Forward smash

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Mario using his forward smash in Melee

Mario using his forward smash in Brawl.

A forward smash, abbreviated f-smash and officially known as a side smash attack (横スマッシュ攻撃), is a smash attack that any character can perform by tapping the control stick (or d-pad in Super Smash Bros. 64) in a horizontal direction and pressing the attack button immediately afterward or simultaneously, or by tilting the C-Stick in a horizontal direction. Starting in Melee, forward smashes can be charged for a maximum of one second (or 60 frames), resulting in up to 40% higher damage and knockback. In Ultimate, smash attacks can be charged for up to 3 seconds (or 180 frames), but the attack stops increasing in strength after the 1 second mark.

After tapping the control stick forwards, there is a 3-frame window wherein a forward smash can be performed. If the attack button is pressed too late, a dash attack will be performed instead. Pressing the attack button on the last possible frame results in a small step forward smash. In all games except Super Smash Bros. Brawl, forward smashes can be pivoted.

Like forward tilts, certain forward smashes can be angled in up to 3 directions; a select few forward smashes in Smash 64, however, can be angled in up to 5 directions. In Smash 64 and Melee, the control stick or c-stick must be tapped in the desired angle at the start of the move to angle it. From Brawl onwards, however, the attack can be angled by holding the control stick or c-stick in the desired angle as the move's charging period ends.

The c-stick can not be used to perform forward smashes in the single-player modes of Super Smash Bros. Melee, as it instead is used to move the camera.

List of forward smashes in Super Smash Bros.

Character	Description	Damage
Captain Falcon	Delivers a spinning side kick imbued with flame that has high reach.	18%
Donkey Kong	Slaps his hands together in front of himself. The second strongest forward smash in terms of knockback, but also the slowest.	20%
Fox	Performs a spinning dropkick. Weaker than most other forward smashes, but has good speed and range.	17%
Jigglypuff	Lunges forward with a kick, similar to Kirby's forward smash but weaker.	16% (clean), 13% (late)
Kirby	Jumps forwards while kicking. Has high range and speed, and is the strongest forward smash in the game.	17% (clean), 13% (late)
Link	Slashes from top to bottom. Deals good damage and has long reach.	20% (center), 8% (tip). Deals 24% in the PAL version.
Luigi	Throws a powerful fist-inflating punch. Similar to Mario's forward smash, but weaker, and with less ending lag.	15%
Mario	Throws a powerful fist-inflating punch. Slow, but a great KO move.	17%
Ness	Swings his baseball bat. Can reflect projectiles.	18%
Pikachu	Releases a jolt of a electricity. Has slow startup, but is strong and has a disjointed hitbox.	18%
Samus	Punches with her arm cannon. A quick attack with fair knockback.	18%
Yoshi	Rears his head back and performs a headbutt. Above-average knockback and short ending lag.	18%

List of forward smashes in Super Smash Bros. Melee

Character	Description	Damage
Bowser	Headbutts forward. Noticeably long start-up, but is the strongest smash attack in Melee.	24%.
Captain Falcon	Thrusts his elbow forward. Good knockback with a flame effect, but considerable starting lag. The third strongest forward smash in the game.	20%, deals 1% more angled up and 2% less angled down.
Donkey Kong	Claps forward with high range and great knockback.	20%.
Dr. Mario	Extends his palm, unleashing an electric blast. Similar to Mario's forward smash, but has more knockback, less range, and has no sourspot.	19%. Deals 1% more angled up, and 2% less angled down.
