How do you feel about the other smash games?
I love watching Melee, Project Melee and P+, though I haven't been able to play them. Brawl was trash all around, imo. Smash 4 is the only one I played for a long time besides Ultimate (because I got into fighting games around the time 4 was out), and I also liked watching that game... pre-Bayonetta. But Melee is by far my favorite of those to watch. Even PM and P+ don't approach Melee in terms of hype for me, which is odd bc those were emulating Melee.
2. Ways to highlight (differences in) player skill: it’s exciting to see players better than you do things you can’t. Flawless Blocks, parries, visually difficult combos, exploiting system mechanics etc. Anything that clearly shows the viewer that a player is special.
Actually I've had this thought that this might be what's missing from Smash Ultimate -- or one of the main things at least. Most high-level play is not visually impressive. There are a few
exceptions like BestNess's Ness. He's psi-magnet reversing all over the place and pulling off combos that look technical and have **punch. But most characters even in the most-skilled hands don't do much that appears particularly skillful (despite the fact that what they're doing takes immense skill - it just isn't visually obvious). So I think it's true that proficiency isn't as visually noticeable in Smash Ultimate. I think this not only affects spectating, but gameplay as well. I feel badass wavedashing and micro-duck punishing in MK11, or low-parrying and then scooping my opp into a wall combo in Tekken7, etc., but there isn't anything like that in SU. (And I've learned a lot of tech looking for something like that)
**There's got to be a better term than 'punch', but I think you all know what I mean. High-level Melee is a great example. Offensive sequences are fast, technical and above all
satisfying as hell. If one player messes up there's a decent chance he'll get viciously bopped from one side of the stage to the other in an awesome sequence that no one but the attacking player saw coming. It's truly a thing of beauty. In contrast, much of Ultimate's roster has a "ladder combo" BnB where the same move combos into itself: UpThrow > UpAir > UpAir> UpAir. And it just feels underwhelming - like, that's it? And what's worse is that the opponent is very often able to escape a follow-up attack.
In Melee, after a combo, the attacking player often gains momentum, sometimes immediately winning the neutral again and following up one sequence with another and then another until the opponent is destroyed. Stocks can disappear in a blink. In Ultimate, after the tepid 3-hit ladder combo, players usually just reset to neutral and stay there zoning and running around playing Smash's equivalent of footsies w/ aerial hitboxes, I guess, for a good while before anyone lands anything significant. Most characters are so safe (due to low recovery on attacks, lots of great defensive options, etc.) that even correct reads on your opponent often go unrewarded as they recover and dodge, shield, or roll out of harm's way.
Anyway that pretty much articulates why I think Smash Ultimate is not hype. I realize that according to the poll not everyone agrees with me lol
TL;DR: Smash Ultimate lacks flashy tech and satisfying offense.
that was sick!". What even makes a fighting game hype?
