well ? Edit : since in those attacks the sword doesn’t move, the point still does work ofc

[@mrbister8714]

I don’t think I’ve seen a man’s soul get crushed faster than seeing MockRock’s reaction to Luigi’s forward smash not being a three stooges poke

[@YoyIeCake]

You could pinpoint the second his heart rips in half

[@deadriccow]

Ya truly an F in the chat for his happiness leaving

[@ashen_roses]

His smile and optimism: Gone

[@BlueBoboDoo100]

I didn't know anyone saw it as that. It's a pretty unambiguous move...

4:10

[@thecrimsoncreep]

In Steve's showcase, they stated that his fsmash was the Sweep Attack, and that's why there is a pixelated trail. It's the same trail from the game.

[@hououinkyouma5539]

Yup 1:11:00

[@OrigamiAhsoka]

Ohhh, cool

[@buttersddragon]

holy shit that's a name i haven't seen in a while

[@malcolmw121]

I actually have never noticed, but do any of Steve's attacks get the other important combat particle effect- the critical hit bubbles? For the not-in-the-know, any attack that *lands* as the player is moving downwards (from a fall, from a jump, anything) will critical hit for extra damage. I think it may be good to put on the pickaxe spikes, but I didn't take the time to study that in-game. IIRC the bonus-knockback attacks given from dashing at something with a sword (which Steve doesn't do for a dash attack anyways) don't have an associated particle effect.

[@oddyssi]

@@malcolmw121 sadly, steves attacks in smash do not recieve this effect. now that you mention it, i wish they had given him criticals with that visual effect when he attacks on the downward. wouldve made the attention to detail on him soooo much better

[@turi5959]

I just noticed that for incineroar's fsmash, he actually sticks out his claws for extra damage, which is pretty neat Helps communicate that the foot is the sweetspot, if only a little

[@puppetree4119]

Does that with back air too

[@thefallofranny]

Damn, I main him and had no idea lol

[@molemanfan147]

nine sols gang nine sols gang

[@turi5959]

@@molemanfan147 NINE SOLS GANG YOOOOOOOO

[@wienerschnitzel1739]

One of the things I like about Lucas’s animations is that he closes his eyes/flinches whenever he does a strong attack. It’s not much, but it’s at least some sort of reminder of his characterization as a bit of a wimp

[@Metalc]

Yeah but I hate that kind of characterization bc Lucas is not cowardly at all in mother 3. If anything, ness is canonically more sensitive than Lucas 💀

[@shyguy85]

​@@Metalcok but literally how

[@Metalc]

@@shyguy85 ness will become homesick and emotional in earthbound if he doesn’t call his mom often enough.

[@sheassea9320]

@@Metalcbut Lucas doesn’t have a mom to call

[@dmclsl03]

​@@sheassea9320 And?

[@SydneyIsSleepy]

I think I may have figured out what makes Rob's forward smash so awkward During the charge, he plants his hands onto the ground as to try and control himself has he shoots the laser, but despite this, his entire body shifts backwards, including his hands. It makes the attack look much more limp and weak than it should. I think the solution would be to keep his body stationary, while making his head move sharply forward as the attack connects

[@MisterFiasco]

So, closer to his old Brawl animation. Sounds good to me! I miss that version of S3. Rant incoming. It was weaker yes, but only in comparison to its current sweet spot. It didn’t have as severe a drop off from sweet to sour, with the weaker version doing only 2 less damage than the stronger. With its faster speed, less recovery time, and better presentation with more smoke and a distinct zap sound like from Zero Suit’s Paralyzer, it felt more like a taser blast than a burst of uncharged Robo Beam. Smash 4 definitely feels stronger as the animation introduces recoil and him planting his arms into the ground before he even starts charging it up. But the taser concept has been dropped entirely. Strong, but it’s sluggish enough to feel awkward, and not strong enough to justify that. But the head spins throughout the entire charging animation, which is a neat touch but does nothing for the actual move itself. Ultimate tried to go both with the best of both versions, but it feels like it missed the mark terribly. Keeps much of the Smash 4 clunky ness, but he doesn’t plant his arms while charging so he just looks goofy, and his head eventually stops spinning. Like Sonic, I wish they kept some animation for after the move reaches peak power. Sweet spot is actually very strong now, almost strong enough to actually go for; thankfully ROB has other unfair bovine excrement to fish for. It’s got more reach than either version, but those more distant hits are so weak you can’t really do anything with them, so it’s not worth using. It’s even technically slower, with its animation lasting 9 whole frames longer. Thankfully it can be interrupted the same time as the 4 version. At least now when it hits…oofh. Brawl>Ultimate>Smash 4

[@VTEySAG]

Funny, I feel like the solution is the opposite; change the laser to something more explosive, so that shifting back from recoil feels justified. That's the feeling I get at least, that strong recoil is the intended reason for the way his body shifts back, and that the disconnect stems from the fact that the laser blast just... doesn't seem that impactful. It's the opposite of Mega Man, really, who shoot a blast the size of himself and weirdly feels no impact from that.

