Jigglypuff (SSB4): Difference between revisions

Jigglypuff is ranked 55th out of 55 on the [[tier list]], placing it at the very bottom of the the entire list, in the G tier. This is a slight drop from its already very low ranking in ''Brawl'' at 36th out of 38th, and its worst placement in the series. Jigglypuff retains its strong air game due to its high aerial mobility thanks to its very fast [[air speed]] and multiple [[midair jump]]s, as well as good [[juggling]] ability thanks to its fast and long-lasting aerial attacks. All of these attributes facilitate a strong [[edgeguarding]] potential, and allow it to perform its signature [[Wall of Pain]] technique, although not with quite the same potency, while its neutral and back aerials are potent KOing options, include a now-buffed [[Rest]].

However, Jigglypuff is strongly held back by its poor ground game, due to its poor mobility on the ground and short [[range]] on most of its attacks, including its grab. Furthermore, Jigglypuff has significant difficulty in KOing opponents, as it has few reliable KO moves, and a majority of them feature considerable amounts of lag that cause them to be unsafe in most scenarios. In addition, Jigglypuff is prone to air release combos from several characters within 10 frames that can either combo or kill. Its endurance is unarguably the worst in the game, as it is extremely floaty and possesses the lowest [[weight]] in the game, further exacerbated by the new [[rage]] mechanic and weaker [[shield]]s. It also risks dying if it breaks its shield.

Jigglypuff is considered non-viable for tournament play, though a number of players have made some impacts at tournaments, with {{Sm|LeeT}} notably placing 33rd at [[Shine 2016]] and 49th at [[CEO 2017]] while exclusively using Jigglypuff, and {{Sm|Captain L}} ranking with it as a co-main on the [[Panda Global Rankings|Panda Global Rankings v5]]. Despite this, Jigglypuff continues to have only a small playerbase, and it has notably failed to receive any [[buff]]s from [[update]]s in the game.

Jigglypuff's unmatched floatiness, very fast air speed, multiple jumps and strong air game give it a tremendous off-stage presence. Due to lacking a traditional [[recovery]] move, its recovery is fairly susceptible to gimping, though its other attributes make its recovery very effective regardless. Its fast air acceleration also allows it to disorient opponents that attempt to [[edgeguard]] it. With the aid of [[Pound]], it can also stall its recovery and protect its landing. Jigglypuff is fearsome at edgeguarding: with proper spacing and good timing, it can gimp all but the farthest distanced recoveries without being put at risk; {{SSB4|Cloud}}, {{SSB4|Ness}}, {{SSB4|Ganondorf}}, {{SSB4|Dr. Mario}} and {{SSB4|Little Mac}} are perhaps the most susceptible to its edgeguarding, as their recoveries lack both speed and resilience, while the latter four performances against Jigglypuff revolve around maintaining stage control most of the time.

Finally, Jigglypuff has a trump card in [[Rest]], its signature move; it has very high vertical knockback at all percentages, to the point where it can reliably KO any character at 70%, but KOs most characters at as early as 50%. It hits on frame 2 with a [[flower]] effect and has full [[intangibility]] until Jigglypuff closes its eyes. In addition to being an incredible [[punishment]] option, the threat of Rest forces opponents to be very careful when using laggy moves, especially due to Jigglypuff's ability to perform an occasionally situational true combo into it. The easiest way to confirm a Rest is with forward aerial: hitting with the move's final frames will lead into an unavoidable Rest, which becomes even more potent if used in the air or with high [[rage]]. Depending on the opponent's falling speed, a jump may be necessary to reach them. Another reliable way to confirm one is by landing with up aerial: should Jigglypuff land immediately after hitting the opponent, Rest can be landed without fail. This combo works optimally on platforms due to its limited percentage range and its ability to KO as low as 35%.

However, Jigglypuff is held back by numerous weaknesses, which are severe enough to almost outweigh its strengths. The most detrimental is its survivability: Jigglypuff's stats result in it having the shortest endurance in the game. As a result, it can be knocked out as early as 35% with a sufficiently strong attack. The introduction of rage is an additional burden, since opponents can send it flying even earlier, in some instances a combo being all it takes for Jigglypuff to be KO'd even at 0%. These drawbacks force Jigglypuff to play extremely cautiously, as any damage taken can prove dangerous in the long run. Adding insult to injury, Jigglypuff's [[shield jump]] has enough force to KO it even from the very bottom of [[Palutena's Temple]]. This makes shielding very risky at low percentages, as the possibly survivable punishes normally received after a shield break are replaced by a guaranteed KO that can only be stopped by a ceiling.  

Jigglypuff's approach, despite being good in the air, is overall predictable. Most of the time, Jigglypuff might have to be close to the opponent, read its reaction in order to approach, or bait it in order to make its move. Its aerial moves are not good for approaching from a long distance as they are unsafe on shield when late, and its dash attack is terrible at doing so due to its long duration, despite its low cooldown. Coupled with the overall short range on its attacks, it is at a big disadvantage against characters with large disjoints like {{SSB4|Marth}}, {{SSB4|Shulk}}, and Cloud. Its polarizing mobility is also a noticeable flaw. Although it has among the best aerial games in ''SSB4'', its ground movement is one of the worst, as it does not efficiently give Jigglypuff the chance to traverse across the ground quickly like most other [[Weight|lightweight]] characters can, and in turn makes it very troubling on the offensive side of battle should it be going against speedy characters, such as {{SSB4|Sonic}}.

