KO
A KO, short for Knock-Out or Knock-Off, is the term used to describe the situation where a player is knocked back beyond the stage's blast lines by the opponent's actions. The KO'd player is sent to a revival platform to re-enter the match. The following may then happen depending on the type of match:
- In a Time match, the KO'd player will lose a point, while the player who made the KO gains a point.
- In a Stock match, the KO'd player loses a stock.
- In a Coin match, the KO'd player loses half their coins (if the number is odd, the "smaller half" is lost). SSBB prevents a player from losing more than 100 coins at once. The lost coinage will fly into play if the KO was made off the side.
- In the Subspace Emissary, the next character in the lineup is loaded and teleported into play without a revival platform. One stock is also lost.
- Characters can also be KO'd in the Super Smash Bros Brawl's Subspace Emissary if they are crushed by moving walls, ceilings, or floors.
If a player has no stock remaining, then they do not reappear. They are then either removed from play (multiplayer matches) or receive a Game Over (single player modes).
Who made the KO?
In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, each character has a "KO property" which starts out empty. When a character is hit by an attack (be it a physical attack, a projectile, an item, etc), their KO property is set to match whoever made the hit. Stage elements do not change the KO property. The KO property is reset once a character lands on the ground and is no longer moving as a result of the attack's knockback. When the character is KO'd, the KO goes to whoever matches the KO property. If the property is null, the KO counts as a self-destruct. In simple terms, it goes to whoever made the last hit.
For example: A wandering Bob-omb hits Marth in SSBM. Marth flies away but is not KO'd. If Marth were to be KO'd, it would count as an SD. DK Giant Punches Marth. Now, the potential KO belongs to DK. Falco shoots Marth with a Blaster shot. Now Falco owns the KO; even though his hit did no knockback, he was the last to hit Marth. Marth lands on an F-Zero car and is KO'd off the top. Falco gets the KO since he was the last character to hit Marth.
However, for whatever reason, this format was heavily altered for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In SSBB, a character's KO property is never reset during a stock. If a character is hit at any time during a stock, it becomes impossible to self-destruct; a KO will be given to whoever make the last hit. So if a character is hit by an attack and jumps off the edge, it will count as a KO, not an SD. This change is baffling to say the least; it gives other characters free KOs when the target character dies on his/her own.
For example: In SSBB, Peach jumps off the edge of a stage after getting hit by Pit. This means Pit will still get the KO, but Peach doesn't self destruct. Then, a blast from the Halbred sends Peach flying, but not before ROB throws her. Now, ROB gets the KO. Lastly, Snake strangles Peach and blasts her out of the stadium. Now the KO belongs to Snake since he was the last one to hit Peach. But then Peach gets hit by a Shy Guy in Mario Curcuit and is KO'd off the top, but the KO is still Snake's because he was the last one to hit Peach.
