Ness (SSBM)

Ness in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Universe	EarthBound
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Starter
Tier	F (23)

“	A psychic boy with a distinct midair jump.	”
—Description from Melee's manual.

Ness (ネス, Nesu) is a default character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Announced at E3 2001, he was originally going to be replaced by Lucas from Mother 3; the ultimate cancellation of the game caused Ness to reappear, and in Brawl, the two characters appear alongside each other.

He is currently ranked 23rd in the F tier. Ness still has many of his positive attributes from his previous appearance, such as fantastic throws, an abundance of projectiles, and a decent air game, due to his double jump cancel. Ness, however, had many of his best powers strongly nerfed in Melee which is similar to Kirby's nerf; his smash attacks are now all situational due to their nerf, and his special moves have more lag than before. Additionally, a short grab range (among the shortest in Melee) means that the very method that Ness needs to use to KO opponents most effectively is now more difficult to perform. As a result of the overwhelmingly bad nerfs, Ness has terrible matchups, with six unfavorable, one even (against Yoshi), and three favorable (against Bowser, Kirby, and Pichu).

Attributes

Ness is an unusual blend of character archetypes; many of his attributes are unusual in comparison to other characters, such as his projectiles, his recovery and his midair jump. Ness has above average traction and a moderately low falling speed, giving him a short, albeit relatively fast wavedash.

Ness unusual properties give him a wide and varied combo game. His floatiness allows him to quickly and efficientally combo other characters, especially against fast fallers, and his aerial attacks are versatile, as Ness has a combination of both low-lag attacks and more powerful aerial attacks. Ness also has a very good DJC on his side, boosting his combo potential, and it gives him some very good approach options against other characters.

Ness also has some good KO options. On the ground, Ness's forward smash is very powerful, moderately fast, has a long, safe disjointed hitbox and has the ability to reflect some projectiles. Within the air, Ness's up and back air attacks are short-ranged, but very powerful when used correctly. While Ness's down air's meteor has poor knockback scaling and is slow, it can act as a useful edgeguard tactic.

Ness also has a rather good throwing game. Ness's back throw is one of the most powerful in the game, and it acts as among Ness's best KOing options. Ness's forward throw has poor knockback scaling; while this makes it weak at high percentages, this lowered knockback can set up combos. Ness's up and down throws similarly can also begin new combos, with the former easily comboing into his up air at some damage percentages.

Ness's unusual characteristics, however, give him a decidely below-average approach, even when the DJC comes into question. A high short-hop and a low falling speed gives Ness a poor SHFFL, and his wavedash is similarly short and situational.

Ness's approach is also hampered by the lack of an effective projectile; while Ness has three projectiles, none can be effectively used in all cases. PK Flash has long starting and ending lag, and it can only KO reliably after being charged for a long time; as a result, it can only be utilised as a highly situational edgeguard technique. PK Fire has multiple hits, but it is easy to DI out of, has high starting and ending lag, and it has short reach for a projectile. PK Thunder is, however, slightly more useful, as it is controllable and can be used for mindgames; however, it suffers from long ending lag after it has hit something, and it cannot be cancelled.

Ness's recovery is also incredibly varied. Ness has the second highest midair jump in the game (second to only Yoshi) and his midair jump has unusual properties in its trajectory; PK Thunder 2 also grants a rather long distance, with a moderately large sweetspot and a long period of invincibility frames, but Ness still has a very predictable and inflexible recovery. In the process of having to start PK Thunder 2, characters with good recoveries (such as Jigglypuff or Samus) can merely jump into the projectile and take negligible knockback and damage, immediately sending Ness into a state of helplessness. Projectiles such as Link's Boomerangs and the Ice Climbers' Ice Shot can easily disrupt the projectile as well. PK Thunder 2 also has significant angling issues, and it can easily curve under lips of stages, most notably on Battlefield. Additionally, should Ness end up parallel to the ground while using the attack, the ending lag can easily be abused and punished.

Ness also has poor options on the ground. Despite a powerful forward smash, a combo starter of his up and his down tilt that is very fast and easily spammable, Ness has a slew of problems on the ground. His up and down smashes are laggy and exceedingly weak, unable to KO except at ludicrously high damage percentages. While Ness's throw game is good, he has the second shortest grab range in all the game, losing out to only Pikachu. His dash grab slightly ups his range, but this has significant ending lag if it misses. Ness also suffers from a rather slow dash, though his fast wavedash can offset this.