[@kwisowofer9872]

I hate it too because it feels too weak, at least compared to his other attacks. It resembles his semi-charged laser, which is fairly weak visually. It would’ve been better if he hurled his arms like down tilt (but with more frames to sell the punchiness) or maybe his base like Up smash.

[@Muddles_Nugget]

Man, I main rob and still didn't see that😂

[@charl2182]

1:10:59 It's not made up. Steve's jab is supposed to be like the Bedrock Edition swing of the sword, and the forward smash is the Java Edition sword swing. I think Sakurai literally mentions that in the character reveal presentation thingy.

[@YounesLayachi]

Yes, although the jab and nair is just the quick attack in Minecraft too, not only bedrock.

[@Player-jh4ko]

Still doesn't negate the fact that it's still a generic swing of a sword lmao. It's literally Toon Links fsmash but more boring lol.

[@YounesLayachi]

@@Player-jh4ko the sweep attack it is in the f*cking Minecraft game, so sakurai referenced it. Plus, it's not a generic swing, most swings in smash are within the XY plane. Steve's side smash is in the XZ plane (going from and to the Z axis) Can't get any more clear than that. Go touch some Minecraft if you still can't see it.

[@Player-jh4ko]

@@YounesLayachiI have played Minecraft for several years, decades even. I obviously know that Steve's Fsmash was a reference to his original game. Good job to Sakurai for putting it in, does he want a medal or something? And where did I ever say that sweeping edge isn't in the game in my original comment? Also a slight difference in direction doesn't really make a attack more "unique" lmao. Almost all of Steve's basic attacks are just that, basic attacks. Still makes a generic sword swing at the end of the day even if the direction of it was flipped. Chill the f*ck out and how about you go touch some Minecraft to realize that Minecraft isn't really a game known for its animation?

[@McBehrer]

@@YounesLayachi no need to be aggressive. It's still a fairly basic sword slash, which makes sense with how limited Steve's animations are. This is not to say it's bad, per se, especially with the Java/Bedrock detail, but compared to stuff like Ike's Fsmash, it's pretty generic.

[@WingedFish66]

It's actually the other way around with Greninja. In Smash 4 the smash attacks were all generic blades of water. So the anime did in fact inspire the more kunai-shaped attacks in Ultimate

[@nintentwins1867]

On Little Mac's, I love how the animation sells things with his shoulders. His shoulder is put into the punch alongside his footwork, he isn't just using his arms. He shifts his weight and it's so nice to look at

[@Browncow287]

I think this video is super interesting, and I think the creativity of special moves, especially neutral B’s, would make a super interesting continuation of this concept

[@MockRockTalk]

The poll for episode 2 is already up and neutral B seems to be the frontrunner based on early comments, I won't be deciding it myself but you seem to have a decent shot so far

[@iceoz]

@@MockRockTalk Where is the poll at?

[@MemeAnt]

@@iceoz Probably the community tab

[@the_beans_man1524]

@@MemeAnt He's only used the community tab once. It's not there.

[@the_beans_man1524]

@@iceoz I would guess Twitter

[@Blackacre438]

If you do another one of these, I'd be REALLY interested in seeing a Jab animation tier list. Animating a jab has to be one of the hardest things to do in Smash bros because you usually have fewer frames to work with than any other move on the character's kit, and I'd love to see which characters you feel rose to the challenge and which ones did not. Also regarding the idea of streaming these: have you talked about the ins and outs of that with other content creators who upload edited stream vods? I have no experience with this but I have a close friend who has a lot of it and would be more than willing to try to get you in touch with them if you would like,

[@MockRockTalk]

I appreciate it, but I'm perfectly comfortable editing a stream vod already, the issue with streaming these lists is more on the stream viewers' side rather than the KZbin viewers' side. Many segments are recorded in multiple takes and I'm not convinced that'd be an especially fun thing to watch live, it may be something I look into at some point though.

[@andymcclurg9916]

@@MockRockTalk ZSS = F Tier

[@Boiproduction3]

I agree.

[@spiegel7608]

I think it would actually be rather humorous. Many jabs are just, poking them. Other jabs are also just ridiculously odd

[@seanhogan9196]

I noticed Squirtle is covering their mouth to avoid the water gushing out. Allowing the pressure of the water get to build up. That is kinda neat

[@burbusburbus8782]

I was gonna comment but you just said not to do it. But I've already done it.

[@ayyyyMan]

:/

[@PokeBallerLuke]

Mock Rock, I really respect how you brand yourself on your channel. Through the colors and intros and layouts and thumbnails, it’s really cool to see how much effort you put into that. Really shows how creative you are and how much you care about the quality and authenticity of your channel/brand! Always thought this and just wanted to let you know!

