Forward tilt

Mario's forward tilt.

Strong side, more commonly known as a "forward tilt" ("f-tilt") or "side tilt", is a strong attack performed by any character by holding the control stick forward and pressing the attack button while on the ground. This is distinct from a forward smash in that the control stick is only tilted, not tapped, when performing this attack. Strong side attacks generally act as either powerful alternatives to a character's forward smash or as quick defensive moves with less lag time than a smash.

Along with certain forward smashes, some strong sides can be "angled" up or down to some extent, pointing the hitbox in a diagonal direction instead of totally forward. Most attacks that are angled up are slightly more powerful than if they weren't angled, while some are weaker if angled downwards. Knockback is also affected by angling, with up angles providing more vertical knockback and down angles providing more horizontal knockback. Strong sides cannot be charged like smash attacks.

Forward tilts in Super Smash Bros.

The majority of forward tilts are used just for spacing, a majority of them are weak for combos outside of facing a wall. Pikachu, Ness, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Mario, Luigi, Jigglypuff, Captain Falcon, Samus, and Fox are examples of this. Of the more basic forward tilts, Captain Falcon is usually considered to have the best forward tilt while DK and Ness are considered to have the worst. Samus's is also slightly unique as it is slightly quicker and is more often used than the other "bad" forward tilts due to Samus having few good ground moves. All forward tilts are as follows:

• Mario: Roundhouse kick. Good for spacing, comes out fast with decent range. 13%.
• Luigi:Roundhouse Kick. Decent spacer and KOs at very high damage percentages. 10%.
• Donkey Kong: Extended punch. A somewhat slow punch forward with decent range and good knockback. 12%.
• Yoshi: Kicks suddenly forward. Can be angled. Below-average upward diagonal knockback. Useful for setting up his forward aerial spike due to its hitstun. Referred to as the best Forward tilt in SSB due to its very fast speed and power. 13%
• Link: Sword Chop. Link brings his sword up and slashes down. Somewhat slow but above average damage and knockback for a forward tilt. 18%.
• Samus: Roundhouse Kick. Very fast, little ending lag. 9-12% (depends on angle)
• Kirby: Roundhouse kick. Rather short range, but fast. Can be angled. 10%.
• Fox: Roundhouse Kick. A fast but somewhat short-ranged move, this move is good for spacing or leading into a wall combo. 9%.
• Captain Falcon: Kicks to his side for 13%. Like most forward tilts, this one can be angled. A good defensive or punishing move.
• Pikachu: Pikachu stands on its two hands and kicks its two feet forward. Around the same if not slightly lower range than its neutral attack. Can be slightly angled up or down, though not very noticeable. Commonly considered to be Pikachu's worst attack. 10%.
• Jigglypuff: Circles in place and kicks. Can be angled. The knockback angle can be adjusted according to the angle of the attack. 8%.
• Ness: Roundhouse kick. He kicks in front rapidly, his body moves with it, giving it minor ending lag. Decent close-up spacer. 9%.

