Slash

Ike's forward smash hitting Snake. The crescent-shaped visual effect indicates that his forward smash has a slash effect.

There are many attacks in the Smash Bros. series that make use of the slash effect. In most cases, the effect is used by attacks involving sharp objects. It is easily identifiable by the visual effects generated on impact: a white and blue circular slash in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, and a crescent-shaped visual effect from Super Smash Bros. Brawl onward.

There are two slashing sound effects in Super Smash Bros., while Melee and Super Smash Bros. 4 have three each. In Brawl, there is only one sound played at differing speeds and pitches based on the attack used. For example, Link's down aerial has a low pitch, whereas Bowser's neutral attack has a medium pitch. Not all slash attacks use these sound effects, however: many of Young Link and Toon Link's sword attacks, alongside Roy's non-sweetspot sword moves, use punching sound effects.

Stab

Luigi's forward smash. The stab effect is shown as a straight line.

Super Smash Bros. 4 introduces the stab effect, a variant of the slash effect used for a handful of attacks, such as Luigi's forward smash and Bowser's up smash. The two effects are functionally identical, differing only in visuals: the stab effect is shown as a straight line in the direction of the attack, instead of as a crescent.

List of slash attacks

By characters

Character	Move(s)	Games
Bowser	Up tilt
	Up smash (first hit; uses stab effect in Smash 4)
	Down smash
	Down aerial
	Whirling Fortress
	Up throw
	Back floor attack
	Neutral attack
	Down tilt
	Back aerial
	Koopa Klaw
	Forward aerial
	Trip attack
	Flying Slam (Subspace Emmisary)
	Dash Slash
Bowser Jr.	Forward tilt
	Up tilt
	Dash attack
	Forward smash
	Up smash
	Down aerial
	Down throw
Charizard	Neutral attack
	Up tilt
	Up smash
	Pummel
	Down tilt
	Back aerial (sweetspot of first hit)
	Glide attack
	Forward aerial
	Dragon Rush (both custom Flare Blitz and during Mega Charizard X)
Cloud	All attacks except first hits of jab, down tilt, pummel and throws
Corrin	All attacks except pummel, up and down throws, Dragon Fang Shot (projectile), Dragon Lunge (kicks), last hit of Draconic Ascent, Counter Surge, and Torrential Roar
Dark Pit	All attacks except up tilt, Electroshock Arm, Striking Flight, Impact Orbitars, pummel, back throw, up throw and Dark Pit Staff
Duck Hunt	The duck's beak during rapid jab, all tilts, dash attack and all aerials except neutral aerial
Falco	Down tilt
	Falco Phantasm
	Up aerial (first hit)
	Neutral attack
	Up tilt
	Forward smash
	Neutral aerial (only last hit in Brawl)
	Forward aerial
Fox	Fox Illusion
	Up smash (sweetspot)
	Wolf Flash (sourspot)
	Twisting Fox
Ganondorf	Warlock Blade
Giga Bowser	Neutral attack
	Up aerial
	Whirling Fortress (all but first hit)
	Up tilt
	Down tilt
	Koopa Klaw
Greninja	Rapid jab
	All smash attacks
	Forward aerial
	Water Shuriken
	Shifting Shuriken
	Stagnant Shuriken
	Secret Ninja Attack
Ike	All attacks except first hits of jab, Eruption (except sourspot at the tip of the sword), pummel and throws
King Dedede	Super Dedede Jump (stars)
	Waddle Dee Toss (tossed Waddle Doos and Gordos)
	Gordo Throw
	Topspin Gordo
	Quick Dedede Jump (stars)
Kirby	Final Cutter
	Up smash (sweetspot)
	Upper Cutter
	Ultra Sword (all but first hit)
Kirby (Copy Abilities)	Hero's Bow
	Nayru's Love
	Needle Storm
	Shield Breaker
	Mach Tornado
	Eruption (sword tip)
	Palutena's Bow
	Blaster (Wolf; bayonet attached to the blaster)
	Silver Bow
	Water Shuriken
	Metal Blade
	Gale Strike
Link	All attacks except neutral aerial, back aerial, Boomerang (sourspot in Melee, entire Boomerang in SSB), Bomb, first hit of grab air in Brawl, pummel and forward, back and down throws
	Power Bow
	Ripping Boomerang
Lucas	Up smash (first hit)
Lucina	All attacks except pummel and throws
Luigi	Forward smash (stab effect in Smash 4)
Marth	All attacks except sweetspotted up aerial (Melee and Brawl), pummel and throws
Mega Man	Dash attack
	Back aerial
	Up aerial
	Metal Blade
	Tornado Hold
	Leaf Shield
Meta Knight	All attacks except dash attack, forward, up and down throws
Mewtwo	Forward tilt
	Front floor attack (hit 1)
Mii Brawler	Down throw
Mii Swordfighter	All attacks except pummel and forward, back and down throws
Mr. Game & Watch	Back aerial
	Judge #4
	Down aerial (falldown)
	Octopus
Pac-Man	Dash attack
	Down tilt
	Neutral aerial
	Down throw
	Lazy Fruit (key)
	Power Pellet
	Distant Power Pellet
	Enticing Power Pellet
	Pac-Jump
	Power Pac-Jump
	Meteor Trampoline
Palutena	Forward smash
	Down smash
Peach	Forward tilt (tip)
	Peach Parasol (open parasol)
	Down smash
	Up smash
Pit	All attacks except up tilt (excluding first hit in Brawl), Upperdash Arm, Striking Flight, Impact Orbitars, pummel, back throw, up throw and energy pillars during Three Sacred Treasures
R.O.B.	Gyro
	Slip Gyro
Robin	Neutral attack (except non-rapid third jab)
	All tilts
	Dash attack
	All aerials and smashes with the Bronze Sword
	Levin Sword (both when dropped before breaking and when thrown)
	Elwind and customs
	Pair Up (Chrom's attacks)
Roy	All sweetspotted attacks except up smash, pummel, throws, Flare Blade, last hits of Double-Edge Dance, Blazer, Counter and Critical Hit
Sheik	Neutral attack (except rapid jabs in Melee and finisher in Smash 4)
	Dash attack
	Up smash (sweetspot)
	Needle Storm
	Chain (non-tip)
	Forward smash
	Forward aerial
	Up aerial
	Down aerial (falldown)
Shulk	All attacks except pummel and first hits of jab, forward smash, up smash, up aerial and down aerial
Snake	Cypher
Sonic	Up throw
	Forward aerial
Toon Link	All attacks except Boomerang, Bomb, pummel, forward, back and down throws
	Piercing Arrow
Villager	Timber (sprouting tree and axe)
	Timber Counter (sprouting tree and axe)
	Super Timber (sprouting tree and axe)
Wario	Chomp
	Down tilt
	Inhaling Chomp
Wii Fit Trainer	Up smash
	Neutral aerial (second hit)
Wolf	Neutral attack
	Forward tilt
	Down smash
	Forward aerial
	Up aerial
	Down aerial
	Blaster (bayonet attached to the blaster)
	Wolf Flash (sourspot)
	All throws except forward throw
Young Link	All attacks except neutral aerial, back aerial, sweetspot of down aerial, Fire Bow, Boomerang, Bomb, edge attacks and forward, back and down throws
Zelda	Forward tilt
	Nayru's Love
	Farore's Wind (except reappearance in Brawl)
	Farore's Windfall
	Phantom Slash
	Phantom Breaker
	Phantom Strike
Zero Suit Samus	Up tilt (second hit)
	Up aerial

