Goku (Super Smash Flash 2)

Goku is a playable newcomer character in Super Smash Flash 2. He first appeared in the trailer turning into his Super Saiyan form releasing a True Kamehameha at the others. Despite the anticipated confirmation, he was not playable until his addition in the v0.7 of the Super Smash Flash 2 Demo.

Goku is currently ranked 16th on the current tier list; a big drop from his 6th place position last demo. Goku has a solid aerial game, amazing combo ability, a good recovery and kill moves in his forward smash, side tilt, back aerial, back throw when used near the ledge and the Kamehameha. Goku 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 Kaiō-ken, when activated, increases his speed, power and the hitstun of his attacks. His time Kaiō-ken will extend if continues to hit his opponent. Due to this Goku can combo and zero-to-death the entire roster. Goku can use Kaiō-ken to slow his descent in the air and can use the Kamehameha to help him with horizontal recovery if he can no longer float.

However, Goku has problems with range in most his attacks leaving him vulnerable to characters with disjointed hitboxes (ex. and ). Goku is also tall along with above average weight and falling speed makes him susceptible to combos and chain grabs. While Kaiō-ken has its benefits; it also has its flaws in that it damages Goku every half of second that its activated and the time will be extended as long as he attacks his opponent or his opponent attacks him, which makes using Kaiō-ken very risky and situational. Goku's projectiles is weak, can be out-prioritized, reflected and can be avoided by characters who are small in size. Goku's main means of vertical recovery, Instant Transmission, can be easily edge hogged due to it not having an hitbox at the end of the move.

However, Goku's pros overcome his flaws, so therefore, he is at a high rank on the tier list. However, due to his weaknesses as seen above, he is not higher on the tier list.

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 a 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 twelfth longest grab in the current demo, with his up throw being a chain grab on big characters and 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 a 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 meteor smash and his down air becomes one with both having high base knockback making it is to KO opponents. His smash attack no longer need to be charged. With his weight and falling speed combined with his recovery options makes Goku a hard character to KO.

However, Goku suffers from poor reach in most of his attacks which leaves him vulnerable to characters with disjointed hitboxes (ex. and ). Due to Goku's height, weight and fallling speed; these all combined make 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 and loses he a lot priority in his attacks. His projectiles are weak and can be canceled out very easily by other attacks. His main means of vertical recovery, Instant Transmission, can be easily edge hogged due to it not having a hitbox at the end of the move.

Changes from v0.9a
Even though Goku was considered a top tier character last demo, Goku received a lot of buffs and a few nerfs.

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 is still seen as a high tier character.