Slash

Ike's forward smash hitting Snake, showing the boomerang effect.

There are various attacks in the Smash Bros. series that cause the slash effect. Usually caused by sharp objects, slash attacks are buffed by Slash Attack stickers and defended against by Slash Resistance ones. Slash attacks can be easily identified by their impact effects: they have a white and blue circular slash in Super Smash Bros. and a boomerang-shaped impending angle indicator in Brawl (though grass attacks use this as well); while the impact sound is also often a clue, it cannot be used definitively (for example, many of Toon Link's and Young Link's sword attacks do not sound like slash attacks). There are two sounds for slashing in Super Smash Bros., and three in Super Smash Bros. Melee. In Brawl, there is only one sound effect for all slashing attacks, only differing in speed and pitch. For example, Link's down air has a deep, slow slashing sound, while swipes of Bowser's claws are quick and have a higher pitch.

In Super Smash Bros. 4, a variant of the slash effect is used for attacks such as Luigi's forward smash and Bowser's up smash, known as the stab effect. The two effects appear to be functionally identical, differing only in visuals - the stab effect is shown as a straight line in the direction of the attack, rather than a curve.

List of slash attacks by characters

In SSB

• Kirby - Final Cutter
• Link - All attacks except for neutral aerial, back aerial, throws, Boomerang, and Bomb

In Melee

• Bowser - neutral attack, up tilt, down tilt, up smash (hit 1), down smash, back aerial, down aerial, up throw, Koopa Klaw, Whirling Fortress (all but first hit)
  • Giga Bowser - neutral attack, up tilt, down tilt, up aerial, Koopa Klaw, Whirling Fortress (all but first hit)
• Falco - down tilt, up aerial (hit 1 and hit 2 sourspot), Falco Phantasm
• Fox - Fox Illusion
• Kirby - up smash (sweetspot), Final Cutter, can copy Hero's Bow, Nayru's Love, Needle Storm, Shield Breaker
• Link - All attacks except for neutral aerial, back aerial, pummel, forward throw, back throw, down throw, edge attacks, Boomerang (return hit), and Bomb
• Luigi - forward smash
• Marth - All attacks except dash attack (non-sword), up smash (sides), neutral aerial (body), up aerial (tip), pummel, throws, edge attacks, and Dolphin Slash (late body hit)
• Mewtwo - forward tilt, front floor attack (sweetspot)
• Mr. Game & Watch - back aerial, Judge #4
• Peach - forward tilt (foot)
• Roy - All attacks except for up smash, pummel, edge attacks, Flare Blade, Double-Edge Dance (hit 3 down, hit 4), Flare Blade (non-tip), and Counter; in addition, all tip hitboxes of Roy's otherwise-Slash moves are not Slash.
• Sheik - Neutral attack (hits 1-2), dash attack (clean), up smash, Needle Storm, Chain (non-tip)
• Young Link - All attacks except for neutral aerial, back aerial, down aerial's fire spike, pummel, forward throw, back throw, down throw, edge attacks, Fire Bow, Boomerang, and Bomb
• Zelda - forward tilt (front), Nayru's Love, Farore's Wind (beginning)

In Brawl

• Bowser - neutral attack, down tilt, up tilt, up smash, down smash, forward aerial, back aerial, down aerial, up throw, Flying Slam (in SSE), trip attack
• Charizard - Jab, up tilt, up smash, down tilt, back air (first part), pummel, recovering attacks (ledge and floor), glide attack
• Falco - jab, down tilt, up tilt, forward smash, forward aerial, Falco Phantasm
• Fox - Up smash (sweetspotted), Fox Illusion
• Ike - All normal attacks except two first hits of neutral attack, pummel and throws, Quick Draw, Aether, Counter, Eruption (at the tip of the sword)
• King Dedede - Waddle Dee Toss (Waddle Doos and Gordos only), Super Dedede Jump (stars)
• Kirby - Up smash (sweetspotted), Final Cutter; can copy Hero's Bow, Nayru's Love, Shield Breaker, Chomp, Palutena's Arrow, Mach Tornado, Wolf's Blaster and Eruption
• Link - All normal attacks except for neutral aerial, back aerial, pummels, throws (excluding up throw) and sour-spotted grab air, Hero's Bow, Gale Boomerang, Spin Attack, Triforce Slash
• Lucas - first hit of up smash (though still makes a magic sound)
• Luigi - Forward smash
• Marth - All attacks except throws and pummels
• Meta Knight - All attacks except dash attack and throws (excluding back throw)
• Mr. Game & Watch - Judge #4, back aerial
• Peach - tip of forward tilt, down smash, dash attack (second hit), Peach Parasol (open parasol)
• Pit - All standard attacks except up tilt and ledge attack, forward throw, Palutena's Arrow, Angel Ring
• R.O.B. - Gyro
• Sonic - Forward aerial, up throw
• Sheik - Jab, dash attack, up smash, Chain, and Needle Storm
• Toon Link - All normal attacks except for pummel and throws, Hero's Bow, Spin Attack, Triforce Slash
• Wario - Chomp
• Wolf - jab, forward tilt, down smash, forward aerial, up aerial, down aerial, all throws except forward throw, Blaster (bayonet attached to blaster), Wolf Flash (non-sweetspotted)
• Zelda - Nayru's Love, Farore's Wind (beginning), forward tilt
• Zero Suit Samus - up tilt, up aerial

List of slash attacks by items

In SSB

• Beam Sword
• Certain Pokémon
  • Beedrill
  • Clefairy's Gust
  • Staryu (contact with body)

In Melee

• Beam Sword
• Parasol
• Certain Pokémon
  • Clefairy using Gust
  • Chikorita
  • Scizor
• Ray Gun
• Warp Star meteor smash

In Brawl

• Many Assist trophies
  • Gray Fox
  • Jill
  • Kat & Ana
  • Spinies
  • Lyn
  • Samurai Goroh
  • Saki Amamiya - sword attack
• Certain Pokémon
  • Latios and Latias
  • Lugia
  • Staryu (contact with body)
  • Suicune
  • Unown
  • Weavile
• Ray Gun
• Unira
• Warp Star meteor smash

List of slash attacks by enemies and bosses

• Armight
• Auroros
• Autolance - Stab and sword throw
• Bucculus
• Crazy Hand - Finger Drill (upper parts in Melee), Flying Slap (all but center in Melee)
• Cymul
• Darknut
• Duon
• Flage
• Geemer
• Greap
• Green Kritter
• Master Hand - Drill attack (in Brawl).
• Puppit - slash attack
• Porky - Walking, stab attack
• Ridley - Loop-de-loop, wind attack, claw sweep, background fly attack
• Shaydas
• Stalfos
• Sword Primid
• Ticken
• Trowlon

Trivia

• In Melee, two slash attacks that collide will produce a different set of clang noises, more reminiscent of swords clashing. Examples are Link's sword colliding with another sword, or any metal or sharp object used by a character colliding with another, such as Bowser's claws or Mewtwo's tail.
• There is a set of slash damage sound effects that are noticeably slower and deeper than regular slash sounds. These are normally reserved for Ike due to his use of a heavy broadsword, but Shulk's Back Slash makes one of those sounds if he manages to hit from behind with the move.