Smash Ball

Smash Ball
Smash Ball artwork from Brawl, though it looks different during actual gameplay.
Universe	Super Smash Bros.
Appears in	SSBB SSB4
Item class	Special

The Smash Ball (スマッシュボール, Smash Ball) is an item in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4. It allows the user to activate a powerful Final Smash attack when it breaks. It only appears in Training Mode, certain Events, standard and Special Brawls, not the main one-player/co-op modes such as The Subspace Emissary.

Overview

To use the Smash Ball, the characters must attack the Smash Ball until it breaks. A 'fresh' Smash Ball can take around 43% damage. When a player successfully breaks one, the screen darkens, and the player whose attack broke the Smash Ball goes into 'standby mode', in which the character's eyes turn yellow and body begins to glow a rainbow color. In Smash 4, an additional aesthetic occurs where the entire screen fades into a deep grey color and causes everything to look dark except the player with the Final Smash, who glows with the Smash Ball's colors. The Final Smash can then be unleashed at any time by pressing the input for a neutral special move. After using a Final Smash, the character is no longer in standby mode and must break another Smash Ball to use a Final Smash again. If a character takes enough damage while in standby mode, there is a chance that they may 'drop' the Smash Ball, which then begins to move about the screen again. Any assistants such as Poké Ball Pokémon and Assist Trophies can help break the Smash Ball for the character who summoned them.

When a Smash Ball appears, the screen blinks and the crowd gasps. The Smash Ball then moves around on its own, potentially making it harder for players to break. As an item, it can be turned off in the Item Switch option for those who wish to battle without the potential imbalance that comes from such powerful attacks.

The apparent physics of the Smash Ball tend to vary. While it will often bounce off of walls and hard platforms, it will occasionally pass through them. The amount of knockback it takes also varies; sometimes, it will take an attack without even changing its trajectory, and other times an attack will send it halfway across a stage. The camera treats Smash Balls the same way that it treats characters. Smash Balls do not vanish by being forced off the stage like other items, so a Smash Ball sent off the screen can pull the camera away from the characters.

If no one breaks the Smash Ball after a long enough period of time, it flies away and is lost. However, the longer it is flying around, the easier it is to break. It can also be damaged by the stage (for example, Norfair's lava), and will be lost if broken in this way. Smash Balls are also affected by glancing blows; the Smash Ball will not take damage but will be pushed away. While a character is in standby mode, no Smash Balls will appear until the Final Smash is used (or the Smash Ball is dropped), meaning that only one Final Smash can be used at a time.

Description from the Super Smash Bros. Brawl instruction booklet

Destroy it and unleash a Final Smash with B.

Trophy information

Brawl Trophy

This item is also available as a trophy, with random availability. It is a fairly common trophy.

Smash Ball
A mighty item. Each character has a unique secret technique known as a Final Smash that can only be used when that character acquires a Smash Ball. Use it well, and you'll be one huge step closer to victory. It can turn the battle's tide, help you put the finishing touches on a complete thrashing, or even provide a chaotic finish that's sure to leave you laughing until you cry.

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Smash 4 Trophy

This item can truly turn the tide of battle. Once broken open, a character's Final Smash will be unlocked. If your opponent collects this, you'd better brace yourself for a powerful move. This item is pretty durable and floats around the stage, so timing and positioning are key.

A special item that lets one lucky fighter unleash their Final Smash, a secret move unique to them. Though it's a one-off opportunity that won't come around very often, this ultra-powerful attack could prove the key to victory! Smash Balls take a few hits to crack, so good timing and placement are absolutely essential.

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (03/2008)

: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Gallery

• 

  The Smash Ball trophy in Brawl.

• 

  The Smash Ball trophy in Smash for 3DS.

• 

  The Smash Ball trophy in Smash for Wii U.

• 

  The Smash Ball in Super Smash Bros. 4.

• 

  A fray over the Smash Ball in Smash 4.

Trivia

• When Jigglypuff is using its deflating (down) taunt when it has the Smash Ball, a glowing ball of energy will appear. This is the Smash Ball's form inside the character that broke it.
  • This can also be slightly seen in Meta Knight's up taunt.
• In the Iwata Asks interview for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Masahiro Sakurai stated that he had intended to add Final Smashes since the first game in the series; in the debug menu of the first game, unused sound bites of characters can be found that were likely meant for these attacks, such as Ness shouting PK Starstorm.
• In the Smash Bros. DOJO!!, the Smash Ball doesn't appear as an item, instead as a "how-to-play" tutorial segment. However, the Smash Ball is included within the Item Encyclopedia sub-section.
• If all three Dragoon Parts are in play, a Smash Ball will not appear until the Dragoon has been summoned. If a Smash Ball is in play, a third Dragoon Part will also not appear (one or two Parts may appear, but a third Part will not). This is to prevent the Dragoon and a Final Smash from appearing on the screen at the same time (doing so could cause a Dragoon and Snake's Grenade Launcher to have targeting sights on the screen at the same time). The same applies to Mr. Resetti.
  • Similarly, in Training Mode, if a Dragoon Part is spawned while a Smash Ball is on the field, the Smash Ball will disappear. If a Smash Ball is spawned, any Dragoon Parts on the field that are not currently being held will disappear.
• Some Final Smashes take longer to load from the disc than others. If a character's Final Smash is not yet loaded and the player tries to activate it, they will instead perform their neutral special move as usual.
• On Yoshi's Island, as it moves about, the Smash Ball can "hit" the yellow blocks and cause them to spin just as a jump from below or an attack would.
• The Smash Ball, along with the Poké Ball, cannot be swallowed or eaten by Munchlax.
• In a Stamina Match, if a character is defeated in standby mode, the rainbow effect stays on the body and the screen remains dark until the body is knocked off of the stage.
• In SSB4's Training mode, the Smash Ball is much weaker, taking around one hit before breaking.
• In SSB4, the Smash Ball's lines are pure black both in-game for SSB3DS and SSB Wii U and on SSB3DS's trophy, but are rainbow on SSB Wii U's trophy.
• If a Smash Taunt is happening, and a Pokémon, Assist Trophy, foe, or stage effect destroys the Smash Ball, the Smash Taunt will stop automatically.
• In Smash 4, Pikmin can latch onto a Smash Ball.
• When viewing its trophy in the gallery, the cross will never move; only the color and trophy base can be rotated.

External links

• Confirmation