I'm back and more ready than ever! Technically speaking a new patch is a new version so here is my new application! I'm determined to make you guys think guys think hard about whether or not I'm in the back room. Have fun thinking!

Name (aka Handle): Sonybubblemint, on MGN and forums.

How old are you?: 12, nuff said.

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):

LINK: I play with Link because he's a lot more tactical then people make him out to be. He can edge guard pretty well considering his fighting style. The gale boomerang leads into SO many combo possibilities, and his bomb arrows are a very interesting, creative and powerful perk. When ever I fight against fast characters like Sonic or Fox, I usually choose Link. His smash attacks and grab capabilities make him harder to gimp speed-wise. For instance, Ichigos side-B can dodge most projectiles if timed right, even Goku's full-charged kameahameaha! Although link is able to put THAT move to waste with his forward-smash, down-smash and a few other combinations (involving either his up-B or gale boomerang). His grabs reach makes it way easier to trap opponents,then he can juggle you like a pro with Up-smash, up-tilt and uair. Link is a great character in my opinion, he may not be as powerful as in the actual games, but his large multitude of options and K.O moves more than makes up for that.

MARTH: Marth is a very quick and offensive character that's pretty hard to keep up with if one can use him correctly. Juggling is WAY easy to pull of with marth if your fighting characters with slower air speed than him. Ranged opponents really don't have that much against him because he can just play his up-to-par air game and bring death from above (ie. Dair hit with tip of sword to spike opponent). The possibilities with marths recoveries are also very interesting, like how side-B can horizontally recover in the direction he's facing, stall your fall, AND deal damage?! Awesome! His down-B is perfect for his fighting style because if someone were to attempt a comeback, he counters they're comeback! Then he can just start wailing on them again! It's great for his close range style. Marth's offensive tactics are unmatched and make him my secondary of the up-to-date.

TAILS: Tails is a fast, clever and very air based fighter, which totally floats my boat. His jump capabilities are great for starting mid-air combos and then one can force the opponent downward with his down-B. His recovery options barely need to mentioned because we all know he has an amazing air speed and a really high jump. His ability to push himself back with his Neutral-B is great for horizontal recovery, and his slow fall speed just completely maximizes his air game. His smash attacks can be rather devastating and incorporate great into combos. For instance, you could start a combo with his up-smash, then continue with a midair combo of consisting of Nair,Uair, Neutral-B, Down-B, Dair then Up-B. His ground game isn't so bad either, his side-b is good fro getting opponent towards to edge to begin either an edge guarding tactic or just attempting to smash the enemy off the stage. Tails is a very tactical character that takes practice to use, yet still has some easy to pull combos. His air game is INSANE, this is why he's my tertiary.

How much experience do you have with official Smash titles? (SSB64, Melee, Brawl. Include in this answer which characters you play/played.): Sadly have the most experience in brawl, which with it's lack of strategy and it's floatiness, is the easiest. In brawl I used Lucario, Toon Link and Marth.

I don't have that much experience in Melee, but I have done very intensive research on the strats recently so I could understand the mechanics a bit more. When I DO play Melee I use Ice Climbers the majority of the time and sometimes use mewtwo or ness.

I have a pretty good amount of experience in ssb64 now. My friend has it so I can practice it a lot more. In ssb64 I use Kirby and Ness

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? I have not yet attended any tournaments.

When did you start playing SSF2? Version 0.9a, maybe three months before the update to 0.9b. I started playing online as soon as it was possible.

What is your favorite stage in SSF2? Explain.Lunar Core (hazards off), the large multitude of platforms provide a lot of air game opportunity, the size of the stage provides a lot of retreat room or space for ranged characters, and the size/shape of the bottom platform make ground oriented characters feel right at home. The setup benefits all types of characters in some way which seems like it could make even more fair matches then final destination. Final destination doesn't have as much range or air-game potential.

