Super Smash Bros. series

Down smash

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Mario's down smash in Melee.
The first part of Ganondorf's down smash, he kicks in front of him.
The second part, Ganondorf kicks behind him.
Olimar's down smash in Super Smash Bros. 4.

Down smash (abbreviated d-smash) or down smash attack (下スマッシュ攻撃, Down/lower/under smash attack) 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.

Since Super Smash Bros. Melee, all smash attacks can be charged by holding down the A button for up to one second, multiplying damage and knockback by up to 1.4. In Ultimate, these charges can be held for up to 3 seconds (or 180 frames), but the attack stops increasing in strength after the 1 second mark.

Down smashes are generally the fastest, weakest smash attack in a character's arsenal, and almost all of them hit on both sides of the character, making them useful for coverage or punishing rolls. They are not as flexible to use as the other smash attacks, however; they cannot be used out of a dash or out of shield like up smashes can, nor can they be used in the first few frames of a dash or out of a pivot like forward smashes.

List of down smashes

Character Description
Banjo & Kazooie unknown
Bayonetta Stomps on the ground in front of herself, then uses her Wicked Weaves to summon Madama Butterfly's foot for a near-immediate followup stomp in front of herself.
Bowser Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. 4 Retreats to his shell and spins around rapidly to strike with his spikes.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Crouches slightly and slashes low to the ground with his claws in front of himself and then behind himself.
Bowser Jr. Deploys two heavy wrecking balls from the Junior Clown Car and slams them onto the ground on either side of himself.
Captain Falcon Super Smash Bros. Hops up and performs a 360° roundhouse kick, striking both in front of and behind himself.
Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. 4Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Throws a straight kick, then uses the same leg for a back kick behind himself.
Charizard Stomps on the ground, shaking the earth for a heavy hit.
Chrom Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Cloud Jabs the hilt of the Buster Sword forwards and leads that into a reverse-grip stab behind himself.
Corrin Leans forwards on one leg and stabs with Omega Yato while morphing their other leg into a draconic lance and stabbing it backwards.
Daisy Crouches and spins, rapidly attacking with the hem of her dress.
Dark Pit Slashes outwards with one of his blades in front of himself, then stabs backwards in reverse grip with the other one.
Dark Samus Sweeps her leg low in a circle around herself.
Diddy Kong Performs a breakdancing sweep kick.
Donkey Kong Super Smash Bros. Extends his legs and performs a spin to sweep with them all around himself.
Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. 4Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Slams both his fists onto the ground.
Dr. Mario Performs a breakdancing sweep kick.
Duck Hunt The gunman to fires in front of the dog and duck, then behind them, and then in front of them again, sending the duo into a panic.
Falco Performs a quick split kick.
Fox Performs a quick split kick.
Ganondorf Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. 4 Throws a straight kick, then uses the same leg for a back kick behind himself.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Takes out an enormous sword, jabs its pommel forwards along the ground, and then stabs backwards with it.
Greninja Swipes inwards with a pair of watery blades, covering both sides.
Hero Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Ice Climbers Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. Brawl Hop up while swiping their hammers in a circle around the ground.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate The leader swings their hammer inwards in front of themselves, while the follower does the same in the opposite direction.
Ike Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Incineroar Hops up a short distance and then performs a body splash as it lands on the ground.
Inkling Swings the Slosher in a circle at their feet, striking both with the weapon and its ink.
Isabelle Swings a small bucket of water in a circle around her feet.
Ivysaur Swipes inwards with both of its vines, covering both in front and behind.
Jigglypuff Spins around before puffing itself downwards, striking with a foot-inflating split kick.
Joker Swings his knife low to the ground in a circle around his feet.
Ken Performs a fast, low leg sweep in front of himself.
King Dedede Sweeps his hammer in a circle around himself.
King K. Rool Jumps up and then belly-flops onto the ground, causing a quake.
Kirby Performs a spinning two-footed sweep kick.
Link Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Little Mac Hangs low to the ground and quickly punches on either side of himself.
Lucario Performs a pair of simultaneous outward aura-powered palm thrusts.
Lucas Points to the ground in front of himself, firing off three successive blasts of PSI energy.
Lucina Slashes low to the ground in front of herself, then behind herself.
Luigi Performs a breakdancing sweep kick.
Mario Performs a breakdancing sweep kick.
Marth Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Mega Man Transforms both hands into Mega Busters and touches them to the ground, blasting out a pillar of flame from each one.
Meta Knight Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Mewtwo Points at the ground, unleashing an explosion of darkness.
Mii Brawler Stands on one leg while throwing a jab forwards and a kick backwards.
Mii Gunner Blasts their cannon in front of themselves, then spins around and blasts again behind them.
Mii Swordfighter Slashes low to the ground in front of themselves, then behind themselves.
Mr. Game & Watch Slams two hammers onto the ground simultaneously.
Ness "Walks the dog" with his yo-yo.
Olimar Points on either side of himself, commanding his first and second-ordered Pikmin to perform simultaneous headbutts along the ground on either side of himself.
Pac-Man Holds his palms out, unleashing Pinky and Clyde to strike on both sides of himself.
Palutena Swings downwards with a pair of light wings.
Peach Crouches and spins, rapidly attacking with the hem of her dress.
Pichu Rapidly spins on the ground while emitting electricity.
Pikachu Super Smash Bros. Performs a breakdancing sweep kick.
Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. 4Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Rapidly spins on the ground while emitting electricity.
Piranha Plant Holds its head in place, pivoting its body around it to strike on both sides with its pot.
Pit Slashes outwards with one of his blades in front of himself, then stabs backwards in reverse grip with the other one.
R.O.B. Lowers his arms and rapidly spins them to strike several times.
Richter Spins, sweeping the Vampire Killer along the ground in a wide circle.
Ridley Hops up, then drops back down wings-first.
Robin Swings the equipped sword straight downwards onto the ground, emitting an electric shock that travels along the ground if the Levin Sword is equipped.
Rosalina & Luma Rosalina: Performs an alternating pair of low standing shin kicks, creating a small swirl of space dust at her feet for each one.
Luma: Throws a spinning one-footed kick behind itself, then in front as it completes its spin.
Roy Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Ryu Performs a fast, low leg sweep in front of himself.
Samus Sweeps her leg low in a circle around herself.
Sheik Performs a rapid series of spinning kicks while balancing on her back.
Shulk Lays the Monado low to the ground, then spins around with it, striking several times.
Simon Spins, sweeping the Vampire Killer along the ground in a wide circle.
Snake Super Smash Bros. Brawl Plants a landmine in the ground at his feet, which then explodes if attacked or walked over.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Performs a quick pair of low shin kicks while standing.
Sonic Super Smash Bros. Brawl Assumes his ball form and quickly zips forwards, then backwards along the ground.
Super Smash Bros. 4Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Performs a quick split kick.
Squirtle Retreats to its shell for a spin attack.
Toon Link Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Villager Uses a shovel to strike the ground in front of and then behind themselves, burying opponents.
Wario Lays on the ground and spins around.
Wii Fit Trainer Kneels on the ground, then performs an Arm and Leg Lift to strike forwards with a spearhand and backwards with a back kick.
Wolf Slashes across the ground with his claws in front of and then behind himself.
Yoshi Crouches and sweeps his tail forwards, then backwards.
Young Link Slashes low to the ground in front of himself, then behind himself.
Zelda Performs a quick, short-ranged shin kick in front of herself, then behind herself with the same leg.
Zero Suit Samus Aims her Paralyzer at a downwards diagonal angle and fires it at the ground in front of herself.

