With today's fighter announcement, Min Min has finally been announced as the ARMS representative in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Since the initial reveal of an ARMS rep made the choice seem up in the air, many figured it'd be based on character popularity. Since ARMS doesn't really have a protagonist, even though many thought it was Spring Man/Ribbon Girl, many figured it'd be either Twintelle or Min Min. Considering fans even got Min Min trending on Twitter prior to the reveal, surely plenty of them were delighted by the reveal today.
Of course, with Min Min easily being one of the most popular and iconic characters from ARMS, it makes a lot of sense that she'd get the fighter spot in Smash. As many expected, she's a melee focused zoner with extreme range but struggles in close-quarters combat. Sort of like a Byleth on steroids, Min Min's gameplay is extremely centered on keeping opponents at range, seemingly to a fault. Here's how Min Min shakes out in the competitive meta for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Moveset Breakdown
If Byleth was a "distance demon" before, that makes Min Min a distance god in this case. For those who haven't played the game previously, every character in ARMS is all about fighters with extendable, well, arms that shoot across the arena to punch opponents. There's rarely ever a sequence of ARMS gameplay that involves close quarters combat other than grabs. That same design philosophy carries over into Min Min's design in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Practically all of her normals, aerials, and specials are mid-to-long range attacks that cover a lot of distance both on and off stage.
Min Min has a lot of versatility in her ability to zone out her opponents. Players can utilize any of her tilt and smash attacks in mid-air, as well as angle her smash attacks slightly to cover different approaches. She's also capable of using her second arm in tandem with the first just like in ARMS, as her right arm is bound to specials inputs (for default controls, the B button) and act independently of her left arm attacks. Additionally her right arm can transform to different ARM variants; like the Ramram for a quick projectile-based boomerang attack, or the super strong Megawatt attack that's slow but does a lot of damage. She's also got plenty of solid recovery options, with a grounded leap that doesn't put Min Min in freefall, along with a tether recovery in the air.
How To Play Min Min
In a competitive situation, Min Min will always want to control space and the flow the match. Much like the other zoner/spacing characters already in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, they thrive on keeping their distance and punishing opponents for being too hasty. Min Min's entire moveset emphasizes this, as she has very few moves that don't extend a certain distance away from her. That in particular is Min Min's biggest strength and her biggest weakness, as her defense can be compromised greatly if opponents get to close. Many of her distance attacks suffer any diagonal coverage and can be bypassed by jumping, meaning any misplaced attack can leave Min Min especially wide open.
In particular, high or top-tier characters like Joker or Game & Watch will be challenging matchups for Min Min because of their ability to move quickly and oppress opponents. Any character that has solid mobility on the ground or in the air can abuse Min Min's diagonal blind spot and capitalize with a potential combo/opening. Her arms do have intangibility in between her body and the fist, so Min Min at least can't be blindside from an opponent attacking at max range. But that blind spot is a dangerous flaw that could significantly impact her viability in competitive play. Players will want to play at max range as often as they can, using Min Min's range to keep opponents from getting close to her, as often as possible.
Min Min's Competitive Viability
In terms of the competitive meta in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Min Min is going to struggle a lot when it comes to the top tiers in the game. The active competitive scene of Smash Ultimate, prior to the cancellation of events due to social distancing, featured a meta dominated by hyper aggression. Aside from a few outliers like Snake, there are several aggressive top-tier characters who can either jump in or rush down Min Min and overpower her in the neutral game. Even though her gameplay is focused on spacing and keeping opponents out, she has very limited "get off me" tools to break aggression and keep her away from danger. As long as she can maintain the pacing of each match Min Min can succeed, but Min Min players will need to be on top of their game, as any mistake could be devastating in a match.
Granted the online environment gives Min Min a sort-of inadvertent advantage. The issues of input lag in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's online modes have indirectly boosted zoners in the competitive meta. Characters like Samus and Sonic have become much more common in online tournaments because of the online performance of Smash online changing the way the game plays. Pair that with the game's generous input buffering, and Min Min may see some significant results in an online competitive meta. That being said, in a traditional offline tournament Min Min would suffer greatly according to the game's current competitive meta.
Much of this could change depending on how much is changed in the presumed upcoming balance patch for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. While patches are more frequent compared to Smash for Wii U/3DS, the amount of changes is still inconsistent. Characters could see some significant buffs/nerfs, or a few obscure characters get some minimal bug fixes. Either way, based on the current competitive meta, Min Min will likely be mid-tier at best. Her gameplay is unique and fun, but her moveset has some pretty severe flaws for competitive play.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now for Switch.
