Dash

Mario dashing in Melee

Mario dashing in Brawl

"Run" redirects here. For information on the CPU mode in Brawl, see List of CPU modes.

A dash is a form of ground movement faster than walking. It is performed by tapping sideways on the control stick. The player's character enters his or her initial dash animation, in which they change directions with very little lag, and then proceeds to his or her running animation. In Brawl, a character attempting to dash can trip instead. In Smash 4, dashing off a platform will cause the character to perform a short flipping animation, and landing on another platform while continuing to hold the control stick in that direction will allow them to continue dashing. While dashing, characters can also perform their dash attack, shield, or jump. The Bunny Hood, Superspicy Curry, and Super Mushroom items increases a character's running speed.

Other terminology

The initial dash is the first part of a character's dash, during which a character can change directions with only 1 frame of lag. The concept of the initial dash is vital to many forms of ground movement, such as dash-dancing, fox-trotting, and pivoting. However, from Brawl onwards, the window for turning around during an initial dash does not last for the entire dash (six frames in Smash 4), making dash-dancing much harder, and fox-trotting is also not entirely dependent on the length of the initial dash. The best example of this is Sheik and Roy, who have nearly identical fox-trots despite Roy's initial dash being over twice as long as Sheik's (17 frames to her 8 frames).

The turn-around animation plays when the character attempts to change directions after their initial dash. Unlike in an initial dash, attempting to turn around during a run can take as long as 51 frames (Marth in Melee), and before Smash 4, it can only be cancelled with a jump (and therefore up smash and up special) or reversed side special. However, from Brawl onwards, cancelling the jump with an up smash or up special also reverses its direction, and in Smash 4, the turn-around animation can be cancelled with a reversed forward tilt or forward smash.

A stutter step is the term for when a character begins to dash but stops almost immediately, often used for positioning and mindgames. Along with merely stopping, characters can also dash cancel via a variety of other methods.

The skidding animation plays when the character stops running after their initial dash and attempts to stop their momentum. The length of this animation varies between characters, but it can also vary depending on the speed the character is running at relative to their maximum running speed. Shorter skidding animations are preferred, particularly in Smash games where dash cancelling is impossible. For example, in Smash 4, Bowser, Charizard, Ganondorf, and Lucario have extremely short skidding animations even after stopping at maximum speed, which effectively allows them to do any attack out of their runs with little lag in between, or even seamlessly begin another dash in the opposite direction. This animation can only be cancelled with a jump, or with an item pick up if one is nearby. Its first few frames can also be cancelled into any special move.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Initial dash

Because the initial dash animation translates into the running animation much later than in Brawl, it is a vital tool for movement in general and dash-dancing in particular. During the initial dash, the following actions can be used:

• Altering the speed of the dash with the control stick, most notably backwards to Moonwalk.
• Turning around by mashing the control stick in the opposite direction. Turning around takes one frame during which the character is standing and can do all ground attacks except neutral B. If the control stick stays in a neutral position after this pivot frame, the character will keep standing.
• Pressing A or C-Stick forward/backward during the first 3 frames to do a small step forward smash. This is only possible after dashing forward, not backward.
• Pressing A after the first 3 frames to do a dash attack.
• Pressing L or R to shield. During the first two frames of a forward dash, L/R always trigger a roll. On frame 3, they trigger the shield, but with 1 frame delay.
• Pressing L+A, R+A or Z to do a dash grab.
• Jumping and jump cancelling.
• Using forward special.
• Pressing forward again to enter run break animation. From here you can crouch immediately and do any move. This can be used for a quick dash into dtilt, or a non JC down special.

Run

During the run — the later part of the dash — different options are available:

• Pressing down to crouch. (Spending 1 frame in the RunBrake animation is necessary before the crouch can start.)
• Turning around by mashing or pushing the control stick in the opposite direction. Turning around takes very long, up to 51 frames (Marth). During the turnaround animation, only a jump can interrupt it.
• Pressing A or C-Stick forward/backward during the first 3 frames to do a small step forward smash. This is only possible after dashing forward, not backward.
• Pressing A to do a dash attack.
• Pressing L or R to shield.
• Pressing L+A, R+A, or Z to do a dash grab.
• Jumping and jump cancelling.
• Using special moves.

Running speed

Running speed is the rate at which a character can run.

Super Smash Bros. rankings

JPN Rank Character Run speed 1 Captain Falcon 70 2 Fox 60 3 Pikachu 55 4 Samus 54 5 Yoshi 50 6-7 Donkey Kong & Kirby 48 8 Mario 44 9-10 Link & Jigglypuff 42 11-12 Luigi & Ness 40

NA Rank Character Run speed 1 Captain Falcon 75 2 Fox 60 3 Pikachu 55 4 Samus 54 5 Yoshi 50 6-7 Donkey Kong & Kirby 48 8 Mario 44 9-10 Link & Jigglypuff 42 11-12 Luigi & Ness 40

The Japanese version was taken from Antdgar's Frame Data

Super Smash Bros. Melee rankings

Rank	Character	Initial Dash	Run Speed	Dash Frames	Acceleration
1	Captain Falcon	2.16	2.30	15	+.16
2	Fox	2.02	2.20	11	+.12
3	Pikachu	1.80	1.80	13	+.00
4	Sheik	1.80	1.80	7	+.00
5	Pichu	1.72	1.72	13	+.00
6	Marth	1.56	1.80	15	+.06
7	Young Link	1.72	1.60	13	-.08
8	Samus	1.80	1.40	8	-.06
9	Falco	1.82	1.50	11	-.08
10	Donkey Kong	1.60	1.60	15	+.00
11	Roy	1.47	1.61	15	+.07
12	Yoshi	1.43	1.60	13	+.10
13-14	Mario, Dr. Mario	1.50	1.50	10	+.00
15	Mr. Game & Watch	1.50	1.50	8	+.00
16	Mewtwo	1.40	1.40	18	+.00
17	Ice Climbers	1.40	1.40	13	+.00
18	Kirby	1.40	1.40	12	+.00
19	Ness	1.36	1.40	13	+.06
20	Ganondorf	1.35	1.35	15	+.00
21	Luigi	1.34	1.34	10	+.00
22	Peach	1.30	1.30	15	+.00
23	Link	1.30	1.30	12	+.00
24	Bowser	1.06	1.50	13	+.06
25	Jigglypuff	1.31	1.10	13	-.09
26	Zelda	1.10	1.10	15	+.00

Source

Super Smash Bros. Brawl rankings

Starting in Brawl, much like with air acceleration, there exist two acceleration values for each character's initial dash speed until it reaches their run speed: a base value that determines the minimum acceleration, and an additional value that is scaled based on how much the control stick is tilted. A character's maximum potential acceleration is the sum of these two values. For example, Lucario has a base value of 0.04 and an additional value of 0.15, so its dash acceleration can vary from 0.04 at minimum input to 0.19 at maximum input. If the character's initial dash speed is equal to their run speed, the acceleration values are not used, while if it is higher, the character's traction value is used to decrease it down to their run speed.

