Up smash

Roy's up smash in Melee.

Wii Fit Trainer's up smash in Smash 4, after being charged briefly.

An up smash (abbreviated u-smash) (上スマッシュ攻撃, Up/upper/above smash attack) is a smash attack performed by any character by tapping the control stick upward and pressing A, or, outside of Melee's single player modes, by pressing up on the C-Stick.

Since Super Smash Bros. Melee, all smash attacks can be charged by holding down the A button for up to one second, multiplying damage and knockback by up to 1.4. In Ultimate, with some exceptions, these charges can be held for up to 3 seconds (or 180 frames), but the attack stops increasing in strength after the 1-second mark.

Up smashes generally follow several trends: they usually send opponents vertically upwards, which give them consistent KO potential on most neutral stages (such as Battlefield). They also tend to cover directly above the user, either through a wide sweeping motion with average knockback (such as Mario and Pikachu), or an upward thrust with a stronger and smaller hitbox (with some possessing grounded hitboxes to lead into the main hit, such as Marth and Steve). Prior to Ultimate, up smashes were also one of the few attacks that could be jump-canceled, enabling them to be used out of shield immediately and during any part of a character's dash animation, except the skidding animation when they stop running. As a result, some fighters have up smashes that serve as excellent out of shield punishes, while others function as precise, but powerful anti-airs.

From Brawl onwards, jump-canceling to perform a running up smash is unnecessary, and the turn-around animation can be jump-canceled into a reversed up smash. In Ultimate, jump-canceling is not required for up smashes out of shield, and can now be done instantly; additionally, all grounded moves can be canceled from a dash, which lower the utility of some out of shield up smashes.

