Star Rod

Star Rod
Artwork of the Star Rod from Nightmare in Dream Land.
Universe	Kirby
Appears in	SSB Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Item class	Weapon/Projectile
Article on Wikirby	Star Rod

“	With the A Button and the Control Stick, you can shoot 20 stars at your opponents. This can also be used as a Clobbering Item.	”
—Super Smash Bros. instruction manual

The Star Rod (スターロッド, Star Rod) is an item that has appeared in all five Super Smash Bros. games. Originating from the Kirby universe, the Star Rod acts as an unusual combination of both battering and projectile items.

Origin

The Star Rod seen on top of the Fountain of Dreams in Kirby's Adventure

The Star Rod has so far only appeared in Kirby's Adventure and its remake Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, though it did make a brief cameo in Kirby Super Star. In its original appearance, the Star Rod acts as the primary power source of the Fountain of Dreams, and without it, people are unable to properly sleep or dream. Although initially broken into seven shards by King Dedede, Kirby restores the Star Rod, only to discover that Dedede had shattered the Star Rod in order to prevent the main villain of the game, Nightmare, from taking over the Fountain of Dreams; directly after this, Kirby is then tasked with using the Star Rod in order to defeat Nightmare, which he successfully performs.

As a weapon in Kirby's Adventure, Kirby is officially stated to have the "Star Rod" Copy Ability, though Kirby does not need to actually swallow the object to gain the ability. While wielding the Star Rod, Kirby is not only able to utilize the Star Rod as a battering item not unlike Sword Kirby, but also as a projectile weapon that shoots stars, similar to Laser Kirby.

Operation

Captain Falcon's unusual Star Rod swing, from Melee

As a battering item, combatants can use the Star Rod to directly hit opponents up close. Using either smash attacks or tilts, however, cause the Star Rod to shoot out long-range stars that can hit opponents from a distance; in close ranges, a direct hit from the Star Rod can potentially hit opponents directly into the resultant star. Particularly powerful variants are found with the forward smashes of Captain Falcon, Marth, Sheik, Pit and Ike; due to their non-standard forward smash animations with items, the five can fire off more than one shot at a time with a single smash attack, with Falcon's attacks shooting off 5 stars and Sheik's firing off 2 stars. The item, however, has only sixteen stars, and using either of the two aforementioned characters can cause the item to quickly deplete its ammunition. This mechanic has been removed in Super Smash Bros. 4.

As the stars are considered projectiles by the game, they can be reflected by a variety of moves; in addition, they can also be absorbed.

If the Star Rod runs out of stars to shoot, combatants can still use it to directly hit opponents. A more practical option, however, is to throw the item towards enemies; the Star Rod, when thrown, deals powerful semi-spike knockback, which can potentially gimp recoveries or act as a general KO move. A thrown Star Rod cannot be powershielded. When a thrown Star Rod gets reflected, it does not travel far enough to hit the original attacker, unless they are close enough to the reflector's user.

Damage

In Brawl, the momentum of a projectile will affect the damage a character will receive; these are recorded in bounces.

Action	SSB	Melee	Brawl	Bounce	2nd Bounce
Star projectile	8%	8%	8%	N/A	N/A
Forward smash star projectile	12%	12%	8%	N/A	N/A
Standard attack	10%	10%	10%	N/A	N/A
Standard attack (Ice Climbers one Star Rod)	N/A	10%	12%(10%+2%)	N/A	N/A
Standard attack (Ice Climbers two Star Rods)	N/A	19%	20%(10%+10%)	N/A	N/A
Forward tilt	15%	20%	13%	N/A	N/A
Forward tilt (Pit)	N/A	N/A	17%(4%+13%)	N/A	N/A
Forward tilt (Ice Climbers one Star Rod)	N/A	21%	20%(13%+7%)	N/A	N/A
Forward tilt (Ice Climbers two Star Rods)	N/A	40%	26%(13%+13%)	N/A	N/A
Dash attack	16%	16%	15%	N/A	N/A
Forward smash	22%	30%	18%	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (charged)	N/A	36%	25%	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Marth)	N/A	28%	23%(5%+18%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Marth charged)	N/A	34%	32%(7%+25%	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Captain Falcon)		30%	20%(10%+10%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Captain Falcon charged)	N/A	29%	28%(14%+14%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Sheik)	N/A	39%	36%(18%+18%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Sheik charged)	N/A	45%	50%(25%+25%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Pit)	N/A	N/A	25%(7%+18%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Pit charged)	N/A	N/A	35%(9%+26%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Ike)	N/A	N/A	26%(18%+8%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Ike charged)	N/A	N/A	36%(25%+11%	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Ice Climbers one Star Rod)	N/A	30%	27%(18%+9%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Ice Climbers one Star Rod charged)	N/A	36%	39%(25%+14%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Ice Climbers two Star Rods)	N/A	57%	36%(18%+18%)	N/A	N/A
Forward smash (Ice Climbers two Star Rods charged)	N/A	69%	50%(25%+25%)	N/A	N/A
Drop	3%	8%	8%-14%	6%	5%
Forward tilt throw	11%	13%	13%	10%	8%
Up tilt throw	12%	9%	12%-14%	9%	6%
Down tilt throw	9%	15%	14%	10%	6%
Dash throw	15%	15%	15%	12%	9%
Forward smash throw	15%	16%	16%	12%	10%
Up smash throw	15%	12%	17%	12%	10%
Down smash throw	9%	19%	14%	10%	6%
Aerial drop	5%	13%	12%	7%	6%
Aerial forward tilt throw	13%	14%	13%	10%	8%
Aerial up tilt throw	15%	12%	12%	8%	6%
Aerial down tilt throw	14%	15%	12%	8%	4%
Aerial forward smash throw	16%	14%	13%-15%	10%	7%
Aerial up smash throw	16%	12%	12%-14%	8%	4%
Aerial down smash throw	16%	15%	12%	9%	7%