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? Black Mage. When ever I go online and see that it's a black mage, I actually get pretty nervous. Although mario and fox may be very competitive charcters, black mage is superior. Black mage has a really good air-speed, amazing recovery options and INSANE aerial options. His dair is so incredibly prestige it's funny. When I get struck with this move, pure fear goes into my heart. As for all his other aerials, they are gret for stringing combos and knocking people off-stage (ie. Firaga spin) His smash attacks are beautiful with Thundaga being an amazing k.o. move, Firaga being a great combo starter and Blizzaga being leaving lot's of retreat or charge time. His grabs are also glamorous, with the abilities to poison your enemy,launching them into the sky (which can be followed Firaga if done well) and launching horizontally off the stage with incredible force (terra). All this and I havn't even gotten to the specials! Stopga combat's melee and ranged oriented enemies with ease (especially after Blizzaga is used) and his Meteor attack is unchallenged on smaller maps. Haste, not only used as a trap attack for campers and those combo spammers, but also as a recovery is always a good option. Warp is defiantly the best up-B in the game with the stall effect and full control of where you go, it' makes all other third jumps look crappy. Black Mage is by far the best character and worth trying to master.

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? Bomberman. His fighting style is based mainly on setting bombs then leading enemies into them. Although some really smart and strategic stuff can be done with this concept, I don't think Bomberman would do great under tournament settings. Bomberman is a really clever character that I was actually considering training with, but with the shortage of large maps bomberman becomes trapped (which could be good if you trap the other person but you'd need a skilled Bomberman. The fast characters are also pretty good at avoiding the bombs if they take the right approach, and many skilled players online prefer fast characters like Fox or Cpt. Falcon. Bomberman's up-b is pretty good and what you can do with the bombs are pretty powerful, but tournament settings combined with skilled, fast players might be to much for him.

If you could make only one change to SSF2 as it currently is, what would it be and why? More story/ less default characters. When I play ssf2 I can find myself bored with nothing to accomplish. If you make less characters available at the beginning of the game then that could solve it. More locked characters give me something to try to obtain with only my current resources and a way to feel like I'm accomplishing something. A story mode like subspace emissary would also give something to accomplish. I'd like to say "I beat ssf2". Flash of shadows sounded interesting and I am eager to see it, and the soon to be locked characters(I say all anime characters and jigglypuff would be good locked characters, just to start the list).

What is your view on items in competitive play? Terrible. When you give a ranged character like megaman, a fan, the player is urged to rush to melee combat. He doesn't HAVE to, but the player is thinking "Why waste a perfectly good fan? Well what they ARE wasting by doing this is mega-man's potential. Mega-man is rather range oriented and shouldn't have his entire fight priorities changed because of a fan. Also let's say mario gets a laser sword, it stretches out his hitboxes, and gives mario a farther melee range he wasn't originally supposed to have. Items change characters! Thats why I hate them.

Do you have or can you download Skype? You don't need a mic or webcam. I have it on my tablet...

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 have some really interesting ideas regarding characters tier listing, a different interpretation of the situation which could always be helpful and I believe I am an experienced ssf2 player. If one were to attempt to contact me I almost certainly would respond within 24 hours, I could be a good representative of the younger folks who play the game and share what the majority of the pre-teen community think about it(At least within my gaming circle, and other people I met online my age). We could take new approaches with the tier list and make an a+ section in the a-tier or something like that, idk. I feel like I would be a good addition to the smash flash back room and could even just deal with other applicants so you guys can get some peace. I have been playing video games for 8 years and feel I very much so understand them. I have played more games than a lot of the "Elite Gamers" have. (ie. Those guys who ONLY play call of duty or LOL) So the chances are I understand video games more than at LEAST 20% of the other applicants on this forum. I don't like to argue, so like I said I could just deal with other applicants in the future if that was your desire. I am known for being a very creative person and think differently than most other people. I have recently applied to be a video game tester for bungie and am feeling pretty good about getting into the game-testing department. Overall I think I am an experienced, worthy applicant that can contribute a lot and would be bad to waste.


