Goku (Super Smash Flash 2)

This article is about Goku's appearance in Super Smash Flash 2. For the character in other contexts, see Son Goku.

Goku is a playable newcomer character in Super Smash Flash 2. He first appeared in the trailer turning into his Super Saiyan form releasing a True Kamehameha at the others. Despite the anticipated confirmation, he was not playable until his addition in the v0.7 of the Super Smash Flash 2 Demo.

Goku is currently ranked 16th on the current tier list; a big drop from his 6th place position last demo. Goku has a solid aerial game, amazing combo ability, a good recovery and kill moves in his forward smash, side tilt, back aerial, back throw when used near the ledge and the Kamehameha. Goku has the ability to float which gives him a good horizontal recovery and the ability to auto float-cancel which aids in his aerial game on stage. Goku's down special Kaiō-ken, when activated, increases his speed, power and the hitstun of his attacks. His time Kaiō-ken will extend if continues to hit his opponent. Due to this Goku can combo and zero-to-death the entire roster. Goku can use Kaiō-ken to slow his descent in the air and can use the Kamehameha to help him with horizontal recovery if he can no longer float.

However, Goku has problems with range in most his attacks leaving him vulnerable to characters with disjointed hitboxes (ex. Meta Knight and Sora). Goku is also tall along with above average weight and falling speed makes him susceptible to combos and chain grabs. While Kaiō-ken has its benefits; it also has its flaws in that it damages Goku every half of second that its activated and the time will be extended as long as he attacks his opponent or his opponent attacks him, which makes using Kaiō-ken very risky and situational. Goku's projectiles is weak, can be out-prioritized, reflected and can be avoided by characters who are small in size. Goku's main means of vertical recovery, Instant Transmission, can be easily edge hogged due to it not having an hitbox at the end of the move.

However, Goku's pros overcome his flaws, so therefore, he is at a high rank on the tier list. However, due to his weaknesses as seen above, he is not higher on the tier list.

Attributes

Goku is a character that focuses on speed and power. Goku has the ability to auto float-cancel which aids in his air game with his aerials having good priority which gives him a effective air game. His down air has a lot of priority which allows him to deal with projectiles. He has a projectile in Ki blasts which he can use to zone his opponents or hinder their approach. He has KO moves in his forward smash, side tilt, forward and back throws (when used near the ledge) and back air. Goku has different recovery options with having the ability to float which covers a good horizontal distance, Instant transmission covers decent vertical distance while making him intangible for a second, he can use Kamehameha for horizontal recovery when fully charged and can use the start up of Kaiō-ken to slow his falling speed. Goku has a good grab game, possessing the twelfth longest grab in the current demo, with his up throw being a chain grab on big characters and fast fallers while being a combo starter on other characters. His down throw can chain throw characters at low percentages. His back and forward throw can be used as KO moves when used near a ledge. His down special move, Kaiō-ken, when activated increases the speed and power of his attacks. His forward air no longer needs to be sweet spotted to meteor smash and his down air becomes one with both having high base knockback making it is to KO opponents. His smash attack no longer need to be charged. With his weight and falling speed combined with his recovery options makes Goku a hard character to KO.

However, Goku suffers from poor reach in most of his attacks which leaves him vulnerable to characters with disjointed hitboxes (ex. Ichigo and Lloyd). Due to Goku's height, weight and fallling speed; these all combined make him susceptible to combos, chain grabs and zero-to-death combos. Kaiō-ken is a very situational move due to it damaging Goku every half of second it is activated, the move stays activated every time the opponent hits him which makes him more susceptible to zero-to-deaths while using the move and loses he a lot priority in his attacks. His projectiles are weak and can be canceled out very easily by other attacks. His main means of vertical recovery, Instant Transmission, can be easily edge hogged due to it not having a hitbox at the end of the move.

Moveset

Ground attacks

Attack	Description	Damage
Standard attack 1	Energy pulse with hand.	3%
Standard attack 2	Punches with other hand.	3%
Down tilt	Punches while crouching.	7%
Down smash	Uses "Kiai" (気合い). Goku thrusts his hands out from either side, emitting a force that deals severe damage.	10% 14%
Side tilt	Kicks out in front of him. Good reach and power.	13%
Forward smash	Powerfully punches forward.	15% 21%
Up tilt	Punches diagonally upwards out in front of him.	6%
Up smash	Quickly flings up his fist while jumping.	13% 19%
Dash attack	Elbow strike. The move is stronger when you're closer to the opponent.	8% 10%

Aerial attacks

Attack	Description	Damage
Neutral aerial	Spin kick.	11%
Forward aerial	Hammer fist. Strong meteor smash when sweet spotted at the fist.	11%
Back aerial	Back spinning kick.	12%
Up aerial	Flip Kick. Good juggler, and Goku's fastest aerial.	10%
Down aerial	Uses "Feet Kamehameha" (足かめはめ波, Ashi Kamehameha). This is a Stall-Then-Fall. Goku shoots diagonally downwards hands first like a missile. Anyone who touches him will be sent diagonally up. The move does two hits. The second hit is stronger than the first. However, Goku must be careful about using this move off-stage, due to his limited vertical recovery. Has a lot of priority and can cancel out certain projectiles. When hit by the Ki part of the attack, the opponent will be sent up and with strong knockback.	8% 3% 11% 10%

