User:Mariogeek2/Meteor Knuckle

Meteor Knuckle
	; Meteor Knuckle
User	Mario
Universe	Mario

This page is a draft.
Feel free to contribute to this page as you would a mainspace page.
Message from the draft creator: Still missing from this page:
1 or 2 extra screenshots of the move for the gallery, names of the move in other languages (which can be found from Ultimate fighter tips in other languages), screenshots/GIFs of the Mario movie showing Mario using the move in the Origin section, some move trivia, and several paragraphs in the overview.

NOTE: This user-page is part of the Non-Special Moveset Page Project, an unofficial initiative started by Mariogeek2. Feel free to add to this user-page, I'll gladly take all the help I can get filling this page out before I move it to the main namespace. I only have 3 rules:

1) No blatant vandalism, I will revert any malicious changes.
2) Before making any massive, structural changes to the page (i.e., reordering sections), please discuss your intended changes in the talk page.
3) These pages are a work-in-progress; don't get angry if part of your change gets overwritten/reverted.

This article is about Mario's forward aerial. For Samus's down aerial of the same name, see Samus (SSB)/Down aerial.

Overview[edit]

Meteor Knuckle (メテオナックル), also known as Plunger^[1] in the North American release of Super Smash Bros. Melee, is Mario's forward aerial since Melee. The move involves Mario winding up his fist up, raising it overhead, then bringing it down in an overhand. If he hits with the clean hit, then the move functions as a meteor smash; if he hits with the early hit, which lasts for a single frame, or the late hit, then the move launches opponents with the Sakurai angle instead; the sole exception for this is Melee, where the move lacks the early and late hitboxes, resulting in the move always meteor smashing opponents.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]

The Meteor Knuckle in Melee.

Meteor Knuckle was added in Melee, replacing Mario's previous forward aerial, Forward Dropkick. The defining characteristic of the move is the fact that, throughout the entirety of its active frames, it functions as a meteor smash, launching opponents directly downwards at a 280° angle. The developers of the move wanted to emphasize the move's meteor smash property so much, in fact, that it gets mentioned twice by the developers: once on the Japanese Melee website^[2], and once by one of Mario's in-game trophies^[3].

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

In Brawl, the move was substantially changed, receiving a cocktail of nerfs, buffs, and neutral changes which altered its use in a match. The most noticeable change was the addition of early and late hitboxes, both of which launch the opponent with the Sakurai angle. In addition, the changes to the game's mechanics removed a lot of the move's combo potential, both as a combo starter and ender, requiring Mario to use the move in neutral or in edgeguarding. Arguably the biggest buff the move got was the addition of the strong, early hitbox, which gave Mario some KO potential, an area he struggles in in this game. However, the weak hit serves zero purpose, and should be avoided.

In Super Smash Bros. 4[edit]

Forward aerial received a few minor buffs in the transition to the 3DS and Wii U games; despite this, the move was viewed as being buffed and made significantly more reliable from its Brawl incarnation; this is likely due to the changes to system mechanics, namely the removal of meteor cancelling and the toning down of hitstun canceling, making it much more reliable to combo out of and into, as well as significantly more rewarding to to land offstage, which justified the risk of using the move in edgeguarding.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

Meteor Knuckle functions much the same in Ultimate as it did in the previous iteration. It's useful as a combo finisher and edgeguarding tool, with the move's utility as a combo starter being increased due to the game's changes to teching, making escaping combos by teching away much more unreliable, as well as the buffs to Mario himself that significantly improve his combo potential. Probably the most noteworthy difference (although admittedly, an aesthetic one) is now the possibility that landing the move results in a Finish Zoom.

Instructional Quotes[edit]

Sokuhō Sumabura Ken!!		Additionally, Mario’s forward aerial attack is a Meteor Smash. This time around, Mario’s scary!
Smash Bros. DOJO!!		If you make good contact with Mario on a forward midair attack, your opponent will shoot straight down. This move is called a meteor smash.
fighter tips		It's a slow attack, but Mario swings his fist down hard enough for a meteor smash as it begins.
fighter tips		It's a slow attack, but Mario swings his fist down hard enough for a meteor smash as it begins.

Origin[edit]

Meteor Knuckle is a move original to the Smash Bros. series. However, it does somewhat resemble some animations from Mario Sports Mix and Mario Hoops 3-on-3.^[4] In addition, the move has received several references since its creation, both in the Smash Bros. series itself (as in the More Fighters Trailer for Ultimate) and elsewhere, such as the fight with Donkey Kong in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Gallery[edit]

Mario hitting Yoshi with his forward aerial in Melee.
Animation of Mario's forward air in Melee.
Mario meteor smashing Ike into Final Destination.
Mario meteor smashing Kirby off-stage in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS.
Mario meteor smashing Luigi off-stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Mario hitting Villager with his Meteor Knuckle in Ultimate, resulting in a Special Zoom.