Meta Knight (SSBB)/Down smash: Difference between revisions

 

Meta Knight slashes in front of him and then quickly slashes behind him, with the back [[slash]] being stronger than the front. This is considered Meta Knight's best [[KO]] move, having a combination of extremely fast [[start-up lag|startup lag]], great [[transcendent]] [[reach]], and the back [[slash]] being his second strongest move from neutral. It is also considered the best [[down smash]] in ''[[Brawl]]'' on par with {{mvsub|Wolf|SSBB|Down smash|alt=Wolf's}}, as not only has solid KO power, but it is also among the fastest down smashes. It comes out on frame 5, giving it the 4th shortest startup lag out of any down smash along with {{mvsub|Mario|SSBB|Down smash|alt=Mario's}}, {{mvsub|Luigi|SSBB|Down smash|alt=Luigi's}} and {{mvsub|Pit|SSBB|Down smash|alt=Pit's}}. It also has an FAF of 35, making it tied with {{SSBB|Wolf}}'s and {{mvsub|R.O.B.|SSBB|Down smash|alt=R.O.B.'s}} for having the second shortest total duration out of any down smash (although it does have relatively higher ending lag than both). It also has among the best reach, making it difficult to [[punish]] if used and [[space]]d correctly, especially due to its relatively low ending lag.

 

Both slashes have high base [[knockback]], and can [[KO]] especially well near [[blast line]]s. Their [[knockback]] scaling isn't as high, though the back [[slash]] has enough to still [[KO]] heavier characters reliably even with [[DI]] and [[momentum cancel]]ling factored. The front [[slash]] however can have difficulty KOing under 150% under the aforementioned conditions (though due to its start-up, it can often catch opponents offguard and keep them from [[DI]]'ing properly). Due to the back slash still coming out reasonably fast, {{SSBB|Meta Knight}} players will often turn around before using [[down smash]] to land the stronger back [[slash]] (the back [[slash]] is also less [[punish]]able, due to greater [[shield stun]] and the move being nearer to the end of its duration). While usually conserved by competent Meta Knights to keep the move [[fresh]], its effective capability as a "get off me" move sees it used as a stronger alternative to [[Shuttle Loop]] and [[Mach Tornado]] when the Meta Knight is being [[pressure]]d.

Overall, Meta Knight's down smash is an excellent and not difficult to use move that is heavily used in all levels of play, and that is commonly seen as straddling the [[broken]] threshold.

!Hitbox||{{rollover|Base knockback|Knockback velocity on Mario at 0%|y}}||{{rollover|Knockback scaling|How much knockback velocity increases per percent on Mario|y}}||{{rollover|KO percent with poor DI|The percent the hitbox reaches 5750 in knockback velocity on Mario, which KOs from the center of FD with the standard horizontal trajectory when DI'd down}}||{{rollover|KO percent with no DI|The percent the hitbox reaches 6200 in knockback velocity on Mario, which KOs from the center of FD with the standard horizontal trajectory when not DI'd|y}}||{{rollover|KO percent with good DI|The percent the hitbox reaches 6825 in knockback velocity on Mario, which KOs from the center of FD with the standard horizontal trajectory when DI'd away|y}}

|Back slash||2575||32.267||98.40%||112.34%||131.71%

*Meta Knight is supposed to vocalize down smash during the animation before the move starts charging like his {{mvsub|Meta Knight|SSBB|forward smash}} and {{mvsub|Meta Knight|SSBB|up smash}}, however the animation is 0 frames and as a result, the voice clip does not play. This would be fixed in ''Smash 4'', where Meta Knight vocalizes his smash attacks after the animations before they start charging.