User:DrakRoar/Special move ratings

Just for fun, in a friend group I decided to rate every special move in the series and say what I think of them, so I figured I might as well post the results here. Ratings are from 0 to 5 and generally mean the following:

• ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: My beloved, one of my favorites
• ⭐⭐⭐⭐: Pretty good stuff
• ⭐⭐⭐: I enjoy it a normal amount
• ⭐⭐: Not a fan, or could be better
• ⭐: This sucks
• 🚮 (no stars): I'd rather have this gone or replaced altogether

The general criteria I used for these ratings was:

• How fun is the move to use in general?
• How well balanced and practical in competitive play is it, or otherwise, what unique value does it add to casual play?
• How creative and deserving of a special moveslot is it, instead of simply being a glorified normal attack or a clone of another special?
• How fitting is it for the character, be it in terms of source material references or what it adds to their kit?

Please just note that this list is subjective, and it's meant to be. Do not take my statements here as hard facts. There's also a fair amount of satire in some of these (which doesn't mean they're not serious, it's for fun).

Neutral specials

Character(s)	Move(s)	Rating	Comment
Mario Luigi	Fireball	⭐⭐⭐	Simple but effective, no other neutral B would be more fitting imo. Out of the two I like Luigi's more, cool way to make it unique.
Donkey Kong	Giant Punch	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Certified classic. Always fun to use and finish a combo with, and you can't just mindlessly charge it to full with no consequence: you must commit to it. May not be based on anything but who cares, it's a very DK move.
Link	Bow Hero's Bow Bow and Arrows	⭐⭐⭐	Same comment as Fireballs, not much else to say. Would be higher if the arrow pickup was more practical, but it sucks unfortunately.
Samus Dark Samus	Charge Shot	⭐⭐	I'd love this more as a classic storable charge projectile, but it's not that interesting in concept (just an orb that grows big and a loose interpretation of the Metroid mechanic) and in Ult it's way too overtuned. Camps, starts combos, pressures shield, kills, and is way less committal compared to Giant Punch. It carries Samus so much in an arguably unhealthy way.
Yoshi	Egg Lay	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Pretty nice and kind of underrated command grab that is accurate to his games and involves more setup beyond just "grab to kill" or starting combos for free. It can just be a bit annoying if you're on the receiving end.
Kirby	Swallow Inhale	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Not gonna rate the practicality of every copy ability or I'd be here all day, but yeah, literally no better choice. Would be 5 stars if the projectile spitback wasn't so awful compared to Dedede's.
Fox	Blaster	⭐⭐	A classic and not really much better choice for a character that already has a pretty good kit, but I never found it that fun or interesting in its current incarnation, it's a bunch of chip damage that feels worse than just getting in and racking up more damage with combos.
Pikachu Pichu	Thunder Jolt	⭐⭐⭐	Kind of overtuned and annoying, but I think it's a nice and unique enough projectile in concept even if it doesn't actually reference anything from Pokemon ("b-but it was mentioned once in the TCG" who cares)
Ness	PK Flash	⭐	Very meh and nearly useless move, too slow to do anything with and outclassed by the PK Thunder tackle as an all-out punish. You can definitely do better.
Captain Falcon	Falcon Punch	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	No disrespect to the real classics. Would be lower if it was the shitty nerfed for no reason Smash 4 version, but we're back.
Jigglypuff	Rollout	⭐	Can maybe do stuff in free-for-alls sometimes, but it's pretty much a deadweight move otherwise with really unnecessary handicaps (why does hitting it offstage cause the equivalent of helplessness?). Jigglypuff could definitely use at least one new special.
Peach Daisy	Toad	⭐	Filler move with boring filler function that accomplishes nothing for the actual character. Free Toad.
Bowser	Fire Breath	⭐⭐⭐	Love to use it as quick high damage against people bad at videogames and to cover the ledge (one of the only real onstage edgeguard tools post-Brawl), and it's nicely balanced by becoming smaller with longer use. Aside from that it's alright. He breathe.
Ice Climbers	Ice Shot	⭐⭐	Meh, it exists. You can also hit it back now and it hurts them which is lame.
Sheik	Needle Storm	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Now this is a storable charge projectile I really like, it rewards you more for following up on it (especially with the aerial version) and it's cool that more charge results in more needles instead of just a larger projectile.
Zelda	Nayru's Love	⭐⭐	A rather boring move that is used almost entirely as a disadvantage crutch with no other sauce, on a character that already tends to play boring and campy, and the spell in OoT is also rather forgettable.