[@MockRockTalk]

Appreciate it! Certainly something I'm conscious of so nice to see it's working.

[@denali1566]

Agreed this is one of the few channels I don't skip the intro, it's catchy and quick enough to not get old after quite a while

[@haysdixon6227]

i totally agree with this, also i’ve never seen a mockrock (or talk) video and not enjoyed it to a minimum “this is good” level QA is there

[@Alex-hg7ek]

I love how mockrocks soul was just completely crushed when he found out the truth about luigis fsmash

[@Moss_Dude]

I had a friend back in smash 4, who every time they used Luigi's forward smash would yell "ORDER UP!!!" 18:35 I just realized Squirtle is holding his mouth with his hands to keep the water in as he charges it! 41:50 No, that kick specifically isn't used in fighter at all. The only single straight kick he does is two footed as an aerial. The only other side kicks he does are a slide along the ground, and a spinning three hit combo. 1:18:00 at the end of Jr's F-smash the drills actually mash together to indicate the final hit

[@ivrydice0954]

I'm stealing that Luigi F-smash quote.

[@guacodile2528]

Smash wiki says it's based on the spin kick from the fighter ability in Kirby super star Not that I played that game but you know

[@andymcclurg9916]

That's very cute for Squirtle, however I might just solo main him if he had something akin to his Brawl Fsmash.

[@djroscurro9859]

I always thought the forward kick for kirby was based on Jet I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure it has the same anticipation as well

[@Connor_Kirkpatrick]

Huge disagree on Diddy Kong. While it may look a little strange in a vacuum, I love how it operates in the context of his kit. Diddy really adopts the “frantic monkey” persona, always leaping around the stage and wildly hitting you with attacks. That sense of movement and looseness is preserved in the f-smash, which often serves as a capstone to all the hits prior.

[@heliodorable4612]

nah he's right, the animation looks super weird and you can't even tell what he's doing with his body in it

[@brysonmcfaull1218]

I agree, I think it fits in the context of his moveset design as a whole. I think the 'frantic monkey' design, as you call it, comes through as diddy flails and swings his limbs. Those would be moves like up smash, forward smash, dash attack, and nair - all moves where he swings his limbs around

[@pote2frouifruite81]

@@heliodorable4612 that's true but at the same time you could argue with the fact that it's done on purpose to increase that feeling of super wild monkey jumping you out of nowhere without understanding what the hell he just did

[@quarium5681]

As a person that does animation I feel inclined to agree with Mock but I do agree that the idea of the move fits the vibe of a frantic monkey! the issue is mostly that the move isnt animated as cleanly or clearly as any of his other flailing moves, Dash Attack is a good example of excellent cartoony flailing while being extremely easy to read

[@waveringeyes8277]

I would argue that multihit smash animations that are "too fast" read better with hit-stun when striking an opponent since that slightly slows it down. ZSS's f smash goes from "pew pew" to "bah, bam!"

[@somethingfunny9402]

The contrast between Banjo's joy and Kazooie's mortal peril always kills me

[@sirpikapika1129]

I don't feel like Ganondorf's being similar to Ike's is even a knock against it. Like it's just an overhead swing, Ike didn't invent the overhead swing and there aren't many ways to animate that to make it feel weighty.

[@somekinnn]

I feel that would be easier to say if it weren't for his up smash also just being ike's and his down smash just being cloud's.

[@waffleman8053]

Imo, if a move works in the characters kit and fits there character it's doesn't really mater if it's borrowed by another character. With a game with 80+ characters your bound to have some overlap.

[@anothenblue2630]

@@waffleman8053 my problem with them is that Ganondorf actually has sword attacks he can use from actual Zelda games. He has his own version of Spin Attack and Demise, his origin, could make lightning strike his sword when he raised it akin to Link's own Skyward whatever attack. Both would be way better than stealing from Cloud and Ike. But an even bigger problem is that this isn't how Ganondorf normally fights anyway, he normally uses two swords. All Gerudo wield either twin swords or a polearm, so does Ganondorf. He wields one sword exactly one and even that one was for the sake of a cruel joke (he was using a sword meant to execute him for his crimes to kill descendands of heroes who imprisoned him in the first place). The new sword and design also ruin his sword taunt. In Brawl, it was an excellent taunt that had nothing to do with him being Falcondorf. Ganondorf pulling out the Sword of Sages and chuckling effectively said "The Sages couldn't kill me when I was powerless, bound and shackled, what chances do *you* have?" This message is lost now.

