Editing Star KO

''Not to be confused with [[KO Star]].''

 

A '''star knock-out''' or '''star finish''' ({{ja|星バースト|Hoshi Burst}}, ''Star Burst''), abbreviated as '''star KO''', is a type of [[KO]] that can occur beyond the upper [[Blast line]]. They often last about 2 seconds and are the longest type of KO, often leaving their perpetrator safe from the victim.

When characters are knocked beyond the upper [[blast line]] (save for a few [[Star KO#Exceptions|exceptions]]), they fly through the background and away from the stage while usually screaming or shouting, and eventually disappear as a star. In ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'', this has the longest duration out of any KOs. Along with Star KOs, there is a chance of a [[Screen KO]] happening instead, where characters slam into the camera.

Most conditions on the characters, such as the invincibility of the [[Super Star]] or standby mode after breaking the [[Smash Ball]], are still visible on the characters while they are Star KO'd. Exceptions include [[metal]] characters in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'' (unless while playing in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'''s single-player modes), [[giant]] or [[tiny]] characters due to [[Super Mushroom|Super]] or [[Poison Mushroom]]s in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', and [[frozen]] characters in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. In [[Flat Zone 2]] and [[Hanenbow]], conditions are not aligned with the character (i.e. the frozen block and character fly off separately).

In ''Super Smash Bros. 4'', Star KOs are no longer a certainty; the upper blast line will cause either a Blast KO, a Star KO, or a Screen KO at random. Players launched at extremely high speeds, however, are not Star KO'd or Screen KO'd. In addition, presumably as to solve balance issues, Star KOs no longer occur when there's only [[Match timer#Final countdown timer|five seconds remaining in a timed match]] and in [[Sudden Death]] ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KthcgK6Mojs| unless an unknown glitch occurs] or in [[Trophy Rush]].); Screen KOs were increased in length, and as a result, Star KOs actually last shorter than Screen KOs. In ''Smash 64'' and ''Melee'', all playable characters have a voice clip for being Star KO'd (including [[Samus]]), while {{SSBB|Olimar}} lacks one in ''Brawl''; ''SSB4'' later introduces more characters that remain completely silent when Star KO'd, with these being {{SSB4|Mega Man}}, the {{SSB4|Mii Fighter}}s, {{SSB4|Pac-Man}}, {{SSB4|Villager}} and the wireframe version of {{SSB4|Little Mac}}. ''Ultimate'' adds {{SSBU|Isabelle}} and {{SSBU|Piranha Plant}}.

In ''Ultimate'', the characters now tumble away from the screen and seemingly go a much further distance away from the stage (though this is an illusion since the characters actually start shrinking the further they fly away, as easily seen in the [[King of Fighters Stadium]]). Most characters also now use a sideways version of their tumbling animations, with the exceptions of {{SSBU|Cloud}}, {{SSBU|Corrin}}, {{SSBU|Incineroar}}, {{SSBU|Inkling}}, {{SSBU|Shulk}} and {{SSBU|Joker}}, who spin forwards similarly to the previous games, alongside ((SSBU|Mr. Game and Watch}} (due to his 2D nature). The star is also now a purple color. Additionally, the [[Boss Galaga]] will always cause a Star KO and cause the character to go into their normal Star KO animation seen in the previous games.

It is a [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ATwinkleInTheSky recurring trope], especially in Eastern media{{fact}}, for characters and objects to be sent flying into the sky, leaving behind a twinkling star when they vanished from sight. Since Star KO'ing an entire team in ''Melee'' yields the Rocket KO bonus, the Star KOs in ''Smash'' may be intended as a reference specifically to the trope's use as a running gag in the ''{{uv|Pokémon}}'' anime, where the {{s|bulbapedia|Team Rocket trio}} would often be sent "blasting off again" whenever they were defeated.

