The Best of EVERY Smash Ultimate Animation

animation is hard with even the most experienced of professional animators regularly spending hours molding their creations into something coherent we've briefly touched on some animation aspects of smash before but now it's time to give the art form its proper due and dive into the absolute best animated of every single attack in the game with some bonuses thrown in for good measure let's do it but first a word from our sponsor a product which i am literally using in my personal life right now so this video is brought to you by expressvpn the fastest and easiest vpn on the market featuring trusted server technology 24 7 customer support and first place ratings from the likes of cnet wired tech radar and many others virtual private networks help keep your data safe as well as providing a host of other uses my favorite of which is connecting to servers in other countries canadians receive the unfortunate combination of whether that keeps us inside as well as slim pickings on most major streaming services with the power of expressvpn though in a few simple clicks i can connect to say the uk version of netflix and i'm good to go check out expressvpn mockrock in the description below to see how you can get three months absolutely free as well as support the channel [Music] unlike most videos in this style from me there's no real stringent criteria list we need to go over it really just comes down to what i think looks best in terms of technical execution creativity a feeling of impact cool particle effects etc i'm not going to say the moves performance in-game has no impact on the choices here it's inevitably going to inform my perception a little bit but this is an animation showcase make no mistake and an ultimate specific one out to that but there might be a few nods here and there to some older games also for all the people who have asked me to include throws in previous move analysis lists here's your time to shine throws will be included alongside other attacks and we'll also be giving out a lightning round for more animations as well as an overall best animated character award at the end not much more to say so let's just start with jab [Music] for jab i've gone with bowser this move is no frails no nonsense and the way that bowser commits fully into the attack greatly shifting his shoulders even with his massive body weight gives it an impact no other jab in the game fully matches it's hard to say whether i prefer this or the smash 4 version smash 4's double fist felt even more impactful but ultimate's palm strike has more personality although both of them hit like a truck and feel like they should honorable mentions to mewtwo whose energy blast has been a personal favorite since melee and isabel for having a jab that's if nothing else incredibly memorable and fits her personality and source game very well forward tilt goes to wario's exaggerated hand slap a funny concept to begin with that's greatly helped by the body breaking applied all over wario's move set among the most extreme scene for any character on the roster distorting body elements is a classic technique in both 2d and 3d animation and the smash series is certainly no exception but wario's comically large hands and feet in particular do a lot to enhance the feel of his moves and nowhere is that better showcased than an open hand strike it's a slap that packs the impact of a punch and fits this character perfectly definitely one of my favorite upgrades from smash 4. honorable mentions go to banjo's precarious stab with kazooie and ganondorf's monstrous front kick ripped straight from twilight princess downtilt goes to king k rool's sumo stomp similar to bowser's jab this attack involves a massive body being moved a significant distance resulting in an extreme sense of weight and the impact on connection so much so that the shock wave at the end of the move feels totally intuitive despite it not being initially obvious that a normal melee attack would work this way honorable mentions go to king dedede's casual tumble admittedly partially because it leads into his crouch and bilas incredibly snappy and satisfying sword whip strike for up tilt i'm going with charizard i think that the use of charizard's wings overall in his moveset isn't too spectacular a lot of them feel kind of restrictive but this is the rare instance where he really gets to drive them home and it has a great sense of anticipation despite being a fairly quick move honorable mentions to joker's stylish knife toss enhanced even further with arsene's lightning effect as well as bowser's overhead claw swipe as media standard up tilt as you could ask for with some great particle effects for the claw dash attack goes to king ddd's infamous belly flop while its massive wind up makes it pretty poor as a conventional dash attack it also gives the animator tons of time to show off the big guy's gleeful expression right before he plummets face first into the ground a plummet that's been masterfully timed to provide an almost tense feeling that leads right into instant gratification honorable mentions to luigi's hilarious fist flailing although i think it could be slightly improved