[@thatguystandingbehindyou0_0]

imagine ganon was actually in smash lmao

[@Underworlder5]

@@anothenblue2630 what do you think about his moveset in hyrule warriors? two large swords, moveset with strength and weight without sacrificing speed, and he uses magic for his combo finishers

[@fernandobanda5734]

I think it's a bit unfair to judge the overholding charge animation. They have a very clear function that needs them distinguished from the first part, and any movement would go against reading that. Maybe it wasn't the best choice but I think it's a very "suspend your disbelief about the animation because the game is trying to tell you something" kind of thing.

[@FedoraKirb]

In an ideal scenario, the game should be able to use the animation to tell you something.

[@fernandobanda5734]

@@FedoraKirb There's just a lot to say. Freezing the animation wasn't a terrible solution. It just looks weird if you completely ignore what it means mechanically.

[@FedoraKirb]

@@fernandobanda5734 I did find it weird how he never once mentioned how the animation freeze is an indicator that it’s not increasing in power. He’s saying that he wasn’t really happy with the sacrifice of look for functionality, though I myself think it looks fine.

[@gengarisnotinsmash...]

One thing about toon link fsmash: I just watched someone do a full playthrough of wind waker, and that animation is a reference to his basic flurry (or something like that, I haven't played the game) attack. One of the ending hits has him do a rising slash similar to that. The main difference, however, is that he does a twirling jump with it which adds a ton of missing flair. It makes the awkward arm motion make more sense as a lot of the power in the game was coming from that jump, but in smash it just isn't there.

[@MockRockTalk]

That's a great catch!

[@gengarisnotinsmash...]

@@MockRockTalk I watched a little farther and when I got to Pac-Man I just noticed something else cool about his smash attacks. Each of the ghosts in Pac-Man have a different AI to give them personality. Blinkey, the red ghost used in the forward smash, is the most aggressive and will constantly follow the same path you took, fitting for the most aggressive and powerful of the three smash attacks. His down smash has him use pinkey (obvious color) to hit behind him, which fits because pinkey would try to cut off your escape routes (ie, rolling behind Pac-Man, which is what a down smash is supposed to cover). Also featured in the down smash is sue, who isn't very smart and is going the wrong way. The up smash used inky, in not sure of any particular reason why. I remember him being described as "scares easily", but that doesn't really line up with an up smash. It's likely that I just don't know enough to figure it out. Either way, the ghost choice is really cool.

[@shyguy85]

​@@gengarisnotinsmash...sue??

[@ketsuban_jpg]

I find the fact that Kazuya slowly transforms into his devil form if you fully charge the smash attack a really cool and unique feature, it really builds up the boost to his already insane power. A really cool idea for kazuya's smash attacks (if you ask me) would be to only make him go devil form if you fully charge the smash attack, making the functionality a lot more interactive and fixing the issue of making the devil form a little overused in his moveset.

[@Moon-nk3co]

Ness and Lucas’ forward smashes are my favorites. Because they reflect on their weapons that they consistently use. It’s very fitting to see their actual weapons represented.

[@thedman05]

I wish he’d mention special considerations. Ness and Lucas will send projectiles flying back at greater speed if you fire and they counter with their forward smash, and that adds a lot of value to the moves beyond simply hitting things

[@stonebrick1562]

Charizard’s F-smash might be in reference to how giraffes fight. Even his horns look similar to giraffe horns, along with his head shape and long neck. It actually makes it a bit cooler with a bit of biology

[@tonberry2670]

I honestly like the idea of Charizard as a giraffe more than as a dragon

[@johnread8749]

Ryu’s smash attack is a special move that’s usually referred to as donkey kick, and it’s the perfect choice for his fsmash imo

[@israelrocha1831]

Side and back kicks are stupid strong irl, love that it's his f-Smash.

[@thescaletblur07]

thats also why its not special cancelable.

[@OliyTC]

1:19:24 Something I think is worth mentioning is I think Inkling's forward smash has a bit of missed opportunity, like the inkbrush could have been moved to another part of their kit (probably forward tilt) and the forward smash should be something else. The inkbrush is one of the lowest damage-dealing weapons in Splatoon, doing 30 damage per hit in a game where some weapons do over 100. I know smash takes some liberties to give characters more series representation over following form, but it's always been odd to me as a Splatoon fan that the most damaging move in their kit is one of the weakest weapons combat-wise in their origin games.

[@paulnewton2284]

Even in FE Roy is pretty young and inexperienced, so the more "brutish" vibe works

[@AlmightySock]

To be fair, Roy doesn't have too much of a personality in his game anyway

[@bubzy3d50]

My dumbass thought you mispelt British for a second and was really confused

[@AshenDust_]

@@bubzy3d50 “Oi, chap, you want to get Jab-to-Back-Aired or summin?”

[@paulnewton2284]

@@AshenDust_ Literally laughed out loud when I read that

[@IceDragon289]

By extension, it works great from Chrom too. It's established that his father died when he was young, so he basically had to teach himself swordsmanship. And as a result, his style is really wild and reckless.

