Jigglypuff (SSBU): Difference between revisions

Jigglypuff's main strength is its formidable air game. Excluding back aerial, all of its aerial attacks have lingering hitboxes and, in the case of down aerial, multiple hits. Their duration is the primary reason Jigglypuff is deceptively difficult to challenge in the air, as opponents will most likely collide within an attack's final frames if they attempt to challenge her moves. All of its aerials, aside from up aerial, also have enough range to be [[spacing|spaced]] effectively thanks to Jigglypuff's aerial mobility, allowing it to zone and [[approach]] opponents safely in the air. Each of Jigglypuff's aerials also have their own distinct strengths. Neutral aerial is its fastest aerial and a fairly strong [[sex kick]], even when stale, and can easily [[gimp]] poor recoveries due to its late hitbox being sufficiently strong enough to do so. Due to its speed and power, it also works as a good [[out of shield]] or approach option, and its long duration allows it to break combos quite effectively. Forward aerial has the second-weakest knockback of Jigglypuff's aerials, but this grants it good combo potential in return. It can easily force opponents off-stage, and is the main component of the [[wall of pain]] technique: once an opponent is launched off-stage, Jigglypuff can follow up with several other forward aerials until they reach the blast zone, where Jigglypuff can finish the opponent off with another forward or a neutral aerial. Back aerial is Jigglypuff's strongest aerial, an effective KOing option, and has a remarkable range, given Jigglypuff's small size; similarly to {{SSBU|Marth}}, {{SSBU|Roy}}, {{SSBU|Lucina}}, and {{SSBU|Chrom}}, the move also has the interesting trait of completely turning Jigglypuff around after its use. It is also safe on shield due to its high damage output and above-average hitlag, though it is also Jigglypuff's slowest aerial, making it a bit predictable. Up aerial has a deceptively long-lasting hitbox, which can be problematic for any opponent that has issues dealing with [[juggling]], and it is also a situational finisher near the upper blast line that combos into most of her toolkit if used while landing. Lastly, down aerial can be used as a highly damaging out of shield or pressuring option, and has low ending lag. It can sometimes also work as an anti-juggling option against characters with slow aerial mobility or moves. As well, landing with it can lead into various other moves, especially up tilt and [[Rest]], which allows Jigglypuff to take stocks incredibly early.

Jigglypuff's unmatched floatiness, exceptional 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 if she has used her jumps, 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 infamously fearsome at edgeguarding: with proper spacing and good timing, it can gimp all but the farthest distanced recoveries without being put at risk; {{SSBU|Cloud}}, Chrom, {{SSBU|Ganondorf}}, {{SSBU|Dr. Mario}}, and {{SSBU|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 powerful 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. One of the best ways 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 early as 30%.

Up tilt can also combo into Rest on its own or after a landing down aerial, which can be used to rack up at least 30% and potentially KO as well (especially on platforms), but opponents may be launched too far away past low percentages. Lastly, retreating with down aerial can also work, but aside from being the hardest to perform, it is also the least likely to succeed. Other methods of safely using Rest involve [[crouching]], [[buffering]], a [[footstool jump]], a [[jab reset]], or interrupting an opposing neutral attack, though few characters are vulnerable to these methods, and they usually require impeccable timing. Platforms can be a saving grace when considering Rest, as they can lead into 0% KO confirms on certain characters and, if they are moving, can make it a bit harder to punish. For all its potential, however, Rest has extremely slow [[interruptibility]], making it very easy to punish if whiffed, though Jigglypuff can skip some of the move's ending lag if it is successfully landed.

However, Jigglypuff is held back by numerous weaknesses. The most detrimental is its survivability: Jigglypuff's stats result in it having among the worst endurance out of any character in the game. As a result, it can be knocked out as early as 30% with a sufficiently strong attack. Rage is an additional burden, since opponents can send it flying even earlier with it while Jigglypuff will generally not survive long enough to reap the benefits of rage itself. 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]] launches it upward with enough force to KO it even from the very bottom of [[Palutena's Temple]]. This makes shielding notably 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.

Furthermore, Jigglypuff has a very problematic ground game. While most of its ground moves are fast in proportion to their power, its lack of range and slow grounded approach prevent it from racking up large amounts of damage with the majority of said moves. This is worsened when considering the utility of its grounded attacks: neutral attack's incredible speed can lead into additional follow-ups, dash attack can KO at unusually low percentages, forward tilt is fast and highly damaging, up tilt is an effective combo tool and has considerable KO power to boot, and down tilt is a [[semi-spike]] with high base knockback that can easily gimp many recoveries. As for its smash attacks, forward smash has surprisingly high knockback scaling, while down smash has intangibility and the lowest launch angle of any other conventional semi-spike. Its grab game also has similar issues: while Jigglypuff has some of the fastest grabs in the game and a decently damaging set of throws, the former have very short range and the latter lack any follow-ups or KO potential, with its strongest throw, up throw, not being able to KO reliably even well beyond 200%. This also results in Jigglypuff being easily kept at bay by shields without the usage of Pound's high [[shield damage]].

Jigglypuff's approach, despite being good in the air, is overall predictable. Most of the time, Jigglypuff is forced to remain close to the opponent, read their option 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 and ineffective sourspots, despite its relatively low cooldown. Coupled with the overall short range on its attacks, it has notoriously difficult matchups against characters with large disjoints like {{SSBU|Ike}}, {{SSBU|Lucina}}, and {{SSBU|Shulk}}. Its polarizing mobility is also a noticeable flaw. Although it has among the best aerial games in ''Ultimate'', 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 versing speedy characters, such as {{SSBU|Fox}}.

Overall, Jigglypuff is an air-based glass cannon that can quickly rack up damage or KO opponents, but can be KOed in turn just as quickly. Its strengths are on par with its weaknesses, and while it has lower representation than most other characters due to the aforementioned weaknesses, it has received somewhat reasonable results from players such as {{Sm|Arika}} and {{Sm|BassMage}}.