Jigglypuff (SSBM)/Down special

This article is about the hitbox visualization in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For the move itself, see Rest.

Overview[edit]

Rest's hitbox duration

A closeup of the hitbox, on the first frame.

Jigglypuff walking up to Sheik and using Rest.

The epitome of high-risk high-reward moves, Rest, at a cursory glance, seems to be completely worthless: upon activation, it puts Jigglypuff to sleep for a grand total of 4 seconds, leaving the Jigglypuff completely unable to act and open to whatever move the opponent wishes to use. Any viewing of competitive Jigglypuff matches, however, will change that opinion rapidly: on the very first frame of the move, and only the first, there is a tiny hitbox (about the size of its eye) in the center of its body, which does incredible damage and extreme knockback, KOing reliably at percentages as low as 25% and even being able to KO at 0% in specific circumstances. This makes it one of the most powerful moves in the game; surprisingly, such power does not sacrifice versatility or come at the cost of extreme start-up, unlike other moves of its caliber, such as Ganondorf's up tilt, as it can be comboed into with a variety of moves, such as up throw, up tilt, or up aerial. Against fastfallers such as Fox, Falco, and Captain Falcon, an up throw can combo into Rest easily, especially at low percentages; at medium to high percentages, an up aerial can be used to ensure that the Rest lands. This is called the space animal slayer (also known as the "Hunger Strike," named after the professional Jigglypuff player Hungrybox). A variant of this technique involves using platforms to help land the Rest; an up throw can be used to get an opponent on top of a platform and Rest can be used after that to punish their tech option. Up aerials can be used to cause the opponent to miss their tech, making landing the Rest even easier. Rest is also an extremely potent followup to a jab reset, which is often set up using a combination of back aerials, up aerials, and Pound. Other less reliable moves that can knock the opponent down to set it up include strong neutral aerial at moderate percentages (especially if autocancelled), and a down throw on fastfallers at low percentages. Overall, Rest is single-handedly responsible for ensuring Jigglypuff's status as a high-tier character, and would be at its strongest in Melee.

However, this extreme power and plethora of setups comes with a massive cost: Rest has by far the most ending lag of any move in the game, leaving Jigglypuff utterly vulnerable and helpless for a little over 3.7 seconds. If the move doesn't hit Jigglypuff's opponent during its single active frame, said opponent will be able to set up a punish such as a fully-changed smash attack or other power move that is otherwise too slow to connect in 90% of situations; in fact, even if the opponent is hit, there is a decent chance they'll be able to punish Jigglypuff regardless, whether because they respawn faster than it takes for the move to recover or simply because they're able to make it back to stage quick enough from a failed KO. This makes it one of the few instances in all of Melee where DIing to the side to avoid a Star KO, in the process ensuring the stock loss, is the optimum choice. The move's extreme lag also makes it a guaranteed self-destruct if used with no ground below and no teammates are around to slap Jigglypuff awake; as a result successfully connecting with a midair Rest is considered flashy, especially if it ends a match.

Rest includes 26 frames of intangibility at the start of the move. However, it is never worth using the move for the purpose of dodging an attack, and in fact hurts Jigglypuff by preventing it from being hit and woken up too early.