Additional information (Include in this section anything relevant to your application. This could include links to videos of yourself playing.) To get a better idea as far as my creativity goes, here is a link to a speculation of a possible doom guy move-set. viewtopic.php?f=96&t=39656&p=1370885#p1370885

Use the following stagelist to answer these questions:




Be detailed in all your answers and explain your reasoning.

1. What is Marth's best stage?

2. You are playing as Marth in a tournament and will not change characters, and you are playing a Fox main who will not switch characters. If you strike first, where do you expect you will play in the first match?

3. You lose the first game, continuing the example from above. Where do you want to play next game, assuming that no stages are banned or struck?

4. Analyze the Marth vs Fox matchup, giving at the end a ratio like 40:60 or 60:40. Be detailed, considering approaches, the neutral game, offstage game, combo game, etc.

Question 1

Sorry about the late response, I had a lack of time do to school and some family drama, but thats beside the point. Here are my answers:

I'd have to say that Marth's best stage is Yoshi's story. It's small so tippers are more likely, less solid ground for the opponent to stand on while attempting to avoid the tipper. The platform setup also makes tippers easier because the majority of tippers are horizontal or vertical. The way the platforms are setup kinda makes it more likely that enemies will come from that direction. Since the stage is small, and Marth has longer hit-boxes do to the sword, it makes it harder for the opponent to avoid Marth's attacks when on the stage itself. Because of this they may go up to the platform putting Marth below the opponent. This is also an advantage, do to the juggling potential Marth has which I talked about in my application. Also since the stage is small that means there is more open space, Marth has a pretty good amount of high knockback attacks. If Marth were to strike the opponent far enough away, all that open space would make the opponent use up all of their recovery options. Marth's speed makes it harder for opponents to escape on small stages which also gives him a really good advantage. On Yoshi's story Marth is king.


Question 2 (I assume you mean hazards off, it is a tournament after all)

Well I guess I'm gonna answer the second question chronologically, like so:

First I would Strike a large stage because Marth gets an advantage from small stages and Fox's combo potential is often very reliant on either walls or stage size. So i would strike Final Destination/3ds. I then think that the Fox would try play on a get a stage with a smaller amount of platforms and good size, so he would strike the opposite. I suspect he may strike Castle Siege because of the small area and the strange ground shape that may inter fir with ground combo's which Fox player commonly use. Following this I strike Smashville because of the large area of the platforms that could benefit Fox's ground combo's and would make Marth's knockback ability less important, do to less free space and more landing area for the opponent. I guess that the Fox would probably want to make Marth's combo abilities less useful by chossing large open areas with not a lot of platforms and little air potential. I think the Fox would strike Yoshi's story because of the small area and close together platforms being an advantage to Marth and damaging Fox's ground-combo game. I would then strike Dracula's Castle because of the large area being more of an advantage to Fox than to Marth, and because of the level platform's making Marth's air-potential diminish. I think that Fox would decide that keeping a large stage would be the most important thing and would strike anything that didn't give him/her the upper hand. I think that Fox would strike Battlefield because of the similar structure to Yoshi's story with the main difference being that Battlefield is bigger (yet smaller than Dreamland). I would use my last strike on Warioware inc. because of it being larger and it's platform setup being less beneficial to Marth than Dreamland and more beneficial to Fox than Pokemon Stadium 3. I then think that Fox would strike Pokemon Stadium III due to it being smaller than Dreamland giving it less advantage to Fox than Dreamland would. So here are our results:

Neutral:
XBattlefield
XFinal Destination/Nintendo 3DS
XSmashville
XPokemon Stadium III
XYoshi's Story

