What Is A “Fundamentals” Character? | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

talk about easiest character to play

In no world is Joker a "fundamentals" character. Fundies characters dont have borderline-OP crutch comeback gimmicks that completely change playstyle. Sure, playing him at a high level is way more complicated than that, but for someone learning the game and basic fundamentals, the Arsene crutch makes him a character that's likely to create some bad habits. Against a lot of other new players/low-end casuals, braindead mashing gets insane results once Arsene pops, and by the time that stops getting results, you've already developed bad habits.

Reminder that playing a fudies character doesn’t make a player better or worse than a non fundies character player, this arguement causes too much hate in the smash community when overall the better player will win, don’t take a loss too hard and just find the character you vibe with ❤

the amount of comments disagreeing with the characters you listed in the video is proof of how nebulous the phrase "fundies character" really is

I get carried by duck hunt. I don't have any fundamentals

Palu is so broken its hard to calle her of fundamentals

I think 'fundies' are the well made characters. Not being one is likely a design fault. No way any DLC character is a fundamentals oriented character. Joker without even arséne has sheik's level aggresion and, unlike shiek, has it for free, still having kill pressure and none of the disadvantages + arséne BS. Not being a fundamentals character requires a thin balance in advantages and disadvantages that are out of the question for many. I believe It is possible to have gimmick characters design respect fundamental play this way.
Example... I don't believe Lucina to be a fundamentals based character. Marth is but Lucina isn't. The fact she has disjointed hitboxes but doesn't have to pay for them with the need of zoning for tippers like Marth puts her out of it for me.

This video didn’t call ROB a fundies character did it? Did I miss hear that? One of the most dishonest single brain celled cheeser characters in the game lol.

what about roy?

As pit main i agree with these points and you cant get mor honest that pit

I main snake and wish i had pro talent to see what damage I really could do and knowing my play style I could make snake a top 10 brawler in the community fs

His zoning is too OP when you lock in then coming in to fight him is dumb against a good sticker user he’s quick and always looking to use a bomb to get you out his face cause he can’t hit hard for shit unless it a overhead 😭

How I use him depending on my match up I instantly edge guard and drop c4 depending if you rush or neutral or defensive I will shoot my remote rpg all day long to pick damage and if you push me while Im doing that it’s a instant nade fest I’m not fighting fair at all 🤣🤣😂😂 i cook them bitches throw em at the last min then fly cancel away

Fighting is my literal last option just like in metal gear once you get mad everybody eventually pushes and that’s where it really gets ugly because I start dropping c4 mid chase and attmepts to blow you up now your tryna take different angles tryna avoid the c4 not knowing I’m Grenade then mortar yo ass back to the c4 literal cat and mouse game all game wit me 😈😈😈 and I’m diabolical wit it straight trolling nades

I'd consider Lucario to be close to a fundamental character

A lot of people in the comments describing what a fundamentals character is because you didn't define it accurately.

A fundamentals character is general one with simple A moves and even simpler B moves.

If you press B and the character wins the match for you, then it cannot be a "fundies." A fundies character is one in which the character's moveset reveals the knowledge of its player by forcing him to rely on fundamentals in order to contest his opponent.

Spargo slamming the controller against ProtoBanham and then hugging them is craaaazy

It sounds like it is easy to become predictable with a fundamental characters. A player learns one technique and sticks with it instead of exploring other options.

Banana makes you respect the monke.

i 100% noticed this too but never knew what it was called or had any good idea on what it was, this is exactly how i've always described Pit as a Pit main, he has nothing special about him but has everything needed to be able to win any match, consistently too, a character who's only as good as you make him

Wolf is not fundies bro mashing smash attacks at ledge is corny lol

Hero without down be is the best character for learning fundies

Palutena is fundamentally easy

I'd argue that Young Link also qualifies as a fundies character. While his zoning is excellent, it alone cannot win his game for him. He still needs to be close enough to get in and use melee finishers to end stocks. He needs his whole toolkit to win, and has to cover for his weak recovery and lack of reliable finishers

Cool video, it made it clearer to me what a fundamental character is. However I disagree that ROB can be qualified as such... Edgeguarding ROB is not that easy and most importantly his gyro kill set ups are more consistent that you make it seem. Yes, you have to practice the combo, but there is no counterplay once you get hit by a Nair. Plus they can literally spam projectiles if they need to

Pit is THE fundies character but also I think falcon is in there too

Yoshi should really be considered a fundies character: he fits all rules perfectly, he has good range, mobility, damage and physics (he even is the fastest fighter in the air while not lacking in the other areas), he has clear weaknesses (like getting easily comboed and outranged) and can get punished if reckless, and is forced to switch game plan throught the match, going from rush down to bait and punish/zoning. The only objections possible are that he can spam aerials and egg toss and that he has great recovery, to which I say: yes, you can mash aerials, but if you default to that you are easily punished the same way Lucina can get punished if she defaults to spamming anything, and Yoshi's recovery is the most predictable out there, and most of it is predicated on double jump, so if Yoshi gets footstooled he just insta dies.

