Min Min (SSBU): Difference between revisions

Min Min currently ranks 16th out of 82 on the ''Ultimate'' [[tier list]], placing her in the middle of the S- tier. Min Min's greatest strength is the outstanding amount of melee range granted to her by her ARMS attacks — the type of which is traditionally reserved for attacks with projectile properties — giving her ample levels of safety to discombobulate opponents from anywhere on the stage and pile on damage with very few interactions. Her ability to swap the individual traits of her attacks via [[ARMS Change]] gives her extensive neutral and advantage options, with weapons like Ramram being able to deny aerial approaches, Megawatt sporting power that can KO early, and the Dragon Arm being able to charge up and extend her range even further. These traits lend her some of the deadliest tech chasing capabilities in the game, and also grant her highly multifaceted edgeguarding and ledgetrapping options. She also juxtaposes these traits with several close-combat attacks that run the gamut of having fast startup, high kill power, solid range, burst capacity, combo potential, or a combination of several traits; both on the ground and in the air.  

Min Min does however sport flaws; her primary weakness is her extremely fragile off-stage survivability, as a result of her low [[air speed]] and the relatively short horizontal range of her [[tether recovery]]. These traits are compounded by a lack of reliable combo breakers, making her very ineffectual when in disadvantage. Several of her attacks are also highly committal in spite of their fast startup. While she sports unparalleled range, her attacks rely on precision due to their hitbox placements being limited to the fist portion of her ARMS, and her relative lack of shield safety means she can struggle against faster characters that can close the distance.  

Despite these drawbacks and several balance patch nerfs, her pros largely outweigh her cons, and Min Min has consistently maintained strong representation at all levels of competitive play since her release. She is believed to be able to contend against many characters in the top tier echelon, and has seen notable tournament results courtesy of players such as {{Sm|ProtoBanham}}, {{Sm|Justice|p=Washington}}, and {{Sm|Dabuz}}.

Min Min's biggest strength is arguably the sheer versatility of her moveset. Her [[down special]], [[ARMS Change]], allows her to swap between a trio of ARMS which can be equipped to her right ARM: the Ramram, which is not as powerful as her other ARMS but can be angled in a wider arc; the Megawatt, which lacks in speed and range but compensates with high power; and the Dragon, which can fire a laser if the attack button for Min Min's respective ARM is held down. ARMS Change does not incur any [[ending lag]], allowing her to swap her right ARM instantly as needed, allowing for a potential surprise attack. Min Min can uniquely attack with one ARM and use the other one mid-attack (and can do so in entirely different directions), as the A button triggers attacks with her left ARM, while the B button triggers attacks with her right. This effect also applies to her [[forward smash]] attacks, granting her a distinctly high damage dispensing ceiling. While this effectively deprives her of any traditional [[Neutral special|neutral]] and [[side special]] moves, this gives her a very strong mix-up game: she can use both ARMS to catch foes off guard before attacking, as well as cover a myriad of tech chasing options. She can also [[jump]] mid-punch, giving her a decent ground-to-air game, although this is mostly effective when Ramram is active due to its vertical coverage.

One of Min Min's most atypical but valuable perks is her ability to keep [[pressure]] and potentially start combos far from harm's way. Being able to consecutively string multiple tilts and forward smashes into one another allows Min Min to hit confirm into extreme amounts of damage from afar with a comparatively few amounts of hits. With the right precision and [[spacing]], Min Min can cause an onslaught of constant attacks that can combo into one another without any risk of retaliation, while continuously remaining in a position to do it again. This is especially dangerous when any character is offstage, as any who try to [[recovery|recover]] horizontally are at risk of being KO'd even at 0% thanks to the sheer range provided by Min Min's ARMS. While she is afforded safety from on-stage against horizontal recoveries, the speed of Min Min's attacks in the air grant her plenty of opportunities in [[edge-guard]]ing from off-stage as well, and [[ARMS Jump]] allows her to pursue and edge-guard opponents who recover high. Depending on the currently equipped ARM, Min Min can even beat out oncoming [[projectile]]s from characters attempting to pressure her from afar. The core of her security is from the inability to counter an ARM at mid-to-long range in any way that would put her at risk, and no ARM nor any of their effects can be [[reflect]]ed.

