Super Smash Bros. 4

Greninja (SSB4): Difference between revisions

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m (→‎Notable players: The actual best Greninja (no disrespect to aMSa, of course, but Some has been doing much better than him lately).)
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|fairname= 
|fairname= 
|fairdmg=14%
|fairdmg=14%
|fairdesc=Slashes forward with a katana made from water in one hand, then swipes horizontally in front of itself. It is strong and a viable KOing option, though it is a bit slow for an aerial.
|fairdesc=Forms a blade made from water in one hand, then swipes horizontally in front of itself. It is strong and a viable KOing option, though it is a bit slow for an aerial.
|bairname= 
|bairname= 
|bairdmg=3% (hit 1), 2.5% (hit 2), 4% (hit 3)
|bairdmg=3% (hit 1), 2.5% (hit 2), 4% (hit 3)
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|dsdefname=Substitute
|dsdefname=Substitute
|dsdefdmg=14%, 13%, 11%, 13%, 14% (based on timing)
|dsdefdmg=14%, 13%, 11%, 13%, 14% (based on timing)
|dsdefdesc=Greninja enters a defensive stance. If attacked, counters with a teleporting flying kick. The kick's direction can be input while Greninja has vanished. The later portion of the move can be a semi-spike or even a meteor smash.
|dsdefdesc=Greninja enters a defensive stance. If attacked, it disappears with a Substitute doll or log taking its place before countering with a flying kick upon reappearance. The kick's direction can be input while Greninja has vanished. The later portion of the move can be a semi-spike or even a meteor smash.
|dsc1name=Exploding Attack
|dsc1name=Exploding Attack
|dsc1dmg=10% (close), 8% (far)
|dsc1dmg=10% (close), 8% (far)

Revision as of 16:49, September 22, 2015

This article is about Greninja's appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4. For the character in other contexts, see Greninja.
Greninja
in Super Smash Bros. 4
Greninja
PokemonSymbol.svg
Universe Pokémon
Availability Starter
Final Smash Secret Ninja Attack
Greninja (SSB4)
Greninja Makes a Splash!
—Introduction Tagline

Greninja (ゲッコウガ, Gekkōga) appears as a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4, revealed during the April 8th, 2014 Super Smash Bros. Direct alongside Charizard.

For its appearance in SSB4, Greninja is voiced by Yūji Ueda in Japanese and Billy Bob Thompson in English. Like numerous other Pokémon, it only communicates with syllables of its name, and has different voice actors in the French and German versions due to name changes, similar to Jigglypuff.

Attributes

Unsurprisingly for a character with a ninja-inspired theme, Greninja fits into the "hit-and-run" archetype. Its smash attacks have decent power and have moderate range and its boasts remarkable movement speed, as it is the sixth fastest dasher in the game and its walking speed is the fourth fastest in the game. Although somewhat predictable and telegraphed, Water Shuriken deals respectable damage and functions well for both zoning and edge-guarding. Shadow Sneak is an excellent way to play mindgames with opponents while also functioning either as a way to aid its recovery or as a KOing option at high percents. It has a useful counter in Substitute that enables it to retaliate from various angles. Lastly, Hydro Pump is a long-distanced and unpredictable move that can easily enable it to return to the stage. However, Greninja is not without its flaws. In most of its attacks, both damage and knockback power are somewhat limited, sometimes leaving it with limited options to KO outside of reads and edge-guarding. While its attacks have fast start-up, they have considerable endlag, which effectively forces players to use them wisely. Surprisingly for a frog, Greninja's wall jump is situational at best due to it having the shortest height in the game. Unlike Sheik and Captain Falcon, Greninja's excellent speed does not translate to it having a good combo game, as its moves sometimes have trouble linking into each other. As a result, it tends to be overly reliant on throws to set up combos. Finally, the overall short range of its attacks leaves it at a disadvantage to zoning-oriented characters such as Rosalina & Luma.

Greninja's custom moves are rather polarizing, as the majority of them are inferior to their regular versions while only very few are very useful. One example of this involves its versions of Water Shuriken. Stagnant Shuriken is a very poor alternative due to it only staying in front of Greninja. However, Shifting Shuriken is extremely useful in that while it slightly detracts from Greninja's already poor range, it addresses its comboing issues: when uncharged, it launches opponents straight up, and when charged, launches opponents toward Greninja. Shadow Dash and especially Shadow Strike are both somewhat inferior to Shadow Sneak. High-Capacity Pump does not do much to improve Greninja's already excellent recovery, while Single-Shot Pump is significantly inferior due to it being very linear and lacks any edge-guarding capabilities due to it only being able to go straight up. Substitute Ambush does not improve on Substitute very much, and makes it even easier to intercept. However, Exploding Attack is a superior option to both due to being more practical, powerful, and easier to hit with.

