So i just tried out DC presents Donkey Kong: Mind Games, about 2 days ago, i havent been able to get more than 8 total hours on him yet however i genuinely think that grodd when played correctly has EXTREME potential. Heres my current opinion on his strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
-Long ranged normals in nuetral-
However slow they may be, they just take proper practice and timing methinks. From the start of the match you can hit them with 223 or 22EXGrab into his restand setups, you can use his diagonal down 3 sweep which gives you a knockdown and first bar of meter ANNNNDD you can immediately follow it up with a regular spaced leap to get an easy hard to predict crossover into, again, his sexy standup game. Or hitem with that 112 trait to start the game with the 1 bar plus the automatic free trait. Or just a simple d1 will do. Hits from the start of the match, fast, and one of his overall best tools.
-after you get a knockdown on someone there is always a move that allows you to follow up seamlessly from them standing-
So as it says, when you get a knockdown with grodd regardless of whether it came from a throw, a d3, a super sweep, etc. You can always follow it up smoothly with something for instance. If you get a throw, from the range of that throw, if they dont wake up with invincibility, you can immediately full range super sweep, and then, after you sweep, leap, its a free crossup if they dont wake up with invincibility and gives free pressure at the very least, the point of this strength is if you properly utilize his tools and spacing he has mucho optiones.
-mixup game stronk af-
Look, we all know that he is a tad on the slow side with his mixup game and as far as an OH goes we pretty much have f3, even though low key the 223/grab should be a OH on second hit at least least but im not here to complain. Now again, this comes down the individual, but imo his normal tools and his leap give him the potential to really make the opponent worried about just blocking seeing as though you do have a grab from the leap which when ex is a full combo into restand, which from the singular grodds ive seen is never really used for some reason, also catches people mid air soo, ya. I like to use his strings that are noticeable as the ones that lead into grab setups, ie, 22 or 112 or b1, and then not imputing the grab, because lets be honest, when playing against a grodd, if he gets his strings on you while your blocking you dont let go of that block button until you see his monkey hands reach out for your little buttocks for a nice squeeze.
-harambe-
Weaknesses:
-startup on wakeups weak af and his strings have a lot of exploitable holes-
So obviously this is a huge issue with him, he does have a decent b1 that leads into his big man hand damage combo, however its too slow to be really 100% viable lets say if your crossup is blocked. If you leap for the crossup and they block it, you might as well go get you a nanner cause youll be back before the startup is done. Again, im not here to gripe about poor harambe, but nrs really? Really nrs? Rreeeeeaaaalllllyyyy nrs?
-hes somewhat predictable once you understand the matchup-
So idk about everyone else but, i seem to do my best against people that have,lets say, less than optimal experience in the matchup against grodd. People that can accurately predict or react to leaps/holes in strings etc can usually put a damper on my good time. That being said, this weakness does kind of come down to the player, not the character in this instance. Sure his tools are somewhat predictable, but thats what makes fighting games so great, you can take a character that most people think should be played one way, but you can put your own spin on it that makes it unique and harder to deal with. Point is dont just robotically copy people that are good just because they are good. Switch up the playstyle and you will find a sense of happiness you havent felt before when duking it out.
-no projectiles (i meaaannnnn...technically none)-
So this is the one thing i think anyone who plays grodd or for that matter anyone else without reliable zoning options have the biggest problem with. Zoning in this game in particular is paramount almost. And when you are playing against characters with all these zoning options it doesnt seem fair. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel my friends, and its one simple word. A word most famously coined by the late great homie confucious, patience. Yes patience can and will solve all your zoning problems. Sure you might not win all the time against heavy zoning, but let me try to explain this thought process. If you are being zoned, especially if you have less than adequate skill at this game in general, it must feel like you can do nothing to win, that its impossible, because you cant zone back. So you get upset and salty and either start making dumb mistakes just trying to get in as quickly as possible so you can take out your rage and break your opponents e-face. Then you inevitably lose and get more salty and possibly put down the controller altogether. Try this next time. Ever been skiing and been told to use the "pizza and frenchfries" technique to pace yourself SAFELY down the slope? Well in the FGC you have "walk and block". Its very simple, you walk forward when the openent does have a projectile out, and when you see that animation for the fireball you duck for cover like its 1915 and a nuclear bomb just went off 3 football fields away from your front door. Now of course there will be varying ways to do this, but generally walking and blocking is a good way to eventually get in on your oponent. You may be thinking, well what about all the chip damage from blocking. Simple, while you will take damge from chip, it pales in comparison to the damage YOU can do once you do get in there. Most good players that are well rounded wont need to spam.zone. they will zone effectively, but can also utilize strings. But then theres those online warriors that either cant handle not being top 100 on the leaderboards, or genuinely enjoy making people lose their minds. And these guys are the ones youre actually pissed at. And walking and blocking not only makes you look more skilled and knowledgeable than them, but also when you do get in and get that sweet big man hand damage, they get so salty because their strat isnt working and they look like fools.
Kinda went off on a rant there but heres the gist
Grodd when olayed well i believe is at the very least a really good counter to certain matchups, is he tournament viable without a solid secondary? Ehh doubtful in his current state, but goddamn if you like this character you LOVE this fucking character. He has good range and good options i believe, just gotta tweak his tools to your advantage and play wisely. Please let me know if i sound uneducated but also keep in mind that this is only my opinion and that i have at most 8 hours total played games (not including probably an extra 4 in practice) so im a little late to the party.
