Forward smash

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Mario using his forward smash in Melee

Mario using his forward smash in Brawl.

A forward smash attack (officially side smash attack), also known as just a forward smash or f-smash, is a smash attack that any character can perform by tapping the control stick or d-pad in a horizontal (or mostly horizontal) direction and pressing the attack button immediately afterward or simultaneously; or by tilting the C-Stick in a horizontal (or mostly horizontal) direction, though the latter method does not work in the single-player modes of Super Smash Bros. Melee (since it moves the camera instead) or in Super Smash Bros. (as the C buttons are used to jump). In Melee and Brawl, forward smashes can be charged for a maximum of one second (or 60 frames; 59 in Melee), resulting in higher damage and knockback. When on ice terrain it becomes very useful for far away opponents, as if the player charges the smash, they will slowly slide in the direction the player pressed while charging, allowing them to take full advantage of the area (which doesn't work for up/down smash).

The window in which the player can perform this technique after tapping the Control Stick forward is of 3 frames; as this initiates a dash, pressing the attack button in the latest frame possible results in a small step forward smash. Like forward tilts, certain forward smashes can be performed at three different angles depending on where the control stick is directed, directing the attack in that diagonal direction. While the player needs to tap the Control Stick at that exact angle in Smash 64 and Melee, in Brawl it is possible by just charging the smash and then tilting the Stick in the desired direction. Strangely, this cannot be done with the C-Stick.

List of forward smashes in Super Smash Bros.

Character	Description	Damage
Mario	Winds up to deliver a powerful punch with an enlarged fist. Slow, but a great KO move.	17%
Donkey Kong	Brings his hand behind himself, then slaps the foe hard. Incredibly strong (the second strongest in terms of knockback), but one of the slowest smashes in this game, and also the slowest forward smash.	20%
Link	Slashes from top to bottom. Deals good damage and has nice reach.	20% (center), 8% (tip). Deals 24% in the PAL version.
Samus	Punches with her arm cannon. A quick attack with fair knockback.	18%
Yoshi	Slams the foe with his head. Comparable to Mario's side smash in terms of speed (the fourth most powerful side smash).	18%
Kirby	A furious spin kick with good range, speed, and power. In terms of knockback, it is the most powerful forward smash in the game.	17% (clean), 13% (late)
Fox	Fox spin kicks, lunging forward onto the ground. Not an outstanding KO move, but good speed and decent range.	17%
Pikachu	Lets loose a powerful jolt of a electricity for great damage. Has a disjointed hitbox. Powerful, but has a slow startup.	18%
Luigi	A huge, powerful punch attack similar to Mario's forward smash. Weaker, but has less ending lag.	15%
Captain Falcon	Delivers a spinning side kick imbued with fire. The fifth most powerful side smash along with Ness and Pikachu, knockback wise.	18%
Ness	Swings his baseball bat for a powerful attack. Can also reflect projectiles.	18%
Jigglypuff	Performs a lunging kick similar to Kirby's side smash in terms of speed.	16% (clean), 13% (late)

Notes

• This game is notable for all characters having very powerful side smashes.
• Kirby's side is arguably the most feared in Smash 64. It is notable for being the most powerful, the fastest, and having lots of range for a lightweight.
• Ness's side smash has no sourspot in Smash 64, but in future installments, it has three sourspotted areas in Melee and Brawl. In addition, it is also weaker in Melee and Brawl than in 64.

