Editing Star KO

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:''Not to be confused with [[KO Stars]].''

A '''star knock-out''' or '''star finish''' ({{ja|星バースト|Hoshi Bāsuto}}, ''Star Burst''), abbreviated as '''star KO''', internally known as '''Hoshikie''' in ''[[Smash 4]]'' and '''Twinkle''' in ''[[Ultimate]]'', is a type of [[KO]] that can occur beyond the upper [[Blast line]] in the ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' series. 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, crying, roaring, yelling or shouting, and eventually disappear as a star. In ''Melee'', ''Brawl'', and ''Ultimate'', 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 ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''====

In ''Smash 64'', the duration allotted for Star KOs, along with Screen KOs, are noticeably longer than in ''Melee'' onward. Depending on the camera angle, the victim will often not become visible until nearly after they finish their Star KO voice clip, making the animation not synchronize with the voice clip, with the exception of {{SSB|Pikachu}} and {{SSB|Mario}}, whose Star KO voice clip is slightly longer than the rest of cast.

 

 

*Mario uses his voice clip ''Super Mario 64'' when he falls from high ground.

* {{SSB|Luigi}} uses Mario's scream from getting burned, also derived from ''Super Mario 64'', albeit being noticeably higher pitched.

*Pikachu has its Star KO voice derived from the ''Pokémon'' anime.

 

====In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''====

Starting with this game, the [[enemy team]] can no longer be Star or Screen KO'd under normal circumstances (with the exception of [[Event 37: Legendary Pokémon]] for unknown reasons), presumably so that the game will not delay a next enemy's spawn as much as in ''Smash 64''. Most horde battles in single-player modes (except {{SSBM|Classic Mode}}) also disable Star and Screen KOs for similar reasons (see [[#Exceptions|below]]). Their animations are also much faster, now properly synchronizing with the voice clip across the cast. Oddly, in [[Mushroom Kingdom II]], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU0p2IpoV1A the victim fades out faster than usual before turning into stars].

 

As {{SSBM|Dr. Mario}} shares his voice clips with {{SSBM|Mario}}, he also uses Mario's falling voice clip from ''Super Mario 64''. {{SSBM|Young Link}}, like [[Link (SSBM)|his adult self]], uses his falling voice clip from ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'', while {{SSBM|Ganondorf}} uses one of his damaging voice clips from the same game. {{SSBM|Mr. Game & Watch}}, like many of his sound effects, makes a Game & Watch-esque beep. {{SSBM|Zelda}}'s Star KO voice clip is infamous in the community for being too higher-pitched and horrifying, often being compared to stereotypical screams in horror movies.

 

Star KOs in ''Brawl'' are generally identical to its appearance in ''Melee'', but the voice clips are given a reverberating effect, similar to those used for [[Final Smash]]es and the [[announcer]]'s voice, as if the victim is far away from the stage (though they are actually added by the game rather than their sound files being echoed, albeit still fading out at the end). Oddly, in [[Flat Zone 2]] and [[Hanenbow]], if the victim's status conditions are still in effect, they will not be aligned with the character (i.e. the frozen block and character fly off separately).

 

For the first time in the series, ''Brawl'' introduces a character who is silent while being Star KO'd, that being {{SSBB|Olimar}} (even though ''Pikmin 2'' gave him a canon voice). Additionally, there are a handful of characters who shout "No!" while being Star KO'd, which are {{SSBB|Snake}} and {{SSBB|Sonic}}, as well as veteran {{SSBB|Peach}}. {{SSBB|Kirby}} similarly makes an "Iyah!" sound, a Japanese phrase for expressing dismay or shock, while {{SSBB|Wolf}} and {{SSBB|R.O.B.}} emit a howl and multiple beeps respectively while Star KO'd. {{SSBB|Samus}} and {{SSBB|Mr. Game & Watch}}'s Star KO sounds are also renewed.

 

Star KOs in ''Smash 4'' are almost identical to how they acted in ''Brawl'', though voice clips now use a smooth echo effect instead of a reverberating effect used in ''Brawl''. However, both Star and Screen KOs are no longer guaranteed to occur; 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. Lastly, Star KOs are now intentionally disabled on some stages, largely those with 2D backdrops or background elements that obscure the victim.

 

''Smash 4'' 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}}. [[Rosalina & Luma (SSB4)|Rosalina]] and {{SSB4|Bowser Jr.}} use one of their falling voice clips from ''Mario Kart 7'' and ''Mario Kart Wii'' respectively, and the Koopalings (with the exception of Morton) use one of their defeat voice clips in ''New Super Mario Bros.'' games. As a result, Lemmy shouts "No!" while being Star KO'd; male {{SSB4|Wii Fit Trainer}} similarly does this (albeit in the [[NTSC]] version only), while {{SSB4|Sonic}} has lost the trait in the English versions as of this game, as he instead uses his death sound ("Whoa!") from ''Sonic Generations''. As {{SSB4|Dr. Mario}}'s voice clips have been updated to match {{SSB4|Mario}}, he now uses Mario's Star KO voice clip from ''Brawl''.

