Down smash

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The first part of Ganondorf's down smash, he kicks in front of him.

The second part, Ganondorf kicks behind him.

Down smash (abbreviated d-smash) is a smash attack performed by any character by tapping the Control Stick downward and pressing A at the same time or by pressing down on the C-stick. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the C-stick can not be used in one-player mode. It is generally an attack that hits low to the ground and hits on both sides of the character performing the attack, though a small minority only hit to the front of themselves via the down smash.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it can be charged by holding down the A button for up to two seconds, resulting in higher damage and knockback. A typical attribute of a down smash is that they hit both the front and rear of the user, making them useful for crowds. They are usually defensive moves and for most characters it is faster than their side smash. Most down smashes will attack the front and back in an alternating fashion, such as Mario's, where he does a spin to kick enemies, but a few can hit both areas at the same time, such as Fox's, where he does "the splits" to kick the area in front of and behind him in one motion. The disadvantage to most down smashes is that they tend to have lower knockback than either the character's up or forward Smashes. Mewtwo's down smash in Melee does not, and there are several down smashes in Brawl that do not.

List of down smashes in Super Smash Bros.

• Mario: Does a breakdancing sweep. 17% if hits in the front.
• Luigi: Similar to Mario. 17% damage.
• Donkey Kong: Extends his legs while spinning. 19% damage.
• Yoshi: Sweeps his tail around him. 14% on both sides, weak horizontal knockback for a smash attack, and has some ending lag.
• Link: Slashes in front of him, then behind him. Good range and speed, and can KO usually around 150%. Great for combo finishers. There is, however, some cooldown lag. 16% damage.
• Samus: Extends her leg and twirls. 16%. Good spacing move or KO-er near the ledge.
• Kirby: Thrusts his legs out while spinning. 18% damage.
• Fox: Does a split kick. Is a great horizontal killer, or set-up for edge-related kills. 14% damage.
• Captain Falcon: Extends his leg and twirls, doing 16% .If the attack connects closer to the body, the opponent will be sent upwards. If it connects with the tip, the opponent will be sent in a more horizontal direction. Somewhat short duration, for a move of this criteria, but an awkward move for one of C. Falcon's.
• Pikachu: Does a breakdancing sweep. 10-16%, where the forward hit does 16, and back hit does 13. This is a slightly less powerful version of the side smash, and seldom used outside of mindgames. However, it is still very powerful and it can be used to punish excessive rolling.
• Jigglypuff: Does a split kick. The hitbox extends quite a bit beyond Jigglypuff's feet, and this disjointed hitbox is most often used for edge-guarding, as it allows the player to avoid getting hit by the recovering opponent while still being able to prevent the opponent from grabbing the ledge. 16% damage.
• Ness: Does a "Walk the Dog" with his yoyo. 17% damage.

List of down smashes in Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Mario: Does a breakdancing sweep. 16% if hits in front.
• Luigi: Similar to Mario with upwards knockback. 17% if hits in the front.
• Dr. Mario: Similar to Mario but with more knockback.
• Peach: Twirls her dress. Very high damage and powerful knockback if multiple hits land. It's the strongest down smash in the game.
• Bowser: Spins while inside his shell.
• Donkey Kong: Holds up his arms and punches downwards.
• Yoshi: Swipes his tail in front then behind him.
• Link: Slashes in front then behind him.
• Young Link: Identical to Link.
• Zelda: Kicks in front then behind her.
• Sheik: Balances on her head and breakdances.
• Ganondorf: Kicks in front then behind him. Similar to Captain Falcon.
• Samus: Sweeps her leg in a circle.
• Ice Climbers: Swing their hammers around themselves.
• Kirby: Does a spinning split kick. 14% damage.
• Fox: Does a split kick. 15% damage.
• Falco: Similar to Fox. 16% damage.
• Captain Falcon: Kicks in front then behind him.
• Pikachu: Spins around while emitting sparks.
• Pichu: Similar to Pikachu.
• Mewtwo: Shoots a blast of darkness in front of it.
• Jigglypuff: Extends its foot on both sides of it.
• Marth: Slashes in front, then behind him. Identical to Link.
• Roy: Similar to Marth.
• Ness: Does a "Walk the Dog" with his yoyo.
• Mr. Game & Watch: Slams two hammers to the sides of him.

