Hammer (item)

Hammer
Hammer artwork from Ultimate.
Universe	Donkey Kong
Appears in	SSB Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Item class	Duration/Battering
Article on Super Mario Wiki	Hammer

“	A favourite of Mario's in his younger days, the Hammer enraptures any character that grabs it and sends them into a clobbering frenzy!	”
—Super Smash Bros.'s instruction manual

The Hammer (ハンマー, Hammer) is a close-range item that appears in all Super Smash Bros. games. Upon being grabbed by any player, it sends them into a unique state that inflicts significant damage and knockback.

Origin

Mario using the hammer in Donkey Kong.

The hammer comes from the arcade game Donkey Kong. In Donkey Kong, when Mario obtains the hammer, he is unable to stop swinging until the hammer disappears. He also is unable to jump or climb ladders while swinging the hammer. The hammer can be used to destroy barrels that are being rolled down towards Mario, and can be used against other enemies. Contrary to its depiction in the Super Smash Bros. series, the Hammer's head cannot fall off in the game, nor can it otherwise malfunction.

The hammer has since been absorbed into iconography of the Mario universe, with Mario himself using hammers on several occasions. Notable instances of Mario using a hammer is the Wrecking Crew series, Paper Mario series, Mario & Luigi series, several mini-games in the Mario Party series, and as an occasional item in the Mario Kart series.

Overview

Bowser swings the Hammer in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Upon picking up the Hammer, characters enter a unique state for eight seconds; they will constantly swing the hammer back and forth, and will be unable to midair jump, use any other attacks, or defend. The Hammer also cannot be manually dropped unless the user has been sent into a state of tumbling. The Hammer deals about 22% per hit, and it also deals extremely high vertical knockback, potentially KOing opponents at low percentages; the effects of the Hammer are even more formidable in Super Smash Bros., where the Hammer instead does 30% damage with even more knockback. The Hammer can also "chain" into itself, doing 60% and likely KOing the opponent. The Hammer disappears after seven seconds.

The Hammer, however, limits the user's options, and particularly careful hitbox placement by other characters can potentially interrupt the wielder. Counters are especially powerful against Hammers since most of them deal more damage for any attack they counter. As the wielder of the hammer cannot use special moves or midair jump, sending an opponent off a ledge while they swing the Hammer can effectively KO them unless they can somehow drop the Hammer. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4, the Hammer also operates on a "timer"; if a character wielding the Hammer is constantly hit so that they cannot swing the item, the timer will still count down, potentially getting rid of the Hammer before they can properly use it.

The Hammer is also an item in Smash Tour: when its trophy is selected, the user starts the battle wielding a Hammer.

Headless Hammers

A Headless Hammer in action.

Starting in Melee, there is a 12.5% chance (one out of eight) of the head of the Hammer falling off as it is picked up, after which the item becomes functionally useless, though the wielder will continue to swing the handle for as long as they would with a normal hammer. The Hammer Head itself can be picked up and thrown as a powerful item.

If the Hammer Head falls off, then the player is rewarded with the Headless Hammer bonus, worth 2500 points. This bonus only appears in Melee.

Damage for Hammer Head

This article or section may require additional technical data. The editor who added this tag elaborates: Needs Ultimate damage values. You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it.

Action	Melee	Brawl	SSB4	SSBU
Throw	32%	32%	32%
Dash attack throw	32%	34%	34%
Up tilt throw	31%	31%	33%
Forward tilt throw	32%	32%	32%
down tilt throw	34%	34%	34%
Forward smash throw	33%	35%	35%
Up smash throw	28%	31%	36%
Down smash throw	38%	38%	38%
Air throw	32%	32%	32%
Air up tilt throw	29%	31%	33%
Air down tilt throw	34%	31%	34%
Air forward smash throw	35%	32%	32%
Air up smash throw	31%	31%	33%
Air down smash throw	34%	31%	34%

Trophies

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Hammer's trophy in Melee

Hammer

If you grab the Hammer, you'll run across the screen swinging it back and forth nonstop. In Donkey Kong, Mario used the Hammer in exactly the same fashion. It's an extremely powerful item, but you have no recovery move when carrying it. Every now and then, the mallet head will fall off, and you'll end up completely vulnerable, swinging just the handle.

Donkey Kong (Arcade 1981)

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Hammer's trophy in Brawl

Hammer

An item that, once grabbed, makes you swing nonstop. It's a powerful attack item that does terrific damage and sends opponents sailing. Once in a great while, the hammer's head will fall off, leaving you nothing but the handle. Of course, you can't tell whether the head is securely fastened just by looking. Hammerheads that fall off can be picked up and thrown as weapons.