[@LegacyKricketune111]

One really interesting animation quirk about Ridley's FSmash is that, because Ridley's model (and thus hurtbox) is so heavily frontloaded, the way Ridley reels back actually creates intense hurtbox shifting. Ridley actually feels like he takes advantage of this hurtbox shifting moreso than a lot of characters with a lot of his moves (maybe intentionally to compensate for his size)

[@Goobergal8705]

4:04 well, I just learned that Luigi's forward smash can be angled! Neat!

[@coldgal8476]

Ahhh, can’t wait to listen to this as I ride home on a bus from school.

[@jonathanlgill]

While Mario's F-Smash precedes the game, it sort of functions as a reference to the "Hand" attack in Mario And Luigi: Superstar Saga. The attack has him using Fire generated from his palm to hit an enemy (animation isn't the same, but it's similar in concept). I wish Luigi's F-Smash would gain an electric property to make that too feel more like a reference.

[@Bikee-uh6of]

but this f smash came from melee

[@jonathanlgill]

@@Bikee-uh6of That's what I said.

[@jonathanlgill]

@DropkicktheDecepticon If people read my comment, I said that at the very start as a qualifier. It's an odd similarity that retrospectively makes it function almost like a reference.

[@jonathanlgill]

Honestly I didn't word it all that clearly. "Predates" rather than "precedes" would have made it more obvious, but I wasn't thinking too much.

[@Rogeryoo]

I suppose Dr. Mario fits Luigi's role here, as Doc's fsmash has the lightning property. So making Luigi ALSO have a lightning property for his may be a bit redundant.

[@lazyryan3766]

I'm disappointed you didn't go over Link's chamber animation, maybe it wouldn't have been raised a tier anyway, but I like the way that the master sword glows with sacred energy, which in botw makes it twice as powerful

[@justerfrog5557]

"not a particularly concrete reference to the mario series" Firehand: am I a joke to you?

[@Ryan-zg4qs]

I like the idea of this as a series. Normal move tier lists have already been done, everyone has general ideas of which are the best fsmashes, etc. but nobody really goes into ranking them off of feel/animation/style of them and I think that’s a cool, good idea

[@cosmiclikesminecraft]

Seeing you get hearbroke about Luigi's fsmash mid video was such comedy gold...unlike Luigi's Fsmash. I already knew it was a spear hand and was just WAITING for it to sink in Edit: I find it interesting how you seem to find multi hits less impactful, wheras I always found them more impactful (except diddy, diddy's is very odd feeling)

[@Spand04]

One extra detail in incineroar's fsmash is that he gets angry and dissapointed when you miss the attack

[@lordscolipede7092]

One thing I noticed with Incin while watching this is that his feets' claws actually extend out then retract back, which makes sense because he's a cat and it also helps sell the power and why his hitbox extends beyond his tiny littke cartoon legs.

[@yotomoe5953]

1:03:15 For me I think the reason Rob's Forward smash feels so unsatisfying is his arms. When he fires the laser he slams his arms down. But the way he slams his arms down looks like he's bracing himself. But if he was TRULY bracing himself he'd put them down BEFORE he fired. So there's this weird pointless arm slam that FEELS wrong but you're not quite sure why.

[@zernek9199]

Oh my god Luigi's F-Smash being a Stooges Poke would have been so funny omg I've never thought of that

[@ChibiJ]

I don't know of this would be considered too small or niche...but I be interested in a "holding" (animation when grabbing someone with no input) and pummeled. Some characters have some pretty interesting holds like Incenaroar and Banjo-Kazooie...both who has that cartoony but still scary look of "I got you in my hands...how am I gonna hurt you the most" Loved this vid and always love smash vids on animations!

[@lasercraft32]

Today I learned that everyone has very very different opinions on what makes a GOOD move animation (exaggerating, of course I knew that). Like, oh, its a _generic_ sword swing, or a _generic_ punch... To me that is ridiculous. Because no, they aren't in fact GENERIC. There's a huge difference between _generic_ and _simple._ Not every attack needs to be a fun reference or gimmick, and a lot of my favorite attacks just so happen to be what MockRock would describe as a "generic attack." I respect his opinions, but judging a move for being simpler in concept just feels objectively wrong... especially if you judge other moves for doing the opposite like Zerosuit, Sheik, and Diddy's side smashes.

[@darkdarling9712]

In my personal thought, I think Banjo's forward smash sounded WAY beefier and heavier in his reveal trailer. I'm not too sure but I think it may have been a little slower too.

