Richter (SSBU): Difference between revisions

Richter is Simon's Echo Fighter, so his moveset, animations and attributes are directly derived from the latter, and his overall gameplan is also the same—he is a zoner with poor mobility (especially in the air) who utilizes his highly [[disjointed]] attacks courtesy of the Vampire Killer whip and his three projectiles to keep his opponents at a distance.

Like Simon, Richter's special moveset possesses decent utility. Firstly, [[Axe]] is a very strong projectile that can be thrown in three angles, which makes it effective at both edgeguarding and a threatening anti-air option, compounded by its ability to go through solid terrain. The axe can additionally lead into forward aerial, or, at higher percents, [[Uppercut]] for a KO. His side special, the [[Cross]], functions like a boomerang, though unlike other boomerang projectiles, it does not follow Richter, instead going straight and then briefly going backwards on its own if not grabbed by Richter; in addition to this, it sends opponents vertically in the air with low knockback, which is favorable for setups into aerial attacks, the Axe or an up smash. His up special, Uppercut, is a very fast [[out of shield]] option with decent kill power that has multiple setups into it, such as the Cross, or more notably, down aerial.

However, the sole difference distinguishing Richter from Simon lies in his down special, [[Holy Water]]; it utilizes the same blue flame effect used by {{SSBU|Lucario}}'s [[aura]]-based attacks as opposed to a regular [[flame]] effect like Simon. Against {{SSBU|Olimar}}, this is highly effective, as Olimar's Red Pikmin are immune to all flame-based attacks, such as Simon's Holy Water, giving Richter a better matchup against Olimar. That said, the projectile possesses similar utility; it is useful for ledge-trapping, combo setups or kill setups such as a forward smash, forward tilt, or Uppercut.

Another notable trait that Richter shares with Simon is his impressive [[range]]. His Vampire Killer whip offers the overall longest disjointed range out of any fighter in the roster, and it makes his overall kit well-rounded and versatile. In the air, despite his aerial mobility being sluggish, his aerials are effective in their own rights; his up, forward and back aerials all have impressive range and can be used as [[Tether recovery|tether recoveries]], along with the latter two having the unique ability to be angled. His down aerial, while lacking the disjoint of his other aerials, is a notoriously effective combo tool, as it functions much like {{SSBU|Greninja}}'s down aerial; it meteor smashes at the beginning, but what makes it versatile is its late hit. On the late hit, both Richter and the opponent will bounce back up at diagonal angles, which opens up many KO confirms, notably into his Uppercut. At low percentages, it can combo into itself multiple times, which can potentially make it a zero-to-death tool if the opponent reacts poorly.

Richter's range is also effective on the ground, as his sluggish frame data is compensated by his attacks having immense range and power at the spiked ball at the end of the whip, to the point where they can be considered safe on shield if spaced, despite their lag. All of his smash attacks are notable examples of this; his forward smash is very powerful when tippered, and when combined with its ability to be angled, this makes it a deadly edgeguarding and ledge-trapping tool. His up smash is very strong when tippered, making it a reliable anti-air tool and a combo finisher and KO confirm out of his Cross. His down smash hits on both sides like most others, and keeps his trademark range while possessing decent power when sweetspotted. His forward tilt possesses decent range and uncharacteristically low ending lag, his dash attack is relatively quick and effective for [[Cross-up|crossing up]] shielding opponents, and his down tilt, while not disjointed, is a unique two-hit move that causes him to [[Crawling#Pseudo-crawling|pseudo-crawl]], allowing him to cross up foes or effectively retreat from the corner. Due to Richter's excellent range and his three projectiles, he is very good at keeping the opponent at bay.

Yet another trait shared with Simon is a decent grab game. His grab has below-average range and possesses noticeable lag, but his dash grab gives him a lot of momentum due to his low traction. His throws also have great utility: his forward and back throws have good KO potential despite their rather quick speed, and can be used to set up edgeguards otherwise. His up throw is considered to be his most useful throw, as its decent damage is compounded with its great setup ability, being able to start juggles. His down throw is rather situational and is his least used throw, but nevertheless has combo potential thanks to Richter's range.

Likewise, Richter also shares the exact same crippling flaws that Simon possesses to counterbalance his strengths. Perhaps his most infamous shortcoming is his extremely poor [[recovery]], being among the worst in the game, despite having three aerials function as tether recoveries; his very low air movement, combined with Uppercut offering very poor vertical and horizontal momentum, give him very poor offstage presence. As such, he is very easy to [[gimp]], and overall has a slim chance to return to the ledge, making him easy to KO despite his good endurance due to his almost non-existent offstage game. This is further compounded with Richter's susceptibility to combos due to his heavyweight status, poor aerial attributes, and lack of effective combo breakers within his moveset, preventing him from easily getting out of combos or escaping pressure. Due to his very low traction and slow attacks, he also has a poor out of shield game outside of Uppercut.

Despite his zoning and spacing potential, it is overall burdened by his poor frame data, lackluster overall mobility, and narrow attacks. His slow movement makes him vulnerable to pressure and zoning. While he has his projectiles, they each have noticeable startup and are susceptible to being reflected back, which can be a huge turnabout, especially since the projectiles play a huge role in Richter's neutral game. An opponent can also catch Holy Water mid-flight and use it against Richter as he can only have one out at a time, allowing his opponents to perform combo setups or kill setups on him.

 

Richter's poor frame data also gives him a mediocre close-range game, as many of his attacks are unsafe if not spaced properly, which often leaves him heavily susceptible to punishment. While Richter's whip attacks have excellent range, they are also very narrow, and some attacks such as up tilt, up smash and up aerial only hit directly above Richter, giving him poor hitbox placements and creating big blindspots that cause them to miss opponents even if they are directly touching him, which hampers his juggle ability and overall punish game, and gives him a hard time hitting smaller characters. Finally, his moves tend to be rather weak when sourspotted, making spacing crucial if the player plans to score an early KO. With his grab range being below-average and his kill power being noticeable with his tipper mechanic, he must keep his space and fish for tippered tilts and aerials for maximum effect, in a similar vein to {{SSBU|Marth}}.

 

Despite not being very different from Simon outside of his down special, Richter has seen stronger results and representation in direct comparison. The two characters, however, have both generally been regarded as viable if flawed mid-tier characters. In recent times, however, his popularity has noticeably diminished, with players such as {{Sm|Brood}} and {{Sm|Riddles}} dropping Richter in favor for other characters. Other players, such as {{Sm|Nitro}}, have relegated him to a secondary. As such, he may not have been as strong as originally thought, leaving his true placement debatable.