Changes from Smash 64 to Melee

In comparison to his appearance from the previous game, Ness has been heavily nerfed, similar to Pikachu and Kirby; Ness's overall power was affected more than Pikachu's, but less than Kirby's.

• His forward smash now has longer reach.
• Both dash and forward aerial attacks now have PK sparks added to them, making them more damaging.
• The PK Thunder projectile travels considerably faster, and has a tighter radius, making recovering easier.
• PSI Magnet is considerably faster, improving Ness's defensive game.
• His up and down smashes' knockback were weakened considerably, now unable to KO except at very high damage percentages. Its ranges were also shortened.
• Both dash and forward aerial attacks deal less knockback.
• Ness's down aerial, previously among the most feared, now has significantly more start-lag and has low knockback scaling.
• PK Fire travels a smaller distance, and it is now considerably easier to DI out of.
• Ness's PK Thunder 2 travels a shorter distance, damage when hitting an opponent is 5% less, and has a lot more end lag.
• The colour of PSI Magnet is now blue instead of green.
• Ness's grounded jump is no longer pyschokinetic in power.
• Ness has new voice samples.
• The crowd no longer cheers when Ness absorbs a projectile with PSI Magnet.
• He now has a new neutral special, PK Flash. PK Fire got moved to Ness's side special.

Moveset

For a gallery of Ness's hitboxes, see here.

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack- Ness punches forward, hooking the opponent. Deals 3%. If pressed twice more, Ness will punch forward, then kick. 2% punch, 4% kick.
• Dash attack- Ness uses PK Brainshock forward. Has three hits. Good, disjointed range. Sends opponent in random directions. This attack is a semi-spike if this attack sends opponent horizontally. 12%
• Forward tilt- Ness does a roundhouse kick forward. 11%
• Up tilt- Ness thrusts his hands upward, as if hitting a volley ball. 7%
• Down tilt- Ness thrusts his leg downward, then pivots his foot to hit the opponent. Can combo into itself by mashing A after the move is executed. 3%

Smash attacks

• Forward smash- Ness swings a bat forward. If hit on the tip, there is more knockback and damage. Has high knockback and damage, but a little bit of start-up lag. Can reflect some projectiles. 32%
• Down smash- Ness swings his yo-yo backward then forward, in a trick that vaguely resembles a combination of the "Walk the Dog" and "Walk the Cat" yo-yo tricks. Has good range but decent to very poor knockback depending on the opponent's falling speed. It is also very slow and laggy in both starting and ending lag. This attack is incapable of KOing unless his opponents is at extreme percentage. 25%
• Up smash- Ness does a variation on the "Around the World" yo-yo trick, swinging his yo-yo above his head. Has average range and speed, but sub-par knockback. Can be used to perform the Yo-yo Glitch. Like his down smash, this attack is incapable of KOing unless his opponents is at extreme percentage. 22%

Other attacks

• Ledge attack- Somersaults onto the stage, both feet stuck out. 8% damage
• 100% ledge attack- Picks himself up and kicks. 10% damage
• Floor attack- Punches on both sides whilst getting up. 6% damage.

Aerial attacks

Ness's aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial- Ness spins around, arms stretched out. Has average knockback, but is very fast with high combo potential. Poor range. 11%
• Forward aerial- Ness uses PK Brainshock forward. Is a fast, multi-hitting move, with good range but low knockback. Generally used as a spacing move. 15%
• Back aerial- Ness thrusts his feet backward. If sweetspotted, it electrifies the opponent and semi-spikes them with above-average power. Is fast with very high knockback albeit poor range. The fourth most powerful back aerial in Melee. 16%
• Up aerial- Ness headbutts upward. Has amazing juggling potential and a good KO move with very low lag, but poor range. Some professional Ness players use it as part of a DJC as an alternative to Ness's poor up smash. Unlike Smash 64, Ness`s head is no longer intangible. 13%
• Down aerial-A Stomp attack. Ness kicks downward. Is a meteor smash, and has a decent amount of start-up lag. Great range, high knockback at 0% (most powerful meteor smash at 0% in Melee), but it also has very low knockback scaling, being unable to KO grounded opponents at even 200%, and is relatively easy to meteor cancel. It also has no IASA frames (being interrupted on the same frame as Mario`s forward aerial, but Mario`s seem slower compared to Ness`s). 12%