An item that, once grabbed, makes you swing non-stop. It's a powerful attack item that does terrific damage and sends opponents sailing. Once in a great while, the hammer's head will fall off, leaving you nothing but the handle. Of course, you can't tell whether the head is securely fastened just by looking. Hammerheads that fall off can be picked up and thrown as weapons.

: Donkey Kong

In Super Smash Bros. 4

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

Hammer's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Hammer

Once you grab this hammer, you can't help but keep swinging and swinging. Who needs special moves when you've got a hammer? And forget your second jump—use that time to deliver a second lump! Oh, but the hammerhead isn't attached very well, so watch out if it pops off or something...

: Donkey Kong Classics (09/1988)

: Mario vs. Donkey Kong (05/2004)

This is something you just can't stop swinging. At all. You'll do a lot of damage with it, but...you won't be able to jump in mid-air or use special moves, so if you fall off the stage, good luck getting back on! Oh, and if the head pops off, you'll be left waving the handle around. If that happens... man, you are going to look ridiculous.

: Donkey Kong (10/1986)

: Mario vs. Donkey Kong (11/2004)

Hammer Head's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Hammer Head's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Hammer Head

A hammer is just a stick until you add the top. That's where this item comes into play. Sometimes, however, the top comes off. If that happens, just grab this loose part and throw it at your enemies. For some poetic justice, make the guy swinging the hammer handle your first target.

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (03/2008)

: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

If the head of a hammer should happen to fall off while someone's waving it around, don't let it go to waste! It's great for launching people, so pick it up and throw it at someone! How about that wally waving the hammer handle around? He's just asking for it!

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (06/2008)

: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Gallery

• The Hammer jingle from the arcade version of Donkey Kong, as used in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

• The Hammer jingle from the NES version of Donkey Kong, used prior to Ultimate.

• 

  Hammer artwork in Smash 64.

• 

  Hammer in Smash 64.

• 

  Hammer in Melee.

• 

  A Hammer head in Melee.

• 

  Hammer artwork from Brawl.

• 

  Ridley holding a hammer in Ultimate.

• 

  Isabelle clearing round one of Classic Mode with a hammer in Ultimate.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ハンマー	Hammer
English	Hammer	—
French	Marteau	Hammer
German	Hammer	—
Spanish	Martillo	Hammer
Italian	Martello	Hammer
Chinese (Simplified)	锤子	Hammer
Chinese (Traditional)	錘子	Hammer
Korean	해머	Hammer
Dutch	Hamer	Hammer
Russian	Молот	Hammer

Trivia

• Certain characters have unusual Hammer-swinging animations:
  • King Dedede swings both the item and his own hammer in a back-and-forth fashion; his own hammer, however, does not actually do any damage, even if the Hammer's head falls off.
  • Pit swings the Hammer by pivoting his wrist in right angles; furthermore, his animations become much choppier, with his jumping and walking animations referencing Pit's sprite from the original Kid Icarus. This behaviour also carried over to Dark Pit in Smash 4.
  • Mewtwo telekinetically rotates the Hammer horizontally around itself, with the head always pointed forward. As a result, its effective range is severely reduced, as Mewtwo is significantly more vulnerable from attacks that harm it from above than other characters.
  • Wario swings the Hammer above his head while facing the screen, making it seem as if he "wobbles" from side to side. In Smash 4, he faces the screen regardless of which direction he swings, and simply tilts more strongly towards either direction (although the animation of him turning around still occurs before he snaps towards the screen again). This mirrors the "choppy" movements of WarioWare cutscenes.
• In Melee only, Mr. Game & Watch's model can be seen in 3D when turning around with a Hammer.
• In Smash 4, if Bayonetta grabs a Hammer (or Golden Hammer) with her forward aerial and stops the attack in midair without performing all three hits, the hammer music will not play.
• In Brawl and Smash 4, the Hammer's theme was changed to more closely resemble how it sounds in the NES version of Donkey Kong. In Ultimate, the Hammer's theme is a direct rip from the arcade version of Donkey Kong. This and the changes to 75m in Ultimate may be related to Nintendo finally settling a legal dispute that dated back to 1983.
  • Also in Ultimate, when the Hammer connects a hit, the corresponding visual effect and sound cue from the original arcade version of Donkey Kong are displayed. However, due to the action pausing when this occurs (and the pause counting towards the Hammer's timer), this acts as a nerf to the item.
• The Hammer is one of three items that will change the music being played on the stage temporarily, the other two being the Golden Hammer and the Super Star. Incidentally, all three come from Mario and its sub-universes.