Counterpick:
Dreamland
XWarioware
XDracula's Castle
XCastle Siege

Question 3

Castle Siege(hazards off) is where I would want to play the next match because of the disadvantages it put's on Fox's combo game and the small area of the stage which could be very beneficial to Marth's knock-back game. I would pick Yoshi's story if not for the disadvantages Castle Siege put's on Fox. Like for instance, the slanted ground negatively affects ground combo game due to the opponent going down somewhat similar to a falling animation which could easily disrupt a good combo. The lack of level area in Castle Siege would make foxes gun less useful than usual and force him to jump to get a good shot at Marth (assuming Fox is at the lower part of the stage and Marth isn't) which we know could make it way easier for Marth to begin a juggle or aerial combo before Fox hit the ground. Since the stage is small any of Fox's combos could be easily countered with Marth's down-B and fox may have trouble recovering. Let's say fox were to use foxfire and attempt to hit Marth in the process, Marth could easily counter and edge-guard like a pro , eventually Fox would be knocked out of the screen due to all the built up damage or lose all of his recoveries due to the free space. The disadvantages that Castle Siege puts on Fox definitely beats the advantages given to Marth on Yoshi's Story.

Question 4

I assume you mean the second match-up which I guess is at Castle Siege. Well I already talked about the counter of Fox's recovery as an edge-guard in the previous answer in question 3. But if Fox were to go at a higher trajectory and flew above Marth, then Marth could use his up-tilt on Fox to start a juggle while fox is in a helpless state, use his up smash to knock him away and attempt a k.o. , move aside and attempt start a chain-grab or perform a ken combo on Fox to k.o. Fox. If Marth chain-grabs he could either build up percentage with pummels then attempt a k.o. with a side smash or just throw Fox off the stage early in the chain-grab to attempt a k.o.(NOTE that everything I just wrote was meant to be speculating possible combos in general and not only castle siege). Since Castle Siege has high points on the right part of the stage Marth could attempt an up-smash or up- throw to launch Fox out of the screen. Marth's dancing blades could also be used as a combo starter which could either lead into a ken combo or more edge-guarding. As for Fox's possible combo's he could use his down-throw to launch Marth off the stage and edge-guard with his shine, do extreme aerial combo's using uair and dair then perform a ken combo. Of course their is his waveshine which surpasses a lot of marth's combo options, although it would be much harder to do on Castle Siege. Fox could also do an up throw then follow-up with foxfire to knock them out of the screen super quickly. He could go to the edge of the stage and down throw to launch the opponent down directly and the drill, or shine to force the opponent downward and force a k.o.

Overall I think the ratio would end up like 65:35 in Fox's favor. Fox's combo's, speed and quick ko's would end up being to much for Marth. Although marth has lots of counters and is fast himself, he can't counter some of the shines and grabs that make Fox...Fox.

Next Question(s)?

Thank you for applying for the Back Room! Unfortunately I have to tell you that your app was declined. Apply again once the full version has been out for a while though. Keep improving until then

Thank you for considering my application. (if you wouldn't mind me asking what should I improve on the most?)

The deciding factor was that you seemed to overlook various aspects of the characters and stages that would drastically alter the matchup.

Particularly, as Marth against Fox, Final Destination/3DS was the first stage that you struck. However, this would not have been a smart move; Final Destination has always been a notoriously lopsided stage in Marth's favor in the Marth/Fox matchup. There are a few reasons for this:

• Fox has a very high falling speed, which means that he's more vulnerable to chaingrabbing than most other characters.
• Final Destination's airspace makes it possible to extend chaingrabs for longer periods and at higher damage than most stages. Furthermore, the lack of platforms means that there's not many places to avoid being grabbed in the first place.

Overall, you seem to have a basic idea what you're talking about; you just need to approach things from some more angles because there's something you could be missing right under your nose.

Keep studying, though – I can easily see you blowing us away in a couple of years.

Also, you over estimated Marth's counter.

Next application, try to analyze moves and stages better. It doesn't matter if you aren't 100% correct, as long as you provide a solid analysis with proper evidence.

Just learn to provide and expand on evidence better, and you'll make it in one day (don't immediately the moment SSF2 beta comes out, just friendly advice).

Okay thank you. I'm looking forward to trying again.