By items

Item	Attack	Games
Assist Trophies	Ghirahim: All attacks
	Kat & Ana: Sword attacks
	Lyn: Sword strike
	Saki Amamiya: Sword attacks
	Samurai Goroh: Katana slashes
	Spinies: Contact with body
Beam Sword	All swings and throws
Drill	Shot drill
Parasol	All swings, open parasol hit
Poké Ball Pokémon	Beedrill: Take Down
	Chikorita: Razor Leaf
	Clefairy: Gust
	Fletchling: Peck
	Keldeo: Secret Sword
	Latias and Latios: Steel Wing
	Lugia: Aeroblast
	Scizor: Metal Claw
	Snivy: Razor Leaf
	Staryu: Contact with body
	Suicune: Contact with head after attacking
	Unown: Take Down
	Weavile: False Swipe
	Zoroark: Fury Swipes
Ray Gun	Shots
Unira	Throws and contact when set
Warp Star	Aerial-only meteor smash

By enemies and bosses

Enemy/Boss	Attack(s)	Games
Armight	Sword throw and slashes
Auroros	Dive
Autolance	Stab and sword throw
Bucculus	Hits while grabbing a foe
Crazy Hand	Finger Drill (upper parts)
Cymul	Spin
Darknut	Sword swings
Duon	Forward charge
	Head bash (blue side active)
	Triple arm slash (blue side active)
Flage	Slash flurry
Geemer	Contact with body
Greap	Scythes
Green Kritter	Claw swipes
Master Hand	Finger Drill
Porky	Hitboxes while walking
	Stab attack
Puppit	Claw swipes
Ridley	Background fly attack
	Claw sweep
	Loop-de-loop
	Wind attack
Shaydas	Blade slashes
Stalfos	Sword swings
Sword Primid	All sword attacks
Ticken	Head charge
Trowlon	Beak hit

Gallery

• 

  Marth using Dancing Blade, a move with the slash effect, in Melee.

• 

  Ike's up smash in SSB4. Notice how the boomerang effect extends well beyond the attack itself.

• 

  Bowser's up smash in SSB4, which uses the stab effect.

Trivia

• In Melee, two slash attacks that collide will produce a clanging sound effect reminiscent of metallic noises akin to swords clashing. This is the only game to have such a unique trait for slash attacks.
• In Brawl and SSB4, there is a set of slash-based sound effects that are noticeably slower and deeper pitched than regular slash sounds. These are normally reserved for Ike because of Ragnell's status as a heavy broadsword. However, this sound effect is also used for Shulk's Back Slash if he hits an opponent's back with the move, Dunban's attacks during Chain Attack, and Chrom's attacks during Pair Up.