Dr. Mario	Megavitamins	⭐⭐⭐⭐	I find little reason to play Dr. Mario over Mario, but these are quite more fun than Mario's Fireballs. Projectile that starts combos = dopamine. It'd be overtuned on actual Mario though.
Falco	Blaster	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Has always been saucier than Fox's lasers, but especially now that it's not overnerfed like in Smash 4. There are other lasers I like more though :3
Marth Lucina	Shield Breaker	⭐⭐	Always found this one kinda aged and boring actually. Shield damage isn't that special of a property and aside from that it's just a strong chargeable move. And uhhh it does slightly more damage if it hits characters' heads which uhhhh yeah okay.
Young Link	Fire Arrow	⭐⭐⭐	Love that it's a combo starter but it's too braindead spammable for my liking, it should definitely have some more startup at least to better justify its on hit reward. Not like Yink doesn't have good mobility or other projectiles anyway.
Ganondorf	Warlock Punch	⭐⭐	Just Falcon Punch with way less sauce and on a character that'd benefit a lot more from having another actual special.
Mewtwo	Shadow Ball	⭐⭐⭐⭐	The cooler Charge Shot, actually a nice Pokemon reference, and it may also be overtuned but it makes more sense for Mewtwo's glass cannon build.
Roy Chrom	Flare Blade	⭐⭐	Same opinion as Shield Breaker, I don't think the full charge OHKO makes it any more interesting.
Mr. Game & Watch	Chef	⭐⭐⭐	Silly enough for a silly character and I like that you can actually control its trajectory now.
Meta Knight	Mach Tornado	⭐⭐	Much less fun now that it only hits once. Remember when people at launch panicked over a combo nobody actually ended up using?
Pit	Palutena's Arrow Palutena Bow	⭐⭐⭐	Definitely Pit's most unique and interesting move, but I wish the trajectory was more flexible like in Brawl, the move was braindead spammable but controlling the arrow was so fun.
Dark Pit	Silver Bow	⭐⭐	Just Palutena Bow but a lot more generic to be "different". Meh.
Zero Suit Samus	Paralyzer	⭐⭐	Shoutouts to the one ZSS move that actually comes from Metroid. Still whatever.
Wario	Chomp	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Guilty pleasure maybe but I like this move? Could maybe be more punishable if it misses and less reliant on mashing, but I have fun biting others to heal and eating projectiles, and the animations for characters getting chomped are funny. Good command grab.
Snake	Hand Grenade	⭐⭐⭐	Pretty flexible and fun to play with, and I like that you can use it against Snake so you can't mindlessly throw it out, but the frame 1 combo breaker has to go.
Ike	Eruption	⭐⭐	Better than Shield Breaker and Flare Blade, but with both moves in the same game it doesn't feel that cool or unique.
Squirtle	Water Gun	⭐⭐	Eh. Squirtle isn't really a "gimp" character and the move does practically nothing else, so it has very little actual utility.
Ivysaur	Bullet Seed	⭐	Most It exists special to have ever It existed
Charizard	Flamethrower	⭐⭐⭐	Fire Breath but more Honest™
Diddy Kong	Peanut Popgun	⭐⭐⭐	If it shoots you 😱 it's gonna hurt!!!! I always forget you can grab the peanuts as items which is funny, and I like how the overcharge is a discount Falcon Punch. Aside from that it's what you expect from a chargeable projectile.
Lucas	PK Freeze	⭐⭐⭐	PK Flash with sauce, even if it's not much easier to hit. Also a ridiculously overhated move by casuals that don't know how to air dodge. Get frosty'd.
Sonic	Homing Attack	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Actually pretty cool compared to his other specials, and it's from the Adventure games which gives me dopamine. I like how it gets stronger the more you delay it, makes it more flexible instead of a move you always just launch right away.
King Dedede	Inhale	⭐⭐⭐	Much better than in other games because of its powerful projectile spitback, but no copy ability makes it substantially less fun than Kirby's. My ass is already perfect.
Olimar	Pikmin Pluck	⭐	Pikmin Pluck
Lucario	Aura Sphere	⭐⭐⭐	Charge hitbox setups are pretty cool, but the actual projectile doesn't feel as fun or impactful as Shadow Ball until you have pretty high aura, which of course means taking damage.
R.O.B.	Robo Beam	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Pretty fun projectile, flexible and balanced out by its gradual charge mechanic, and it sort of references an ability from the Kirby games which is cool.
Toon Link	Hero's Bow	⭐⭐	Way more ho-hum than Link and Yink's arrows, pretty replaceable compared to his boomerang and bombs.
Wolf	Blaster	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	The ideal projectile. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.
Villager Isabelle	Pocket	⭐	I don't entirely reject this one, but it's so horribly balanced that it doesn't deserve a higher score. Being able to passively hold a projectile forever and release it on command nearly 2x stronger is a disgustingly one-sided position. No risk, all reward option to completely fuck over characters with strong projectiles, while others actually get to play Smash Bros against Villager. Great game design.
