Ness (SSBB)

Ness (, Ness) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Confirmation of Ness's inclusion in Brawl was leaked on January 18th, 2008 through a promotional video on the Japanese Wii website about sticker power ups. He was officially confirmed on February 1st, 2008 on the Smash Dojo website. 
He is once again voiced by Makiko Ōmoto. Ness' voice clips were re-purposed from the recording sessions for Melee, using returning voice clips alongside previously unused ones.
Ness is currently ranked 26th out of 38 on the tier list, a decent improvement from his placement in Melee, where he was ranked 23rd out of 26 characters. Ness possesses a strong aerial game with very useful aerial attacks, as well as effective tilts, effective throws, a projectile with great trapping and damage potential in PK Fire, a versatile projectile capable of very early KOs and mindgames in PK Thunder, and multiple powerful, reliable finishers (such as his back throw and back aerial). Ness is greatly hindered, however, by his exploitable recovery, the rather poor reach in most of his attacks, possessing one of the worst ground games in the game (due to his aforementioned poor range, his almost non-existent approach options on the ground, sluggish mobility and poor smash attacks), and by the 10 additional frames of lag he suffers when grab released, leaving him extremely vulnerable to grab release followups from almost every character, as well as infinite and zero to death grab release chain grabs (most infamously from and ). Ness overall has below-average matchups with several counters, and he has had average tournament results.
==How to unlock==
Players can unlock Ness by doing one of the methods listed below. With the exception of the third method, Ness must then be defeated on Onett.
*Play 5 VS. matches to completion. If Ness is skipped for fighters with higher VS. match quotas, he will not be accessible until those other fighters are unlocked.
*Reflect 10 projectiles in a single VS. match. Reflections from all players count towards the total. Players defeated during the unlock match cannot make Ness re-appear by simply playing another VS. match - this method must be repeated exactly. If this method is used and either 's 10-hour unlock condition or 's trophy unlock condition are met, then Sonic and/or R.O.B. will appear instead of Ness.
*Have Ness join the player's party in The Subspace Emissary by clearing Subspace (Part I).
==Attributes==
Generalizing Ness is difficult. He generally runs a unique, versatile role, employing three different projectiles with differing purposes. Generally, the moves have modest lag and decent knockback, his PK Fire leads well into other attacks, and his PK Thunder can trap opponents and lead into PK Thunder 2, one of the strongest attacks in the game. Also, PK Thunder and PK Flash both leave Ness very vulnerable because he can't move or attack when controlling these projectiles. Ness can use his PSI Magnet to absorb any energy projectile. The best for Ness, however, are his powerful throws, most notably his back throw, the only throw in Brawl that can reliably KO under 150% without relying on being on the edge and bad DI. Combining these with proper projectile use and appropriate Smash timing, and Ness can be a powerful foe. Shield grabs tend to be a problem for Ness since he has the shortest standing grab range in the game. He's fairly balanced in the areas of weight, falling speed, and air speed with none of them being particularly good nor particularly bad.
Ness' true game can be found by utilizing his aerials. Ness is one of the very few characters in the game who can perform two aerials in one shorthop (Double Aerial Shuffle). This requires practice though because one needs to do the aerial immediately when one jumps off the ground. Looking at his aerials individually, his neutral aerial is fast and a great combo and defensive move. His forward aerial can set up into itself, making it good at damage-racking. His back aerial deals powerful knockback when sweetspotted, making it his best aerial finisher, while it can be used for a wall of pain when sourspotted. His up aerial is a very strong vertical KO move with a decent amount of range. Lastly, his clean down aerial is among the best meteor smashes in the game, and when hit late, it has strong horizontal knockback, making it good for edgeguarding.
However, his ground game is underwhelming. With slow dash speed and short range tilts, he suffers in matchups against characters with disjointed hitboxes such as Ike or Marth. The only upside of his tilts are that they come out very quickly, which can be used to rack up damage. His forward smash is slow and needs to be sweetspotted for it to reliably KO under 100%. His up smash is very weak in terms of knockback, being among the weakest in the game, although it is one of the only two smash attacks able to damage people while charging, the other being Ness's down smash. All of Ness's smashes also give Ness some much needed range in his ground game, although their lack of speed and KO power limit their use.