"...utilizing every tool in [Cloud's] kit to its absolute limit."
He might even break those limits, tbh.

Good video, subbed.

I disagree with the implication that getting better at fundamentals=being more skilled. For example, few pacman players can walk around with the bell as confidently as Tea, because few are as good as him to predict where their opponents will be and few can move around attacks so well. It's a skill, a different skill for sure, but a skill nonetheless.

Putting Rob into the fundies section is insanity to me.

In my personal opinion, to be a “fundies” character, you need to have at least these qualities:
1. Average movement minimum (decent ground/air speed)
2. Decent mid range capabilities (either through disjoints like swords or through projectiles)
3. No possible true zero to deaths from on stage or similarly early killing combos (this eliminates characters like ROB, Mario, and Joker)
4. A threatening way to deal with opponents shielding (either through kill throws, shield break setups, and/or extremely safe moves on shield)
5. Decent out of shield (either through moves that are fast, long ranged, and/or cover cross ups)
6. Relatively simple and easy to learn combos that stay relevant throughout every skill level (things like your simple 2 or 3 piece combos)
7. No extreme gimmicks that fundamentally alter how the character plays or how others play against your character (includes anything from Steve block to Joker Arsene to Kazuya EWGF)

Imo, the only fundies characters in Ult are Lucina, Pit/Dark Pit, Corrin, Wolf, Cloud, and surprisingly almost Bowser (personally I think tough guy, while a gimmick, is not very impactful in 95% of MUs)

@VarsIII where do you think Pika is in regards to being a fundies character? Even though he’s on Fox’s level of consistently good in smash as a franchise, he’s never frequently seen outside of 64. Do you think it’s because of how his aerials work that he’s not a fundies character?

There must be some dopamine to playing honest characters but why not play the character that wins? I’m more interested in seeing what funny things characters can do then choosing accordingly to what I like and unfortunately it’s fighting games hahahaha

Isnt ROBs gyro also like Diddy’s banana and PACMANs bell, in that he can grab it, combo with it, and use it to get kill confirms…?

palutena is like the opposite of a fundies character

i think marth/lucina are the quintessential fundamentals characters, you aren't going to win with them against a skilled player unless you yourself are skilled.

Why wouldn't Kirby be a fundies?

Hearing all of this, Ness is the opposite of a fundies character. That character is a character that is easy to play and pick up, but upon further improvement will not necessarily give you better results. Yet Ness is “reliable” in the sense that he kills with almost anything but moves a touch too slowly to be higher placed. Ness seems to make for high-tier jobbers while fundies characters can consistently win high-tier tournaments even if much less than those “with gimmicks”

Come on man Cloud is not even close to a fundies character lmao. Limit is such a polarizing tool that gives him free control of the pace of the match

Is Lucario not a Fundies character? Sure he has aura, but with the rage nerf it's not as busted as, say, Arsen. It massively boosts the range and lethality of his specials, yes, but that doesn't change that a whiffed side B will get him smacked, and he has to be behind to access that power so there's no shortcuts.
I'd argue that while he has good projectiles, above average airspeed, and a strong comeback mechanic, he still relies on his fundamentals to play. He has very few setups and relies on adapting to the state of game.

Would you consider chrom to be a fundamentals character?

Why don't you use bookmarks in your videos? Please don't say something like more views.

As a cloud main, sometimes I have to switch it up with my slave owner mario or Russian snake

Small petition for Pit or Dark Pit video because I am a skill issue

If there’s a word more thrown around than “fundamentals” in the Smash community, it’s “campy/camping”.
Pretty much used to describe anything that’s not unbridled monkey aggression.

I guess I just hate fundies characters lol. Pretty much all the characters he listed I find to be incredibly annoying and not well designed. I suppose my issue with them is that they dont usually have any real "flaws", which, if you're not playing a fundies character yourself, can be infuriating to play against, since they always have some option to handle the situation you put them in. They're too slimey to keep locked down, and often have better tools than you to force you into unfavorable situations.

Cloud has become my secondary above young link and PT because I love his playstyle and how fundamentals are what makes him good, I guess my main joker is also somewhat a fundamentals character but his combo game is much more complex