An Introduction to Peach’s Float

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Peach has long been considered a top tier, but she is a very unique character in her design and her strengths and weaknesses. She has a float and a unique double jump which really sets her apart from how other characters in Melee play. In addition, she has some of the more polarizing relevant matchups of the top tier characters in Melee. This includes what many would consider an abysmal matchup against Jigglypuff. On the other hand, though she has arguably the best matchup in Melee against what many consider the bane of their existence in Ice Climbers.

The goal of this article will be to go over how to most effectively use Peach’s float in neutral against Ice Climbers. Many people have a very limited understanding of what makes Peach so strong against Ice Climbers or only have an understanding of strategies that stop being effective past a certain level of play. Those lower-level tools have their place, but they should not be the base for your strategy. They’re more so there to supplement your play. The tool that really makes Peach so great against Ice Climbers is her float. This tool is unique to Peach and creates for offensive and defensive opportunities against the Ice Climbers that only she has.

Now, let’s look at the breakdown of how this article will look. We’re going to be looking at what I feel are the most essential aspects of the neutral to know as Peach when attempting to use Peach’s float when playing against the Ice Climbers. We will be dividing the neutral into the offensive neutral and the defensive neutral. For offense, we’ll be looking at how Peach’s float can be used to safely approach against the Ice Climbers. For defense, we’ll be looking at how Peach can use her float to protect herself. Finally, as an added bonus, we’ll look at a strategy that will help you most efficiently beat your opponent when only the main climber is alive.

Now that you have some basic information on what the rest of this article is going to look like, we’re about ready to move on. It’s important to be aware though that even in a matchup as polarizing as this one, every option has some sort of counterplay. With that said though, this is a matchup where you can very easily stop any sort of counterplay from your opponent relatively reliably as long as you pay close attention. Now that you now all of that though, let’s start floating.

Approaching with Peach’s Float

As far as offense goes for Peach against Ice Climbers it all starts with Peach’s float. This float can allow you to get close while coming from positions that are harder to contest for Ice Climbers and, even if you do get hit for coming in this way, you likely did not lose neutral in a very meaningful way.

To use Peach’s float offensively against Ice Climbers, there are three main parts to be aware of. The first part is approaching with float down aerial to safely get closer to Ice Climbers. The second part is approaching with a full hop float to forward aerial to safely apply pressure from one of the safest possible positions. Then, finally, we have the use of instant float neutral aerial to safely apply pressure in closer range situations.

First, let’s look at how using float down aerial as Peach can allow you to safely get closer in the neutral while ending up applying pressure when playing against Ice Climbers. Offensively, I would argue this tool itself is Peach’s strongest when playing this matchup. This technique’s safety and ability to get openings stems from its speed and the angle it hits at. The Ice Climbers very much struggle to hit diagonally above and in front of them and a float down aerial harasses that spot about as good as any move in the game. By floating in that safe zone I described and poking with down-air, you can wait for a poke to move forward with your offense or back off if necessary and reset. In addition, thanks to a technique known as linked float canceling, where the property of float cancelling can be transferred to a non-float aerial, you can fast fall towards the end of a down aerial hitting the Ice Climbers and then use a neutral aerial as you’re about to hit the ground to get a strong poke with almost no lag.

Next, let’s look at how floating in and using a float cancel forward aerial can allow you to get close and get an opening against the Ice Climbers. For this, the reward is likely going to be more than with the float down aerial but going for this opening is going to be a little less safe. As I mentioned in the float down aerial section, the diagonal angle above and in front of Ice Climbers is very hard for them to contest, and by using just a full hop float you can easily enter into that space. Furthermore, even though this is less safe than coming in with a float down aerial, it’s still a very safe way of getting closer to the Ice Climbers and there will be many times where you can add a down aerial into this approach leading up to the float cancel forward aerial. Then from the full hop floating position by using a float cancel forward aerial, you can apply safe pressure or get an opening that will lead to the Ice Climbers becoming separated.

