Super Smash Bros. series

Down tilt

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Captain Falcon's down tilt in Brawl.
Mario's down tilt in Melee

A down tilt (abbreviated "d-tilt"), officially called a strong down (下強攻撃, Down/lower/under strong attack) before Ultimate, is a tilt performed by any character by holding the control stick lightly down and pressing the attack button while on the ground, or crouching ahead of time and pressing the attack button. It can also be performed by pressing Z while crouching.

Down tilts tend to be very quick grounded moves with good range, making them useful for spacing and "poking" from a distance. Many down tilts can be described as "on the ground" attacks (usually abbreviated to OTG), meaning they are specifically designed to hit opponents lying on the ground. Some down tilts are also combo or followup initiators, while others are capable edgeguarding moves due to their semi-spike angle. They are also good at shield stabbing and dodging some attacks due to the low profile of the character. In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, some down tilts are capable of meteor smashing opponents, while from Brawl onwards, many have a random chance to make opponents trip.

List of down tilts[edit]

Character Description
Banjo & Kazooie Performs the Beak Barge, in which Banjo crouches to the ground and Kazooie pokes her beak out, thrusting the duo forward.
Bayonetta Performs a low spinning kick.
Bowser Throws two alternating hooks low to the ground.
Bowser Jr. Licks outwards with a tongue deployed from the Koopa Clown Car's mouth.
Byleth Performs a sweeping swipe with the Sword of the Creator in its whip form.
Captain Falcon Super Smash Bros. Performs a low poking kick.
Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. 4Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Throws a dramatic inward spinning kick.
Charizard Super Smash Bros. Brawl Bites at the ground in front of itself.
Super Smash Bros. 4Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Performs a straight, poking headbutt.
Chrom Stabs straight forwards.
Cloud Performs a low sliding kick.
Corrin Slashes inwards parallel to the ground.
Daisy Kicks low to the ground.
Dark Pit Slashes one blade along the ground.
Dark Samus Releases a blast from her arm cannon towards the ground.
Diddy Kong Claps his palms together low to the ground.
Donkey Kong Throws a low inwards slap, known as the Slouch Slap in the Tips section.
Dr. Mario Throws a quick spinning leg sweep.
Duck Hunt The duck pecks forwards along the ground.
Falco Performs an inwards spinning tail swipe.
Fox Performs an inwards spinning tail swipe.
Ganondorf Super Smash Bros. Melee Throws a dramatic inwards spinning kick.
Super Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. 4Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Throws a straight poking kick.
Greninja Super Smash Bros. 4 Performs a spinning kick.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Swats outwards with its hand.
Hero Performs a low kick.
Ice Climbers Sweep their hammers across the ground.
Ike Slashes Ragnell inwards along the ground.
Incineroar Performs a low spinning take-down kick.
Inkling Spins on the ground to hit with two successive breakdance-style kicks.
Isabelle Leans forwards and pulls a weed out of the ground.
Ivysaur Super Smash Bros. Brawl Swipes along the ground with one vine, then its other.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Swipes a single vine on a downwards angle in front of itself.
Jigglypuff Jabs its foot forward.
Joker Performs a sliding kick.
Kazuya Strikes downwards with his hand.
Ken Tapped: Performs a very fast poking kick.
Held: Leans forward and throws a slower, longer-ranged shin kick.
King Dedede Super Smash Bros. Brawl Spins and throws a poking kick out of it.
Super Smash Bros. 4Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Rolls his entire body forward along the ground.
King K. Rool Stomps the ground in front of himself, burying opponents.
Kirby Performs a low inwards kick.
Link Slashes inwards low to the ground.
Little Mac Throws a quick jab out of a defensive crouch.
Lucario Performs a forwards poking kick.
Lucas Throws a fast spinning kick.
Lucina Stabs straight forwards.
Luigi Super Smash Bros. Performs a low poking kick.
Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. 4Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Pokes forwards with his heel.
Mario Throws a quick spinning leg sweep.
Marth Stabs straight forwards.
Mega Man Slides along the ground while kicking outwards.
Meta Knight Stabs forwards.
Mewtwo Spins while sweeping its tail alongside the ground.
Mii Brawler Kicks forwards.
Mii Gunner Releases a cannon blast towards the ground.
Mii Swordfighter Stabs forwards.
Min Min Performs a low sliding kick.
Mr. Game & Watch Shoves a manhole cover up in front of himself while crouching.
Mythra Slashes inwards along the ground.
Ness Throws a very fast poking kick outwards.
Olimar Thrusts his body headfirst along the ground.
Pac-Man Transforms into his wedge form and munches forwards while advancing a small distance.
Palutena Telekinetically spins her staff low to the ground in front of herself.
Peach Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. 4 Swipes her palm low to the ground.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Kicks low to the ground.
Pichu Throws out a quick spinning tail swipe.
Pikachu Throws out a quick spinning tail swipe.
Piranha Plant Slashes inwards with its leading leaf.
Pit Slashes one blade along the ground.
Pyra Slashes inwards along the ground.
R.O.B. Jams his arms forwards quickly.
Richter Performs a sliding kick, then jumps to perform an arcing downwards-angled poking kick. A two-stage natural combo.
Ridley Sweeps his tail horizontally.
Robin Slashes the Bronze Sword outwards low to the ground.
Rosalina & Luma Rosalina: Throws a low, floating dropkick.
Luma: Headbutts along the ground.
Roy Stabs straight forwards.
Ryu Tapped: Performs a very fast poking kick.
Held: Leans forward and throws a slower, longer-ranged shin kick.
Samus Super Smash Bros. Throws a low roundhouse kick.
Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. 4Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Releases a blast from her arm cannon towards the ground.
Sephiroth Performs a low sliding kick.
Sheik Throws a low spinning kick.
Shulk Slashes inwards along the ground.
Simon Performs a sliding kick, then jumps to perform an arcing downwards-angled poking kick. A two-stage natural combo.
Snake Throws a low spinning kick.
Sonic Sweeps his leg in front of himself.
Sora Swipes his Keyblade along the ground.
Squirtle Super Smash Bros. Brawl Spins its body rapidly while shifting slightly forward for multiple hits.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Throws a spinning, water-imbued leg sweep.
Steve Uses Flint and Steel creating a flame. When used on the edge, it'll travel downward.
Terry A low kick.
Toon Link Slashes inwards along the ground.
Villager Leans forwards and pulls a weed out of the ground.
Wario Quickly pokes his finger towards the ground in front of himself.
Wii Fit Trainer Assumes the Bridge pose to strike forwards with both knees.
Wolf Kicks forwards along the ground.
Yoshi Performs a quick, low tailspin.
Young Link Slashes inwards along the ground.
Zelda Throws a quick poking kick outwards.
Zero Suit Samus Kicks along the ground while spinning.

Notable down tilts[edit]

  • While many down tilts throughout the series move their users slightly forwards for a pseudo-crawl, a small handful of characters have down tilts which cause them to move a significant distance forward with just one use. These characters are Cloud, Joker, King Dedede (from SSB4 onwards), Mega Man, Banjo & Kazooie, Sephiroth, Richter, Simon and Min Min.
  • Simon and Richter's shared down tilt is the only one in the series that is a natural combo. The airborne nature of its second stage also allows the Belmonts to jump off the stage with it, making it one of the only tilts in the series along with Mega Man's up tilt that causes its user to functionally leave the ground.
  • Peach's down tilt, in all of its appearances, is an unconventional meteor smash.
    • Additionally, in Ultimate (where she now shares it with Daisy), it is notoriously effective as a reliable combo starter due to it having decent startup lag, very low ending lag and high knockback, allowing it to set up highly damaging combos on many characters.
  • King K. Rool's down tilt will bury opponents who are struck by his foot, being the only down tilt in the series to do so. Beyond his foot, a large hitbox is also generated as a sour spot, which is similarly unique to this move.
  • Ryu and Ken have access to two different down tilts, depending on whether the attack button is quickly tapped or held for a longer time. This is also true for their neutral attack and other tilts. In the case of down tilt, both characters' tapped down tilts can be repeated very quickly and have very low knockback which allows them to chain into deadly combos, or even outright finishers like Shoryuken.
  • Luigi's down tilt has been one of his least useful moves in the majority of the series. Although it was decent in Smash 64 due to its fast startup and ability to combo into Super Jump Punch, the move is nearly useless in Melee, Brawl, and Smash 4 as its ending lag is too high for it to have any utility.
    • However, the move was significantly buffed in Ultimate. Although it no longer has a bonus trip chance, its ending lag was drastically reduced and it deals less knockback. This has made it highly spammable and one of his most useful ground moves, as it is now a very reliable combo tool and is great for pressuring and poking the opponent's shield due to being extremely safe on shield. The move is also an excellent ledgetrapping tool as it can easily 2-frame opponents hanging at the ledge and pressure their ledge options.
  • Falco's down tilt is the strongest in Ultimate, originally beating out Ganon and Mr. Game and Watch. This is simply because of the changes the move received in patch 8.0.0.
  • R.O.B.'s down tilt is considered a highly effective move due to its very low startup and ending lag, low knockback and it being able to trip opponents, allowing for multiple combos and setups. The move is very similar in all three games R.O.B. has appeared in, but it is at its most effective in Ultimate, due to the move working best under the game's universal mechanics compared to the previous two games.
  • Steve's down tilt is the only one to be a projectile. The flame will travel downwards when used over an edge, allowing Steve to edgeguard opponents without leaving the stage.
  • Kazuya's down tilt is the only normal attack in the series whose startup can be cancelled by shielding.

Crouching attacks[edit]

Crouching attacks are a unique type of attack related to down tilts where the character must fully be in the crouch position to activate. These attacks were introduced in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and are currently only available to Kazuya.

Character Input Description
Kazuya Crouch(↓) + attack Performs a punch while ducking.
Crouch(↘) + attack Gets on his back and kicks from the floor.
Crouch(↙) + attack A rotating kick from below.
Uncrouch + attack An electrified punch that crumples opponents.