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Death's Scythe

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Death's Scythe
Death's Scythe.png
Symbol of the Castlevania series.
Death's Scythe artwork from Ultimate.
Universe Castlevania
Appears in Ultimate
Item class Weapon
You can KO highly damaged opponents with a well-placed smash attack from this scythe. A black aura will surround your opponent right before you attack, signaling an instant KO!!
Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Death's Scythe (死神の鎌, Death God's Sickle) is an item that appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. It was revealed in the August 8 Nintendo Direct.

Origin[edit]

Soma Cruz using Death's Scythe in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

Death's Scythe is, as the name implies, the weapon that accompanies Death in the Castlevania series. It is said to reap souls from those it slashes, and can sometimes even be used by the playable characters; it is usually considered one of the most powerful weapons of the series.

In real life and other forms of media (including books, cartoons, and other video games), the personification of Death (or, as it is more commonly known, the Grim Reaper) is usually depicted with a scythe as its primary weapon and tool in order to gather souls from those who have passed on. This originated as a form of symbolism, as the same way farmers used scythes to reap their crops, Death used the scythe to reap the souls of the dead.

Operation[edit]

Death's Scythe is a battering item which the user swings in an arc ahead of them. In addition to dealing damage like a normal battering item, it has the ability to instantly KO victims that have a high enough percentage.

If an opponent is hit by the Death Scythe with a smash attack or tilt attack while at a certain percentage threshold, it will cause a dramatic sound effect and Special Zoom to occur, before the victim is instantly KO'd in a colorful explosion, similarly to KOs in Stamina Mode. The minimum damage required for the Death's Scythe to instantly KO is 70% for a fully charged smash attack, 80% for an uncharged smash attack, and 120% for a tilt attack. Other attacks with the scythe (e.g. jab, dash attack) will never instantly KO the opponent.

While the swing is readied, opponents with sufficient damage will be surrounded by an aesthetic darkness effect, which helps signify if they will be instantly KO'd by a smash attack.

Spirits[edit]

Equipping the Antasma, Mimikyu, Nash, or Hector (Castlevania) support spirits will give the player a Death's Scythe at a start of their stock.

No. Image Name Type Class Cost Ability Series
111
SSBU spirit Antasma.png
Antasma
Support
★★ 1 Death's Scythe Equipped Mario & Luigi Series
555
SSBU spirit Mimikyu.png
Mimikyu
Support
★★ 1 Death's Scythe Equipped Pokémon Series
995
SSBU spirit Nash.png
Nash
Support
★★ 1 Death's Scythe Equipped Street Fighter Series
1,063
SSBU spirit Hector (Castlevania).png
Hector (Castlevania)
Support
★★ 1 Death's Scythe Equipped Castlevania Series

Gallery[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japan Japanese 死神の鎌 Death God's Sickle
UK English Death's Scythe
France French Faux de la Mort Death's Scythe
Germany German Todessense Death's Scythe
Spain Spanish (PAL) Guadaña de la Muerte Death's Scythe
Mexico Spanish (NTSC) Hoz de la Muerte Death's Sickle
Italy Italian Falce della Morte Death's Scythe
China Chinese Death's Scythe
South Korea Korean 사신의 낫 Death's Scythe
Netherlands Dutch Zeis van de Dood Death's Scythe
Russia Russian Коса Смерти Death's Scythe

Trivia[edit]

  • The inclusion of this item marks the second occurrence of a signature item of a particular character appearing as an ordinary item in the Super Smash Bros. series, the first being the Lip's Stick. Unlike the Lip's Stick, other characters besides Death have used Death's Scythe in Castlevania.
    • Death debuted in the same game as his weapon in the Smash series as a background character with Death's Scythe in Dracula's Castle. Lip, however, debuted in Ultimate as a spirit, which was three subsequent installments after her weapon debuted. While a Sticker named "Flower Fairy Lip" appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the character on the Sticker is actually Furil from Nintendo Puzzle Collection, a similar-looking but distinct character.
  • Death’s Scythe is the first third-party item that is not character-generated in their moveset (examples include Snake's Hand Grenade, Mega Man's Metal Blade, and Pac-Man's Bonus Fruit) to come from a series represented with a playable character.
  • If the Death's Scythe KOs a buried character, the "Special Zoom" effect will occur twice.
  • If Hero charges a smash attack with the Death's Scythe, a different sound effect plays instead of his usual one. This also happens when charging a Killing Edge.
  • Oddly, no sound effect plays if Byleth charges a smash attack with the Death's Scythe.
    • Additionally, they do not vibrate in place when charging it. This also happens to the partner Ice Climber, and Zero Suit Samus when charging a smash attack with the Star Rod.

External Link[edit]