Goku (Super Smash Flash 2)

Goku is a newcomer starter character in Super Smash Flash 2. He first appeared in a teaser, transforming into Super Saiyan 3 form and releasing a True Kamehameha at his opponents. Despite the anticipated confirmation, he was not playable until Super Smash Flash 2 Demo v0.7.

Goku is currently ranked 37th on the current tier list, placing him in the D tier; a huge drop from his 1st-place position on the first tier list and a significant drop form his 12th place position on the last tier list. Goku has a solid aerial game, amazing combo ability, and kill moves in his forward smash, up smash, forward and back throw when used near the ledge, and the Kamehameha. He also possesses has the ability to float, which gives him a good horizontal recovery and the ability to auto float-cancel which aids in his aerial game on stage. Goku's down special move, Kaiō-ken, when activated, increases his speed, power and the hitstun of his attacks. His time in Kaiō-ken will extend if he continues to hit his opponent. Due to this Goku can combo and zero-to-death combo the entire roster. He can also use Kaiō-ken to slow his descent in the air and can use the Kamehameha to slow his descent and push himself backwards, helping him with horizontal recovery if he can no longer float, thus giving him an amazing horizontal recovery overall.

However, Goku has problems with range in most his attacks leaving him vulnerable to characters with disjointed hitboxes (ex. and ). Additionally, Goku's tall frame, combined with his high weight and being a high faller, makes him susceptible to combos and chain grabs. While Kaiō-ken has its benefits, it damages Goku for every half-second it is active and the time will be extended as long as he hits his opponent or his opponent hits him, which makes using Kaiō-ken very risky and situational, and also makes Goku lose some of the priority on his attacks. Ki Blast, his side special, is one of the, if not the worst projectile in the game, as it's very weak, has low priority, can be reflected and can be avoided by characters who are small in size. Additionally, Goku's main means of vertical recovery, Instant Transmission, can be easily edgehogged due to it not having an hitbox at the end of the move unless the initial hit connects, and also has very poor absolute vertical gain, and Goku almost immediately loses the height gain when doing the move, as since v1.1, he no longer keeps any type of momentum when using Instant Transmission. He also has issues in KOing opponents outside of his throws due to slow meteor smashes in his forward aerial and down aerials, his finishers being hard to land because of his lack of range despite his size and his Kamehameha can be reflected, as it counts as a projectile. Goku appears to have a moderate player base. However, he has a lackluster representation in online tournaments.

Attributes
Goku is a character that focuses on speed and power. Goku has the ability to auto float-cancel which aids in his air game with his aerials having good priority which gives him an effective air game. His down air has a lot of priority which allows him to deal with projectiles. He has a projectile in Ki blasts which he can use to zone his opponents or hinder their approach. He has KO moves in his forward smash, side tilt, forward and back throws (when used near the ledge) and back air.

Goku has different recovery options with having the ability to float which covers a good horizontal distance, Instant transmission covers decent vertical distance while making him intangible for a second, he can use Kamehameha for horizontal recovery when fully charged and can use the start up of Kaiō-ken to slow his falling speed.

Goku has a good grab game, possessing the seventeenth longest grab in the current demo, with his up throw being a chain grab on fast fallers while being a combo starter on other characters. His down throw can chain throw characters at low percentages. His back and forward throw can be used as KO moves when used near the ledge. His down special move, Kaiō-ken, when activated increases the speed and power of his attacks. His forward air no longer needs to be sweet spotted to semi-spike and his down air becomes a meteor smash, with both having high base knockback making it is to KO opponents. His smash attack no longer need to be charged.

However, Goku suffers from subpar range in most of his attacks which leaves him vulnerable to characters with disjointed hitboxes (ex. and ). His projectiles are weak and can be canceled out very easily by other attacks. This gives him more trouble playing a neutral with characters who can shut his options down.

Due to Goku's height, above average weight and being a high faller; makes him susceptible to combos, chain grabs and zero-to-death combos.

Kaiō-ken is a very situational move due to it damaging Goku every half of second it is activated, the move stays activated every time the opponent hits him which makes him more susceptible to zero-to-deaths while using the move.

His main means of vertical recovery, Instant Transmission, can be easily edgehogged due to it not having a hitbox at the end of the move, although is a decent combo starter onstage due to it being a command grab. He also has issues in KOing opponents outside of his throws due to slow meteor smashes in his forward and down aerial and a lack of range outside of the Kamehameha, which can also be reflected.

Changes from v0.9a to v0.9b
Even though Goku was considered a top tier character in demo v0.9a, Goku received a lot of buffs and a few nerfs in v0.9b. Due to the lower hitstun of the demo, Goku is less susceptible to chain grabs while still being able to combo like last demo.

Tier placement history
When Goku was first introduced in demo v0.7; he was seen as a top tier character like and. On the lists for demo v0.7; Goku was 3rd of A tier on the first list and ranked 2nd of A tier on the second list.

In demo v0.8b; Goku's position dropped to 12th at the bottom of C tier where he was seen as a mid tier character.

In demo v0.9a; Goku rose to 6th of what can be considered A tier, where he is now seen as a top tier character again.

In demo v0.9b, Goku dropped to 16th of A tier where he was still seen as a high tier character. For the second tier list of v0.9b, changes in the metagame has led to Goku rising to 12th place of A tier where he is still seen as a high tier character. Further changes in the metagame has caused Goku to rise to the 6th place on the final tier list of v0.9b, where he is seen as a top tier character.

In Beta 1.0.0, Goku had received multiple buffs and was able to chain grab back throw into itself until very high percentages. That, accompanied by buffs to Instant Transmission, made him rise to first spot in the tier list. Goku was toned down in the following two subversions, making him drop to 12th spot. In Beta 1.1, though, Goku was considerably nerfed once again, with his recovery being the most affected part. That, coupled with Goku's lack of range, made him drop to 37th place on D tier, which is his current placement.

Trivia

 * Goku is the only playable manga and anime character to use voice clips from his English-dubbed voice actor — in this case, Sean Schemmel — rather than his original Japanese seiyū, Masako Nozawa.
 * The reason for this is because the English dub of the Dragon Ball Z anime is commonly accepted as the standard version in the West, whereas the original Japanese versions of ', ', and  are commonly accepted as the standard versions of each respective anime.
 * Goku's current artwork in Super Smash Flash 2 is similar to his render in his appearance in J-Stars Victory VS.. It is also similar to his battle stance from his first fight against Vegeta IV.

External link

 * Goku's page at Smash Flash DOJO!!!