List of forward smashes in Super Smash Bros. Melee

Character	Description	Damage
Mario	Looses a blast of fire from his extended palm. Very poor range (stronger when used from not very close), yet very powerful and very quick. This move can also be angled.	19% sweetspot, 14% sourspot. Deals 1% more angled up, and 2% less angled down.
Luigi	Performs a horizontal spearhand. A quick move that can be angled up or down. Weak at low precentages, but has the highest knockback scaling of all forward smashes.	13%, deals 2% more angled up and 1% less angled down.
Peach	Swings forward one of three items - golf club, tennis racket, or frying pan (the most damaging of the three). All three items have a disjointed hitbox.	Frying pan 19%; Tennis racket 14%; Golf club 15%.
Bowser	Rears his head back, then headbutts forward. Noticeably long start-up, but definitely the strongest smash attack in Melee.	24%.
Dr. Mario	Extends his palm, unleashing a powerful electric blast. Similar to Mario's forward smash, but has more knockback, less range and is stronger when used close to him.	19%, same damage changes as Mario's.
Donkey Kong	Claps forward with surprising range and great knockback. Hitbox is located at Donkey Kong's hands (his arms don't cause damage). CPUs often use this attack.	20%.
Link	Slashes forward. The player can perform a second, stronger smash by hitting the A button or C-Stick immediately following the first attack. Decent reach on both slashes. The first hit has knockback growth, so at above 30%, it's impossible to land the second, stronger hit.	14% then 13%.
Zelda	Zaps the foe with magic from her extended hands. Somewhat quick with slightly disjointed hitbox. Multiple hits.	5 hits: 15% total.
Sheik	Performs two rolling kicks forward. The first kick usually leads right into the second, which does knockback.	6% then 9%.
Ganondorf	Lunges forward with an elbow thrust, much like Captain Falcon. Deals high damage with a darkness effect, and can be angled. Enemies are sent flying upwards. Second strongest forward smash (only Bowser's is stronger).	22%, deals 2% more angled up and 3% less angled down.
Young Link	Like Link's, this smash has a second available hit. This one is a bit faster with more horizontal knockback. The first hit is also weaker, so it is easy to trap foes and land both hits.	10% then 7%; 17% total.
Samus	Punches forward with her arm cannon. Quick, but not impressively strong. Can be angled.	14%, deals 2% more damage angled up and 1% less angled down.
Yoshi	Slams horizontally with his head. Some start-up lag, but good knockback power. Yoshi's head is intangible for a short period during the attack. Can be angled.	16%, deals 1% more angled up and 2% less angled down.
Kirby	Jumps forward while kicking. Good reach.	15% (clean), 13% (late)
Fox	Does a sort of spinning kick while jumping forward. A rather quick move, with enough power to make it a viable finisher.	15% (clean), 12% (late)
Falco	Performs a kicking attack much like Fox's, although it may be slightly stronger and has more knockback.	17% (clean), 14% (late)
Pikachu	Looses a thunder jolt from its cheeks. Great knockback and disjointed hitbox, but some start-up lag.	21%
Jigglypuff	Lunges forward while kicking. Some start-up lag, but strong nonetheless.	17% (clean), 14% (late)
Pichu	Zaps the foe with electricity from its cheeks, like Pikachu, but with less range. This move, however, scores multiple hits, and the last hit deals high knockback.	6 hits: 15% total.
Mewtwo	Blasts psychic energy from its palms. Decent reach, but has a sourspot with weak knockback.	18% (sweetspot), 12% (sourspot)
Ness	Swings his famous baseball bat. A powerful move which can even reflect projectiles. Sweetspot is located at the bat's tip.	17% (sourspot), 23% (sweetspot)
Captain Falcon	Thrusts his elbow forward. Good knockback with a flame effect, but considerable starting lag. The third strongest f-smash. Can be angled.	20%, deals 1% more angled up and 2% less angled down.
Ice Climbers	Smash both hammers forward. Huge damage (more than Bowser's) and knockback if both are together, still decent if apart.	14% leader, 13% partner.
Marth	This is considered by many to be the best forward smash in Melee. Marth slashes quickly from top to bottom, with a powerful sweet spot at the sword's tip. It is very fast, and gives good range.	20% tipped, 14% base.
Roy	Much like Marth's, a huge vertical slash. Roy's, however, is slightly slower, but with amazingly strong knockback.	20% center, 13% tip.
Mr. Game & Watch	Hits the foe with a fire poker. Slow, but strong, with a long-lasting hitbox.	18%