Forward tilts in Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Bowser: Bowser hits with his knuckle. Has a bit of start up lag and little range, fairly good knockback for a tilt. 6%-14%
• Captain Falcon: Kicks his foot out in front of him. Fast with decent range. There are not a significant amount of combo options from an forward tilt because of its horizontal hit trajectory, low knockback and stun time, and wind-down lag. One can try to follow up with a up aerial or a Jump-canceled grab, and even a dash-canceled down tilt or Raptor Boost, but they are not true combos and can be countered by every character. It may be a good idea to wavedash slightly forward to maintain pressure, and enter a defensive stance or used after a pivot as a surprise attack to keep enemies away. A forward tilt, angled upward, can stun enemies long enough from an up/down throw that it can lead to a Knee Smash. 11%
• Donkey Kong: Slaps in front of him. Spaces opponents out. 10%.
• Dr. Mario:A kick forward, stronger than Mario's. 8%.
• Falco: Quickly kicks his foot out. Fast, with impressive range for a tilt. 9%.
• Fox: Sticks a foot out to the side. This is best used for a quick close-ranged spacing move. Can be angled. 4-9%.
• Ganondorf:Quick kick in front. It has far reach for a tilt, but is on the slow side. High knockback for a tilt, it is capable of KOing at high percentages. Can be tilted further to a higher, stronger kick or a low, ground-touching quick kick perfect for edgeguarding. 13%.
• Ice Climbers: A similar swinging motion in front as their Neutral Attack, only slightly slower with more knockback and damage. Can Wobble. 7% and 8%, adds up to 15% if both Climber's hits connect.
• Jigglypuff: Quick roundhouse spin, with foot extended. 10%.
• Kirby: Kirby does a quick roundhouse kick forwards. Decent range. 11%.
• Link: Raises sword and brings it down in front of him. Has an upwards hitbox, which can substitute for other anti-air moves in a few cases, and has above-average knockback. 13-15% damage.
• Luigi: Luigi's forward tilt is a sideways kick with medium knockback. It is often used simply to push the opponent away, giving Luigi extra time to maneuver, though hard to follow up with an attack. Can be angled. 5-10% damage.
• Mario: A fast kick forward. Often set up with a throw into Mario's combos. 9%.
• Marth: A fast forward sword swipe, much like the dash attack with less lag and a higher angle.
• Mewtwo: Tail Slap. Mewtwo flicks its tail forward. Quick, decent range, with a disjointed hitbox. 10%.
• Mr. Game & Watch: Lion - Mr. Game & Watch thrusts a chair forwards. Has long range, but significant starting lag. 10%.
• Ness: Ness does a roundhouse kick forward. 11%.
• Peach: Does an 180 degree kick. Capable of seriously juggling heavies at low percentages if they lose their second jump. Can KO opponents above 120%. 3-13%.
• Pichu: Shoves both of its feet forward. Low range and knockback, though a fast move. 8%.
• Pikachu: Pikachu plants itself on its upper paws and kicks its lower paws in front of its body. This move has surprising range, and hits for nearly the whole duration of its animation. Can be used as a defensive attack, or as an edgeguard. It is best used as a counter to shuffling characters, as it will almost always interrupt their approach. Can be angled. Low damage, low knockback.
• Roy: A slash in front, somewhat slower than his Neutral Attack. Can KO at high percentages or when the blast line is close by. 10%.
• Samus: Extremely fast kick forward. Excellent in stopping close-up foes. 10%.
• Shiek: A round kick in front of her. Short range, but launches the foe directly up leaving them open for aerial combos. 6%.
• Yoshi: A similar attack to the first hit of his neutral attack, only with more range and knockback. 9-10%.
• Young Link: Brings sword down, in an axe-like fashion. Has a small noticeable startup delay. 12%.
• Zelda: Swipes her hand forward with sparks. Has transcendent priority. 13%.

Characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl with forward tilts that can be angled

Kicks/legs

• Mario (often angled down by CPUs)
• Luigi
• Ness
• Fox
• Falco
• Kirby
• Jigglypuff
• Samus (easiest angled tilt to distinguish)
• Zero Suit Samus
• Pikachu
• Sonic (difficult to distinguish angling, attack barely altered in general)
• Captain Falcon

Punches/arms

• Wario (If angled upwards, Wario will grunt during the start-up lag instead of during the actual attack.)
• Donkey Kong (difficult to distinguish)
• Diddy Kong
• Bowser
• R.O.B.
• Wolf

Tail

• Yoshi
• Squirtle
• Charizard

Weapons

• Ice Climbers
• Ike

Other

• Lucas
• Lucario
• Zelda

Characters in Brawl with forward tilts that can't be angled

Kicks/legs

• Peach - Kicks straight up, while she bends back completely.
• Sheik - Does a spinning kick, great for juggles.
• Ganondorf - Kicks straight forward. Very much like Captain Falcon's, aside from not being able to be angled, and it has more horizontal knockback. Commonly called the "Sparta Kick" of the film "300", where Leonidas, king of Sparta, kicks the Persian into the hole - however, Ganondorf used the kick in Twilight Princess, which came out before the movie.
• Snake - Darts his knee with fixed knockback in front of him and after a powerful punch. Great speed and great range (which both hits have huge disjointed range), doing a total of 21% and high knockback, making it arguably the best forward tilt in the game. Great damage racker. First he knees with set knockback against grounded opponents (but has knockback on aerial opponents). If another strong side is done right after the first one, he'll do a double fist that's stronger than the first one, like Toon Link's forward smash. The properties of the first kick can be exploited. Doing that is called knee locking. Overall, one of the quickest moves of his arsenal, and is a very powerful KO move at a high percentage.
• Olimar - Thrusts his body forward in the air with a kick.

Weapons

• Pit - Thrusts both of his swords forward.
• Meta Knight - Swings his sword forward, then can do two more swings into a combo, like a three-hit neutral combo.
• King Dedede - Spins his hammer in front of him. Notable that it is the longest ranged physical attack in the game.
• Link - Swings his sword vertically downwards.
• Toon Link - Same as Link's, but different in that it stalls the opponent, like if hit by a sweet spot.
• Marth - Does a slashing uppercut. Sometimes mistaken for being able to be angled, due to his up tilt being very similar to his forward tilt.
• Mr. Game & Watch - Pulls out a chair from Lion in front of him.

Miscellaneous

• Ivysaur - Thrusts its body forward a bit and then spins the leaves of its flower. Can hit multiple times.