Roll

This article or section may require additional technical data. The editor who added this tag elaborates: Rolling distances for Brawl. Rolling frames and distances for SSB may also be added. You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it.

Wii Fit Trainer does a rolling dodge backwards.

A rolling dodge, or simply roll (called EscapeF and EscapeB internally in Melee's debug menu and Brawl's files, depending on which direction the character is rolling) is a maneuver that moves the character left or right and renders them intangible for a short period of time. It is performed by pressing the Control Stick left or right while holding a shield button.

Characters experience intangibility frames while rolling, though the amount, duration and timing of these frames varies from character to character. It's an advantage to have quick and long rolls because if it's slow and short, the roll is more predictable and the character is more vulnerable when in a followed animation to attacks and some KO moves. Most characters use a rolling, somersaulting or spinning animation for this technique, hence the name, though others without a very acrobatic physique (such as Zelda or Mewtwo) will instead step back, slide or even teleport (the latter being the case for Palutena and Rosalina) into the direction the Control Stick is flicked, while others such as Kirby and Mr. Game & Watch use a cartwheeling animation. Yoshi and Samus use unique special animations for it: Yoshi rolls while in his Egg, and Samus goes into Morph Ball mode, though both rolls are considerably slow.

After rolling, characters will always end up facing the opposite direction they rolled into. That is, characters that roll backwards will remain facing the same way, while characters that roll forwards will turn around. This allows rolling through a character to then execute attacks with more ease, but can disrupt them when trying to dodge and approach the opponent at the same time. Interestingly, a character cannot roll off the stage if a player performs this move near an edge; the character will instead perform the remainder of the rolling animation in a stationary location right next to the ledge.

Computer players often use rolls to evade attacks, especially at high levels. Due to the rolls' unique trait of moving the character while dodging attacks, most casual players tend to overrely on them attempting to keep themselves safe from attacks, even using them over their regular shields. In reality, due to its noticeable duration and vulnerability frames near the end, excessive rolling can leave the user more vulnerable against attacks, as the opponent can read their reaction and throw an attack into the direction they are going to roll into to punish them, or use attacks that hit at both sides and/or have long-lasting hitboxes, such as down smashes and neutral aerials. Additionally, simply faking a rush can threaten and condition such a player into rolling, allowing the rusher to punish them.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, rolling repeatedly causes each subsequent roll to be executed slower (thus increasing its lag) and grant less intangibility frames, leaving the player far more open to punishment should they fail to use the technique sparingly. This trait also applies to sidesteps and air dodges, in a way so overusing any dodge also affects the others.

Rolling vs. wavedashing (Super Smash Bros. Melee)

Many casual players believe that rolling and wavedashing play the same role and that the wavedash is just a superior version of the roll. This misconception exists because professional players wavedash in most situations in which casual players would roll. In fact, rolling and wavedashing play very different roles: rolling provides intangibility and generally more distance than a wavedash, but has a determined length and is more easily punished; it is generally used to get behind an attacking opponent or avoid attacks that cannot be wavedashed away from. On the other hand, wavedashing allows a character to act faster and attack while moving sideways at the expense of intangibility; it is generally used to quickly alter spacing or move towards an opponent while standing without turning around (like a forward roll would cause). If the wavedash did not exist, upper-level smashers would replace the wavedash with a dash dance in most situations, not a roll.

Rolling frames (Super Smash Bros. Melee)

These lists show the intangibility and the total lag frames of the rolls, but not the distance travelled or the size of the character while rolling.

Characters	Intangibility Frames	Total Frames	Vulnerable End Frames
Captain Falcon	4-19	31	12
Donkey Kong	4-19	31	12
Dr. Mario	4-19	31	12
Falco	4-19	31	12
Fox	4-19	31	12
Ganondorf	4-19	31	12
Ice Climbers	4-19	31	12
Kirby	4-19	31	12
Luigi	4-19	31	12
Mario	4-19	31	12
Ness	4-19	31	12
Peach	4-19	31	12
Pichu	4-19	31	12
Pikachu	4-19	31	12
Sheik	4-19	31	12
Zelda	4-19	31	12
Yoshi (forward)	4-19	34	15
Jigglypuff (forward)	2-18	34	16
Jigglypuff (back)	4-19	34	15
Mr. Game & Watch	4-19	35	16
Marth (forward)	4-19	35	16
Marth (back)	4-23	35	13
Roy (forward)	4-19	35	16
Roy (back)	4-23	35	13
Mewtwo (forward)	4-21	37	16
Link	4-19	37	18
Mewtwo (back)	4-19	37	18
Yoshi (back)	4-19	37	18
Young Link	4-19	37	18
Bowser	4-19	39	20
Samus	4-30	44	14

Rolling distances (Super Smash Bros. Melee)

This list shows the overall rankings for how far the characters roll in Melee, taken from Mew2King's Melee information dump.

