Editing Ness (SSB4)

{{disambig2|Ness's appearance in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''|the character in other contexts|Ness}}

|name         = Ness

|image       = [[File:Ness SSB4.png|250px|Ness]]

|game         = SSB4

|ssbgame1     = SSB

|ssbgame2     = SSBM

|ssbgame3     = SSBB

'''Ness''' ({{ja|ネス|Nesu}}, ''Ness'') returns as a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. Ness was officially confirmed on October 3rd, 2014, alongside {{SSB4|Falco}} and {{SSB4|Wario}}, coinciding with the the North American and European release of [[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS]].

As in every previous ''Smash'' installation, Ness is voiced by Makiko Ohmoto, who recorded new voice clips for both versions of the game.

==How to unlock==

Ness is an unusual blend of character archetypes, being a short, projectile-heavy character with a lot of versatility with his moves. Ness' weight and falling speed are average, giving him no disadvantage with weight alone. He possesses three projectiles: [[PK Flash]], [[PK Fire]], and [[PK Thunder]]. While PK Flash is very powerful, it has little mobility, huge amounts of lag, and is generally only used as a situational edgeguard. PK Fire is fairly quick, possesses a good amount of range, and the projectile holds opponents in it when it hits them, allowing Ness free follow ups as long as he acts quick enough. PK Thunder is one of the more unique projectiles in the game. When used, the player will lose control of Ness and instead take control of a large thunder ball for a few seconds. PK Thunder can essentially be used to knock opponents towards Ness for follow ups or juggle opponents. The knockback it provides can also hit an opponent over the upper blast line, allowing it to be used as a very situational KO move as well, and it can allow him to use the powerful PK Thunder 2. His fourth special move, [[PSI Magnet]], provides a psychic shield that can heal him when hit with an energy based attack, however, it does contain a bit of starting and ending lag.

Ness' biggest strength is found in his superb aerial game. Four of Ness' five aerials are very strong and can be used to combo, space, and kill. Neutral aerial possesses very little starting and ending lag, and hits on both sides of Ness, making it a very useful out of shield option. His forward aerial has little lag, a large, disjointed hitbox, and traps opponents, essentially allowing it to chain into either itself or another move. It is a powerful spacing tool and very useful in approaching opponents. His up aerial can be used to combo at lower percents and KO reliably at higher percents. It possesses a large hitbox and little lag, allowing it to be of low risk to use. His back aerial is another reliable KO move that possesses low lag. His down aerial, while being unarguably his worst aerial due to its slow startup and its large ending lag, can still be useful as a situational edgeguarding option.

Ness' grab game is also very strong. While he has a short grab range, he can easily trap opponents with PK Fire in order to set up for a grab. Ness possesses one of the fastest pummels in the game, allowing him to deal a decent amount of damage before throwing. His down throw sets up for an aerial attack and can lead into a forward air at lower percents, or an up air at higher percents. Ness' infamous back throw is unarguably the best kill throw in the game; while it has very low base knockback, it has extremely high knockback scaling and is often regarded as his best KO option.

Ness isn't completely infallible, however. Ness possesses below average speed in both the ground and the air, making it hard for him to chase faster opponents. His ground game is also generally weak as he possesses weak and low range tilts. His smash attacks are also below average. While his up smash can be used as an out of shield option and his down smash as a situational edgeguard, both KO considerably later than his other KO options, and his forward smash, while very powerful, possesses high ending lag and is easily punishable if it misses. Ness's biggest flaw, however, is his recovery. While there have been various buffs to his recovery, it's still relatively easy to gimp for characters with multiple jumps, such as Jigglypuff, Kirby, and Meta Knight, or with moves that reflect or absorb, such as Rosalina, Fox, Villager and Pit.

