Beam Sword

Beam Sword
A Beam Sword in Smash 4
Universe	Super Smash Bros.
Appears in	SSB Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Item class	Weapon

“	This is an item of great power. It also has the longest range of all Clobbering Items when thrown.	”
—Super Smash Bros. instruction manual.

The Beam Sword (ビームソード, Beam Sword) is a long-range battering item, similar in appearance to a lightsaber. Available in all five games, it can be wielded and charged for melee attacks or can be thrown, like all other battering items.

Operation

Fox charges up a forward smash with the Beam Sword. The retracting blade references weapons in various forms of science fiction.

As a battering item, the Beam Sword will bolster the player's power, as well as potentially add some options to their game via throwing. In Melee and Brawl, the Beam Sword's range significantly increases in size, particularly in the case of charged smash attacks. In each of its subsequent appearances, its range has increased, with Brawl's variant of the weapon potentially having thrice the range of its Melee counterpart. With this, the beam of the blade can also pass through walls. In Super Smash Bros. 4, character-specific Beam Sword attacks, such as Marth and Roy's two-hit slashes, are no longer present.

The Beam Sword is one of few unusual items Peach can pull out via her Vegetable attack, though the chances of this are slim (1 out of 58 chance), and has been removed in Smash 4. In addition, the behavior surrounding the event is unorthodox for Brawl; in the first minute of plucking the item, the sword's range is severely decreased, as Peach will use her item throwing animation rather than her standard item swinging animation. After a minute, the item pickup sound will play and the Beam Sword regains its usual properties, though the player can also toss the sword and pick it up again to restore its proper attributes.

Damage

Action	SSB	Melee	Brawl	3DS/Wii U
A	12%	7%	5%	4% - 5%
F-Tilt	18%	11%	7%	8% (9% near base)
Dash	16%	13%	7%	8% (7% near base)
Dash (Peach/Zelda)	N/A	23%(13%+10%)
Dash (Mewtwo)	N/A	18%	N/A
F-Smash	25%	15% - 20%	11% - 15%	13% - 20%
F-Smash (C. Falcon)	25%	15% - 14%(5%+9%)	18%(8%+10%) - 26%(11%+15%)
F-Smash (Sheik)	N/A	14%(5%+9%) - 19%(6%+12%)	23%(11%+12%) - 32%(15%+17%)
F-Smash (Pit)	N/A	N/A	18%(7%+11%) - 26%(9.5%+16.5%)
F-Smash (Ike)	N/A	N/A	14%(6%+8%) - 19%(8% + 11%)
F-Smash (Marth/Roy, if first swipe connects)	N/A	14%(1%+13%) - 20%(1%+19%)	16%(5%+11%) - 23%(7%+16%)
Drop	5%	7%	8% - 10%	6% - 7%
Forward tilt throw	15%	12%	11% - 12%	11% - 12%
Up tilt throw	16%	10% - 13%	13%	13% - 14%
Down tilt throw	13%	8% - 14%	12%	12%
Dash attack throw	19%	9% - 14%	14%	13% - 15%
Forward smash throw	19%	10% - 15%	15%	14% - 15%
Up smash throw	20%	10% - 17%	16%	15% - 16%
Down smash throw	13%	10% - 18%	12% - 16%	15% - 16%
Air Drop	13%	8%	10%	7% - 9%
Air Forward tilt throw	17%	8% - 12%	12%	11% - 12%
Air up tilt Throw	17%	10% - 11%	13%	13%
Air down tilt throw	19%	6% - 14%	10%	10% - 11%
Air forward smash throw	19%	7% - 12%	12%	11% - 12%
Air up smash throw	20%	2% - 13%	13%	11% - 12%
Air down smash throw	20%	6% - 14%	10%	12% - 14%

Trophy information

Melee

Trophy in Melee.

Beam Sword

With its distinctive glowing blade, the Beam Sword is eye-catching and lethal. At first, the blade is about the size of a short sword, but the length changes depending on who wields it. The blade also lengthens in direct proportion to the power of an attack, so it reaches its maximum size when swung as a smash attack.

: Super Smash Bros.

Brawl

File:Beam Sword - Brawl Trophy.jpg

Trophy in Brawl.

Beam Sword

A sword with a blade of glowing energy. The length of the blade changes depending on the fighting spirit of the wielder. It has four attacks: a standard attack, a strong side attack, a side smash attack, and a dash attack. When doing a side smash attack, the Beam Sword's blade grows to three times its normal length--that's the best reach of all battering weapons.

: Super Smash Bros.

SSB4

The Beam Sword trophy appears in both versions. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U it is part of the Swordfighter Trophy Box.

Trophy in for 3DS.

Trophy in for Wii U.

Beam Sword

A powerful sword with a blade of pure energy. It isn't the strongest weapon to land on the battlefield, but its shape can change based on how it is used to attack. A forward smash will make the blade especially long. Lash out at your foes from a distance—they can't hit back!

The blade of this sword is made of pure light energy. It's not very powerful, but depending on your attack, it can have a pretty long reach! Just wait till you use it for a side smash! You can make the most of its power by attacking enemies as they're falling, or when you're too far away for them to counter-attack.

: Super Smash Bros. (04/1999)

: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Origin

File:RealLifeBeamSword.jpg

Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi square off using lightsabers; the weapons are a distinctive pop culture icon.

The Beam Sword acts as a reference to the lightsaber from the Star Wars film series since 1977, though multiple literary works prior to the series had similar weapons, such as Fritz Leiber's Gather, Darkness from the 1940s. In the original Super Smash Bros., the weapon would make sound effects similar to those found in the actual films, including the famous, distinctive, and sharp crackling noise when two swords collided. While the sound effects were removed in the PAL and American releases of the games, the Japanese release of Melee continued this tradition, and in Brawl and Smash 4, all regions now contain the famous sound effects from the film series. Furthermore, in the latter two games, the Beam Sword's blade could shrink in some animations, furthering the connection between the item and its source.

Gallery

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  Beam Sword in Super Smash Bros.

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  Fox uses the Beam Sword on Link in Brawl. The item's long range is its most noteworthy property in both Melee and Brawl.

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  Beam Sword artwork from Brawl.

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  Beam Sword as it appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Olimar holding the Beam Sword in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

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  Mario with the Fire Bar alongside Link with the Beam Sword

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  Beam Sword artwork from Ultimate.