Forward smash

Marth using his forward smash in Brawl

Corrin using his forward smash in Smash 4.

A forward smash, abbreviated f-smash and officially known as a side smash attack (横スマッシュ攻撃), is a smash attack that any character can perform by tapping the control stick in a horizontal direction and pressing the attack button immediately afterward or simultaneously, or by tilting the C-Stick in a horizontal direction (except in Melee's single-player modes). Forward smashes typically are strong strikes with a large hitbox directly in front of the character, sometimes shifting them forward a significant distance as well. Some characters even have forward smashes that contain super armor under certain conditions. Starting in Melee, forward smashes can be charged for a maximum of one second (or 60 frames), resulting in up to 1.4× the damage and knockback. In Ultimate, with some exceptions, they can be held for an additional two seconds (120 frames) upon reaching full charge, with the total being 3 seconds (180 frames).

After tapping the control stick forwards, there is a 3-frame window wherein a forward smash can be performed. If the attack button is pressed too late, a dash attack will be performed instead. Pressing the attack button on the last possible frame results in a small step forward smash. In all games except Super Smash Bros. Brawl, forward smashes can be pivoted.

Like forward tilts, certain forward smashes can be angled in up to 3 directions; a select few forward smashes in Smash 64, however, can be angled in up to 5 directions. In Smash 64 and Melee, the control stick or c-stick must be tapped in the desired angle at the start of the move to angle it. From Brawl onwards, however, the attack can be angled by holding the control stick or C-stick in the desired angle as the move's charging period ends.

