Editing Momentum canceling

'''Momentum canceling''' is a staple [[technique]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''{{'}}s [[metagame]] that reduces the momentum of a character in midair, and makes characters harder to [[KO]]. The technique essentially exploits the use of [[hitstun canceling]] to not only cancel hitstun but to also reduce the momentum they received from the knockback by executing aerials, specials, or air dodges to slow down the knocked back character. Since, in ''Brawl'', attacks and [[air dodge]]s can be performed while [[tumbling]] and reeling, it is possible to use these moves, in combination with others, to slow a character's aerial movement, and avoid crossing [[blast line]]s and being KOd. A prominent example of a momentum canceling move is {{SSBB|Mr. Game & Watch}}'s [[Oil Panic]], which negates all aerial momentum immediately, and may be used after tumbling has ended.

In ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', momentum canceling is technically still existent, but due to the changes to hitstun canceling (with players having to wait much longer to air dodge or use an aerial after getting hit), momentum canceling is functionally impossible to utilize, and characters in ''Brawl'' that were able to slow/halt their momentum can no longer do so. A prime example is Mr. Game & Watch, whose Oil Panic can no longer completely cancel momentum at all due to it being deliberately removed.

 

Momentum canceling is possible due to a critical property of knockback; that is, that it still enables other sources of aerial velocity (such as falling) to build up normally, simply stacking with the velocity of the knockback, with the exception of moves such as Oil Panic which cancel it entirely. Ordinarily hitstun would prevent taking advantage of this, and hence [[fall speed]] is the only critical factor in determining overall distance once the magnitude of knockback has been calculated. However, ''Brawl'' enables the canceling of hitstun by use of airdodging and use of aerials, and once the lag from the aerial or airdodge has ended, any special move which applies a velocity to the fighter can be used to alter the overall speed of the fighter. It is also possible to immediately initiate a fastfall if the hitstun is canceled with an aerial, and assuming the player has not used up their jumps, midair jumping is also possible. Since lateral movement in the air is still disabled until such time that the hitstun would have ended automatically, the use of the initial horizontal velocity granted by jumping forwards or backwards is the only safe method of horizontal momentum canceling for characters who do not possess specials which apply a velocity to the character without causing [[helpless]]ness.

Each character's potential to vertical momentum cancel hinges on the difference between the speed of their regular fall and the speed of their fast fall. {{SSBB|Link}}, who possesses the largest difference, gains the most benefit from vertical momentum canceling, while {{SSBB|Wolf}}, who has the smallest difference, benefits the least. It is important to note that, despite the existence of particular special moves that negate vertical momentum, all characters can survive longer by using this basic method, except Mr. Game & Watch. However, he only survives 3% longer using Oil Panic than the basic method (though the difference would be greater in a stage with a higher ceiling).

| 1 || King Dedede || 176% || 195%

| 2 || Snake || 172% || 188%  

| 3 || Donkey Kong || 171% || 185%

| 4 || Link || 161% || 185%

| 5 || Captain  Falcon || 165% || 182%

| 6 || Bowser || 168% || 179%

| 7 || Ganondorf || 164% || 179%

| 8 || Ike || 163% || 178%

| 9 || Charizard || 161% || 171%

| 10 || Wario || 159% || 170%

| 11 || Yoshi  || 159% || 168%

| 12 || R.O.B|| 157% || 165%

| 13 || Samus || 156% || 164%

| 14 || Ivysaur || 154% || 164%

| 15 || Wolf || 159% || 161%

| 16 || Lucario || 152% || 160%

| 17 || Mario || 151% || 160%

| 18 || Pit || 150% || 160%

| 19 || Sonic || 150% || 159%

| 20 || Diddy Kong || 147% || 158%

| 21 || Luigi || 150% || 157%

| 22 || Ness || 148% || 157%

| 23 || Lucas || 147% || 157%

| 24 || Toon Link || 146% || 157%

| 25 || Marth || 146% || 157%

| 26 || Falco || 142% || 155%

| 27 || Pikachu || 138% || 154%

| 28 || Ice Climbers || 144% || 151%

| 29 || Fox || 134% || 150%

| 30 || Sheik || 137% || 149%

| 31 || Peach || 141% || 147%

| 32 || Olimar || 139% || 147%

| 33 || Zero Suit Samus || 138% || 147%

| 34 || Zelda || 138% || 145%

| 35 || Kirby || 134% || 144%

| 36 || Meta Knight || 135% || 143%

| 37 || Squirtle || 128% || 141%

| 38 || Mr. Game & Watch || 131% || 137%

| 39 || Jigglypuff || 123% || 128%

Horizontal momentum canceling is notably more complicated than its vertical counterpart. The most basic method is to perform a character's fastest aerial, followed by a midair jump. If this technique is performed, every character is able to survive to percentages that are at least 1% higher than in cases in which it is not. The amount that each character benefits from this basic method hinges on two factors: the speed of their fastest aerial, and the initial lateral speed granted by their midair jump, in addition to [[air friction]].

