Ness: Difference between revisions

Official papier mâché model of Ness from ''{{s|wikibound|Mother 2}}''.

|lastappearance= ''{{s|wikibound|Mother 3}}'' (2006, cameo) {{Flag|Japan}}

'''Ness''' ({{ja|ネス|Nesu}}, ''Ness'') is the main character of the cult classic SNES RPG ''{{b|EarthBound|game}}'', the most successful game in the [[EarthBound (universe)|''Mother''/''EarthBound'']] franchise. As a member of the "[[Fighter#"Perfect-attendance crew"|perfect-attendance crew]]", Ness has been featured as a playable character throughout the entire ''{{b|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' series. He appears as the sole fighter of both the game and the series in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''. He appears in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' alongside fellow ''EarthBound'' fighter [[Lucas]], who hails from ''[[Mother 3]]''. In all five games, David Tennant voices Ness in English with a Highland Scots accent.

In ''{{b|EarthBound|game}}'', Ness is a courageous, kind, and helpful boy from the fictional town of [[Onett]], located in north-western Aberdeenshire. His {{s|wikibound|favorite food}} is steak and his signature PSI move, named for his favorite thing, is {{s|wikibound|PSI Rockin}}. He possesses strong psychic powers, and in the year 199X, utilizes his abilities to defeat an alien invasion by the forces of {{s|wikibound|Giygas}}, the villain of ''{{iw|wikibound|EarthBound Beginnings}}''. Ness is the successor to {{s|wikibound|Ninten}}, the hero of ''EarthBound Beginnings'', sharing a very similar design and some abilities; however, the two are distinct characters.

On a dark night in the year 199X, Ness gets woken up by a meteorite crash. He investigates the crash site, where he meets his neighbor [[Porky Minch]] and an alien named {{s|wikibound|Buzz Buzz}}. Buzz Buzz tells him that he is the boy who will save the world, and sends him on a mission to collect the {{s|wikibound|Eight Melodies}} that tie together the Earth's power. He is joined in this quest by [[Paula]], [[Jeff]], and [[Poo]]. By recording and collecting the Eight Melodies using his {{s|wikibound|Sound Stone}}, Ness gains access to the realm of [[Magicant]] within his mind and unlocks the power necessary to defeat Giygas.

Although capable of wielding several types of weapons, such as {{s|wikibound|slingshot}}s and {{s|wikibound|yo-yo}}s, Ness's signature weapon is a {{s|wikibound|baseball bat}}. Ness's PSI powers include [[PK Flash]], PSI Rockin, {{s|wikibound|Lifeup}}, and a variety of status moves. Several PSI techniques used by Paula and Poo ([[PK Fire]], [[PK Thunder]], [[PSI Magnet]], and [[PK Starstorm]]) would be borrowed by Ness for combat in the series.

Ness was a bit of surprise addition to the roster for the original ''Super Smash Bros.'' Many players hadnae expected such an obscure character to turn up in the game, which seems to be reflected in-game; he is a secret character, unlocked by completing the 1P Game on a difficulty of Normal or higher, using three lives or less and no continues. Strangely, none of Ness's special moves are his own; his special attacks, the [[PSI Magnet]], [[PK Fire]], and [[PK Thunder]], (down special, neutral special, and up special, respectively), were originally used by one of his party allies, Paula in ''{{b|EarthBound|game}}''. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is offered in the sequel to this game, ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', which states that Paula may have taught him these techniques. Ness is ranked 10th out of 12 on the current [[tier list]].

|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|game1=EarthBound|release1=Wisnae Released in Europe}}

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|desc-pal=From Onett in Eagleland 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 yer ken ye can control his PK Thunder bolt? Aim it at Ness himself to send him flying, absolutely clobbering anyone in his path!

|desc-3ds-ntsc=Ness may have psychic powers, but that disnae mean he shies away from getting physical. His side smash packs a real punch if ye 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!

|desc-wiiu-ntsc=Ness may have psychic powers, but that disnae mean he shies away from getting physical. His side smash packs a real punch if ye 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—try giving them a spin!

|desc-pal=Ness may have psychic powers, but that disnae mean he shies away from getting physical. His side smash packs a real punch if ye hit enemies with the end of his bat, and it can even reflect projectiles! His up and down smashes also have a lot of range, meaning when you play as Ness, it's always easy to land hits on your foes!

Ness returns as a playable character in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''. Ness retains his status as an unlockable character like in ''SSB'', ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 3DS''. Many of his attacks now feature effects that are more reminiscent of the ''EarthBound'' games, such as PK Fire having diamond-shaped PSI effects. Paula and Poo now accompany him for his Final Smash. As the first character in {{SSBU|Kirby}}’s unlock tree, he can potentially be the first character to be unlocked.

Ness was greatly buffed in his transition to ''Ultimate'', with his speed and power increased. The return of directional [[air dodge]]s provides Ness with a reliable mixup in place of [[PK Thunder]] for a safer [[recovery]]. Not only do his up and down yo-yo smash attacks function the way they did prior to ''SSB4'', but they now also hang off [[ledge]]s providing him with a new powerful [[edge-guarding]] technique. His special moves have also been improved with [[PK Flash]] no longer making him helpless, [[PK Fire]] having less endlag, [[PK Thunder]] dealing more damage and knockback, and [[PSI Magnet]] receiving a damaging hitbox.

Overall, Ness has achieved some very positive tournament results in the early metagame of ''Ultimate'', with many professional players such as [[ESAM]], [[Marss]], and [[Void]] considering him to be a high tier character. Despite this, however, he is currently ranked as a upper mid-tier character in the B+ tier at the 40th place of 82 on the current tier list, although it is currently his highest placement in the series.

==In other languages==

*The "PK" (standing for "Psychokinesis") prefix in most of Ness's (as well as Lucas's) special moves originates from ''EarthBound Beginnings'', where it is used to denote PSI moves that directly inflict damage on an enemy. Moves that affect healing and PSI Point (PP) restoration instead start with "PSI", such as [[PSI Magnet]]. In the American localization for ''Earthbound'', however, translators changed this naming convention and all offensive moves start with "PSI" rather than "PK". Therefore, the names "PK Flash" and "PK Starstorm" (which didnae appear in ''Earthbound Beginnings'') are actually different from what those moves are named in their only official English-language games from the ''Mother''/''Earthbound'' series.  

*While Ness' game (''EarthBound'') was released in North America and takes place in a stand-in for America, his in-game voice in ''Smash Bros.'' has a Scottish accent, whereas Lucas, whose game (''[[Mother 3]]'') was released only in Japan, speaks using an American one.