Forward smash

A forward smash, abbreviated f-smash and officially known as a side smash attack, is a smash attack that any character can perform by tapping the control stick in a horizontal direction and pressing the attack button immediately afterward or simultaneously, or by tilting the C-Stick in a horizontal direction (except in Melee's single-player modes). Forward smashes typically are strong strikes with a large hitbox directly in front of the character, sometimes shifting them forward a significant distance as well. Some characters even have forward smashes that contain super armor under certain conditions. Starting in Melee, forward smashes can be charged for a maximum of one second (or 60 frames), resulting in up to 1.4× the damage and knockback. In Ultimate, with some exceptions, they can be held for an additional two seconds (120 frames) upon reaching full charge, with the total being 3 seconds (180 frames).

After tapping the control stick forwards, there is a 3-frame window wherein a forward smash can be performed. If the attack button is pressed too late, a dash attack will be performed instead. Pressing the attack button on the last possible frame results in a small step forward smash. In all games except Super Smash Bros. Brawl, forward smashes can be pivoted.

Like forward tilts, certain forward smashes can be angled in up to 3 directions; a select few forward smashes in Smash 64, however, can be angled in up to 5 directions. In Smash 64 and Melee, the control stick or c-stick must be tapped in the desired angle at the start of the move to angle it. From Brawl onwards, however, the attack can be angled by holding the control stick or C-stick in the desired angle as the move's charging period ends.