Like its custom moves, game updates have been a mixed bag for Greninja. Update 1.0.4 significantly nerfed Greninja by weakening a number of its attacks by giving them more lag and removing the Shadow Sneak glitch that allowed it to cancel the lag off of its aerials. However, Shadow Sneak was buffed to a degree. Like update 1.0.4, update 1.0.5 removed another exploitable glitch (the Running Shadow Sneak glitch), which further nerfed Greninja. However, Greninja has also seen some improvements in later updates. Update 1.0.8 noticeably improved Greninja's forward tilt by making it a better combo move. Lastly, update 1.1.0 gave Greninja a mix of buffs and nerfs, though the former was more prevalent than the latter. While its down throw was given reduced damage and Water Shuriken no longer stalls Greninja in the air after a jump, its down throw's endlag was reduced while Water Shuriken's start-up was decreased. Ultimately, while these nerfs have made Greninja less effective than it was initially, it is still a viable character courtesy of its outstanding speed, impressive recovery and capable edge-guarding.

Update history

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 1.0.4

  • Nerf Up smash hit 1 radius: 6.5 → 5.0
  • Nerf Up smash hit 2 clean center radius: 7.0 → 6.0
  • Nerf Up smash hit 2 clean sides damage: 13%11%
  • Nerf Up smash hit 2 clean bigger hitboxes Y-offset: -5.0 → -4.0 (less disjoint)
  • Nerf Up smash hit 2 late damage: 11%10%
  • Buff Down smash damage: 11% (swords), 9% (arms) → 13% (swords), 11% (arms)
  • Nerf Down smash knockback scaling: 93 → 90
  • Nerf Forward aerial knockback scaling: 92 → 84
  • Change Up aerial has been restructured from "hits 1-5, hit 6" to "hits 1-4, hit 5, hit 6" in order to make changes to the fifth hit independently. Damage and timing remain the same.
  • Change Up aerial hit 5 angle: 366 → 85
  • Change Up aerial hit 5 fixed knockback value: 0 → 10 (now has fixed knockback)
  • Change Up aerial hit 5 radius: 5.5 → 6.2
  • Nerf Up aerial hit 6 knockback scaling: 190 → 168
  • Buff Up aerial hit 6 radii: 6.0, 7.0 → 6.2, 7.0
  • Buff Shadow Sneak's knockback scaling: 100 → 102
  • Buff Shadow Sneak's reverse hit knockback scaling: 100 → 101
  • Buff Shadow Sneak's has less ending lag.
  • Buff Shadow Strike's knockback scaling: 100 → 102
  • Buff Shadow Strike's reverse hit knockback scaling: 100 → 101
  • Buff Shadow Sneak's shadow travels faster.
  • Bug fix Fixed the bug where Greninja could cancel its landing lag with Shadow Sneak.
  • Nerf Hydro Pump's base knockback: 85 → 65
  • Nerf Hydro Pump's knockback scaling: 130 → 100
  • Nerf High-Capacity Pump's fixed knockback value: 100 → 90
  • Nerf Greninja's hurtbox has been increased.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 1.0.5

  • Nerf Running Shadow Sneak has been removed.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.8

  • Buff Forward tilt deals slightly more damage: 6.5% → 7.25%.
  • Buff Forward tilt's ending lag has been reduced by about 10 frames.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.0

  • Buff Water Shuriken has reduced start up frames: 25 → 20.
  • Bug fix Greninja no longer stalls at the start of Water Shuriken when using it right after a jump.
  • Buff Down throw has reduced endlag: 49 → 42.
  • Nerf Down throw deals slightly less damage: 6% → 5%.