Ness's major problems are his awful ground grab release and recovery. He and both suffer from having extremely long grab release animations. Most characters have some sort of ground grab release on Ness, and/or Lucas, leading to chaingrabs, infinities in walls, and other moderate to major problems. Two examples of this would be and 's 0-death on Ness and Lucas. Another example is using his forward smash out of the grab release, which Ness can't avoid. As mentioned above, Ness's other major problem is his atrocious recovery. Although Ness has a very large 2nd jump (second only to Yoshi's in terms of height), his PK Thunder, though faster than Lucas' PK Thunder, has a much wider turning angle, thus requiring more room for Ness to recover than Lucas. Its PK Thunder 2 also travels less distance than Lucas' version. In addition, his PK Thunder will stop in its tracks when it hits most projectiles, walls, or a character. As such, some opponents may take a risk and jump in front of PK Thunder's path to intercept Ness's recovery, giving Ness little to no hope of making it back onstage, which is easier with disjointed moves. However, this is a risky way of intercepting Ness's recovery, due to his recovery move having an extreme amount of knockback, KOing below 50% in most situations, although a projectile could still be used to halt his recovery, especially if it's controllable.
Ness's double jump has a unique quality that sets it apart from others in the game. It consists of four PSI flashes that propel him upward. If Ness uses an aerial or air dodge at the beginning of the jump, he will obtain a directional boost depending on the aerial used and if it is used on the first or second flash (his up aerial gives the longest boost, and the boost is longer if activated on the first flash). He can also use his double jump from the ground if the jump button is pressed during lag, which is helpful for starting up aerial combos. Using an aerial will make Ness move up faster, which complies for his slow double-jump and floatiness. After this, he will take a small pause in the air as a "filler" for the frames lost by the faster double-jump.
==Changes from Super Smash Bros. Melee==
Ness has received a mix of buffs and nerfs, but given that he was one of the worst characters in Melee, he was noticeably buffed overall in the transition to Brawl. While he has seen relatively few direct changes compared to other characters, he has nevertheless seen improvements. His aerial game has seen noticeable improvements as his aerial mobility has improved, most of his aerials have less landing lag, his forward aerial while weaker connects more reliably making it a more effective spacing tool and his up and down aerials have more range and are overall more effective KO moves due to the changes to Brawls mechanics. His recovery, while still poor, is more reliable due to his higher air speed, lower falling speed, and the removal of double jump canceling. A number of moves have stronger knockback; some examples being his up and down aerials, his smash attacks, and PK Thunder 2. These give him more reliable and stronger KO potential.
However, he also received several drastic nerfs that magnify his flaws, the most significant of which being the 10 extra frames added to his grounded grab release animation. This is detrimental for Ness as it makes him vulnerable to inescapable kill confirms and even infinite chain grabs from some characters. His combo potential is also significantly lower due to the introduction of hitstun canceling, the universally decreased falling speeds and the removal of double jump cancelling. Furthermore, many of his notable buffs have failed to completely alleviate many of his most glaring flaws; his barely improved recovery remains glaringly easy to gimp or edgeguard, while his marginally better overall range is still short relative to the cast, which is exacerbated by the loss of his powerful yo-yo glitch. This, alongside his overall slow mobility, still makes him heavily struggle in approaching most of his opponents. Finally, while his KOing ability is much better than in Melee, Ness still struggles KO foes consistently, as his slightly better smash attacks are still sluggish and somewhat weak compared to the rest of the cast, while his other most powerful KO moves still suffer from his aforementioned poor range.
Overall, he is considered to be improved from his Melee incarnation, but his longer grounded grab release, watered down combo game and retained flaws keep him from moving into higher tiers.
===Aesthetics===
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===Attributes===
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===Ground attacks===
*Neutral attack:
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*Down tilt:
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*Dash attack:
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*Forward smash:
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*Yo-yo (up and down smash):
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===Aerial attacks===
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*Neutral aerial:
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*Forward aerial:
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*Back aerial:
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*Up aerial:
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*Down aerial:
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===Throws/other attacks===
*Grabs:
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*Pummel:
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*Back throw:
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*Down throw:
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===Special moves===
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*PK Flash:
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*PK Fire:
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*PK Thunder:
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*PSI Magnet:
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*PK Starstorm:
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==Moveset==
For a gallery of Ness' hitboxes, see here.
===Stats===
===Announcer call===
Ness English Announcer SSBB.wav|English/Japanese
Ness French Announcer SSBU.wav|French
Ness German Announcer SSBU.wav|German
Ness Italian Announcer SSBU.wav|Italian
Ness Spanish Announcer SSBU.wav|Spanish
===Wii Remote selection sound===
===On-screen appearance===
===Taunts===
===Idle poses===
===Crowd cheer===
 	Cheer (English) 	Cheer (Japanese) 	Cheer (German) 	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer 	 	 	 	
Description	Ness - Ness - Ness - OOOO!	Ness - Ness - Ne - ss!	Ness Ness Ness! Jaaaaa!	
