Greninja (SSBU): Difference between revisions

{{cquote|''A ninja-like fighter that battles with moves like the Water Shuriken. Greninja can use a log for clever counterattacks, and this Pokémon can even stick to walls. During its Final Smash, it turns into Ash-Greninja...!?''|cite=[https://www.smashbros.com/en_US/blog/ Super Smash Blog]|source=[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site]]}}

'''Greninja''' ({{ja|ゲッコウガ|Gekkōga}}, ''Gekkouga'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. It was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Greninja is classified as fighter #50.

Greninja, true to being a ninja-themed character, has very strong mobility. However, unlike most characters who boast similar mobility (such as Zero Suit Samus or Sheik), Greninja boasts a surprising amount of KO options, good range on plenty of its attacks, and KO throws.

One of Greninja's most notable traits is its high mobility which compliments its grounded moveset. Greninja's dash attack comes out frame 7 and has very low endlag, as well as the ability to cross up on shields. Its angle also allows for many true follow ups and strings. Its neutral attack comes out on frame 3 making it a good grounded combo breaker. It can also lock, which gives Greninja access to potent punishes from opponents missing techs. Its down tilt is an excellent combo starter due to its low startup, ending lag and vertical launch angle. Greninja's up tilt is also a frame 9 disjointed hitbox that acts well as an anti-air. Its smash attacks are also reliable in their own right; its forward smash is quick for its range and power, down smash is an excellent punishment option for ledge regrabs, as well as sending at a low angle, and up smash is a potent combo finisher.

Greninja also has a very strong air game due to its aforementioned air speed, jump height. Greninja's aerials are reliable for multiple situations and all have low landing lag (except for down aerial, at 30 frames). Its neutral aerial is a decent low percent-combo starter due to it having incredibly low landing lag and good launch angle. It can also KO at high percentages. Its forward aerial acts as a combo finisher from his combo starters and can KO moderately early. Forward aerial's low landing lag and disjointed nature also makes it safe on shield when spaced correctly. Its up aerial is a great juggling option with low all-around lag and boasting good KO potential near the upper blast line, and its back aerial is a very fast offstage edgeguarding option. Down aerial can be used to return to the stage or perform surprise combos on hit.

Greninja's grab game is overall very effective, due to its grabs being among the longest ranges of any non-tether grab in the game. Its forward, up, and back throws can KO at high percentages. Down throw acts as a middle percent combo starter, as well as a strong DI mix up, especially at higher percentages at ledge as a 50/50 between DI in and out. Up throw acts as a versatile combo starter that can lead into juggle situations. Because of this, Greninja has plenty of options off of a grab, as not one of its throws could be considered useless.

Finally, Greninja's special moves are effective for various situations. Water Shuriken acts as a versatile zoning tool, as well as a high-percentage KO option when fully charged. At low-to-mid percents, due to hitting multiple times, Greninja can rush down its opponent and follow up with any aerial attack or an up smash. [[Shadow Sneak]] works as an effective recovery mix up, as well as a potent KO move from a good read. [[Hydro Pump]] is a good recovery move and can be used for gimping recoveries  due to having windbox properties. [[Substitute]] is a counterattack with the unique attribute of being able to be aimed in one of 8 different directions upon a successful counter. These angled follow ups allow for Greninja to gain pseudo-follow ups as well as KO earlier by picking the optimal angle in regards to stage positioning.

Like all characters, Greninja is flawed in many ways. Greninja's primary flaws are its inability to break out of disadvantage state and its lack of out of shield options. While not as bad as the previous game, Greninja still has difficulties escaping combos due to its aerials still having relatively high startup. This can sometimes be alleviated with its back or down aerials, but both are not very effective due to back aerial's almost entirely horizontal hitboxes and down aerial's landing lag. Another option is aerial water shuriken, which stalls Greninja in the air and can be used as a landing mix up, as well as hydro pump. Greninja's out of shield options are relatively weak as well. Though his standing grab was buffed by one frame of start up, he still lacks an out of shield option quicker than frame 10, other than jumping. This means that when Greninja is pinned down into shield, it lacks many options to punish its opponent effectively.

