Ness (SSBM)

Ness in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Universe	EarthBound
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Starter
Tier	F (23)

“	A psychic boy with a distinct midair jump.	”
—Description from Melee's manual.

Ness (ネス, Nesu) is a default character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Announced at E3 2001, he was originally going to be replaced by Lucas from Mother 3; the ultimate cancellation of the game for the Nintendo 64, however, caused Masahiro Sakurai to retain Ness.

He is currently ranked 23rd in the F tier. While still having powerful throws and a decent aerial game due to his double jump cancel, Ness has a poor approach on the ground and in the air due to significant range issues in most of his attacks; his recovery is also easy to intercept and edgeguard against, and he also has significant trouble KOing opponents, again owing to his poor range. As a result of these significant weaknesses, Ness has terrible matchups, with six unfavorable, one even (against Yoshi), and only three favorable (against Bowser, Kirby, and Pichu).

Attributes

Ness is an unusual blend of character archetypes; many of his attributes are unusual in comparison to other characters, such as his projectiles, his recovery and his midair jump. Ness has above average traction and a moderately low falling speed, giving him an average wavedash that is relatively quick.

Arguably Ness's greatest strength is his double jump cancel. By cancelling out of his midair jump with an aerial, Ness can quickly and efficiently use his multiple aerial attacks; as Ness's ground-based options are poor, his various aerial attacks can act as superior alternatives to them, with his neural and forward air attacks acting as potential combo starters and his back and up air attacks acting as potent KO moves. Furthermore, Ness has access to the unusual Yo-yo glitch, which can significantly increase his range and options when performed properly.

Ness also has some good KO options. On the ground, Ness's forward smash is very powerful, moderately fast, has a long, safe disjointed hitbox and has the ability to reflect some projectiles. Within the air, Ness's up and back air attacks are short-ranged, but very powerful, with the former acting as an excellent replacement for his weak up smash when DJCed and the latter powerfully semi-spiking opponents. Ness's back throw is one of the most powerful in the game, and it acts as among Ness's best KOing options. Ness's forward throw has poor knockback scaling; while this makes it weak at high percentages, this lowered knockback can set up combos. Ness's up and down throws similarly can also begin new combos, with the former easily comboing into his up air at some damage percentages.

Ness, however, suffers from among the worst ground-based approaches in the game, which, in turn, significantly increases his difficultly in KOing opponents. Ness's tilts have little range or knockback, with only his up tilt acting as a practical combo starter; furthermore, while Ness does have a decently-lengthed wavedash, his existing smash attacks are all too situational for use in wavesmashing. While his forward smash does contain a long and safe disjointed hitbox, Ness's up and down smashes have poor knockback, making them ineffective for KOing or starting combos. Ness's ground-based approach also suffers by his lack of an effective projectile; while Ness has three projectiles, none can be effectively used in all cases. PK Flash has long starting and ending lag, and it can only KO reliably after being charged for a long time; as a result, it can only be utilised as a situational edgeguard technique. PK Fire has multiple hits, but it is easy to DI out of, has high starting and ending lag, and has short reach for a projectile. PK Thunder is slightly more useful, as it is controllable and can be used for mindgames; however, it suffers from long windup and cooldown lag, and it also cannot be cancelled out of, making it very easy to punish. As a final flaw for Ness's ground-based approach, Ness's grab has the second shortest range in all of the game, thus making it difficult for him to KO opponents via his powerful throws; while his dash grab does slightly increase its range, it also features considerable lag if it whiffs.

Furthermore, despite the high potential power of his DJC, Ness's aerial approach is also below-average. Like his ground approach, it also suffers from the short range in many of his attacks, and against opponents with particularly good spacing games, like Marth, Ness can easily and quickly be overwhelmed in his attempts to approach opponents. As two of Ness's best finishers are aerial based attacks, KOing in the air requires a good read in order to potentially pull off a DJCed aerial. As Ness has a high short hop and a low falling speed, he also has a very poor SHFFL.

Outside of his poor approach, Ness also suffers from a flawed recovery. Ness has the second highest midair jump in the game (second to only Yoshi) and his midair jump has unusual properties in its trajectory; PK Thunder 2 also grants a rather long distance, with a moderately large sweetspot and a long period of invincibility frames. Despite these benefits, however, Ness still has a very predictable and inflexible recovery, in spite of its long length. In the process of having to start PK Thunder 2, characters with good recoveries (such as Jigglypuff or Samus) can merely jump into the projectile and take negligible knockback and damage, immediately sending Ness into a state of helplessness. Projectiles such as Link's Boomerangs and the Ice Climbers' Ice Shot can easily disrupt the projectile as well, and in these cases, damage is not even inflicted to the opponent. PK Thunder 2 also has significant angling issues, and it can easily curve under lips of stages, most notably on Battlefield. Additionally, should Ness end up parallel to the ground while using the attack, the ending lag can easily be abused and punished. Finally, its linear nature can make it easy to read and edgeguard for many characters, despite the invincibility frames found within it; attacks like Mario's Cape or Link's Spin Attack can easily intercept the attack as Ness charges to the stage.

