Editing Screen KO

[[File:ScreenKOSmashUltimate.png|thumb|350px|[[Inkling (SSBU)|Inkling]] getting screen KOed in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' after recently getting inked by another Inkling.]]

A '''Screen KO''' ({{ja|手前やられ|Temae yarare}}, ''Forefront defeat'') is a special type of [[KO]] which has a chance of occurring when characters are launched past the upper [[blast line]]. In contrast to a [[Star KO]], the character instead falls into the foreground and appears to [[wikipedia:Fourth wall|crash into the television screen]], before they are KOed at the bottom.

Whether a character is Star KOed, Screen KOed, or merely blast KOed is mostly random. In the first three games, Screen KOs are considerably rarer than Star KOs; as a result, Screen KOs rarely involve two or more characters at once. In the fourth game, the frequency of Screen KOs has been increased, especially in the 3DS version, to be about as common as Star KOs.

In ''Smash 64'', characters yell out their Star KO scream and fall down between the front of the stage and the camera, getting KOed by the bottom blast line afterward. Depending on the camera angle, this may not always be visible. The distance the character is from the camera is chosen randomly — sometimes doomed characters appear to be falling normally, while at other times they are just a quick flash of color going down the screen. Screen KOs have the same duration as a Star KO. Unlike the other games of the series, Screen KOed characters do not actually hit the screen in any way.

In ''Melee'', all characters, with exception of {{SSBM|Mr. Game & Watch}}, have a unique [[tumbling]] animation for when they crash into the screen; upon striking the camera, the character also yells out one of their strong knockback groans, then gets KOed by the bottom blast line without making any sounds. How close a character being KOed is to the camera is no longer determined by randomness, but by the stage being played on. On [[Mushroom Kingdom II]], for example, Screen KOed characters are very close to the camera and thus appear much larger. With the introduction of [[Coin Battle]]s, Screen KOed characters also visibly drop numerous coins when they hit the screen.

While Screen KOs in ''Smash 64'' were roughly the same length as star KOs, Screen KOs in ''Melee'' are significantly faster than Star KOs. This difference is significant, and can potentially affect gameplay. For example, when a character is KOed by {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}'s [[Rest]], getting a Star KO means that the character will not [[respawn]] fast enough to [[punish]] the sleeping Jigglypuff, due to the length of the Star KO animation. However, if a character is instead Screen KOed, this provides them with more time to potentially get a solid hit on the vulnerable Jigglypuff. The Screen KO's shorter duration can also influence the outcome of matches that have gone to a last [[stock]] situation. If both characters are KOed off of the top at around the same time and one is Screen KOed instead of Star KOed, the Star KOed player will win the match due to random chance and the lengthier animation.  

There is a [[Bonus points|bonus]] for getting Screen KOed, Foresight, which grants the receiver 500 points for every time they are KOed this way.

With the removal of strong knockback yells in ''Brawl'', characters now either use their regular pain yells or say nothing at all when they hit the screen.

In ''SSB4'', instead of using their tumbling animation, every character now uses a unique Screen KO animation depicting them flying towards the screen, hitting it face-first, then staying in place briefly before sliding down. Due to this new separate animation, several characters pose during their Screen KOs in a manner referencing their series, such as {{SSB4|Kirby}} reusing a pose from ''Kirby Triple Deluxe'', {{SSB4|Cloud}} using a pose similar to his official render, and {{SSB4|Shulk}} hitting the screen with his back in order for his [[Monado Arts]] to be visible. Characters who share the same base model tend to share the same Screen KO poses, such as {{SSB4|Ness}} and {{SSB4|Lucas}}. While ''Smash 4'' re-added strong knockback yells that were absent in ''Brawl'', Screen KOed characters in ''SSB4'' no longer make any vocal sounds when they hit the screen, and instead, a comical "thud" sound effect is played.