List of up smashes

Character	Description
Banjo & Kazooie	Performs a vertically inverted Bill Drill, in which Banjo rapidly spins on the ground while Kazooie jabs upward with her beak.
Bayonetta	Uses her Wicked Weaves to summon Madama Butterfly's fist for an uppercut in front of herself.
Bowser	Hops up with his back facing upwards to strike with his shell.
Bowser Jr.	Performs a handstand, then activates the Junior Clown Car's propeller to strike with it.
Byleth	Swings the Sword of the creator in its whip form above themself to hit multiple times.
Captain Falcon	Performs a spinning uppercut with his elbow. Throws an upwards 540 kick.
Charizard	Slashes upwards with its leading wing, then its following one immediately after.
Chrom	An upward thrust with Falchion, which releases a stream of razor-like magic from it, ending in an outwards burst.
Cloud	Performs an upward-arcing swing in front of himself with the Buster Sword.
Corrin	Crouches and braces their arms on either side of their head before transforming them into draconic lances and stabbing straight upwards.
Daisy	Jabs her hand upwards while twirling.
Dark Pit	Spins while slashing above himself three times.
Dark Samus	Unleashes a front-to-back arc of five Phazon blasts from her arm cannon above herself.
Diddy Kong	Performs a pair of spinning punches leading straight into a jumping uppercut as he completes the spin.
Donkey Kong	Claps his hands together above himself.
Dr. Mario	Plants his feet and headbutts strongly above himself from back to front. His head is granted intangibility for a short while.
Duck Hunt	The duo crouch while the unseen gunman fires off a combo of three shots directly above them.
Falco	Performs a quick backflipping kick. Throws a modified upwards butterfly kick.
Fox	Performs a quick backflipping kick.
Ganondorf	Throws an upwards butterfly kick. Leans back and performs a straight-upwards stretch kick. Swings the SpaceWorld 2000 sword in a wide front-to-back arc above himself.
Greninja	Jabs two water blades upwards in a backwards grip followed by a downward slash for a second hit.
Hero	Stabs straight upwards with his sword.
Ice Climbers	Swing their hammers in an inwards arc above themselves.
Ike	Swings Ragnell in a large arc over his head, slamming it onto the ground behind him.
Incineroar	Performs an upward double ax-handle.
Inkling	Swings an Ink Blaster upwards to strike with its barrel, setting up for a close-range explosion of ink.
Isabelle	Blows a whistle and erects a stop sign in front of herself.
Ivysaur	Plants its feet while releasing an explosion of pollen from the bulb on its back.
Jigglypuff	Headbutts above itself.
Joker	Performs a jumping inward slash with his knife.
Kazuya	Uppercuts in his demon form.
Ken	Performs a crouching uppercut.
King Dedede	Swings his hammer in a front-to-back arc above his head.
King K. Rool	Hops straight upwards to strike with his head, then falls back down belly-first into a comical plank before he gets back up.
Kirby	Performs a quick backflipping kick.
Link	Performs a three-hitting combo of spinning, arcing slashes with his sword.
Little Mac	Crouches briefly before throwing a fierce swinging-inwards uppercut. There is a sweetspot on frame 1 that has a flame effect.
Lucario	Crouches, then thrusts its palms straight upwards alongside a blast of aura.
Lucas	Holds his arms together, then swings them apart from himself while releasing an enormous upwards-traveling PSI spark.
Lucina	Stabs straight upwards with Parallel Falchion.
Luigi	Plants his feet and headbutts strongly above himself from back to front.
Mario	Plants his feet and headbutts strongly above himself from back to front.
Marth	Stabs straight upwards with Falchion.
Mega Man	Uses Spark Shot, which transforms both hands into electrodes and touches them together above himself, releasing a large electric spark.
Meta Knight	Performs a three-slash combo above himself while dramatically flipping.
Mewtwo	Holds its palm upwards, unleashing a swirl of powerful dark energy for multiple hits.
Mii Brawler	Performs a quick backflipping kick.
Mii Gunner	Unleashes five fiery cannon blasts in a front-to-back upwards arc.
Mii Swordfighter	Jumps up and performs a set of spinning slashes.
Min Min	A somersault kick that can reflect projectiles.
Mr. Game & Watch	Dons a heavy scuba-diving helmet and headbutts above himself with it.
Mythra	Spins the Aegis Sword above herself.
Ness	Swings his yo-yo forwards, then performs an "around the world" with it.
Olimar	Points upwards, commanding his leading Pikmin to perform a jumping full-body tackle straight upwards.
Pac-Man	Performs an uppercut, then immediately opens his palm to release Inky.
Palutena	Raises her staff to project a colossal beam of light straight upwards.
Peach	Jabs her hand upwards while twirling.
Pichu	Headbutts above itself.
Pikachu	Performs a backflipping tail-flick above itself.
Piranha Plant	Stretches its stem outwards and chomps above itself.
Pit	Spins while slashing above himself three times.
Pyra	Spins the Aegis Sword above herself.
R.O.B.	Performs a handstand and unleashes a large upwards blast of fire from his thrusters.
Richter	Cracks the Vampire Killer straight upwards for a very long-ranged attack.
Ridley	Performs a frontflip and rakes above himself with his claws as he lands from it.
Robin	Swings the equipped blade into an upwards position.
Rosalina & Luma	Rosalina: Leans forwards, then gravitationally swings herself backwards for an arcing headbutt. Luma: Throws a quick one-foot backflipping kick.
Roy	Jabs the Binding Blade upwards while releasing a stream of flame from it, ending in an explosion.
Ryu	Performs a crouching uppercut.
Samus	Unleashes a front-to-back arc of five plasma blasts from her arm cannon above herself.
Sephiroth	Swings Masamune above himself in a front-to-back arc.
Sheik	Holds her hands upwards together, then fiercely swipes downwards and outwards with them.
Shulk	Slams the Monado onto the ground pommel-first and then releases its light blade for a follow-up attack.
Simon	Cracks the Vampire Killer straight upwards for a very long-ranged attack.
Snake	Slams a mortar onto the ground in front of himself and then fires a long-ranged upwards bomb from it.
Sonic	Jumps up and turns into his ball form to strike multiple times.
Sora	Thrusts his Keyblade upward, emitting a brief flash of light.
Squirtle	Fires off a pair of watery geysers, covering its body.
Steve	Places a magma block above him, before destroying it with his pickaxe.
Terry	Performs a crouching uppercut.
Toon Link	Jumps and swings his sword in a wide upwards arc.
Villager	Crouches while detonating a fountain firework.
Wario	Inflates his head and spins around to strike upwards with it multiple times. He inflates his head and performs a headbutt.
Wii Fit Trainer	Performs the tree yoga pose, striking upwards with a double spear hand.
Wolf	Swings his legs outwards around himself, then performs a jumping scissor kick for a second hit.
Yoshi	Headbutts upwards. Performs a quick backflipping kick.
Young Link	Performs a three-hitting combo of spinning, arcing slashes with the Kokiri Sword.
Zelda	Waves her hand back and forth above herself while unleashing a stream of magic from it for several hits.
Zero Suit Samus	Spins while twirling her plasma whip upwards in a tornado-like fashion.

