Down smash

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The first part of Ganondorf's Down smash, the forward part

The second part, the backwards kick

Down smash (abbreviated "dsmash") is a smash attack performed by any character by tapping the Control Stick downward and pressing A at the same time or by pressing down on the C-stick. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the C-stick could not be used in one-player mode. It is generally an attack that hits low to the ground and hits on both sides of the character performing the attack, though a small minority only hit to the front of themselves via the down smash.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it can be charged by holding down the A button for up to two seconds, resulting in higher damage and knockback. A typical attribute of a down smash is that they hit both the front and rear of the user, making them useful for crowds. They are usually defensive moves and for most characters it is faster than their side smash. Most Down Smashes will attack the front and back in an alternating fashion, such as Mario's, where he does a spin to kick enemies, but a few can hit both areas at the same time, such as Fox's, where he does "the splits" to kick the area in front of and behind him in one motion. The disadvantage to most Down Smashes is that they tend to have lower knockback than either the character's Up or Forward Smashes. Mewtwo's down smash in Melee does not, and there are several down smashes in Brawl that do not.

List of down smashes in Super Smash Bros.

• Mario: Does a breakdancing sweep.
• Luigi: Similar to Mario.
• Donkey Kong: Extends his legs while spinning.
• Yoshi: Sweeps his tail around him.
• Link: Slashes in front of him, then behind him.
• Samus: Extends her leg and twirls.
• Kirby: Thrusts his legs out while spinning.
• Fox: Does a split kick.
• Captain Falcon: Extends his leg and twirls.
• Pikachu: Does a breakdancing sweep.
• Jigglypuff: Kicks on both sides around it simultaneously.
• Ness: Does a "Walk the Dog" with his yoyo.

List of down smashes in Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Mario: Does a breakdancing sweep.
• Luigi: Similar to Mario with upwards knockback.
• Dr. Mario: Similar to Mario but with more knockback.
• Peach: Twirls her dress. Very high damage and powerful knockback if multiple hits land.
• Bowser: Spins while inside his shell.
• Donkey Kong: Holds up his arms and punches downwards.
• Yoshi: Swipes his tail in front then behind him.
• Link: Slashes in front then behind him.
• Young Link: Identical to Link.
• Zelda: Kicks in front then behind her.
• Sheik: Balances on her head and breakdances.
• Ganondorf: Kicks in front then behind him. Similar to Captain Falcon.
• Samus: Sweeps her leg in a circle.
• Ice Climbers: Swing their hammers around themselves.
• Kirby: Does a spinning split kick.
• Fox: Does a split kick.
• Falco: Similar to Fox.
• Captain Falcon: Kicks in front then behind him.
• Pikachu: Spins around while emitting sparks.
• Pichu: Similar to Pikachu.
• Mewtwo: Shoots a blast of darkness in front of it.
• Jigglypuff: Extends its foot on both sides of it.
• Marth: Slashes in front, then behind him. Identical to Link.
• Roy: Similar to Marth.
• Ness: Does a "Walk the Dog" with his yoyo.
• Mr. Game & Watch: Slams two hammers to the sides of him.

List of down smashes in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Mario: Does a breakdancing sweep that travels very fast.
• Luigi: Same as Mario's, but more vertical knockback.
• Peach: Spins around with her outstretching skirt slashing and sucking in opponents, like Pikachu's. Has been nerfed in Brawl in power, damage and ability to trap opponents better, being extremely hard to get hit by all slashes, although long duration, fast start-up and being able to semi-spike opponents hanging on edges can help somewhat. Has a 20% chance of tripping.
• Bowser: Spins around very fast within his shell, slicing anybody within range. This move is harder to escape in Brawl than in Melee.
• Donkey Kong: Crashes his two fists on either side of himself. Very fast, great knockback.
• Diddy Kong: Similar to Luigi's. A fast breakdancing sweep with horizontal knockback.
• Yoshi: Swings his tail around on either side of himself. Mediocre horizontal knockback.
• Wario: Breakdances, but balances on his back and hits with his head. Gradually gets weaker as the move progresses.
• Link: Slices his sword along the ground in front of himself and then behind himself. This is also used in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
• Zelda: Kicks forward and backward with incredible speed. Requires less than a second to use, and is the fastest down smash in the game. And no lag whatsoever.
• Sheik: Breakdances on her head and spins around kicking while leaping back up. Has three hitboxes, making it tough to shield.
• Ganondorf: Kicks strongly in front of him, then shifts his foot to kick behind him. If hit with first kick, the attack mostly carries opponent to second hit. Is somewhat laggy.
• Toon Link: Same as Link's only faster, and first hit usually carries into second. KOs at very low percentages if only the first hit connects and if the opponent has poor horizontal recovery.
• Samus: Sweeps her leg around in a circle around herself to inflict vertical knockback. Very fast, but has ending lag.
• Zero Suit Samus: Fires a close-range, uncharged paralyzer bolt at the ground in front of herself. No initial knockback, but commonly used to set up for side smash or Plasma Whip.
• Pit: Similar to Link's. Slashes once in front, then behind.
• Ice Climbers: They swing their hammers once around themselves going about 270 degrees around. Second most damaging down smash in the game, but mediocre knockback.
• R.O.B.: Lowers arm unit on torso unit, and then quickly spins arms around many times for good range, multiple hits, good knockback, and a useful damage racker.
• Kirby: Feet enlarge and Kirby spins, jutting them out to the side. It is similar to Fox's down smash, except that Fox does not spin during the attack.
• Meta Knight: Extremely quick front and back swipe. It is Meta Knight's best ground kill move and is one of the fastest smash attacks in the game.
• King Dedede: Similar to Ice Climbers, only slower, more damage, knockback, range, and priority. It sends foes skyward.
• Olimar: Sends two Pikmin to leap out on both sides. Very quick, but has less knockback than his side smash.
• Fox: A long-ranged split-kick. A fast and useful move, however the lag at the end of the move leaves him vulnerable.
• Falco: A short ranged split kick. Can semi-spike occasionally while edgeguarding if hits with his front foot's heel. A good move to use as punishing a dodged or shielded attack.
• Wolf: Claws on either side of himself at blinding speeds. Arguably Wolf's best ground killer.
• Captain Falcon: Kicks powerfully forward, then swings his leg behind him to kick again. Laggy, but good knockback and somewhat useful range.
• Pikachu: Spins around while emitting blasts of sparks from its body. Multiple hitboxes are able to pull in opponents very easily. Short range, and a good damage racker. If DI'd out of, it becomes a semi-spike.
• Squirtle: Spins around quickly in its shell. Poor range.
• Ivysaur: Whips its two vines on either side of itself for moderate horizontal knockback. Very punishable ending lag.
• Charizard: Leaps up a small distance, then crashes down quickly. Causes an earthquake that pushes opponents away.
• Lucario: Pulls hands apart quickly on either side with aura imbued at the tips. Powerful, but some start-up lag.
• Jigglypuff: A split kick similar to Kirby's and Fox's down smash. It is always a semi-spike.
• Marth: Slashes in front, then the back. Good edgeguarder and a very strong attack if tipped.
• Ike: Does an odd performance 180 degree wrist turning sword swing on either side of himself. His fastest ground attack.
• Ness: Does a "Walk the Dog" trick with his yo-yo. Hits behind, then in front with his yo-yo. Can damage while charging, but charging does not increase damage or knockback of the move on release.
• Lucas: Blasts a huge amount of PSI hexagons at his feet, but only on one side. Can still hit people behind him that are close enough, similar to Falco's side smash. Great knockback and range, but huge start-up and ending lag. Can be a semi-spike. Strongest in the game if all hexagons hit and fully charged.
• Mr. Game & Watch: Swings two mallets down on either side of himself. Great vertical knockback. A good semi-spike if not tippered, and comes out faster than most attacks.
• Snake: Plants a motion sensing mine in the ground. If anyone or anything makes contact with it, a huge explosion will ensue. Only one can be planted at a time, and if the platform the one was on disappears, the mine blows up when it lands on the ground. The longer this attack is charged, the more transparent the mine becomes and the more damage it will cause upon explosion.
• Sonic: Darts forwards and backwards very fast in his spinball. Some start-up lag, but decent power.