List of forward smashes

Character	Description	Angleable
Banjo & Kazooie	Performs the Breegull Bash, where Banjo grabs Kazooie by her legs and slams her on the ground in front of him.
Bayonetta	Creates a portal just behind her to summon Madama Butterfly's fist for a forward punch.
Bowser	Rears back and then swings his head downwards, horns-first. Jumps and attacks with a two-footed dropkick.
Bowser Jr.	Deploys two drills from the Koopa Clown Car and closes them in on the area in front of himself, hitting several times.
Byleth	Stabs forwards with Areadbhar.
Captain Falcon	Throws a flaming side kick. Leans into a forward elbow thrust. Assumes a wide stance and slams his forearm forwards.
Charizard	Performs a powerful swinging headbutt.
Chrom	A two-handed, downward slash.
Cloud	Performs a series of three fast slashes with the Buster Sword.
Corrin	Transforms his arm into a draconic spear hand and performs a long-ranged forward stab.
Daisy	Swings upwards and inwards with either a golf club, tennis racket, or frying pan.
Dark Pit	Performs a simple two-hitting combo of slashes.
Dark Samus	Thrusts her arm cannon forwards alongside a burst of phazon.
Diddy Kong	Throws a pair of spinning backhands, one immediately after the other.
Donkey Kong	Reels his hand back and thrusts it forward. Leans forwards and claps his hands together.
Dr. Mario	Thrusts his palm forwards and unleashes an electric explosion.
Duck Hunt	The unseen gunman fires off three consecutive shots of increasing distance from the dog and duck, who comically try to dodge them.
Falco	Throws a jumping cartwheel kick. Swipes downwards with both wings.
Fox	Jumps forwards while performing a spinning dropkick. Throws a jumping cartwheel kick.
Ganondorf	Leans into a forward elbow thrust. Pulls out the SpaceWorld 2000 sword and slams it onto the ground in front of himself.
Greninja	Performs an inward reverse-grip slash with a water blade.
Hero	Attacks with a two-handed, downward sword slash.
Ice Climbers	Slam their hammers on the ground.
Ike	Lifts Ragnell over himself and slams it onto the ground.
Incineroar	Performs an Enzuigiri.
Inkling	Swings an Inkbrush forwards.
Isabelle	Cracks a party popper, causing an explosion of confetti in front of herself.
Ivysaur	Plants its vines onto the ground and uses them to vault itself forwards for a full-body tackle.
Jigglypuff	Throws a jumping-forward side kick.
Joker	Swings his knife downwards in front of himself while leaning forwards. If active, Arsene swings both his arms downwards in an X-shaped slash.
Kazuya	Throws a powerful punch in his demon form.
Ken	Performs an inwards roundhouse kick.
King Dedede	Lifts his hammer up and slams it onto the ground in front of himself.
King K. Rool	Dons a boxing glove and punches straight forwards with it.
Kirby	Throws a jumping-forward side kick.
Link	Swings the Master Sword straight downwards to the ground. Swings the Master Sword inward with both hands, then outward with one. A two-hit natural combo, with the second slash requiring the A button to be pressed again.
Little Mac	Throws a cross, a downwards body blow, or a wide-angled uppercut, depending on the angle.
Lucario	Leans forwards and performs a double palm thrust, blasting aura outwards alongside it.
Lucas	Swings inwards with a stick. It can reflect projectiles if timed correctly.
Lucina	Swings Parallel Falchion straight downwards in a wide arc from behind her onto the ground in front of her.
Luigi	Throws an enormous punch, inflating his fist. Throws a straight horizontal spearhand.
Mario	Throws an enormous punch, inflating his fist. Unleashes a fiery explosion via a palm thrust.
Marth	Swings Falchion straight downwards in a wide arc from behind him onto the ground in front of him.
Mega Man	The Charge Shot; grips his Mega Buster, then charges and fires a shot from it. Its range and damage increases with the charge.
Meta Knight	Draws Galaxia in, then performs a near-instantaneous outward slash with it.
Mewtwo	Unleashes a blast of darkness from its outstretched palms.
Mii Brawler	Unleashes a powerful straight punch.
Mii Gunner	Rapidly fires a stream of shots from the arm cannon.
Mii Swordfighter	Slashes downwards and inwards with their sword.