Ness has also seen a mixture of buffs and nerfs through game patches. In 1.0.4, the damage of Ness's down throw was reduced, causing combos out of down throw to do less damage, and the ending lag of PK Thunder 2 was increased, making grounded landings with it easier to punish. In 1.0.8, the ending lag of PSI Magnet was significantly reduced, causing the move to be a much better option against projectiles with energy properties due to it now being harder to punish. In 1.1.0, the size of down aerial's meteor hitbox was made larger, making the meteor smash portion of the move slightly easier to hit, and PK Fire was given one more frame of endlag, causing the move to be very slightly easier to punish and for Ness have to wait a tiny bit longer in order to punish those caught in the fire pillar. However, these changes are small and negligible and have barely affected Ness, both positively and negatively, in competitive play.

Overall, Ness' strengths drastically outweigh his weaknesses and he is viewed as a very potent character in tournament play. He is believed to have advatageous matchups against most of the cast, Rosalina being the only character that counters him solidly.

Ness has been significantly buffed in the transition from ''Brawl'' to ''SSB4''. His 10 extra frame grab release animation, which was one of his most detrimental flaws, has been removed, and many of the other flaws he had have been addressed. Ness also greatly benefits from the general changes of ''SSB4'', as the new edge-stealing mechanic makes his recovery much harder to gimp, and the removal of hitstun cancelling allows him to combo with his moves much more efficiently. Overall, Ness is significantly better than he ever was in previous ''Super Smash Bros.'' games and he has also seen very strong tournament results as a result of his vast improvement.

*{{change|Ness has a brighter color palette, and he has lost the blushes on his cheeks and the purple hue in his eyes. He's also has slightly taller and thinner, with a smaller and more proportionate head, and a smaller backpack.}}

*{{change| Ness has become more expressive, like most other characters.}}

*{{change| Ness now lacks the partial yellow stripe that he had at the bottom of his shirt.}}

*{{change| All of Ness's electric attacks except for his Specials are now Magic Effects, so they no longer have the 1.5 freeze frames multiplier. They use a graphic effect similar to Lucas's attacks (forward aerial, up smash, etc.) instead of using the same graphic effect as his double jump.}}

*{{buff|Ness [[Dashing|dashes]] slightly faster (1.39 → 1.46265).}}

*{{buff|Ness [[Walking|walks]] slightly faster (0.86 → 0.8635).}}

*{{buff|Ness no longer has an extra 10 frames of lag from being grab released, bringing him in line with everyone else, and making him significantly less vulnerable to follow-ups.}}

*{{nerf|Jab combo deals 1% less damage (9% → 8%).}}

*{{nerf|Forward tilt does 2% less damage (11% → 9%).}}

*{{buff|Up tilt has more range.}}

*{{change|[[Up tilt]] changed to its ''SSB64'' animation.}}

*{{change|[[Up tilt]] Sweetspot is now a magic effect.}}

*{{nerf|Down tilt now has a sourspot at the end of Ness' foot that deals 2% less damage (4% → 2%).}}

*{{buff|Dash attack now has vertical knockback (80 degrees), as opposed to vertical and slightly behind Ness (100 degrees), making follow ups easier.}}

*{{change|Dash attack has more intense lighting effects.}}

*{{buff|Forward smash has much more knockback (50 base/62 growth → 70 base/67 growth).}}

*{{nerf|Forward smash deals less damage, and its reflector now has a limit, where if he tries to reflect a projectile that is too strong to reflect, Ness will gain a 5 second long ending lag.}}

*{{buff|Yo-yo smashes ([[up smash]] and [[down smash]]) now deal properly-increased damage when charged and are now stronger.}}

*{{nerf|Yo-yo smashes are charged while still in Ness's hand, removing the pre-charge hitbox.}}

*{{change|Yo-yo is colored green instead of yellow.}}

*{{buff|Up smash now has a small hitbox behind Ness that comes out on frame 6. While this new hitbox is considered a sourspot, dealing less damage and knockback, it is a buff as it puts out a hitbox earlier and covers his back during startup.}}

*{{nerf|Neutral aerial's hitbox is now shorter in duration.}}

*{{buff|Forward aerial's individual hits now chains into itself significantly better, and can now result in multiple forward aerials in a row, improving Ness's combo and damage capabilities.}}