Notable down smashes

Peach's down smash in Melee.
  • While most down smashes are designed to hit on both sides of a character, there are a small number of characters with one-sided down smashes, including Mewtwo, Zero Suit Samus, Lucas, Ryu, Ken, and Bayonetta. In addition, Robin's down smash only hits on one side with the Bronze Sword equipped, but sends out an electric wave which reaches backwards with the Levin Sword equipped. Olimar's down smash also fails to hit behind him if he only has one available Pikmin. Furthermore, as of Ultimate, both of the Ice Climbers individually have one-sided down smashes, but when the climbers are together, they will succeed in covering both sides.
  • From Melee onwards, but not in Smash 4, Ness's down smash can hit opponents while charging as the yo-yo comes to rest on the stage behind him. This is especially dangerous in Ultimate, where the yo-yo can fall down and hang off of ledges and hits multiple times, allowing it to lead into the attack proper. It is the only down smash to have a hitbox while charging. Ness's similarly-functioning up smash is the only up smash to have such a distinction, while Corrin possesses the only such forward smash. Also notable is that Ness and Luma are the only characters with down smashes to hit first behind and then in front, as opposed to first in front and then behind. In Ness's case, this is presumably to give more utility to the charging hitbox, as his up smash already covers his front.
  • In Brawl, Snake's down smash causes him to plant a mine in the ground. Once planted, it will explode if struck by any hitbox or touched by any character, including Snake, which grants it incredible versatility for stage control. This is the only projectile down smash. Also unique to the move is that, as it is charged, the mine becomes increasingly difficult to see in addition to becoming stronger.
  • Villager and, in Ultimate, Mr. Game & Watch are the only characters whose down smashes can bury opponents. Theirs are not the only ones to have movement-inhibiting effects, however, as Zero Suit Samus's down smash causes paralysis, which is unique among down smashes.
  • Ridley, Incineroar, and King K. Rool all perform a short upwards hop during the startup of their down smashes, which allow them to dodge certain attacks and punish them heavily. This leads them to sometimes be humorously labelled "spot dodges with hitboxes". Of particular note is King K. Rool's, which both possesses his characteristic Belly Super Armor and causes a quake hitbox (being one of only two down smashes along with Charizard's to do so).
  • In Melee, Peach's down smash is a fearsome attack by any measure. Unlike most multi-hit attacks, all of its hits deal individually high damage and knockback. At low percentages, especially against a crouch cancelling opponent, it can deal astonishingly high damage. Its high semi-spike knockback and fast speed also make it a great tool for edge-guarding. Since Brawl, however, the attack has been nerfed, and is now a fairly standard multi-hit attack.
  • In Brawl, Meta Knight's down smash is both among his fastest attacks and strongest KO options, and is notoriously difficult to punish due to Meta Knight's characteristic range and transcendent priority.

See also