Rank	Character	Initial Dash	Run Speed	Dash Frames	Base Acceleration	Additional Acceleration
1	Sonic	1.5	3.5	11	+.04	+.15
N/A	Wario-Man	1.3	3.5	13	+.04	+.0954
2	Captain Falcon	2.05	2.18	16	+.02	+.1618
3	Fox	2.1	2.08	11	+.04	+.1111
4	Zero Suit Samus	1.7	1.93	13	+.04	+.0942
5	Sheik	1.7	1.92	8	+.04	+.1143
6	Meta Knight	1.75	1.847	13	+.04	+.0948
7	Charizard	1.3	1.8	11	+.02	+.0963
8	Pikachu	1.8	1.765	14	+.04	+.0912
9	Diddy Kong	1.7	1.721	11	+.04	+.15
10	Marth	1.5	1.7	17	+.01	+.082
N/A	Giga Bowser	1.9	1.7	15	+.05	+.12
11	Yoshi	1.33	1.68	15	+.04	+.096
12	Toon Link	1.5	1.65	13	+.04	+.0998
13	Donkey Kong	1.6	1.622	16	+.04	+.0667
14	Pit	1.5	1.583	13	+.04	+.1134
15	Mr. Game & Watch	1.5	1.553	9	+.04	+.0823
16	Bowser	1	1.527	14	+.04	+.0648
17	Mario	1.5	1.5	11	+.04	+.0998
18	Ivysaur	1.4	1.5	11	+.04	+.08
19	R.O.B.	1.3	1.5	11	+.04	+.1128
20	Lucas	1.3	1.5	11	+.02	+.0756
21	Samus	1.86	1.445	9	+.04	+.12
22	Falco	1.9	1.432	12	+.04	+.112
23	Lucario	1.8	1.414	11	+.04	+.15
24	Wolf	1.7	1.4	11	+.04	+.0998
25	Olimar	1.4	1.4	11	+.04	+.0872
26	Ness	1.3	1.393	14	+.04	+.0651
27	Ice Climbers	1.4	1.388	14	+.04	+.0736
28	Ike	1.5	1.371	11	+.01	+.0724
29	Kirby	1.4	1.371	13	+.04	+.0954
30	Squirtle	1.6	1.37	11	+.1	+.2
31	Snake	1.1	1.35	13	+.04	+.1154
32	Peach	1.5	1.35	16	+.04	+.1181
33	Wario	1.3	1.35	13	+.04	+.0954
34	Luigi	1.28	1.34	11	+.04	+.0786
35	Link	1.3	1.328	13	+.04	+.1197
36	Zelda	1.25	1.224	16	+.04	+.1175
37	King Dedede	1.4	1.22	11	+.01	+.0858
38	Ganondorf	1.3	1.16	16	+.02	+.0963
39	Jigglypuff	1.4	1.1	14	+.04	+.0829

Note that several slow runners can use their dash attack to travel a far distance quicker, and some characters have a DACUS to increase mobility. The most notable case of this is Snake, whose DACUS gives him much more stage control and ability to evade opponents.

Super Smash Bros. 4 rankings

Rank	Character	Initial Dash	Run Speed	Dash Frames	Base Acceleration	Additional Acceleration
1	Sonic	1.5	3.5	11	+.04	+.15
N/A	Wario-Man	1.3	3.5	13	+.04	+.0998
N/A	Giga Mac	2.05	2.8	16	+.06	+.1618
2	Captain Falcon	1.7	2.32	16	+.1	+.06
3	Little Mac	2.05	2.24	16	+.02	+.1618
4	Fox	2.4	2.184	11	+.04	+.1111
5	Zero Suit Samus	1.7	2.1	13	+.04	+.0942
N/A	Mii Brawler (lightest)	1.952	2.0984	11	+.0488	+.0998
6	Greninja	1.6	2.08	11	+.05	+.12
