Blaster (disambiguation)
The Blaster (called Blaster Shot in Super Smash Bros.) is Fox's, Falco's, and Wolf's Neutral B special move in all three Smash Bros. games. The attack consists of firing shots from a laser gun to damage far away opponents. All three fighters have different variations of the Blaster.
Origin
Fox has been pictured with a gun since Star Fox 64, but it hasn't been until Star Fox Assault (excluding the original Super Smash Bros.) that Fox would actually use one (in Star Fox 64, if the ability to play as the pilot on-foot in multiplayer was unlocked, he would use a Rocket Launcher, and in Star Fox Adventures, it is mentioned near the beginning of the game when Fox had to land on a peaceful planet, so he was forbidden to use a blaster). His basic Blaster has unlimited ammo, and is capable of charging a rather powerful Charge Shot. In lieu of high powered weapons like a Rocket Launcher, a fully charged Blaster shot would be the only thing Fox had to damage enemies with shielding.
Fox
In SSB, the Blaster shoots a pink laser beam that travels slower than a standard Ray Gun shot, does some damage, and has a little knockback (little more than flinching while at low damage). The Blaster has increased fire rate while Fox is airborne.
In SSBM, however, Fox's Blaster is quite different from the original: it has a faster rate of fire and traveling speed is drastically increased, but the Blaster has absolutely no knockback and does 1%-3% damage per shot. This is one of the few moves in the game that can never, under any circumstances, provide a KO, except for stealing other players' KO's. It is mainly used from long range to help build damage for later KO attempts and the Home-Run Contest.
In SSBB, Fox's Blaster has once again changed: the range of the Blaster now travels roughly half of its previous distance, and he cannot cancel the lag of putting his Blaster away simply by landing. His blaster still inflicts 1%-3% per shot but with a higher chance of causing 2% or 3% each shot before move decay sets in. Fox is also now capable of a short hop triple laser, allowing him to inflict more damage on opponents who are falling to the stage.
Falco
The Blaster is Falco's Neutral B special move in his Melee incarnation, which, like Fox, shoots a laser gun to damage faraway opponents. It is significantly different from to Fox's: the Blaster has a slower firing rate and longer end lag, (though it fires faster in the air, but not as fast as Fox's), and each beam stuns the opponent in addition to doing damage. Falco's Blaster closely resembles Fox's Blaster as it appeared in the original Smash Bros. The end lag can be skipped if used during a short hop. Falco's Blaster is mainly used from long range to help build damage for later KO attempts, and as an aid in approaching. It has a set knockback.
In Brawl, the beams from Falco's Blaster travel farther than the beams from Fox's, and they are blue instead of red. They appear to do some electricity-based damage, and do not appear to have set knockback.
Glitch
A small glitch with Falco's Blaster is that if used at the right range, the shots will stick into some platforms and remain damaging until it expires. It can most easily be done on New Pork City (or any custom stage with a specific type of ramp), when you stand where the bridge begins and fire at the platform to the left. It can also be done in Brawl's Temple, on the ramp to the far upper-right of the stage, if you stand in a certain spot and fire, and in Corneria if the player stands on the engines, jumps and fires at the tip of the wing.
Also, this is not a glitch, but characters can become trapped in a tumble animation, called Laser Lock, if hit repeatedly with Falco's Blaster just before they hit the ground while free-falling.
Wolf
The Blaster is Wolf's Neutral B special move in Super Smash Bros Brawl (in Japanese, the move is called "Claw Blaster" クローブラスター). The beams are colored green. It has the slowest firing rate, and is shorter ranged than Fox's or Falco's Blaster. However, it is stronger than the two (normally doing 5-8% damage), and has decent stun and knockback. A bayonet is attached on Wolf's Blaster, thus dealing 5% added damage when the attack is done at close range, even having the potential to KO, which no other Blaster can do. But he can't fire continuously, as he draws and holsters it for each shot, similar to how Samus's Charge Shot works.