[@shanerpressley]

It was indeed slowed down for the trailer. Not in a balance way, reveal trailers slightly decrease the game speed so that animations read well enough when done just once

[@x_bell1142]

MockRock is genuinely the only person on KZbin who tells their audience to leave a like/comment and then I actually feel compelled to do it. The amount of effort he puts into his videos is insane, and he is the definition of quantity over quality, even on these more specialized videos on the second channel.

[@landlighterfirestar5550]

Now I’m not saying having a video like this for every single move category wouldn’t be overkill… That’s the end of the sentence XD

[@gloopiu]

1:18:38 “Alot of his attacks uses his gut or his jaws or his claws” Funny how despite being a crocodile none of his attacks uses his jaws and is a small gripe I have with krool. As I see it as a missed opportunity as even if it wasn’t an attack then it could’ve been made his grab animation.

[@megarayquaza2240]

death roll pummel

[@sethstoll8525]

At least he's got the chomp taunt

[@MrGameguyC]

K, Rool is a very cartoonish character who'd rather slam and crush than slash or stab, so it fits him.

[@Player-jh4ko]

@@MrGameguyC So is Bowser kinda, but they made him more feral.

[@MrGameguyC]

@@Player-jh4ko And that's one of the biggest complaints people have on him in Smash.

[@whereisspacebar2991]

I'd watch tier lists on the animations of every move in smash. I never really slow things down or pay that much attention to these sorts of things, so seeing them is a video is super cool

[@SlurmpasReal]

the slow realization of luigi's chop is the hardest I've laughed in a while oh my god please make more of these

[@amofro6612]

Steve's fsmash actually is a reference to the sweeping attacks used in the java version of minecraft and was meant to deliberately go side to side to represent that. Is it still stiff? Yes. Could they have done much better? Probably not.

[@Player-jh4ko]

Even though I hate a majority of Steve's animations because they are just soo boring and lack, but I think that's what makes him special to begin with. This is also coming from a Minecraft fan.

[@amofro6612]

@@Player-jh4ko agreed, I also really like how they captured the simplicity of minecraft and it def makes him feel special

[@Trashley652]

I didn't really know anything about falco's forward smash, and when I saw the animation, I literally guessed that it had a tipper, so you're very right about that.

[@rouge939]

All 4 Heroes have their own unique critical hit sound effect

[@MaxWelton]

5:52 close, but the hair-suit becomes the portal, then Madama Butterfly attacks through it.

[@PhantoFantasma]

love hearing you talk about animation, i dont usually EVER comment on videos, so just wanted you to know that i like this a lot, and i hope you do more it definetly sets you apart from tier lists about viability and such.

[@wanderlustwarrior]

I always knew Luigi's forward smash was a knife hand, but now I can't unsee Bayonetta's color changing pants.

[@jonathanlgill]

I can't check it right now, but I think the sound effects differ for Shulk's F-Smash depending on which Monado Art is active, communicating the different heft of each monado form. Shulk already made S-tier, but that's a detail that contributes a bit more to the move.

[@Nintendo_Wolf]

39:48 Another detail is that his feet claws come out when doing the smash attack

[@TheUltraNerd]

I really love these animation review videos! one of the most overlooked, underappreciated aspects of Smash

[@e.m.2168]

I love how villager kinda looks like he’s putting the bowling ball on a high shelf. He’s just trying to decorate his house and accidentally dropped it on someone.

[@Magic_Ice]

I love Pyra’s animation. It feels like she slams the sword onto a land mine

[@angeldude101]

Plot twist: The sword _is_ the land mine!

[@aqua_serene]

Sephiroth's sword makes a sound before he swings...

[@supercouchpotato9698]

One thing that I'd knock off of Pyra's is the fact that Smash flare (I'm pretty sure) isn't actually something that Pyra or anyone else uses in the Xenoblade series. And I'm pretty sure you brought this up before in a different video, it's kind of annoying when characters yell the name of their move while they're performing it. Made even worse by the fact that Smash flare isn't even a reference to anything. Besides that I agree with mostly the rest of the list. Great video!

[@jonathanlgill]

Anime-inspired RPG characters can get away with shouting the name of their attack more than most (as opposed to say Terry), just because that's kind of the anime style. The Xenoblade games have characters being extremely talkative during combat (to a fault, really), so I don't think it's a detriment here.

[@supercouchpotato9698]

@@jonathanlgill I suppose when looking at it that way it makes more sense. But still I've played both Xenoblade games all the way through and I'm pretty sure Smash flare isn't even a thing which just kinda makes the move a little nonsensical in my opinion. Although this tier list is based on the animation and sound design doesn't really matter that much so I'd still give it an S.

[@jonathanlgill]

I guess so. Jump Art and Smash Art were also invented just for Smash Bros, but in the context of Shulk's toolkit they make perfect sense.

