Name (aka Handle): ShiningMist

How old are you?: 14

Which characters do you play in SSF2? Why do you play these characters? (Note: do not list characters that are not currently in the game): I play, mainly, because his quick style, bizarre maneuvers, and knock-out tactics please me. I also love his Nair. I play with other characters, but I’m not good on them (honestly I’m not really good at anything right now, hope this changes), so I’ll only speak about MK.

How much experience do you have with official Smash titles? (SSB64, Melee, Brawl. Include in this answer which characters you play/played.): None. If it’s going to be considered, I played the SSB4 demo for 20 minutes.

Have you ever attended any Smash tournaments? If so, give some details about the tournament (number of participants, which games, etc). How well did you place? No tournaments. Also hope this changes.

When did you start playing SSF2? Around patch 0.8a or 0.8b, can’t remember. Flat out stopped, came back for really no reason at all and decided to stay.

What is your favorite stage in SSF2? Explain. Final Destination. Good soundtrack, pleasing visual effects, and the most balanced duel you can have. I also play other stages, but none of them gives me the thrill of playing on Final Destination.

Who, in your opinion, should be placed first on the SSF2 tier list? Under competitive settings why would this character perform on a higher level than all others? Meta Knight. I really think he’d be the best because he’s very complete – can play defensively, can play aggressively, can react to poking and beatdown tactics, has a really good edgeguarding, nice combos and juggles, safe approaches, great edgeguarding and meteor smashing, and has no difficulties to go back to the stage.

Who, in your opinion, should be placed last on the SSF2 tier list? Under competitive settings why would this character perform on a lower level than all others? Chibi-Robo. Though he has some interesting tricks up his sleeve, he isn’t on par with the other characters. His side-special is hard to time and predictable if he’s coming from a distance, his air combat isn’t too good, and his ground combat is really bad against medium and long-ranged characters. But he’s really hard to knock without meteors/spikes and has decent poke, as well as medium-to-satisfactory combat with close ranged characters, but I still think he’s struggling to compete.

If you could make only one change to SSF2 as it currently is, what would it be and why? I’d add the Rage Effect (this is how they are calling the new feature in SSB4) – your own damage percentage would increase your attacks’ knockback as it raises (not damage). I think it’s a great comeback mechanic, which would favor the characters that need it, and wouldn’t favor the ones that don’t.

What is your view on items in competitive play? They are not balanced for competitive play (not even the Final Smashes), change the flow of the match, become really boring if you rely on them, and they also add an unnecessary probability factor. I prefer them out of my games.

Do you have or can you download Skype? You don't need a mic or webcam. Yes.

Why do you want to join the Smash Flash Back Room? What will you contribute? Why are you an exceptional applicant? Be as detailed as possible. I want to join the Smash Flash Back Room because, even though I know a lot, I still have a lot to learn, and I think learning in the SFBR would be excellent. I’m also really competitive, I love multiplayer, and I aim for nothing short than the top spots in these kinds of competitive games, even though I know that there is a LONG way to go.


Additional information (Include in this section anything relevant to your application. This could include links to videos of yourself playing.)

1. What is Meta Knight's best matchup? Be detailed in your response.

2. How much does Meta Knight benefit from flat stages? Be detailed in your response.

1. What is Meta Knight's best matchup? I think it would be Meta Knight vs. Jigglypuff. Meta Knight can compete with Jiggly in air combat, has a vastly superior ground combat, can stay in air to avoid Sing, has four ways to go back to the stage while Jigglypuff has one (and you have to be above the “stage line” to use it), and has no difficulty to meteor Jiggly (thus making it harder for he/her to recover), while Jigglypuff has serious problems with sending people below the stage. The only problem, though, is that air combat against Jigglypuff is a double-edged knife. If he takes more damage than he can deal, he’ll soon find himself trying to go through Jigglypuff’s wall of pain – and he has serious problems with that.

2. How much does Meta Knight benefit from flat stages? He benefits a lot from them. In flat stages, he can use all of his play styles quite well – he can fight on the ground, on the air, he can fly close to the ground to follow up, he can juggle – in short, he can do a lot of things. With platforms, he can also try to use his Nair/Uattack/Usmash or maybe Uair to punish characters from behind, and can also use the platform height to send people away from the “ceiling”. But, if he is caught at the top of a platform, he has a hard time fighting whoever is below it, and, when on a slope or when caught from behind at different altitudes (for example, the slope on Jungle Hijinx and the left side of Hylian Skies, respectively), smart players can benefit from that “blind spot”. In short, he does a lot of things very well in flat stages, but even though he doesn’t underperform in sloped stages, he has blind spots that will be severely punished.

1. You're Meta Knight playing against a Donkey Kong, and neither of you will switch characters. Using this ruleset, what neutral do you think you will go to first game? Describe in detail why you would each strike the stages you do. What stage do you want to ban after the first game, and what stage do they want to ban after the first game? Explain your answers.

2. Let's continue the example from above. What do you as Meta Knight want to do in the matchup, and what do they want to do? Additionally, who do you think has the advantage in the matchup and by how much? Describe in detail what options are available for both characters in the neutral game, punish game, offstage play, et cetera.

Thank you for your initial interest in the Back Room.

However, we have decided to decline your application due to the length of time that has passed since the last post, on October 4, 2014, and today, December 23, 2014.