Altogether, Greninja's playstyle requires players to think like an actual ninja: utilizing running speed and fast attacks to rush down opponents, while saving the slower attacks for potential mixups, mindgames and surprise KO options. However, they must not play predictably due to its laggier, stronger blows.

Greninja has been greatly buffed from ''Smash 4'' to ''Ultimate''. As with all other characters in the game, its already quick mobility is faster like most characters, while its previously situational moves (such as dash attack, down smash and Water Shuriken) are much more versatile. Due to the game's universal changes to dash mechanics, Greninja can also further exploit its amazing ground mobility, allowing for easier setups into its combo starters, such as down tilt and dash attack. Furthermore, the reduced landing lag on Greninja's aerial attacks gives it an easier time landing, while the universal 3-frame jumpsquat improves Greninja's ground-to-air potential.

However, its biggest buffs were to its grab game, which saw an even faster standing grab, while its forward and back throws can now KO in addition to its up throw. As a result of receiving multiple buffs with relatively few nerfs, Greninja retains its status as a viable character in ''Ultimate'''s early meta with above average representation as of late thanks to {{Sm|Stroder}}, {{Sm|Lea}}, {{Sm|Jw}}, {{Sm|Somé}}, and {{Sm|iStudying}} and is considered as a high or even top tier character by many professional players.

*{{change|Greninja has altered animations for its [[sidestep]], [[roll]], and [[airdodge]] animations; it now disappears in a small whirlwind with leaves scattering, similarly to when Substitute is successful.}}

*{{change|Greninja [[weight|weighs]] less (94 → 88). This worsens its survivability but makes it less susceptible to combos.}}

*{{nerf|Greninja's down taunt has lower knockback and much higher ending lag; unlike other taunts, it is not interruptible (unless it's used during Shadow Sneak). This prevents it from KOing and makes Greninja more vulnerable while using it. However, due to how incredibly situational down taunt is, this is negligible in normal play.}}

**{{buff|Down tilt launches opponents at a more upward angle (70 → 79/77/75), improving its combo potential.}}

**{{nerf|Down tilt deals less damage (7% → 4%), and also has altered knockback (60 (base)/40 (scaling) → 30/110), narrowing its combo range into some moves.}}

***{{buff|However, it can now combo into up aerial at realistic percentages for a KO.}}

**{{nerf|Down aerial has more ending lag when it hits an opponent, hindering its combo potential and making it slightly less safe on shield.}}

**{{buff|Greninja no longer loses its [[double jump]] when it lands down aerial.}}

**{{buff|Back throw's animation is faster, making it harder to [[DI]] properly.}}

**{{change|Greninja now cloaks itself in a whirlwind before disappearing. It may also perform a forward kick to attack.}}

**{{buff|Forward Shadow Sneak launches at a lower angle, improving its combo potential.}}

**{{nerf|The shadow's eyes flash red just before release, making it easier to predict the attack.}}  

**{{buff|Greninja no longer loses its double jump if it is hit out of Hydro Pump.}}

**{{change|Greninja now turns into {{s|bulbapedia|Ash-Greninja}} during its [[Final Smash]].}}

**{{change|Greninja and its opponents are no longer silhouetted during the attack.}}

|neutraldesc=Two alternating palm thrusts followed by a double palm thrust that emits a small blast of water. If button mashed, it is instead followed by a series of knifehand strikes that emit blade-shaped blasts of water that concludes with an outward knifehand strike that emits a small blast of water. It can also be jab canceled, such as into forward tilt, down tilt and forward smash.

|dtiltdesc=Greninja does a downward hand sweep. It sends opponents at an upward angle, making it a versatile combo starter. Notably, it can confirm a KO into an up smash rather easily.

|dsmashdesc=Hits both sides with water kunai. Due to it sending opponents at an [[semi-spike]] angle and coming out on frame 10, it is a quick and effective way to set up an edge-guard situation.

|bairdesc=Kicks backwards three times. It is Greninja's fastest aerial attack, although it is also one of the weakest aerials of its kind. However, this makes it a useful combo tool in return.

|uairdesc=A corkscrew flying kick. One of Greninja's best combo and KO tools, as it can juggle and KO effectively due to its great jumping prowess.