List of forward smashes in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Character	Description	Damage
Mario	Mario pulls his left hand back over his shoulder and thrusts his palm forward, releasing a blast of fire. A quick, ranged smash, and also quite powerful, especially when sweetspotted. Slightly disjointed hitbox. Like from Melee, the smash can be angled.	17% when sweetspotted, 14% sourspotted.
Luigi	Luigi horizontally spears with his left hand. His second best KO move, with only his Fire Jump Punch surpassing it. It is very quick and deals a great amount of knockback, one of the most powerful in the game, despite its very poor damage. Like Mario's side smash, it can be angled, and deals even more knockback when aimed upward. Even when uncharged, the attack can KO below 75% when angled upward. When the opponent's damage goes above 260%, this move will have more knockback than a reverse Warlock Punch. When this move is used while Pivoting, it has more power and is less laggy. Due to its great horizontal and vertical knockback, Directional Influence does not have great effect on the knockback of this attack.	14% uncharged, 19% fully charged.
Peach	Peach swings with either a golf club, frying pan or tennis racket. Each weapon has varying knockback, damage and range. The tennis racket does little damage and has very weak knockback when sourspotted, but higher knockback when sweetspot, and is the strongest semi-spike in the game, enough to KO at mid percentage (from 60% onwards). The golf club has long range, and decent power. The frying pan does the most damage, but doesn't have much knockback and has short range. At above 50%, the frying pan has decent vertical knockback. At above 100%, the frying pan is able to star KO the opponent when fully charged. Tennis racket and golf club can be use for edgeguarding. All three of them possess disjointed hitboxes.	The tennis racket does 12-16% damage but 13-19% damage when sweespoted/The golf club does 15-21%/The frying pan does 18-25% damage when sweetspotted.
Bowser	Bowser reels back and headbutts forward. The most damaging forward smash in the game (does 46% damage fully charged) and has very high knockback and range, but since it has a long lag during start-up and cool-down, its effectiveness is limited.	Does about 33% damage.
Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong claps his hands together in front of him. Has great knockback, especially when charged, and is quite quick compared to most smashes considering its power. It has long range despite not having a disjointed hitbox. The damage depends on where it hits.	18-29.4% damage.
Diddy Kong	Diddy Kong slaps in front of him while spinning around, hitting first with a weak right arm then again with a strong left arm. It's also possible to smash DI the first hit to avoid being hit by the 2nd slap.	18% damage if both hits connect.
Yoshi	Yoshi thrusts his head forward. Decent knockback (comparable to Mario's side smash). It can be angled, but is very hard to distinguish visually.	16% damage.
Wario	Wario performs a shoulder charge, similar to that of the Wario Land games. Poor range, but above-average strength and extremely fast for a forward smash (9 frame attack). Has some amount of launch resistance (on frames 8-12).	19% uncharged, 26% fully charged.
Link	Link swings his sword from side to side in front of him. This attack is a natural combo, for the attack button/C-Stick can be hit again to deliver a second, more powerful hit. First hit is now more powerful than Melee's, so the second hit is harder to hit with. The first strike is stronger at the tip while the second hit is stronger when close-up. Under some circumstances, this can do more damage than Bowser's forward-smash.	49% damage fully charged and both hits.
Zelda	Zelda thrusts her arm out and lets loose a small burst of magic, which sucks foes in and deals multiple hits. The last hit has a lot of knockback. This is quite quick, powerful, and has a disjointed hitbox. Can be easily SDI'd out of.	17% damage.
Sheik	Sheik spin-kicks forward twice. The first kick has less knockback and easily combos into the second, more powerful kick.	32% fully charged with all hits.
Ganondorf	Ganondorf jams his elbow forward, similar to Captain Falcon's Forward Smash. Deals darkness damage. Stronger than Captain Falcon's and with more range, but slightly slower. It can be angled but it doesn't have an effect on damage dealt. One of the strongest side smashes in the game. The pivoted smash attack has more range than usual and has high shield stun. It has a disjointed hitbox.	24% uncharged, 33% fully charged.
Toon Link	Toon Link performs an attack which is similar to Link's Forward Smash, and also a natural combo. However, the first slash delivers set vertical knockback, while the 2nd strike has good knockback, though it's evadable and can be blocked even if hit by the first strike.	Maximum of 32.2 damage.
Samus	Samus shoves her arm cannon forward quickly but forcefully. It can be angled, but the attack is very weak even if it is angled upwards due to its below average knockback.	Does 12%-19% damage.
Zero Suit Samus	Whips forward with her plasma whip. Great range, but has noticeable startup lag. Large disjointed hitbox, and hits behind her too. Not as powerful as a regular forward smash.	Inflicts 10%-14% damage in front, does 6% behind.
Pit	Slashes forward twice with bow swords. Very fast with good knockback when not stale. It is one of Pit's finishing moves.	19% if both hits connect.
Ice Climbers	The Ice Climbers overhead-swing their hammers to the ground. Does not deal as much knockback as in Melee.	32% fully charged with both hits landing.
R.O.B.	R.O.B. lets loose a blast of electric energy from his eyes. It has a disjointed hitbox, has knockback that is useful for setting up a spike, but is a tad weak for a side smash. Can be angled.	Does 12%-19% damage.
Mr. Game & Watch	Mr. Game & Watch overhead-swings a lighted match. Very powerful, with a long-lasting hitbox, making it difficult to punish.	25% fully charged.
Kirby	Kirby lunges forward and jump-kicks. Quick start-up, good range, and huge knockback. It also can be angled.	15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.