Falco	Performs a cartwheeling kick. Similar to Fox's, but with higher knockback, damage, and range. The late hitbox sends the opponent vertically.	17% (clean), 14% (late)
Fox	Performs a cartwheeling kick. A rather quick move with enough power to make it a viable finisher. Like Falco's forward smash, the late hitbox sends opponents vertically.	15% (clean), 12% (late)
Ganondorf	Lunges forward with an elbow thrust, much like Captain Falcon. Deals high damage with a darkness effect, and is the second-strongest forward smash in the game.	22%, deals 2% more angled up and 3% less angled down.
Ice Climbers	Smash both hammers in front of them. High damage and knockback, dealing more damage than Bowser's if fully charged and if both Climbers hit.	14% leader, 13% partner.
Jigglypuff	Lunges forward while kicking. Some start-up lag, but strong nonetheless.	17% (clean), 14% (late)
Kirby	Jumps forward while kicking. Good reach.	15% (clean), 13% (late)
Link	Slashes forward. A second, stronger slash can be performed by hitting the A button or C-Stick immediately following the first. High reach on both slashes. The first hit's high knockback growth prevents it from comboing into the second, stronger hit past 30%.	14% then 13%.
Luigi	Performs a horizontal spearhand. Very quick, and has the highest knockback scaling of all forward smashes, making it weak early on but deadly at higher percentages.	13%, deals 2% more angled up and 1% less angled down.
Mario	Releases a blast of fire from his extended palm. Poor range, yet very powerful and quick, with the fireball sweetspot dealing more damage and knockback.	19% sweetspot, 14% sourspot. Deals 1% more angled up, and 2% less angled down.
Marth	Slashes quickly from top to bottom, with a powerful sweet spot at the sword's tip. It is very fast and has high range.	20% tipped, 14% base.
Mewtwo	Blasts psychic energy from its palms. Decent reach, but has a sourspot with weak knockback.	18% (sweetspot), 12% (sourspot)
Mr. Game & Watch	Hits the foe with a fire poker. Slow, but strong, with a long-lasting hitbox.	18%
Ness	Swings with his baseball bat. Highly powerful, especially with the sweetspot on the bat's tip. It is able to reflect projectiles.	17% (sourspot), 23% (sweetspot)
Peach	Swings with one of three weapons - a golf club, tennis racket, or frying pan. All three have a disjointed hitbox. The racket sends opponents flying horizontally stronger than the others, yet is the weakest damage-wise. The frying pan deals the most damage and launches opponents vertically. The golf club is the weakest in terms of knockback and only deals slightly more damage than the racket, yet it has the longest range.	Frying pan 19%; Tennis racket 14%; Golf club 15%.
Pichu	Releases electricity from its cheeks. Similar to Pikachu's, but with less range, and hits multiple times with the last hit dealing high knockback.	6 hits: 15% total.
Pikachu	Releases electricity from its cheeks. Great knockback with a disjointed hitbox, but some start-up lag.	21%
Roy	Performs a high-range vertical slash. Similar to, but slightly slower than, Marth's. Deals incredibly high knockback, but is much weaker at the tip.	20% center, 13% tip.
Samus	Punches forwards with her arm cannon. Quick, but not particularly strong.	14%, deals 2% more damage angled up and 1% less angled down.
Sheik	Performs two rolling kicks forward. The first kick usually leads into the second, which does decent knockback.	6% then 9%.
Yoshi	Slams horizontally with his head. Some start-up lag, but good knockback. Yoshi's head is intangible for a short time during the attack.	16%, deals 1% more angled up and 2% 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.
Zelda	Zaps the foe with magic from her extended hands. Somewhat quick with slightly disjointed hitbox. Multiple hits.	5 hits: 15% total.