Mega Man	Metal Blade	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Great pick and great move to use. Maybe not super exciting, and it'd be nice if you could redo the 8-way throw without having to throw the blade away, but still a dopamine machine.
Wii Fit Trainer	Sun Salutation	⭐⭐	Eh, it exists. Copypasting aside, would be more fun to use if it had more actual kill power, which it doesn't because uhhh it heals you I guess.
Rosalina & Luma	Luma Shot	⭐⭐⭐	It's nice to see this double as a decently strong projectile, instead of being exclusively a move to control your side character. Olimar could never.
Little Mac	Straight Lunge KO Uppercut	⭐⭐	Straight Lunge alone would be 1 star because it straight up sucks, even uncharged it can hardly hit anyone with more than 3 braincells. KO Uppercut is more exciting, but dealing with a comeback mechanic that can kill you at 30% is not exactly fun and clearly an overtuned tool to patch up Mac's poor design.
Greninja	Water Shuriken	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Fun to use, and the charged version being unique in a way more than "bigger and stronger" is nice. Would be higher if the aerial version was more practical though, you can hardly hit anything with it.
Mii Brawler	Shot Put	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Strong projectiles my beloved. Somehow one of the most creative Mii specials as well.
	Flashing Mach Punch	⭐	Not an entirely useless move but still pretty boring.
	Exploding Side Kick	⭐⭐⭐	Definitely doesn't have the sauce of Falcon Punch, but it's still fine as a casual party game pick and it's not permanently wasting a special moveslot like Warlock Punch.
Mii Swordfighter	Gale Strike	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Smash 4 version would've been significantly lower, this move got an incredible glowup and I love it. Projectile that can potentially combo forever but has to be timed and spaced accurately. Peak.
	Shuriken of Light	⭐⭐⭐	Definitely not as interesting as Gale Strike, but still fun to annoy projectile haters with and nicely balanced by requiring more distance to hit harder.
	Blurring Blade	🚮	Glorified smash attack, really boring with virtually zero utility over other neutral special options. Would much rather have something completely different in a future game.
Mii Gunner	Charge Blast	⭐	Yeah this is just Charge Shot but worse and more boring. Succ.
	Laser Blaze	⭐⭐⭐	Considerably better now that it's based on Falco's lasers instead of Fox's, but still not as good as the real deal.
	Grenade Launch	⭐⭐⭐	Also a nice one, but losing its charge from Smash 4 unnecessarily made it a lot more generic.
Palutena	Autoreticle	⭐⭐⭐	Auto-aim projectiles are underrated, and I think this one is a nice implementation that still has plenty of counterplay.
Pac-Man	Bonus Fruit	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	By far the most fun part of Pac-Man's moveset. Great homage to the original game, and all fruit have their own properties and uses instead of just being the same projectile but stronger, even if the bell's paralysis is a bit ridiculous. I don't understand people who shit on Pac-Man's moveset and would then rather have much more generic specials just to reference Pac-Man World. (Wow, he throws a pellet! Wow, he does a Bowser Bomb clone! But it references my scrimblo platformer instead of the arcade game everyone knows Pac-Man for!!)
Robin	Thunder	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Slapper, all stages have utility to them and are above-average projectiles (even if Arcthunder got an overkill nerf) balanced out by durability. Not 5 stars because I can't deny Smash 4 Arcthunder was a lot more fun, and they could've just increased its consumption or improved Thoron so it doesn't feel better in every way.
Shulk	Monado Arts	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Not entirely a move in the traditional sense, but still a blast and single-handedly the reason to play Shulk. Xenoblade Chronicles for the Nintendo Wii!
Bowser Jr.	Clown Cannon	⭐	Another awful move that can't hit anyone who knows basic spacing and defense.
Duck Hunt	Trick Shot	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Easily the coolest move Duck Hunt has by a mile. Extremely useful and versatile but doesn't feel overcentralizing, and can be used against them.
Ryu Ken	Hadoken	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Mega Man X core. The most fun out of the input specials imo, I like how this one has an actual benefit to using the lighter versions, and Shakunetsu Hadoken is fun.
Cloud	Blade Beam	⭐⭐⭐	Kind of basic aside from the Limit version, but serves its purpose, and it's well balanced by the aerial version being weaker.
