Projectile

Mario's fireball is an example of a projectile

A projectile is, most commonly, an object or other attack that is expelled through space by an application of force, and whose hitbox operates independently of the character that used it. Common examples of projectiles include the Charge Shot, Blaster shots, and thrown items. Most projectiles can be reflected, while others can also be absorbed.

A majority of characters have at least one projectile attack, while some have two or even three. It is considered a disadvantage to lack a projectile, as they can be very useful in both approaching and camping out opponents' approaches. Projectiles also cause the target to take hitlag while the user does not, which allows a few free frames of action.

The vast majority of enemies in the Subspace Emissary resist projectiles - in fact, only Porky, Meta Ridley, and Tabuu do not. It's currently unknown whether this resistance is against projectiles specifically or against all indirect special attacks.

Number of projectiles per character

This table includes all non-Final Smash projectiles for every character, as well as some important properties of each.

Character	Projectiles	Reflectable	Absorbable	Unique/Special Properties
Bowser	Fire Breath			Size and length decreases as Bowser continues to breathe, releasing the move slowly recharges it.
Captain Falcon	None.
Diddy Kong	Peanut Popgun			Can be charged, which increases damage and speed while flattening the movement angle, but charging too much causes the move to fail. Can be grabbed and subsequently thrown as an item.
	Banana Peel			Produces a banana peel.
	Rocketbarrel Boost (when the barrels come off)			Has a random trajectory. Cannot be shielded.
Donkey Kong	None.
Dr. Mario	Megavitamins			Affected by gravity, bounces on the ground.
Falco	Blaster			Follows straight trajectory. Causes flinching, and is also used in his up, back and down throws.
Fox	Blaster			Follows straight trajectory. Does not cause flinching (except SSB). Also used in Fox's back, down and up throws (except SSB).
Ganondorf	None.
Ice Climbers	Ice Shot		/	Bounces off shields, causing it to travel the other direction. Hugs the ground, following straight trajectory. Can freeze opponents. May be absorbed in Melee, but not in Brawl.
	Blizzard			Can freeze opponents.
Ike	None.
Jigglypuff	None.
King Dedede	Inhale (spit-out character)			Spits in straight trajectory.
	Waddle Dee Toss			Affected by gravity, can be angled up or down and shortened or lengthened. Waddle Doos' Beam Whip can be reflected and absorbed, Gordos and thrown items can be reflected, while tossed Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos cannot.
	Super Dedede Jump (stars produced)
Kirby	Inhale (spit-out character)			Spits in straight trajectory.
	Final Cutter's shock wave			Produces a wave after Kirby touches the ground, hugging it and following a straight trajectory.
	May copy another character's neutral special projectile.
Link	Boomerang/Gale Boomerang			Tries to return to Link. Can be angled. Produces a vacuum on return (only in Brawl).
	Bomb			Produces a bomb item. Explode after some seconds. Can damage the user.
	Bow/Hero's Bow			Can be charged forever (the charge affects the firing speed and distance); affected by gravity, stops moving when it hits the ground.
Lucas	PK Freeze			Affected by gravity and can be tilted forward and backwards. Freezes opponents.
	PK Fire
	PK Thunder			Controllable.
Lucario	Aura Sphere			Waves up and down slightly; moves perfectly straight when fully charged. Can be held forever (damages foes who touch the Aura).
	Force Palm's aura			In very close distance, acts as a throw instead.
Luigi	Fireball			Follows straight trajectory.
Mario	Fireball			Affected by gravity, bounces on the ground.
	F.L.U.D.D.			Pushes opponents and does no damage. Can be tilted up and down.
Marth	None.
Meta Knight	None.
Mewtwo	Shadow Ball			Huge recoil when used fully charged. Waves up and down slightly. Can be held forever (damages foes who touch the ball during charging). Small Shadow Balls are launched during Mewtwo's forward throw.
Mr. Game & Watch	Chef			Random trajectory. The projectiles created by Kirby copying this move can be absorbed, unlike the Mr. Game & Watch version.
Ness	PK Flash			Affected by gravity and can be tilted forward and backwards.
	PK Fire			Creates gravity-affected fire pillar on impact, trajectory changes when used in midair.
	PK Thunder			Controllable.
Olimar	Pikmin Throw			Pikmin latch onto target (unless it's a Purple).
	Up smash
	Down smash
	Forward smash
	Grab			Only known projectile in the series to have a grab hitbox.
Peach	Vegetable			Produces a vegetable item, and rarely Bob-ombs, Mr. Saturns, or Beam Swords.
Pichu	Thunder Jolt			Causes minor self-damage. Hugs the stage.
	Thunder			Causes minor self-damage if the move connects with Pichu.
Pikachu	Thunder Jolt			Hugs the stage. Has diagonal trajectory in the air.
	Thunder			Cannot go through platforms above Pikachu.
Pit	Palutena's Arrow			Chargeable and controllable. Can be held for a limited time, and can be aimed up.
Pokémon Trainer	Flamethrower (Charizard)			Can be tilted up and down. Can be held forever, but fire length gradually decreases.
	Rock Smash fragments (Charizard)
	Bullet Seed (Ivysaur)			Can be held for limited time.
	Razor Leaf (Ivysaur)			Can be tilted up and down, but trajectory is fairly random.
	Water Gun (Squirtle)			When charged, pushes opponents and does no damage unless uncharged. Can be tilted up and down.
R.O.B.	Robo Beam			Can reflect off surfaces at certain angles, can be tilted up and down. Charges automatically.
	Gyro			Produces a Gyro item.
Roy	None.
Samus	Charge Shot			Follows straight trajectory; chargeable.
	Missile			Can fire a homing missile or super missile.
	Bomb			Detonates either instantly upon contact with an opponent (Melee/SSB64) or after a set period of time (Brawl).
Sheik	Needle Storm			Can be tilted up and down. Can be charged forever, but only six needles can be held and fired.
Snake	Hand Grenade			Can be picked up, grenade itself does not cause flinching and can be tilted forward and backwards (when tilted backwards it will fall next to Snake). Can also injure the user. Detonates after few seconds. Does not explode on contact.
	Remote Missile			Controllable. Shielding against it makes the user lose control of its trajectory.
	Cypher (once let go of)
	Up smash
	Taunt			Affected by gravity. Can be picked up by opponents (while Snake is still inside of it).
Sonic	Spring Jump (aerial usage)
Toon Link	Bow			Can be charged forever (the charge affects the firing speed and distance); affected by gravity.
	Boomerang			Tries to return to Toon Link. Can be angled.
	Bomb			Produces a bomb item. Explode after some seconds. Can damage the user.
Wario	Wario Bike (once dismounted, can be thrown)			Can be destroyed (resulting in two tires that can also be picked up and thrown).
Wolf	Blaster			Follows straight trajectory; acts as a melee attack in close ranges.
Yoshi	Egg Toss			Can be tilted forward, backwards, up and down (when tilted backwards the egg will go next to Yoshi).
	Yoshi Bomb (stars)
Young Link	Bow			Can be charged forever (the charge affects the firing speed and distance).
	Boomerang			Tries to return to Young Link.
	Bomb			Produces a bomb item. Explode after some seconds. Can damage the user.
Zelda	Din's Fire			Reflectors cannot affect the projectile as it is travelling, but they will reflect the explosion.
Zero Suit Samus	Paralyzer			Stuns opponent in place. Chargeable for a limited amount of time.