Meta Knight (SSB4)/Forward smash

Hitbox visualization showing Meta Knight's forward smash.

Overview

Meta Knight pulls Galaxia back and slashes outward. It takes some time to start up, but is released instantaneously after charging. This, coupled with its power, deceptive range and minimal ending lag, makes it a surprisingly good tool to use in mix-ups, and a very powerful way to punish mis-spaced moves from opponents. Due to the nature of this attack, it can also be used as an effective mindgame tool, if Meta Knight can keep his opponent guessing about when the attack will come out, as well as his options upon performing one on low-percentage-hit, shield or whiff. The move is only -6 on shield, making it completely safe against most of the cast provided he’s spaced far enough away to avoid punishment.

With its unusual combination of low risk and high reward, it is considered to be one of the best forward smashes in the game.

Hitboxes

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			SDIx	H×	T%	Clang	Rebound	Type	Effect	G	A	Sound	Direct
0	0	16%	0		30	108	0	6.2	0	0.0	5.0	9.0	1.0x	1.5x	0%							Kick
1	0	16%	0		30	98	0	5.2	0	0.0	5.0	17.0 to 13.0	1.0x	1.0x	0%							Kick

Timing

Charges between	20-21
Hitboxes	24
Interruptible	42
Animation length	64

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Charge interval

Hitbox

Interruptible

Meta Knight's moveset

Neutral attack · Forward tilt (1 · 2 · 3) · Up tilt · Down tilt · Dash attack · Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash
Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial
Grab · Pummel · Forward throw · Back throw · Up throw · Down throw
Forward roll · Back roll · Spot dodge · Air dodge · Techs
Floor attack (front) · Floor getups (front) · Floor attack (back) · Floor getups (back) · Floor attack (trip) · Floor getups (trip)
Edge attack · Edge getups
Neutral special (def · c1 · c2) · Side special (def · c1 · c2) · Up special (def · c1 · c2) · Down special (def · c1 · c2) · Final Smash