One-hit KO

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For the smasher OHKO, see Okoru.

A one-hit KO, commonly abbreviated as OHKO (also referred to as an Instant KO in Melee), is an attack in the Super Smash Bros. games with such high base knockback that it KOs an opponent at 0%. Such attacks currently exist in every installment of the series.

In general, a move is considered a one-hit KO if:

• It is capable of KOing Mario at 0% through sheer knockback alone from the middle of the respective game's Final Destination.
• It is not a meteor smash unless the hitboxes are also capable of OHKOing onstage (meteor smashes like those Beast Ganon are therefore OHKOs, while Luigi's down taunt is not).
• It deals damage and/or does not cause a KO by forcibly re-positioning the opponent (such as push effects and dragging Final Smashes).
• It is not extremely situational (such as the first hit of Roy's Blazer against Jigglypuff in Melee, or Jigglypuff's uncommonly high shield jump).

Another common standard is to compare the move's knockback to the smash attack of the Home-Run Bat, one of the few moves intended to be the quintessential OHKO by the developers.

Moves with the potential to OHKO are not necessarily guaranteed to do so, and may fail to OHKO under the following circumstances:

• The opponent techs, DIs, utilizes momentum cancelling, and/or crouch cancels to reduce the knockback or alter the trajectory of the attack.
• The opponent is flung into a wall, which absorbs enough knockback to prevent the OHKO.
• Knockback may be insufficient to KO at 0% on very large stages (e.g. Temple, New Pork City, and 75m), or from the far edge of a stage.
• Knockback may be insufficient to KO at 0% if the attack had already been landed previously (due to stale-move negation).
• Knockback may be insufficient to KO heavy characters at 0%.
• Opponents are under an effect that makes them more resilient (such as being giant, metal, or in an event that reduces the knockback they sustain), or the player is weakened (such as being tiny or given a lower handicap).
• The launch rate is lower than standard, reducing knockback.

List of One-Hit KOs

This page lists the moves that can OHKO within the rules mentioned above.

Certain moves and situations are not considered to meet the definition of one-"hit" KO's:

• Moves or hazards that inflict no knockback (for example, being flown off the screen by the Landmaster or eaten by the Summit's Fish or Distant Planet's Bulborb), as they simply move opponents into the blast lines.
• Sacrificial KOs and instant KOs (such as Bowser's Flying Slam or Hero's Whack), as they do not deal any conventional knockback.
• Moves that hit an opponent who is close to a blast line (such as Pikachu's Thunder), as almost any typical attack ingame will be able to KO opponents at that point.

Some stage hazards or enemies are capable of OHKOing on their respective stages, and will be listed below.

In Super Smash Bros.

Moves that KO'd at 0% were almost nonexistent in the original Smash. In fact, aside from the Home-Run Bat, only one move in the game is able to OHKO, under uncommon conditions:

Items

• A smash attack with the Home-Run Bat.
• If Fox uses Reflector on a walking Bob-omb, he (as well as any character caught in the blast radius) will be OHKO'd.
• If 2 Foxes use Reflector on a Green Shell, it will eventually gain OHKO power after 3-4 reflects.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Unlike in Smash 64, there are multiple moves that can OHKO in Melee. They still remain rare however.

Playable characters' moves

• Roy's fully charged Flare Blade.
• Mr. Game & Watch's fully loaded Oil Panic after absorbing three strong projectiles (such as three PK Flashes).
• Roy's Counter upon countering an extremely powerful attack; a hitbox that deals around 35% damage will result in an OHKO if countered (such as a smash thrown Bob-omb).

Items/Enemies

• A smash attack with the Home-Run Bat.
• Touching Moltres. If a character touches Moltres’ lower body, they are inflicted a meteor smash with OHKO power. If the character is meteor smashed where Moltres is still above them, they will suffer up to 160% damage before being KOed.
• Getting caught in Lugia's Aeroblast (sweetspot). Touching Lugia's body also deals massive knockback, but it is insufficient to OHKO.
• A thrown Polar Bear.

Stage hazards

• Banzai Bill's explosion on Princess Peach's Castle (if all hits connect).
• On Flat Zone, if a falling tool is launched at enough speed (after either being hit by an extremely powerful attack such as a Home-Run Bat swing, or being launched after receiving enough damage), it will OHKO anyone it slams into.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Brawl continued the trend of adding several OHKOs into the game, resulting in a huge number of them (especially in The Subspace Emissary. However, the majority are Final Smashes, items, stage hazards, enemy and boss attacks, with relatively few being standard moves of playable characters. In higher difficulties of The Subspace Emissary (often Very Hard or Intense), several enemy attacks are invariable OHKO, as well as many boss attacks. Also, most of Tabuu's moves are guaranteed OHKO in every situation, some of them even in the higher difficulties of Boss Battle (where the player has only one life).