if he spent more time with his face turned towards the camera to show off his reluctant expression and king k rule's massively impactful gut check that pushes its physics beyond even dvd into borderline looney tunes territory forward smash goes to banjo-kazooie one of the funniest and most slapstick attacks ever seen in the series while also packing some serious weight behind it it's even kind of sweet in its own twisted way if you really slow it down banjo abruptly swings kazooie into the ground and she's clearly having none of it but he briefly checks in with her as she's going back into the bag a tiny detail that you almost certainly wouldn't consciously notice but speaks volumes about the care that went into this character honorable mentions to meta knight an attack that massively overemphasizes its anticipation for dramatic effect likely and not to the i.a jutsu martial art and ike to this day still the purest sense of raw power i've seen in any smash animation for down smash i've gone with wolf an attack that's very well animated to begin with but gains a huge boost from its fantastic custom particle effects these claw marks are all over his kit but hey two hits means two chances to show them off and the high power of the move means there's plenty of pit stop to admire them honorable mentions to bayonetta likewise the best display of her wicked weave effects while being very impactful and wario he takes mario's attack tries to one-up it and has it backfired spectacularly because he's spending too much time showing off just thematically perfect bestop smash goes to the newest roster member at the time of upload steve's giant magma block multi-hit moves in this style don't normally have nearly the same sense of impact but the combination of steve manually breaking the block himself taking a moment to stare at his opponent while they contemplate what's about to happen the flame effects as they're launched away it all adds up to an attack that's satisfying very unique and a great tie-in to his source game honorable mentions go to roy who likewise comes swinging with a multi-hit that packs the appropriate punch and zelda whose handwave very much doesn't feel impactful in a way that's still appropriate i don't really know how to articulate this one normally these kinds of magical or psychic attacks lack the intense action reaction i enjoy on harder hitting moves like smash attacks but something about zelda in particular just works mewtwo gets my vote for the best neutral air in the game the concept of this attack works great for mewtwo's archetype both from a character and gameplay perspective as to the pose he strikes and to the awesome negative color rendering on his particle effects i've enjoyed the look of this attack in previous games but ultimate really added the finishing touches and made it stand out from the pack honorable mentions go to king k rool the punchiest and most exaggerated of the belly flops on display and kirby who's just happy to be there ever since melee marth's forward air has been the quintessential graceful sword arc in smash undergoing very little alteration between each game because they basically nailed it the first time there's nothing fancy or flashy about this attack but it remains one of the most outright pleasant to look at and use in the series even as his roster continues to balloon outdoing even his clone lucina due to the more interesting particle effect for his tipper sweet spot honorable mentions go to dk's colossal double fist strike as well as rosalina's buttery smooth flip kick complete with stylish galaxy effect best back air and ultimate goes to chic there are a lot of these backward kicks among the roster but sheik's nimbleness allows her to exaggerate the silhouette in a way that no other character quite replicates making it intuitive to space and giving it a solid sense of impact despite being one of the weaker versions of this concept in terms of gameplay power honorable mentions go to robin whose sword attack perfectly walks the tightrope between the spellcaster's grace and swordfighter's might and comes with some amazing effects courtesy of the leaven sword and corin a great use of the dragon transformation that feels awesome to connect with while i previously praised zelda's ability to avoid the floatiness many magical attacks suffer from no such consideration is needed for her monstrous explosion of an up-air showcasing both how well a fireball can be rendered in ultimate's engine as well as how to properly sell a sense of momentum when utilizing a projectile with zelda hurling her body weight into the attack in a way that feels very natural despite her feet not being planted on the ground it's creative it's memorable it's fun to watch it's the full package honorable mentions go to peach's elegant rainbow as well as ike's upward sword arc the punchiest version of this classic attack for down air i've gone with king k rule's take on the classic downward stomp there's a lot of these in the game to pull from i had ganondorf in the initial draft of this script but comparing them side by side the crox pose is just that extra bit more defined which better sells the idea that he's fully engaged his