• Note Captain Falcon's smash attacks with the Star Rod are only 10% instead of 18% in Brawl.

Trophies

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Star Rod's trophy in Melee

Star Rod

This magic wand holds 16 star shots and sends foes flying at a low angle when thrown. It's most powerful when Captain Falcon or Sheik performs a Smash Attack while holding it. In Kirby's Adventure, the Star Rod is the secret power behind the Fountain of Dreams. King Dedede steals the Star Rod in order to seal away the nasty Cloaked Nightmare.

Kirby's Adventure (5/93)

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Star Rod's trophy in Brawl

Star Rod

A magic wand. Perform a standard attack with it, and it's a battering weapon. Perform a strong or smash attack, and it fires a barrage of star shots. Throw it at a foe, and that opponent will get sent flying sideways. In the Kirby series, the Star Rod is the power source of the Fountain of Dreams. King Dedede once stole it to imprison the Nightmare Wizard.

: Kirby's Adventure

: Kirby Super Star

: Kirby's Adventure

: Kirby's Fun Pak

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Star Rod's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Star Rod's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Star Rod

Swung normally, this item will deal a regular physical attack. But if you charge up the blow, it becomes a magic wand that launches stars! The Star Rod is the source of power for the Fountain of Dreams in Kirby's Adventure. Using the rod, Kirby was able to defeat Nightmare.

: Kirby's Adventure (05/1993)

: Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land (12/2002)

Attack normally and you may as well just be swinging any old stick around, but if you deliver a hefty blow with it, this magic wand will launch a shooting star! The Star Rod powers the Fountain of Dreams, and Kirby once used it to defeat the evil Nightmare when he appeared from the fountain in Kirby's Adventure.

: Kirby's Adventure (12/1993)

: Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land (09/2003)

Spirits

The Star Rod also appears as an Ace-class support spirit.

In Adventure Mode: World of Light, the Star Rod is presumably one of the countless spirits captured by Galeem during his takeover of the universe. The Star Rod's spirit is located in the lake section of The Light Realm.

The Spirit Battle for Star Rod uses an army of Kirby puppet fighters starting off with a Star Rod and is fought on the Fountain of Dreams stage.

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Cost	Ability	Series
327		Star Rod		★★★	2	First-Strike Advantage	Kirby Series

Equipping the MC Ballyhoo & Big Top, Serena, or Tomatrio support spirits will give the player a Star Rod at a start of their stock.

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Cost	Ability	Series
128		MC Ballyhoo & Big Top		★	1	Star Rod Equipped	Mario Party Series
859		Serena		★	1	Star Rod Equipped	Animal Crossing Series
1,180		Tomatrio		★	1	Star Rod Equipped	Tomato Adventure

Gallery

• 

  Star Rod in Smash 64

• 

  Ness shooting the projectile from the Star Rod in Smash 64

• 

  Star Rod in Melee

• 

  Star Rod artwork from Brawl

• 

  Kirby holds the Star Rod in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

• 

  Star Rod render from Ultimate.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	スターロッド	Star Rod
English	Star Rod	—
French	Bâton étoile	Star Staff
German	Sternenzepter	Star Scepter
Spanish	Varita estelar	Star Wand
Italian	Scettro Stella	Star Scepter
Chinese	Star Rod	—
Korean	스타로드	Star Rod
Dutch	Sterrenstafje	Star Wand
Russian	Звездный жезл	Star Rod
Portuguese	Varinha Estelar	Star Wand

Trivia

• When shooting a star (whether charged on not) into a small upward slope (like the slight slopes on Battleship Halberd's main platform) the star will hit the slope, spin in place for a second, and then disappear.
• In Ultimate, Zero Suit Samus does not vibrate in place when charging a smash attack with the Star Rod. This also happens to Byleth when charging a smash attack with the Death's Scythe.