 

 

 

Unless otherwise noted, all of these exceptions also apply to Screen KOs.

 

*All 25 {{SSBM|Mr. Game & Watch}}es at the end of [[All-Star Mode]]

*Opponents in [[Event Matches]]: [[Kirby's Air-raid]], [[Super Mario 128]], [[The Yoshi Herd]], [[Puffballs Unite!]], [[Game & Watch Forever!]]

 

===In ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''===

*[[Fighting Alloy Team]]

*Team battles in {{SSBB|Classic Mode}}

*Opponents in Solo Event Matches: [[Super Bowser Bros.]], [[Diddy Kong Panic]], [[Yoshi's Rainbow]], [[Molten Norfair]], [[Sonic Boom]]

*Opponents in Co-op Event Matches: [[The DK Tag Calamity]], [[The Yoshi Team of 50]], [[Sonic and Mario]]

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

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

*Defeatable [[Assist Trophies]]

*[[Luma]]s (Unless they get respawned when [[Rosalina & Luma (SSB4)|Rosalina]] is getting star KO’d)

*[[Invisible]] characters in {{forwiiu}}

*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]], {{b|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|Multi-Man Smash]]

*Opponents in [[All-Star Mode]]

*[[Flying Man|Flying Men]]

*[[Nabbit]]

*[[Ridley]]

*[[Master Core]]'s true form

*[[Enemies]] in [[Smash Run]]

*Final Battles in [[Smash Run]]

*Some opponents in the horde battles in [[Special Orders]]

*Opponents in Event Matches: [[1988]], [[Unlikely Allies]], and [[All-Star event]]s

 

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

*[[Fighting Mii Team]]

*[[False character]]s spawned by [[Galeem]] and/or [[Dharkon]] in [[Adventure Mode: World of Light]]

*[[Nabbit]]

*Stages (bolded stages allow Screen KOs): '''{{b|Training|stage}}''', '''[[Online Practice Stage]]''', {{SSB|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]], '''{{SSB4|Mario Circuit}}''', '''[[The Great Cave Offensive]]''', [[Flat Zone X]], '''[[Gamer]]''', [[Wii Fit Studio]], '''[[Boxing Ring]]''', {{b|Duck Hunt|stage}}, '''[[Wrecking Crew]]''', [[PAC-LAND]], [[Super Mario Maker]], [[Umbra Clock Tower]], '''[[New Donk City Hall]]''', '''[[Moray Towers]]''', '''[[Dracula's Castle]]''',  '''[[Garreg Mach Monastery]]''' (except the Bridge section), '''[[Mishima Dojo]]''' and all Ω/Battlefield forms of these stages aside from Garreg Mach Monastery.

*''Super Smash Bros.'' is the only game in the series where a player can Star KO themselves without breaking [[Jigglypuff]]'s shield.

**This can be best seen if Ness uses his jumps and PK Thunder straight up on either [[Hyrule Castle]], or his Break the Targets/Board the Platforms stages.

*If the camera zooms out enough on certain large stages, the "trick" of the Star KOs can be 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 can be seen best in the Camera mode in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', by maneuvering the camera into a certain position. This trick can also be revealed in ''Ultimate'' using the camera's frame-by-frame controls.

*If the cage the [[Mii]] resides inside on the [[Find Mii]] stage sustains sufficient damage, the Mii and the cage will be Star KO'd, though no sound effects play when this occurs.

*If [[Rosalina]] is Star KO'd while [[Luma]] remains on the battlefield, [https://youtu.be/JGVNqkxwGR4?t=471 Luma will shrink to match Rosalina's animation].

*In ''SSB4'':

**{{SSB4|King Dedede}} and {{SSB4|Cloud}}'s voice clips for being Star KO'd are longer than the time allotted for the Star KO animation.

**If a character is way beyond the upper blast line and gets Star KO'd, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTRdl82FzuY#t=1m18s the character will fall into the background faster than usual], but the Star KO length will still be the same. The same result can also be executed in ''Melee'' by going into the debug menu, selecting the [[Home-Run Contest]] stage and getting Star KO'd there.

**{{SSB4|Jigglypuff}}'s mouth animates with its Star KO voice clip (though it can sometimes be seen smiling). If by any way Jigglypuff is Star KO'd without its voice clip playing (like being [[frozen]]), its mouth will not animate.

*In ''Ultimate'':

**If a character gets Star KO'd by Snake's Final Smash while a missile is still locked on to them, the missiles will chase them throughout the Star KO animation.

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

*The star effect in ''64'' and ''Ultimate'' is considered a UI element instead as part of the foreground and will always appear over certain elements, such as the background in [[Yoshi's Story]].

== See also ==

*[[Screen KO]]