Meta Knight	Meta Knight pulls his sword back and slashes across with astounding force, dealing a good amount of knockback. One of Meta Knight's slowest finishers (24 frames start-up), although this attack is less laggy than most forward smashes due to almost no ending lag.	14% unchagerd, 19% fully charged.
King Dedede	King Dedede overhead-swings his hammer very slowly. This attack is disjointed. It is incredibly powerful when hitting by the tip in the air or by the head on the ground when sweetspoted. It has the highest knockback for a side-smash in the game when hitting with the sweetspots. However, it is also the forward smash with the slowest start up (43 frames) and is very weak when sourspotted. Less of a shockwave on the ground near the hammer. Strongest smash attack in the game.	32% damage sweetspoted hit on tip but 5% damage when sourspotted.
Olimar	Olimar commands a Pikmin to perform a ramming attack, causing it to fly forward while spinning. This attack has great range due to its disjointed hitbox, but only delivers powerful knockback only at close range, for strength decreases the farther the Pikmin travels. The knockback depends on the Pikmin used.	Red Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged. Blue Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged. Yellow Pikmin: 13% uncharged, 18% fully charged. White Pikmin: 9% uncharged, 12% fully charged. Purple Pikmin: 18% uncharged, 25% fully charged.
Fox	Fox performs a forward cartwheel. It has moderate knockback and range.	15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.
Falco	Falco does a slashing cross-chop. The most powerful side smash of the Space Animals, and very powerful in general. The attack is a bit slow and has some ending lag but it has pretty good range. It also has a huge sweetspot behind Falco. It is weak if hit by the tip.	15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.
Wolf	Wolf stretches his arms in front of his body and thrusts forward, then twists his claws. This attack moves Wolf along the ground, starts quickly, is the longest ranging forward smash in the game, and often strikes opponents twice, but delivers below average knockback and has noticeable cool-down time (The third weakest in the game).	15% uncharged and 21% fully charged.
Captain Falcon	Thrusts his elbows in a somewhat slow motion. It received a huge power and speed nerf from Melee. However, it is still powerful. It still has its psuedo-counter effect from Melee.	19% damage.
Pikachu	Releases a burst of electricity from its cheeks. It has a huge disjointed hitbox, but has noticeable start-up lag. The closer the opponent is to Pikachu, the more strength this attack has.	20% at close range.
Squirtle	Squirtle retracts into its shell and launches forward. Moderate knockback and damage. It has launch resistance frames.	Does 16% uncharged, 22% damage fully charged.
Ivysaur	Ivysaur plants two vines on the floor and thrusts itself forward with a lot of force. Cannot be shield grabbed until after it gets on its feet. Good knockback makes it a decent finisher.	Does 16-22% damage.
Charizard	Charizard while it rams its head forward and upwards, dealing two hits. It has long range, and amazing knockback, making it a great KO move, but it does have some start-up lag that accounts for this power.	29% when both hits are fully charged and land.
Lucario	Releases a burst of aura. Lucario's Aura ability does affect this attack; if Lucario is at low damage, it will be weak, while at high damage, it has great strength. It has some start up lag, but has IASA frames shortly after the hitbox ends allowing another forward-smash to be started without cooldown. Very hard to punish.	31% at maximum if sweetspotted and charged.
Jigglypuff	Similar to Kirby, Jigglypuff jump-kicks forward. It has more startup lag and less range than Kirby's, and deals less knockback but more damage.	16% uncharged, 22% fully charged.
Marth	Marth swings his sword from behind to the front over his head. It is very fast (hits on frame 10), has a great disjointed range and is very powerful when opponents are hit at the tip of the sword. When uncharged, though, a good DI can make super-heavyweight characters, like Bowser, can survive up to 200% (when it´s not hit by the tip).	14% at the base, 19% when tipped.
Ike	Ike overhead-swings his sword forward to the ground. It is extremely powerful and has a great, disjointed range but is incredibly slow (it has about 30 frames start-up; the third longest) and terrible end lag (the longest out of any side smash) if he misses like most of his moves. It is slightly weaker at the tip though it is still very powerful.	Does 17%-24% tip, 23%-30% non-tip.
Ness	Ness swings his baseball bat forward, with significant start up lag. The tip of the bat is more powerful than the rest of it, and it can reflect projectiles. Great finisher.	24% uncharged, 33% fully charged if sweetspotted, 18% uncharged, 25% fully charged if sourspotted.
Lucas	Lucas quickly swings his stick forward. This can also reflect projectiles. Similar to Ness, but is faster. It is a bit less powerful (though it stil has good knockback), but only compared to the tip on Ness' bat, otherwise it is much better and more reliable to reflect projectiles with because of its speed. Even though weaker than Ness' baseball bat, it is an outstanding finisher if it connects.	15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.
Snake	Snake slowly fires an RPG-7 at his feet. Large hitbox, can OHKO if fully charged anyone except Bowser without directional influence and used from the extreme end of Final Destination. Almost no vertical knockback but the second slowest forward smash in the game (It hits on frames 41-43) and quite short range for a powerful attack, even though it's disjointed. Best used as a surprise attack because it also deals high amount of shield stun and its great knockback, especially when near the edge of the stage.	Does 23-32% damage.
Sonic	Sonic punches in front of him. A good KO move, but it lacks in range and is slower than most of his other attacks. It can be angled.	14% uncharged, 19% fully charged.

