Tails (Super Smash Flash 2)

Tails is a playable newcomer character in Super Smash Flash 2. He still retains the sprites that were used in Super Smash Flash.

Tails ranks 8th on the current tier list; a large leap from his 16th position last demo. Tails has good priority in his attacks, a solid air game, a decent recovery, good combo ability and kill moves in his forward smash, down smash and his back aerial. Tails has a decent recovery with four midair jumps, good air speed, he can use Spin Dash and his back aerial to help him travel through the air horizontally. He has a projectile in Energy Ball Blaster which can break shields and he can out-prioritize most projectiles with Spin Dash. He has a solid down aerial meteor smash that can net him early K.O.s. He has good mobility with his good air speed and his Pseudo wavedash. Most of his attacks flow into each other perfectly giving him amazing combo ability.

However, his falling speed hinders his recovery even with four midair jumps. He lacks range in most of his attacks. He has problems KO'ing his opponents because he has few KO options and most of his KO moves require good set ups. His projectile is slow, easy to avoid and covers a short distance. He also has a high learning curve which requires tons of practice to master him. Regardless of Tails' flaws, he is a good character with great potential.

Attributes
Tails can be described as a character who can execute everything, but excels at nothing due to his attributes. Tails has great mobility with having the fifth best dashing speed, good air speed and having a pseudo-wavedash that, when fully charged, can cover three/fourths of. Tails has amazing combo ability with his attacks being able to flow into one another perfectly. Tails has a projectile in his Electron Cannon that has high priority, like most of his attacks, and can break shields. He has kill moves in his up smash, down smash and his back aerial. He has a powerful meteor smash in his down aerial which can to lead to early kills on his opponent. His down special, Spin Dash, is one of the main forces behind his advanced techniques in that it is required to perform his pseudo-wavedash, can cancel out low-priority projectiles and gives him a variety of options to mix things up. Tails' gravity benefits him, in that he is not as susceptible to combos and chain grabs like other fast fallers.

However, Tails suffers from poor reach in the majority of his attacks. His projectile is slow, easy to avoid and leaves him vulnerable for a few seconds making it unreliable. Due to having few KO moves; Tails needs to keep them fresh or risk not being able to KO his opponent, at the same time he needs set ups that will lead into his KO moves and has to over rely on his down aerial. His gravity flaws him, in that his falling speed brings down his recovery and does not give him good vertical endurance like other fast fallers. Due to this, if Tails were to get meteor smashed offstage, then he will most likely not be making it back to the stage despite possessing multiple midair jumps. His grab and throw game is rather poor especially compared to other characters (tied with for having the 13th longest grab range in the current demo and having useless throws with the exception, of maybe, his up throw).

Tails is similar to Melee's Fox, in that he has a high learning curve. He needs good reflexes, good strategy and knowledge of how he works to play him to his full potential.

Ground attacks

 * Standard attack 1: Tails punches. 2%
 * Standard Attack 2: Tails punches. 2%
 * Standard Attack 3: Tails dashes forwards and frantically moves his arms and legs around. 6%
 * Down tilt: Tails whips his tail around him on the ground. Great for putting opponents in the air. Can lead into his up smash. 6%
 * Down smash: A boxing glove on a chain appears, which Tails whips around his body, while dealing tremendous knockback. 14% uncharged, 20% fully charged.
 * Side tilt: Tails whips his tail forwards. 10%
 * Forward smash: Claps his hands forward. It does only moderate knockback. 13% uncharged, 19% fully charged.
 * Up tilt:Tails curls into a ball and does a small jump upwards. 7%
 * Up smash: Tails points upward, and a boxing glove on a chain springs out of the ground in front of him to the level at which he is pointing. 14% uncharged, 20% fully charged.
 * Dash attack: Curls into a ball and rolls forward, like Sonic's but knocks the opponent behind him. 6%

Aerial attacks

 * Neutral aerial: Spins in place, like Sonic. If all hits connect 17% total.
 * Forward aerial: Whips his tail in front of himself; like his Side Special, but with only one spin. 6%
 * Back aerial: Spins his tails like a propeller behind himself and propels himself forawrd. Good knockback and can be used to KO at high percentages. 7%
 * Up aerial: Kicks upward with both feet in handstand position. 9%
 * Down aerial: Whips his tail diagonally underneath himself. It is a powerful meteor smash that sends opponents diagonally downward. Can be Ken Combo'ed into with his forward aerial. 8%

Grabs & throws

 * Grab: Reaches forward with one hand.
 * Pummel: Punches his opponent. All hits do 1%
 * Forward throw: Throws his opponent forwards with both hands. 7%
 * Back throw: Throws his opponent behind him and does a mule kick. Sets opponents up for edge-guarding.8%
 * Up throw: Carries his opponent up into the air and punches him, sending his opponent upwards. Tails can move left or right while performing the throw. 5%
 * Down throw: Throws opponent on ground and spins on top of them, dealing multiple hits. 8%

Other

 * Ledge attack: Tails flies a short distance upwards and lands on the ground, smacking the opponent with his tails. 3%
 * 100% ledge attack: None.
 * Floor attack: Does a spin encased in a tornado. 6%

Misc.

 * Entrance: Tails flies above the platform using his tails and lands on the ground.
 * Taunts:
 * Standard: Jumps and yells: "Yes!"
 * Side: Same as standard
 * Down: Does a star jump and exclaims: "Yeah!"
 * Revival platform: Riding on the "Tornado".
 * Fanfare: Act Clear theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2
 * Wins: Tails jumps, gives a thumbs up, and says, "heh heh" "Leave it to me!" while striking a pose.
 * Loses: Tails claps to the winner.

Tier placement history
In tier lists for demo v0.7;Tails was seen as a top tier character because he ranked 2nd of A tier on the first list and ranked 1st of S tier on the second list. In demo v0.8b; Tails dropped to 16th of D tier from his 1st place position of S tier which he was tied of with for having had the largest tier drop from demo v0.8b to v0.9a(dropped by 15 tier positions). In demo 0.9a; Tails rose to 8th of what can considered A tier where he is seen as a top tier character once more.

Trivia

 * Tails's current artwork is based on his trophy pose in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.