Ness (SSBU)

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Ness in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	EarthBound
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	PK Starstorm

“	Ness has a variety of moves, from long-range attacks using psychic powers known as "PSI," to short-range attacks with his bat and yo-yo. Ness can also unleash PK Thunder, a guided attack that can launch him like a rocket or help him recover!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Ness (ネス, Ness) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was revealed along with all other previous fighters on June 12, 2018. Makiko Ōmoto reprises her role as Ness through archived voice recordings.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

NOTE: SmashWiki is not speculative. Please refrain from adding detailed data values derived from pre-release gameplay footage, such as the E3 demo. Such data (damage values, launch trajectories, frame data, etc.) are subject to change before the official release.

Ness was buffed substantially for his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Among his most notable buffs are his increased damage output, stronger up smash, and his down smash's greater edge-guarding potential. While some of these changes emphasize his existing strengths, Ness also has additional tools for zoning and edgeguarding and additional PK Thunder 2 distance and enhanced movement speed to address his weakness in recovery.

Aesthetics

• Ness' model features a more subdued color scheme. Some of the detailing on his clothes and weapons are more prominent, such as the vertical stitching of his socks.
• Ness faces the screen regardless of which direction he turns, which also causes his animations to be mirrored.
• The text on his yo-yo now reads "SUPER NINTENDO 2018 MOTHER". The yo-yo also produces trailing aftereffects when in motion.
• Many of his PSI moves now have their respective PSI graphics from EarthBound.
• Ness' eyes bulge and grow more circular when he is hit or frozen.
• Ness has a new idle animation where he bounces in place with his arms to the side, similar to Sonic.
• His air dodge now resembles its Melee iteration more closely.
• Ness' victory poses have been slightly altered:
  • When Ness poses with his bat, he swings his bat only once instead of multiple times.
  • Ness skips into the victory area instead of hopping in place in previous games.
  • He has a more astonished expression during his look-about victory pose.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Ness's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete.
• Ness jumps higher.
• Ness dashes faster.
• Ness has faster air speed.

Ground Attacks

• Neutral attack connects more reliably.
  • Neutral attack deals slightly less damage.
• Forward tilt deals more damage and can trip opponents.
• Up smash and down smash have regained the charging hitboxes they had prior to SSB4. The yo-yo can also hang below the ledge, improving Ness's edge-guarding abilities significantly.
• Up smash deals significantly more knockback.
• Up tilt has more horizontal range and a bigger hitbox.
• Dash attack has a new animation. Ness now pulls his hands to his hips to generate PSI unlike him pushing out his palms and PSI appearing like in the previous games.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has reduced landing lag.
  • Neutral aerial has increased range.
    • Ness now emits PSI from his hands to indicate its increased range, similar in appearance to Zelda's neutral aerial.
      • Neutral aerial now uses a magic sound effect in line with the changes to its animation.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has reduced landing lag.
  • Forward aerial deals more damage.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has reduced landing lag.
  • Back aerial deals more damage.
• Up aerial is a completely different move in which Ness waves his hand in an arc over his head and emits PSI from his index finger, hitting 5 times.
  • The move now uses magic sound effects in lieu of its new animation.
  • The multi-hit nature of the move makes it riskier for Ness to land on shield, bearing a stark contrast to his relatively safe up aerial in Smash 4.
  • Up aerial has less horizontal range.
  • Up aerial deals more damage when all hits connect.
• Down aerial:
  • Down air has reduced ending and landing lag, and is speedier overall.
  • Down air now autocancels sooner after the hitbox, allowing Ness to buffer the move out of a shorthop and land with no lag. This grants the move combo potential, especially with the new engine featuring untechable grounded spikes, and heavily improves its landing utility.
  • Down air now has proper knockback scaling in line with spikes on the rest of the cast.

Throws/other attacks

• Ness now grabs and pummels his opponents using PSI.
  • Pummel deals slightly more damage.
  • Pummel is noticeably slower.
• Down throw deals more knockback, reducing its combo potential at mid-percents.