Corrin	Dragon Fang Shot	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Corrin is a bit meh to me, but I do really like this move despite having no actual basis. Paralyzing projectile that is way more fun and useful than ZSS' stupid gun, and the dragon bite is a great followup if you manage to catch someone up close, or just as a strong punish in general.
Bayonetta	Bullet Climax	⭐⭐	Eh. I get that having the bullets be fired straight forward would make this move incredibly annoying and spammy (Falco lasers on steroids), but it's handicapped in a way that it doesn't feel very fun to use. You can maybe snipe someone offstage with charge bullets and that's about it.
Inkling	Splattershot	⭐⭐	A move that has purpose on paper, but is ultimately outclassed by Inkling's rapid jab, which does the same but more reliably, with less risk, and more reward.
Ridley	Plasma Breath	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Yes yes gimme. Fun ass projectile, I love how good it is for edgeguarding and how the full string can combo into other attacks; 5 fireballs into a dash attack ledge kill gives me so much serotonin. The recoil for hitting its charge is perhaps unnecessary, but also hilarious how it lets Ridley tank any hit. It could maybe have some startup shaved off, but I love this move regardless.
Simon Richter	Axe	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Slow and strong killing projectile appreciation again, except you can also adjust its trajectory and it comes from Castlevania. Banger.
King K. Rool	Blunderbuss	⭐⭐⭐⭐	A move with two pretty different purposes that somehow blend together so well, it's such a blast to use and it alone sets K. Rool plenty apart from other heavies. Shame about that scrubby early patch that nerfed its succ duration though.
Incineroar	Darkest Lariat	⭐⭐⭐	Not a lot going on for this one, and I think it'd be nice if it could reflect projectiles, but it's serviceable and fun to land regardless.
Piranha Plant	Ptooie	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Plant definitely overrelies on this move to an unhealthy degree, but man I can't fault it because it's so fun. It's just so good as an anti-air, disadvantage option, and traditional projectile, and Plant kind of needs it as a jokey and generally lackluster character competitively.
Joker	Gun Gun Special	⭐⭐⭐	"For his neutral spec--" ALRIGHT I GET IT! Okay but seriously people ran that joke so hard into the ground. Anyway, I don't get the hype for this one that much, but it's cool how they fit in so many variations, even if they're far from balanced well (aerial down gun is stupidly overtuned, cartwheel has no practical utility).
Hero	Frizz	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Pretty much echoing my thoughts on Robin's Thunder here, may not have as much variety between versions but it's still fun to throw out for pure destruction.
Banjo & Kazooie	Egg Firing Breegull Blaster	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Would be 3 stars if it was just Egg Firing, which is more or less Mario's Fireball (basic, but fills its purpose and is accurate to its series), but Breegull Blaster is such a cool addition with an also distinct purpose.
Terry	Power Wave	⭐⭐⭐	Not as cool as Hadoken imo, but it's nice that they made up an aerial version even if it's much worse.
Byleth	Failnaught	⭐⭐	First major miss of Ultimate specials besides Splattershot. Never cared much for this one and still don't; it's a slow ass projectile you're gonna hardly if ever actually do anything with, to the point the shield cancel feels actively added to stop you from using it. The charged version is even lamer but it works for FFAs I guess.
Min Min	Punch	🚮	Most generic name imaginable and literally not even a special move. Die.
Steve	Mine Craft Create Block	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Would be 5 stars if it was balanced better, because Steve definitely shouldn't be able to safely hide under a wall to mine stuff for free, but aside from that, it feels like a perfect translation of Minecraft mechanics to Smash.
Sephiroth	Flare	⭐⭐	Similar problems to Failnaught; it's at least cooler, and Gigaflare to fsmash as a shield break punish is so ridiculous in a good way, but I really wish it did more, it feels like a miss in an otherwise really sick moveset and character.
Pyra	Flame Nova	⭐	Pretty much a moveslot they filled up with whatever because Pythra were already too good to need more options. Understandable, but still lame.
Mythra	Lightning Buster	⭐⭐	This one stands out more as an exceptionally strong move in Mythra's kit at least, and her best kill option if you're soloing her for any reason, but it still feels generic.
Kazuya	Devil Blaster	⭐⭐⭐	Feels overly sluggish to land without the same satisfaction as something like Axe or Ptooie, but it's more fun in FFAs at least.
Sora	Magic	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Fun blend of multiple specials; Firaga as your linear projectile that can sort of combo, Thundaga as the wider-area one that can kill, and Blizzaga as the more gimmicky but still useful one.