7	Mewtwo	1.4	2.05	11	+.1	0
8	Sheik	1.7	2.016	8	+.04	+.1143
9	Charizard	1	2	11	+.015	+.0963
N/A	Giga Bowser	1.9	2	14	+.05	+.12
10	Cloud	1.8	1.97	11	+.01	+.09
11	Roy	1.4	1.95	17	0	+.07
12	Meta Knight	1.7	1.9	13	+.04	+.0948
13	Palutena	1.5	1.888	14	+.04	+.1181
14	Yoshi	1.33	1.86	15	+.04	+.096
15	Pikachu	1.8	1.85325	14	+.04	+.0912
N/A	Mii Swordfighter (lightest)	1.586	1.83	13	+.0488	+.1197
16	Diddy Kong	1.7	1.824	11	+.04	+.15
17	Bowser	1	1.792	14	+.04	+.0648
18-19	Lucina & Marth	1.5	1.785	17	+.01	+.082
20	Toon Link	1.5	1.7325	13	+.04	+.0998
21	Mii Brawler (default & Fighting Mii Team)	1.6	1.72	11	+.04	+.0998
22	Donkey Kong	1.6	1.7031	16	+.04	+.0667
23	Wii Fit Trainer	1.5	1.696	16	+.04	+.0998
24-25	Dark Pit & Pit	1.5	1.66215	13	+.04	+.1134
26	Rosalina	1.5	1.632	16	+.04	+.1181
27	Duck Hunt	1.55	1.63	11	+.04	+.0998
28	Bayonetta	1.7	1.6	11	+.04	+.0942
29-30	Mario & Ryu	1.6	1.6	11	+.04	+.0998
N/A	Mii Gunner (lightest)	1.952	1.586	9	+.0488	+.0998
31	Kirby	1.5	1.57	13	+.04	+.0954
32	R.O.B.	1.3	1.568	11	+.04	+.1128
33	Lucario	1.8	1.55	11	+.04	+.15
34	Mr. Game & Watch	1.5	1.5264	9	+.04	+.0823
35	Pac-Man	1.6	1.52	11	+.04	+.0998
36	Shulk	1.5	1.52	11	+.01	+.0724
37	Samus	1.86	1.504	9	+.04	+.12
38	Ike	1.5	1.5	11	+.01	+.0724
39-41	Lucas	1.3	1.5	11	+.02	+.08
39-41	Mii Swordfighter (default & Fighting Mii Team)	1.3	1.5	13	+.04	+.1197
39-41	Wario	1.3	1.5	13	+.04	+.0954
42	Luigi	1.28	1.5	11	+.04	+.0786
N/A	Mega Lucario	1.8	1.4847	11	+.04	+.15
43	Falco	1.9	1.472	12	+.04	+.112
44	Olimar	1.6	1.47	11	+.04	+.0998
45	Ness	1.3	1.46265	14	+.04	+.0651
46	Mega Man	1.5	1.456	11	+.04	+.0998
47	Corrin	1.8	1.45	8	+.01	+.0724
48	Bowser Jr.	1.6	1.424	11	+.04	+.0998
49	Peach	1.5	1.4175	16	+.04	+.1181
N/A	Mii Brawler (heaviest)	1.312	1.4104	11	+.0328	+.0998
50	Link	1.3	1.3944	11	+.04	+.1197
51	King Dedede	1.4	1.36	11	+.01	+.0858
N/A	Mii Gunner (Fighting Mii Team)	1.6	1.35	9	+.04	+.1
52	Dr. Mario*	1.3312	1.3312	11	+.03328	+.0830336
53-54	Mii Gunner (default)	1.6	1.3	9	+.04	+.0998
53-54	Zelda	1.6	1.3	16	+.04	+.1175
55	Villager	1.5	1.27	14	+.04	+.0998
N/A	Mii Swordfighter (heaviest)	1.066	1.23	13	+.0328	+.1197
56	Ganondorf	1.3	1.218	16	+.02	+.0963
57	Jigglypuff	1.4	1.155	14	+.04	+.0829
58	Robin	1.5	1.15	17	+.01	+.082
N/A	Mii Gunner (heaviest)	1.312	1.066	9	+.0328	+.0998