[@YounesLayachi]

Does she also say something smash in Japanese ? That would be a problem

[@gormottigrebel9978]

@@jonathanlgill Battle combat in xenoblade serves clear purpose though, since it is a real time rpg with AI controlled teammates you need to know at all times what they are doing and having them yell the name of their moves is a very clear way of getting that across

[@Zoroarkarceus123]

I just noticed: Pichu's using Nuzzle! His face is constantly shaking side to side, and you can see it clearly in game because of the ears flopping around up and down. And since Nuzzle is a physical move, the stubby hitbox and lingering effect works well. I really like it.

[@kwableguy9795]

I'd love to see you rank the final smashes based on animation/creativity/references to source material/basically anything except their power since those moves are usually just a chance to show off.

[@insanekirby1]

I immediately got excited when I saw this title. Any video where you look at Smash animation is a good video

[@CopyNPasteComments]

I appreciate the animation tier lists

[@ezrel6477]

Say, MockRock, did you take some kind of martial arts class at any time? I have been doing karate for years and most descriptions of the strikes are spot on.

[@malcolmfletcher2659]

Ike has some my favorite animations in the game. He throws his whole body into his moves, it's so satisfying.

[@TheLuluBoyo]

Now this is something I absolutely am on board with! I've wanted to see updates to the animation episodes for a long time and this is so much more than I could've ever asked for! Please do make this a series!

[@PikaPikaLOL]

4:15 MockRock: “my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined”

[@Wheels2056]

Go to sleep at 4:30 in the morning or watch mockrock talk about forward smash animations? 6 am, I'll see you on the other side

[@bluehax6]

I've found that for every single time mockrock has said that he isn't able to tell what's going on until he puts it in slow motion, I had no trouble interpereting the animation, but for a lot of the things he felt were really noticable at full speed I couldn't really tell they were there until it was in slow motion

[@kingbooyah7806]

My man's telling you not to like the video until after you watch it. I respect that man.

[@HiImAiden]

Loving the (very) long form content coming out on MockRockTalk recently

[@DaRealJake]

That fact that you also go to the home stage of very fighter is very nice detail. Shows the commitment.

[@100mgreen]

Bayonetta has technical issue: s tier Terry has technical issue: c tier

[@mediocrebeans4228]

Dude, love the metroid prime hunters music. You've used it in a few videos, keep it up or else!

[@MockRockTalk]

Hunters multiplayer was one of my and my brothers' go-to games as a kid, I love it and it's not going anywhere!

[@mediocrebeans4228]

@@MockRockTalk Same. Wow.

[@KevSB07]

1:22:42 not that this would really lift the tier placements but Sora has a super unique effect where his moves produce small multicolored stars on impact. Going frame by frame on the f smash allows you to see it most clearly, it’s really cool imo (Edit, the stars are better without the kill sparks lol, and I don’t think KZbin compression helps either)

[@unoriginal2552]

"Get the other plumbers outta the way." "So doctor-"

[@Jellyman1129]

Pac-Man’s smash attacks replicate the ghosts’ movements in the arcade game. Blinky is the most direct, taking the most linear route to Pac-Man. He also speeds up in later levels, which can cause you to die. This works great as a forward smash as it’s STUPIDLY strong and direct. It’s always a lingering fear, just as Blinky constantly chasing right behind Pac-Man in the maze can cause tension. Inky moves relative to Pac-Man’s location and Blinky’s location in the maze. He will always move to the opposite end of where Pac-Man and Blinky are, so Inky being parallel to Pac-Man’s up smash while perpendicular to Blinky as the forward smash is a subtle detail only fans of the original arcade game will notice. Also, Inky is the most unpredictable of the four ghosts, so it’s fitting to have him in Pac-Man’s fastest smash attack to catch opponents by surprise. Pinky tries to get in front of Pac-Man and cut him off, unlike Blinky who always follows Pac-Man from behind. So Pinky in Pac-Man’s down smash facing the opposite direction of Blinky and Pac-Man himself works really well. She also can get easily distracted from perusing Pac-Man if he faces a certain direction in the maze, so she doesn’t do too much damage in Pac-Man’s down smash as she isn’t too hard to avoid. Finally, Clyde takes the most direct route to Pac-Man and follows him from behind just like Blinky. But Clyde will run away when he gets too close, making him less aggressive and more passive than Blinky. Being in Pac-Man’s down smash, Clyde faces the same direction as Blinky, showing he has a very similar attack strategy albeit doing less damage and being less of a threat compared to Pac-Man’s feared forward smash. I absolutely love how Pac-Man’s smash attacks were implemented, showing the personalities of the ghosts through a given direction and assigned damage. The Smash team put a lot of thought into it and I love it! He’s been getting S tier in a lot of your moveset videos and I couldn’t agree more! 👻

[@Metalc]

That’s actually incredibly detailed woah!