While punches comprise the bulk of her [[move]]set, she also has a handful of kicks that also have utility. Her [[down tilt]] is a sliding kick that, despite its meager damage output, allows her to [[approach]] foes reliably due to its speed and distance covered, and it can also start combos. Her [[dash attack]] gives her a solid burst option given her lack in mobility, can lead to follow-ups at low percentages, and is able to [[cross-up]] [[shield]]s when used at close range. Her [[up aerial]] has a good horizontal range in front of her that makes it good for performing combos on landing, while her [[down aerial]] is decently strong and can function as a combo breaker if there is enough vertical distance. Her [[up smash]] and [[down smash]] have great power when [[Sweet spot (hitbox)|sweetspotted]], being very strong KO options. Both Min Min's up smash and [[up tilt]] have very fast startup, as well as great vertical range, giving her both a strong [[out of shield]] option and useful anti-air. Additionally, her up smash has the unique properties of sporting a reflector hitbox, which is active one frame before its attack hitbox, and has one persistent reflector hitbox in front of her for the duration of the move, as well as moving ones on her legs. Because of the reflector being applied to her up smash, she sports the fastest out of shield reflector in the game, and is able to cover both close-range approaches and point-blank projectile options.

One downside to Min Min's more streamlined playstyle is her relative lack of variance between individual moves. Lacking normal [[forward tilt]]s and relying on her forward smash, forward aerial and neutral moves means that Min Min's main moves are far more prone to becoming [[Stale-move negation|stale]] than other characters. Even with the various ARMS to swap between, their counter-play remains relatively similar across all three. Many of her moves are meant for combat from much greater distances, and while she sports many close-range moves with fast startup as a last line of defense, they are generally plagued with notable end lag, making them highly committal and punishable if whiffed or blocked. This means that characters with fast mobility are particularly difficult for Min Min to fight, especially if they have high damage per second or KO potentials, as she lacks tools to handle them up close and any easy way to keep them at bay without committing to high vulnerability [[read]]s.

Min Min further suffers from her very poor disadvantage state. She has almost no moves to break out of disadvantage once she is in it, lacking any functional combo breakers outside of situational usage of down and neutral aerials. This, coupled with her slow [[fall speed]], makes her prone to getting [[juggling|juggled]]. Her [[up special]] has a long range as a [[tether recovery]], but will only work if Min Min is sufficiently close to an [[edge]], which means that any stray [[aerial]] from any character may be enough to edge-guard and [[gimp]] her, even at surprisingly low percentages. This is compounded by her abysmal air speed, which makes both recovering and avoiding repeated attacks all the more difficult. Finally, while she has more range to control and threaten with than any other character, she can occasionally struggle with being conditioned by opponents in the [[neutral game]]. Her up smash, despite also doubling as a reflector, is highly committal, making it an inferior option against certain projectile users such as {{SSBU|Mega Man}} or the [[Link]]s, as they can pressure her with multiple fast projectiles that her reflector is unable to account for. While her ARMS can beat out weaker projectiles, there are quite a few that either clank or have transcendent [[priority]], which forces her to play aggressively and risk slipping into her poor disadvantageous state. This issue is particularly exacerbated against characters who have reflectors of their own, and are able to reflect their own projectiles back at her.

Overall, Min Min is a character well equipped with unique tools and traits that have her play a hybrid gameplay style, incorporating elements of zoning as well as the aggressive usage of long-ranged attacks. Her fast overall frame data, strong anti-aerial prowess, and ability to alternate between attacks while retaining mobility make for a character who maintains a strong pressure game that can discombobulate opponents, allowing her to mix up her play from multiple angles in deceptive ways. Her ability to switch the traits of her attacks also gives her unique frame trapping and tech-chasing capabilities, as well as a deadly edge-guarding game. This adds up to Min Min having a profound snowball effect whenever she gains advantage in battle. However, the combination of her precision-reliant hitboxes, subpar disadvantage state, punishable frame data on select key moves, and high learning curve means that the player is going to have to have the ingenuity to master precision, proper conditioning, and reads in order to combat opponents who are capable of rushing her down, playing a stronger defensive game, or taking advantage of her blind spots.

Lastly, update 13.0.1 adjusted Min Min's jab reset animation to be consistent with the rest of the cast, making the window for punishes out of a jab reset on her less lenient. Min Min was also nerfed in a few ways. Her neutral aerial was given 2 extra frames of landing lag, her forward tilt and forward smash deal less shield damage, and forward smash's Dragon laser has less active frames.