List of down smashes in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Mario: Does a breakdancing sweep that travels very fast. 15% in the front, 12% in the back.
• Luigi: Same as Mario's, but more vertical knockback. 17% on both sides when hit at close range, 16% on both sides when it hits farther out.
• Peach: Spins around with her outstretching skirt slashing and sucking in opponents, like Pikachu's. Has been nerfed in Brawl in power, damage and ability to trap opponents better, being extremely hard to get hit by all slashes, although long duration, fast start-up and being able to semi-spike opponents hanging on edges can help somewhat. Has a 20% chance of tripping. 5% for each hit.
• Bowser: Spins around very fast within his shell, slicing anybody within range. This move is harder to escape in Brawl than in Melee.
• Donkey Kong: Crashes his two fists on either side of himself. Very fast, great knockback.
• Diddy Kong: Similar to Luigi's. A fast breakdancing sweep with horizontal knockback.
• Yoshi: Swings his tail around on either side of himself. Mediocre horizontal knockback.
• Wario: Breakdances, but balances on his back and hits with his head. Gradually gets weaker as the move progresses.
• Link: Slices his sword along the ground in front of himself and then behind himself. This is also used in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
• Zelda: Kicks forward and backward with incredible speed. Requires less than a second to use, and is the fastest down smash in the game.
• Sheik: Breakdances on her head and spins around kicking while leaping back up. Has three hitboxes, making it tough to shield.
• Ganondorf: Kicks strongly in front of him, then shifts his foot to kick behind him. If hit with first kick, the attack mostly carries opponent to second hit. Is somewhat laggy. 19% uncharged, 26 fully charged.
• Toon Link: Same as Link's only faster, and first hit usually carries into second. KOs at very low percentages if only the first hit connects and if the opponent has poor horizontal recovery.
• Samus: Sweeps her leg around in a circle around herself to inflict vertical knockback. Very fast, but has ending lag.
• Zero Suit Samus: Fires a close-range, uncharged paralyzer bolt at the ground in front of herself. No initial knockback, but commonly used to set up for side smash or Plasma Whip.
• Pit: Similar to Link's. Slashes once in front, then behind.
• Ice Climbers: They swing their hammers once around themselves going about 270 degrees around. Second most damaging down smash in the game, but mediocre knockback.
• R.O.B.: Lowers arm unit on torso unit, and then quickly spins arms around many times for good range, multiple hits, good knockback, and a useful damage racker.
• Kirby: Feet enlarge and Kirby spins, jutting them out to the side. It is similar to Fox's down smash, except that Fox does not spin during the attack. 14% uncharged, 19% fully charged.
• Meta Knight: Extremely quick front and back swipe. It is Meta Knight's best ground KO move and is one of the fastest smash attacks in the game.
• King Dedede: Similar to Ice Climbers, but it is slower, stronger, and has more range. Deals vertical knockback. 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.
• Olimar: Sends two Pikmin to leap out on both sides. Very quick, but has less knockback than his side smash.
• Fox: A long-ranged split-kick. A fast and useful move, however the lag at the end of the move leaves him vulnerable. 14% uncharged, 19% fully charged.
• Falco: A short ranged split kick. Can semi-spike occasionally while edgeguarding if hits with his front foot's heel. A good move to use as punishing a dodged or shielded attack. 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.
• Wolf: Claws on either side of himself at blinding speeds. Arguably Wolf's best ground KOer. It is the best down smash of the space animals.
• Captain Falcon: Kicks powerfully forward, then swings his leg behind him to kick again. Laggy, but good knockback and somewhat useful range.
• Pikachu: Spins around while emitting blasts of sparks from its body. Multiple hitboxes are able to pull in opponents very easily. Short range, and a good damage racker. If DI'd out of, it becomes a semi-spike. 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.
• Squirtle: Spins around quickly in its shell. Poor range.
• Ivysaur: Whips its two vines on either side of itself for moderate horizontal knockback. Very punishable ending lag.
• Charizard: Leaps up a small distance, then crashes down quickly. Causes an earthquake that pushes opponents away.
• Lucario: Pulls hands apart quickly on either side with aura imbued at the tips. Powerful, but some start-up lag.
• Jigglypuff: A split kick similar to Kirby's and Fox's down smash. It is always a semi-spike. 12% damage uncharged, 16% damage fully charged.
• Marth: Slashes in front, then the back. High vertical knockback if tippered, but its long duration makes it a seldom used move.
• Ike: Does an odd performance 180 degree wrist turning sword swing on either side of himself. His fastest ground attack.
• Ness: Does a "walk the dog" trick with his yo-yo. Hits behind, then in front with his yo-yo. Can damage while charging, but charging does not increase damage or knockback of the move on release. 17% damage depening how it hits the opponent.
• Lucas: Blasts a huge amount of PSI hexagons at his feet, but only on one side. Can still hit people behind him that are close enough, similar to Falco's side smash. Great knockback and range, but huge start-up and ending lag. Can be a semi-spike. Strongest in the game if all hexagons hit and fully charged.
• Mr. Game & Watch: Swings two mallets down on either side of himself. Great vertical knockback. A good semi-spike if not tippered, and comes out faster than most attacks.
• Snake: Plants a motion sensing mine in the ground. Detonates if contacted by another hitbox or hurtbox. Only one can be planted at a time, and if the platform the one was on disappears, the mine blows up when it lands on the ground. The longer this attack is charged, the more transparent the mine becomes and the more damage it will cause upon explosion. 14% uncharged, 19% fully charged.
• Sonic: Darts forwards and backwards very fast in his spinball. Some start-up lag, but decent power. Template:DamageWhenCharged damage.