List of forward smashes in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Character	Description	Damage
Bowser	Reels back and headbutts forward. The most damaging forward smash in the game (46% damage fully charged) with very high knockback and range, but is slow on both ends.	10% (hit 1), 23%/21% (hit 2)
Captain Falcon	Thrusts his elbow forward. Powerful, but not particularly fast.	20% (high), 19% (mid), 18% (low)
Charizard	Rams its head forward and upwards. Has long range and high knockback, but is slow to start.	5% (hit 1), 17% (hit 2)
Diddy Kong	Slaps while spinning around, first hitting weakly with his right arm, and then strongly with his left. Decently powerful, but can be escaped with proper SDI.	5% (hit 1), 13% (hit 2)
Donkey Kong	Claps his hands together in front of him. Has great knockback for its speed. Its range is high, but not disjointed.	18%-21%
Falco	Performs a slashing cross-chop. Somewhat slow in general, but has solid range and power.	15% (clean), 10% (late)
Fox	Performs a powerful cartwheeling kick. It has moderate knockback and range.	15% (clean), 12% (late)
Ganondorf	Jabs his elbow forward. Similar to Captain Falcon's, but is slower, stronger, has more range, and deals darkness damage.	24%
Ice Climbers	Perform an overhead swing, slamming their hammers to the ground. Fairly powerful, especially when hit with both Climbers.	13%/12% (leader), 10%/9% (partner)
Ike	Heaves Ragnell up and over his head and slams it onto the ground. Very slow, especially to end, but is the second-strongest forward smash in the game, especially when sweetspotted.	17%-22%
Ivysaur	Plants two vines on the floor and tackles forwards while tethered to the ground. High knockback makes it a decent finisher.	16%
Jigglypuff	Jump-kicks forward. It has more startup lag and less range than Kirby's, and deals less knockback but more damage.	16% (clean), 13% (late)
King Dedede	Swings his hammer overhead very slowly. Both the strongest forward smash in the game and the slowest to start up.	13% (early), 24% (clean), 5% (late)
Kirby	Lunges forward and jump-kicks. Quick start-up, good range, and huge knockback.	16% (clean high), 15% (clean mid), 14% (clean low), 13% (late)
Link	Swings his sword from side to side in front of him. The attack button/C-Stick can be hit again to deliver a second, more powerful hit. The first hit's low knockback lets it combo into the second, stronger hit. Slow, but deals high damage and knockback.	14%-15% (hit 1), 17%-20% (hit 2)
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.	14% (arms), 16% (blast)
Lucas	Quickly swings his stick forward. Similar to Ness' forward smash, but faster and less powerful (though still a reliable finisher).	15%
Luigi	Performs a quick horizontal spearhand. Has absurdly high knockback for its speed, especially when angled upwards, but deals low damage.	15% (high), 14% (mid), 13% (low)
Mario	Thrusts his palm forward, releasing a blast of fire. Quick and has decent range and high power, especially when sweetspotted.	18% (fire, up), 15% (arm, up), 17% (fire, straight), 14% (arm, straight), 16% (fire, down), 13% (arm, down)
Marth	Swings his sword downwards over his head. Very fast with great disjointed range, and is very powerful at the sword's tip.	14% (base), 19% (tip)
Meta Knight	Pulls his sword back and slashes outwards quickly. Deals a good amount of knockback, but has some startup lag, although its ending lag is incredibly short.	14%
Mr. Game & Watch	Swings downwards with a lighted match. Very powerful, with a long-lasting hitbox, making it difficult to punish.	18% (clean torch), 14% (clean handle), 8% (late)
Ness	Swings his baseball bat forward. A great finisher with a sweetspot at the tip, but has significant start up lag. It can reflect projectiles.	18% (base), 24% (tip)
Olimar	Commands a Pikmin to jump forward and perform a spinning tackle. Great range due to its disjointed hitbox, but as the Pikmin travels farther, the knockback becomes less potent. Damage and knockback dealt depends on the type of Pikmin used.	R: 9%-15% Y: 6%-13% B: 6%-15% W: 3%-9% P: 13%-18%
Peach	Swings with either a tennis racket, a golf club or a frying pan. 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, launching enemies upwards with weaker knockback and shorter range. All three weapons have disjointed hitboxes.	12%/13% (racket), 15% (club), 18% (pan)
Pikachu	Releases a burst of electricity from its cheeks. Has a huge disjointed hitbox, but noticeable start-up lag. The closer the opponent is to Pikachu, the stronger the attack is.	20% (early), 17% (mid), 14%
Pit	Slashes forwards twice with his swords. The first hit leads into the second. Very fast with good knockback, but is susceptible to SDI.	7% (hit 1), 12% (hit 2)
R.O.B.	Blasts electric energy from his eyes. Has a disjointed hitbox, but is weak for a forward smash.	14% (base), 13% (mid), 12% (tip)
Samus	Shoves her arm cannon forward. Very fast, but has below average knockback.	14% (high), 13% (mid), 12% (low)
Sheik	Performs two consecutive jumping kicks. The first kick has less knockback and easily combos into the second, more powerful one.	5% (hit 1), 9% (hit 2)
Snake	Deploys an RPG-7 and launches it towards the ground in front of him. Has a large hitbox and is one of the slowest and strongest forward smashes in the game.	22%
Sonic	Winds up and punches forwards. A good KO move, but lacks in range and is slower than most of his other attacks.	14%
Squirtle	Retracts into its shell and performs a jumping tackle. Grants armor and has moderate knockback and damage.	14%
Toon Link	Slashes downwards and inwards. Like Link's, a second hit can be performed by pressing the attack button or c-stick a second time after the first one. Unlike Link's, however, the first slash has set knockback.	10% (hit 1), 13% (hit 2 front), 11% (hit 2 back)
Wario	Performs a shoulder tackle. Poor range, but hits extremely quickly with above-average strength and grants armor for a brief period.	19%
Wolf	Thrusts forward with an arm outstretched, then twists his claws. It starts up very quickly and it is the longest-ranging forward smash in the game, but among the weakest to compensate.	5% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)
Yoshi	Thrusts his head forward. Decent knockback.	16%
Zelda	Thrusts her arm out and creates a small magic vortex which sucks foes in and deals multiple hits. The last hit has very high knockback. Quick, powerful, and has a disjointed hitbox, but can be easily SDI'd out of.	1% (hits 1-4), 13% (hit 5)
Zero Suit Samus	Whips forward with her plasma whip. Has noticeable startup lag and is weak, but has fantastic range, even capable of hitting behind her.	10%-14% (front), 6% (back).