 	Cheer (French) 	Cheer (Italian) 	Cheer (Spanish) 	
Cheer 	 	 	 	
Description	Ness Ness Ness ! Ohhhhh ! 	Forza Ness ole ole! 	Ne - ss! Eh! Eh! 	Ness - Ness - Neeess!
===Victory poses===
==In competitive play==
===Notable players===
:See also: :Category:Ness players (SSBB)
* - Considered one of the best Ness mains in the world before switching to .
* - Japan's top Ness player.
* - Considered the undisputed best Ness following FOW's switch to Meta Knight.
* - The current active Ness player online in recent years. Ranked 7 in the Brawl Central Power Ranking. He had also made top 16 solo Ness at Super Smash Con 2023.
===Tier placement and history===
Ness' standing in the metagame initially had not changed much, in spite of his buffs in the transition. He was originally seen as a low tier character, lying at 31st. Players at the time immediately noticed the presence of the 10 extra frames to his grab release animation, making him very vulnerable his grab release combos by many characters in the cast, where common characters like could easily exploit such detriments, resulting in his quality-of-life buffs being insufficient to alleviate his most significant problems (most notably his atrocious recovery, his barely improved mobility, range, and KO power and his horrible neutral game), as well as the loss of double jump canceling, the overall slower falling speeds and the ability to act out of hitstun having severely decreased his combo ability. However, he did increase to 27th by the third tier list as new Ness professionals were discovered, and he stayed there for every single tier list in Brawl, until the last one, where he was slightly bolstered by one tier.
However, Ness had heavily struggled throughout the game's competitive lifespan, as aside from making approaches difficult, his amplified consequences upon getting punished made it extremely hard for him to approach the rest of the cast.
==In Solo Modes==
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In Classic Mode, Ness can appear as an opponent or ally in Stage 4 if he has been unlocked along with , , and on Castle Siege or New Pork City. Ness can also appear as an opponent in Stage 11, but only if he hasn't appeared in Stage 4.
===All-Star Mode===
In All-Star Mode, Ness is fought in Stage 10 alongside on New Pork City.
===Event Matches===
====Solo Events====
*Event 21: Visit to Onett: The player controls and must defeat Ness on Onett.
*Event 25: The Aura Is With Me: As at 182% damage, the player must defeat and Ness on Spear Pillar.
*Event 26: The Slow and Easy Life: Ness must defeat three tiny s on Smashville before K.K. Slider's song ends.
*Event 29: All-Star Semifinal Regulars: Ness is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are characters that were unlockable from the original Super Smash Bros. game.
====Co-Op Events====
*Co-Op Event 9: Those Who Wait in Onett: and Ness must defeat and on Onett.
*Co-Op Event 16: Jigglypuff's Great Comeback: and , who are tiny, must defeat and Ness, who are giant, on Castle Siege. As the stage changes to different backgrounds, Jigglypuff will grow and Lucas and Ness will shrink.
*Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle: Both players select a character and take on the entire roster on .
===Congratulations Screens===
Ness Congratulations Screen Classic Mode Brawl.png|Classic Mode
Ness Congratulations Screen All-Star Brawl.png|All-Star Mode
==Role in The Subspace Emissary==
thumb|250px|Ness in SSE.
Ness shows up saving from the giant Pig King Statue, which is soon revealed to be their mutual nemesis, Porky Minch. Ness and Lucas team up to defeat Porky and his machine. Afterward, attacks him with his Dark Cannon, but Ness successfully dodges each shot. Wario, however, then aims at Lucas, forcing Ness to push Lucas out of harm's way and take the arrow from the Dark Cannon, which turns him into a trophy. As Lucas is too scared to face Wario, he leaves Ness behind as Wario cackles in the rain. Most of Lucas's story in SSE involves getting revenge on Wario and trying to find Ness.
As Wario is driving his Cargo with Ness' and Peach/Zelda's trophies on board, he finds 's trophy and prepares to take it until he is ambushed by an army of Waddle Dees, who throw Luigi's trophy into the cargo, which is stolen by . At his hideout, Dedede puts a badge on Luigi's, Ness', and Peach/Zelda's trophies before the roof collapses on them, turning Dedede into a trophy in the process, and takes Peach/Zelda's trophy. Soon afterward the Ancient Minister detonates a Subspace Bomb that consumes Dedede's castle along with Ness', Luigi's and Dedede's trophies by Subspace.
