Special Zoom

Ridley attacking with Skewer. Note the sweetspot causing the Special Zoom effect.

Special Zoom is the name of a mechanic introduced in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It is a graphics effect designed to add drama during a fight. The term was coined by Masahiro Sakurai and his development team.

Overview

When a fighter is hit with certain attacks, the background flashes blue, and if there are only two players on screen, the action momentarily freezes, and the camera zooms in on the point of impact. This slowdown effect only lasts for about half a second and is usually accompanied by the sound effect previously only used by Little Mac's KO Uppercut in Super Smash Bros. 4. KO Uppercut, which previously had its own slowdown effect, now uses Special Zoom, as does Cloud's Limit Break.

Most attacks that trigger Special Zoom have conditions that need to be met, such as Ridley's Skewer needing to be sweetspotted, or Little Mac's smash attacks requiring his armor to be triggered during the start-up. Certain items and stage hazards may also trigger this effect, and again, sometimes special conditions need to be met.

Similar to Special Zoom is Finish Zoom or Final Zoom, again terms coined by Sakurai and his team, which is used on attacks that will likely result in a game-winning KO. Like the Deadly Blow mechanic introduced in Super Smash Bros. 4, this effect does not factor in DI or obstructions that could result in an otherwise-deadly blow being survivable. Like Special Zoom, Finish Zoom zooms in on the point of impact and briefly slows down time. However, Finish Zoom uses a red background instead of a blue one, and the sound is always the same. The sound used is also different again, being akin to a ping hit combined with the sound of slashing swords.

List of attacks that trigger Special Zoom

This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki by expanding or finishing it. The editor who added this tag elaborates: Stage hazards

By character

Character	Move(s)	Conditions
Captain Falcon	Falcon Punch
Chrom	Flare Blade	Fully charged.
Cloud	Cross Slash	Limit Break.
	Climhazzard
	Finishing Touch
Donkey Kong	Giant Punch	Fully charged.
Ganondorf	Volcano Kick
	Warlock Punch
Ike	Eruption	Fully charged.
Incineroar	All smash attacks	When Revenge is active.
	Alolan Whip	When Revenge is active and the move is sweetspotted.
	Cross Chop	Explosion hitbox while Revenge is active.
Jigglypuff	Rest
King Dedede	Jet Hammer	Fully charged.
King K. Rool	Belly super armor	If broken by an attack.
Kirby	Hammer	Fully charged.
Little Mac	All smash attacks	When attacked during startup armor.
	KO Uppercut
Lucario	Force Palm	On grab attack when at high aura.
Lucas	PK Thunder	On last hit of PK Thunder 2.
Lucina	Shield Breaker	When breaking a shield.
Luigi	Super Jump Punch	Grounded sweetspot only.
Marth	Shield Breaker	When breaking a shield.
Mii Brawler	Exploding Side Kick
Mr. Game & Watch	Judge	Judge 9.
	Oil Panic	On release.
Ness	PK Thunder	On contact during PK Thunder 2.
Ridley	Skewer	Sweetspot.
Roy	Flare Blade	Fully charged.
Wario	Wario Waft	Fully charged.

By item

Item	Conditions
Assist Trophy	Upon defeat. Only possible for defeatable summons.
Death's Scythe	Sweetspotted tilt or smash attack at 80% damage.
Home-Run Bat	Smash attack.
Motion-Sensor Bomb	When detonated by touch (No sound and camera moves differently but there is still a blue background).
Staff	Any hit at maximum range.

By assist trophy

Character	Conditions
Black Knight	Triggers for all attacks except a backhanded slash. Will not cause camera zoom.
Lyn

By stage hazard

Hazard	Stage(s)	Conditions
Klaptrap	Jungle Japes	On contact, which causes a one-hit KO. Camera zooms in slightly.

Finishing Zoom

The Finishing Zoom is very similar to the Special Zoom, except it occurs when any player strikes their last remaining opponent (or only opponent in a 1v1 match) who is on their last stock or critically low HP. The Finishing Zoom won't occur during timed matches unless it goes to Sudden Death. A variant of the ping will be played as well.

Trivia

• Special Zoom will still be triggered even if the knockback is negated by armor.