Types

Sweeping

The down smash of the following characters "sweeps" around them. That is to say it hits to one side of them and then hits the other side.

In Super Smash Bros.

• Luigi
• Mario
• Link
• Samus
• Captain Falcon
• Ness
• Yoshi
• Pikachu

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Dr. Mario
• Mario
• Luigi
• Yoshi
• Captain Falcon
• Ganondorf
• Ness
• Ice Climbers
• Samus
• Zelda
• Link
• Young Link
• Marth
• Roy

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Mario
• Link
• Samus
• Marth
• Luigi
• Diddy Kong
• Zelda
• Pit
• Meta Knight
• Ike
• Yoshi
• Ganondorf
• Ice Climbers
• King Dedede
• Wolf
• Ness
• Sonic
• Toon Link
• Captain Falcon

One-sided

The down smash of the following characters only hits the side in front of the character.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Mewtwo

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Zero Suit Samus
• Lucas

Simultaneous

The down smash of the following characters hits to both sides of the character at the same time, making it useful to clear a crowd.

In Super Smash Bros.

• Donkey Kong
• Kirby
• Fox
• Jigglypuff

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Bowser
• Peach
• Donkey Kong
• Falco
• Fox
• Kirby
• Sheik
• Pichu
• Pikachu
• Jigglypuff
• Mr. Game & Watch

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Donkey Kong
• Kirby
• Fox
• Pikachu
• Mr. Game & Watch
• Sheik
• Falco
• Squirtle
• Ivysaur
• Charizard
• Peach
• Lucario
• Bowser
• Wario
• R.O.B.
• Olimar
• Jigglypuff

Notable down smashes

• Peach's down smash in Melee, which is arguably the most feared of all smashes due to its knockback, quick start up, and damage. It does at least 70% damage if the opponent attempted to crouch cancel. The smash has been nerfed in Brawl and it is not as useful.
• Mewtwo's down smash is the only down smash in Melee that does not cover both the front and rear of the user.
• Snake's down smash allows him to plant a mine, which does no damage unless stepped on (this includes Snake), and is deactivated when he plants another or is KO'd. If for any reason the mine falls from the platform it was on, it detonates on impact with anything.
• Zelda's down smash is the fastest down smash in Melee and Brawl.
• Zero Suit Samus down smash only hits the area in front of her, and deals very little knockback, but paralyzes whoever is hit by it, opening up a chance for a follow up attack. The knockback is overridden by any other knockback during the stun.
• Ness's down smash has unique properties by which it can be charged. Rather than at the beginning of the attack, it is charged up in the middle of the attack, but only if Ness' yo-yo comes to rest on a flat surface. Charging the smash does not increase damage or knockback.
• Lucas's only reaches a very short distance behind him; characters must be almost touching him to be in the rear hitbox.

See also

• Down smash chart
• Forward smash
• Up smash