Playable characters' standard moves

• Ike's stage 8 Eruption. If Ike gets inhaled by Kirby, the latter's stage 8 Eruption loses its OHKO power (except when reversed or used in midair).
• Mr. Game & Watch's fully loaded Oil Panic after absorbing three strong projectiles (such as PK Flash) or a very strong one.
• The following counterattacks:
  • Ike's Counter (sword and body hitboxes) upon countering a hitbox that deals at least ~40% damage.
  • Marth's Counter (sword and body hitboxes) upon countering a hitbox that deals at least ~45% damage.

Contrary to common belief, Mr. Game & Watch's Judge #9 is not an OHKO, having very high knockback but not quite enough to qualify under the required conditions.

Final Smashes

• Marth's Critical Hit. It is also the most powerful attack of all Smash games in term of knockback, without any exterior factors or buffs.
• Ganondorf's Beast Ganon (if most hitboxes land). If a character paralyzed by Beast Ganon is not hit by the charge afterward, they will be inflicted a meteor smash of OHKO power.
• Lucario's Aura Storm at max Aura if all hits connect.
• Zelda's Light Arrow (barely in OHKO threshold, easily DIed).
• Wario-Man's fully charged Wario Waft.
• Olimar’s End of Day if all hitboxes land (which deals over 100% total). Offstage opponents hit by the rocket's thrusters will also experience an OHKO via meteor smash.

Items

• The Dragoon.
• A smash attack with the Home-Run Bat.
• Touching Moltres.
• Getting caught in Lugia's Aeroblast (sweetspot).
• Suicune's Aurora Beam. The beam will not freeze at 0%, but still deals more than enough knockback to OHKO.
• Deoxys's Hyper Beam, both the initial hit and the following multi-hitting laser.
• Electrode's explosion or after being smash thrown.
• Knuckle Joe's Vulcan Jab to Rising Break attack.
• If Wario runs over a buried Pitfall while riding on his Wario Bike, he will be sent flying at OHKO power.
• If a Pitfall is thrown on a flying character, he will be meteor smashed with an OHKO potential if he is midair.
• If an uncharged Hothead is hit by a flame-based hitbox that deals over 30% damage (such as Ike's stage 7-9 Eruption), it will OHKO when smash thrown. Any sparks it gives off while traversing the stage at this strength will also OHKO.
• If a Soccer Ball is launched at enough speed (after either being hit by an extremely powerful attack such as forward smash, a Home Run bat swing, or being launched after receiving enough damage), it will OHKO anyone it slams into.

Stage hazards

• The Ultimate Chimera's bite on New Pork City.
• Corneria's laser beams.
• Touching the hull of the Pirate Ship.
• The first and fourth spikes on Rumble Falls (can easily be teched).

The Subspace Army (enemies)

The following will cause a OHKO on Intense difficulty:

• Big Primid's punch.
• The forward smash of all four R.O.B..
• Armank's main attack.
• Armight's double blade attack.
• Auroros's flying attack.
• Floow's mind attack (if most hits connect).

The following will cause a OHKO on both Very Hard and Intense difficulties:

• Armank's main attack.
• Autolance's slash.
• Touching a Bombed.

Many other enemies are capable of OHKOs.

The Subspace Army (bosses)

• Tabuu's Off Waves on Normal or higher difficulties in the Subspace Emissary, or on Very Hard and Intense difficulties in Boss Battles Mode.
• Tabuu's Golden Bracket, Chain of Light and Dragon Laser attacks on Intense difficulty in the SSE.
• Galleom's attack when he stiffens and falls on the player on Intense difficulty in the SSE.
• Galleom's tornado spin on Intense difficulty in the SSE (if most hits connect).

Video

The following video demonstrates all the moves and hazards that KO at 0% in Brawl:

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Like Brawl, SSB4 continues to add OHKOs to the game.

Playable characters' standard moves

• Roy's almost fully charged and fully charged Flare Blade when sweetspotted.
• Mr. Game & Watch's fully loaded Oil Panic after absorbing three medium power projectiles or one very strong one.
• Villager's Pocket after it has absorbed a particularly strong projectile, most notably Timber. Powerful projectiles released by Pocket that can still be reflected will also OHKO, such as Zelda's fully charged Phantom Slash.
  • Many other reflectors also share this behaviour, especially Ness's bat.
• The following counterattacks:
  • Ike's Smash Counter and Shulk's Power Vision custom moves upon countering a hitbox that deals 30% damage or more.
  • Corrin's Counter Surge, Ike and Roy's Counter, and Shulk's Vision upon countering a hitbox that deals 35% damage or more. These counters technically have varying degrees of knockback, but they nevertheless achieve a KO at 0% without DI.
  • Mii Swordfighter's Blade Counter upon countering a hitbox that deals 37% damage or more.
  • Lucina and Marth's Counter, Little Mac's Slip Counter, and Palutena's Counter upon dealing the 50% damage cap with their counters (this requires countering a hitbox that deals at least ~38.5% damage for Little Mac and Palutena, and at least 40% damage with Lucina and Marth).

