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Master Hand (SSBU)

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This article is about Master Hand's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For general information, see Master Hand.
Master Hand
Master Hand SSBU.png
Symbol of the Smash Bros. series.
Master Hand's render in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
A boss in Ultimate
Universe Super Smash Bros.
English voice actor Xander Mobus

Master Hand returns in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, playing a role in Classic Mode and Adventure Mode: World of Light.

Master Hand's voice clips from Super Smash Bros. 4, where he is voiced by Xander Mobus, who also serves as the game's announcer, were repurposed for Ultimate.

In Classic Mode[edit]

Master Hand appears as a boss in Classic Mode. For the first time since the original Super Smash Bros., Master Hand has the ability to face in either direction (left or right), which he combines with snapping his fingers to teleport around. Also for the first time in the series since Brawl's Boss Battles, Master Hand no longer has a stamina HP indicator, instead having a health bar akin to bosses from Subspace Emissary or World of Light. This results in Crazy Hand having a separate health bar as well, meaning that they no longer share the same pool of HP as they did in Smash 4. However, he can now be stunned, which renders him immobile on the ground for about 8 seconds.

Unlike other installments, not every fighter battles with Master Hand at the end of their Classic Mode route. Mario, Link, Yoshi, Kirby, Luigi, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, Bowser, Zelda, Marth, Young Link, Dark Pit, Snake, R.O.B, Toon Link, Wolf, Mega Man, Rosalina & Luma, Pac-Man, Duck Hunt, Bayonetta, Inkling, Simon, Richter, King K. Rool, Piranha Plant, Hero, Terry, Min Min, Steve and Kazuya all face someone other than Master Hand at the end of their route. Falco and Ken only fight Crazy Hand, with Master Hand appearing alongside him only if the intensity is 7.0 or above. Pikachu and Pokémon Trainer first fight Mewtwo before facing Master Hand in the same round. All the fighters who fight Master Hand, except for Pikachu and Pokémon Trainer, fight both Master Hand and Crazy Hand if the intensity is 7.0 or above. Ice Climbers, Mewtwo, Chrom, Meta Knight, Pit, Diddy Kong, Ryu, Incineroar, Banjo & Kazooie, Byleth, Sephiroth, Pyra/Mythra, and Sora always fight both of the Hands.

Changes from SSB4 to Ultimate[edit]

Master Hand lost some moves from the transition from SSB4 to Ultimate. Listed here, the moves he lost were Finger Walk, Fireball Blitz, Icy Wind, Platform Dealer, Sleeper Grab, and Snapper. Along with those, some of his combo attacks with Crazy Hand have also been removed. These include the Duel Sweep and Juggling Act.

Moveset[edit]

Master Hand has received the greatest overhaul of any incarnation, gaining a significantly larger moveset overall. Moves that can be used while Master Hand is playable in World of Light are marked based on their input.

Individual[edit]

Move Move Input Damage Description
Slap (ひっぱたく) Side Tilt/Smash 13.8% Master Hand makes a big open-hand swipe across the stage.
Paper Crush (パーつぶし) Down Tilt/Smash 15.2% Master Hand holds a fist above the player as if to punch them, but instead opens up and comes down with a slap. He then "shakes" himself off.
Finger Gun (指鉄砲) Neutral Special 12.4%(one pair) 9.7%(three) Master Hand fires pairs of bullets - one pair normally, or three at low health. These can be reflected. When controlling, holding the special-move button down until Master Hand's fingertips flash fires three pairs, but only fires one if the button is let go at any time before that.
Drill (ドリル) Up Tilt/Smash 45.2% Master Hand drops from above, spinning and drilling into the player. It buries the player if it connect dead-on, and also has a vacuum effect to pull the player in if they're barely out of range.
Energy Shot (エネルギーショット) Unavailable 14.5% Master Hand retreats into the background and produces between three and five fireballs, which he throws at the player. He then returns to the stage with a flying punch.
Kenzan (剣山) Unavailable 14.8% Master Hand drags a finger over the floor, causing a string of damaging spikes to sprout in that location. If the player can get Master Hand to touch the spikes (by Finger Drill or Fake-Out Slap), he will become stunned. When fighting both Master Hand and Crazy Hand, the latter can also be stunned by getting him to touch the spikes (by Finger Drill, Spasm, or Spider Walk). This move is named after the kenzan, a spiked plate used in flower arrangement.
Paint Ball (ペイントボール) Unavailable 9.7% Master Hand creates a large ball of ink that covers both the player and the screen. The ink is an aqua color that doesn't match any Inkling. However, if fighting Master Hand while playing as Inkling using the cyan alternate costume (during World of Light as Inkling does not fight Master Hand in Classic Mode), the ball of ink will be pink instead.
Airplane (飛行機) Unavailable 13.75% Master Hand flies into the air and swoops in from the background.
Finger Beam (指ビーム) Down Special 6.4% Master Hand fires a blue laser from each fingertip.
Reflective Satellite Cannon (反射衛星砲) Unavailable 31.1% Master Hand produces a series of mirrors and fires a single laser that bounces between them. Named after a weapon from the anime Space Battleship Yamato.
Chakram (チャクラム) Side Special 20.2% Master Hand throws two rings across the stage. They may or may not circle back around for another pass.
Finger Snap (指パッチン) Neutral Attack 11.1% Master Hand snaps his fingers, stunning the player.
Iron Ball Roll (鉄球をころがす) Up Special 16.1% Master Hand underhands a series of spiked balls across the stage, which may either roll or bounce. They can be attacked, reflected, or even picked up with the right timing.
Grip Side Throw (握り横投げ) Unavailable 19.4% Master Hand's pummel, when low health he will throw the player out of blast line for finishing move.
Teleport (テレポート) Unavailable 0% Master Hand teleports by snapping his fingers.