The following chart shows and ranks each character's horizontal momentum canceling abilities. Each test was carried out by hitting the character from the center of Final Destination with the tip of Wolf's forward smash. This information was compiled by {{Sm|Omega Tyrant}}.

<nowiki/>*''Indicates that the character does not make it back to the stage, and is KOd by the bottom blast line.''

<nowiki/>**''Indicates that without DI, the character's special move provides no additional benefit.''

If a character does not have a special move that negates momentum, their statistics in the "Special MC" columns are copies of those in the "Basic MC" columns, and are displayed in ''italics''. Note that {{SSBB|Lucario}}'s forward aerial is most beneficial when used in basic momentum canceling with no DI, but his down aerial is most beneficial when used in momentum canceling with DI. As such, his down aerial appears in the position of other characters' "Special Moves". Similarly, Snake and Ike have air dodge ("AD") displayed instead of an aerial.

| 1 || Donkey Kong / back aerial / [[Spinning Kong]] ||155% / 163%||176%||204%||189%||199%||234%

| 2 || Bowser / forward aerial / none ||157% / 165%||174%||''174%''||192%||204%||''204%''

| 3 || Yoshi / up aerial / [[Egg Roll]] ||149% / 157%||169%||181%*||181%||197%||204%*

| 4 || King Dedede / back aerial / [[Super Dedede Jump]] ||152% / 159%||165%||172%*||184%||194%||204%

| 5 || Ike / AD / [[Quick Draw]] ||147% / 153%||167%||167%**||178%||189%||203%

| 6 || Snake / AD / none ||153% / 159%||174%||''174%''||184%||201%||''201%''

| 7 || Ganondorf / up aerial / [[Flame Choke]] ||149% / 155%||165%||168%*||181%||192%||197%*

| 8 || Samus / up aerial / none ||151% / 159%||167%||''167%''||182%||195%||''195%''

| 9 || Charizard / up aerial / none ||151% / 157%||165%||''165%''||182%||195%||''195%''

| 10 || Captain Falcon / up aerial / none ||145% / 152%||164%||''164%''||178%||189%||''189%''

| 11 || Lucario / forward aerial / down aerial ||144% / 152%||164%||164%||177%||188%||188%

| 12 || Wario / forward aerial / none ||148% / 160%||163%||''163%''||184%||188%||''188%''

| 13 || Link / back aerial / none ||146% / 152%||162%||''162%''||177%||186%||''186%''

| 14 || R.O.B. / forward aerial / [[Arm Rotor]] ||149% / 155%||156%||157%||179%||180%||184%

| 15 || Mr. Game & Watch / neutral aerial / [[Oil Panic]] ||124% / 132%||140%||157%||152%||161%||184%

| 16 || Sonic / forward aerial / [[Spin Dash]] ||139% / 145%||156%||156%**||169%||179%||183%

| 17 || Diddy Kong / back aerial / [[Monkey Flip]] ||137% / 144%||153%||160%||167%||171%||182%

| 18 || Ivysaur / back aerial / none ||143% / 151%||155%||''155%''||175%||182%||''182%''

| 19 || Wolf / back aerial / none ||142% / 151%||164%||''164%''||178%||179%||''179%''

| 20 || Ness / neutral aerial / none ||139% / 147%||154%||''154%''||170%||179%||''179%''

| 21 || Lucas / neutral aerial / none ||138% / 147%||153%||''153%''||170%||179%||''179%''

| 22 || Pit / forward aerial / none ||139% / 146%||152%||''152%''||169%||179%||''179%''

| 23 || Mario / up aerial / none ||142% / 150%||160%||''160%''||173%||177%||''177%''

| 24 || Ice Climbers / up aerial / [[Squall Hammer]] ||137% / 144%||151%||156%||166%||174%||177%

| 25 || Marth / forward aerial / none ||134% / 141%||152%||''152%''||163%||176%||''176%''

| 26 || Luigi / forward aerial / none ||142% / 149%||158%||''158%''||171%||174%||''174%''

| 27 || Peach / up aerial / none ||137% / 144%||152%||''152%''||166%||173%||''173%''

| 28 || Toon Link / back aerial / none ||138% / 145%||155%||''155%''||168%||172%||''172%''

| 29 || Zelda / back aerial / none ||133% / 140%||148%||''148%''||161%||170%||''170%''