*{{nerf|Forward aerial deals 4% less damage (11% → 7%).}}

*{{nerf|Forward aerial has much more landing lag (12 frames → 26 frames).}}

*{{nerf|Back aerial has moderately increased landing (12 frames → 17 frames).}}

*{{buff|Back aerial has more range.}}

*{{nerf|Up aerial has slightly more landing lag (12 frames → 14 frames).}}

*{{buff|Down aerial has more range.}}

*{{nerf|Down aerial sweet and sourspot have drastically decreased base knockback (90/90 → 20/30), the meteor smash is much harder to hit with and the autocancel window is now a massive 21 frames later in the animation. It is now unarguably his worst aerial.}}

*{{buff|Down aerial sourspot deals 1% more damage (9% → 10%).}}

*{{change|Down aerial has an extra spin in its animation.}}

*{{change|Down aerial uses the magic effect when hitbox connects.}}

*{{nerf|Pivot grab comes out slower.}}

*{{buff|Pivot grab's range is now has large and disjointed.}}

*{{buff|Pummel is faster.}}

*{{buff|Up throw's ending lag has been significantly decreased.}}

*{{buff|The removal of hitstun cancelling significantly benefits down throw, as he can now use it to set up into his aerials much more effectively.}}

*{{nerf|Down throw does less damage. (9% → 7%).}}

*{{change|Down throw has PSI graphics added to its fire graphics, akin to {{SSB4|Zelda}}'s down throw.}}

*{{buff|[[PK Flash]] travels faster. It travels even faster and gains even more distance if directed behind Ness. Turning around before using this move might prove useful, depending on prediction.}}

*{{change|PK Flash is a much darker green.}}

*{{buff|[[PK Fire]] travels slightly farther.}}

*{{change|When interrupted whilst starting up PK Fire, Ness stops reciting the attack's name.}}

*{{nerf|PK Fire now travels much farther back to Ness if [[reflected]] rather than petering out after traveling its set distance.}}

*{{nerf|[[PK Fire]] has 1 more frame of ending lag.}}

*{{change|PK Fire's effect after hitting an opponent produces darker colored flames and produces more smoke.}}

*{{change|PK Thunder and PSI Magnet are now light blue like in ''Melee''.}}

*{{buff|[[PK Thunder]] travels faster, has less cooldown, a larger hitbox, travels in a drastically tighter arc and goes through opponents until the tail disconnects from Ness, making him less susceptible to being [[gimp]]ed. [[PK Thunder 2]] is faster, and when Ness bounces off a wall while recovering with it, he can initiate PK Thunder again during the bounce.}}

*{{nerf|[[PK Thunder 2]] has increased ending lag.}}

*{{buff|[[PSI Magnet]] has significantly less ending lag, with Ness now being able to act out of it much quicker. It's also larger, increasing its range.}}

*{{nerf|PSI Magnet swirls projectiles around it, causing a slight delay until Ness can actually be healed. If Ness were to drop PSI Magnet and/or be launched, the absorbed projectiles may take even longer to reach him, but they will still heal him eventually.}}

*{{change|The swirling of captured attacks by PSI Magnet utterly nullifies even projectiles that would continue past Ness, including [[Thunder]] and [[Thoron]].}}

*{{change|[[PK Starstorm]] now fires a thin, aimable line of meteors from the top-center of the stage, similar to how [[Aura Storm]] functioned. This enables it to deal damage more reliably at the cost of having blind spots.}}

'''{{GameIcon|ssb4-3ds}} 1.0.4'''

*{{nerf|Ending lag of PK Thunder 2 is increased.}}

*{{nerf|Down throw damage reduced from 9% to 7%.}}

*{{bugfix|Fixed glitch where down throw does not do proper damage to Mr. Game and Watch.}}

'''{{GameIcon|ssb4}} 1.0.6'''

