In brawl, there are advantages and disadvantages to every character. Therefore, I have constructed several paragraphs about each one, generalizing their strengths and weaknesses and have sorted each player out alphabetically. Enjoy.
Ike: While he's a very powerful character, that can deal major damage with his huge sword, he is very slow. People who use Ike know this as a major disadvantage. When Ike thrusts his sword out to attack with Side A, you can easily side-dodge in back of him and attack. When he strikes upward with up A, The most advanced players can time the attack and down-dodge, and then launch a counter attack. The same goes for when he strikes downward, advanced players simply shield quickly or down-dodge, and attack. This is true for every player, but with Ike's slow down and up A button moves, it’s easily to strike him right after an attack, when he’s most vulnerable. I find Ikes side B really useful when launched off the arena, because it’s very similar to Fox, Wolf and Falco's side B, except that it can be charged. Like Falco, Wolf, and Fox, when he uses side B, he can not only recover, but attack the opposing player. The most important thing when using this move is timing. If you use it when Ikes too far down, he falls, breaks his neck, and dies. If hes too high, and yes, he does fall down on the stage, but he is spent, and cannot attack, so he falls down into the opposing players grasp, and cannot protect himself as the enemy charges his attack and strikes. Of course you can drift away, making it harder for your opponent, but usually, your too close too the ground to do this. Ike’s up B is very similar to Kirby’s up B; He rapidly slashes up, and then falls quickly down and lands his sword down, attacking the enemy. Unfortunately, Kirby can do multiple jumps to go across the arena, and uses the up B for a final resort. Having only 2 jumps, Ike can’t do that. To say the move is not useful would be incorrect. Yes, Ike’s up B was not designed for long distances, but it’s great because it gives you a sudden vertical climb so you can cling onto the edge of the stage or climb on top of it. It is best used near the side edge of the stage. However, if Ike is under the edge of the stage, he will plummet down and die. Ike’s B down move is great for counter attacks; if timed right, once the enemy strikes, his attack is reflected back at him with by Ike’s heavy sword. Although this move is great for melee attacks, it does not reflect range attacks, because Ike reflects the attack with his sword. If the player uses down B to reflect a range attack, it will be counter-attacked in front of him, and will just hit the air. Ike’s B move is extremely powerful, but is hard to power up and execute without interference. It’s best to charge the attack in the air, and when you come down, release the attack downward on your enemy. Ike’s meteor smash is a lot like Diddy Kongs, because he stretches his arms down rapidly and hits the enemy below him with his sword, like Diddy Kong-although Diddy Kong doesn’t have a sword. Unlike some characters, like Yoshi, Ike’s meteor smash is a one hit swing that sends enemies hurtling toward the bottom. Like all meteor smashes, there’s a risk of falling to your death if your too close to the bottom of the screen when executed. I still haven’t finished writing about Ike’s other air attacks, (side A and up A) so when I am, I will edit and post this again, fully completed. Ike’s Final Smash is a series of powerful attacks, followed by a downward slam, which knocks the player out of the arena. This smash is great, because if you time it right, you can kill everyone. I have nothing negative to say about this attack, because it’s impossible to fall off the stage because when executed, Ike attacks his victims in the middle of the screen, and there’s always land under him. The only place where this is not true is on my custom stage, two towers, where he falls straight down the middle of the stage.