List of forward smashes in Super Smash Bros. 4

Character	Description	Damage
Bayonetta	Summons the fist of Madama Butterfly, which punches forwards. Deals strong knockback, but can be easily cancelled out even by weaker moves.	14% (wrist), 16% (fist)
Bowser	Jumps forward and performs a dropkick. One of The strongest forward smashes in the game with high range, though its startup is slow. If spaced correctly, it's able to hit opponents who are hanging on the edge.	Clean:23% (feet), 20% (body) Late: 17% (feet), 14% (body)
Bowser Jr.	Commands two drills to close in on the area in front of him. Hits multiple times with great strength on the final hit, and has very little ending lag.	1% (hits 1-5), 11% (hit 6)
Captain Falcon	Thrusts his elbow forwards, burning opponents on contact. Has high range and power, but is somewhat slow.	High: 20% Mid: 19% Low: 20%
Charizard	Winds up and performs a swinging headbutt forward. Has slow start-up, but great range and knockback.	17% (clean, late body), 14% (late head)
Cloud	Performs a three-hit combo of slashes in front of him. The third hit has very high knockback, and the move starts quickly but ends slowly.	3% (hit 1), 2-4% (hit 2), 12-13% (hit 3)
Corrin	Morphs the free arm into a lance and stabs with it. Has tremendous reach with a powerful sweetspot on the tip, being the farthest-reaching uncharged forward smash in the game. Corrin holds Omega Yato in front while charging the move; this damages nearby enemies repeatedly and can combo into the main portion of the attack.	0.5% (sword, 1-12 hits) 16% (tip), 15% (mid), 12% (close)
Dark Pit	Identical to Pit's.	5% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)
Diddy Kong	Slaps forward while spinning, then throws a backhand punch. Has rather short range, but high power.	5% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2 fist), 9% (hit 2 arm)
Donkey Kong	Winds up and claps both hands forward. Strong horizontal knockback with good range.	19% (arms), 20% (hands)
Dr. Mario	Releases a blast of electricity from his palm. Has high power, especially on the sweetspot at his arm, but its range is below-average.	High: 19.992% (arm), 19.464% (hand) Mid: 19.04% (arm), 15.68% (hand) Low: 19.6112% (arm), 16.1504%
Duck Hunt	Signals the gunman to fire three shots forward. The longer the move is charged, the longer its range will become, though its power is only average. The knockback angles are randomized to a slight degree, which can cause it to occasionally fail to connect with all three hits.	4% (hits 1-2), 9% (hit 3)
Falco	Swings both his wings in an overhead downward swipe. High knockback when sweetspotted, but lacks speed.	15% (clean), 10% (late)
Fox	Does a cartwheel kick forward. Has a long-lasting hitbox and covers lots of ground, but deals poor knockback.	14% (clean), 11% (late)
Ganondorf	Leans back and thrusts his elbow forward. Extremely high knockback, especially when the opponent is close to Ganondorf.	24%
Greninja	Slashes inwards with a water katana. Very fast, with decent knockback, but poor damage.	14%
Ike	Lifts his sword over his head and slams it down in a powerful, two-handed overhead swing. Both among the strongest and slowest smash attacks in the game. It's strongest when hit with Ragnell's blade.	19% (early), 22% (clean blade), 17% (clean tip)
Jigglypuff	Lunges forward and delivers a jump kick forward. Has high knockback, but poor range and start-up.	15% (clean), 12% (late)
King Dedede	Winds up his hammer and forcefully slams it down in an overhead swing. Among the strongest forward smashes in the game, with high range and deceptively low ending lag, but is very slow to start.	15% (early), 24% (clean), 6% (late)
Kirby	Lunges forward and delivers a jump kick that moves him forward. Fast start-up and high knockback makes it an effective punisher.	High: 16% (clean), 12% (late) Mid: 15% (clean), 11% (late) Low: 14% (clean), 10% (late)
Link	Swings his sword downwards and inwards. A second slash can be inputted by tapping the attack button or C-Stick right after the first slash. The first slash's tip deals high knockback, while the rest of the blade is designed to true combo into the second slash. Not particularly fast, but KOs very early when both hits connect.	Hit 1: 7% (base), 14% (tip) Hit 2: 12% (body), 13% (sword)
Little Mac	Leans forwards and throws a punch. The move changes when it is angled. Angled up: Becomes an uppercut with deceptively large reach. No angle: Punches forward with very good KO power. Angled down: A body hook that deals high damage and shield damage, but very low knockback.	High: 20% (hand), 18% (arm) Mid: 20% (hand), 18% (arm) Low: 24%
Lucario	Releases a blast of aura forward. Very weak without any aura, but becomes the strongest forward smash in the game by a significant margin with maximum aura. Has some startup lag, but is light on ending lag.	16% (clean), 13% (late)
Lucas	Quickly swings a stick forward. Can reflect projectiles. Faster start-up than Ness', making it more useful for punishing and reflecting.	14% (base), 15% (tip)
Lucina	Identical to Marth's, but with no tipper effect, instead being more generally powerful and damaging.	15.275%
Luigi	Performs a quick horizontal spearhand. Short-ranged, but quick and very powerful.	15%
Mario	Releases a fiery burst from his palm. Has solid range and power, hitting strongest at the center of the flame.	High: 14.7% (arm), 17.85% (fire) Mid: 14% (arm), 17% (fire) Low: 14.42% (arm), 17.51% (fire)
Marth	Rotates his body counter-clockwise with a strong arc-like swing from his head to the ground. Deals extremely high knockback on the tip and is fast to start up, but the sweetspot is difficult to hit with.	13% (base), 18% (tip)
Mega Man	Charge Shot: Charges up energy in his Mega Buster before firing off a big, powerful burst. The shot grows much larger and moves much farther as it's charged; when fully charged it's the longest-ranged forward smash in the game, with high KO power to match.	11.5%-19.5%