core to make the attack as powerful as possible even though it's not actually nearly as strong a move in game honorable mentions go to young link who takes an already distinctive sword pogo and gives it some youthful flair and wario's funny and surprisingly graceful corkscrew dive mewtwo takes best forward throw using one of the few throws that utilizes a projectile the animation from a technical perspective is solid but nothing stand out but this has always been a very striking and memorable move for me ever since i first saw it in melee and i still think it's awesome today honorable mentions to king k rules genuinely vicious slam attack and steve's creative use of the piston which feels immensely satisfying to use i've said it on the channel before and i'm just gonna keep saying it dr mario's back throw is one of the best animations in the game seeing this jaunty mascot drop the facade for a moment and angrily hurl his opponent with the might of zeus never gets tiring and while this animation would feel heavy in any environment it stands out all the more when juxtaposed against the rest of his whimsical moveset it's well executed technically along with being a hilarious idea and it's no surprise that it's become a fan favorite honorable mentions go to classic mario whose throw feels great to use in its own right along with being a fantastic callback to his adventure on the nintendo 64 and min-min who isn't the first to take on this suplex concept but adds a lot of detail and poise into its execution for downthrow i've gone with banjo-kazooie while far from the only character to utilize a ground slam it's one of the better feeling ones but what really puts it over the top for me is the facial animation banjo's intense concentration while trying to lift his opponent switches to pure glee when he pulls it off then back to concentration as he absolutely pile drives them into the dirt honorable mentions go to ness who gets a memorable flame cascade that also provides a great chance to show off his unique earthbound particle effects and peach making by far the best use of toad in any of her throws up throw goes to zelda whose elegant and flashy magical spin perfectly captures the personality she was given for ultimate it also manages to avoid the aforementioned floatiness problem through some well-timed ramping into the move giving the animation a strong sense of build up before the payoff and of course her magical particle effects are absolutely beautiful honorable mentions to king k rool with a leaping back crack that kind of feels like he just straight up killed someone and charizard i usually try to avoid honorable mentions that overlap this closely but in addition to being very well animated in its own right it's also a fantastic nod to his canonical version for neutral special you know i have to go with the classic falcon punch the developers have had plenty of time to perfect the timing and silhouette of this iconic move and the falcon particle effects look more stunning than ever in ultimate this move is the textbook example of style over substance and it couldn't have been executed better honorable mentions go to incineroar whose darkest lariat has a great sense of flow courtesy of some excellent motion smears and careful rotational inertia and the belmonts who expertly sell the weight and power of their ax toss side special goes to ridley and his space pirate rush an impactful command grab that leads into a brutal rake across the floor that matches ridley's unusually cruel interpretation by smash standards there's nothing funny or cartoonish here even in a world full of swords and explosions this attack comes across as particularly violent and particularly memorable as a result honorable mentions to wolf another great showcase of the claw effects was some really dramatic physics to enforce it and roy's double-edged dance pulling ahead of his fellow fire emblem fighters due to some awesome flame effects down special is taken by ness with his psi magnet this may be my choice for the single best looking visual effect in the game the combination of modern techniques and the pixelated artwork from the earthbound series is just beautiful and the sense of power that comes from the attack is appropriate it looks like nessa's exerting effort to create it and the effect that it has on his physics feels totally in line with what you'd expect honorable mentions go to sheik whose acrobatic bouncing fish brings an excellent combination of poise and strength to the table with some very satisfying travel arcs and the falcon kick for similar reasons to the falcon punch minus a bit of that style over substance issue for up special i'm going with rosalina this is one of the smoothest feeling moves in the game everything from its gratifying instant activation to rosalina's seamless transition into a gentle somersault feels like well a goddess from the stars launching herself into the unknown honorable mentions go to ken with his awesome take on the shoryuken and shulk's excellent translation of over-the-top jrpg swordsmanship into a hefty jump slash with very well-defined arcs alright that's all the basic attacks out of the way now we're going to gather some