Contrary to its name and intention, Little Mac's KO Uppercut does not KO until above about 30% damage. At 0%, it falls short of the necessary amount of knockback, even to a character as light as Jigglypuff, KOing it only at 12%.

Playable characters' moves (with Rage applied)

While the following moves do not, under normal circumstances, guarantee an OHKO state, with Rage they can perform an OHKO:

• Lucario's forward smash, fully charged. Aura and rage stack.
• Ganondorf's reversed aerial Warlock Punch.
• Kirby's Giant Hammer.

Final Smashes

• Giga Mac's fully charged Straight Lunge sweetspot, fully charged up smash when sweetspotted, and forward smash when angled up or horizontally.
• Marth and Lucina's Critical Hit.
• Shulk's Chain Attack when boosted with the Hyper Smash Monado Art (Extremely frame-precise, as the final hit must land before the Art expires, as shown in this demonstration video).
• Wario-Man's fully charged Wario Waft.

Items/Enemies

• The Daybreak's sweet spot.
• The Dragoon.
• A smash attack with the Home-Run Bat.
• Electrode's explosion after being smash thrown.
• If the Hothead is powered up significantly (30% total or higher), it will gain OHKO power.
• If a Soccer Ball is launched at enough speed (after either being hit by an extremely powerful attack such as a Home-Run Bat, or being launched after receiving enough damage), it will OHKO anyone it slams into.
• Smash attacks when boosted by the Black Knight item from Smash Tour, which occasionally turns smash attacks into OHKOs.

The Beetle and Boss Galaga items can carry players past the upper blast line, but as they inflict no knockback they are not considered one-hit KOs. Both can also be easily escaped by button mashing at 0%.

Stage hazards

• Touching the hull of the boat on Wuhu Island.
• Touching the hull of the Pirate Ship.

Other

While it isn't accessible in regular battles, the bomb used in the Target Blast stage apparently has more than enough power to OHKO under normal conditions.

Bosses

• Master Core's final attack if the player does not defeat it in time (about 45 seconds).

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Like SSB4, Ultimate continues to add OHKOs to the game. Several characters also gain the ability to instant KO through Final Smashes or special moves; these do not count as OHKOs and belong in its respective page.

Playable characters' moves

• Roy and Chrom's fully charged Flare Blade.
• Hero's fully charged forward smash if it lands a critical hit.
• The following counterattacks:
  • Roy and Chrom's Counter, Joker's Tetrakarn with Arsene, Shulk's Vision with Smash Art, and Mii Brawler's Counter Throw countering a hitbox that deals around 35% damage or more.
  • Corrin's Counter Surge and Ike's Counter countering a hitbox dealing around 40% damage or more.
  • Marth and Lucina's Counter countering a hitbox dealing around 43% damage or more.
  • Any sufficiently strong or repeatedly reflected projectile when reflected.
• R.O.B.'s fully-charged Gyro will OHKO opponents beyond its maximum speed. However, it requires a much stronger windboxes consecutively at the gyro making it extremely difficult to achieve its power. [1]

Playable characters' moves [with Rage applied]

• Hero's Hatchet Man with Psyche Up and Oomph active.
• Mr. Game & Watch's Oil Panic if absorbed a strong enough projectile like Hero's Kafrizz.
• Mr. Game & Watch's Judge 9.

Hero's Whack with Thwack are actually instant KOs despite them commonly (and incorrectly) being considered one-hit KOs, as they KO opponents regardless of position. This also applies to any Final Smash that ends with opponents bursting on the spot in a colorful explosion.

Final Smashes

• Marth and Lucina's Critical Hit.
• Lucario's Aura Storm at max aura.
• Donkey Kong's Jungle Rush at max rage.
• Little Mac's Giga Mac Rush at max rage.
• Olimar's End of Day if it hits a fighter that cannot be buried. End of Day's bury hitbox deals 633.15 units of knockback, more than enough to KO any character on Ultimate's Training Mode Stage.

Items/Enemies

• A smash attack with the Home-Run Bat.
• Electrode's explosion when smash thrown.
• The Dragoon.
• The Daybreak's sweet spot.
• If the Hothead is powered up significantly, it will OHKO any fighter it touches.

Stage hazards

• Touching the hull of the Pirate Ship.
• Touching the hull of the boat on Wuhu Island.
• Getting hit by a Klaptrap on Jungle Japes.

Bosses

• Galeem's Lens Flare with weaker or no spirits.

Other

While inaccessible in a regular fashion without hacking, the gun found on the Free the Spirit screen's stage is programmed in as its own usable item, inflicting 25% damage with OHKO power. This situation is similar to Smash 4's Target Blast bomb.

Video

The following video demonstrates several of the moves and hazards in Ultimate that inflict enough knockback to KO at 0%, alongside some powerful moves that don't. However, it also includes a few moves and hazards that do not inflict any knockback: