PK Starstorm

PK Starstorm
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Users	Ness Lucas
Universe	EarthBound
Article on WikiBound	PK Starstorm

PK Starstorm (ＰＫスターストーム, PK Starstorm) is Ness and Lucas's Final Smash, beginning in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Overview

The user yells "PK... STARSTORM!", calling forth a rain of meteors ("shooting stars") which pass through the stage striking any opponents in their way.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The move differs slightly between the two characters who use it. Lucas' meteorites are yellow, angle slightly inwards towards the centre of the stage, accelerate as they fall and deal 14% damage each, knocking the opponent sideways. Ness' shooting stars are blue, are angled more strongly and outwards rather than inwards, and deal 20% damage each, knocking the opponent upward. In addition, Lucas spawns a larger number of meteorites than Ness, but Ness's are slightly larger.

These differing properties, particularly the meteorites' quantity, make Lucas's damage output more consistent, but make Ness's more volatile and thus grant him higher KO potential. Due to the meteors' randomness, there can be times where they can be easily dodged or even avoided without having to move at all. Getting hit by even one meteor, though, is likely to cause the victim to be hit by many others, causing heavy damage and a likely KO.

In Super Smash Bros. 4

PK Starstorm received notable changes, which apply to both of its users: it no longer covers the whole stage, but consists of a fast stream of meteors which covers a small range and whose direction can be adjusted with the control stick/circle pad, similar to Aura Storm. While a powerful attack, its small horizontal range creates blind spots. The meteors now deal flame damage, and during the attack the PK Starstorm sound effect from EarthBound plays. Between Ness and Lucas, both versions of the attack now function identically in terms of control, appearance, and damage output (including both characters having blue meteors).

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The Final Smash now functions as a hybrid between the Brawl and Smash 4 variants, with the meteors being large and spawning in random positions, but the angle at which they travel can be influenced so that they are more likely to fly to the left or right of the stage. However since the spawn locations and angles are still ultimately random to a degree, the player has considerably less control than they did in Smash 4. Paula and Poo join Ness, while Kumatora and Boney join Lucas.

The differences between Ness's and Lucas's versions are much more pronounced. Ness's meteors will spawn at the top and centre of the stage, and will fly out at a range of angles, fanning outwards from an invisible "line" going down the middle of the stage. This line can be angled to the left and right, and newly spawned meteors will fan out from whatever angle the line is at the time, although the range of angles still varies significantly, limiting Ness's control over the meteors significantly.

Lucas's meteors instead spawn above Lucas, offset to the left and right, and will be angled such that they all cross through Lucas' position, and thus are angled inwards. The position that the meteors aim for can be moved both left and right, and up and down, and any spawned meteors will always cross through wherever the target position was when it was spawned, however the spawn position remains based on where Lucas is. In general, the player has more control over the path of Lucas' meteors than Ness'.

In addition, Ness's meteors are larger, deals more damage and knockback, and he spawns two extra meteors (sometimes four) compared to Lucas, while Lucas's meteors are smaller and deals less damage and knockback, but the knockback sends at a more horizontal angle and, as stated above, the player generally has more control over his meteors. Ness also spawns meteors at a slightly faster rate, spawning one every 23 frames (0.383 seconds) and decreasing by 0.5 frames (rounded up) with each meteor while Lucas spawns meteors every 24 frames (0.4 seconds) and decreasing by 0.2 frames (rounded up) with each meteor.

Early meteors quirk

Ness's PK Starstorm has a strange quirk in Ultimate. The first time the move is used in a match or Training session, the camera will first zoom in on Ness as he announces the move and then, upon returning to normal, meteors will begin to spawn. A total of 16 meteors will spawn. However, on all subsequent uses of the move within the same match or session, 2 meteors will spawn while the camera is zooming in on Ness. These early meteors spawn in addition to the 16 other meteors, bringing the total up to 18 and can be very difficult for opponents to see due to the zoom in. In matches with multiple Nesses, each Ness must use their own PK Starstorm once to trigger the effect, and one Ness using PK Starstorm will not trigger the effect for a different Ness. Because of this, Ness' PK Starstorm is more effective on subsequent uses in a match than it is the first time it is used.

Ness' and Lucas' PK Starstorms don't have a predefined number of meteors to spawn, instead they simply spawn meteors until the Final Smash ends (frames 51-357). This time frame and the meteor spawn rates results in Ness and Lucas spawning 16 and 14 meteors, respectively. However, this quirk causes Ness to spawn meteors from frames 1-357, giving enough time to theoretically spawn 20 meteors. The reason why 18 are spawned and not 20 is because, while there is no set number to spawn in the first place, there is a maximum number allowed to spawn—18 for Ness and 16 for Lucas. But why this early spawning occurs at all or why it only affects Ness is unknown.

Instructional quotes

instruction booklet		Summon forth a shower of falling stars that delivers tons of damage to enemies.
instruction booklet		Change the direction of the falling stars by moving left stick left and right.
Move List		With the help of Paula and Poo, Ness calls down a shower of meteors that damage any foes they hit. The meteors fall faster as time passes. The meteors' trajectory can be adjusted slightly with left or right input.
		With the help of Kumatora and Boney, Lucas calls down a shower of meteors that damage any foes they hit. The meteors fall faster as time passes. The meteors' trajectory can be adjusted slightly with left or right input.

Trophies

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

PK Starstorm (Ness)'s trophy in Brawl

PK Starstorm (Ness)

Ness as he calls down a host of damage-dealing stars in his Final Smash. Everyone on the screen must dodge like crazy to avoid getting hurt, but that's no easy task. This attack appeared in the Mother series, but it was Poo, not Ness, who wielded it. Perhaps Poo taught Ness the secret of the attack for use in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

PK Starstorm (Lucas)'s trophy in Brawl

PK Starstorm (Lucas)

Lucas's Final Smash. He pulls a large group of stars from the sky and sends them smashing down among his enemies, causing damage to one and all. In Mother 3, this move was used by Lucas's traveling companion, Princess Kumatora. As Ness learned this move from Poo, Princess Kumatora taught Lucas when he learned he would appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Lucas's Final Smash. He pulls a large group of stars from the sky and sends them smashing down among his enemies, causing damage to one and all. In Mother 3, this move was used by Lucas's traveling companion, Princess Kumatora. As Ness learned this move from Poo, perhaps Princess Kumatora taught Lucas when he learned he would appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

PK Starstorm (Ness)'s trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

PK Starstorm (Ness)

In EarthBound, this PSI ability belonged to Poo, the Crown Prince of Dalaam and one of Ness's friends. Ness must have learned it especially for Smash Bros.! The attack makes a shower of meteors fall onto the stage, damaging any foes it hits. While the attack's in progress, Ness is invincible and can adjust the meteors' trajectory.

PK Starstorm (Lucas)'s trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

PK Starstorm (Lucas)

You can adjust the direction of the shooting stars in this attack! Rain stars down on multiple fighters at once, or be mean and pick on a single fighter. The choice is yours! If a star connects, it will deal ongoing fire damage, making it hard for opponents to return to the stage.

Lucas uses his PSI powers to summon a stream of shooting stars, the angle of which you can control. It's good for attacking an entire group during a free-for-all...or if you want to make things tougher for a single person. Even if the attack only hits once, it deals ongoing fire damage, making it harder to get back to the stage.

Origin

Kumatora using PK Starstorm in Mother 3

PK Starstorm (localized as PSI Starstorm in EarthBound) first appeared in EarthBound and later appeared in Mother 3. In both games, the move involves using the character's psychic power to send down stars on enemies. However, in both games, neither Ness nor Lucas learn the move; instead the move is taught to their friends Poo and Kumatora respectively in story events. Brawl explains the inconsistency in both Ness' and Lucas' PK Starstorm trophies, saying that they were taught the moves by their friends specifically for Smash. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate offers a new explanation by having Ness and Lucas summon Poo and Kumatora respectively during the animation.

In the description for the move in EarthBound, it states that the move uses a method of "shaking off the stars". In EarthBound, PK Starstorm can deal between 270 and 900 damage, and is available in both "α" and "Ω" tiers of increasing strength (the latter only becoming available during the last stretch of the game). In Mother 3, the move can deal between 650 and 680 damage and only comes in a single, unlabeled tier. Also, in both games, the move is impossible for any target to dodge, but it can be reflected by sufficient PSI shields; this behavior does not translate into Smash.

Gallery

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  Ness' PK Starstorm in Brawl.

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  Lucas's PK Starstorm in Brawl.

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  Ness' PK Starstorm in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  A close up of Ness in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

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  Ness's PK Starstorm in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Lucas's PK Starstorm in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

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  Ness using PK Starstorm as shown by the Move List in Ultimate.

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  Paula and Poo joining Ness for PK Starstorm in Ultimate.

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  Lucas using PK Starstorm as shown by the Move List in Ultimate.

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  Kumatora and Boney joining Lucas for PK Starstorm in Ultimate.

Names in other languages

Language	Name
Japanese	ＰＫスターストーム, PK Starstorm
English	PK Starstorm
French	PSY météores
German	PK-Meteorsturm
Spanish	Tormenta estelar
Italian	PsicoMeteore
Chinese	意念星暴
Korean	PK 스타스톰, PK Starstorm
Dutch	PK-sterrenstorm
Russian	ПК-космобуря

Trivia

• PK Starstorm is the only Final Smash to change its function in all games it appears in while retaining its name.
• An unused sound clip from the original Super Smash Bros. features Ness shouting "PK Starstorm!".
• In Brawl, Lucas raises both of his hands. However in SSB4, he raises one hand, just like Ness does.
• According to Sakurai in an interview, the reason this Final Smash was changed from Brawl to Smash 4 is because of limitations regarding the 3DS.
• In SSB4, one can dodge this Final Smash by going above the upper blast line. This can easily be done using Villager's Balloon Trip or R.O.B.'s Robo Burner.
  • Charizard can also bolt past this move without taking knockback by using Flare Blitz.
• In the E3 2018 reveal for Ultimate, the backgrounds of Ness' and Lucas' Final Smashes were the same, resembling the background of the Eight Melodies screen in EarthBound. By the time of the game's release, the background of Lucas' Final Smash was changed, now resembling the background of the final boss in Mother 3, the Masked Man.
• PK Starstorm is the only PSI attack both Lucas and Ness share that has noticeably different particle effects, each being taken from their games of origin.

Ness's special moves

Neutral special	PK Fire	PK Flash
Side special	—	PK Fire
Up special	PK Thunder
Down special	PSI Magnet
Final Smash	—		PK Starstorm

Lucas's special moves

Neutral special	PK Freeze
Side special	PK Fire
Up special	PK Thunder
Down special	PSI Magnet
Final Smash	PK Starstorm