Black Mage

Black Mage (黒魔道士, Kuromadōshi) is a recurring job class from the Final Fantasy series, who can cast offensive spells, but with weak combat skills and poor stamina. Black Mage is an expert in Black Magic, which involves both casting destructive doomsdays spells, and many negative 'side effects' (poison, sleep, slow etc.). The Black Mage that appears in Super Smash Flash 2 as a playable character is the one from the first Final Fantasy game.

Black Mage is ranked 14th (second from bottom) in the tier list. Despite having some great moves in his arsenal, Black Mage suffers high amounts of hitstun, making him easy to combo despite being a lightweight. Black Mage is also very slow on the ground and one the air (he has the 3rd lowest air speed in the game) and his severe lack of hitstun in his attacks cost him dearly. This results in him ranked in the E Tier.

Character description
Black Mage is not generic sole character in the Final Fantasy franchise, but it is, in fact, one of the most iconic job classes from said franchise. In most of the game, Black Mage is a magic user specializing in attack magic, Black Magic. Their weapons are generally restricted to rods and daggers. They are usually depicted wearing distinctive costumes consisting of a blue or black robe and a large conical, wide-brimmed hat which obscures their face, with two yellow eyes shining from within the shadow. The outfit of the Black Mages is similar to the generic appearance of a wizard. In the original NES game, the Black Wizard lacked the hat and obscured face that became the defining features of the Black Mage. This was changed in the WonderSwan remakes and Final Fantasy Origins so that he still looks like a traditional Black Mage after becoming a Black Wizard. In Final Fantasy IX, the Black Mage Village is a forested hamlet where many mass-produced Black Mages have become self-aware. Final Fantasy IX is the only game that features Black Mages as a distinct race, although the Yukes of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles are very similar in their inhuman appearance and magical ability.

The Black Mage is available as a class in Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. In the English localization of Final Fantasy Tactics, Black Mages were called Wizards. In Final Fantasy I, Black Mages can be upgraded into Black Wizards. Other black mages throughout the series are Rydia (who is also a Summoner and loses the ability to cast White Magic halfway through the game) and Palom of Final Fantasy IV, Vivi Orunitia from Final Fantasy IX (who also carries several of the distinct characteristics of a Black Mage), Lulu from Final Fantasy X and Kytes (Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings).

In Super Smash Flash 2
Black Mage appears in SSF2 as an unexpected character. Released in demo v0.7, Black Mage was the first unannounced character to appear in SSF2. He mainly uses devastating Black Magic to combat his opponents, but as an extra, he also uses Summon Magic, as seen in his "Goblin Punch" and "Chocobo Dash" attacks. It is confirmed that in later demos, Black Mage would be a starter character. The requirement to unlock Black Mage in v0.7, was to Brawl 10 times, then fight and beat Black Mage.

Attributes
Black Mage is a very defensive character who has excellent special moves that can easily change the outcome of any battle. His recovery is, undoubtedly, one of the best recoveries in the game. He has excellent kill moves (though were nerfed from demo changes) and his down smash can be an infinite is used well. His d-air is one of the best moves in the game due to its effects (being a meteor smash, semi-spike can juggler at the same time) and can be a lock on large opponents or opponents who keep on jumping. His fair can reflect projectiles like Ichigo's Getsuga and Tails's Electron Shot. Black Mage also has one of the best edgeguarding tactics in the game. His Fair can be a very effective Wall Of Pain and his b-air is a very powerful semi-spike. Black Mage is a very interesting character to use and can be one of the best characters in the game if used well.

Black Mage however does have his flaws. Black Mage's air speed, running speed and agility are very slow and he has poor mobility (though his shield rolls are very fast). Black Mage's throws are powerful, but they can't chain grab. Black Mage is also tied with Kirby for lightest character in the game.

