Editing Ness

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|name        = Ness

Official papier mâché model of Ness from ''{{s|wikibound|Mother 2}}''.

'''Ness''' ({{ja|ネス|Nesu}}, ''Ness'') is the main character of the cult classic SNES RPG ''{{b|EarthBound|game}}'', the most successful game in the [[EarthBound (universe)|''Mother''/''EarthBound'']] franchise. As a member of the "[[Fighter#"Perfect-attendance crew"|perfect-attendance crew]]", Ness has been featured as a playable character throughout the entire ''{{b|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' series. He appears as the sole fighter of both the game and the series in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''. He appears in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' alongside fellow ''EarthBound'' fighter [[Lucas]], who hails from ''[[Mother 3]]''. In all five games, Makiko Ōmoto voices Ness in English with a false American accent.

Although capable of wielding several types of weapons, such as {{s|wikibound|slingshot}}s and {{s|wikibound|yo-yo}}s, Ness's signature weapon is a {{s|wikibound|baseball bat}}. Ness's PSI powers include [[PK Flash]], PSI Rockin, {{s|wikibound|Lifeup}}, and a variety of status moves. Several PSI techniques used by Paula and Poo ([[PK Fire]], [[PK Thunder]], [[PSI Magnet]], and [[PK Starstorm]]) would be borrowed by Ness for combat in the series.

Five years after the release of ''EarthBound'', Ness would make an unexpected appearance in ''Super Smash Bros.'' and continue to be playable in the series, carrying his legacy. Ness's appearances in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series have considerably boosted his public image. His appearance in the very first ''Super Smash Bros.'' took fans by surprise, but his inclusion was massively applauded; thus, he's been in every ''Smash'' installment since. Through the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, Ness became more or less a mainstream character in gaming culture rather than remaining a curious cult character of Nintendo's '90s days who would be known only to the highly devoted Nintendo fandom.

Ness was a bit of surprise addition to the roster for the original ''Super Smash Bros.'' Many players had never expected such an obscure character to turn up in the game, which seems to be reflected in-game; he is a secret character, unlocked by completing the 1P Game on a difficulty of Normal or higher, using three lives or less and no continues. Strangely, none of Ness's special moves are his own; his special attacks, the [[PSI Magnet]], [[PK Fire]], and [[PK Thunder]], (down special, neutral special, and up special, respectively), were originally used by one of his party allies, Paula in ''{{b|EarthBound|game}}''. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is offered in the sequel to this game, ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', which states that Paula may have taught him these techniques. Ness is ranked 10th out of 12 on the current [[tier list]].

:''Ness was a seemingly-average kid from [[Onett]], but in truth, he was destined for much more. When a strange meteorite landed near his hometown, the little boy with psychic powers set out to save the world. Little has been said of Ness' character, and much remains hidden.''

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[[File:Ness SSBM.jpg|thumb|200px|Ness as he appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''.]]

During the development of ''Melee'', Sakurai was going to remove Ness from the roster and include [[Lucas]] instead, despite ''Mother 3'' (Lucas' debut game) being unreleased at the time. However, due to ''Mother 3''{{'}}s release on the Nintendo 64 getting cancelled, Ness got to stay in the game.

As a playable character, Ness has three trophies - a normal trophy won beating the {{SSBM|Classic Mode}} with Ness on any difficulty, and "Smash Red" and "Smash Blue" trophies are acquired by beating the Adventure and All-Star modes, respectively.

|name=Ness

|image=Ness Trophy Melee.png

|desc=Ness is a young boy who's mastered the psychic power known as PSI. Ness was living a normal life in the suburbs of Onett until a meteor crashed into a nearby mountain and sent him on a wild adventure. Believing in the ultimate powers of wisdom, courage, and friendship, Ness proves that some heroes come in small packages.

{{Trophy

|name=Ness

|image=Ness Trophy (Smash).png

|mode=Adventure

|desc=The key to mastering Ness is controlling his unique midair jump, which makes up for what he lacks in speed. His PK Flash attack may seem weak at first glance, but it grows more powerful the longer you hold down the B Button. To do a lot of damage with PK Fire, try to burn your opponent as many times as possible.

|gamelist=:B: PK Flash

:Smash B: PK Fire

{{Trophy

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[[File:Ness SSBB.jpg|thumb|200px|Ness as he appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''.]]

Ness returns as an unlockable fighter in ''Brawl'' after a brief stint as a starter character in ''Melee''. Ness was officially revealed to be a playable character in ''Brawl'' on February 1st, 2008, the day after ''Brawl'' came out in Japan.

Ness is ranked 26th on the [[tier list]] in D tier, being [[buff]]ed from ''Melee'', with a general increase in the power and speed of his attacks and a vastly superior grab. However, he gained a major flaw in the additional 10 frames of lag he gets when grab released, making him very vulnerable to [[grab release]] combos, most infamously the [[Zero-to-death combo|zero-to-death]] grab releases from {{SSBB|Marth}} and {{SSBB|Donkey Kong}}.

{{Trophy

|name=Ness

|image=Ness - Brawl Trophy.png

|desc=An average boy whose life changed when he found a meteor and an alien on a nearby mountain. The alien warned him of a future threat, and adventure ensued. He can use psychic energy known as PSI and also wields a bat and yo-yo. This brave youth gives his all to defeat the evil Giygas.

|gamelist-ntsc={{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=EarthBound|console2=N64|game2=Super Smash Bros.}}

|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=EarthBound|release1=Japan and US Only|console2=N64|game2=Super Smash Bros.}}

}}

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! Fighter(s)

| {{StickerHead|Ness|Lucas}}

[[File:Ness SSB4.png|thumb|Ness as he appears in ''Super Smash Bros. 4''.]]