others up with a final lightning round as well as declare the overall best animated character in ultimate so best zerg goes to samus for her strong pose best grab to yoshi even though it weakens the ability to give him good throws best legit attack to ganondorf's backhanded strike best get up attack goes to bowser jr and best final smash to joker who clearly benefited from the game's creator being a fan of persona 5. just look at the detail poured into it he takes best victory animations as well turning to weapon animations i'll award a jab to the elegant sweep used by the likes of peach zelda wii fit trainer rosalina and bayonetta while forward tilt goes to peach's similarly elegant twirl forward smash to ganondorf another reference to twilight princess and dash attack to wario who has absolutely no reason to be doing this doesn't do it in any of his other weapon animations and yet here we are best idol stage goes to sonic and honestly i think these are still a little bit stiff but there are at least two memorable idol animations where a lot of characters don't even get one this category is surprisingly sparse best slow walk goes to squirrel's clumsy waddle while best normal walk goes to king k rool's arrogant strut run to banjo-kazooie switcheroo and crawl to oreo's bizarre animalistic flailing best shielding animation is taken by duck hunt until we start tilting that shield in which case it goes to the pits doing their best darth maul impression perry goes to steve rolls to samus's smooth use of the morph ball spot dodge to greninja's vanishing act and airdodge to inkling it's a clever idea and i love how smoothly the forms transition banjo-kazooie takes best ledgehang with ledge teeter going to bayonetta rob gets the nod for downed animation steve for sleeping and incineroar for shield break most of these are kind of throwaway but i love how he's still trying to fight you i'll give best taunts to banjo-kazooie all of which are dripping with personality as well as containing some cool throwbacks to their home games best jumps go to banjo-kazooie's desperate flapping and crouch you already know that's a lot of animations okay not literally every animation in the game but come on work with me a little bit here i think it's fair to say i put my time in as for the best animated character in the entire game i have to cheat a bit on this one during the process of creating this script i went back and forth on this choice several times and eventually just had to call it a draw developer rare's catalog contained some of the most charming and charismatic characters ever put in the hands of a video game player and it's incredibly obvious that sakurai and his team had great respect for this when bringing them to life in the smash environment runner-ups for this title would include the likes of wario and zelda both of which are also handled very well but it's pretty hard to beat these goofy mascots with all their monstrous attacks and slapstick humor overall though the animation in smash is legitimately some of the best i've ever seen the worst of equivalent to this video is going to be really hard whenever i get around to it and hopefully i've helped shine at least a bit more light on the immense talent that went into this game thanks for watching everyone and hey if you liked it why not leave a like this video is obviously 100 subjective which is actually kind of liberating in its own way so let me know your thoughts on some of these choices before that though be sure to subscribe and hit that notification bell for more videos like this follow me on twitter at mr mockrock to see what i'm up to and gain early video access the chance to vote on future content discord and other cool rewards by becoming a youtube member patron or twitch subscriber later people this episode will be a much broader exploration of the games as a whole compared to the narrow scope of typical episodes which also means that steve will be held to higher standards since he's pulling for more of his toolkit there is one archetype that truly lives or dies on this principle far more than any other the frail vulnerable yet cataclysmically powerful glass cannon

Channel: MockRock

Views: 316,271

Keywords: Smash Ultimate, Review, alpharad, Nintendo, little z, super smash bros ultimate, smash bros ultimate, arlo, esam, hungrybox, ssbu, alpharad deluxe, Nintendo Switch, IGN, Gameplay, Speedrun, Lets Play, Fire Emblem Heroes, Pokemon, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Memes, kirby, minecraft steve, minecraft steve smash, introspecktive, Aaronitmar, elite smash, let's play, mockrock, smash bros switch, smash bros steve, smash bros, smash bros ultimate trailer, super smash bros ultimate dlc, dlc, asumsaus

Id: RG7xUTX-sNQ

Length: 18min 4sec (1084 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 27 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/g_r_e_y]

corrin is sick but WHERE is lucas for back air? that shit is the coolest

[u/ZSugarAnt]

Video on good animations

Space Pirate Rush

I don't know what he's smoking, but I want some too.

[u/Icy_Laprrrras]

Man, I really love R.O.B’s downed animation. Looks like some particularly vile malware entered his servers.