The 'Shroom:Issue LXXVII/Brawl Tactics

Brawl Tactics by

What's up, Brawlers? FunkyK38 here with BRAWL TACTICS! This month, to celebrate all the festivities going on around him, I will be re-covering everyone's favorite green guy, Luigi!

You may remember my first analysis, but here it is again: Luigi is an average weight character who is moderately fast. He has a higher jump than Mario, obviously, but it is a really nice jump. You can get some great distance on his jumps, which can help you out if you're having a tough time getting through a stage or a battle.

He has somewhat unpredictable power, however. His standard 'A' attacks can range from his relatively weak dash attack to his wicked charge attack, which is actually my favorite attack of his to use. Luigi's a strange guy who can pack a lot of launch power behind his punches, so be careful when you're around him!

Luigi's Standard Special attack is Fireball. Not too much explanation needed here- it's like Mario's, only green. If you can get a nice rhythm going with your controller and button-pushing, you can spam this move pretty nicely, and as your enemy tries to get closer to you, you can deal a lot of damage to them. Not to mention it's a pretty famous little move, and one that you won't need a Fire Flower for.

Luigi's Side Special is Green Missile. The more you charge this move, the farther you will go, obviously. This move makes me nervous, honestly, because I usually never know where I'm going to end up, and I usually end up getting myself into more trouble that way, but if you can control it, more power to ya! For this move, I would recommend using it to maximize the distance between you and your foe. If you get them right at the beginning of the move, it'll do more damage than just running into them weakly at the end, so charging and letting your foe get closer to you is not a bad idea.

Luigi's Up Special is Jump Punch. Honestly, if you're just using this move as a jump recovery move, you're missing out on a lot. This is one of those jumps that is actually better for you when you use it on an opponent. If your opponent has 60+ damage done to them and you get a Super Jump Punch, well, consider it pretty close to a KO. The only downside to using this move is that is leaves you pretty defenseless when you're coming back down- Luigi will NOT be invincible and you will either have to get hit by another opponent or land on the ground to use another move. On the bright side, you'll get to whack the coins out of your opponent if you use this move right, and who doesn't like to pound coins out of their foes?

Luigi's Down Special is the Luigi Cyclone. This attack is very similar to a Star Spin, so don't be alarmed if that's what it looks like. This move works really well when you are surrounded by enemies that you then pull in with your spin. It isn't a very long move, but it's enough to get the job done if you need to do damage to your opponents. Luigi's recovery time with this move is also very nice as well, so you could almost spam this move, if you need to.

Luigi's Final Smash- the mystical, mysterious Negative Zone! You've already heard me go on and on about the pluses of this move, but there are a few negatives I will cover here. The first comes if you're doing a team battle. If you have a big ego, you will be humbled when you use this move and your partner runs around getting all the KOs that you're helping with. Luigi's dance takes full control of him, so you won't be able to capitalize on the situation until nearly the final moments of the move, which ca be a real pain if you're battling solo. Your opponents will be able to recover from most of what you throw at them, so just be careful where you place this move. A good strategy that I like to use is to start this move in the air and get any foes that are up there. Luigi will move down to the ground as he dances, taking the zone with him, and most foes will be dragged right into it. Once you've taken them with you, you can go about finishing them off.

Well, that's all for me this month, Brawlers! Hope you enjoyed the Luigi recap, and I hope this gives you a new appreciation of him! See y'all next month!