Little note: when I say "no interaction consistently hinges on a frame or two" I don't mean that shaving a frame or two off of a move's startup doesn't make a difference, rather, it's extremely unlikely that there's anyone whose success is determined by their ability to consistently react a frame or two faster than others. Or in other words, between input delay, choice reaction time itself having variability in the order of hundreds of milliseconds, simple reaction time within average ranges (200-250 or something) constitutes an extremely negligible amount of the total "reaction time" package. Also, hope you guys like the new format lol. No more distracting backgrounds! Also took some time to edit out the breathing noises, lip smacks and pauses looool

I'm 39 and I'm better at smash than I've ever been

I'm turning 32 in June so it's good to see a video talking about this.

Hey Vermanubis. I've heard about you and your Ganondorf since SSBB times. Your vids are thought provoking, and I do appreciate that you put in the time to make these for us to view.

Havent watched the video yet but sako,a 41 year old street fighter 5 player,won a major 2 years ago,and hes got a full time job with a family

one of the main differences between sub 25 year olds and older people is that sub 25 your plasticity is "always on" that means you can learn stuff by passive experience, whereas when you get older you have to activate plasticity to learn so you dont just soak up stuff by passsivly experiencing it, you have to deliberatly focus your attention and be alert while learning to activate plasticity. for more info on that check out andrew hubermans podcast, its an eye opener what it means to learn past your 25 years and basicly comfirms everything said in this video. Its NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN THE THINGS YOU LOVE DOING in some cases its even better to learn after your 25 cause you dont soak up bad habits like you do when you are young and then have to work them out.

I love how half your videos apply to more than just Smash.

I'm 42, and picked up Smash as my first fighting game since SF2 on the SNES. After two years, I'm hovering around 7m GSP with half a dozen characters and can't get any into Elite with any of them. I'm okay with that.

All that matters is how much time you can put into it and how your hands are holding up; I teach adults (this one woman is 45) parkour, and the mentality holds people back more than age.

'Mid-twenties or better' is how I will now be referring to my age

Thank you for this. SSBU is my first Smash title, and as an almost 23 year old just getting started in competitive smash, this really helped alleviate some anxiety.

Tbh this means a lot because I felt like I just could never catch up to many peers who had been playing fighting games let alone smash as a whole for near half their lives I've always been a self conscious reck so of course I started wondering things like this and let's be honest what a painful sentiment that at like 25 at the latest you've done all you can with your life that is just ridiculously depressing and in retrospect just really stupid

Broo this is literally the most inciteful smash video ive ever seen. Ive followed your ganon growth since the brawl days and as a 33 year old battling with my own self doubt of not even being top 10 in my region anymore this really helps put my worries to sleep. Overthinking is some of my biggest folys as a player. With scar trying to get mango to help him reach top 100 player status im starting to believe once again that if i use proper diligence i might be able to at least accomplish a few more goals i have in mind. Thanks a ton

You've knocked it out of the park again. The point about experiencing time dilation and such during the learning process is what really hit home with me, and I think it's the avoidance of that mental work that has really held me back. I used to love learning new things, but that really helps explain why I've struggled more with picking up new skills lately.

One of my favourite uploads so far and very relatable, great video dude.

Thank you for making this video 18 years old and up and coming and worry that I won’t keep up.

32 and never had the resources or support to pursue art/music/streaming properly. It’s easy to observe everyone’s success, growth and privilege throughout the years and feel like I’m insignificant by comparison, especially at my age. I just love your ponderous take on things, and putting this in KZfaq for people like me really makes a difference, at least it does for me. It’s validating to reveal this emotion isn’t unique to me.

32 year old Smash veteran here who retired 10+ years ago. I played the series obsessively and religiously from 1999 to 2009. I also played SSBU once and it was against my buddies who actually played on a daily basis. In the end, they failed to handle me. My crush (*sigh*) from work who's 18 and actively plays SSBU, wants to bring her Switch to work just to challenge me. I have a very strong feeling that she'll learn an unforgettable lesson from a veteran who started playing the series way before she was born. My main will continue to be Ganondorf, of course. If I started playing the series again, I'm pretty sure my skills would be a lot better than before. I get more confident and learn better as I get older.

This is a life lesson masquerading as SmashConceptions. Good stuff. The time dilation tidbit really helped me since I'm 23 and my free time is basically in 24/7 freefall right now during lockdown.

There's definitely truth to what you're saying. This isn't Smash related, but I recently picked up and finished a classic game for the first time, that being Resident Evil 4. I knew it was bound for a reboot, so I wanted to play it before the inevitable. For the first forty-five minutes, I really struggled to get into it; the tank controls felt foreign, the game looked a little more dated than I thought, and I couldn't quite get into the setting. I was depressed by this, and I wondered if I had lost some sort of spark that I had in my teens and early twenties. But after those forty-five minutes, I got the hang of it. By the second hour mark, I fell in love with it. By the ten hour mark, the controls had long become a natural extension of me, and I understood why this game is considered a classic. I've 5-starred every Mercenaries map with every character, to boot. I don't play games as much as I used to, so when I do I always wonder if I'm getting too old to properly play them. I thankfully find this is never the case, even for fighting games and Smash.

