Grabs
By AlphaZealot | Published: April 23, 2008 9:52pm EST
Every character has four types of grabs and each is performed by pressing the Z-button or by pressing both the L/R-trigger and A-button. During a grab, you can use a weak attack against the opponent by pressing the A-button, which usually does between 1-3% damage. To throw the opponent after grabbing them, simply push in a direction on the control stick.
Grab Attack Abbreviations
Forward Throw: F-Throw
Backward Throw: B-Throw
Down Throw: D-Throw
Up Throw: U-Throw
Performing Grab Attacks
F-Throw: Grab with Z or the L/R-trigger and A-button, push forward on the control stick to throw
B-Throw: Grab with Z or the L/R-trigger and A-button, push backward on the control stick to throw
D-Throw: Grab with Z or the L/R-trigger and A-button, push down on the control stick to throw
U-Throw: Grab with Z or the L/R-trigger and A-button, push up on the control stick to throw
Grabs have been toned down significantly between the iterations of the Smash series. In the 64 version, grabs were one of the primary KO moves, with incredible knock back. In Melee grabs were versatile; they could be used for combo starters or they could be chained together, and with some they could even kill, though this was rare. Grabs in Brawl are more similar to Melee than 64, but there is still a significant difference.
Few characters possess the ability to chain grab anymore, a powerful tactic that can rack up damage quickly. That isn’t to say that none do; familiarize yourself with the match ups where the character you’re playing can be chain grabbed and always know that it is a possibility.
Some characters can also still tech chase in Brawl. Grabs that send the opponent low to the ground and force teching can be following by another grab as the opponent exits the tech animation. This requires significant skill in prediction and anticipation; it’s beneficial to practice often, but know each opponent will tech with a different mindset, so be ready to adapt.
All grabs with every character still play a vital part in Brawl. Many argue that shielding and defensive play has become much more important and, with this in mind, recognizing when an opponent will shield an expected attack has also increased in importance. Baiting players into shielding is one of the most important nuances of landing a grab.
Aside from this, each grab and subsequent throw generally sends the opponent weakly in the direction pushed. Some throws, like Ness’ B-Throw, are powerful and can be used for KOs, but for the most part grabs are weak attacks in terms of both damage and knock back and are best for removing the opponent's defense. Some grabs create openings for other attacks, but most cannot place the opponent in a position for follow-up attacks and, even if they do, the opponent will usually have recovered from the throw and will be ready to defend.
During the actual grab, the opponent can escape, making it risky to attempt multiple weak A-button attacks. To quickly escape from a grab, simply spam button presses and rotate the control stick as fast as you can. Both pressing buttons and rotating the control stick lowers the duration your character is held in a grab. Using this method, it is possible to almost instantly break out of grabs at low percents, leaving no time for the opponent to rack up damage with the weak A-button attack and instead forcing them to throw immediately. The duration you are held in a grab increases as your damage goes up, meaning it will require more work to break out of a grab at 100% than at 0%. If the opponent is held in a grab, check the percentage and then proceed to attack with the A-button roughly until they will break out. Just before they break out, simply push a direction on the control stick to throw them. It may be beneficial to even listen to the opponent's controller, so you know just how hard they are attempting to get out of the grab, if you don’t hear anything, then keep racking up damage with the A-button, every little bit counts.
Note #1: For more in-depth information on each character’s grab attacks view the character-specific guides.
Note #2: For more information on chain grabbing, view Advanced Techniques - Chain Grabbing.
Note #3: For more information on tech chasing, view Advanced Techniques - Tech Chasing.
Note #4: Default control scheme using the GCN controller is assumed.