Min Min	Punches with her equipped ARM, with either a massive Megawatt punch, a curved Ramram strike, or a Dragon strike with an additional laser beam if held. Unlike the rest of the cast, she can only hold her side smash for 30 frames before it automatically comes out.
Mr. Game & Watch	Forcefully swings a flaming torch forwards; based on the Game & Watch minigame Fire Attack.
Mythra	Forcefully swings the Aegis Sword downwards into the ground.
Ness	Swings inwards with a baseball bat. It can reflect projectiles if timed correctly.
Olimar	Commands his leading Pikmin to perform a spinning, leaping full-body tackle. The damage and knockback depends on the Pikmin commanded.
Pac-Man	Swings his palm forwards, summoning Blinky to perform a tackle.
Palutena	Summons a pair of ethereal wings and claps them together in front of herself.
Peach	Swings upwards and inwards with either a golf club, tennis racket, or frying pan.
Pichu	Unleashes a multi-hitting electric spark from its cheeks.
Pikachu	Unleashes an electric spark from its cheeks.
Piranha Plant	Transforms its head into that of a Prickly Piranha Plant and performs an inward-swinging headbutt.
Pit	Performs a simple two-hitting combo of slashes.
Pyra	Forcefully swings the Aegis Sword downwards into the ground.
R.O.B.	Fires a laser blast from his eyes.
Richter	Leans far forwards and performs a tremendously long-ranged whip crack with the full length of the Vampire Killer.
Ridley	Leans forwards and exhales an exploding ball of plasma in his open mouth.
Robin	Slashes upwards, ending with their blade in a forwards position.
Rosalina & Luma	Rosalina: Leans forwards and unleashes a small galactic blast from her wand. Luma: Delivers a strong straight punch.
Roy	Swings the Binding Blade straight downwards in a wide arc from behind him onto the ground in front of him. A two-handed, downward slash with the Binding Blade.
Ryu	Steps forwards and performs the Joudan Sokutogeri, a powerful lunging side kick.
Samus	Thrusts her arm cannon forwards. Thrusts her arm cannon forwards alongside a burst of flame.
Sephiroth	Performs a two-handed upward slash with Masamune while keeping it horizontal.
Sheik	Performs two quick jumping kicks, moving slightly forwards.
Shulk	Stabs forwards with the Monado, then opens up its physical blade to stab a second time with the light beam hidden within it.
Simon	Leans far forwards and performs a tremendously long-ranged whip crack with the full length of the Vampire Killer.
Snake	Takes out an RPG-7, aims it at the ground in front of himself, and then detonates a rocket at his feet.
Sonic	Performs the Windup Punch from Sonic the Fighters, in which he rears back and then delivers a powerful straight punch.
Sora	A strong, horizontal swing of the Keyblade.
Squirtle	Retreats into its shell and performs a jumping tackle. Swings its head inwards while spitting a jet of water to strengthen the blow.
Steve	A sweeping sword attack based off the sweep attack exclusive to the Java Edition of Minecraft.
Terry	A spinning kick where he slightly reels back beforehand.
Toon Link	Swings the Master Sword inward with both hands, then outward with one. A two-hit natural combo, with the second slash requiring a second press of the A button. Leans forwards and slashes upwards in reverse grip.
Villager	Leans forwards while holding a large bowling ball, then drops it to strike the area beneath.
Wario	Performs the Dash Attack, in which he bashes the area just in front of himself with his shoulder. Performs a dramatic fist-inflating backhanded punch.
Wii Fit Trainer	Steps forwards, assuming the warrior pose to strike with a spearhand.
Wolf	Charges forwards amidst a claw thrust, then abruptly stops while twisting his claws. Plants his feet and performs a forward palm thrust.
Yoshi	Rears his head back and then performs a powerful forwards headbutt.
Young Link	Swings the Kokiri Sword inward with both hands, then outward with one. A two-hit natural combo, with the second slash requiring a second press of the A button.
Zelda	Leans forwards and unleashes a sparkling burst of magic, striking many times.
Zero Suit Samus	Swings her plasma whip forwards. Throws a spinning side kick and immediately follows it up with a straight one.