Notable forward smashes

• Link, Young Link, and Toon Link have a second side smash that can be performed by pressing the attack button again after completing the first slash.
• Ness's and Lucas's side smashes are unique mainly because they are able to reflect projectiles, if timed correctly
• Bowser's side smash is the most powerful smash attack in Melee, and the only one capable of KOing around 15 % to 38%, doing 32% fully charged, and can even send the Sandbag farther than the Home-Run Bat at certain percentages. In Brawl, it is powered up even more to 46%, making it the most damaging side smash.
• Wolf's forward smash sends him a considerable distance forward, and has almost no start-up lag.
• Ike's side smash is the second strongest in Brawl. Although it doesn't deal as much damage as a few of the strongest characters, it has the highest knockback scaling and extremely long range, though this is counterbalanced by considerable start-up (about 30 frames) and ending lag.
• King Dedede's forward smash is the fastest-KOing forward smash in Brawl, with the second-highest base knockback and knockback scaling.
• Peach's side smash involves one of three randomly chosen weapons, each with varying range, damage, knockback and knockback angle, and also has a slight range behind her.
• Lucario's side smash (as well as its up smash, to a lesser extent) leaves a small ranged Aura residue from its paws, allowing Lucario to attack from a small distance. It is nearly unpunishable if spaced correctly, even when shielded.
• Wario's side smash in Brawl is one of the most feared moves in the game, due to its KO potential, transcendent priority, high speed, and launch resistance.
• Olimar's side smash is a projectile where Olimar throws a Pikmin. This is also true for his up smash and down smash.
• Mii Gunner's side smash has the longest range.
• Duck Hunt's side smash, similarly to its other smash attacks and Snake's up smash, increase in range the longer the attack is charged.

See also

• Down smash
• Up smash
• Forward smash/Knockback chart