Deprecated

Character(s)	Move(s)	Rating	Comment
Mii Brawler	Ultimate Uppercut	⭐⭐⭐	A rare Ultimate L, we lost this for fucking Flashing Mach Punch. It's more or less worse Giant Punch, but still a significantly more exciting and useful move.
Palutena	Heavenly Light	⭐	Custom with severe Sheik Chain syndrome that nobody ever picked. They tried at least.

Side specials

Character(s)	Move(s)	Rating	Comment
Mario Dr. Mario	Cape Super Sheet	⭐⭐	It has a simple purpose and the reverse effect is cute, but it's... not that interesting really? Aside from reflecting projectiles and cucking some recoveries it doesn't see much use. But I have no interest in the 6394th "redesign Mario" discussion, so whatever.
Donkey Kong	Headbutt	⭐	Pretty boring now that burying isn't exclusive to specials and also done by much better moves.
Link Young Link Toon Link	Boomerang	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Another classic and cool move with a lot of creative potential. Return hitbox combos are cool, one at a time prevents mindless spam, and I like that it can start combos at point blank; it's more unique reward to offset its long startup. Down under.
Samus Dark Samus	Missile	⭐⭐⭐	Now this is Metroid dopamine. I wish the homing Missiles worked better, but the Super Missiles are cool.
Yoshi	Egg Roll	⭐	It's baffling how a move that sounds cool on paper has turned out so shitty and dysfunctional for four games straight. Says a lot that Yoshi would arguably be better if he had no side special at all.
Kirby	Hammer Hammer Flip	⭐	I always found this move zzzzzzzzz, which is a shame compared to how fun it is in the Kirby games. Just a slow and strong move with a small hitbox, and the charge is the same as Jet Hammer's but worse. It's almost like Kirby has another slow and strong special except cooler and much more unique. I sleep.
Fox Falco	Fox Illusion Falco Phantasm	⭐⭐⭐⭐	A completely made up special I actually really like: it's a versatile recovery and the combo potential it has in Ult now gives me dopamine, while stopping on shield prevents spammability. Cool stuff. Falco's is definitely better though.
Pikachu Pichu	Skull Bash	⭐⭐	Kinda lame and basically recovery-only move (on already characters with an excellent recovery), and a weird pick from Pokemon that is barely even associated with Pikachu or Pichu. Pretty replaceable move.
Luigi	Green Missile	⭐⭐⭐	Skull Bash with actual sauce, even if almost entirely because of the misfire.
Ness	PK Fire	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Good stuff and extremely overhated by casuals (just shield lmao), always fun to have projectiles that reward more setup beyond "shoot this to do damage", especially with the aerial version's different angle.
Captain Falcon	Raptor Boost	⭐⭐⭐⭐	A bit ridiculous in Ultimate (why does it have armor lol) but also a great dopamine machine.
Jigglypuff	Pound	⭐	Possibly the most boring looking special in the entire series. It "has utility", sure, in the same way aerials have utility. Special moves should be special.
Peach Daisy	Peach Bomber Daisy Bomber	⭐⭐⭐	Not based on anything, but it's solid enough and fun to get a combo finish with every once and then.
Bowser	Flying Slam	🚮	Possibly a hot take, but I've never liked this move at all. It's a command grab with stupid fast startup that puts you in essentially an annoyingly long cutscene, deals big damage, is one of Bowser's best kill moves, and can also effortlessly lead to an inescapable sacrificial KO, which just incentivizes Bowser players to annoyingly overuse it as much as they can with little thought. Bowser dies first in the sacrificial KO, sure, but that doesn't take away how nothing about the move feels interestingly designed or cerebrally engaging. Instead it's just a big overtuned grab to abuse in both casual and competitive play, with significantly less creative or flexible design as other command grabs like Flame Choke or Monkey