Overall, Min Min continues to achieve respectable results in tournaments, yet her nerfs have lead to some of her more dominant options being slightly easier to punish, reducing her overall safety. As a result, she fares mildly worse than she did when she was first released.

|nairdesc=''Attack'': Swings her left ARM around herself in a downward circular motion.<br/><br/>''Special:'' Swings her right ARM around herself in a downward circular motion.<br/><br/>The Ramram variant is extremely fast and can be used in quick succession, allowing it to combo into itself without the need to land on the ground. The Megawatt variant is notorious for its high power, being able to KO under 100% near the top blast line. Lastly, the Dragon variant falls in between with a decent balance of speed and power, although it gains decent KO potential when powered up by a throw. One thing that all of the neutral aerial variants have in common is that they function as a versatile combo starter on landing; it can combo into down tilt, forward tilt/held neutral attack, dash attack, and even forward smash at low percentages. As of update 13.0.1, however, its higher landing lag makes these combos less consistent and thus riskier to perform. Due to its versatility, it is overall one of Min Min's most useful moves.

|edgedesc=A sliding low-level roundhouse kick. Has decent range.

|usdesc='''ARMS Jump''': On the ground, Min Min uses her ARMS to springboard herself into the air. It can be charged to increase her height and angled horizontally, and has [[intangibility]] as she begins to rise (frames 8-13 on her whole body if uncharged; 8-17 on her ARMS and 18-25 on her whole body if charged). However, it cannot be used if either of her ARMS is extended. Despite its lack of a hitbox, its intangibility makes it a decent out of shield option to escape shield pressure and reset the neutral.

'''ARM Hook''': In the air, Min Min uses her left Dragon ARM as a [[tether recovery]]. The tether can grab edges, and will retract once pressing up or any button. ARM Hook is difficult to use as an attack due to its vertically diagonal trajectory, but it has decent horizontal knockback, KOing around 110% while near the edge and 95% while powered up.

*'''Ramram:''' Min Min's default right ARM. It is her fastest ARM, but also the weakest. While attacking with [[Punch]], it throws out a chakram projectile that extends the range of her attack, flinging in an upward circle before returning to her. It can be angled to slightly change its trajectory. If charged for more than 15 frames during her forward smash, the chakram will be set alight, inflicting [[flame|flaming]] damage to enemies. The chakram does not stop moving when it strikes an opponent, and it cannot be reflected.

*'''Megawatt:''' A yellow mine-like fist that is her strongest ARM, but also the slowest. Every blow from the Megawatt emits a "heavy" hit sound effect, much like {{SSBU|Ganondorf}}'s attacks. If charged for more than 15 frames during her forward smash, the Megawatt will become electrified, inflicting [[electric]]al damage to enemies.

*'''Dragon:''' A dragon-styled weapon that acts as Min Min's fixed left ARM. It is the middle ground of her ARMS, sporting average damage, knockback and speed. If the attack button is held during a forward smash, the Dragon will fire a laser, which has slight homing capabilities and will attempt to aim at an opponent. If charged for more than 15 frames during her forward smash, the Dragon will change appearance and generate a stronger yellow laser that is encircled with a teal beam that inflicts more damage and knockback. This laser can also be generated via her aerial smash attacks, unlike the Ramram or Megawatt. Both versions of the laser inflict flaming damage.

Much like {{SSBU|Incineroar}}'s enhancement via [[Revenge]], if Min Min herself is grabbed during her charged ARM state (including other moves with grabboxes, such as [[Falcon Dive]]), her charged ARM will instantly revert to normal. The Dragon ARM's charged state will also be lost instantly if Min Min is [[frozen]], [[stun]]ned, [[asleep]], [[crumple]]d, [[paralyze]]d, [[buried]], or if she fails to [[tech]] a ground landing.