In combination with Crazy Hand[edit]

Move Damage Description
Punch Catch (パンチキャッチ) Crazy Hand punches across the stage, with Master Hand catching him.
Double Finger Beam (W指ビーム) The two hands both use Finger Beam at once, sweeping across the entire stage.
Scratch & Blow (スクラッチ&ブロー) Crazy Hand runs his fingers across the stage like a plow, while Master Hand flies in the other direction with an uppercut.
Barking (ほえる) 25.8% The two hands form a canine-like shape and emit three damaging "barks", the third, much larger than the rest, causes the player character to get stunned if unblocked and within range.
Electric Shock (電気ショック) 33.8% The two hands rub the back of their hands to charge up with electricity, then slap the stage to release electricity that covers the whole stage platform.
Finder (ファインダー) N/A Master Hand and Crazy Hand create a "picture frame" (with their index fingers and thumbs), causing the screen to zoom in and flames to cover the corners in a similar vein to Sudden Death. During this time, the blast lines are closer, and the player can get KO'd much more easily. This effect is only temporary.

Role in World of Light[edit]

Master Hand in World of Light.
Approaching the real Master Hand in World of Light

In the mode's introductory cinematic, an army of many Master Hands is seen attacking the fighters alongside new foe Galeem. The Master Hands transform into glowing, energy-like forms which are absorbed by Galeem before it unleashes a blast of light that destroys the fighters except for Kirby.

Master Hand can also be seen on the mode's overworld map, interfering with the player's path by creating force fields and destroying bridges. One is confronted before the player fights Galeem. After Galeem's initial defeat, Dharkon appears with his Crazy Hand army who begins to eradicate the Master Hands. When Galeem returns after the players initially defeat Dharkon, two more Master Hands are fought.

Once the player manages to get the true ending's requirements, Master Hand and Crazy Hand are freed and they help the player by using their Electric Shock joint technique to create a giant rift in the map, which Master Hand enters, leading to the penultimate level where Master Hand himself is made into a playable character, engaging in a Mob Smash against 50 light and dark puppet fighters. The only puppet fighters used in this battle are Mario, Link, Samus, Meta Knight, Snake, Sonic, Cloud, and King K. Rool.

Master Hand's freedom suggests that, like the fighters, he was captured by Galeem before the events of World of Light and then replicated for his army.

Spirit[edit]

Master Hand’s spirit can be obtained after beating them in World of Light.

No. Image Name Type Class Slots Base Power Max Power Base Attack Max Attack Base Defense Max Defense Ability Series
1,095
SSBU spirit Master Hand.png
Master Hand
Neutral
★★★ 3 2,945 8,861 1,266 3,810 1,679 5,051 No Effect Super Smash Bros. Series

Trivia[edit]

  • Master Hand's theme is mostly composed of the second and third verses of Lifelight, the main theme of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This is also shared with Galeem's theme.
  • Master Hand, in the sole instance where he is playable, has 700 HP. This is the most HP he has in the series thus far, since he had merely 360 HP at maximum difficulty in Melee and Brawl.
  • In the opening cinematic of Adventure Mode, Marth estimates that each fighter will need to take down about ten Master Hands. This implies that there are at least 770 Master Hands in Galeem's army (74 fighters in the base game, plus Inkling Girl and Inkling Boy as well as each of the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon being treated as separate characters in the context of the cutscene, with other character swaps such as Villager unconfirmed).
  • Master Hand's Reflective Satellite Cannon attack looks and acts very similarly to one of the attacks of the second form of Dark Mind, the final boss from Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, making this the second time his attacks takes inspiration from the Kirby series. Coincidentally, Master Hand appears in said game both as a miniboss and a boss alongside Crazy Hand.
  • Mewtwo, Ryu, Joker, Byleth, Sephiroth, Pyra/Mythra, and Sora are the only characters who fight Master Hand (with or without Crazy Hand in Joker's case), with a music track outside of said boss' universe playing in the background.
  • The battle with Master Hand can be softlocked by defeating him on the exact frame he is rendered invulnerable, causing him to be immortal and confuse the game to be in a fighting and victory state. Since blast zones are disabled, the player is able to fall indefinitely. Eventually, the player's character's y-axis position goes so high, it is rendered as negative, in which it distorts some of Master Hand's attacks such as the Paint Ball being thrown upwards, the bullets from his Finger Gun angling downwards, homing attacks missing entirely, and his grab being performed immediately and also missing. Even more effects can occur, one of them being the Radar and Magnifying Glass showing inconsistencies of where the character is.[1][2]
  • Another softlock can occur when stunning Master Hand after countering his Energy Shots.
  • When playing as Master Hand in the World of Light, there is a chance for a glitch to occur causing his portrait to not show up on his damage counter.
  • Ultimate is the only game in which Master Hand can be fought on stages other than Final Destination without glitches or hacking, being fought on New Donk City Hall, Mementos, and Northern Cave in certain Classic Mode routes.
    • Ultimate is also the only game where Master Hand is directly playable without glitches or hacking. However, Master Hand is only playable during the penultimate battle in World of Light.

References[edit]

  1. ^ [1] Evidence of the glitch occurring
  2. ^ [2]