Ness (SSB)/Down smash

Overview[edit]

Hitbox of Ness's down smash.

Ness does a "Walk the Dog" with his yoyo where he puts his yoyo down low, swings it behind him, and then quickly swings it in front of him. It deals 19% (21% in the NTSC-J version) damage and launches opponents at a diagonal angle with decent knockback. It is not a reliable KOing move, that can't guarantee a KO even at very high percentages, but it has extremely long range, having among the longest horizontal range out of all attacks in Smash 64. The attack is also disjointed, making it a somewhat viable spacing option (possibly Ness's only reliable spacing option). The move's range makes it an edgeguarding option when Ness is near the edge, being able to easily stop slow and/or linear recoveries.

It has a rather quick start-up, quickly covering the back, and can reach the front in an average amount of time, though the ending lag holds it back. The move's ending lag and lack of utility outside spacing, as well as being very difficult to combo from (in fact, the move may lack any reliable followup options), means it isn't too useful outside of very specific situations, though the disjointed range can help prevent characters without any reliable approach options that outrange it from approaching Ness, such as Yoshi.