Notable forward smashes

• King Dedede's forward smash is the only forward smash in the game that can fully break a shield in its natural state, and the strongest in the game except for Lucario's with full Aura and Hero's if he scores a critical hit. It is also one of the only that possesses a Windbox, shockwave, and numerous different hitboxes. It is the only forward smash that is capable of killing under 20%, making it strong enough to be the only forward smash to be generally considered among the strongest attacks in the entire series; it is the 4th strongest attack without special conditions in Ultimate, losing to only Mr. Game & Watch's 9, Ganondorf's Aerial Reverse Warlock Punch, and Roy/Chrom's Flare Blade. However, alongside Snake's, it is also one of only two forward smashes that only activates upon or after frame 40.
  • Although, Link has the most powerful smash (in damage) when charged, with two slashes.
• From Super Smash Bros. Melee onwards, Link, Young Link, and Toon Link (except the latter in Ultimate) possess the only forward smashes that are natural combos.
  • Furthermore, the first hit of Link's forward smash in Ultimate is capable of launching a unique sword beam projectile when Link is at 0%. This projectile travels quickly over a long distance, and its size and damage output are greatly increased by charging the attack. It also substantially increases the damage output of the attack when used at close range.
• Mega Man, Olimar, and Villager's forward smashes, as well as Link's aforementioned Ultimate sword beam, are the only four forward smashes which are projectiles. Of those two, Mega Man and Link's projectiles are the only projectiles to increase in hitbox size as the attack is charged. Villager's is one of the only projectiles that fall downwards instead of traveling forwards. Mii Gunner's forward smash may appear to be a projectile, but is technically not, as its shots do not act independently of the Mii Gunner.
• Ness's forward smash is able to reflect projectiles. This property is shared with Lucas's very similar forward smash, as well. These two, along with Min Min's up smash and Kazuya's Left Splits Kick, are the only non-special attacks with this property.
• Mr. Game & Watch's forward smash is notable for its disjointed range, high power when sweetspotted, and very low ending lag.
  • In Melee and Brawl, it also has a very long duration and in the former game, it has fast startup. While the move's long duration was significantly toned down in Smash 4 and Ultimate, its strong power remained intact while also still having relatively low ending lag.
  • Additionally, in Ultimate it can be combo'd into from his down smash bury, making it one of his best KO options.
• For her forward smash, Peach is capable of using three different weapons, each of which has different properties. In Melee and Brawl, it is entirely random which of the three is used for the attack. In Smash 4, the attack cycles from a tennis racket to a golf club to a frying pan, making its use more consistent. In Ultimate, it was changed again to be angle-dependent (neutral for the golf club, up for the frying pan, down for the tennis racket). Daisy, as her Echo Fighter, inherits those properties for her forward smash.
• Little Mac's forward smash is notable for having substantially different animations and functions when angled, unlike most angleable smash attacks. The up-angled variation is a powerful uppercut that acts as an anti-air and strong vertical finisher, the neutral-angled variation is a straight cross that inflicts exceptionally high knockback, and the down-angled variation is a low hook that inflicts low knockback but very high shield damage. Traits common to all three variation are relatively low startup and ending lag. Like Little Mac's other smash attacks, it also has super armor frames during the startup; in Ultimate, Special Zoom will activate if Little Mac is hit during the armor frames.
• Wolf's forward smash is by far the longest reaching forward smash in Brawl, covering nearly 1/2 of Final Destination. Furthermore, due to its range, it hits twice because of the initial hit's low angle and deceptively fast startup (frame 10).
  • In Ultimate, Wolf has a new forward smash that has been significantly reworked, now being much slower due to having twice as much startup lag (coming out on frame 20 compared to frame 10 in Brawl), as well as less range and only consisting of one hit rather than two. However, it deals much greater damage, allowing it to KO opponents more consistently, while its ending lag was decreased by four frames. Combined with its slower startup, this makes it much safer and more difficult to punish, even being safe on shield if spaced, and due to its low cooldown, it can also be used to bait approaches from the opponent.
• Pit's forward smash in Brawl is the fastest in the series by a considerable margin coming out on frame 6. In every other Smash game, the fastest forward smashes come out on frame 10.
• In Brawl, Wario's forward smash has both transcendent priority and super armor, a combination which makes it nearly impossible to intercept when combined with its high speed. It comes out on frame 9 making it the second-fastest forward smash in the series.
  • The only other forward smashes to possess super armor are Squirtle's in Brawl and Little Mac's (regardless of angle). Sephiroth's (in Winged Form), Bowser's and Kazuya's have damage-based armor instead.
• Palutena's forward smash has a reasonably powerful windbox just beyond the reach of the main portion of the attack, allowing it potential usage for niche edge-guards and gimps.
• While charging a forward smash, Corrin holds Omega Yato forwards to grind enemies at close range with its teeth for several potential weak hits. This makes it the only forward smash to have a hitbox while charging.
  • Ness's up smash and down smash have similar properties to Corrin's forward smash, except in Smash 3DS/Wii U.
• The pattern of the gunshots in Duck Hunt's forward smash, as well as the angles at which they launch, are slightly randomized. They will also become spaced further apart, and thereby reach further if the attack is charged.
• In Ultimate, Sonic's forward smash is notable for its tremendous range, being able to outrange a lot of moves. Aside from that, the angled down version is useful for 2 frame punishes and the move overall is one of his primary K.O attacks thanks to its respectable power.
• Ganondorf's forward smash in Ultimate, nicknamed "Doriyah" after the grunt he makes while performing it, is a huge two-handed downward sword slash. It covers above and even a bit behind Ganondorf, with fantastic range for a melee attack. Its power is immense, rivaled only by Bowser and surpassed only by King Dedede, max aura Lucario, Hero with a crit, and Kazuya. It is relatively slow though, coming out frame 29 and having 39 frames of ending lag. Additionally, due to too fast movement badly interpolating the hitboxes, there is a large blindspot near Ganondorf's head during the downward swing.
• Wii Fit Trainer's forward smash can hit behind her, although this is very difficult to do on opponents with small hurtboxes. It is also the only one that can hit on both sides.
• Min Min's forward smash is extremely atypical for a number of reasons:
  • Min Min is able to use either the attack button or the special button to perform a smash attack. She can use them consecutively.
  • It is the longest ranged forward smash in the entire game with her Dragon ARM laser, beating out Mega Man's fully charged forward smash.
  • It has multiple variants on her forward smash depending on which ARM she uses. The Ramram offers a larger hitbox with more active frames, the Megawatt possesses incredible power at the cost of range, and the Dragon features a laser when held down.
  • Min Min's forward smash changes properties when charged for at least fifteen frames, causing it to deal more base damage along with a larger hitbox and elemental effects.
  • As of update 11.0.0, it is the only smash attack in the series that has a different maximum charge time instead of the default, being able to be held for only 30 frames instead of the standard 120 frames.
  • The move deals more damage in the middle of its trajectory than when it first starts moving and when fully extended.
• Pyra's forward smash, named Flare Smash, is spotlighted in her debut as a counterpart to Mythra's Foresight character ability as well as in the Move List. Despite this, it has no unique traits, although it is one of the most powerful and longest ranged forward smashes in the game.

Gallery

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  Mario using his forward smash in Melee

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  Lucario using its forward smash against King Dedede. Notice the high range of Lucario's forward smash.

See also

• Down smash
• Up smash