Meta Knight	Pulls his sword back, then slashes horizontally in forward. Slow to start, but quick to end and has very little ending lag.	16%
Mewtwo	Blasts psychic energy from its palms. Decent knockback and speed. Hits strongest at the edge of the blast.	19% (blast), 15% (arms)
Mii Brawler	Delivers a straight punch forwards. Its hitbox has a very short duration, and its ending lag is very high, but it has high KO power to compensate.	18%*
Mii Gunner	Unleashes a stream of laser bullets. Has the second longest range of any non-projectile smash, and has a long duration, but suffers from lower-than-normal damage and knockback.	0.8% (hits 1-6), 5% (hit 7)*
Mii Swordfighter	Swings their sword with both hands while stepping forward. Deals slightly more damage and knockback if tipped.	14% (hilt), 15% (center), 16% (tip)*
Mr. Game & Watch	Takes out a flaming torch and swings it forward. Deals higher damage and knockback if sweetspotted, which has a flame effect.	18% (head), 14% (handle)
Ness	Swings his bat forwards. Extremely powerful, especially when hit with the tip of the bat, but is somewhat slow to start. The bat can reflect projectiles.	18% (close), 18% (mid), 22% (tip)
Olimar	Commands a Pikmin to attack as a projectile with a spinning body slam. Damage, knockback, and range vary based on the type of Pikmin used.	R: 7.2%-17.4% YB: 6%-14.5% W: 4.8%-11.6% P: 8.4%-20.3%
Pac-Man	Shoots Blinky forward. Has good range, power, and an effective lingering hitbox, but is hindered by somewhat low startup.	16% (clean ghost), 15% (clean arm), 9% (late)
Palutena	Summons a pair of ethereal wings and slams them together in front of her. Powerful, but relatively slow. Has a small wind effect at the tip.	16% (near), 13% (far)
Peach	Swings a clubbing weapon, cycling between a golf club, a frying pan, or a tennis racket. Each weapon has its own properties: The golf club deals the most diagonal knockback (and has the longest range), the frying pan has the most vertical knockback, and the tennis racket is a semi-spike.	15% (golf club), 18% (frying pan), 13% (tennis racket)
Pikachu	Rears back and then leans forward, emitting a powerful electric shock. Very high knockback if it hits close.	15% (early), 18% (clean), 12% (late)
Pit	Slashes forward twice. Quick start-up and great range, but easy to punish if it misses.	5% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)
R.O.B.	S3: Crouches and fires a short-ranged laser from his eyes. Has high range and decent speed, but is of below-average strength.	15% (base), 11.5% (mid), 6% (tip)
Robin	Slashes into an outwards thrust with the active sword. Starts fairly quickly, but is slow to end. Levin Sword deals high knockback, while the Bronze Sword is much weaker. The Levin Sword has a lingering hitbox with weaker knockback.	Bronze: 9.6% Levin: 16% (clean), 5% (late)
Rosalina & Luma	Rosalina: Thrusts her hands forward, hitting the enemy with a galactic blast. Luma: Delivers a powerful straight punch. Decent range, high knockback, and can KO at 90% when the two overlap.	Rosalina: 12% Luma: 7% (arm), 5% (body)
Roy	Performs a two-handed downward diagonal slash. Very fast to start with high range and is incredibly strong, but the hitbox isn't active for long and the move is slow to end.	20% (close), 17% (mid), 12% (far)
Ryu	Joudan Sokutogeri: Delivers a powerful stepping-forward wind-back kick. Has very high range and delivers powerful knockback, especially at Ryu's heel.	16% (close), 17% (far)
Samus	Thrusts her arm cannon forwards while releasing a small blast of plasma. Knockback is mediocre unless hit with the sweetspot at the plasma. Starts up faster than any other forward smash in the game.	High: 15% (fire), 13% (cannon) Mid:14% (fire), 12% (cannon) Low: 13.5% (fire), 11% (cannon)
Sheik	Delivers two spin kicks forward. The first has low knockback, while the second has significant knockback. Proper spacing is necessary to ensure that opponents are hit by both kicks.	5% (hit 1), 8% (hit 2)
Shulk	Stabs forward with the Monado, then extends the beam to hit farther. Third longest forward smash in the game, with good power to match. Has high ending lag, though it starts rather quickly.	5.5% (hit 1), 13% (hit 2 blade), 11.5% (hit 2 beam)
Sonic	Winds up his fist, then throws a punch forwards. Decent range and power, but slow start-up.	14%
Toon Link	Similar to Link's, but the first hit deals lower knockback. This would arguably make it better overall than Link's smash, as hitting with the first strike nearly guarantees a follow-up into the second, much more powerful hit, but naturally its range is less than Link's.	10% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2)
Villager	Leans forward while dropping a bowling ball. One of the strongest forward smashes, and is not easily punished. The bowling ball can go over the edge, making it a reliable edgeguarding move despite its limited horizontal range. However, because the bowling ball is a projectile, it can be pocketed or reflected.	15% (early), 17% (clean)
Wario	Leans back then delivers a fist-inflating backhanded punch. High knockback and range with a large hitbox, but slow on all accounts.	19%
Wii Fit Trainer	Performs the Warrior pose, stomping forward while extending both arms in opposite directions. Decently fast and powerful, and strong on both sides, especially with the sweetspot on both arms. However, it has high ending lag and a blindspot at the trainer's feet.	15.5% (arms), 14% (body)
Yoshi	Winds his head back then slams it forward, dealing a powerful headbutt. Starts up very quickly and has high range and power, making it a deadly option for punishing.	13% (tip), 15.5% (nose), 14% (body)
Zelda	Charges magic energy in her right hand and flashes it forward, dealing multiple hits. Fairly good knockback and range, and is not easily punished.	1% (hits 1-4), 13% (hit 5)
Zero Suit Samus	Performs one side kick which leads into a second, stronger one. The second hit has a sweetspot on the burst of fire on the tip of her foot.	5% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2)