Notable up smashes

• From Melee onwards, but not in Smash 4, Ness's up smash can hit opponents while charging as the yo-yo comes to rest on the stage in front of him. This is especially dangerous in Ultimate, where the yo-yo can fall and hang off of ledges and hits multiple times (it cannot be charged off ledges in Melee or Brawl), allowing it to lead into the attack proper. It is the only up smash to have a hitbox while charging. Its power does not increase in Melee or Brawl if charged but it does in later games. Ness's similarly-functioning down smash is the only down smash to have such a distinction, while Corrin possesses the only such forward smash.
• Ness, Ridley and Luma are the only characters with arcing up smashes which hit behind them, then in front; all other arcing up smashes sweep from front to back.
• Bowser's up smash has protection on his shell during his attack – in Melee it is intangible, but from Brawl onwards it is fully invincible – which makes the attack dangerous to trade with, especially from above. In Ultimate, further protection is granted by damage-based armor during the startup of the move.
• Roy’s up smash in Melee can spike when an airborne opponent is hit with the tip of the sword in its first few frames. The attack, however, is impractical for edgeguarding, as the spiking hitbox is small and has a short duration.
• Mr. Game & Watch's up smash grants head invincibility while its hitbox is active (although in Smash 4, it gains invincibility much sooner and in Ultimate, Mr. Game & Watch's entire body is invincible). It has high startup lag but great KO power (especially in Brawl) and extremely low ending lag, making it notoriously difficult and risky to intercept.
• Snake's up smash has several unique properties. For one, the charging interval begins after Snake slams the mortar down in front of himself, making it the only smash attack to have a hitbox before it starts charging. Alongside Olimar's, it is the only up smash to be a projectile. Charging the attack also does not affect the damage or knockback of the projectile, but instead greatly increases the velocity at which it is launched, and thus the height it reaches. The attack is also notable in Brawl for enabling the furthest-traveling DACUS in the game.
• Inkling's up smash covers opponents in ink.
• King K. Rool's up smash, after his initial hop, protects him for a handful of frames with his characteristic Belly Super Armor. It also has a small hitbox as he begins to fall which spikes, which makes it one of only two up smash attacks to spike – the others being a sourspot on Roy's up smash in Melee.
• Throughout the series, but especially in Melee, Fox's up smash has been considered especially effective due to its near-instant startup and relatively high knockback.
  • Fox's up smash in Melee is known as the best grounded KO move in the game, due to high power and extremely fast startup; the hitbox comes out on frame 7, making Fox's up smash as fast as his grab.
• Olimar's up smash in Brawl is often considered to be the best smash attack in the game, due to its fast startup, large disjointed range, long-lasting hitbox, and high power: a Purple Pikmin up smash is capable of KOing the entire cast at under 100 percent on most stages.
• Lucas' up smash is the only attack in the series to grant both invincibility and intangibility. Coupled with its power, this makes it a dangerous attack to directly challenge.
• In Smash 4, Mario's up smash is considered the best in the game due to its power, range, speed, and the intangibility it grants on his head.
• Also in Smash 4, Ganondorf's up smash, despite his bottom tier placement, is usually ranked among the best in the game as well. Despite its enormous power, it has deceptively low ending lag, making it very difficult and dangerous to punish.
• Palutena's up smash is notable for having the highest vertical range of any non-projectile attack in the series. In Ultimate, it is notorious for its long duration being able to punish dodges, landings, sidesteps, and edge options with excellent power.
• In Ultimate, Zero Suit Samus's up smash is a reliable combo starter at low to mid percents, leading into all of her aerials except down air, while still possessing respectable kill power at high percents. This combined with the move's long vertical range, long-lasting hitbox, and rather low endlag makes it commonly considered among the best up smashes in the game.
• Wii Fit Trainer's up smash is among the most powerful in both Smash 4 and Ultimate when Deep Breathing is active, has several frames of full body intangibility during startup, and, after Ultimate's update 8.0.0, comes out extremely quickly relative to its strength.
• Min Min's up smash is the only one able to reflect projectiles, and one of only four non-special moves with this property (along with Ness and Lucas's forward smashes and Kazuya's Left Splits Kick).

Gallery

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  Mario's up smash in Melee.

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  The second hit of Captain Falcon's up smash in Melee.

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  Ganondorf's up smash in Brawl. Note how, since he is no longer a clone of Captain Falcon, it is one single, slow kick instead of two rapid ones.

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  Link's up smash in Brawl.

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  Kirby's up smash in SSB.

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  Lucario's up smash in SSB4.

See also

• Forward smash
• Down smash