Overall, Jigglypuff can quickly rack up damage or KO opponents, but can be KO'd just as quickly. Despite this, characters like Ganondorf are also prominent in these areas to a much bigger extent. As a result of its very risky playstyle and mechanics as well as its punish game compared to other characters, its popularity in competitive play remains poor, as it has notoriously low tournament representation and almost no tournament results in singles at high levels of play. Even so, Jigglypuff has already received better representation and results than in ''Brawl'', as it has more dedicated players like {{Sm|CrazieCuban}}, {{Sm|Speclar}}, {{Sm|LeeT}}, {{Sm|MASTER PUFFY}}, {{Sm|RDR7}}, and {{Sm|Serynder}}, who have performed decently within their regions. It should also be noted that Jigglypuff fares much better in [[doubles]] play, as its combination of evasiveness and strength are well-suited to this environment, courtesy of a teammate's attacks giving Jigglypuff many new options.

Jigglypuff is, for the most part, adversely affected by universal gameplay changes. The removal of [[edge-hogging]] gives it a much harder time edgeguarding opponents, and while a number of characters have had their recoveries buffed, Jigglypuff's recovery was overall nerfed, as [[Pound]] grants less momentum than before, only marginally increasing its recovery distance when executed frame-perfectly, while simultaneously slowing it down significantly. Furthermore, Jigglypuff's jumps are marginally lower now (due to its higher gravity), and Rollout is now unsafe as a recovery option as Jigglypuff can no longer move left and right while falling after hitting an opponent with it. The addition of [[rage]] hinders its already poor endurance, and it usually cannot survive long enough to make effective use of the mechanic. The changes to [[shield]] mechanics further compound its frailty, as Jigglypuff's unusual shield jump is now a greater liability than in ''Brawl''. However the weakening of shields also allows Pound to break shields more easily, which coupled with the increased strength of [[Rest]], improves Jigglypuff's offensive capabilities somewhat. While Jigglypuff benefits from the drastic changes to [[hitstun]], as it is now able to perform true combos with its aerials again, its nerfed air game counterbalances this issue: its up, down and back aerials (particularly the latter) have increased lag. Its forward aerial, a staple move in previous games, deals less damage and less knockback, making it significantly less useful than before removing one of Jigglypuff's faster and safer KO options, while its lower short hop removes its notable ability to use two aerials in one short hop. Due to this, a down aerial no longer auto-cancels from a short hop, nerfing its approach. Its ground game was also weakened, as it no longer has access to [[DACUS]] and its smash attacks now deal less damage and knockback, with the reduction in ending lag for its down and up smashes and its faster dashing speed failing to compensate for this well enough. Because of these changes, its KOing ability is much worse, and even with the changes to hitstun allowing for some hit confirms into Rest, it still has difficulty landing said move and some of the setups Jigglypuff previously had into Rest (including down aerial and a jab lock) are either much more difficult and situational in the former's case or in the latter's case, no longer possible at all. In general, Jigglypuff's locking options are far worse due to alterations to its previous main locking moves. As a result, Jigglypuff's remaining locking options either stop working before rest can KO or in down smash's case; it is too laggy and sends opponents too far away and the new three hit lock limit naturally hinders Jigglypuff's damage racking potential after locking an opponent.

Even so, these buffs do not compensate at all for the large nerfs it has received including its worse damage output and its worse aerial game and the changes to the game's mechanics did not help Jigglypuff that much. As a result, Jigglypuff remains an extremely poor character and is an easy contender for the worst in the game. The majority of the ''Brawl'' cast had benefited from ''Smash 4''{{'}}s mechanics far more than Jigglypuff did and a fair amount of ''Brawl''{{'}}s weaker characters including most of Jigglypuff's fellow bottom-tier characters, such as {{SSB4|Mario}} and {{SSB4|Captain Falcon}} had been buffed both directly and indirectly. Lastly, Jigglypuff does not really benefit from a slightly more favorable matchup spread as while certain dominant characters from ''Brawl'', such as {{SSBB|Meta Knight}}, have been considerably nerfed, they still have clear strengths that Jigglypuff either lacks or said strengths being counterbalanced by Jigglypuff's weaknesses, allowing said characters to overcome Jigglypuff.  

While several poorly regarded characters like {{SSB4|Charizard}}, {{SSB4|Ganondorf}} and {{SSB4|Zelda}} have received buffs over game updates, Jigglypuff did not receive any improvements whatsoever and newer updates had introduced characters such as {{SSB4|Bayonetta}} who gave Jigglypuff even more trouble. As such, its standing relative to the cast is worse than in ''Brawl'' and it only got worse over time due to the aforementioned reasons, and it once again lacks viability in competitive play, though its overall potency compared to ''Brawl'' is somewhat debatable due to the more polarized character balance in the former game.