Teeter

Wario teetering in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Teetering (ottotto in the game's files) is an animation that is naturally activated by standing near a ledge in all installments of Super Smash Bros. The character will automatically start teetering back and forth over the edge with a panicky expression.

The effect can only happen when a player walks toward the edge slowly. Simply landing near the edge does not count, and moving too quickly will simply cause the character to run off the edge. While teetering, a character will not walk off the edge unless the control stick is tilted past a certain amount. Because of the animation's movement, it is possible for a teetering character to dodge an attack that would have hit them were they standing up.

Characters will teeter regardless of whether the edge they are hanging over can be grabbed onto. Characters will stop teetering if they take any action (such as attacking, crouching, or shielding).

The player can use the teetering animation to interrupt certain moves. This technique is called a teeter cancel.

Gallery

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  Link teetering in Hyrule Castle in Super Smash Bros.

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  Mario's teetering animation in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

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  Marth teetering in Yoshi's Story in Melee.

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  Lucario teetering in Spear Pillar in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

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  Samus teetering on the Spirit Train in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

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  Bayonetta teetering in Palutena's Temple in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Trivia

• Certain characters will say "whoa" or something similar when teetering. Some characters have unique teetering lines, such as Captain Falcon (who says "Whoops"), Palutena (who exclaims "Ooh!"), and Ken (who says "Uh oh!"). Some characters also say "おっと！" (essentially "Oops!") if they have a Japanese voice, such as Kirby, Ice Climbers, Zelda (Brawl onwards), and Cloud.
• Many teetering animations are based on the fighter's original game; for example, Sonic's teetering animation is a reference to how he teeters in classic Sonic games.
• Bayonetta is the only character who faces away from the edge while teetering.
• Steve is the only character without a teetering animation. Instead, he crouches at the ledge and looks down, mimicking the sneaking mechanic in Minecraft which prevents players from falling off blocks while crouching.