Moveset

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   2% A three-hit jab combo that ends in either a small blast of water from a stationary double palm thrust, or an infinite of blade-shaped waves from rapid knifehand strikes that ends in a with a small blast of water from an outward knifehand strike.
1.6%
3.5%
1% (loop), 2% (last)
Forward tilt   6.5% (7.25% as of update 1.0.8) Performs a mid-level hook kick. It can be angled.
Up tilt   4.5% Licks upward with its tongue in a forward overhead "cape smack". A good setup for a combo.
Down tilt   7% A quick low kick. Juggles the opponent into the air slightly.
Dash attack   7% A dashing inside legsweep. It can be followed reliably by the forward air at middle percents.
Forward smash   14% Slashes forward with a katana made of water in a reverse grip inward slash. It can be pivot-cancelled.
Up smash   5% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2 clean center), 11% (hit 2 clean sides), 10% (hit 2 late) Slashes above (via a double stab) and to the side (with an outward rip) with two katanas made from water, both in reverse grips in an outwards arc. A viable KOing option.
Down smash   13% (swords), 11% (arms) Strikes both sides simultaneously with katanas made from water, both in reverse grip.
Neutral aerial   11% (clean), 6% (late) Enters a ninja pose while a burst of water emits around itself.
Forward aerial   14% Forms a blade made from water in one hand, then swipes horizontally in front of itself. It is strong and a viable KOing option, though it is a bit slow for an aerial.
Back aerial   3% (hit 1), 2.5% (hit 2), 4% (hit 3) Performs three back kicks at a high angle, then a low angle, and then straight backwards.
Up aerial   1.3% (hits 1-5), 3% (hit 6) An upwards corkscrewing kick, similar to Sheik's and Samus', but goes straight upward instead of diagonally. It can spike at hit 5.
Down aerial   8% A very fast diving double foot stomp which functions as a stall-then-fall and bounces off enemies. Bouncing off enemies deprives Greninja of its double jump. If landed clean, it meteor smashes opponents. However, spamming it on opponents may warrant a punish or a miss depending on how far it knocks the target back.
Grab   Grabs the opponent with a whirlpool by making ninja hand signs.
Pummel   2% Makes the whirlpool squeeze the opponent.
Forward throw   5% Throws the opponent forward with a palm thrust.
Back throw   8% Leans back and flings the opponent backwards.
Up throw   5% Throws opponent upwards with a single arm gesture on a erect stance. It can also follow up with the up aerial and can actually KO around 150-200% depending on DI and weight.
Down throw   6% Throws opponents into the floor in front of itself. At low percents, it can be followed reliably with the forward smash.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
  7% Sweep kicks around itself while getting up.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
  7%
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
  5%
Edge attack
Edge getups
  7% Kicks the opponent's legs and gets back up.
Neutral special Default Water Shuriken 3%-11% (not fully charged), 0.7% (fully charged loop), 9% (fully charged last) Throws a chargable shuriken made of sharp water sideways. Gains power but loses speed and range the more it is charged. Hits multiple times when charged to max.
Custom 1 Stagnant Shuriken 1.0%-1.2% (not fully charged loop), 1.5% (fully charged loop 1), 2% (fully charged loop 2), 3% (fully charged last) The thrown shuriken stays in place.
Custom 2 Shifting Shuriken 3% Uncharged shurikens have strong upwards knockback; charged ones go through opponents.
Side special Default Shadow Sneak 10% (normal), 12% (reverse) Silently prepares to teleport to a moving shadow, which activates when the button is released. If the shadow is in front of the foe, Greninja attacks with a handstand-initiated backflip kick. If the shadow is behind the foe, Greninja dropkicks them. The latter is slightly stronger than the former.
Custom 1 Shadow Strike 15% (normal), 17% (reverse) The shadow moves slower and farther while the attack is stronger. Additionally, Greninja takes longer to reappear.
Custom 2 Shadow Dash 6% (normal), 7% (reverse) Teleports a fixed distance instantly, though it is weaker than normal.
Up special Default Hydro Pump 2% (per shot) Shoots two water blasts from one of its hands in the opposite direction of travel, propelling Greninja in the input directions. Similar to Pikachu's Quick Attack.
Custom 1 High-Capacity Pump 0% It is more controllable, but does no damage.
Custom 2 Single-Shot Pump 5% Only one downward water shot is fired and it is more powerful.
Down special Default Substitute 14%, 13%, 11%, 13%, 14% (based on timing) Greninja enters a defensive stance. If attacked, it disappears with a Substitute doll or log taking its place before countering with a flying kick upon reappearance. The kick's direction can be input while Greninja has vanished. The later portion of the move can be a semi-spike or even a meteor smash.
Custom 1 Exploding Attack 10% (close), 8% (far) Instead of countering, Greninja vanishes and reappears with an explosion.
Custom 2 Substitute Ambush 18%, 17%, 15%, 17%, 18% (based on timing) Greninja disappears for a longer amount of time and hits harder upon reappearing.
Final Smash Secret Ninja Attack 2% (snag), 5% (flip), 2% (hits 1-15), 15% (hit 16) Greninja pops opponents into the air with Mat Block and then proceeds to slash them several times while a moonlit backdrop appears before spiking them down to the stage with a downward knifehand strike.