* This assumes the Mii is default height and weight.

List of forward smashes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Character	Description	Damage
Banjo & Kazooie	N/A	N/A
Bayonetta	Uses her hair to summon the fist of Madama Butterfly for a massive punch.
Bowser	A dropkick. Its outstanding damage output threatens shields, being able to inflict significant damage to them. When spaced properly, it can even hit opponents hanging on an edge or lingering just below it. It grants damaged-based armor (frames 17-21), and the clean hitboxes render Bowser's feet invincible (20-25), whereas its late hitboxes have anti-rebounding priority. It can KO opponents at 63% from center stage.	23% (clean feet), 20% (clean body), 17% (late feet), 14% (late body)
Bowser Jr.	Pulls out two drill dozers and grinds them together. Deals strong knockback and great shield-damage.
Captain Falcon	A powerful backhand punch that unleashes a flaming explosion when it hits the opponent. Deals impressive damage and knockback and can be angled upward or downward, allowing it to reliably KO opponents. However, attack has high startup and ending lag and is very short-ranged, which hinders its usage.
Charizard	Rears back and then performs a sideways headbutt that deals powerful knockback. Able to KO middleweights under 85% from the center of Final Destination.
Chrom	Does a powerful sword swing with a similar animation to Roy, though has consistent power.
Cloud	Performs three sword swings. High start-up and endlag but deals great damage and knockback along with immense shield-damage.
Corrin	Extends his/her dragon arm forwards. The attack has hitboxes while charging and has incredible range with the sweetspot being placed at the tip.
Daisy	Identical to Peach.
Dark Pit	Identical to Pit.
Dark Samus	Mostly identical to Samus with a different animation.
Diddy Kong	Does two punches while jumping in the air. Has high damage and knockback, but subpar range. Can KO when the combination of his banana peel.
Donkey Kong	Claps his hands together. Very strong in every regard along with good range.
Dr. Mario	Same as Mario's, but has the sweetspot reversed with electricity instead of flame. Stronger compared to Mario’s.
Duck Hunt	NES Zapper fires three times in front of the duo. Decently strong and long ranged though has some startup.
Falco	Performs a two-handed overhead knifehand swing with his wings. Able to KO Mario at 100% from the middle of Final Destination.
Fox	Does a leaping kick forward. Has good range and decent knockback growth.
Ganondorf	Performs a slow but extremely powerful two-headed overhead sword swing, similar to Ike. Has great range, but has a lot of startup and ending lag. The third strongest forward smash in the game, dealing massive shield damage and allows KO at 65% from the center of the stage.	24%
Greninja	Powerfully slashes a water blade forward dealing high knockback and damage, but has noticeable startup lag.	20%
Hero	N/A	N/A
Ice Climbers	Slams their hammers onto the ground in front of them. Very strong with both climbers present.
Ike	Does a very slow but strong overhead sword strike. Has decently wide range and is very powerful, causing KOs at around 75% from the center of Final Destination.
Incineroar	Performs an enzuigiri kick, Incineroar will gloat and spread out its arms if it hits opponents. The sweetspot of the move is at its foot and when landed, deals massive knockback. By far the strongest smash attack with revenge, capable of killing at around 20% and dealing almost 60%.
Inkling	Swings an inkbrush forward. Good knockback if Inkling has enough ink in her/his tank. Known to be used after burying with the Splat Roller.
Isabelle	Pops a party popper in front of her. Deals strong knockback, but has very poor range.
Ivysaur	Plants its vines on the ground and lunges its body forward. Has strong knockback and long range, allowing KOs at 85% from the edge of Final Destination.
Jigglypuff	Kicks in front of itself with forward momentum. Very similar to Kirby's and has decent knockback.
Joker	Does an overhead knife swing forward. When Arsene is present, it is significantly stronger overall.	14% (Joker), 8% (Arsene)
Ken	A quick roundhouse kick that has a sweetspot on the top of Ken’s foot.
King Dedede	A slow but immensely powerful overhead hammer swing. One of the strongest smash attacks in the game that can kill at a measly 30% at the edge. Its two hitboxes can also break shields very reliably.
King K. Rool	Wears a boxing glove and does a single slow powerful punch in front of him. The move deals massive knockback when opponents are struck directly at the boxing glove. A strong move that can be a finisher when combined with his down throw. Can be angled.
Kirby	Kicks in front of him with forward momentum. Powerful knockback though has some endlag.
Link	Does a forward sword swing and trusts sword outward if the button is pressed again. Very strong and can also shoot out a spinning Sword Beam, but only happens when Link is at 0%.
Little Mac	A right-handed punch that depending on the angle of the control stick will change. Up: An uppercut. Somewhat lacks in range, but can be a decent anti-air in certain instances. Has strong vertical knockback that can KO Mario at 102%. Forward: A lunging punch. A strong forward smash with the highest knockback scaling of the three variations, being able to KO Mario from center-stage at 89%. Little Mac will be granted super armor during frames 8-15 of the attack. Bottom: A body hook. The strongest one of Little Mac's variations and deals massive shield-damage. Despite this, it's not too useful for KOs as it has minimal knockback.
Lucario	Trusts palms forward unleashing aura. The power of the attack varies greatly depending on Lucario’s damage percentage.
Lucas	Swings a stick in front of him. It reflects projectiles like Ness', and the hitbox comes out faster though is not quite as powerful.
Lucina	A quick overhead sword swing. Identical animation to Marth’s though has consistent power.
Luigi	Peforms a horiziontal spearhand that deals strong knockback, but can be hard to land due to its short range.	15%