Grabs and throws

• Pummel- Ness headbutts the opponent. 3%
• Forward throw- Ness throws the opponent forward. Very strong base knockback, but very low knockback scaling. 11%
• Back throw- Ness throws the opponent behind him. Has extremely low base knockback but very high knockback scaling. This is Ness's strongest throw and its one of the strongest back throw in the game, KOing reliably at 110 % and above. 11%
• Up throw- Ness throws the opponent upward. Can chain into some of his aerials. Decent knockback. 10%
• Down throw- Ness throws the opponent downward, and hits the enemy with PK Fire. Low knockback but allows a decent amount of followups, including being able to lead into an up aerial to KO. 8%

Special moves

Ness's special moves

Neutral special	PK Fire	PK Flash
Side special	—	PK Fire
Up special	PK Thunder
Down special	PSI Magnet

In Competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Notable players

See also: Category:Ness professionals (SSBM)

Active

•  Hungrybox
•  Simna ibn Sind
•  Vrud

Inactive

•  Mofo
•  Nessby

Tier placement and history

Ness's nerf from Super Smash Bros. has severely hindered his ability to combo and approach while failing to address his extremely short range on his few reliable KO moves. Ness has always placed very low on the tier list because of these flaws, currently at 23rd place and not considered a viable tournament character. Ness players are extremely few and far between; Hungrybox only used Ness in Apex 2013 to attempt to counter Armada's Young Link, and mostly used Jigglypuff for the rest of the tournament, while the rest of his players are semi-inactive and generally do not place very well with him, even with the powerful Yoyo glitch.

In single-player modes

In Classic Mode

Ness can appear in ordinary one-on-one matches, as an opponent or ally in team battles (paired up with either Mewtwo or Peach), as part of a multi character fight, or as an opponent in the metal fight. Ness appears on either Onett or Fourside when the latter is unlocked; when on a team with Mewtwo, he appears on Battlefield.

In Adventure Mode

Ness's appearance in the Adventure Mode is in Stage 9. In the stage, the player must fight against three computer players, each one being Ness, on the Onett stage; in the fight, the only item that appears in Mr. Saturn. The player must defeat all three opponents within five minutes to continue.

In All-Star Mode

In All-Star Mode, Ness and his allies are fought on the Onett stage.

In Event Matches

Ness is featured in the following event matches:

• Event 5: Spare Change: In this match, the player controls Ness against Captain Falcon in a Coin battle on Onett; in 80 seconds, the player must accumulate 200 coins before Captain Falcon does.
• Event 30: All-Star Match 3: Ness is the third opponent the player must fight in this series of staged battles. Their character battles him on the Onett stage, and the player's character has 2 stock while Ness has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other three characters with the overall time and life they have: Kirby, Pikachu and the Ice Climbers.
• Event 36: Space Travelers: As Ness, the player must defeat five opponents in a row: Samus, Kirby, Fox, Captain Falcon, and Falco. For the first three opponents, the fights are done on Fourside; after this, the player is then sent to Battlefield to fight against the last two.

Ending images

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  Classic Mode.

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  Adventure Mode.

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  All-Star Mode.

Trophies

Ness is a young boy who's mastered the psychic power known as PSI. Ness was living a normal life in the suburbs of Onett until a meteor crashed into a nearby mountain and sent him on a wild adventure. Believing in the ultimate powers of wisdom, courage, and friendship, Ness proves that some heroes come in small packages.

Game: EarthBound (06/95)

Smash Red

The key to mastering Ness is controlling his unique midair jump, which makes up for what he lacks in speed. His PK Flash attack may seem weak at first glance, but it grows more powerful the longer you hold down the B button. To do a lot of damage with PK Fire, try to burn your opponent as many times as possible.

Smash Blue

Ness's mind is his best weapon. PK Thunder is a PSI missile weapon that can be guided using the Control Stick, and if Ness hits himself with it, he turns into a living missile capable of doing massive damage. This move can also be used for recovery. PSI Magnet turns energy missile attacks into health; try out certain Pokémon for stamina replenishment.

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  181

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  182

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  183

Palette swaps

Ness's changeable clothing in Melee

Trivia

• Ness, Mario, Peach, and Samus are the only characters in Melee to use their default costume when on the red team.