As a direct result of the new Screen KO's "pause", Screen KOs and Star KOs take almost equally as long to resolve, not affecting gameplay as much compared to ''Melee'' or ''Brawl''. Furthermore, Screen KOs and Star KOs are both disabled during the [[Match timer#Final countdown timer|final five seconds of a match]] and [[Sudden Death]] — characters will simply create the usual colorful blast after crossing the blast line. Blast KOs can still occur even if the match has no [[Match timer|time limit]] or if it is in an early part of a [[time]]d match.

Several characters have different Screen KOs between both versions. The maximum amount of characters that can be Screen KOed at one time is three.

In {{forwiiu}}, Screen KOs are disabled on [[Super Mario Maker]], [[Jungle Hijinxs]], [[Flat Zone X]], [[Duck Hunt (stage)|Duck Hunt]], [[Wii Fit Studio]], [[Pac-Land]], and [[Umbra Clock Tower]], and players instead are either Blast KOed or Star KOed on these stages. Screen KOs are available in all stages except Super Mario Maker and Umbra Clock Tower in {{for3ds}}.

Screen KOs appear to be similar to ''Smash 4'' visually. They once again complete faster than Star KOs, which will affect gameplay and can now happen even at very high knockback speeds. For the first time in the series, certain attacks can cause [[instant KO|instant]] Screen KOs, such as [[Giga Bowser (Final Smash)#In Ultimate|Giga Bowser]]. Additionally, at the end of the animation, the colored blast from a Blast KO appears. <!--Can Ridley's FS instant screen KO in final game, and if so, under what conditions (damage %, etc.)? If so, add the info here. If not, add a trivia bullet point about its instant screen KO effect in the E3 demo build.-->

*In both ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'', it is possible to see a character about to hit the screen right before they are KO'd by pausing and then zooming out. This can be seen particularly on larger stages such as [[New Pork City]] and [[75m]].

**Similarly in ''Smash Wii U'', it's possible to see the white lines just when a character impacts the screen when pausing (though the character can't actually be seen). Unlike the trivia point above, this can be seen even on small stages.

*In ''SSB4'', when a character gets Screen KO'd, all of the remaining fighters' player indicator icons disappear until the character that is being Screen KOed is actually KOed (when the numbers on the [[damage meter]] break). This also includes CPU and amiibo fighters. The camera will also shift to a random position.

*In the 3DS version of ''SSB4'', Screen KOs may cause the two images simulating the screen's 3D effect to be misaligned. This often occurs when multiple opponents are Screen KOed, or if there are too many effects occurring in the background.

*As of update [[1.0.8]], Screen KOs will never occur in ''SSB4'''s training mode.

*Opponents KO'd by the [[Beetle]] in ''Ultimate'' will always be Screen KO'd, with the Beetle appearing on them as they fall.

Ganondorf ScreenKO.png|{{SSBM|Ganondorf}} about to hit the screen in [[Yoshi's Story]].

Ness up against the screen.jpg|Ness being Screen KOed on [[Shadow Moses Island]].

File:LuigiscreenK.O.jpg|{{SSB4|Luigi}} getting Screen KOed in {{for3ds}}.

Shulk and Marth Screen KO.gif|{{SSB4|Shulk}} and {{SSB4|Marth}} getting Screen KOed, showing the player indicator icons disappearing during the animation.

Triple KO.gif|{{SSB4|Roy}} getting Screen KOed while Shulk gets [[Star KO]]ed, showing the length of both KOs being about the same. In comparison, {{SSB4|Falco}} getting a regular KO through the upper blast line is more immediate, and he respawns while the other two are still in their KO animation.

File:SSB4 - Mario Mac Screen KO.jpg|{{SSB4|Mario}} and {{SSB4|Little Mac}} getting Screen KOed in {{forwiiu}}.

Giga Bowser Ultimate KOs.gif|[[Giga Bowser (Final Smash)|Giga Bowser]] instantly Screen KOs {{SSBU|Olimar}} and {{SSBU|Pit}} in ''Ultimate''.

==See Also==