Mario	Thrusts his arms and lets out a explosive blast. Due to its high damage and knockback, it acts as a potent finisher for Mario. Can be angled.	17.8% (fire), 14.7% (arm)
Marth	An overhead sword swing. Has a sweetspot that's at the tip of his sword, and that said sweetspot is still decently powerful, being able to KO middleweights at 75% from the stage's center and 37% when near the edge.
Mega Man	Performs a charge shot from his Mega Buster. The size of the attack increases when charged. Can be reflected due to being a projectile.
Meta Knight	Performs a mid-level outwards slash in front of him. Surprisingly strong for its speed.
Mewtwo	Trusts both palms forward creating a blast of dark energy. Very powerful when the opponent is hit by the energy blast.
Mii Brawler	A strong forward punch with momentum. Slow, but very strong.
Mii Gunner	A long ranged rapid-fire shot of energy from his/her arm cannon. Has excellent range with decent knockback, making it a reliable kill move from a distance.
Mii Swordfighter	Performs a downwards then inwards sword slash. Has high knockback and long range.
Mr. Game & Watch	Thrusts a lighted torch forward. Very strong when hit at the flame, being able to KO middleweights at 65% by the edge. Mr. Game and Watch's model turns into the character from Fire Attack.
Ness	Swings a baseball bat in front of him. The move is at its strongest at the tip of the bat, the hitbox comes slowly, and can reflect projectiles.
Olimar	Has the Pikmin next in line to leap forward. Power and range differ depending on which Pikmin he uses. Can be reflected due to being a projectile.
Pac-Man	Throws Blinky in front of him. Has a long-lasting hitbox and deals decently high knockback.
Palutena	Emits a pair of wings and thrusts them forward. Strong knockback and has a windbox in front of the wings that can potentially gimp opponents or prevent punishments.
Peach	Swings a bludgeoning weapon. Unlike in previous games, the weapon used is determined by the angle the stick is held. Has three variations which have different properties - the frying pan does the most damage and deals vertical knockback, the golf club deals diagonal knockback, and the tennis racket is a semi-spike and deals horizontal knockback.	18% (frying pan), 15% (golf club), 13.5% (tennis racket)
Pichu	Creates a shock of electricity from its cheeks similar to Pikachu, except it does multiple hits, has higher knockback, and does some recoil damage to Pichu.
Pikachu	Creates a trail of electricity from its cheeks. Has very high range and damage, and the uncharged sweetspot can KO Mario at around 80% at the edge of Final Destination.
Piranha Plant	Performs a swinging headbutt while transforming into a Prickly Piranha Plant. Very powerful when hit at its head.
Pit	Slashes twice with his disassembled Palutena Bow. One of the fastest forward smashes in the game, and can KO middleweights at around 120% from the center of Final Destination.
Richter	Identical to Simon's.	18% (spiked ball), 16% (chain), 14% (chain, close)
Ridley	Rears back then breathes out a blast of fire. Doesn’t have much range, but is incredibly powerful with surprisingly low endlag. It can KO under 80% when at center stage.
R.O.B.	Shoots a small laser beam out of its eyes, similar to his Robo Beam. Has decent power and range.
Robin	Thrusts his/her sword to perform an underhand outward thrust. Very strong with the Levin Sword though weak with the Bronze Sword.
Rosalina & Luma	Rosalina: Emits a burst of galactic energy from her hands. Luma: A basic punch. Rosalina's deals higher damage whereas Luma's deals higher knockback. Very strong if combined together.
Roy	Performs a two-handed downward slash. Deals devastating damage and knockback when hit closer to Roy, though very weak at the tip.
Ryu	Does a Joudan Sokutougeri kick. Can KO at 110% when the heel connects, and 120% for everything else.
Samus	Thrusts forwards and releases a small explosion out of her Arm Cannon. A fast and powerful move with the blast KOing at around 100% from center stage. The attack's damage varies when it's angled.
Sheik	A roundhouse kick that’s followed by a spinning side kick. Sheik moves forward during the attack.
Shulk	Thrusts his Monado forward, which bursts out its beam blade. Has excellent range, and causes massive shield damage. Its blade/beam can KO at 74%/86%.
Simon	Readily aims the Vampire Killer that lashes forward. Can be angled upwards or downwards and has longest range of any forward smash. The tip of the chain is the most powerful part of the attack, causing KOs as early as 57% from the edge of Final Destination.
Snake	Fires an RPG at the ground in front of him. Has very long startup but is devastatingly powerful.
Sonic	A quick wind-up punch in front of him. Has strong knockback and deceptively disjointed range.	14%
Squirtle	Swings it’s head forward while spitting out water.
Toon Link	A short ranged upward slash. Has very limited range, but a giant hitbox.
Villager	Drops a bowling ball. It's slow, with low range, but has high knockback and functions as a projectile. Useful for edge-guarding opponents recovering below the stage, and can also be used after a down smash.
Wario	Reels back his arm, before releasing a enlarged backhanded punch. Incredibly strong though quite punishable.
Wii Fit Trainer	Performs the Warrior pose, stomping forward while extending both arms in opposite directions. Decently fast and powerful, and strong on both sides, especially with the sweetspot on both arms. However, it has high ending lag and a blindspot at the trainer's feet.
Wolf	Thrusts his hand forward. Has some startup but great knockback and surprisingly low endlag, making it a great shield pressure tool.
Yoshi	Swings his head before performing a headbutt on the opponent. A short ranged but fast KO option with the sweetspot taking priority over the sourspot.
Young Link	Identical to Link's, but has noticeably less range and damage. It also doesn’t shoot out a Sword Beam when he’s at 0%.
Zelda	Releases a large burst of magical energy from her hands. Has relatively high startup lag, but its high power can KO opponents at around 65% when near the edge of Final Destination.
Zero Suit Samus	Two roundhouse kicks with forward momentum. The second hit has a sweetspot at the tip of her foot.

