Meteor smash

A Meteor Smash is an aerial move introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee in which you can smash an opponent downwards quickly. The opponent can cancel the Meteor Smash by jumping or using an upwards third jump attack immediately after being struck. If the meteor smashed person is holding up and/or a jump button when struck by the Meteor Smash and the control stick and/or jump button goes back to their neutral position, he/she can Meteor Cancel also.

Meteor Cancels become more difficult to perform at higher damages because the character flies downwards at a higher speed as damage increases. It's possible to Meteor Cancel at any time still being in air during the character's tumbling animation, but it's obviously better to do it as soon as possible.

Any character can Meteor Cancel with their second jump (if they have not used it).

Meteor Smashing is useful against characters without effective triple jumps (i.e. Marth, Yoshi) which have limited use for an Up+B Meteor Cancel.

List of Meteor Smashes

Not all characters have availability to a Meteor Smash. The characters that can Meteor Smash are listed here. Spikes and Semi Spikes are not listed here.

In Melee

Mario

• F-Air. Mario makes a large swinging motion with his fist, hitting those parallel to him downwards. This attack is Slow and hard to execute, Mario's F-Air must be timed for correct use.

Luigi

• D-Air. Luigi twists in the air and those he hits with his backside are sent downwards. If the wrong part of the attack hits, it results in considerable knockback, making it a great edgeguard nonetheless.
• Taunt. The only taunt in the game that can hit an opponent**. Luigi kicks his foot into the ground. If you hit an opponent hanging on an edge, it will hit them with a Meteor Smash. This is one of the few Meteor Smashes which should be used on the ground.

Peach

• D-Tilt. This move is one of the few Meteor Smashes which should be used on the ground. Peach swipes at the ground in front of her. Any airborne player hit on the head will fall quickly.

Yoshi

• D-Air. Yoshi's classic drill-kick. Each of his kicks is a Meteor Smash, although they are considerably weak. At high percentages Yoshi will smash the enemies quickly down. Yoshi's drill Meteor Smash is the strongest drill Meteor Smash.
• F-Air. This move is very similar to Mario's F-Air, but instead Yoshi uses its head to slam the opponent downward. It is quicker than Mario's though.

Donkey Kong

• D-Air. A standard stomp attack with Donkey Kong.
• F-Air. This is an low-accuracy move which hits only if the opponent is touched by Donkey Kong's hands at the end of the move. Donkey Kong is very vulnerable at the end of the move.
• Head butt. In the air Donkey Kong uses his head to strike down an opponent in front of him. This tactic is useful for edge guarding as DK can smash someone downwards while keeping himself on the floor.

Captain Falcon

• D-Air. A rather effective stomp with a decent hitbox area. It is often used because Falcon can jump off the stage, hit with it, and still recover. If Falcon hits with it's upper hitbox (the nipples) it acts as a Spike and is called Nipple Spike.
• Raptor Boost-Air. Falcon rushes forward with a downwards vertical swing. This is a very risky attack because the attack is often done off-stage and once used renders him immobile.

Ganondorf

• D-Air. Very similar to Captain Falcon's D-Air, a very powerful stomp. The hitbox covers nearly all of Ganondorf's body, so you can technically hit someone with it using Ganondorf's head.
• Down B. Very hard to recover from, both for Ganondorf and his opponent.

Falco

• Forward+B. Falco's recovery alternate, Falco Phantasm, is a Meteor Smash. If the opponent is airborne while struck with this move, they will be sent downwards. It is relatively easy to meteor-cancel. Conversely, Fox's Fox Illusion is not a Meteor Smash.
• D-Throw. If Falco throws his opponent down near an edge which can't be passed through while facing away from the edge, the opponent will fall downwards at very high speeds.
• D-Air. If timed correctly, this attack can be a meteor smash.

Fox

• D-Air. Fox's drill has Meteor Smash properties. The speed at which the opponents fall is slow and they fall only a short distance, making it an extremely weak attack.
• D-Throw. A weaker version of Falco's D-Throw. When Fox throws his opponent down at an edge which can't be passed through while facing away from the edge, the opponent will drop at considerable speed.

Ness

• D-Air. Ness' stomp has quite a bit of start-up lag.

Ice Climbers

• F-Air. Followed by a little start-up lag. The Ice Climbers execute this attack in the air, which is usually canceled by Nana's hammer, and smash the opponent downwards.

Kirby

• D-Air. Kirby's drill has Meteor Smash properties. The speed at which the opponents fall is slow and the distance is short, making it an weak attack but better a better drill smash than Fox's.
• Final Cutter. This is a relatively weak Meteor Smash but can be used against characters which recover with some extra height to throw them down. This Meteor Smash can be used for combos.

Samus

• D-Air. Samus' standard Meteor Smash where she punches downwards. It has a decent sized hitbox. A commonly used attack.