Average of forward and back rolls

Ranking	Character
1	Mewtwo
2	Marth
3	Samus
4	Pichu
5	Sheik
6	Falco
7	Roy
8	Ganondorf
9	Luigi
10	Donkey Kong
11	Link
12	Pikachu
13	Ice Climbers
14	Captain Falcon
15	Fox
16	Zelda
17/18	Dr. Mario/Mario
19	Jigglypuff
20	Ness
21	Kirby
22	Yoshi
23	Peach
24	Young Link
25	Mr. Game & Watch
26	Bowser

Forward rolls

Ranking	Character
1	Mewtwo
2	Marth
3	Sheik
4	Pichu
5	Samus
6	Falco
7	Donkey Kong
8	Ganondorf
9	Roy
10	Luigi
11	Pikachu
12	Link
13	Ice Climbers
14	Captain Falcon
15	Fox
16	Zelda
17/18	Dr. Mario/Mario
19	Jigglypuff
20	Kirby
21	Yoshi
22	Peach
23	Ness
24	Bowser
25	Young Link
26	Mr. Game & Watch

Back rolls

Ranking	Character
1	Mewtwo
2	Marth
3	Samus
4	Falco
5	Pichu
6	Roy
7	Sheik
8	Ganondorf
9	Luigi
10	Link
11	Ness
12	Donkey Kong
13	Ice Climbers
14	Captain Falcon
15	Fox
16	Pikachu
17-18	Dr. Mario/Mario
19	Jigglypuff
20	Zelda
21	Kirby
22	Yoshi
23	Peach
24	Young Link
25	Mr. Game & Watch
26	Bowser

Rolling frames (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

Characters	Intangibility Frames	Total Frames
Meta Knight (forward)	5-12	23
Lucario	4-19	27
Pit (forward)	4-17	27
Zero Suit Samus (forward)	4-15	27
Diddy Kong	4-19	29
Squirtle	4-19	29
Captain Falcon	4-19	31
Donkey Kong	4-19	31
Falco	4-19	31
Fox	4-19	31
Ganondorf	4-19	31
Ice Climbers	4-19	31
Luigi	4-19	31
Lucas	4-19	31
Ness	4-19	31
Peach (forward)	4-19	31
Pikachu	4-19	31
Sheik	4-19	31
Sonic	4-19	31
Wolf	4-19	31
Zelda	4-19	31
Kirby	4-20	31
Peach (back)	5-20	31
Jigglypuff (forward)	3-19	32
Pit (back)	4-17	32
Ivysaur	4-19	32
Jigglyuff (back)	4-19	32
King Dedede	4-19	32
Mario	4-19	32
Olimar	4-19	32
Meta Knight (back)	4-12	33
Ike (forward)	4-19	33
Snake (back)	4-19	33
Yoshi (forward)	4-19	34
R.O.B.	4-21	34
Charizard (forward)	4-19	35
Marth (forward)	4-19	35
Mr. Game & Watch	4-19	35
Snake (forward)	4-17	35
Marth (back)	4-23	35
Charizard (back)	4-19	36
Ike (back)	4-19	37
Link	4-19	37
Toon Link	4-19	37
Yoshi (back)	4-19	37
Zero Suit Samus (back)	4-19	37
Wario	4-21	37
Bowser	5-20	39
Samus	4-23	44

Rolling frames (Super Smash Bros. 4)

In Smash 4, rolls have been sped up slightly for the majority of the cast, making them safer for repositioning and getting away from attacks. However, the intangibility on all forward and back rolls has since been decreased by 1 frame in version 1.1.0 of the game, and once again by the same amount in version 1.1.1. The following list shows the frame data of rolls as of currently.

