Crawling
Crawling (also known as crouch walking) is a technique introduced in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. While crouching, certain characters can move while staying low to the ground, allowing them to potentially avoid some attacks or projectiles. As when crouching, crawling characters only have access to down tilt and down special as immediate offensive options.
The usefulness of crawling primarily depends on how low the character's crouch is. For example, Snake has a very low crouch that significantly reduces his height, making his crawl highly effective for dodging projectiles and attacks with high hitboxes, while Bowser's crouch is much higher and barely reduces his height, leaving it near useless to dodge such attacks. While most characters can change the direction they face while crawling, all crawling characters can crawl backwards.
Crawling is not often used in competitive matches, as other methods of approach tend to be more practical. The exception to this are characters with very low crawls (such as the aforementioned Snake) in certain matchups, as their low crawl allows them to approach while being unable to be hit by opposing projectiles, such as Falco's Blaster.
Characters who can crawl
| Character |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Bowser | 
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| Diddy Kong | 
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| Duck Hunt | N/A | 
|
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| Greninja | N/A | 
|
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| Inkling | N/A | N/A | 
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| Ivysaur | 
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N/A | 
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| Lucario | 
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| Luigi | 
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|
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| Pac-Man | N/A | 
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| Pichu | N/A | N/A | 
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| Pikachu | 
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| Richter | N/A | N/A | 
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| Rosalina | N/A | 
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| Sheik | 
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| Simon | N/A | N/A | 
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| Snake | 
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N/A | 
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| Squirtle | 
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N/A | 
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| Wario | 
|
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| Wii Fit Trainer | N/A | 
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| Yoshi | 
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| Zero Suit Samus | 
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Crawl-sliding
Crawl-sliding is a technique in Brawl which allows the player to slide across the ground backwards for a short period of time. This was first discovered by SmashBoards member lilscrappy561, who attempted to moonwalk as in Melee by just walking instead of dashing. If done with a Bunny Hood, a character will slide even further, as if they wavedashed. This can only be done with characters that can crawl.
Performing the crawl slide
To do this, the player must tilt the control stick or d-pad so the character will walk. Once the character is walking, the player must then make a half circle in the opposite direction and let go of the analog stick or pad. The character will slide for a short distance unless they are wearing a Bunny Hood, in which case they will go further. It is easiest to do this with Luigi.
Application
Crawl sliding is most often used as a double-cross-up, used more by characters with short jumps. For example, Bowser can crawl-slide behind an opponent who is in front of him while charging his forward smash, so less time is spent vulnerable.
Video
Pseudo-crawling
Some characters have down tilts that move them forward, causing them to pseudo-crawl, but the usefulness of this is questionable.
Characters who can pseudo-crawl:
- Banjo & Kazooie
- Captain Falcon
- Cloud
- Dark Pit
- King Dedede
- Joker
- Lucario
- Marth
- Mega Man
- Meta Knight
- Olimar
- Pac-Man
- Peach
- Pit
- Richter
- Simon
- Snake
- Sonic
- Wii Fit Trainer
- Zero Suit Samus
Gallery
Snake crawling in Brawl.
Diddy Kong crawling forwards
Zero Suit Samus crawling forwards
Wario crawling backwards
Luigi crawling forwards
Trivia
- Pikachu's hurtbox height varies depending whether it is crawling forward or backward. Normally, when Pikachu crawls forward, its tail lies low to the ground, allowing it to avoid certain projectiles like Fox's Blaster; but while crawling backwards, its tail is held over its body, which allows it to be hit by projectiles that would fly harmlessly above it while crawling forward. Squirtle's tail acts similarly.
- Similarly, when Rosalina crawls, her hurtbox height is slightly changed, with her behind being raised slightly when crawling forward, while her behind is lowered slightly when crawling backwards.
- Most characters can turn around while crawling. To do this, they can crouch and do a down tilt and then press the control stick or D-pad to the opposite direction they are facing, and they will turn around.
- When Samus is in a higher gravity situation (such as being metal or being in The Subspace Emissary), upon using her Bombs, her morph ball will briefly hit the ground. While this is done, Samus can effectively crawl in her morph ball for a small amount of time.
- Compared to wall jumping, a character's ability to crawl is much less related to whether they can crawl in their original games. For example, while Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario can crawl in Super Mario 64 DS (along with Super Mario 64 for Mario) and the former two can walk while crouching in Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World, Mario cannot crawl in Smash Bros. Zero Suit Samus can crawl in Metroid: Zero Mission and in Smash Bros., while Toon Link can crawl in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker but not in Smash Bros.
- Snake, Pac-Man (in SSB4), Wii Fit Trainer, Zero Suit Samus, Simon Belmont, and Richter Belmont are the only characters who can both pseudo-crawl and crawl regularly.
- None of the DLC characters in SSB4 can crawl.
- Wii Fit Trainer crawls slower than any other characters that can do so, both forwards and backwards.
- Luigi also crawls slower when going backwards.