I appreciate this not for smash but for learning mathematics - which I love a whole lot more at 23

Brother, I'm loving the mindset and wisdom you're sharing with us all. I was 25 when I watched my wife bring our firstborn daughter into this world. Nothing I ever could have accomplished before that point could ever even come close to that, so anyone making the "if you haven't accomplished anything by 25.." statement, they're quite easy to ignore. Also, it'd blow your mind at how similar these types of concepts are with the armwrestling world. Everything you covered in here, it's extremely relevant in the context of competitive armwrestling as well. I believe once anything gets elevated to the competitive level, it's important for progress and success to tackle it with your kind of mentality and focus. Great great stuff, ya monster 💪. Also also....was that SNAKE butt I kept seeing in the vid?? Lolzz

My favourite counter to the reaction time argument is that Daigo is older than most fgc competitors and has punished a move by reacting to it at 11 frames. Most pros reaction time is considered good at around 14 or 15 frames. Nothing is set in stone, you are who you are

Glad Im not too old to get better thanks for debunking another smash misconception. Keep making great content and being an inspiration to the people trying to understand smash and get better

Just turned 20. I needed this advice, thank you! I've been worrying about getting older for a few years now when it comes to learning new things.

I'm 29, and I gave up on drawing/art when I was 13. I recently picked it up, and I'm doing way better than I could ever imagine. Same goes for Smash.

"Look daddy! That's the big ugly loser that I beat!" Now I know what locals are gonna be like xD

An important lesson. Thanks

Thanks. I really needed to hear this.

This video is incredibly relevant to my life right now

Hey, thanks for your video, I'm 29 years old and I love Smash. I do admit it is hard for me to go to locals because I feel like an outcast among teenagers, but I should try having more fun playing a game I love so much. I mean, when the pandemic ends.

Amazing video as always!

As a fellow 30 year old ganon main i really needed this

You spoke to my soul

Working out and hitting a exercise routine also helps with blood and brain/thought circulation to in return make your game better. So if people want to try to counteract the whole age thing, that's a option, I don't know if it's 100%....? But I know it's helped me improve my game and keep my mind focused.

Hey Verm I'm a fellow Ganondorf main who grew up in eastern Idaho, glad to see you're still repping the character and making excellent content! Will always be a supporter.

This one really hits home for me! I've played some of the best games in probably every genre of game and so I find most new titles boring and pretty much only enjoy competitive PvP games because every game feels different. I'm in my early 30s and when I picked up Ultimate I just got my butt handed to me game after game. I grew up playing Melee and probably have thousands of hours into the game. I have always enjoyed the mental aspect of fighting games, not the technical side. Honestly I was going to give up on Ultimate, but first I set a goal for myself -- I would pick a character I enjoyed playing and I would see if I could get into Elite Smash -- but this time I would watch VODs, review my replays, and put some time in training mode (as required.) As you point out, time is difficult to attain when you are an adult -- I have a full time job and some kids running around. I get _maybe_ 2 hours a week total play time, but the constraint has really allowed me to be very focused when I play. It has taken me since the game's launch, but I can now consistently keep Mario in Elite. I picked Mario specifically because I knew he would force me to learn things like B reversing and RAR -- things I wasn't sure "this old man" could do anymore. Surprisingly though, after a few hours in training mode I learned that none of this was as hard as I thought and I have integrated those sorts of things into my play. In fact, I am more precise and efficient now in terms of spacing and attack timing than _I HAVE EVER BEEN_. Currently, I'm putting a heavy focus on learning to parry, as I think it's way underutilized! Anyway, I've rambled on enough, but thank you so much Verm for all your thought provoking content -- if not for your channel I am sure I'd have just given up with the attitude that "I'm too old for this genre of game anymore."

I needed a video like this.

Good stuff, Verm. Yeah I imagine that most adults just find too many reasons not to take it seriously competitively. They have so many other priorities to consider and many adult lifestyles don’t allow for incorporating gaming heavily. As an adult, it’s easier to see the time and energy used as a liability and also the potential for social stigma (but I think this issue is becoming better and better with time)

I'm 21 so I still have a few years to think about what I want to accomplish in my 20s or during a supposed peak. Sometimes I wonder around 2050 if there's going to be middle aged people that still want to compete, and how well they would stack up against younger competitors. Competitive gaming has only recently gotten popular so I guess time will tell.

More Content from Verm?! YES PLEASE. 🙏

I don't know if it's intentional, but I find it 10x easier to focus on what you're saying when there's no gameplay in the back (unless it's SPECIFICALLY relevant), exactly like this video. I previously found it really hard to listen when gameplay was on the screen so had to close my eyes to take the info in lol

0 likes, 0 comments, 4 likes. As it should be

I dont know what's in this video but I love your content so I'm already going to comment and like in the first 5 seconds of the video

As a 30 yo person, who's just given smash an other chance and who already loved this channel two years ago; I haven't watch the video yet, but I'm already thanking you for the helpful insight.

Good video

Practice . Practice again. And then try and think about your practice. Then think about what you could of done better. Go back and do it again. 28 40 14 years old. Doesn’t matter. Practice is the key.

The fact that I'm completely baked every time I play means I don't have to worry about my age he he he. Losing a lot tho.

ah yeah good stuff verm. 27 year old here as long as someone is scared to play me round 1, thats all i could ask for

I'm 29 my brother is 10 we go at it and love it.

Commenting for the algorithm

4:21 lmaooo

I just turned 25 and all I gotta say is 🖕react to this, youngins🖕**drives off in my rental car**

My name

Cool waifu bro

To be fair, the best Smash player in my scene is 31 years old. The second best is 15 though, so the conclusion is that some people are just blessed.

The younger you start the better you will perform?