Down tilt

Captain Falcon's down tilt.

A down tilt (abbreviated "d-tilt,"), officially called a strong down, is a strong attack performed by any character by holding the control stick lightly down or crouching and pressing the attack button while on the ground. It will instantly hit all surrounding characters, making it useful for spacing. It is also useful for a foe rolling around the player. It can also be performed by pressing Z while crouching. Only in Super Smash Bros. Melee and in Super Smash Bros. Brawl do some of these down tilts meteor smash an opponent.

In Brawl, many down tilts have the ability to make opponents prat fall/trip occasionally.

Down tilts in Super Smash Bros.

• Pikachu: A moderately high knockback move with surprising range (similar to most of Pikachu's moves in this way). Less comboable that Pikachu's other moves. Semi-spike.
• Ness: Very quick with low damage. Usually used into a throw or against a wall for a shield break. Can be Smash DI'd out of to prevent a grab after.
• Yoshi: Another set knockback tilt (the other one being up tilt) with good power, can infinite against a wall, usually used for gimp kills. Very good for edgeguarding Fox, Jigglypuff and Kirby. High power semi-spike by the ledge.
• Captain Falcon: A good move that has IASA frames. Usually used as a shield stunner in order to throw after. Good knockback. Essentially Yoshi's up tilt but without set knockback, slightly less range, and more comboabiltiy.
• Donkey Kong: One of the few low lag DK moves. Essentially a weaker version of Captain Falcon's. Very useful at close range to lead to a grab or down special move.
• Mario: A low knockback move with a good amount of damage. A sweeping kick. Not overly useful due to poor range and poor combo ability.
• Luigi: Similar to Mario but with slightly less range, slightly less lag, and slightly less knockback. Combos into up special move.
• Jigglypuff: Similar to Pikachu but slightly less versatile, quicker, and has less range. Good combo ability and works great into rest.
• Samus: A longer range version of Mario. Good knockback and a good spacing move.
• Link: A different form of down tilt. Sends an opponent up. Combos into up special and other moves. However, the lag is too high for the move to be used often.
• Fox: Similar to Link's but with more range and slightly more comboability. If there wasn't Smash DI in this game, then this move leads into an infinite with down aerial after.
• Kirby: A moderate range move that is quite good at gimping and breaking shields.

Character's down tilts in Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Mario: Sweeps his leg low on the ground. Very weak.
• Luigi: Similar to Mario. Weak knockback.
• Dr. Mario: Similar to Mario. Sends foes backwards.
• Peach: Sweeps the ground with her arm. Can meteor smash with her arm. Can KO above 130% if she hits the opponent with her hand.
• Bowser: Slashes at the ground two times.
• Donkey Kong: Sweeps with his hand. Very fast.
• Yoshi: Swipes at the ground with his tail.
• Link: Slashes at the ground. Meteor smashes if hit on the sweetspot.
• Young Link: Same as Link but stronger. Always meteor smashes.
• Zelda: Thrusts her foot outwards. Meteor smashes if it is sweetspotted.
• Sheik: Kicks while crouching.
• Ganondorf: Sweeps at the ground. Identical to Captain Falcon.
• Samus: Shoots at the ground. High knockback.
• Ice Climbers: Swings at the floor.
• Kirby: Kicks while crouching.
• Fox: Sweeps with his tail. Fast and can kill.
• Falco: Identical to Fox. Very powerful.
• Captain Falcon: Sweeps at the ground.
• Pikachu: Swings its tail at the ground. Weak but fast.
• Pichu: Identical to Pikachu.
• Mewtwo: Sweeps tail lowly. Can be used to combo fast-fallers.
• Jigglypuff: Quickly extends its foot downwards.
• Marth: A quick crouching sword poke. Good for edgeguarding as it semi spikes.
• Roy: Similar to Marth. Good for comboing.
• Ness: Thrusts his leg downwards. Comboes into itself and can trap some fast-fallers indefinitely.
• Mr. Game & Watch: Flips a manhole cover in front of him. Like Falco, this attack is fast and can kill.