[@Janrjdkanrnfjaj]

The amount of smash attacks I learned were angle-able from this video is astounding

[@coda4981]

I love how niche these get, keep it up :)

[@SP_Sour]

17:25 Yes, it was. 1:02:01 There actually is a detail I like about it (G&W side smash) that doesn't really get acknowledged (because it's extremely minor): it's made of 2 totally different frames from the game. Most of his attacks are either 1 pose that had minor animation in the original game (like down smash or Judge), or a new animation that's been modified to simply _resemble_ the original game (Fire, Oil Panic, up smash). But for side smash (and jab actually), they found 2 poses that just so happened to work well together and used them (1 for the windup frame, 1 for the hit animation). I really like that they did this and it actually makes it look a lot better than his old side smash animation, where he was just...swatting you with a stick. In the new one, it's obviously still limited animation, but the way the torch goes from being held behind his back to wielded forward gives it a much stronger sense of weight, which is fitting for how strong a move it is. Also, just wondering, why do you call the charge animation the "chamber?"

[@nacl4988]

Should made BowserJR Fsmash a drill into a PUNCH with the drills, Would fix the "Doesn't convey the sense of power", When you get punched by a 3ft Drill

[@Orchestrafanboy19]

37:10 I’m glad you pointed this out. Of course a Pit/Dark Pit main would notice this. I love that they have essentially 3 different shapes their blades can take. It’s so much detail in something that ultimately goes unnoticed during battle.

[@dbgr9875]

A lot of these animations seem a little worse to me when they're zoomed in so much, which really makes sense considering they were meant to be viewed so zoomed out. Kinda like pixel art, when you're making a little drawing it may be really hard to get it to look right, but when zoomed out it's fine

[@justinnzamora5366]

I will never get tired of seeing Bowser dropkick his opponent(s). I look forward to seeing more tier list videos from MockRock's channels.

[@Yee-Haw_Bird]

I think Fox's faster animation on his Fsmash is kind of intended to show it as the weaker of his smash attacks. Like compare it to his Upsmash and its night and day.

[@YounesLayachi]

1:10:55 in case you missed it, in Steve's presentation, Sakurai said the side smash is a direct reference to the sweep attack of the sword weapon in Minecraft's combat mechanics (sword is the only melee weapon that hits multiple enemies, and does so in an arc) And the pixelated arc is also directly from Minecraft

[@Player-jh4ko]

Yeah but it still doesn't negate the fact that it is still a generic swing of the sword. As MockRock said too, the different style of partical effects detriment with the more realistic smash one clashing with the Minecraft pixelated one doesn't look toi pretty.

[@absollnk]

I've never noticed that "pop" in Terry's fsmash before and I think it's barely perceptible in full speed, I think it should be much higher Also I love videos about the animation of this game

[@king_alloy]

Yeah we don't perceive it as a pop, but I do agree that you can tell something is a little off, it does feel like the momentum came a little out of nowhere even with the wind up being very good, and that is the likely suspect.

[@zachlap3020]

Palutena looks like she’s sneezing change my mind

[@Obsidianpunchbowl]

Gonna listen to this at work!

[@TheomanZero]

I think part of the problem with ROB's forward smash is that he doesn't plant his hands soon enough. The concept of the attack seems to be that he leans forward and anchors himself in place with his hands so that he can fire a stronger laser blast, but his hands come down at the same time he shoots, so it doesn't look like it's actually anchoring him.

[@ZeoLightning]

i think if sound design is part of the criteria. Hero needs another bump because Every hero's critical hit is the critical hit sound from there respective games. so Eleven has DQ11 Arisu has DQ3 Solo has DQ4's and eight has DQ8's its a distinct detail that makes a different in the alts

[@YounesLayachi]

*Arusu And when a hero hits another hero, the sound changes to match the receiver of the hit. So though combination, all 4 heros can do all 3 sounds :D

[@Leet-iz2fz]

7:45 I don't think that's the Fire Emblem crit sound effect. That's the hit sound effect Ike had on a number of moves in Smash 4. In Ultimate, they gave that sound effect to Marth and Roy's sweetspots and many of Chrom's attacks as well.

[@piwix1118]

5:05 mockrock out of context

[@1357musician]

Great concept for a video. I've never really looked closely at some of the animations in the game like this before. Just adds a whole new layer of appreciation for Smash Bros

[@protodot2051]

Something you missed for wolf, there's some mild screen shake even in whiff.

[@monlonkin1157]

For pac man, the colors match in order of which you typically use the most and the order they leave their "cell" in the original game(starting with red, then blue etc...)

[@doxazo5512]

I think how it looks slow, and frozen even more so, do matter because of one big thing: kill screens. How am fsmash looks on the typical frame of impact for a kill screen is massive because it has a big effect on how hype a moment is

[@JustAPrinnyDood]

Damn, Twilight Princess Link's Mortal Draw would've been a sick FSmash