Final Smashes - Viable or not?

Really, all items were banned indiscriminately because some proved to be broken. Yes, I agree, the random spawning of items can damage combo progression, and thus ruin the game flow. However, Smash Orbs are different. They can't mess up combos, as they can't prevent movement and don't cause damage. They can't really prevent a gamewin to the more skillful player, because the Orb spawned over his opponent's head, as only a few Smashes can really be used at any time, and those can still be avoided (Snake's, Wario's and Sonic's are the only ones that come to mind). To further add to that, the other player can still make it over and break the Orb/prevent them from activating the vast majority of the time. Really, its got less random variables than the ghosts on Yoshi's Island.

Arguments with me are always fun, because, as my msn name indicates, I have a psychological compulsion to be the devil's advocate, regardless of argument. Hell, I've supported the side of Christians before, all in the spirit of good debate. So, me and Trav did debate this topic, then moved onto the viability of each individual character's final smash. Though we were rudely interrupted by my net failing, I'll sum up the conversation so far, going in the order of the tier list.

Metaknight starts off with his Galaxia Darkness, a fairly short ranged (relative to other Final Smashes. Relative to normal attacks, its quite good) killing move, that does 40%-42% on hit, but also does 20% on miss, giving you a good pat on the back if you misread them and fucked up with it. However, he's fairly vulnerable afterwards, and its not too easy to setup compared to other Smashes of its kind. It goes through super armour, which is a plus, but its just not that good by comparison. Like Metaknight needs it, anyway.

Snake's juggling machine, the Grenade Launcher, is great for killing...if you can get them in the air. On the ground, its fairly easy to dodge, though one hit sets them up for a flurry of death into the sky. The reload time can interfere with that fairly badly, though. Even if it doesn't get a kill, with 18% each grenade hit, the juggling does set them up for an easy utilt or ftilt kill. Overall, its also not that good, but there's nothing to really compare it to.

Warioman is really, to sum it up, rediculous. One hit sets up a combo of mass damage and killing potential with Warioman's unstoppable juggling potential, and if you kill them and have time to spare, a full fart OHKOs the entire cast from him. Even a jab can easily set up anything, and with usmash's vacuum properties, its easy to hit with now as well. Hell, even dsmash is viable. Really, it needs no further elaboration than fair > uair > fair is a rising combo, and Warioman doesn't lose altitude if he's using his aerials constantly.

Really, Nintendo could've been way more original with Falco. I mean, come on, Arwing anyone? But, he gets the best Landmaster by far, with its unique ability to star KO by flying off the top. Its pretty hard to avoid, since its fast and big, though platforms/lips can fuck it over due to the size and its occasional unwieldability. Overall though, its better than Metaknight's and Snake's, I'd say, due to sheer inescapability in the end.

Diddy got a very nice damage racking option in Rocketbarrel Barrage, but when compared to some others, its not that impressive. It leaves him helpless at the end, so they can get some free damage if they can avoid it. There's no real knockback except from hitting Diddy, which is kinda hard for the Diddy player to set up since he's not moving -that- quickly. Then again, with Diddy's kill options from bananas, he doesn't really -need- Barrage to kill. Still, though, the part I dislike most is the free damage they get. Without that, it'd be pretty good. With it, its just not impressive.

Though the dance is awesome, the move itself is meh. Waddle Dee Army gets no real damage (Waddle Dees to 2%, Doos do 7%, Gordos do 20%), no knockback from anything except Gordos, and doesn't last long enough for enough Gordos to reliably spawn. Really, the move's just plain bad. Sure, it can still for time, really, but that's about it unless you're opponent is a heavy character with bad dodging skills. Sorry, Dedede.

Critical Hit looks even better because of Waddle Dee Army being so bad, but it really is quite useful. Its easily set up (not true comboable as once thought when the game came out, though, to my knowledge), kills practically any character at practically any percentage (i.e. it won't kill Bowser at 0% on New Pork City), and moves quickly. The only downside is, if they read it, it sets you up for gimping, since Marth'll be fairly low down and quite a bit away, letting MK easily take advantage of it. Still, if used in the hands of a skilled player, is pretty damn good.

Does it come as any surprise that an Octopus is better in water? It has faster swim time, ignores the rapids on Japes, and can swim forever. In addition, touching the body knocks you away. Its insane if you can get them in water. It also gives GnW pretty good maneuverability with its psuedo-flying, pretty nice range on the tentacles and can set itself up into a juggle fairly well, like Snake's. Overall, I'd say its pretty good, as GnW definitely doesn't need additional killing power.

Pikachu used Volt Tackle! Its not very effective... Really, Volt Tackle is too uncontrollable for too little damage, with no real killing potential. Also, hard countered by GnW in the most hilarious way possible. Even if you can control it, its inferior both damage and killing wise to Super Sonic. Also, due to the constant motion, it can get awfully predictable.

If you want damage, you can't really do better than End of Day, made semi-famous in There Will Be Brawl. 47% on a miss is pretty damn good, and if you hit with all three hits, you get over 100% and a probable kill. Really, that's just insane. Plus, with Olimar's great killing ability by waggling on the c-stick means you don't really need the kill, but its always nice to stop people further approaching.

Two great damage Smashes in a row, with Iceberg next. Great zoning ability, with setups for and from (obviously) grabs, and if its possible to chaingrab up the Iceberg, then their chaingrabs can become rediculous for a short period of time. The freezing ability lets you set up just about any kill move, and it can only really be avoided by Metaknight and Pit. Really, this has to be one of the best in the game, maybe even third best below Warioman and Super Sonic.

ROB's is insane - If you can get a grab off. However, with the metagame moving towards more camping and planking, its not exactly the easiest task to get a grab off during the peak time potential. If you can, it does the most of any final smash, but you never will be able to against a skilled opponent who knows the smash. It has good combo potential as well if it lands, and if the entire duration hits it does over 100%, but, really, its just too avoidable.

That's it so far, we'll hit up the remaining characters later. Feel free to discuss this in the Perth Thread, or FFFF, or wherever.