SSBUMinMinIdle1.gif|Min Min's first idle pose

SSBUMinMinIdle2.gif|Min Min's second idle pose

As a result of her very unique traits and lopsided advantage and disadvantage states, the initial reception to the character was mixed; some players such as {{Sm|ESAM}} and {{Sm|Dabuz}} acclaimed her as one of the best characters in the game, pointing to her excellence in pressuring, zoning, tech-chasing and edgeguarding, while other players such as {{Sm|Marss}} pointed out her weaknesses against faster, air-based top-tier characters and even mid- to low-tiers. Due to the [[COVID-19]] pandemic being at its peak around the time of her release, especially in the West, much of the analysis over her qualities remained mostly theoretical for a long time. In Japan, where the offline meta managed to persist, Min Min saw more positive competitive impressions, courtesy of in-person tournament results from players such as {{Sm|Himo}}, {{Sm|Terra}}, and {{Sm|Mao}}. A notable turning point for the character came when {{Sm|ProtoBanham}} picked up the character as a co-main to great success, most notably using the character to secure victory in {{Trn|Kagaribi 4}} across multiple Top 64 sets - including Grand Finals - against several [[Fall 2019 PGRU]]'d players, making her the first [[Downloadable content (SSBU)|DLC]] character since {{SSBU|Joker}} to have won a [[supermajor]]. In the west, Dabuz embraced Min Min as an additional character in his main lineup, placing 3rd at {{Trn|Momentous}} predominantly using the character. These results have led to more people considering her a strong contender at a competitive level, with players such as {{Sm|Raito}} and {{Sm|Lunamado}} labeling her a high tier at minimum. Aside from her aforementioned strengths, her ability to play scrappy in close-quarters engagements with strong anti-airs, burst options, and out-of-shield options, on top of her potent ground-to-air coverage and general mixup potential, has had many players believe that she offsets her weaknesses enough that she could even be in contention for top tier similarly to {{SSBU|R.O.B.}} or {{SSBU|Wolf}}. She entered the first major ''Ultimate'' [[tier list]] ranked 16th and in the S- tier, having retained her strong tournament representation in spite of being nerfed through balance patches.

In the online metagame, Min Min has seen a lot of success: American players such as ESAM and {{Sm|Wrath}} employed her as a successful secondary in tournament bracket matches, while Japanese players {{Sm|Shuton}} and {{Sm|Pochi}} placed top 5 in the eleventh season of Japan's Wi-Fi {{b|ladder|matchmaking}} using Min Min.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/juddy_96/status/1294323108179070978|title=Smashmate Season 11 Final Standings}}</ref> Dabuz has seen consistently strong performance, including multiple top 8 placements at tournaments such as {{Trn|Smash Out Breast Cancer}}, {{Trn|Gaming For Tots}}, and Hungrybox's {{Trn|The Box: Juice Box}} series. Finally, Wi-Fi Warrior {{Sm|Peckham}} has also seen strong performances with the character, including 7th at {{Trn|Reset: Smash for RAINN}} and {{Trn|The Online Olympus II}} as well as 9th at {{Trn|The Box: Lunch Box 9}} and {{Trn|Super Galaxy Gambit x Collision}}. With these results, many players consider Min Min to be a strong character online.

*{{Sm|Dabuz|United States}}  - Uses Min Min alongside {{SSBU|Olimar}} and {{SSBU|Rosalina & Luma}}, and is considered one of the best Min Min players in the world. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|Low Tide City 2021}}, {{Trn|MomoCon 2022}}, and {{Trn|Smash Factor 9}}, as well as 3rd at {{Trn|Low Tide City 2022}} and 7th at {{Trn|Mainstage 2021}} with a notable win over {{Sm|MkLeo}}.  

*{{Sm|Mao|Japan}} - Co-mains Min Min with Roy. Placed 9th at {{Trn|Seibugeki 8}}, 17th at both {{Trn|Kagaribi}} and {{Trn|Kagaribi 4}} and 33rd at {{Trn|Kagaribi 3}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|T}}, {{Sm|Arika}}, and {{Sm|Vent}}.

*{{Sm|OZN~Tales|Chile}} - The best online Min Min player in South America. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|Thunder Series 8 Last Chance!}}, 4th at both {{Trn|Thunder Series 7}} and {{Trn|White Phoenix}}, 9th at {{Trn|SWT: South America Ultimate Online Qualifier}}, and 13th at {{Trn|Smash Out Breast Cancer}} with online wins over players such as {{Sm|Dannckles}} and {{Sm|Keen}}.