| 30 || Zero Suit Samus / up aerial / [[Flip Jump]] ||128% / 136%||145%||147%||158%||167%||169%

| 31 || Olimar / up aerial / none ||131% / 137%||144%||''144%''||158%||167%||''167%''

| 32 || Falco / up aerial / none ||128% / 135%||143%||''143%''||159%||166%||''166%''

| 33 || Pikachu / up aerial / [[Skull Bash]]||127% / 135%||143%||149%||156%||157%||165%

| 34 || Meta Knight / up aerial / [[Drill Rush]] ||126% / 133%||141%||160%||154%||156%||164%

| 35 || Sheik / forward aerial / none ||129% / 137%||143%||''143%''||163%||163%||''163%''

| 36 || Kirby / up aerial / none ||127% / 134%||139%||''139%''||155%||161%||''161%''

| 37 || Fox / up aerial / none ||123% / 132%||138%||''138%''||158%||158%||''158%''

| 38 || Jigglypuff / back aerial / [[Pound]] ||120% / 127%||131%||131%**||146%||150%||155%

| 39 || Squirtle / up aerial / none ||123% / 131%||141%||''141%''||153%||154%||''154%''

The {{SSBB|Ice Climbers}}' side special will negate horizontal momentum a small amount. When using the move together, the Ice Climbers are able to return to the stage, but a solo Climber cannot. Squall Hammer is moderately risky when used for momentum canceling, as it puts Ice Climbers into a helpless state upon its completion.

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==In ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' and ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''==

Momentum canceling is still present in ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'' but due to the changes to hitstun canceling, it is almost impossible to utilise, severely limiting any character's endurance. Therefore, momentum canceling is not nearly as abusable as it was in ''Brawl''. Because of this, aerial momentum canceling is no longer existent and only special moves can slow/cancel momentum. Also good DI would usually help survive for slightly longer combined with momentum canceling. Here are a list of characters and special moves that can cancel momentum:

{{SSB4|Villager}}'s side special can completely negate all momentum, both horizontally and vertically, upon its first frame of activation and is safe to use after being launched far. It is not necessary, and generally not recommended, to ride the rocket, as {{b|Balloon Trip|move}} is the safer means of recovery. It may be advantageous to aim toward the blast line when using the move for momentum canceling, so that the rocket will despawn and the move can be used again sooner.

Donkey Kong's Spinning Kong in terms of momentum canceling functions exactly the same as it did in ''Brawl''. {{SSB4|Donkey Kong}}'s [[up special move]], Spinning Kong, completely negates all momentum upon its first frame of activation, both horizontal and vertical momentum. This, in combination with good DI  and his heavy weight, allows him to survive longer than every other character in the game when knocked horizontally and vertically, including Bowser. It puts him in a [[helpless]] state however, which might consider Villager's Lloid Rocket to be superior in terms of safety. Its landing lag may also leave DK vulnerable upon his return to the stage, but Spinning Kong can always cover the distance required to return to any neutral stage after momentum canceling. It also negates vertical momentum as well, but is impractical for this task other than getting hit diagonally upward as a result of DIing upwards as it leaves Donkey Kong helpless. However, due to the changes to hitstun canceling, Spinning Kong's very powerful momentum canceling is almost impossible to use effectively because of the lack of being able to use DK's fast back aerial to end hitstun early. Also, DK's customs Chopper Kong and Kong Cyclone are the same (Smash 4 only).

Yoshi's side special almost functions exactly the same as it did in ''Brawl''. Egg Roll completely negates horizontal momentum, it is surpassed in this field only by Spinning Kong and Lloid Rocket, and it often allows Yoshi to survive potentially fatal blows if its first few frames are activated. Along with Lloid Rocket and Spinning Kong, it is the only special move that can completely negate vertical momentum as well as horizontal. However, its drawbacks hinder its effectiveness to the point of rendering it impractical under most circumstances.

While Egg Roll completely negates horizontal momentum, it does not give Yoshi any horizontal boost back toward the stage, but unlike in Brawl, Yoshi can end Egg Roll earlier and it no longer renders him helpless. Yoshi can now possibly recover back to a neutral stage in combination with his great horizontal air speed.

Wario Bike can reduce an extreme amount of horizontal momentum as long as it has already been activated (when the bike is moving forward). This might improve Wario's endurance a little bit but due to the changes to hitstun canceling, it is practically impossible to use as Wario can still drift and be KO'd during Wario Bike's startup. Wario Bike can also help survive vertical momentum despite the fact that it does not actually cancel vertical momentum at all. This is because Wario Bike makes Wario himself immune to the top blast lines.

 

 

 

[[Category:Advanced techniques]]