Zelda

• D-Air. A very weak Meteor Smash which Zelda performs by extending her leg downwards.
• D-Tilt. Zelda performs this attack by sweeping her leg. Another ground Meteor Smash which smashes the opponent downwards. This attack has extremely low range, power and priority and can only be used on the ground.

Link

• D-Tilt. This is another Meteor Smash which can only be used on the ground. Link swipes the ground in front of him, smashing airborne opponents. A good edgeguarding technique. Link should use this on an enemy which is recovering from directly below.

Young Link

• D-Air. If you hit the opponent with the hilt of the sword, they will be dealt fire damage and meteor smashed (sometimes referred to as the 'Dragon D-air')
• D-Tilt. Similar to Link's D-tilt though more powerful. A good edge guarding technique. Young Link should use this attack on an enemy which is recovering from directly below him. Better than Link's Meteor Smash.

Jigglypuff

• D-Air. This is an extremely hard Meteor Smash to execute. Jigglypuff's lower hitbox has Meteor Smash properties it sends the enemy downwards at considerable speed and length. However if another part of Jigglypuff touches the opponent, the Meteor Smash is canceled.

Mewtwo

• D-Air. Mewtwo's D-Air is a very weak Meteor Smash. The attack's hitbox is on Mewtwo's foot, and can is difficult to time properly.

Mr. Game and Watch

• D-Air. The first few frames of this move strike the opponent downwards, but only if opponent is right beside him.

Marth

• Forward B. On the third hit of his Dancing Blade attack, if the "down" attack is chosen, Marth will spin and swing his sword to the ground. The movement produces a Meteor Smash. Its knockback and speed are average.
• D-Air. If Marth hits with the sword, the opponent will be smashed downwards at very high speed. In the PAL version the D-Air strikes the opponent downwards in the same way as in the NTSC version although in the PAL version you can Meteor Cancel it, making it a Meteor Smash. However, in the NTSC version of the game this attack can't be Meteor canceled, making it a spike. If Marth hits with the wrong part Marth will jump a little bit and the opponent will move to the side slightly.

Roy

• D-Air. This attack is the same as Marth's but Roy's D-Air is weaker and harder to pull off due to a smaller hitbox and is a Meteor Smash in both NTSC and PAL versions of the game.
• Forward B. Similar to Marth's, except the third attack must be upwards.

In Brawl

It should be noted that, with the addition of the Footstool Jump , all characters can perform a Meteor Smash in Brawl. Characters with other meteor smashes are listed here. The thrown Pitfall will also have this effect. This list is currently incomplete, as many returning meteor smashes need to be checked. Also, there is no meteor cancelling in brawl, so these are all spikes.

King Dedede

• Up B. Meteor smashes the opponent when falling down. It can be dangerous to use.

Diddy Kong

• Down Aerial. Diddy Kong thrusts both fists under him, spiking downwards powerfully. Has a little delay, similar to Captain Falcon's Stomp
• Side B. When he catches the opponent, jump and the opponent will be spiked.

Donkey Kong

• Down Aerial. Powerful, yet slow stomp
• Forward Aerial. DK Swings his fists together in an arc. The bottom can spike people
• Forward B. If this hits an aerial opponent, rather than embedding them in the ground, it launches them downwards.

Fox

• Down Aerial. Very weak drill-spike
• Down B. Probably technically a semi-spike, this sends characters down and away if it hits with the initial frame.

Ice Climbers

• Forward Aerial. Ice Climbers swing their hammers in an arc. Nana's hit can spike

Ike

• Down Tilt. Ike crouches and sweeps his blade forward along the ground. Great range, and anyone it hits off the edge it sends straight to their death.
• Down Aerial. Ike thrusts his blade below him. The entirety of the blade spikes anyone who hits it. Also has a long, disjointed range.
• Up B. Spikes with the downwards slash, similar to Kirby's.

Kirby

• Down Aerial. Moderate power drill-spike
• Up B. Final Cutter spikes with the downwards slash. Mostly it combos someone in to the shock wave, but it can be used on the edge to spike

Link

• Down Tilt. Link sweeps his sword along the ground, spiking anyone off the edge. Decent range and power.

Lucas

• Down Aerial. Lucas stomps downwards with three Psi Hexagons. The first two have little knockback, and the third can spike.
• Back Aerial. Lucas sweeps a downwards arc behind him with his legs, accompanied by Psi Hexagons to increase range. The last part of the arc can spike.

Luigi

• Taunt. One of the only two taunts in the game that can hit an opponent. Luigi kicks his foot into the ground. If you hit an opponent hanging on an edge, it will meteor smash them powerfully with set knockback. This is one of the few Meteor Smashes which should be used on the ground.
• Down Aerial. It is much easier to do than in melee.

Mario

• Forward Aerial. Mario swings his fist in an arc. Fairly powerful, though slow spike.

Olimar

• Down Aerial. Holds a Pikmin under him. The first few frames can spike the opponent.
• Final Smash, End of Day. If a midair opponent (opponents on the ground are submerged into the ground instead) makes contact with the Hocotate Ship, they are sent downwards nearly instantly.