Ness ranks 28th out of 54 on the [[tier list]] (being tied with {{SSB4|Lucas}}). He has been heavily buffed from his ''Brawl'' incarnation, with not only his extra grab release frames removed, but also the general changes brought about by ''SSB4'', such as the removal of [[hitstun]] cancelling and [[edge-hogging]], proving beneficial to him as well, as now he possesses an efficient and strong aerial combo game, and he can more easily recover with PK Thunder, since he can grab hold of an edge regardless of whether or not an opponent is hanging from it. Slamming into a wall during [[PK Thunder 2]] no longer leaves Ness immediately helpless, as he is now capable of initiating PK Thunder a second time, and PK Thunder's projectile now goes through opponents until its "tail" leaves Ness' body, improving his overall recovery further. Yet, his reliance on using PK Thunder to recover is still susceptible to being intercepted and foiled, especially by newcomers {{SSB4|Rosalina}} and {{SSB4|Villager}}. Nonetheless, as a result of his vast improvement from the three previous games, Ness has gained decent results in tournaments.

{{Main|List of SSB4 trophies (EarthBound series)}}

|desc-3ds-ntsc=Hailing from Onett, a small town in Eagleland, this young boy's ordinary looks hide his psychic powers. Ness fought against the evil Giygas in EarthBound, and in Smash Bros. he unleashes some of the same PSI moves. Watch out for PK Thunder, a guided attack that can also launch Ness like a rocket!

|desc-wiiu-ntsc=Hailing from Onett, a small town in Eagleland, this young boy sports ordinary looks that hide his psychic powers. Ness fought against the evil Giygas in EarthBound, and in Smash Bros. he unleashes some of the same PSI moves. Watch out for PK Thunder, a guided attack that can also launch Ness like a rocket!

|desc-pal=From Onett in Eagleland comes this young lad. He may not look like much, but he has powerful psychic abilities, and they really come in handy in EarthBound. They come in handy in this game, too. Did you know you can control his PK Thunder bolt? Aim it at Ness himself to send him flying, absolutely clobbering anyone in his path!

|gamelist-ntsc={{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=EarthBound|release1=06/1995}}

|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|console1=SFC|game1=EarthBound|release1=1994 (JP)|console2=GBA|game2={{iw|wikibound|Mother 1+2}}|release2=2003 (JP)}}

}}

|name=Ness (Alt.)

|image-3ds=NessAltTrophy3DS.png

|image-wiiu=NessAltTrophyWiiU.png

|desc-3ds-ntsc=Ness may have psychic powers, but that doesn't mean he shies away from getting physical. His side smash packs a real punch if you hit enemies with the end of his bat, and it can even deflect projectiles! His up and down smashes also have a lot of range—Ness can land his strikes with ease!

|desc-wiiu-ntsc=Ness may have psychic powers, but that doesn't mean he shies away from getting physical. His side smash packs a real punch if you hit enemies with the end of his bat, and it can even deflect projectiles! His up and down smashes also have a lot of range—try giving them a spin!

|desc-pal=Ness may have psychic powers, but that doesn't mean he shies away from getting physical. His side smash packs a real punch if you hit enemies with the end of his bat, and it can even reflect projectiles! His up and down smashes also have a lot of range, meaning when you play as Ness, it's always easy to land hits on your foes!

|gamelist-ntsc={{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=EarthBound|release1=06/1995}}

Overall, Ness has achieved some very positive tournament results in the early metagame of ''Ultimate'', with many professional players such as [[ESAM]], [[Marss]], and [[Void]] considering him to be a high tier character. Despite this, however, he is currently ranked as a upper mid-tier character in the B+ tier at the 40th place of 82 on the current tier list, although it is currently his highest placement in the series.

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*Starting in ''Melee'', the texture on Ness' yo-yo says the release year, with ''Melee''{{'}}s saying "HALLAB NINTENDO 2001 DOLPHIN LOOP". From ''Brawl'' onward, this was changed to "SUPER NINTENDO (year) MOTHER", with year referring to the corresponding year the respective ''Smash'' game was released; 2008 for ''Brawl'', 2014 for ''SSB4'' and 2018 for ''Ultimate''.

*The "PK" (standing for "Psychokinesis") prefix in most of Ness's (as well as Lucas's) special moves originates from ''EarthBound Beginnings'', where it is used to denote PSI moves that directly inflict damage on an enemy. Moves that affect healing and PSI Point (PP) restoration instead start with "PSI", such as [[PSI Magnet]]. In the American localization for ''Earthbound'', however, translators changed this naming convention and all offensive moves start with "PSI" rather than "PK". Therefore, the names "PK Flash" and "PK Starstorm" (which did not appear in ''Earthbound Beginnings'') are actually different from what those moves are named in their only official English-language games from the ''Mother''/''Earthbound'' series.  

*Ness was considered being replaced by [[Lucas]] in ''Melee'', and [[Jigglypuff]] was considered to be cut in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'',<ref>http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/08/17/sakuraibrawlquestions/</ref> making them the only known members of the "Original 12" that were considered being cut at certain points in the development of subsequent games in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series.

*Ness, Captain Falcon and [[Terry Bogard]] are the only characters to be voiced by Japanese actors and speak English in all language tracks.

*Ness, [[Lucas]], [[Min Min]], and [[Kazuya]] are the only characters to have a [[Reflection|reflector]] outside of [[special move]]s. Coincidentally, all (except Kazuya's) are a [[smash attack]].