|dairdesc=A diving double foot stomp. It acts as a [[stall-then-fall]] and bounces off opponents. The clean hit [[Meteor smash|meteor smashes]] opponents. The descent can be stalled by using Water Shuriken.

|grabdesc=Grabs with a whirlpool. While its standing grab is slow, it is among the longest-reaching grabs in the game, and its dash grab comes out quickly for its range.

|bthrowdesc=Greninja leans forward and flings the opponent backwards. Like forward throw, its decent knockback gives it good edgeguarding and KO potential at high percentages.

|uthrowdesc=Tosses the opponent upwards. One of Greninja's most useful throws, as it can combo into a up tilt, up aerial, up smash at low and medium percents and can even KO at later percents.

|dthrowdesc=Slams the opponent onto the ground. It can combo into a down tilt, forward tilt, and forward smash and a Shadow Sneak at low percentages.

|nsdesc=Uses Water Shuriken, which can be charged. Depending on how long the move is charged, the shuriken will be larger and do more damage, however the speed and distance will decrease as a result. At full charge, it hits multiple times and is a decent KOing option.

|dsdesc=Does a pose, if anyone hits it while posing, Greninja will temporarily disappear and get replaced by a wooden log or a Substitute doll then appear behind the opponent and strike them. It deviates noticeably from other counters, as the attack itself can be angled in an inputted direction and launching the opponent in that direction (with the down input meteor smashing opponents, which makes it a good punish against reckless edgeguarders).

|fsdesc=Turns into Ash-Greninja and attacks the opponent with a mat. If an opponent is caught in the mat, Greninja will send them up into the air and strike the opponent repeatedly in midair with its kunai, before slamming them down with a final hit.

*Emerges from a [[Poké Ball]], then performs a ninjutsu hand sign that emits a small burst of water from its hands.

*'''Up Taunt''': Stands upright, clasping its hands together before assuming a ninjutsu stance. The stance resembles one of its attack animations from the ''Pokémon'' series.

*'''Side Taunt''': Shakes head from side to side, causing its tongue to whip out in the same directions.  Particles of saliva fly off with each whip.

*'''Down Taunt''': While standing on one foot, Greninja holds out its hands, faces the screen, and summons small sprays of water. The sprays can do 1% or 2% damage and produce some knockback, though they're able to KO only at above 420%. A video showing the exact KO percentages at which each character can be KO'd can be found [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH7IDQ_8vic here]. Unlike the rest of Greninja's taunts, this one cannot be cancelled (unless Shadow Sneak is being charged before using it).

*Crosses arms over its body, then separates them with a flourish.

*Does a flip, and crosses its arms.

Greninja was one of the many fighters that fell under [[Dharkon]]'s control upon Galeem's first defeat, and it can be found in the [[Mysterious Dimension]] at the Dark Realm. It can be seen impeding the path, making it an obligatory unlock.

Greninja is later seen among several other fighters, making their last stand against Galeem and Dharkon. It also shows up in the bad ending where Galeem emerges victorious against Dharkon, witnessing Galeem engulf the world in light.

Greninja's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing [[Classic Mode]]. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Greninja in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in ''Ultimate''.

SSBUWebsiteGreninja4.jpg|Performing its neutral aerial with [[Leviathan]] on [[Midgar]].

SSBUWebsiteGreninja5.jpg|With its [[Substitute|Substitute Doll]] on [[Wuhu Island]] after [[tripping]].

*In the ''Pokémon'' series, Ash-Greninja is only obtainable as a male. The fact that Greninja transforms into Ash-Greninja for its [[Final Smash]], [[Secret Ninja Attack]], implies that Greninja is a male in ''Ultimate''.

*Greninja's new character portrait resembles its [[air dodge]] animation.

*Coincidentally, Greninja's fighter number, 50, is the same as the number of its [[mariowiki:Costume Mario|costume]] in ''Super Mario Maker''. It shares this distinction with {{SSBU|Inkling}}.

*Greninja appears slightly tilted in its [[damage meter]] compared to its character artwork. This distinction is shared with fellow ''Pokémon'' series character {{SSBU|Incineroar}}.