This article contains a somewhat niche collection of information: recovery tactics for six of Melee’s low tier characters. For some, this information may only come in handy when trying to style with these low tiers in friendlies. For others who have subjected themselves to the torture that is maining a low tier, this kind of information may prove crucial in garnering positive results of any kind. If low tiers can find their way back to the stage after getting hit, they take care of at least one of the many ways in which higher tier characters can oppress them. In any case, here are the fundamentals for recovering as the next six characters on Melee’s tier list.





Mario:

Though his recovery is far from the best in the game, Mario has a decent set of tools which he can utilize in order to recover, and he is certainly better off than his medicinally trained counterpart. His Up-B, Super Jump Punch, moves upwards at a diagonal angle, covering a decent amount of vertical and horizontal space, and will commonly be used to reach the stage at the end of a recovery sequence. Of course, Mario has several tools which he can mix into these recovery sequences before having to rely on his Up-B.

If Mario has been launched far above and away from the stage, he can use his Side-B, Cape, to slightly propel himself forward while also stalling his air speed momentarily. By button mashing during his Down-B, Mario Tornado, Mario players will make their character gain a slight vertical boost, granting him a little bit of additional vertical mobility if he has fallen particularly far below the ledge.

True to his own games, Mario can wall jump, naturally buffing his recovery on stages with walls. What’s more, if the Mario player Up-B’s into a wall and flicks the control stick the opposite direction, Mario’s Up-B will be cancelled into a wall jump, thus allowing Mario to Up-B a second time. Thanks to his cornucopia of recovery options, Mario has a decent shot at making it back to the stage whether he is far away from or far below the ledge, although there is a bit of technical difficulty when it comes to completing all portions of his recovery sequence successfully.

Young Link:

Young Link’s Up-B, Spin Attack, is mediocre, often causing him to rely on his other recovery options to at least set up his Up-B to the ledge. Young Link can use his hookshot to perform a wall grapple. Most commonly, Young Link players will recover from offstage by air dodging upwards, using the wall grapple to attach to the side of a stage, and then Up-B’ing after releasing from the side of the stage. That being said, Young Link does have a few other tricks which can be used to improve his recovery even further. Notably, Young Link can perform a bomb recovery offstage if he has an active Bomb while he is trying to recover. He does so by Up-B’ing before the Bomb explodes; once it does explode in his hand, he will gain access to another Up-B. He also possesses the ability to wall jump.

In addition, Young Link has a unique tactic known as the “Boomerang Super Jump,” wherein Young Link will leap a great distance into the air if a previously launched Boomerang returns to him while he is tethered to the side of a stage. Naturally, this technique can be hard to implement into practical play, and Young Link rises such a great distance that he may have a hard time landing on the stage without getting punished. However, the latter is somewhat remedied by the fact that the Boomerang Super Jump can be cancelled by performing another aerial action. Players should also note that this technique is only possible on versions 1.0 and 1.1 of NSTC copies of Melee, making its actual competitive uses very limited.

Donkey Kong:

Donkey Kong can be one of the most difficult character to successfully recover with, at least under certain circumstances. His Up-B, Spinning Kong, interestingly grants him an impressive amount of horizontal distance which, when coupled with his heavy weight, gives Donkey Kong an acceptable level of survivability. Unfortunately for him, Spinning Kong provides very little vertical distance, making him effectively helpless if he is spiked or meteor smashed. He can also slightly stall in the air using his Side-B, Headbutt, although this is rarely necessary since his Up-B is usually adequate for making it back to the stage if he is not already below the ledge.

Link:

Link’s recovery is unsurprisingly very similar to that of his younger self, although there are a few slight distinctions of which Link players should be aware. Link’s tether is slightly longer than Young Link’s, allowing him to recover from a little bit farther out. In addition, he can perform his bomb recovery by throwing a Bomb upwards and Up-B’ing into it, gaining his second double jump afterwards. This could at times prove to be more practical than waiting for the Bomb to explode in his hands, as he could plausibly not have enough time for the Bomb to explode before he falls to his demise.

The other aspects of Link’s recovery are worse than those of Young Link. Link’s Up-B provides less vertical distance than Young Link’s, and he also lacks the ability to wall jump, giving him even less leniency in his recovery than Young Link overall. Link can also perform the Boomerang Super Jump, though as previously mentioned, this is highly situational and even impossible on many copies of Melee.

Mr. Game & Watch:

There isn’t much to say about our favorite two-dimensional friend when it comes to recovering. His Up-B, Fire, allows Game & Watch to cover a very large vertical distance, making him somewhat difficult to kill off the bottom. Mr. Game & Watch lacks any additional recovery options though, so his recovery can easily become predictable. Indeed, if the opponent has figured out how to combat Game & Watch’s Up-B, then he has little hope for mixing up his recovery to throw his opponent off-guard.

Roy:

Roy’s recovery is somewhat similar to, though in general worse than, Marth’s. His Side-B, Double-Edge Dance, offers less of a horizontal boost than Marth’s, and it has greater endlag, meaning it cannot be used to stall in the air as many times as Marth’s can. These facts, along with the fact that he falls faster than Marth, leaves Side-B as an underwhelming tool when used for recovering.

Roy’s recovery does gain a little bit of variety due to the unique properties of his Up-B, Blazer. Roy’s Up-B can be angled much more drastically than Marth’s, allowing Roy to go for a straight vertical angle similar to Marth’s Dolphin Slash, or instead to angle the move more horizontally. These properties give Roy a little bit more freedom when picking when and in what positions to Up-B given his distance from the stage.

Once again, this group of characters lacks a coherent standard of recovering ability. While Mario and the Links have technically challenging recoveries which can be difficult to master, Donkey Kong and Mr. Game & Watch have very straightforward recoveries which, though decent, can quickly become predictable. In any case, each of these characters has a decent shot at making it back to the stage upon getting launched. Though these characters and their recovery techniques may be obscure, the final article in this series will cover the most obscure, rarely seen characters in all of Melee.

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