Finally, for the offensive uses of Peach’s float let’s look at the use of instant float cancel neutral aerial as a way of safely applying pressure, especially in close-range situations. Many times, in close range situations Peach players will default to down smashing and although this move can create an instant separation on Ice Climbers, the use of down-smash is unnecessarily dangerous. By wavedashing out of shield or just waiting and then going for a whiff punish, the Ice Climbers can often punish Peach with a grab that can lead to death thanks to wobbling. By using an instant float cancel neutral aerial in these close-range situations, either from standing or out of a dash, Peach can very quickly attack directly and/or aim to protect herself while also leading to a direct poke or pressure that can lead to a separation.

Defending with Peach’s Float

Much like with Peach’s offense, her defense against Ice Climbers is almost all based around her float. Defensively, Peach’s float has the ability to put yourself in extremely safe positions, and at the same time, it can set you up to put up one of the best defensive walls in the game.

To use Peach’s float defensively against Ice Climbers, there are three main parts to be aware of. The first part is using well-timed float cancel forward aerials to intercept Ice Climbers for approaching into you. The second part is using full hop float to wait and then reset the position if Ice Climbers choose to wait longer. Then, finally, we have the use of double jump float setups to bait Ice Climbers into approaching.

First, for defense, let’s look at the use of reactive float cancel forward aerial. This, along with approaching float down aerial, is what I believe makes this matchup so bad for Ice Climbers. When the Ice Climbers approach, very often they’re going to attempt to use a wavedash to move forward. By setting up a full hop float and using a float cancel forward aerial when you see or hear a wavedash, you can easily stuff the Ice Climbers out. In addition, if you forward aerial as a reaction to a wavedash, three different things can happen. Either the Ice Climbers wavedash forward or they wavedash back or down. In the event of the latter, you don’t get a hit, but you lose no stage positioning and you’re safe from an opening. In the event of the former, you either get a hit or you begin your pressure.

Second, for defense, we have the use of full hop float as a tool for waiting. As I mentioned before reactive float cancel forward aerial is where the base of Peach’s defense comes in against Ice Climbers, but it isn’t a foolproof strategy. The reason for this is that even if you set up a float at the right distance the Ice Climbers can wait your float out and not wavedash towards you until you commit preemptively or your float just runs out. For those reasons, it’s important to be able to mix up options out of float that are more preemptive so you can reset. The two big mix-ups here are the use of preemptive float cancel forward aerial and double jumping to a platform when your float runs out or during your float. The preemptive forward aerial can allow you to protect yourself from most approach timings even if the Ice Climbers wait you out. Then the double jump onto a platform can keep you safe from basically any approach timing from the Ice Climbers, the weakness being you’re not always in a position to go to a platform.

Finally, for defense, we have the use of double jump float as a way of baiting your opponent to come in. Peach’s unique double can allow her to get closer to her opponent with her initial jump in and then create a substantial amount of space with a double jump back. Many times, Ice Climbers players will attempt to wait for a jump in from Peach to try to hit her with one of their high damage aerials. By using a double jump as previously described you can easily bait out aggressive aerial attempts from the Ice Climbers and then set up into a float to punish. A common example of this is you jump in as Peach, so in response the Ice Climbers player tries to move forward and hit you with an up aerial, but by preemptively double jumping back, you move out of that space just in time to whiff punish them with a float cancel forward-air as they’re in lag.

The Art of Invalidating the Solo Climber

Honestly, this section should really be called “The Art of Invalidating Bad Characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee.” Peach has a certain tool that is amazing for walling out and preventing any meaningful offense from the lesser characters. The tool I’m referring to is her float cancel back aerial. Against a character like Sopo, this tool can be used to wall out almost all of their approaches. By using instant float cancel back aerial in closer range situations, you can stay safe from any sort of bigger damage openings like grab. Then in situations where Sopo is at his threat range or further away, you can easily set up a higher up float to wait and stuff out wavedash approaches with a well-timed float cancel back aerial.

A Conclusion to Peach vs. Ice Climbers

As I mentioned before this is a matchup that is heavily in favor of Peach. This, however, does not mean that you can just do whatever you want and expect to win. Far from it actually. There are many tools Peach has that are very punishable by the Ice Climbers and can lead to your demise. The most important thing is to stick to using those effective tools and not deviate your strategy too much. This is not to say that adaptation isn’t needed. What is important though, is altering your strategy only by using the tools necessary for your success and not using tools that can easily lead to a stock loss. Now that you know all of that though, it’s time to hit the skies.