Changes from Smash 64 to Melee

Like other characters, Ness received a combination of buffs and nerfs in Melee. Ness's nerfs, however, slightly counter the various buffs he received, with his nerfs impairing his already-poor recovery, and significantly reducing his KO options. As a result, Ness has a slightly lower tier placing in Melee; initially placing in the low tier of Smash 64, Ness is currently bottom tiered in Melee, and he is not regarded as tournament viable.

• His forward smash now has longer reach and is faster.
• Both dash and forward aerial attacks now have PK sparks added to them, making them more damaging.
• The PK Thunder projectile travels considerably faster, and has a tighter radius, making recovering easier.
• PSI Magnet is considerably faster, improving Ness's defensive game.
• Ness now has access to the Yo-yo glitch
• The PK Thunder projectile travels considerably faster, and has a tighter radius, making recovering easier.
  • However, PK Thunder 2 travels a shorter distance, damage when hitting an opponent is 5% less, and has considerably more end lag.
• Just like Yoshi, his DJC'd combos are slower and harder to perform, although those are still relatively powerful.
• His up and down smashes's ranges were shortened. Their overall power is considerably lower as well, and they can no longer feasibly KO opponents.
• Ness's down aerial, previously among the most feared, now has significantly more start-lag and has low knockback scaling.
• PK Fire travels a smaller distance, and it is now considerably easier to DI out of.
• Ness's PK Thunder 2 travels a shorter distance, damage when hitting an opponent is 5% less, and has a lot more end lag.
• The colour of PSI Magnet is now blue instead of green.
• Ness's grounded jump is no longer pyschokinetic in power.
• Ness has new voice samples.
• The crowd no longer cheers when Ness absorbs a projectile with PSI Magnet.
• He now has a new neutral special, PK Flash. PK Fire got moved to Ness's side special.

Moveset

For a gallery of Ness's hitboxes, see here.

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack- Ness punches forward, hooking the opponent. Deals 3%. If pressed twice more, Ness will punch forward, then kick. 2% punch, 4% kick.
• Dash attack- Ness uses PK Brainshock forward. Has three hits. Good, disjointed range. Sends opponent in random directions. This attack is a semi-spike if this attack sends opponent horizontally. 12%
• Forward tilt- Ness does a roundhouse kick forward. 11%
• Up tilt- Ness thrusts his hands upward, as if hitting a volley ball. 7%
• Down tilt- Ness thrusts his leg downward, then pivots his foot to hit the opponent. Can combo into itself by mashing A after the move is executed. 3%

Smash attacks

• Forward smash- Ness swings a bat forward. If hit on the tip, there is more knockback and damage. Has high knockback and damage, but a little bit of start-up lag. Can reflect some projectiles. 32%
• Down smash- Ness swings his yo-yo backward then forward, in a trick that vaguely resembles a combination of the "Walk the Dog" and "Walk the Cat" yo-yo tricks. Has good range, speed and knockback, however, this attack is incapable of K.O.ing unless his opponents is at 180%. More powerful than the up smash in terms of knockback. 25%
• Up smash- Ness does a variation on the "Around the World" yo-yo trick, swinging his yo-yo above his head. Has good range, speed and knockback. Can be used to perform the powerful Yo-yo Glitch. Like his down smash, this attack is incapable of K.O.ing unless his opponents is at 200%. 22%

Other attacks

• Ledge attack- Somersaults onto the stage, both feet stuck out. 8% damage
• 100% ledge attack- Picks himself up and kicks. 10% damage
• Floor attack- Punches on both sides whilst getting up. 6% damage.