Notable Forward Smashes

In Smash 64

• This game is notable for all characters having very powerful forward smashes.
• Kirby's forward smash is both the fastest and strongest in the game, while having far range.
• Ness' forward smash is able to reflect projectiles.

In Melee

• Bowser's forward smash is the most powerful smash attack in Melee, capable of KOing around 15% to 38%, and dealing 32% fully charged. It sends the Sandbag farther than the Home-Run Bat at certain percentages.
• Falco's forward smash is widely considered the second best in the game because of its power, lasting hitbox, and lack of a sourspot.
• Link and Young Link's forward smashes have a second hit that can be performed by pressing the attack button again after completing the first slash.
• Marth is widely considered to have the best forward smash in the game due to its speed, power, and range. Its sourspot, though large, KOs at reasonable percents, while its sweetspot KOs at extremely low percents.
• Peach's forward smash involves one of three randomly chosen weapons, each with varying range, damage, knockback, and angle, and also has a slight range behind her.
• Sheik's forward smash is notable for being one of the overall weakest smash attacks in the entire series.

In Brawl

• Ike's forward 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 KOs earlier than any other smash attack in the entire series.
• Lucario's forward smash, as with its other smash attacks, produces a small-ranged aura blast from its paws, allowing it to attack from a small distance. It is nearly unpunishable if spaced correctly, even when shielded. It is especially powerful at high aura.
• Meta Knight's forward smash is his slowest move in terms of startup, but has extremely low ending lag.
• Olimar's forward smash, as with his other smash attacks, is a projectile where Olimar throws a Pikmin.
• Wario's forward smash is among the strongest and fastest in the game, while also having transcendent priority and granting him armor.
• Wolf's forward smash sends him a considerable distance forward and has minimal start-up lag.

In Smash 4

• Corrin's forward smash outranges all other uncharged forward smashes in the game; proper spacing makes the move very difficult to punish. It's also the only forward smash in the series capable of dealing damage while being charged.
• The range of Duck Hunt's forward smash increases as it is charged, similarly to their other smash attacks and Snake's up smash.
• The properties of Little Mac's forward smash uniquely change when it is angled. It is a standard punch if not angled, and an uppercut with a larger hitbox if angled upwards. If angled downwards, it is a body hook that deals higher damage and shield damage, but lower knockback. Like all other of Little Mac's smash attacks, this move has super armor.
• Mega Man has one of the only projectile forward smashes in the game, and it increases in size, travel length, and power as it charges. When fully charged, it is the longest-ranged forward smash in the game.
• Mii Gunner's forward smash has the second longest range in the game and deals multiple hits, making it a potent tool for catching air dodges and rolls. However, it lacks KO power.
• Shulk's forward smash is the third longest-ranged in the game. It comes out fast and deals considerable knockback, but has notably high ending lag.
• Rosalina's forward smash is fast, powerful, and has transcendent priority, which makes it difficult to counter.
• Roy's forward smash is arguably one of the most feared due to its relatively quick start up and devastating KO power, able to KO at 30% on some characters with rage. However, it has noticeable cool-down, making it punishable if whiffed.
• Villager's forward smash is a projectile that can be dropped off of ledges, allowing him to edgeguard without leaving the stage. However, since it is a projectile, it can be reflected or pocketed by another Villager.
• Wii Fit Trainer's forward smash is one of the only forward smashes in the series that hits on both sides with good power.

In Ultimate

• Like in previous games, there are notably long-reaching forward smashes: the four highest-ranged ones are Simon/Richter's, Corrin's, Mii Gunner's, and Shulk's.
• The Mii Gunner's forward smash retains its high range from the previous game, but has been buffed substantially in damage and knockback. It is now an effective attack for catching dodges or challenging shields from afar, and can even KO at 122% from the middle of the stage.
• Mr. Game and Watch's forward smash has fast startup, a disjointed hitbox, and deals extremely high knockback for its speed. Kills most characters at 65% by the ledge.
• Ganondorf's forward smash has given a complete overhaul, using his sword from the Space World 2000 tech demo. It has improved range and knockback. KOs opponents at around 65% from the center of the stage. Due to its notoriety, it was given the name “Doriyah” by the Smash community.
• Incineroar can use revenge to have the highest damaging smash attack in the series, at around 50% of damage.
• Sonic's forward smash is known for its rather huge hitbox, nearly outranging Yoshi's grab.
• Joker's Forward Smash with Arsene is arguably the most feared due to its quick start-up, more range and devastating KO power at medium percentages or even earlier with rage. However, its moderate ending lag makes it somewhat punishable if missed or used improperly.
• Mario’s forward smash is arguably one of the best due to its high damage, knockback, and speed for its power. The range in the fireball hitbox is disjointed, even outranging Wolf’s forward smash, and can kill at 70% or even earlier. As a result, it’s considered to be not only one of the best, but also Mario’s best kill option.
• Peach and Daisy’s forward smash can change while charging between a cooking pan, golf club, or tennis racket, when angled up, straight, or down, respectively.

See also

• Down smash
• Up smash