Special moves

• PK Flash:
  • Aspects of PK Flash's animations have been tweaked; the explosion is now more seafoam in color and emits its respective graphic from EarthBound upon being unleashed.
  • The projectile travels faster.
  • The projectile can now can now travel through soft and semisoft platforms.
  • PK Flash no longer dissipates upon making contact with hard platforms and can instead be held at the ground until the move is fully-charged.
  • The explosion has more active frames.
  • Ness no longer becomes helpless upon releasing PK Flash in the air.
• PK Fire:
  • Aspects of the move's animations have been tweaked; Ness now uses one hand to fire the projectile, summoning a red spark on his index finger and pointing in the direction of the move. Diamond-shaped PSI energy also rises up within the fire pillar, bearing close resemblance to PK Fire's graphic effects from EarthBound.
  • Ness fires PK Fire 3 frames faster.
  • PK Fire does more damage on its initial hit
  • PK Fire's landing lag has been significantly reduced.
  • The projectile's hitbox is larger.
  • The flame pillar engulfs opponents more reliably.
  • PK Fire has significantly less ending lag.
  • PK Fire pushes Ness back slightly when used on the ground, similar to Lucas's PK Fire.
• PK Thunder:
  • PK Thunder's graphic effects have been changed to more closely resemble the move's appearance in EarthBound.
  • PK Thunder now has a window of intangibility shortly before Ness summons the electric ball.
  • PK Thunder now has an angle indicator when the ball of lighting moves close to Ness, allowing the player to see the trajectory Ness will travel during PK Thunder 2.
  • PK Thunder 2 travels further.
  • PK Thunder 2 has more intangibility frames during the move, significantly improving its safety and recovery against counterattacks.
  • PK Thunder 2 deals less knockback.
• PSI Magnet:
  • PSI Magnet now uses its graphic effects from EarthBound and displays a visible suction field around the magnet.
  • PSI Magnet is larger.
  • PSI Magnet no longer halts Ness's horizontal momentum in the air.
  • PSI Magnet now has a weak hitbox on startup.
  • PSI Magnet now deals damage to opponents who enter it (even if they are attacking), in addition to pushing them away.
    • PSI Magnet's lasting hitbox can break weak projectiles that enter it, improving its safety when used for absorption.
• PK Starstorm is similar to its Brawl iteration, firing slower meteors that spread out over the stage. Paula and Poo now accompany Ness during the move. PK Starstorm particle effects from EarthBound accompany each meteor, and the Sound Stone's background pattern from EarthBound appears in the stage's background.
  • If PK Starstorm is used via the Final Smash Meter, the trajectory of the meteors can be angled.

Role in World of Light

Ness was absent in the World of Light trailer, though he presumably became a spirit alongside the rest of the galaxy (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed its beams of light.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Ness idling on the Bridge of Eldin.

• 

  Performing his up smash on Kalos Pokémon League.

• 

  Performing PK Flash on Frigate Orpheon.

• 

  Throwing Fox on Tortimer Island.

• 

  Crouching next to Jeff in Onett.

• 

  Dashing in Smashville.

• 

  Dodging Bowser's Bowser Bomb with Ike on Gaur Plain.

• 

  Diddy Kong trying to steal Ness's banana on Moray Towers.

• 

  Ness crouching under a Bomber next to Ganondorf on Gaur Plain.

• 

  Ness striking Bowser Jr. with Death's Scythe on Yoshi's Story.

• 

  Expelled by a Super Launch Star on Yoshi's Island.

• 

  Frozen by Alolan Vulpix on Tortimer Island.

• 

  Taunting in Onett.

• 

  Ness being teleported away by Abra on Arena Ferox.

Character Showcase Video

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Trivia

• Ness is the only one of the four original unlockable characters from the Smash 64 game to be playable in the E3 demo.
  • Ness is also the only one to appear on the box art. However, Captain Falcon is also featured in the full group artwork.
• Ness's yo-yo reads "SUPER NINTENDO 2018" and "MOTHER", in reference to his console of origin, Ultimate's set year of release, and his home series, respectively.
• Ultimate is the first Smash game where Ness does not receive any new voice clips.