*{{change|Forward smash now makes a hit-sound when projectiles are reflected.}}

*{{change|Screen shakes more violently when down throw is used.}}

'''{{GameIcon|ssb4}} 1.0.8'''

*{{buff|Ending lag of [[PSI Magnet]] significantly reduced.}}

'''{{GameIcon|ssb4}} 1.1.0'''

*{{buff|Down aerial's meteor hitbox size increased (3.5u → 3.9u).}}

*{{nerf|[[PK Fire]] has 1 more frame of endlag.}}

|neutralname= 

|neutraldesc=Ness punches twice, then kicks.

|ftiltname= 

|ftiltdmg=9-10%

|ftiltdesc=Ness kicks with a foot forward. If angled, does 1% more damage and has slightly more knockback scaling.

|utiltname= 

|utiltdmg=5-7%

|utiltdesc=Ness pushes upward with both hands. Produces a PSI spark. His hands have a sourspot of 5% damage.

|dtiltname= 

|dtiltdmg=2-4%

|dtiltdesc=Ness swiftly kicks out in front of him. Extremely spammable. The tip of his foot has a 2% damage sourspot. Has a chance of making the opponent trip.  

|dashname= 

|dashdmg=4-7%, 2%, 4%

|dashdesc=Ness sends three PSI sparks out in front of him with the third spark knocking the opponent up into the air. The first spark will do 7% damage to aerial targets and 4% damage to opponents on the ground.

|fsmashname= 

|fsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|18}}-{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|22}}

|fsmashdesc=Ness swings his bat. There are three hitboxes on this move which do 18%, 20% and 22% uncharged, the strongest part being at the tip of his bat. It's one of the strongest forward smashes in the game when sweetspoted at the tip of the bat, but it has some start-up and ending lag. The bat itself will [[reflect]] incoming projectiles when he swings it. However, reflecting a projectile that is too strong to reflect can cause him to have a terrible 5 second endlag, making it incredibly unsafe if the opponent is nearby.

|usmashname= 

|usmashdesc=Ness sends his yo-yo forward and performs "around-the-world" over himself. The yo-yo will hit first in front of Ness for 9%, then swing in a circle, doing 13% for the rest of the move.

|dsmashname= 

|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|1}},{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|1}},{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|10}},{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|1}},{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|1}},{{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|10}}

|dsmashdesc=Ness sends his yo-yo backwards and "walks-the-cat" with it before pulling the yo-yo back. The yo-yo hits behind him first for two hits of 1%, then 10% and then in front of him for another two hits of 1%, and then 10%.

|nairname= 

|nairdmg=7-11%

|nairdesc=Ness spins diagonally in the air with his arms outstretched. If hit initially, the opponent suffers 11% damage. If hit later in the attack, 7% is dealt.

|fairname= 

|fairdmg=1%, 1%, 4%

|fairdesc=Ness sticks out his palms out, sending a stream of PSI sparks in front of him.

|bairname= 

|bairdmg=8-15%

|bairdesc=Ness kicks out backwards with both feet. If hit initially, the move does 15%, otherwise the damage is 8%.

|uairname= 

|uairdesc=Ness headbutts up into the air.

|dairname= 

|dairdmg=10-12%

|dairdesc=Ness pulls his legs to his body before stomping down into the air, producing a PSI spark. This attack can [[meteor smash]] in the first frame of the move, dealing 12%, and the sourspot dealing 10% damage. Somewhat laggy in the startup.

|grabname= 

|grabdesc=Grabs with both hands.

|pummelname= 

|pummeldesc=Ness quickly headbutts the opponent. Very fast.

|fthrowname= 

|fthrowdesc=Ness psychokinetically swings his opponent in a small circle in front of himself before sending them off forward.

|bthrowname= 

|bthrowdesc=Ness psychokinetically swings the opponent over his head before sending them off backwards, in a diagonally upwards motion. Has extremely low base knockback but very high knockback scaling, usually KO'ing at 125%.

|uthrowname= 

|uthrowdesc=Ness psychokinetically spins the opponent above his head before sending them up.

