Down smash

Mario's down smash in Melee.

Olimar's down smash in Super Smash Bros. 4.

Down smash (or down smash attack (下スマッシュ攻撃, down/lower/under smash attack, abbreviated d-smash, internally AttackLw4) is a smash attack performed by any character by tapping the Control Stick downward and pressing the attack button at the same time or by pressing down on the C-stick. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the C-stick cannot be used in one-player mode.

Since Super Smash Bros. Melee, all smash attacks can be charged by holding down the A button for up to one second, multiplying their damage by up to 1.4×. In Ultimate, a full charge can be held for 2 seconds (120 frames), for a total of 3 seconds (180 frames).

In most games, down smashes were less flexible than other smashes, lacking up smashes' ability to be used from a dash or out of shield, and forward smashes' ability to be used in the beginning of a dash or out of a pivot. In Ultimate, however, down smashes were indirectly buffed due to the new ability to use any attack out of a run.

Down smashes are on average the weakest but fastest smash attack, with many also launching at a semi-spike angle. Almost all hit on both sides of the character, making them useful for coverage or punishing rolls; most have a stronger back hit, while others have the front hit combo into the back hit, such as Ganondorf's. Many down smashes can be described as "on-the-ground" (OTG) attacks, meaning they are specifically designed to hit opponents lying on the ground. They are often a fighter's only smash attack to hit ledge, making them useful as relatively strong two-frame or ledge hang punishes.