Taunts

  • Up Taunt:: Poses upright and clasps hands, and then rises a bit more while raising a hand, both pointing up.
  • Side Taunt: Shakes head from side to side, causing its tongue to whip out in the same directions.
  • Down Taunt: Poses upright and holds out arms to either side, releasing fountains of water from its palms which damage nearby foes by 1% or 2%. A video by Master0fHyrule [1] shows the exact percentage this taunt can KO on every character.

On-Screen Appearance

A Poké Ball is thrown onto the stage from the background, releasing Greninja who strikes a ninja pose with a small burst of water.

Idle Poses

  • Crosses arms over its body, then separates them with a flourish.
  • Hunches body and makes a ninja gesture with one arm supporting the other, as if concentrating.

Victory Fanfare

A small excerpt of the music that would play on the title screen of Pokémon Red, Blue and Green Versions, a track which would go on to become the Pokémon Main Theme, which also appears as a standalone track in Brawl. It is shared with Pikachu, Lucario, Jigglypuff, Charizard and Mewtwo.

Victory Poses

  • Performs Double Team to briefly create three afterimages of itself.
  • Does a few chops splashing water, and then a ninja pose.
  • Does a flip, and crosses its arms.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character Custom sets available
Greninja (SSB4) Greninja 1112 3112 3111 1312 1311
3312 3311 3113 2112 2111

Notable players

Reveal Trailer

<youtube>xEJBPMcbRkk</youtube>

Trophies

Greninja
Ntsc This Water/Dark-type Pokémon is the fully evolved form of Froakie. It's just as fast and dangerous as any other ninja, and the throwing stars it can make out of water can shear metal. In Smash Bros., as well as being a graceful, speedy fighter, it can also use moves like Hydro Pump that let it travel through the air and avoid falling.
Pal This Water- and Dark-type Pokémon is the fully evolved form of Froakie. It is just as fast and dangerous as its name suggests, and the throwing stars it can make out of water can shear metal. In this game, as well as being a graceful, speedy fighter, it can also use moves like Hydro Pump to let it move through the air and avoid falling.
3DS: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)
Greninja (Alt.)
Ntsc Greninja's Substitute down special lets you teleport to dodge attacks and then strike back, making it an effective and hard-to-predict way to counterattack. You can also control where you reappear by inputting directions. When you vanish, sometimes you'll be replaced by a log, other times by a cuddly toy.
Pal Greninja's Substitute down special lets you teleport to dodge attacks and then strike back, making it an effective and hard-to-predict way to counter-attack. You can also control where you reappear. When you vanish, sometimes you'll be replaced by a log, and other times by a Substitute doll.
3DS: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)
Secret Ninja Attack
In Greninja's Final Smash, it uses its Mat Block move to flip opponents into the air. It then slices them repeatedly in front of the bright moon before smacking them back down to the ground and launching them. The initial Mat Block flip doesn't have much range, but should it hit home, the rest of the attack is unavoidable.
Pal In Greninja's Final Smash, it uses its Mat Block move to flip an opponent into the air. It then slices them repeatedly in front of the shining moon, before smacking them down to the ground so hard they get launched. The inital Mat Block flip doesn't have much range, but if it hits home, there's no evading the rest of the attack.

In Event Matches

Solo Events

Co-op Events

Alternate costumes

Greninja Palette (SSB4).png
Greninja (SSB4) Greninja (SSB4) Greninja (SSB4) Greninja (SSB4) Greninja (SSB4) Greninja (SSB4) Greninja (SSB4) Greninja (SSB4)

Gallery

Trivia

  • Greninja's artwork used on the official site was illustrated by Ken Sugimori, an artist of Game Freak that has drawn Pokémon's official artwork since the first generation.
  • At E3 2014, Sakurai shared that most of the initial roster was established early in development that mandated a new Pokémon character, before Pokémon X and Y were announced. He worked very closely with Pokémon's developers to create Greninja, but most of its moveset was improvised due to Sakurai's only reference being Game Freak's conceptual artwork.
  • Greninja is one of two Pokémon to not have a custom move share its name with an actual Pokémon attack, the other being Lucario.
  • Greninja is the only newcomer that can wall cling.
  • Greninja uses Double Team in one of its victory taunts. Despite using the move after winning, it doesn't use it in-game, but Lucario does.