|dthrowname= 

|dthrowdmg=0.6% (hits 1-5), 4% (final hit)

|dthrowdesc=Ness throws his opponent onto the ground and scorches them with PK Fire. A good combo starter, the most noteable being down throw to forward air.

|edgedesc=Ness flips onto the stage and does a sweep kick.

|nsdefdmg=9% - 37%

|nsdefdesc=A sphere of green light appears above Ness. As the attack button is held, the sphere moves downwards and increases in power, until the attack button is released or until it is fully charged, it explodes.

|nsc1dmg=6% - 24%

|nsc1desc=The attack moves upward with minimal control. It has a larger hitbox at the cost of damage.

|nsc2dmg=10% - 19%

|nsc2desc=Inflicts less damage, but freezes opponents. Works like {{SSBB|Lucas}}'s neutral special, except with the same movement as PK Flash.

|ssdefdesc=Ness fires a yellow, lightning-bolt shaped projectile, that travels in a straight line until it hits an enemy or destructible portion of a stage, at which point it explodes into a gradually-fading pillar of fire.  

|ssc1dmg=2% (lightning), 3% - 5% (fire)

|ssc1desc=The lightning-bolt doesn't travel as far, but the flame pillar is stronger and it sticks around longer. Less combo potential. It has slightly slow ending lag.

|ssc2dmg=1% (lightning), 8% (fire)

|ssc2desc=Releases a single flame when it hits and knocks opponents farther. It will always travel horizontally even when used in the air, similar to {{SSBB|Lucas}}'s variant of PK Fire.

|usdefdesc=Ness creates a stream of lightning that can be aimed into opponents to deal damage with the head and stun with the tail. Aiming the head into Ness himself will launch him in a trajectory opposite to the side he was hit on, which is referred to as [[PK Thunder 2]]. PK Thunder 2 has invincibility frames during the first half of the move.

|usc1dmg=7% (PK Thunder), 1% (Thunder's tail), 1,5% (PK Thunder 2, each hit), 10% (PK Thunder 2, last hit)

|usc1desc=Functions identically to {{SSBB|Lucas}}'s counterpart, with tighter turning and both the projectile and Ness piercing enemies. Less damage.

|usc2desc=Slower yet larger PK Thunder. Both the projectile and Ness do more damage and knockback. However, the distance Ness moves with PK Thunder 2 is much shorter.

|dsdefdesc=Ness creates a purple energy field around him which allows him to absorb any energy-based projectile (Like Samus' Charge Shot). It can be held in order to use it repeatedly.

|dsc1desc=Ness draws opponents in, releasing an explosion that damages nearby foes when the move is released. It cannot absorb projectiles.  

|dsc2desc=Ness draws his Magnet in front of him, just like {{SSBB|Lucas}}'s version. It damages an opponent inside the magnet when the move is released.

|fsdesc=Ness summons stars to fall from the sky to annihilate his enemies. The comets descend in a straight line over Ness and can sweep the screen with directional inputs to the left and right.

===Taunts===

*'''Side Taunt''': Ness takes his bat out and points it in front of him.

*'''Down Taunt''': Ness releases a wave of PSI from his finger while shouting.

 

===Idle Poses===

*Looks around curiously.  

*Closes his eyes and places his fingers on his forehead, concentrating his PSI, and then points it forward.

 

===On-Screen Appearance===

Ness teleports on the screen using Teleport. He then shakes the ash off of his body.