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*Team battles in [[Classic Mode]]

*[[Adventure Mode]]

*All 25 [[Mr. Game & Watch]]es at the end of ''Melee''{{'}} [[All-Star]] mode

*Playable characters appearing as enemies in [[Multi-Man mode]]

*[[Enemies]] in [[The Subspace Emissary]]

*Team battles in Classic Mode

*Characters who use a [[Zair]] before surpassing the upper blast line, in which case will always be blast KO'd

*[[Luma]]s (Unless they get respawned when [[Rosalina]] is getting star KO’d)

*Stages (does not entirely apply to Screen KOs): {{SSB4|Dream Land}}, [[WarioWare, Inc.]], [[Boxing Ring]], [[Green Hill Zone]], [[Mushroom Kingdom U]], [[Luigi's Mansion]], [[Super Mario Maker]] (Wii U), {{SSB4|Mario Circuit}}, [[Delfino Plaza]], [[Jungle Hijinxs]], [[Skyloft]], [[The Great Cave Offensive]], [[Halberd]], [[Gamer]], [[Wii Fit Studio]], [[Duck Hunt (stage)]] (Wii U), [[Wrecking Crew]], [[Wuhu Island]], [[Pac-Land]], [[Miiverse]] and [[Umbra Clock Tower]]. (Note: Early versions of Mushroom Kingdom U and Skyloft featured Star KOs, they were later removed for unknown reasons.)

*Playable characters appearing as enemies in [[Multi-Man mode]]

*[[Flying Men]]

*[[Luma]]s (Unless they get respawned when [[Rosalina]] is getting star KO’d)

*[[False character]]s during the battle against [[Galeem]] and/or [[Dharkon]] in [[Adventure Mode: World of Light]]

*[[Flying Men]]

*Stages: Mushroom Kingdom, Mushroom Kingdom II, WarioWare, Inc., Frigate Orpheon, 75m, Mario Bros., Hanenbow, Green Hill Zone, Gerudo Valley, Dream Land GB, Unova Pokémon League, Mute City SNES, Balloon Fight, PictoChat 2, Mario Circuit, The Great Cave Offensive, Flat Zone X, Gamer, Wii Fit Studio, Boxing Ring, Duck Hunt, Wrecking Crew, PAC-LAND, Super Mario Maker, Umbra Clock Tower, New Donk City Hall, Moray Towers and Dracula's Castle (Applies to Normal, Battlefield and Omega stage layouts).

*[[Finish Zoom]] (except for {{SSBU|Bowser}}'s [[Flying Slam]])

*''Super Smash Bros.'' is the only game in the series where a player can Star KO themselves regardless of if they were hit or not.

*In the Camera mode in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', by maneuvering the camera into a certain position, the "trick" of the Star KOs is revealed: once the defeated character hits the upper blast line, they get shifted toward the background as their tumble animation starts, before reappearing onscreen for the KO animation. This trick can also be revealed in ''Ultimate'' using the camera's frame-by-frame controls.

*In ''Brawl'', ''SSB4'' and ''Ultimate'', the echo effect on the Star KO voice clips are actually added by the game rather than their sound files being echoed, albeit still fading out at the end. This is also true for the [[announcer]] voice clips (except in ''SSB4'').

**The onscreen radar will track a Star KO'd character, but will not track a character who has been Screen KO'd.

**{{SSBU|Pit}} has a unique Star KO line, where he yells "I never learned how to read...!". This is a reference to Chapter 17 in ''Kid Icarus: Uprising'', where he yells the same line after his Power of Flight is cut en-route to the Aurum Fortress. Similarly, {{SSBU|Byleth}} also speaks during a Star KO, shouting "My battle ends here...!", a reference to one of their defeat lines from ''Fire Emblem: Three Houses''. Both characters also do not speak in the Japanese version.

**{{SSBU|Ken}}'s Star KO voice clip doesn't appear in his voice gallery, making him the only character in the series with this distinction.

== See Also ==