Peach

• Down Tilt. Sweeps hand along the ground with fairly short range. Hard to catch people in it, but can spike

Pikachu

• Up Aerial. Tail whip has a few select frames that launch the opponent down at an angle

Pit

• Down Aerial. Sweeps both of his blades beneath him. Difficult to time properly.

Pokémon Trainer - Charizard

• Down Aerial. Thrusts flaming tail under him. Anyone hit by the flame part is powerfully spiked.

Samus

• Down Aerial. Samus swings her arm-cannon in a downwards sweep. Spike with a fairly large hitbox, though comes out a little slowly

Zero Suit Samus

• Down Aerial. A Stall-Then-Fall. Stalls in the air, then falls quickly with a diagonal kick. Anyone hit in the air is spiked downwards, but this attack can be dangerous to use.
• Down B. Zero Suit Samus does a flip jump. If an attack button is pressed while she performs this, she sticks out her foot pointing towards the center of the arc of the jump. Anyone who hits the tip of the foot is spiked.
• Up B. Plasma Wire shoots upwards, pulling anyone above Zero Suit Samus down. If Zero Suit Samus is above a pit at this time, they keep going down past her in to the pit.

Yoshi

• Forward Aerial. Like Mario's or DK's, only Yoshi swings his head in an arc. Powerful downwards spike
• Down Aerial. Rapidly kicks his feet under him. Most powerful drill-spike.

Zelda

• Down Tilt. Zelda sticks her foot out, normally popping people up. If it hits an airborne opponent, it pops them downwards
• Down Aerial. Zelda sticks her foot downwards. There is a sweet spot on the foot. If the opponent is hit with this sweet-spot, they pause momentarily while being electrocuted, then are shot downwards with incredible force. If the move hits anywhere else, it just knocks the opponent up a little.

Sheik

• Down Aerial. A Stall-Then-Fall. Stalls in the air, then falls quickly with body horizontal and one leg thrust downwards. Anyone hit in the air is spiked downwards, but this attack can be dangerous to use.

Captain Falcon

• Down Aerial. Falcon's classic stomp, but will only smash if the opponent is directly underneath him (if they are to the side, they will be knocked upwards at an angle)
• Forward B. If used in the air, Falcon will leapfrog over the opponent, thrusting them downwards and himself hopefully to safety.

Falco

• Down Aerial. Diagonal drill. First few frames are a powerful diagonal spike.
• Forward-B. phantasm. used as recovery anyone hit while not over land will be sent down. easily recovered from

Ganondorf

• Down Aerial. Thunderstomp. Anyone caught in the stomp is electrocuted and sent flying downward if they are in the air. Nearly impossible to recover from at any percentage.
• Down B. A Stall-Then-Fall. If used in the air, the first few frames of the Wizard's Foot are a spike. Difficult to use without dying, however.
• Forward B. If used in the air, Ganondorf grabs his opponent and slams down to earth with them. If this is over a pit, they both die. If used on the ground, Ganondorf lifts his opponent by the head and launches them directly in to the ground. This may be able to spike if it catches someone over the edge

Marth

• Down Aerial. Large downwards arc of the blade. Anyone caught with the tip is sent away quickly, spiking

Mr. Game and Watch

• Down Aerial. A Stall-Then-Fall. Stalls in the air, then falls quickly with his key extended downwards. Anyone hit in the air with the initial fall is spiked downwards, but this attack can be dangerous to use.

Ness

• Down Aerial. Ness' classic stomp.

R.O.B.

• Down Aerial. R.O.B. fires his thrusters downwards. Proper hitbox can spike.

Snake

• Forward Aerial. Snake does an ax-heel kick, bringing his leg down from above his head to a little behind him. Anyone caught in the downwards arc will be dragged down, and the last bit spikes the opponent down and backwards.

Sonic

• Down Aerial. A Stall-Then-Fall. Stalls in the air, then falls quickly with a diagonal kick. Anyone hit in the air is spiked downwards, but this attack can be dangerous to use.

Toon Link

• Down Aerial. A Stall-Then-Fall.Stalls in the air, then falls quickly with sword thrust downwards. Anyone hit in the air with the initial fall is spiked downwards, but this attack can be dangerous to use.

Wario

• Down Aerial while being Wario-Man. Face his head downward and drills, falling at a very fast speed. A very strong meteor smash, covers a great distance and since he can fly, he can easily land this attack off stage without dying.

Wolf

• Down Aerial. Thrusts his arms downwards quickly, and with long duration. Spikes powerfully downwards.
• Side-B, Wolf Flash. The very end of the attack is a spike.

See also

• Spike – a Meteor Smash that cannot be canceled.
• Semi spike – a move that hits the opponent at a very low angle, minimizing recovery opportunities.
• Footstool Jump – a Super Smash Bros. Brawl technique in which a character can jump on their opponent's head. If done in air it causes a Meteor Smash