===Victory Fanfare===

MotherUniverseTheme.ogg

==In [[Competitive play|Competitive Play]]==

*{{Flag|USA}} [[Smasher:SS (Arizona)|SS]]

==[[Alternate costume (SSB4)#Ness|Alternate costumes]]==

{|style="margin:1em auto 1em auto;text-align:center"

|-

|colspan=8|[[File:Ness Palette (SSB4).png|link=Palette swap (SSB4)#Ness]]

|-

|{{Head|Ness|g=SSB4|s=50px}}

|{{Head|Ness|g=SSB4|s=50px|cl=White}}

|{{Head|Ness|g=SSB4|s=50px|cl=Yellow}}

|{{Head|Ness|g=SSB4|s=50px|cl=Green}}

|{{Head|Ness|g=SSB4|s=50px|cl=Blue}}

|{{Head|Ness|g=SSB4|s=50px|cl=Black}}

|{{Head|Ness|g=SSB4|s=50px|cl=Cyan}}

|{{Head|Ness|g=SSB4|s=50px|cl=Purple}}

|}

==Trophy==

:'''Ness'''

::{{Flag|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!''

::{{Flag|pal}} ''From Onett in Eageland 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!''

{{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=[[EarthBound (game)|EarthBound]] -- 06/1995|console2=GBA|game2=[[wikibound:Mother 1+2|Mother 1+2]] -- 2003 (JP)}}

::{{Flag|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!''

::{{Flag|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 have a lot of range, meaning when you play as Ness, it's always easy to land hits on your foes!''

{{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=[[EarthBound (game)|EarthBound]] -- 06/1995|console2=GBA|game2=[[wikibound:Mother 1+2|Mother 1+2]] -- 2003 (JP)}}

 

:'''PK Starstorm'''

::''In EarthBound, this PSI ability belonged to Poo, the Crown Prince of Dalaam and one of Ness's friends. Ness must have learned it especially for Smash Bros.! The attack makes a shower of meteors fall onto the stage, damaging any foes it hits. While the attack's in progress, Ness is invincible and can adjust the meteors' trajectory.''

NessTrophy3DS.png|Classic (3DS)

NessAltTrophy3DS.png|Alt. (3DS)

NessTrophyWiiU.png|Classic (Wii U)

NessAltTrophyWiiU.png|Alt. (Wii U)

PKStarstormTrophyWiiU.png|[[PK Starstorm]]

==In [[Event Match]]es==

===Solo Events===

* '''[[All-Star Battle: Secret]]''': Ness is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are characters that have been unlockable in previous ''Super Smash Bros.'' games.

* '''[[It's Past Your Bedtime!]]''': As {{SSB4|Jigglypuff}}, the player must make Ness, {{SSB4|Bowser Jr.}} and {{SSB4|Toon Link}} fall asleep at the same time by using Sing.

* '''[[Playing Tricks]]''': Ness must bury two {{SSB4|Villager}}s at the same time with [[Pitfall]]s.

===Co-op Events===

* '''[[The Ultimate Battle]]''': Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

* '''[[Visiting Onett]]''': Ness and {{SSB4|Villager}} must defeat {{SSB4|Kirby}}, {{SSB4|Meta Knight}}, {{SSB4|Fox}}, {{SSB4|Falco}}, {{SSB4|Olimar}}, and {{SSB4|Rosalina & Luma}}.

Ness amiibo.png|Ness's [[amiibo]].

SSB4 - Ness Screen-6.jpg|Attacking {{SSB4|Sheik}}.

PKFlashSSBU.png|Using [[PK Flash]].

*Many of his alternate special moves are similar to {{SSB4|Lucas}}' special moves.

** Because Ness shouts the name of his neutral special move, he is the only character besides {{SSB4|Palutena}} to have a sound clip unique to a custom move (in this case, PK Freeze).

*Ness's [http://www.nintendo.com/amiibo/detail/wk1chb2jZhXmRJO8TJr3REaGMSrNHCOi amiibo description] on the North American [[amiibo]] website is based on his trophy description from ''Melee''.

*Ness's yo-yo in this game reads "SUPER NINTENDO 2014" and "MOTHER", in reference to his console of origin, ''SSB4''{{'}}s year of release, and his home series.

*Ness's custom special PK Freeze is one of only three custom specials in the game that have a preview images featuring a non-silhouetted character besides the user of the attack (alongside {{SSB4|Mega Man}}'s Ice Slasher and {{SSB4|Lucas}}'s PK Freeze). This is likely due to the characters being frozen.