Grabs and throws

Attack	Description	Damage
Grab	Reaches with his hand out to grab. The tenth shortest grab in the game.	N/A
Pummel	Punches opponent.	3% 1%
Forward throw	Slams energy into the opponent forward with both hands.	12%
Back throw	Uses "Doragon wa nage" (ドラゴンは投げ, "Dragon Toss", Viz Serialization: "Dragon Throw"). Spins the opponent around several times quickly before throwing the opponent backwards. Very fast and powerful throw.	14%
Up throw	Punches the opponent upwards. Very similar to his Up Smash in appearance.	9%
Down throw	Uses "Taiyō-ken" (太陽拳, "Fist of the Sun", Viz Serialization: "Solar Flare"). Goku conjures a flash of light that traps opponents with strong hitstun, can chain throw.	5%

Other attacks

Attack	Description	Damage
Ledge attack	Hammer fist.	10%
100% ledge attack	None for now.	N/A
Floor attack	Jumps up off the ground feet first.	10%

Special moves

Special move	Name	Description	Damage
Standard special move	Kamehameha	Goku concentrates his Ki into a single point between their hands and then thrusts forward to shoot out a powerful streaming beam of ki. It takes eleven seconds for the Kamehameha to be fully charged.	12% 26% 31% 51%
Side special move	Ki Blasts	Goku fires a mid-range energy blast and quickly follows up with a second one. When this move is used in midair, the Ki Blasts are sent diagonally downward at an angle	1-5%
Side special move (Kaiō-ken Variation)	Kaiō-ken Attack	Goku dashes forward with a red burst of energy.	7% 8-9%
Up special move	Instant Transmission	Goku performs a flip kick, before teleporting in the inputted direction.	7% 7% 14%
Down special move	Kaiō-ken	When successfully performed, Goku will tint himself with a crimson tone and it will power up his current moveset, making him stronger, faster and more deadly than the regular Goku.	3-4% 1%
Final Smash	Super Saiyan Goku	Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan, which enhances his current moveset, even greater than Kaiō-ken.	18%

Misc.

Misc.	Description
On-screen appearance	Jumps off the Kintoun (筋斗雲, "Plot Box Cloud", Viz serialization: "Flying Nimbus") and lands on the stage.
Taunts	Standard: Happily raises up two fingers to show the sign of peace and laughs.	Side: Thrusts his head forward, yelling loudly, commonly referred to as the Big Head Yell in the anime and manga series.	Down: Powers up, similar to the Kaiō-ken (except with blue energy around him instead of red).
Idle poses	Stretches his legs.
Special abilities	Can float for a few seconds, but Super Saiyan Goku can float infinitely.
Victory theme	A short excerpt from the first tunes of the theme Cha-La-Head-Cha-La from the anime Dragon Ball Z, the same tune is used for the commercial breaks as well.
Victory pose	Jumps up happily and nearly falls, but is saved by his Kintoun. Goku lays down and laughs happily on his Kintoun.

Changes from v0.9a

Even though Goku was considered a top tier character last demo, Goku received a lot of buffs and a few nerfs.

Aesthetics

Recolored sprites.
- Has a new crouch and down tilt animations.
Updated special effects for attacks and special moves.

Ground attacks

Up Smash appears to have a little more vertical range.

Aerial attacks

Its easier to land the sweet spot of forward air.
Down airs blast effect now has a hitbox, which deals strong vertical damage.
- Full hit of down air appears to do more knockback.

Grabs and throws

Grab range was increased.
Up throw is stronger.
- This makes it harder to chain grab with along with the decreased hitstun of the demo.

Special moves

Instant Transmission now does a strong kick instead of grabbing the opponent. This makes it useful to be used at the end of up air strings.
Kamehameha is significantly stronger uncharged and does 4% more damage.
- Before releasing the move, Goku can turn around and attack from the other side which has given new options for mind games.
- Kamehameha received new visual effects.
Kaiō-ken Attack no longer puts Goku into a helpless state.

In competitive play

Match Ups

Notable Players

TSON
Miracle--7
Jammy
Sorabotics
RhythmCesar

Tier placement history

When Goku was first introduced in demo v0.7; he was seen as a top tier character like Peach and Tails. On the lists for demo v0.7; Goku was 3rd of A tier on the first list and ranked 2nd of A tier on the second list. In demo v0.8b; Goku's position dropped to 12th at the bottom of C tier where he was seen as a mid tier character. In demo v0.9a; Goku rose to 6th of what can be considered A tier, where he is now seen as a top tier character again. In demo v0.9b, Goku dropped to 16th of A tier where he is still seen as a high tier character.