Notable forward smashes

 * King Dedede's forward smash is the the only forward smash in the game that can fully break a shield in its natural state, and the strongest in the game except for Lucario's with full Aura and Hero's if he scores a critical hit. It is also one of the only that possesses a Windbox, shockwave, and numerous different hitboxes. It is the only forward smash that is capable of killing under 20%, making it strong enough to be the only forward smash to be generally considered among the strongest attacks in the entire series; it is the 4th strongest attack without special conditions in Ultimate, losing to only Mr. Game & Watch's 9, Ganondorf's Aerial Reverse Warlock Punch, and Roy/Chrom's Flare Blade. However, alongside Snake's, it is also one of only two forward smashes that only activates upon or after frame 40.
 * Although, Link has the most powerful smash (in damage) when charged, with two slashes.
 * From Super Smash Bros. Melee onwards, Link, Young Link, and Toon Link (except the latter in Ultimate) possess the only forward smashes that are natural combos.
 * Furthermore, the first hit of Link's forward smash in Ultimate is capable of launching a unique sword beam projectile when Link is at 0%. This projectile travels quickly over a long distance, and its size and damage output are greatly increased by charging the attack. It also substantially increases the damage output of the attack when used at close range.
 * Mega Man, Olimar, and Villager's forward smashes, as well as Link's aforementioned Ultimate sword beam, are the only four forward smashes which are projectiles. Of those two, Mega Man and Link's projectiles are the only projectiles to increase in hitbox size as the attack is charged. Villager's is one of the only projectiles that fall downwards instead of traveling forwards. Mii Gunner's forward smash may appear to be a projectile, but is technically not, as its shots do not act independently of the Mii Gunner.
 * Ness's forward smash is able to reflect projectiles. This property is shared with Lucas's very similar forward smash, as well. These two, along with Min Min's up smash and Kazuya's Left Splits Kick, are the only non-special attacks with this property.
 * Mr. Game & Watch's forward smash is notable for its disjointed range, high power when sweetspotted, and very low ending lag.
 * In Melee and Brawl, it also has a very long duration and in the former game, it has fast startup. While the move's long duration was significantly toned down in Smash 4 and Ultimate, its strong power remained intact while also still having relatively low ending lag.
 * Additionally, in Ultimate it can be combo'd into from his down smash bury, making it one of his best KO options.
 * For her forward smash, Peach is capable of using three different weapons, each of which has different properties. In Melee and Brawl, it is entirely random which of the three is used for the attack. In Smash 4, the attack cycles from a tennis racket to a golf club to a frying pan, making its use more consistent. In Ultimate, it was changed again to be angle-dependent (neutral for the golf club, up for the frying pan, down for the tennis racket). Daisy, as her Echo Fighter, inherits those properties for her forward smash.
 * Little Mac's forward smash is notable for having substantially different animations and functions when angled, unlike most angleable smash attacks. The up-angled variation is a powerful uppercut that acts as an anti-air and strong vertical finisher, the neutral-angled variation is a straight cross that inflicts exceptionally high knockback, and the down-angled variation is a low hook that inflicts low knockback but very high shield damage. Traits common to all three variation are relatively low startup and ending lag. Like Little Mac's other smash attacks, it also has super armor frames during the startup; in Ultimate, Special Zoom will activate if Little Mac is hit during the armor frames.
 * 's forward smash is by far the longest reaching forward smash in Brawl, covering nearly 1/2 of Final Destination. Furthermore, due to its range, it hits twice because of the initial hit's low angle and deceptively fast startup (frame 10).
 * In Ultimate, Wolf has a new forward smash that has been significantly reworked, now being much slower due to having twice as much startup lag (coming out on frame 20 compared to frame 10 in Brawl), as well as less range and only consisting of one hit rather than two. However, it deals much greater damage, allowing it to KO opponents more consistently, while its ending lag was decreased by four frames. Combined with its slower startup, this makes it much safer and more difficult to punish, even being safe on shield if spaced, and due to its low cooldown, it can also be used to bait approaches from the opponent.
 * 's forward smash in Brawl is the fastest in the series by a considerable margin coming out on frame 6. In every other Smash game, the fastest forward smashes come out on frame 10.
 * In Brawl, 's forward smash has both transcendent priority and super armor, a combination which makes it nearly impossible to intercept when combined with its high speed. It comes out on frame 9 making it the second-fastest forward smash in the series.
 * The only other forward smashes to possess super armor are 's in Brawl and Little Mac's (regardless of angle). Sephiroth's (in Winged Form), Bowser's and Kazuya's have damage-based armor instead.
 * Palutena's forward smash has a reasonably powerful windbox just beyond the reach of the main portion of the attack, allowing it potential usage for niche edge-guards and gimps.
 * While charging a forward smash, Corrin holds Omega Yato forwards to grind enemies at close range with its teeth for several potential weak hits. This makes it the only forward smash to have a hitbox while charging.
 * Ness's up smash and down smash have similar properties to Corrin's forward smash.
 * The pattern of the gunshots in Duck Hunt's forward smash, as well as the angles at which they launch, are slightly randomized. They will also become spaced further apart, and thereby reach further if the attack is charged.
 * In Ultimate, Sonic's forward smash is notable for its tremendous range, being able to outrange a lot of moves. Aside from that, the angled down version is useful for 2 frame punishes and the move overall is one of his primary K.O attacks thanks to its respectable power.
 * 's forward smash in Ultimate, nicknamed "Doriyah" after the grunt he makes while performing it, is a huge two-handed downward sword slash. It covers above and even a bit behind Ganondorf, with fantastic range for a melee attack. Its power is immense, rivaled only by and surpassed only by, max aura ,  with a crit, and . It is relatively slow though, coming out frame 29 and having 39 frames of ending lag. Additionally, due to too fast movement badly interpolating the hitboxes, there is a large blindspot near Ganondorf's head during the downward swing.
 * Wii Fit Trainer's forward smash can hit behind her, although this is very difficult to do on opponents with small hurtboxes. It is also the only one that can hit on both sides.
 * Min Min's forward smash is extremely atypical for a number of reasons:
 * Min Min is able to use either the attack button or the special button to perform a smash attack. She can use them consecutively.
 * It is the longest ranged forward smash in the entire game with her Dragon ARM laser, beating out Mega Man's fully charged forward smash.
 * It has multiple variants on her forward smash depending on which ARM she uses. The Ramram offers a larger hitbox with more active frames, the Megawatt possesses incredible power at the cost of range, and the Dragon features a laser when held down.
 * Min Min's forward smash changes properties when charged for at least fifteen frames, causing it to deal more base damage along with a larger hitbox and elemental effects.
 * As of update 11.0.0, it is the only smash attack in the series that has a different maximum charge time instead of the default, being able to be held for only 30 frames instead of the standard 120 frames.
 * The move deals more damage in the middle of its trajectory than when it first starts moving and when fully extended.
 * Pyra's forward smash, named Flare Smash, is spotlighted in her debut as a counterpart to Mythra's Foresight character ability as well as in the Move List. Despite this, it has no unique traits, although it is one of the most powerful and longest ranged forward smashes in the game.