So, this is a thread to discuss the issue of controller ports, as it is more advantageous to be in the P1 spot instead of the P2 spot (and the lower your controller port, the better it is). Brawl has an arbitrary rule system in place that allows player 1 the advantage when things happen simultaneously. It is most noticeable during Bowerside (bowsers side + b move, which can be aimed off the stage and kill both players at the same time).
If P1 (bowser) uses bowsercide on p2, and both are on their last stock, then P1 is awarded a win.
If, however, P2 (bowser) uses bowsercide on P1, and both are on their last stock, then both are sent to sudden death.
This clearly means P1 has more incentive to play bowser than p2.
Heres a video showing a player who in particular likes to use this to their advantage, gimpyfish:
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If you look at each video, he is playing bowser in the p1 slot, every time. This was from last weeks FFA tourney.
Now, not to fault gimpy for using this tactic, but there needs to be a rule in place that allows the player to switch controller slot (or, if the person is using a wiimote that’s synced to a particular slot, move the controller to a higher slot). We’ve used the rule in capcom games before, where the loser gets choice of side. I think that is probably the easiest method to handle the issue.
Now, really, you can say that it only really matter if you’re using bowser, but that’s not necessarily true. It could be that the lower player always beats out the higher player on anything (i.e. both hit smashball at the same time, both grab the edge at the exact same frame, etc). Thus, it SHOULD be an option, even if it’s not utilized all the time.
What sucks the most is that the ruling is inconsistent: why does P1 on P2 = win, but P2 on P1 = sudden death instead of a loss? Seems like a pretty big oversight, since the brawl dojo even says that the bowser player dies AFTER the person he throws, whereas kirby/wario/d3 all die together. I haven’t fully tested it yet, but it seems that with warior and co it seems to send to sudden death each time.
Thoughts? Comments? Other solutions? Lets discuss!