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Golden Hammer

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This article is about the rare and powerful item. For the regular hammer, see Hammer (item).
For Kirby's side special move, see Hammer (move).
Golden Hammer
GoldHammer.jpg
WreckingCrewSymbol.svg
Golden Hammer artwork from Brawl.
Universe Wrecking Crew
Appears in Brawl
SSB4
Ultimate
Item class Duration/Battering
Article on Super Mario Wiki Golden Hammer

The Golden Hammer (ゴルデンハンマー, Golden Hammer) is an item in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 4, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It acts similarly to a regular Hammer, but has its own distinctive properties to make it arguably more formidable in comparison.

The Golden Hammer has been considered part of the Mario universe since its debut in Brawl, despite Wrecking Crew later getting its own proper universe in Smash 4.

Origin

A screenshot from Wrecking Crew, featuring a Golden Hammer.
The Golden Hammer as it originally appeared in Wrecking Crew.

The Golden Hammer originates from the NES game Wrecking Crew where it is a rare and temporary item that allows the player to swing faster. It is also more powerful than a normal hammer. When the hammer appears, a short tune can be heard, then when the hammer is acquired the Power-Up Music track is played; this track can also play on the Mario Bros. stage.

Contrary to its depiction in the Smash games, the Golden Hammer cannot act "squeaky" in Wrecking Crew, nor can it otherwise malfunction.

Operation

As an item

Wario remains unaffected by the Golden Squeaky Hammer.

When the item spawns normally, only its podium will appear. A second later, the actual Golden Hammer will grow from it. The hammer cannot actually be picked up until it is fully grown from the podium. When picked up, the Golden Hammer forces players to constantly swing the weapon back and forth, much like the standard hammer. Compared to the standard Hammer, characters wave it back and forth considerably faster (about twice as fast as the standard Hammer), and it also has considerably higher knockback, hitlag, and damage output compared to the Hammer. Its knockback is also diagonal, as opposed to the Hammer's vertical knockback. While characters cannot use any attacks while swinging it, constantly tapping the jump button will cause the player to float in midair, for a limited time.

Like the Hammer, getting hit by attacks that inflict knockback can cause the wielder to drop the Golden Hammer; in addition, it is impossible to manually let go of the Golden Hammer unless the wielder is tumbling. If the Golden Hammer is dropped by its wielder, however, it will immediately disappear upon hitting the ground. Golden Hammers that are dropped can be grabbed by air-dodging players.

Similar to how the Hammer can lose its head, the Golden Hammer also has the chance to backfire on its wielder. Called the Golden Squeaky Hammer (ゴルデンピコピコハンマー, Golden Squeaky Hammer), the item still allows players to float, but it does not inflict any damage or knockback to opponents; instead, it produces a squeaking noise upon striking them. Unusually, counters can still activate if hit by the Golden Squeaky Hammer, and in Smash 4, Golden Squeaky Hammers that are dropped and recaught have a chance of turning into regular ones.

In Challenges

Unlocking specific challenges will give players access to Golden Hammers to break other Challenge boxes. Each Golden Hammer can only be used once, and in the 3DS version of Smash 4, they can only be used on the panel they have been unlocked on. Using the Golden Hammer allows the player to attain any rewards from the box without having to meet (or do) its unlock criteria for the two boxes next to it as usual. When a Golden Hammer is used once on a challenge, it's permanently erased from the player's Golden Hammer total and can't be unlocked again.

In Brawl, some challenges cannot be broken with the Golden Hammers, particularly those that involve plot elements from the Subspace Emissary. In the PAL version of Brawl, this does not apply, and instead, Golden Hammers can unlock all challenges (without having to meet its unlock criteria).

In Ultimate, new hammers are unlocked as challenges are completed. They still cannot break some challenges: the World of Light plot-related ones, and the hardest ones on the other challenge pages.

Trophy descriptions

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Golden Hammer trophy from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
The Golden Hammer trophy in Brawl.

The Golden Hammer Trophy is obtained by hitting a combined distance of 15,000m (45,000 ft) with all characters' Home-Run Contest records.

A hammer that glows with golden light. It's easier to swing than a normal hammer, and more powerful too. If you tilt the Control Stick and press the attack button repeatedly, you float in midair. It's a very powerful item, but one that rarely appears. There's also a Golden Squeaky Hammer that does absolutely no damage at all. It's what you would call a fake.

NES: Wrecking Crew

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Golden Hammer trophy in for 3DS.
Golden Hammer trophy in for Wii U.

NtscThis special hammer is several times stronger than the regular hammer. While wielding it, jumping repeatedly will let you float in the air. It doesn't appear often, so grab it when it does! However, watch out for the squeaky version. It looks like the normal one but is really useless.

PalThis special hammer is much stronger than the normal one. And on top of that, it has a special ability - press the jump button repeatedly while holding it to float in the air. These things don't show up often, though, so if you see one, grab it fast! Just watch out for the Golden Squeaky Hammers - they look the same, but do exactly zero damage.

NES: Wrecking Crew 10/1985

Gallery

Trivia

  • The special animations for when certain characters pick up a Hammer also apply to the Golden Hammer.
  • If Kirby swallows a Golden Hammer, he can determine if it was a Squeaky or not. If it was a Golden Squeaky Hammer, it makes a slight squeak sound when he eats it.
  • In SSB4, if Villager pockets a Golden Hammer, picks up another item, then uses Pocket to swap out the Golden Hammer with the item, he will use the Golden Hammer as normal, but the music will not play.
  • The Golden Hammer lasts long enough just to hear the first portion of the "Power-Up Music" track. However, by increasing the amount of time it remains active, such as by pausing or through hitstun, the rest of the song can be heard.
  • The Golden Hammer is one of three items that will change the music being played on the stage temporarily, the other two being the normal Hammer and the Super Star. Incidentally, all three come from Mario and its sub-universes.

External links