Update history

1.1.3

• Kirby's run speed: 1.5 → 1.57
• Lucario's run speed: 1.4847 → 1.55
• Mewtwo's run speed: 1.696 → 1.9

1.1.5

• Corrin's run speed: 1.5 → 1.45
• Mewtwo's run speed: 1.9 → 2.05

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate rankings

Run speeds have been buffed across the board for most characters by roughly 10%. Most initial dash speeds are now greater than or equal to that of Cloud's from Smash 4, with even the slowest, Olimar's, surpassing Mario's from Smash 4.

Rank	Character	Initial Dash	Run Speed	Dash Frames	Base Acceleration	Additional Acceleration
1	Sonic	2.31	3.85	???	???	???
2	Captain Falcon	1.98	2.552	???	???	???
3	Little Mac	2.365	2.464	???	???	???
4	Sheik	2.178	2.42	???	???	???
5	Fox	2.09	2.402	???	???	???
6	Zero Suit Samus	2.42	2.31	???	???	???
7	Greninja	2.178	2.288	???	???	???
8	Mewtwo	2.255	2.255	???	???	???
9	Joker	1.95	2.21	???	???	???
10-11	Charizard	2.288	2.2	???	???	???
10-11	Ridley	1.8	2.2	???	???	???
12	Cloud	2.145	2.167	???	???	???
13-14	Roy	2.2	2.145	???	???	???
13-14	Chrom	2.2	2.145	???	???	???
15	Meta Knight	2.211	2.09	???	???	???
16	Palutena	2.035	2.077	???	???	???
17	Yoshi	1.98	2.046	???	???	???
18	Pikachu	1.98	2.039	???	???	???
19	Diddy Kong	2.09	2.006	???	???	???
20	Bowser	2.255	1.971	???	???	???
21-22	Marth	2.255	1.964	???	???	???
21-22	Lucina	2.255	1.964	???	???	???
23	Inkling	2.118	1.925	???	???	???
24	Mii Brawler	1.97	1.92	???	???	???
25	Toon Link	1.914	1.906	???	???	???
26	Pichu	1.98	1.892	???	???	???
27	Donkey Kong	2.09	1.873	???	???	???
28	Wii Fit Trainer	2.024	1.866	???	???	???
29-30	Pit	2.09	1.828	???	???	???
29-30	Dark Pit	2.09	1.828	???	???	???
31	Rosalina & Luma	2.035	1.795	???	???	???
32	Duck Hunt	1.76	1.793	???	???	???
33-36	Mario	1.936	1.76	???	???	???
33-36	Ken	1.936	1.76	???	???	???
33-36	Bayonetta	1.936	1.76	???	???	???
33-36	Squirtle	1.936	1.76	???	???	???
37	Young Link	2.09	1.749	???	???	???
38	Kirby	1.9	1.727	???	???	???
39	R.O.B.	2.002	1.725	???	???	???
40	Piranha Plant	1.82	1.72	???	???	???
41	Lucario	2.255	1.705	???	???	???
42	Nana	1.68	1.683	???	???	???
43	Mr. Game & Watch	1.98	1.679	???	???	???
44-45	Shulk	1.87	1.672	???	???	???
44-45	Pac-Man	1.87	1.672	???	???	???
46-47	Samus	1.87	1.654	???	???	???
46-47	Dark Samus	1.87	1.654	???	???	???
48-50	Lucas	1.815	1.65	???	???	???
48-50	Luigi	1.815	1.65	???	???	???
48-50	Wario	1.837	1.65	???	???	???
51	Falco	2.035	1.619	???	???	???
52	Olimar	1.606	1.617	???	???	???
53	Ness	1.826	1.609	???	???	???
54	Mega Man	1.958	1.602	???	???	???
55	Ryu	1.76	1.6	???	???	???
56-60	Peach	1.826	1.595	???	???	???
56-60	Daisy	1.826	1.595	???	???	???
56-60	Corrin	1.892	1.595	???	???	???
56-60	Ivysaur	1.903	1.595	???	???	???
56-60	Snake	1.76	1.595	???	???	???
61	Mii Swordfighter	1.74	1.58	???	???	???
62	Bowser Jr.	1.76	1.566	???	???	???
63	Wolf	2.09	1.54	???	???	???
64	Link	1.98	1.534	???	???	???
65	Popo	1.68	1.53	???	???	???
66-67	Simon	1.73	1.52	???	???	???
66-67	Richter	1.73	1.52	???	???	???
68	Ike	1.815	1.507	???	???	???
69	King Dedede	1.815	1.496	???	???	???
70	King K. Rool	1.936	1.485	???	???	???
71	Isabelle	1.815	1.48	???	???	???
72	Zelda	1.958	1.43	???	???	???
73	Dr. Mario	1.936	1.397792	???	???	???
74	Villager	1.815	1.397	???	???	???
75	Mii Gunner	1.613	1.37	???	???	???
76	Ganondorf	1.87	1.34	???	???	???
77	Jigglypuff	1.65	1.271	???	???	???
78	Robin	1.815	1.265	???	???	???
79	Incineroar	1.716	1.18	???	???	???

See also

• Dash-dancing
• Dash-canceling
• Pivoting

Trivia

• There are some strange inconsistencies for some characters' running speeds:
  • While generally being faster than Mario in the Mario games, Luigi has been slower in every Smash to date.
  • Wolf and Falco dash slower than Fox, despite being faster than him in Star Fox: Assault.
  • Ike is a generally slow character in the Smash games, despite having good speed stats in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.
  • Lucario dashes significantly slower than Pikachu, Ivysaur, and Squirtle (Smash Ultimate) despite the former having the same base Speed stat and the latter two being slower in the Pokémon games.
    • Also, in Pokémon, Mega Lucario gets a slight speed increase, but Mega Lucario runs slower than regular Lucario in Smash 4.
  • King K. Rool is canonically faster than Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in the Donkey Kong Country games when running away, yet is immensely slower than them in Ultimate.