Characters	Intangibility Frames	Total Frames
Duck Hunt	4-15	26
Fox	4-14	26
Pikachu	4-14	26
Toon Link	4-14	26
Little Mac	4-12	26
Captain Falcon	4-15	27
Dark Pit	4-15	27
Diddy Kong	4-15	27
Meta Knight	4-15	27
Pit	4-15	27
Sheik	4-15	27
Sonic	4-15	27
Zero Suit Samus	4-15	27
Roy	4-17	29
Donkey Kong	4-16	29
Dr. Mario	4-16	29
Falco	4-16	29
Mario	4-16	29
Mii Brawler	4-16	29
Mr. Game & Watch	4-16	29
Olimar	4-16	29
Pac-Man	4-16	29
R.O.B.	4-16	29
Wario	4-16	29
Wii Fit Trainer	4-16	29
Lucario	4-14	29
Greninja (forward)	4-14	29
Mewtwo	4-13	29
Bowser Jr.	4-17	30
Jigglypuff	4-17	30
Kirby	4-17	30
Link	4-17	30
Lucas	4-17	30
Lucina	4-17	30
Luigi	4-17	30
Marth	4-17	30
Mega Man	4-17	30
Mii Gunner	4-17	30
Mii Swordfighter	4-17	30
Ness	4-17	30
Palutena	4-17	30
Peach	4-17	30
Rosalina	4-17	30
Ryu	4-17	30
Shulk	4-17	30
Villager	4-17	30
Zelda	4-17	30
Corrin	4-14	30
Cloud	4-15	31
Charizard	4-18	32
Ike	4-18	32
Robin	4-18	32
Greninja (back)	4-14	32
Bowser	4-19	33
Ganondorf	4-19	33
King Dedede	4-19	33
Yoshi	4-21	35
Bayonetta*	6-19	36
Samus	4-23	39

*Activates Bat Within if hit on frames 3-5.

Rolling distances (Smash 4)

This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki by expanding or finishing it. The editor who added this tag elaborates: Missing Miis and DLC characters

Average of forward and back rolls

Ranking	Character
1	Samus
2	R.O.B.
3-4	Greninja, Charizard
5	Little Mac
6	Falco
7-8	King Dedede, Marth
9	Sheik
10-11	Sonic, Link
12	Diddy Kong
13	Lucina
14	Ganondorf
15	Meta Knight
16-17	Luigi, Ike
18	Donkey Kong
19	Pac-Man
20-21	Duck Hunt, Captain Falcon
22	Fox
23	Lucario
24-25	Jigglypuff, Kirby
26-27	Rosalina, Wario
28-29	Shulk (Speed), Mario
30	Dr. Mario
31-32	Bowser Jr., Mega Man
33-34	Shulk, Pikachu
35-36	Palutena, Robin
37-38	Yoshi, Pit
39	Dark Pit
40	Bowser
41-42-43	Zero Suit Samus, Olimar, Peach
44	Ness
45-46	Zelda, Mr. Game & Watch
47	Wii Fit Trainer
48-49	Villager, Toon Link

Forward rolls

Ranking	Character
1	Samus
2	Little Mac
3	R.O.B.
4	Falco
5	Charizard
6	Greninja
7	Marth
8	King Dedede
9	Link
10	Sonic
11	Meta Knight
12	Lucina
13	Diddy Kong
14	Sheik
15	Ike
16	Ganondorf
17	Luigi
18	Kirby
19	Donkey Kong
20	Fox
21	Captain Falcon
22	Pac-Man
23	Lucario
24	Wario
25	Jigglypuff
26	Duck Hunt
27	Dr. Mario
28	Mario
29	Rosalina
30	Robin
31	Shulk (Speed)
32	Pikachu
33	Shulk
34	Pit
35	Mega Man
36	Bowser Jr.
37	Yoshi
38	Dark Pit
39	Peach
40	Olimar
41	Mr. Game & Watch
42	Zelda
43	Ness
44	Zero Suit Samus
45	Bowser
46	Palutena
47	Toon Link
48	Wii Fit Trainer
49	Villager

Back rolls

Ranking	Character
1	Samus
2	Greninja
3	Charizard
4	R.O.B.
5	Sheik
6	King Dedede
7	Marth
8	Little Mac
9	Falco
10	Sonic
11	Link
12	Diddy Kong
13	Ganondorf
14	Lucina
15	Luigi
16	Donkey Kong
17	Duck Hunt
18	Ike
19	Pac-Man
20	Meta Knight
21	Palutena
22	Captain Falcon
23	Lucario
24	Fox
25	Shulk (Speed)
26	Jigglypuff
27	Rosalina
28	Bowser Jr.
29	Mario
30	Mega Man
31	Wario
32	Dr. Mario
33	Shulk
34	Kirby
35	Pikachu
36	Bowser
37	Yoshi
38	Robin
39	Zero Suit Samus
40	Pit
41	Dark Pit
42	Ness
43	Olimar
44	Peach
45	Wii Fit Trainer
46	Zelda
47	Villager
48	Mr. Game & Watch
49	Toon Link

Gallery

• 

  Mario's forward roll animation in Melee.

• 

  Zero Suit Samus rolls away from Snake's aerial attack in Brawl.

• 

  A Mii Brawler performing its backward roll in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Trivia

• In Super Smash Bros., a glitch occurs if a player repeatedly rolls backwards against a wall. It makes the character slowly move sideways out of the plane of gameplay. If another action is inputted, the character returns to normal. [1]