Strong down attacks in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Mario: Swivels his leg around himself in a circle. Moderate knockback.
• Luigi: Different from Mario's (in all 3 games). While crouching, slides foot farther from foe into them, usually causing them to trip. Can be a weak meteor smash if used on a foe on the ledge.
• Peach: Bends forward and slaps at a slightly downward angle. If the opponent hits her forearm, it can meteor smash off the edge. Has a 30% chance of tripping if the opponent hits her hand.
• Bowser: Swipes his claws along the ground twice, with high knockback for a down tilt. As Giga Bowser, both swipes are meteor smashes and they are imbued with shadow power.
• Donkey Kong: Slaps along the ground with good range. Great racking up damage at low percentages and a trip can be combined into a Hand Slap.
• Diddy Kong: Ducks and claps his hands together, hand has a colored "booming" effect. Horizontal knockback. It combo itself at low percentages.
• Yoshi: Swings tail along ground. Weaker at tip.
• Wario: Points finger at the ground. Quick, but weak.
• Link: Swipes sword very close to the ground. Difficult, but can meteor smash off the ledge.
• Zelda: Curves foot forward. Weak but can combo into itself or pop enemy slightly above her. Meteor smashes foes on the ledge. It can also cause tripping.
• Sheik: Spins around in a circle while crouching. Similar to Zero Suit Samus' and Sonic's.
• Ganondorf: Sticks foot out. Great knockback, but weak compared to Ganon's other moves.
• Toon Link: Ground-shaving quick swipe. Good for edgeguarding; provides medium knockback.
• Samus: Unique move. Small explosion from her arm cannon is shot at the ground. Very strong, good finisher, no lag, and decent damage.
• Zero Suit Samus: Similar to Sheik's and Sonic's. Makes slashing sound and sends foe upwards.
• Pit: Crosses bow blades on across the ground. Foe is hit upwards. If used off ledge, it can meteor smash.
• Ice Climbers: Similar to dash attack. Knockback a bit higher than Diddy's.
• R.O.B.: Shoots arms very quickly diagonally down at ground. No lag at all, can be spammed , and causes prat falls. Not much knockback, but good damage racker. Can infinite against walls.
• Kirby: Kicks foot forward. Weak, but has a high chance of forcing a trip.
• Meta Knight: Pokes sword forward. Similar to Marth's, although faster, and moves him forward a bit.
• King Dedede: While crouching, swings foot forward. Considerable ending lag, but strong attack. Good for edge-guarding.
• Olimar: Pushes forward along the ground. (Comedically, if Pikmin are behind him, it looks like his Pikmin shoved him on the ground.)
• Fox: Swings tail along the ground. Low priority.
• Falco: Same as Fox', but much more priority due to upwards knockback for setting up a spike combo for edgeguarding. Less range than Fox's, but good for combo setups.
• Wolf: Kicks out with his foot, having decent range and can cause tripping.
• Captain Falcon: Sweeps with his leg at the ground.
• Pikachu: Spins around once, hitting with its tail. Like his down smash, but without the electricity.
• Squirtle: Spins around and around forward. Multiple hits, good priority.
• Ivysaur: Whips its vine low and forward.
• Charizard: Reaches out and bites along the ground. Strongest at the tip of the move where its mouth is biting, weaker at its neck area.
• Lucario: Pokes foot out and holds arms behind it. Very similar in appearance to Ness'. Aura imbued.
• Jigglypuff: Jams foot forward and low. Low knockback.
• Marth: Stabs sword forward. Same as Meta Knight's. Slower than MK's, but still moves Marth forward, like Meta Knight.
• Ike: Swings sword heavily horizontally. Extremely powerful meteor smash to aerial opponents.
• Ness: Causes prat falls. Good hitstun, but less knockback. Like Lucario's in appearance. This move is great setup for Ness' Up Smash if the enemy trips. 100% chance of tripping if sweetspotted.
• Lucas; A non PSI-powered leg swivel. Can be indefinitely used like Ness', but is incapable of going as fast, and does not trap the opponent. Has a 100% chance of tripping if sweetspotted.
• Mr. Game & Watch: Flips a 3D manhole in front of him. Excellent move with good knockback, speed and priotity. Good for combo setups.
• Snake: Spins body around in a circle, very close to the ground. Has KO potential on most characters at 120% and up.
• Sonic: Swings leg around and comes back in same position. Similar to Zero Suit Samus' and Sheik's. Moves forward very far.

Notable down tilts

In Melee

• Mr. Game and Watch's and Falco's down tilts, well known for their speed and power. Each of their down tilts sends the enemy upwards and can kill as early as 100%.
• Marth, Roy, and Yoshi's down tilts, which are low trajectory "pokes" useful for edge-guarding.
• Ness's down tilt is an infinite on certain stages against fast fallers.
• Peach, Young Link, Link, and Zelda can all meteor smash with their down tilts.

In Brawl

• Meta Knight's down tilt comes out on frame 3 and has IASA frames on frame 15; this combined with its exceptional range makes it a potent frame trap.
• Ness's down tilt is extremely fast, and can rack up damage extremely fast. It has a 100% chance of tripping if sweetspotted.
• Marth's down tilt is fast, very easy to sweetspot compared to his other attacks, and can be used to easily reach over an edge.
• Ike's down tilt is a meteor smash that has the highest knockback scaling out of all of the down tilt meteor smashes.