List of down smashes

Character	Description
Banjo & Kazooie	Kazooie opens her wings and slams them on the ground.
Bayonetta	Stomps on the ground in front of herself, then uses her Wicked Weaves to summon Madama Butterfly's foot for a near-immediate followup stomp in front of herself.
Bowser	Retreats to his shell and spins around rapidly to strike with his spikes. Crouches slightly and slashes low to the ground with his claws in front of himself and then behind himself.
Bowser Jr.	Deploys two wrecking balls from the Junior Clown Car and slams them onto the ground on either side of himself.
Byleth	Performs a spinning sweep with Aymr.
Captain Falcon	Hops up and performs a 360° roundhouse kick, striking both in front of and behind himself. Throws a straight kick, then uses the same leg for a back kick behind himself.
Charizard	Stomps on the ground, shaking the earth for a heavy hit.
Chrom	Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Cloud	Jabs the hilt of the Buster Sword forwards and leads that into a reverse-grip stab behind himself.
Corrin	Leans forwards on one leg and stabs with Omega Yato while morphing their other leg into a draconic lance and stabbing it backwards.
Daisy	Crouches and spins, rapidly attacking with the hem of her dress.
Dark Pit	Slashes outwards with one of his blades in front of himself, then stabs backwards in reverse grip with the other one.
Dark Samus	Sweeps her leg low in a circle around herself.
Diddy Kong	Performs a breakdancing sweep kick.
Donkey Kong	Extends his legs and performs a spin to sweep with them all around himself. Slams both his fists onto the ground.
Dr. Mario	Performs a breakdancing sweep kick. It resembles Mario's Sweep Kick move from Super Mario 64.
Duck Hunt	The gunman to fires in front of the dog and duck, then behind them, and then in front of them again, sending the duo into a panic.
Falco	Performs a quick split kick.
Fox	Performs a quick split kick.
Ganondorf	Throws a straight kick, then uses the same leg for a back kick behind himself. Takes out the SpaceWorld 2000 sword, jabs its pommel forwards along the ground, and then stabs backwards with it.
Greninja	Swipes inwards with a pair of watery blades, covering both sides.
Hero	Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Ice Climbers	Hop up while swiping their hammers in a circle around the ground. The leader swings their hammer inwards in front of themselves, while the follower does the same in the opposite direction.
Ike	Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Incineroar	Hops up a short distance and then performs a body splash as it lands on the ground. Can dodge particularly low-profile attacks if timed correctly.
Inkling	Swings the Slosher in a circle at their feet, striking both with the weapon and its ink.
Isabelle	Swings a small bucket of water in a circle around her feet.
Ivysaur	Swipes inwards with both of its vines, covering both in front and behind.
Jigglypuff	Spins around before puffing itself downwards, striking with a foot-inflating split kick.
Joker	Swings his knife low to the ground in a circle around his feet.
Kazuya	Karate chops downwards in his demon form. Can meteor smash.
Ken	Performs a fast, low leg sweep in front of himself.
King Dedede	Sweeps his hammer in a circle around himself.
King K. Rool	Jumps up and then belly-flops onto the ground, causing a quake. Can dodge particularly low-profile attacks if timed correctly.
Kirby	Performs a spinning two-footed sweep kick.
Link	Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Little Mac	Hangs low to the ground and quickly punches on either side of himself.
Lucario	Performs a pair of simultaneous outward aura-powered palm thrusts.
Lucas	Points to the ground in front of himself, firing off three successive blasts of PSI energy.
Lucina	Slashes low to the ground in front of herself, then behind herself.
Luigi	Performs a breakdancing sweep kick. It resembles Mario's Sweep Kick from Super Mario 64.
Mario	Performs a breakdancing sweep kick. It resembles his Sweep Kick from Super Mario 64.
Marth	Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Mega Man	Uses Flame Blast, which releases a pillar of flame from each of his Mega Busters, causing them to overheat.
Meta Knight	Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Mewtwo	Points at the ground, unleashing an explosion of darkness.
Mii Brawler	Stands on one leg while throwing a jab forwards and a kick backwards.
Mii Gunner	Blasts their cannon in front of themselves, then spins around and blasts again behind them.
Mii Swordfighter	Slashes low to the ground in front of themselves, then behind themselves.
Min Min	Performs a quick split kick.
Mr. Game & Watch	Slams two hammers onto the ground simultaneously.
Mythra	Spins on one leg, kicking behind herself with the other and swinging the Aegis Sword in front then vice versa.
Ness	"Walks the dog" with his yo-yo.
Olimar	Points on either side of himself, commanding his first and second-ordered Pikmin to perform simultaneous headbutts along the ground on either side of himself. The damage and knockback depend on the Pikmin commanded.
Pac-Man	Holds his palms out, unleashing Pinky and Clyde to strike on both sides of himself.
Palutena	Swings downwards with a pair of light wings.
Peach	Crouches and spins, rapidly attacking with the hem of her dress.
Pichu	Rapidly spins on the ground. Rapidly spins on the ground while emitting electricity.
Pikachu	Performs a breakdancing sweep kick. Rapidly spins on the ground while emitting electricity.
Piranha Plant	Holds its head in place, pivoting its body around it to strike on both sides with its pot.
Pit	Slashes outwards with one of his blades in front of himself, then stabs backwards in reverse grip with the other one.
Pyra	Spins on one leg, kicking behind herself with the other and swinging the Aegis Sword in front then vice versa.
R.O.B.	Lowers his arms and rapidly spins them to strike several times.
Richter	Spins, sweeping the Vampire Killer along the ground in a wide circle.
Ridley	Hops up, then drops back down wings-first.
Robin	Swings the equipped sword straight downwards onto the ground, emitting an electric shock that travels along the ground if the Levin Sword is equipped.
Rosalina & Luma	Rosalina: Performs an alternating pair of low standing shin kicks, creating a small swirl of space dust at her feet for each one. Luma: Throws a spinning one-footed kick behind itself, then in front as it completes its spin.
Roy	Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Ryu	Performs a fast, low leg sweep in front of himself.
Samus	Sweeps her leg low in a circle around herself.
Sephiroth	Performs a downward-angled stab directly in front of him with Masamune.
Sheik	Performs a rapid series of spinning kicks while balancing on her back.
Shulk	Lays the Monado low to the ground, then spins around with it, striking several times.
Simon	Spins, sweeping the Vampire Killer along the ground in a wide circle.
Snake	Plants a landmine in the ground at his feet, which then explodes if attacked or walked over. Performs a quick pair of low shin kicks while standing.
Sonic	Assumes his ball form and quickly zips forwards, then backwards along the ground. Performs a quick split kick.
Sora	Hops into the air and stabs the ground with his Keyblade, causing a shockwave. Can dodge particularly low-profile attacks if timed correctly.
Squirtle	Retreats to its shell for a spin attack.
Steve	Pours a bucket of lava out in front of himself, then behind. Briefly affected by gravity.
Terry	A low kick in front of himself.
Toon Link	Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Villager	Uses a shovel to strike the ground in front of and then behind themselves, burying opponents.
Wario	Lays on the ground and spins around.
Wii Fit Trainer	Kneels on the ground, then performs an Arm and Leg Lift to strike forwards with a spearhand and backwards with a back kick.
Wolf	Slashes across the ground with his claws in front of and then behind himself.
Yoshi	Crouches and sweeps his tail forwards, then backwards.
Young Link	Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Zelda	Performs a quick, short-ranged shin kick in front of herself, then behind herself with the same leg.
Zero Suit Samus	Aims her Paralyzer at a downwards diagonal angle and fires it at the ground in front of herself.

