but like a real leader he doesn ' t cryLOL you picked the wrong leader to use as an example <| sep |> Tell us more about these bathtimes held with the sole purpose of mutilating a baby . <| sep |> Glad to see a response like this in here , good stuff . I just want to add that when people refer to the combo game , it usually refers to follow ups in general where momentum is maintained , and not necessarily true combos . In this sense , Smash 4 tends to be misrepresented by detractors who rigidly focus on bread and butter combos as opposed to the wider potential for strings which is really what is happening in most of the sick combos you see in any game to a lesser extent in 64 though . Sure stuff like repeated uptilt follow ups are pretty simplistic , but it gets a lot harder when you get past the first handful of hits and start stringing together less guaranteed follow ups , where the opponent has the capacity to air dodge , counter attack , or jump out , and where DI starts to have a stronger effect . Mario ' s combo game is actually extremely deep , as so many of his moves flow together in so many different combinations , and he basically possesses a swiss army knife of tools up his sleeve to keep his flow going . Of course there definitely are also some really difficult true combos too pull off in Smash 4 too , a lot of very precise , demanding footstool combos and stuff like that . I want to add that there ' s also the aspect , unique to Smash 4 , of players being able to not only control their trajectory but also the distance they ' re set when it comes to vectoring . If you were to map the potential end DI positions of Melee for example , it would look more akin to a downwards curved line , while for Smash 4 it would look more akin to an oval shape . So while trajectorywise Smash 4 has weaker DI , it has a type of added area of depth as well . I will concede though that there ' s way more you can do with SDI in Melee of course . And like you mentioned , rage is a whole new variable that has to be taken into account for follow ups in Smash 4 , which makes it more difficult to judge exactly how far the opponent will go and how much hitstun they receive . So even when it comes to characterspecific combos , with gravityfall speedweightetc taken into account , there are twice as many percent bars that have to very quickly be analysed in tandem in order to perform the most effective follow ups . Another follow up option that doesn ' t really get enough credit is aerial resets , aka the drag downs you can do with many multihits in Smash 4 . This also meshes really well with jab locks , as it can often lead to a missed tech that can be exploited like that . So many crazy MK and Fox combos I see often involve an aerial reset at some point . Then of course there are multiple implications that Smash 4 air dodges have on it ' s follow up game , throwing in an extra combo variable that doesn ' t really exist in Melee . There ' s also so many creative air dodge traps that have evolved over time due to the 22 frame air dodge landing lag , which adds an extra dimension of creativity into follow ups that take place somewhat near the ground or a platform . Here ' s a wonderful example of not only this , but the freeform creativity that ' s possible within Smash 4 ' s combo game . Look at how Leo has to not only choose how to string together his hits , but the precise spacingtiming it takes for each hit to connect properly into the next one would agree though that combos used to be harder when it came to the lack of buffering in past games . But even there buffering often isn ' t a huge factor in stringing together hits , as by nature most of the hits are spread out and aren ' t meant to come out the first frame after your last action . Comboing in smash period is very deep by nature , and the little nuances of it are still present in Smash 4 . The difference between a successful and unsuccessful combo can often depend on what frame of your attack you time to connect with , how you microspace the attack , how you time your jumps , how well you bait certain counterattacks or even certain aerial drifts , whether you not only read an airdodge but read the more specific timing for it , how effectively you read their double jumps , and all the little details like that . Longer 67 hit strings are so satisfying in Smash 4 , because of how difficult they can be and of how you were able to overcome the opponent ' s various escape options . I also want to add that while Melee of course has more options for following up with it ' s crazy ground movement into attacks , Smash 4 also has more options for following up with superior aerial mobility options into attacks . I ' d say Melee combos on average likely do take more skill in the end , but it also has to be considered that the game ' s meta has also had insanely more time and work put into it throughout the span of over a decade .