Aerial attacks

Ness's aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial- Ness spins around, arms stretched out. Has average knockback, but is very fast with high combo potential. Poor range. 11%
• Forward aerial- Ness uses PK Brainshock forward. Is a fast, multi-hitting move, with good range but low knockback. Generally used as a spacing move. 15%
• Back aerial- Ness thrusts his feet backward. If sweetspotted, it electrifies the opponent and semi-spikes them with above-average power. Is fast with very high knockback albeit poor range. The fourth most powerful back aerial in Melee. 16%
• Up aerial- Ness headbutts upward. Has amazing juggling potential and a good KO move with very low lag, but poor range. Some professional Ness players use it as part of a DJC as an alternative to Ness's poor up smash. Unlike Smash 64, Ness`s head is no longer intangible. 13%
• Down aerial-A Stomp attack. Ness kicks downward. Is a meteor smash, and has a decent amount of start-up lag. Great range, high knockback at 0% (most powerful meteor smash at 0% in Melee), but it also has very low knockback scaling, being unable to KO grounded opponents at even 200%, and is relatively easy to meteor cancel. It also has no IASA frames (being interrupted on the same frame as Mario's forward aerial, but Mario's seem slower compared to Ness's). 12%

Grabs and throws

• Pummel- Ness headbutts the opponent. 3%
• Forward throw- Ness throws the opponent forward. Very strong base knockback, but very low knockback scaling. 11%
• Back throw- Ness throws the opponent behind him. Has extremely low base knockback but very high knockback scaling. This is Ness's strongest throw and its one of the strongest back throw in the game, KOing reliably at 110 % and above. 11%
• Up throw- Ness throws the opponent upward. Can chain into some of his aerials. Decent knockback. 10%
• Down throw- Ness throws the opponent downward, and hits the enemy with PK Fire. Low knockback but allows a decent amount of followups, including being able to lead into an up aerial to KO. 8%

Special moves

Ness's special moves

Neutral special	PK Fire	PK Flash
Side special	—	PK Fire
Up special	PK Thunder
Down special	PSI Magnet

In Competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Notable players

See also: Category:Ness professionals (SSBM)

Active

•  Hungrybox
•  Simna ibn Sind
•  Vrud

Inactive

•  Mofo
•  Nessby

Tier placement and history

Ness was initially viewed as low-mid tier character in the metagame, with a peak of 15th place on the second tier list. Following this, however, Ness's standing on the tier list constantly fell, with most players noticing that his nerf from Super Smash Bros. hindered his ability to combo and safely approach foes, while his buffs did not address his extremely short range on many of his attacks or his linear, predictable recovery; this was especially noted in the earlier Smash 64 metagame, as Ness was initially viewed as top-tiered character.

On the current tier list, Ness places at 23rd, in the F tier, and he is considered non-viable for tournament play. Dedicated Ness players are rare in the current metagame, with most Ness players often using the character as a situational counterpick; Hungrybox only used Ness once in all of Apex 2013, in an attempt to counter Armada's Young Link, and he mostly used Jigglypuff for the rest of the tournament. Other players of Ness are semi-active and generally do not place very well with him, even with the powerful Yoyo glitch.

In single-player modes

In Classic Mode

Ness can appear in ordinary one-on-one matches, as an opponent or ally in team battles (paired up with either Mewtwo or Peach), as part of a multi character fight, or as an opponent in the metal fight. Ness appears on either Onett or Fourside when the latter is unlocked; when on a team with Mewtwo, he appears on Battlefield.

In Adventure Mode

Ness's appearance in the Adventure Mode is in Stage 9. In the stage, the player must fight against three computer players, each one being Ness, on Onett; in the fight, the only item that appears in Mr. Saturn. The player must defeat all three opponents within five minutes to continue.

In All-Star Mode

In All-Star Mode, Ness and his allies are fought on Onett.

In Event Matches

Ness is featured in the following event matches:

• Event 5: Spare Change: In this match, the player controls Ness against Captain Falcon in a Coin battle on Onett; in 80 seconds, the player must accumulate 200 coins before Captain Falcon does.
• Event 30: All-Star Match 3: Ness is the third opponent the player must fight in this series of staged battles. Their character battles him on the Onett stage, and the player's character has 2 stock while Ness has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other three characters with the overall time and life they have: Kirby, Pikachu and the Ice Climbers.
• Event 36: Space Travelers: As Ness, the player must defeat five opponents in a row: Samus, Kirby, Fox, Captain Falcon, and Falco. For the first three opponents, the fights are done on Fourside; after this, the player is then sent to Battlefield to fight against the last two.

Ending images

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  Classic Mode.

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  Adventure Mode.

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  All-Star Mode.

Trophies

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.

Game: EarthBound (06/95)

Smash Red

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.

Smash Blue

Ness's mind is his best weapon. PK Thunder is a PSI missile weapon that can be guided using the Control Stick, and if Ness hits himself with it, he turns into a living missile capable of doing massive damage. This move can also be used for recovery. PSI Magnet turns energy missile attacks into health; try out certain Pokémon for stamina replenishment.

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Alternate costumes

Ness's changeable clothing in Melee

Trivia

• Ness is one of 3 characters whose neutral special changed during his jump to Melee, the others being Link and Jigglypuff. In the original Super Smash Bros., his neutral special was PK Fire; from Melee onward, he now uses PK Flash.