Black Mage's critical problem is his severe lack of hitstun in his attacks, despite having many combo set-up moves. Haste and his u-air are his primary combo moves and both are unreliable (u-air for being very weak and Haste for being too strong and laggy to land another move and is mostly used as a finisher). His attacks with the highest hitstun is his jab, Haste and f-smash and the f-smash is too strong and the jab severely lacks range and has poor killing power. Even his grabs have poor hitstun, making Black Mage the character with the worst combo options. However he does limited amount of options to combo like:


 * .Bair + Bair at low percentages.
 * .Short hopped Fairs to Dair while airborne
 * .Bair + Bair + Haste for a reliable and inescapable edgeguard combo.
 * .A miniature version of Ken Combo
 * .Dsmash (can lock certain characters) to high percentages + any strong attack

Black Mage relies on his gimps (the highest amount in the game with a total of 8) and smashes to KO and d-smash to rack up damage.

Normal Ground Moves

 * Standard Attack 1: Punches forward with his right hand. 4%
 * Standard Attack 2: Punches forward with his left hand. 6%
 * Downward Tilt: Takes a knife and stabs it forward across the floor. 12%
 * Downward Smash: Uses Blizzaga magic onto the floor, hitting both sides and freezing opponents. 13% both sides uncharged, 19% both sides fully charged.
 * Forward Tilt: Swings his staff forwards. 12%
 * Forward Smash: Uses Thundaga to hit anyone in front of him. 17% uncharged, 24% fully charged.
 * Upward Tilt: Goblin Punches upwards. 9%
 * Upward Smash: Preforms a quick uppercut while using Firaga magic. 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.
 * Dash Attack: Chocobo dash. 10%

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial: Spins around in a great fireball. Each successive hit does 2%.
 * Forward Aerial: Chocobo kick. One of his best aerials and can be used to wall-chain. 12%
 * Backward Aerial: Slashes his knife behind him. It is a powerful semi-spike. 10%
 * Upward Aerial: Uses Flood magic to attack upwards. Each successive hit does 1%.
 * Downward Aerial: Black Mage swipes a scythe downwards in an arc. This move can send opponents in different directions. Anyone who touches the blade at the beginning of the move will be sent downwards. Anyone who touches the blade at the end of the arc will be sent diagonally downwards. Anyone who touches the blade at the very end of the move is sent upwards with good knockback. Different parts of the attack do different damage. The first hitbox does 8%. The second does 15%. The third, 8%. The very end the of the attack does 12%. This move can send opponents in different directions. Anyone who touches the blade at the beginning of the move will be sent downwards. Anyone who touches the blade at the end of the arc will be sent diagonally downwards. Anyone who touches the blade at the very end of the move is sent upwards with good knockback.

Grabs & Throws

 * Grab: The Black Mage grabs the opponent.
 * Pummel: Stabs opponent. 3% for the first hit, 2% every consecutive hit.
 * Forward Throw: Levitates the opponent up, then hurls them forwards. 12%
 * Backward Throw: Pushes the opponent backwards, then stabs them with his knife. 14%
 * Upward Throw: Hat changes into a Cactuar and uses 1000 Needles. First 8 hits do 1%, last hit does 2%.
 * Downward Throw: Uses Bio Magic to poison the opponent with his staff. First 2 hits do 2%. 2nd hit does 1%, final hit does 4%. The opponent then gradually takes 1% of damage for a short time.

Other

 * Ledge Attack: Stabs forwards with his staff. 8%

Misc.

 * Entrance: Gets chosen from a list of playable characters.
 * Taunts:
 * Neutral: Spins and raises a hand into the air while a small melody from the Final Fantasy fanfare plays.
 * Side: Unknown
 * Down Unknown
 * Revival platform: A platform with the words "Life 2" on it.
 * Fanfare: Victory fanfare from Final Fantasy IV.
 * Wins: Spins and raises a hand into the air.
 * Loses: Covers face with cloak.

Role in The Flash Of Shadows
Currently unknown.

External link

 * Black Mage's page at Smash Flash DOJO!!

Gallery
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