Ness is not seen again until much later in the story, where he and Luigi are revived thanks to the Dedede Badges. Upon inspecting Luigi's badge, he notices that it looks like Dedede, and, assuming that Dedede made them, proceeds to revive him. Upon being revived, King Dedede gives both of them a hug before they team up and rescue Lucas, along with most of the other characters. Kirby, who was revived by the Dedede brooch he swallowed earlier, revives whatever characters that Ness' group did not come across, including Wario. Wario then bashes Dedede in the head as revenge for Dedede stealing his cargo and trophies. He is then surprised to see Ness and Luigi on Dedede's side. They offer to let Wario join them, and he agrees and rides his bike up to the entrance of The Great Maze. Ness, along with and the other characters team up to defeat Tabuu.
===Playable appearances===
Ness was captured by during The Ruined Zoo, and he is brought into 's castle after he previously stole Wario's trophy cart. But after The Cave, a Subspace Bomb was detonated near his castle, bringing Ness into Subspace.
*The Ruined Zoo
*Subspace (Part I)
*The Great Maze
===Exclusive stickers===
These stickers can only be used by Ness or Lucas.
*Boney: [PK] Attack +16
*Claus: [PK] Attack +13
*Crazy Redd: [PK] Attack +16
*Devil Car: [PK] Attack +14
*Duster: [Leg] Attack +4
*Flint: [Specials: Indirect] Attack +4
*Hinawa: [Normal] Resistance +4
*Jeff: [PK] Attack +24
*Kumatora: [PK] Attack +11
*Lloyd: [PK] Attack +6
*Lucas: [PK] Attack +13
*Mad Truck: [Normal] Resistance +23
*Magkid: [PK] Attack +9
*Mr. Saturn: [PK] Attack +7
*Ness: [PK] Attack +33
*New Age Retro Hippie: [PK] Attack +11
*Ninten: [PK] Attack +24
*Pigmask: [PK] Attack +7
*Paula: [PK] Attack +10
*Poo: [PK] Attack +9
*Porky: [PK] Attack +15
*Salsa: [PK] Attack +9
*Starman (EarthBound): [PK] Attack +10
*Stork Stop: [PK] Attack +12
==Trophies==
Ness's main and Final Smash trophies can be obtained by clearing and All-Star mode respectively with Ness.
==Alternate costumes==
					
					
==Gallery==
SSBBDojoNess1.jpg|Using his up smash on Smashville.
SSBBDojoNess2.jpg|Taunting alongside on Skyworld.
SSBBDojoNess3.jpg|Using his forward tilt on on Distant Planet.
SSBBDojoNess4.jpg|Taunting on Bridge of Eldin.
==Trivia==
*Ness was briefly considered being cut from Brawl, but Mother 3 only releasing in Japan resulted in both Ness and Lucas being included.https://twitter.com/pushdustin/status/1626015096781836288
*Despite being the first character unlocked through playing Brawls, Ness is one of the last characters unlocked by playing The Subspace Emissary. He is also the first unlockable character to be playable in The Subspace Emissary, despite not joining the player's team until near the end of the game.
*Strangely, Ness has visible teeth during the cutscenes of The Subspace Emissary, but not during the actual gameplay. has this distinction as well.
*When in metal form, Ness' bat is also metal, but his yo-yo is not.
*Ness' yo-yo says "Super Nintendo 2008" along the top, above "MOTHER", with the 2008 referencing the year Brawl was released. 
*Ness and are the only two characters to have their unlockable status change between Melee and Brawl.
**This was also the case for the transition between Smash 64 and Melee.
*Ness is the only fighter to have his trophy list another Super Smash Bros. game for his game appearances. This is most likely due to the fact that outside of the series, he only made a playable appearance in . instead lists the second appearance as Mother 1+2, released in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance.
*Ness is the only character to be fought on a Melee Stage (Onett) when being unlocked.
*Ness is one of the only four unlockable characters to appear in the opening cinematic of Brawl. The three others sharing this attribute are , , and .
==References==
==External links==
*DOJO!! page
*Ness Character Guide on SmashBoards
*Ness' hitbox size of each of his moves
 
Category:Trophies (SSBB)
es:Ness (SSBB)