Soccer Ball

Soccer Ball
Lucario prepares to kick a Soccer Ball.
Universe	Soccer Mario
Appears in	Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Article on Super Mario Wiki	Soccer Ball

The Soccer Ball (サッカーボール, Soccer Ball) is an item that appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 4, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It is called a Football in the PAL versions of Smash 4 and Ultimate, but it retains the name Soccer Ball in all versions of Brawl.

Origin

A super strike in Super Mario Strikers.

This item is based on the Super Mario Strikers version of a soccer ball. When a team captain is in control of the ball, the player can hold the "B" button to perform a "Super Strike", a powerful move that launches the ball violently towards the net; if the player manages to pull off the super strike perfectly, the ball is unstoppable and knocks the goalie into the net, earning the player double points. When this move is performed by Mario, the ball is surrounded by red fire.

The trophies for the Soccer Ball item also connect it with Soccer for the NES, Nintendo's first soccer-based video game, rather than strictly identifying it with the Mario Strikers games.

Overview

A soccer ball launched at a player with a Falcon Punch.

The Soccer Ball cannot be picked up, but can be knocked around with attacks. In Brawl, a decently strong attack will cause it to catch fire and be launched diagonally upwards in the direction of the attack. The more powerful the attack, the further and faster the Soccer Ball will be launched, and the harder the hit from it will be. Powerful attacks can launch the ball through huge distances and deal huge damage and knockback, enough to KO most characters at low damage percentages, with extremely powerful attacks such as a Home-Run Bat swing giving the Soccer Ball OHKO power. As Soccer Balls take more damage, they will travel farther distances and deal more damage and knockback. The ball cannot be stopped while it's flaming, but it can be reflected. It will also bounce off of set Bumpers.

In Brawl, Soccer Balls have a peculiar travel arc: once a ball would be expected to start slowing down, its fire goes out and it stops immediately, falling straight downwards to the ground harmlessly. From SSB4 onwards, Soccer Balls demonstrate more realistic physics and do not have to be on fire or on a straight trajectory for it to be damaging; any ball that is moving as a result of a player attacking it will have an active hitbox until it slows down enough. In addition, any Soccer Ball that falls off the stage will immediately teleport back onstage in a random spot, making it the only item that cannot be disposed of by moving it past a blast line. A Soccer Ball will only disappear once its natural timer for its duration in play expires; moving a Soccer Ball past a blast line does not reset this timer. Apart from this physics change, Soccer Balls in SSB4 deal considerably lower knockback, no longer being capable of low percentage one-hit KOs even if hit by extremely strong attacks (such as an aerial reverse Warlock Punch).

Trophies

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Soccer Ball's trophy in Brawl

Soccer Ball

An attack item that flies when struck and explodes as it bounces, causing damage to whomever it hits. As it's a soccer ball, you'd think hitting it with your hands would be against the rules, but that's not the case. Unleash your fiercest attacks on it. Really, it's OK. The ball's design seems old fashioned, but it sure does bring back lots of soccer memories, doesn't it?

: Soccer

: Super Mario Strikers

: Soccer

: Mario Smash Football

In Super Smash Bros. 4

The Soccer Ball trophy appears in both versions. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U it is part of the Brawler Trophy Box.

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

Soccer Ball's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Soccer Ball

Football

A strong attack on a soccer ball will set it on fire, and any enemies hit will go flying from the impact. Depending on how you hit it, the ball will fly in different directions. Luckily, no one has to retrieve it if you send it off the stage—this ball will return to the battlefield for some time.

: Soccer (03/1987)

: Mario Strikers Charged (07/2007)

Attack a football to ignite it and send it blazing through the air into any hapless foe in its path. The direction it goes in depends on how you attack the ball, so put some thought into it to cause some devastating effects. The ball comes back if you miss, so try as many times as you need to!

: Soccer (01/1987)

: Mario Strikers Charged Football (05/2007)

Gallery

• 

  Official artwork in Brawl.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	サッカーボール	Soccer Ball
English (NTSC)	Soccer Ball	—
English (PAL)	Soccer Ball Football	—
French (PAL)	Ballon de foot	Soccer Ball
French (NTSC)	Ballon de soccer	Soccer Ball
German	Fußball	Soccer Ball
Spanish	Balón	Ball
Italian	Pallone da calcio	Soccer Ball
Chinese	足球	Soccer Ball
Korean	축구공	Soccer Ball
Dutch	Voetbal	Soccer Ball
Russian	Футбольный мяч	Soccer Ball

Trivia

• Brawl's trophy refers to the Soccer Ball's design as "old-fashioned" as a reference to the actual soccer balls used for the FIFA World Cup (mainly the Adidas Telstar utilized in the 1970 and 1974 tournaments); while the standard truncated icosahedron shape was used starting in 1970, this design was discontinued starting with the 2006 incarnation of the tournament.
• In Training Mode, if Soccer Balls are spawned right into one another and attacked, they will launch further than a ball on its own since the burning balls will hit balls that stop burning, reigniting them and repeating the process.