Smash Advent Calendar - Day 5 - Jigglypuff

Jigglypuff is a strange character. She has appeared in every single Smash Bros. game to date, the first two in which she was the first unlockable character and then for no discernible reason was a hidden unlockable in Brawl. She was in the public spotlight when the first game came out, being a recurring character in the TV series but it seems like since then she has just become a Smash Bros. tradition. Of course, that's no complaint, she's universally loved. It's almost certain she'll make a comeback this time, so let's begin the analysis!

Jigglypuff has been a very up and down character as far as tiers go. She's jumped around the Melee tier list a fair bit but ended up being one of the very best in the game whilst her Brawl incarnation fell towards the bottom of the rankings. In Melee she was a force to be reckoned with: she could jump 5 times, which not only meant good recovery but also incredible aerial control. This was augmented by the precision of her movements as she followed your control stick like a magnet. Her air attacks were second to none, most being very hefty blows with little recovery, especially her Back+A, and this allowed her to chase foes with ease and create a tight wall of pain. Not only that, but against quick falling characters she could combo from a grab into her deadly Down+B at certain percentages, meaning KOs came fast against Fox and Falco.

Hell, what couldn't you exploit with her?

In Brawl however, she lost a lot of her power and that really damaged her on the whole. Jigglypuff suffers from being probably the lightest in the game, meaning a well placed attack will take her out at as low as 75-80%. So with all her damage gone and a reduced dominance in the air from the floaty game engine, she was unable to secure kills in the same manner as before. Even with her neutral B having better control, the slower paced engine killed the effectiveness of the move. This, along with other negatives such as her instant death from a broken shield and limited B moveset due to useless moves like her Up+B, meant that she was practically a joke character, only to be used by the most hardcore players.

So what does she need? Well for starters, let's try and make her Up+B useful in some way. Perhaps make it a little faster with less recovery to reduce the risk factor because right now it's too high to be practical. Maybe even make it hold the opponent down for a little longer at high percentages, enough for her to get in a Side+B or an uncharged smash. She also needs her power to be upped a fair amount - she suited the "kill or be killed" playstyle in Melee, but as of Brawl she's just "be killed". Her Down+B needs to be buffed, but perhaps not back to the power of Melee, as quick kill combos could throw off the balance. Keep her weaknesses, let her get back to being the Queen of aerials and then we've got a fun character on our hands.

What do you guys think of Jiggly? Will we see a better character in Smash 4? Do you think she'll even return? Let me know in the comments below or on the facebook page found here and see you tomorrow for another character!