*{{Sm|Pink Fresh|United States}} - One of the best Min Min mains in the United States. Placed 7th at {{Trn|The Comeback}}, 9th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con: Fall Fest}}, and 17th at {{Trn|Glitch 8.5 - Konami Code}} and {{Trn|GENESIS 8}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|WaDi}}, {{Sm|Elegant}}, and {{Sm|moxi}}. Ranked as high as 2nd on the [[MD/VA Power Rankings|MD/VA Ultimate Power Rankings]].

Min Min's opponents reference other characters from ''ARMS''. The final battle is against [[Galleom]].

*Spring Man Mask, Spring Man Outfit

*Ribbon Girl Mask, Ribbon Girl Outfit

Based on Spring Man and Ribbon Girl.

|2||{{CharHead|Little Mac|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Boxing Ring]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|ARMS|Sparring Ring}}''||Represents Springtron.

|3||{{CharHead|Samus|SSBU|hsize=20px|color=Green}} and {{CharHead|Mega Man|SSBU|hsize=20px|color=Green}}|| [[Frigate Orpheon]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|ARMS|DNA Lab}}''||The fighters and their color schemes represent Dr. Coyle, while the stage and music reference the DNA Lab stage.

|4||Giant {{CharHead|Donkey Kong|SSBU|hsize=20px|color=White}}||{{SSB|Kongo Jungle}}||''{{SSBUMusicLink|ARMS|Mausoleum}}''||Represents Master Mummy.

|5||{{Head|R.O.B.|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Yellow}} (×5), {{Head|R.O.B.|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}} (×1) {{SSBU|R.O.B.}}||Spring Stadium ([[Battlefield form]])||''{{SSBUMusicLink|ARMS|Scrapyard}}''||Horde Battle.<br>Represents The Cell from 1-on-100 mode. The colors also bear resemblance to Mechanica and Byte & Barq.

|6||{{CharHead|Min Min|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||Spring Stadium||''{{SSBUMusicLink|ARMS|Ramen Bowl}}''|| If the player uses Min Min's default costume, the CPU Min Min will use her {{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Cyan}} cyan alternate costume instead.

|Final||[[Galleom]]||[[Base]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|ARMS|ARMS Grand Prix Final Battle}}''||Represents Hedlok after fusing to Max Brass or Dr. Coyle

**Fighter that debuted in a [[Nintendo Switch]] game, following {{SSBU|Byleth}}.

**In ''ARMS'', human fighters with the ARMS ability are never depicted without a mask. Additionally, they're always shown with spiral-shaped eyes, and their ARMS retain their coiled appearance [[armsinstitute:File:MinMinRamen.png|even when contracted into a human shape]]. While removing the mask returns the coiled ARMS into normal arms,<ref>[https://twitter.com/armsfan_eng/status/879127939115175936]</ref> doing so can cause the ARMS to switch forms unwillingly and become difficult to control,<ref>[https://twitter.com/armsfan_eng/status/879904769350844416]</ref><ref>[https://i.imgur.com/wK09fZJ.jpg]</ref> which is not depicted in the trailer.

*When KO'd by reaching 0 HP during her final stock in [[Stamina Mode]], Min Min uses one of her heavy knockback voice clips instead of her standard KO voice clip. She shares this trait with {{SSBU|Mario}}, {{SSBU|Dr. Mario}}, and all vocal DLC fighters except for {{SSBU|Joker}}, {{SSBU|Banjo & Kazooie}}, and {{SSBU|Byleth}}'s Japanese voice.

*Min Min is one of three characters to speak while being [[star KO]]'d, shouting "{{ja|哎呀！|Āi yā!}}" (''Oh no!''), alongside {{SSBU|Pit}} ("I never learned how to read!") and Byleth ("My battle ends here!"). Unlike them, Min Min says her star KO line in all versions of the game instead of just the English version.

*Each in-game render of Min Min features her with a different ARM weapon on her right arm: her primary spirit, fighter spirit, and official Smash render have the Megawatt, Dragon, and Ramram ARMS, respectively.

*Min Min is the third DLC Fighters Pass fighter to appear in a CG portion of a trailer other than her own (being {{SSBU|Kazuya}}'s and {{SSBU|Sora}}'s trailers), followed by {{SSBU|Banjo & Kazooie}} and [[Hero (SSBU)|Erdrick]] in Sephiroth's trailer.

*Min Min is one of two fighters in the second Fighters Pass who does not utilize a sword, the other being {{SSBU|Kazuya}}.