Notable down smashes

• Peach's down smash in Melee, which is arguably the most feared of all smashes due to its priority, knockback, quick start up, and damage. It does at least 70% damage if the opponent attempted to crouch cancel. The smash has been nerfed in Brawl and it is not as useful.
• Mewtwo's down smash is the only down smash in Melee that does not cover both the front and rear of the user.
• Snake's down smash allows him to plant a mine, which does no damage unless stepped on (this includes Snake), and is deactivated when he plants another or is KO'd. If for any reason the mine falls from the platform it was on, it detonates on impact with anything.
• Pikachu's down smash in Brawl seems to be a slightly weaker version of Peach's Melee Down smash.
• Zelda's down smash is the fastest down smash in Melee and Brawl.
• Zero Suit Samus's down smash only hits the area in front of her, and deals very little knockback, but paralyzes whoever is hit by it, opening up a chance for a follow up attack. The knockback is overridden by any other knockback during the stun.
• Ness's down smash has unique properties by which it can be charged. Rather than at the beginning of the attack, the Smash attack is charged up in the middle of the attack, but only if Ness' Yo-yo comes to rest on a flat surface. Charging the smash does not increase damage or knockback.
• Lucas's only reaches a very short distance behind him; characters must be almost touching him to be in the rear hitbox. It is the third strongest smash attack.

Types of Down Smashes

Sweeping Down Smashes

The down smash of the following characters "sweeps" around them. That is to say it hits to one side of them and then hits the other side.

In Super Smash Bros.:

• Luigi
• Mario
• Link
• Samus
• Captain Falcon
• Ness
• Yoshi
• Pikachu

In Super Smash Bros. Melee:

• Dr. Mario
• Mario
• Luigi
• Yoshi
• Captain Falcon
• Ganondorf
• Ness
• Ice Climbers
• Samus
• Zelda
• Link
• Young Link
• Marth
• Roy

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl:

• Mario
• Link
• Samus
• Marth
• Luigi
• Diddy Kong
• Zelda
• Pit
• Meta Knight
• Ike
• Yoshi
• Ganondorf
• Ice Climbers
• King Dedede
• Wolf
• Ness
• Sonic
• Toon Link
• Captain Falcon

One-Sided Down Smash

The down smash of the following characters only hits the side in front of the character.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee:

• Mewtwo

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl:

• Zero Suit Samus
• Lucas

Simultaneous Down Smash

The down smash of the following characters hits to both sides of the character at the same time, making it the most advantageous type of Down Smash to clear a crowd.

In Super Smash Bros.:

• Donkey Kong
• Kirby
• Fox
• Jigglypuff

In Super Smash Bros. Melee:

• Bowser
• Peach
• Donkey Kong
• Falco
• Fox
• Kirby
• Sheik
• Pichu
• Pikachu
• Jigglypuff
• Mr. Game & Watch

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl:

• Donkey Kong
• Kirby
• Fox
• Pikachu
• Mr. Game & Watch
• Sheik
• Falco
• Squirtle
• Ivysaur
• Charizard
• Peach
• Lucario
• Bowser
• Wario
• R.O.B.
• Olimar
• Jigglypuff

See also

• Down smash chart
• Forward smash
• Up smash