Prat Falling
From SmashWiki, the Super Smash Bros. wiki
Prat Falling (also called "tripping", "stumbling", or various other names) is a new occurrence in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Whenever the Control Stick is smashed, there is a very small chance that the character will trip, fall over, and sit down in a prone state. While apparently intended to stop excessive dashing and pivoting, characters can also trip when they intend to use a forward smash or side special move. A related technique is the trip cancel; when turning around, before tripping, an attack can be used to cancel the trip. The game keeps track of the total number of Prat Falls each character or name has experienced in Group Brawls.
Interestingly, the sound effect for tripping (when not induced by an opponent or item) changes depending on whether the character tripping is from a cartoon-ish or realistic universe: the realistic characters make unimpressive falling-down noises, while cartoon-ish characters (that is, most of the cast) make a distinctive timpani noise.
While sitting down, a character has the same options as if they are lying down. However, attacking while sitting does slightly less damage than attacking while lying down.
[edit] Causes for Prat Falling
- Smashing the control stick left or right, whether dashing or attacking (very small chance).
- Surfaces with a lack of traction (such as ice) have a higher likelihood of causing tripping.
- Getting hit with certain attacks (most Down tilts and other low attacks are designed to trip opponents).
- An uncharged Wario Waft will cause tripping (if it's not Wario-Man).
- Being hit with/stepping on a Banana Peel.
- When Tingle rains down banana peels (note these are 2D sprites, not actual Banana Peels), it causes constant Prat Falls to all opponents until he leaves the screen.
- Luigi's Negative Zone can cause incessant tripping.
- Some Meteor Smashes that hit ground opponents on low % can also cause tripping.
[edit] Controversy
In casual matches Prat Falling rarely has a significant effect on gameplay, but this is not the case in competitive play, when it has the potential to turn a match around. It has been cited by many players as an unnecessary addition to the game as it introduces an element of chance, making Brawl less suited to tournaments as a player could win by being luckier than their opponent, despite being the worse player. Prat Falling cannot be used as part of a strategy as it is not possible to predict consistently enough, though all recoveries from a Prat Fall provide invincibility frames.
Because random tripping chance for dashing can affect significantly the gameplay it's removed in Brawl+, though bananas and attacks that may trip the opponent can still trip.
