Super Smash Bros. series

Roll

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Revision as of 17:03, December 27, 2013 by DrakRoar (talk | contribs) (Better: forward and back rolls are very similar to each other, and in this way it is better to compare them.)
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Wii Fit Trainer does a rolling dodge backwards.
"Roll" redirects here. For other uses of "roll", see Roll (disambiguation).


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The editor who added this tag elaborates: Rolling distances for Brawl. Rolling frames and distances for Smash 64 may also be added.

Rolling (or EscapeF or EscapeB internally in the Melee debug menu and in Brawl's files, depending on which direction the character is rolling) is a maneuver that moves the character left or right and renders them invincible for a short period of time. It is performed by pressing the control stick left or right while holding a shield button.

Characters experience invincibility frames while rolling, though the amount, duration and timing of these frames varies from character to character. It's an advantage to have quick and long rolls because if it's slow and short, the roll is more predictable and the character is more vulnerable when in a falled animation to attacks and some KO moves. CPUs in Smash 64 often spam rolls to dodge opponents' attacks, regardless of their character. Most characters use a rolling, somersaulting or spinning animation for this technique, hence the name, though characters without a very acrobatic physique (such as Zelda or Mewtwo) will instead side-step or slide into the direction the Control Stick is flicked, while others such as Kirby and Mr. Game & Watch use a cart-wheeling animation. Yoshi and Samus use unique special animations for it: Yoshi rolls while in his Egg, and Samus goes into Morph Ball mode, though both rolls are considerably slow.

Characters when rolling will always end up facing the opposite direction they rolled into. That is, if characters looking right roll backwards, they will keep facing in that direction afterwards, but if rolling forward, they will end up looking to the left. This allows rolling through a character to then execute attacks with more ease, but can disrupt them when trying to dodge projectiles and approach the opponent at the same time. Interestingly, a character cannot roll off the stage if a player performs this move near an edge. The character will instead perform the remainder of the rolling animation in a stationary location right next to the ledge.

Rolling vs. wavedashing (Melee)

Many casual players believe that rolling and wavedashing play the same role and that the wavedash is just a superior version of the roll. This misconception exists because professional players wavedash in most situations in which casual players would roll. In fact, rolling and wavedashing play very different roles: rolling provides intangibility and more distance than a wavedash, but has a determined length and is more easily punished; it is generally used to get behind an attacking opponent or avoid attacks that cannot be wavedashed away from. On the other hand, wavedashing allows a character to act faster and attack while moving sideways at the expense of intangibility; it is generally used to quickly alter spacing or move towards an opponent while standing without turning around (like a forward roll would cause). If the wavedash did not exist, upper-level smashers would replace the wavedash with a dash in most situations, not a roll.

Rolling Distances (Melee)

This list shows the overall rankings for how for the characters roll in Melee, taken from Mew2King's Melee information dump.

Average of forward and back rolls

Ranking Character
1 Mewtwo
2 Marth
3 Samus
4 Pichu
5 Sheik
6 Falco
7 Roy
8 Ganondorf
9 Luigi
10 Donkey Kong
11 Link
12 Pikachu
13 Ice Climbers
14 Captain Falcon
15 Fox
16 Zelda
17/18 Dr. Mario/Mario
19 Jigglypuff
20 Ness
21 Kirby
22 Yoshi
23 Peach
24 Young Link
25 Mr. Game & Watch
26 Bowser

Forward rolls

Ranking Character
1 Mewtwo
2 Marth
3 Sheik
4 Pichu
5 Samus
6 Falco
7 Donkey Kong
8 Ganondorf
9 Roy
10 Luigi
11 Pikachu
12 Link
13 Ice Climbers
14 Captain Falcon
15 Fox
16 Zelda
17/18 Dr. Mario/Mario
19 Jigglypuff
20 Kirby
21 Yoshi
22 Peach
23 Ness
24 Bowser
25 Young Link
26 Mr. Game & Watch

Back rolls

Ranking Character
1 Mewtwo
2 Marth
3 Samus
4 Falco
5 Pichu
6 Roy
7 Sheik
8 Ganondorf
9 Luigi
10 Link
11 Ness
12 Donkey Kong
13 Ice Climbers
14 Captain Falcon
15 Fox
16 Pikachu
17-18 Dr. Mario/Mario
19 Jigglypuff
20 Zelda
21 Kirby
22 Yoshi
23 Peach
24 Young Link
25 Mr. Game & Watch
26 Bowser

Rolling Frames (Melee)

These lists show the invincibility and the total lag frames of the rolls, but not the distance travelled or the size of the character while rolling.

The numbers before the slash (/) are the invincibility frames of the roll, and the number after the slash is the total number of frames taken to perform the roll. For example, Mario's forward roll takes 31 frames to perform, but he is only invincible between frames 4 and 19. This counts both forward and backward rolls, unless otherwise noted.

4-19 / 31

1-34 / 34

2-18 / 34

4-19 / 34

4-19 / 35

1-37 / 37

4-21 / 37

4-19 / 37

4-19 / 39

4-30 / 44

Rolling Frames (Brawl)

5-12 / 23

4-19 / 27

4-17 / 27

4-15 / 27

4-19 / 29

4-20 / 31

4-19 / 31

5-20 / 31

3-19 / 32

4-17 / 32

4-19 / 32

4-12 / 33

4-19 / 33

4-21 / 34

4-19 / 34

4-19 / 35

4-17 / 35

4-23 / 35

4-19 / 36

4-21 / 37

4-19 / 37

5-20 / 39

4-23 / 44

Gallery

  • Mario's forward roll animation in Melee.

    Mario's forward roll animation in Melee.

  • Zero Suit Samus rolls backwards, away from Snake's aerial attack.

    Zero Suit Samus rolls backwards, away from Snake's aerial attack.

Trivia

  • In Smash 64, a glitch occurs if a player repeteadly rolls backwards against a wall. It causes the character to enlarge and go downwards as the player keeps rolling. If another action is inputted, however, the character returns to normal. [1]
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