Notable down smashes

Peach's down smash in Melee.

• Ness's (except its Smash 64 and Smash 4 versions) is the only one to have a hitbox while charging. It is especially effective in Ultimate, where the yo-yo can hang at a ledge and hit multiple times into the charge release. Along with Luma's, it is the only one to hit from back to front.
• Snake's (in Brawl only) and Steve's are the only projectile down smashes.
  • Unique to Snake's is that as it is charged, the mine becomes increasingly difficult to see.
• Villager's and, in Ultimate, Mr. Game & Watch's, are the only ones that can bury opponents.
• Ridley, Incineroar, King K. Rool and Sora all perform a short upward hop at the start of their down smashes, allowing them to dodge many attacks. This leads them to sometimes be humorously referred to as "spot dodges with hitboxes". King K. Rool's and Sora's have added protection from their Belly Super Armor and brief full-body intangibility, respectively.
• Zelda's in Melee is the fastest down smash in the series, having the fastest interruptibility and tying for the fastest startup (frame 4).
• In Melee, Peach's is very fast, but more significantly, due to all five hits dealing individually high damage and knockback instead of being a conventional multihit, it can deal extremely high damage at low percentages, especially against a crouch cancel.
• Jigglypuff's from Melee onward has a unique 0° launch angle, which gives it an incredibly low trajectory as well as additional special properties varying between games.
• In Brawl, the Ice Climbers' can deal extreme damage, hitting up to four times if the opponent is very close for 42%.
• In Brawl, Meta Knight's is one of his best KO options, notoriously beating out many moves due to its long range and transcendent priority.
  • In Brawl and Smash 4, if buffered from another move's animation, it will skip the frame-1 charge and come out one frame faster. In this case it ties for the fastest startup and FAF of any down smash in both games.
• Zero Suit Samus's has been a staple of her moveset in all three appearances, especially for its strongest incarnation in Brawl. Despite having high startup lag, it has very low ending lag, large hitboxes, and paralyzes the opponent, which can combo and KO confirm across percents. It can also uniquely be absorbed, which is very uncommon for non-projectile moves.
  • In Brawl and Smash 4, its frame advantage was extremely good due to only inflicting hitlag on the target.
• Palutena's uniquely has a large windbox following the main hits.
• Mr. Game & Watch's in Ultimate is considered one of the best in the game as it has low ending lag and long range. Its sweetspot is a very strong finisher on aerial opponents, while burying grounded opponents for an early KO confirm into forward smash. Even its sourspot is still strong and semi-spikes.
  • It was also a very effective move in Brawl, coming out slower with no bury effect, but with larger and stronger hitboxes with even less cooldown.
• Wolf's in Ultimate is considered to be one of the best in the game due to its large hitbox that hits below the stage, giving it amazing 2 frame punish potential, while its very high power allows it to kill early near the ledge. It also has relatively low ending lag.
• Byleth's is notorious for being one of the strongest down smashes in the game as well as dealing massive shield damage, although having very high lag all around.
• Sephiroth's down smash has the same property with its strongest hitbox, which can be used to punish the shield lag from a full-charge Shadow Flare.
  • Additionally, Sephiroth's uniquely has two variants. If the tip of Masamune stabs the ground, the move will be stronger and have an extra debris hitbox.
• Bayonetta's and Kazuya’s are the only ones that meteor smash.
• Lucas's is considered one of the best in each appearance, especially in Brawl, where it could deal a whopping maximum of 42%. It consists of three large hits that all hit well below stage level.

Gallery

• 

  The first part of Ganondorf's down smash, he kicks in front of him

• 

  The second part, Ganondorf kicks behind him.

See also

• Forward smash
• Up smash