Dash

Mario dashing in Melee

Mario dashing in Brawl

"Run" redirects here. For information on the CPU mode in Brawl, see List of CPU modes.

A dash is a form of ground movement faster than walking. It is performed by tapping sideways on the control stick. The player's character enters their initial dash animation, in which they change directions with very little lag, and then proceeds to their running animation. In Brawl, a character attempting to dash can trip instead. In Smash 4 and Ultimate, dashing off a platform will cause the character to perform a short flipping animation, and landing on another platform while continuing to hold the control stick in that direction will allow them to continue dashing. While dashing, characters can also perform their dash attack, shield, or jump. The Bunny Hood and Super Mushroom items increases a character's running speed.

Initial dash

The initial dash is the first part of a character's dash, during which a character gains a quick burst of speed before transitioning into their run. During a character's initial dash, they accelerate significantly more quickly than they do while in their run animation, and this applies to the dash turnaround animation as well, allowing a fighter to turn around relatively quickly. In addition, during an initial dash, certain options that are normally available to the player cannot be performed, such as shielding, and in Ultimate, canceling into a tilt. Initial dashes have their own speed limits independent from a character's regular running speed, and these speeds are rarely the same as a character's running speed.

The concept of the initial dash is vital to many forms of ground movement, especially in Melee, such as dash-dancing, fox-trotting, and pivoting. However, from Brawl onwards, the window for turning around during an initial dash does not last for the entire dash, instead only lasting for the first 6 frames, making dash-dancing much harder, and fox-trotting is also not entirely dependent on the length of the initial dash. An example of this is Sheik and Roy in Smash 4, who have nearly identical fox-trots despite Roy's initial dash being over twice as long as Sheik's (17 frames to her 8 frames). In Ultimate, a pivot dash can be performed at the end of a character's initial dash, similarly to dash dancing, but with much more restrictive timing, and with the additional 2 frames of startup that pivot dashes have in Ultimate.

Other terminology

The turn-around animation plays when the character attempts to change directions after their initial dash. Unlike in an initial dash, attempting to turn around during a run can take as long as 51 frames (Marth in Melee), and before Smash 4, it can only be canceled with a jump (and therefore up smash and up special) or reversed side special. However, from Brawl onwards, canceling the jump with an up smash or up special also reverses its direction, and in Smash 4, the turn-around animation can be canceled with a reversed forward tilt or forward smash. In Ultimate it can be canceled with all ground moves, doing which will make characters keep some momentum from the animation. Coupled with the universal speed buffs, this allows characters like Chrom and Sheik with high ground speed but laggy dash attacks to use running forward tilt as an approach option. Any shield input is also ignored during this animation, and due to the way the Ultimate input system works, pressing the grab button will produce a 1 frame attack input, allowing for uncharged smash attacks.

A stutter step is the term for when a character begins to dash but stops almost immediately, often used for positioning and mind games. Along with merely stopping, characters can also dash cancel via a variety of other methods.

The skidding animation plays when the character stops running after their initial dash and attempts to stop their momentum. The length of this animation varies between characters, but it can also vary depending on the speed the character is running at relative to their maximum running speed. Shorter skidding animations are preferred, particularly in Smash games where dash canceling is impossible. For example, in Smash 4, Bowser, Charizard, Ganondorf, and Lucario have extremely short skidding animations even after stopping at maximum speed, which effectively allows them to do any attack out of their runs with little lag in between, or even seamlessly begin another dash in the opposite direction. This animation can only be canceled with a jump, or with an item pick up if one is nearby. Its first few frames can also be canceled into any special move.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Initial dash

Because the initial dash animation translates into the running animation much later than in Brawl, it is a vital tool for movement in general and dash-dancing in particular. During the initial dash, the following actions can be used:

• Altering the speed of the dash with the control stick, most notably backward to Moonwalk.
• Turning around by mashing the control stick in the opposite direction. Turning around takes one frame during which the character is standing and can do all ground attacks except neutral B. If the control stick stays in a neutral position after this pivot frame, the character will keep standing.
• Pressing A or C-Stick forward/backward during the first 3 frames to do a small step forward smash. This is only possible after dashing forward, not backward.
• Pressing A after the first 3 frames to do a dash attack.
• Pressing L or R to shield. During the first two frames of a forward dash, L/R always triggers a roll. On frame 3, they trigger the shield, but with 1 frame delay.
• Pressing L+A, R+A or Z to do a dash grab.
• Jumping and jump canceling.
• Using forward special.
• Pressing forward again to enter run break animation. From here you can crouch immediately and do any move. This can be used for a quick dash into dtilt, or a non-JC down special.

Run

During the run — the later part of the dash — different options are available:

• Pressing down to crouch. (Spending 1 frame in the RunBrake animation is necessary before the crouch can start.)
• Turning around by mashing or pushing the control stick in the opposite direction. Turning around takes very long, up to 51 frames (Marth). During the turnaround animation, only a jump can interrupt it.
• Pressing A or C-Stick forward/backward during the first 3 frames to do a small step forward smash. This is only possible after dashing forward, not backward.
• Pressing A to do a dash attack.
• Pressing L or R to shield.
• Pressing L+A, R+A, or Z to do a dash grab.
• Jumping and jump canceling.
• Using special moves.

Running speed

Running speed is the rate at which a character can run.

Super Smash Bros. rankings

JPN Rank Character Run speed 1 Captain Falcon 70 2 Fox 60 3 Pikachu 55 4 Samus 54 5 Yoshi 50 6-7 Donkey Kong 48 Kirby 8 Mario 44 9-10 Link 42 Jigglypuff 11-12 Luigi 40 Ness

NA Rank Character Initial Dash Run speed 1 Captain Falcon 80 75 2 Fox 81 60 3 Pikachu 60 55 4 Samus 56 54 5 Yoshi 40 50 6-7 Kirby 61 48 Donkey Kong 60 8 Mario 54 44 9-10 Link 68 42 Jigglypuff 50 11-12 Ness 68 40 Luigi 50

The Japanese version data and NA dash data was taken from Antdgar's Frame Data

Super Smash Bros. Melee rankings

Starting in Melee, much like with air acceleration, there exist two acceleration values for each character's initial dash speed until it reaches their run speed: a base value that determines the minimum acceleration, and an additional value that is scaled based on how much the control stick is tilted. A character's maximum potential acceleration is the sum of these two values. For example, Pikachu has a base value of 0.01 and an additional value of 0.15, so its dash acceleration can vary from 0.01 at minimum input to 0.16 at maximum input. If the character's initial dash speed is equal to their run speed, the acceleration values are not used, while if it is higher, the character's traction value is used to decrease it down to their run speed.

Rank	Character	Initial Dash	Run Speed	Dash Frames	Base Acceleration	Additional Acceleration
1	Captain Falcon	2	2.3	15	+.01	+.15
2	Fox	1.9	2.2	11	+.02	+.10
3	Pikachu	1.8	1.8	13		+.08
4	Sheik	1.7		7		+.10
5	Marth	1.5		15	+.00	+.06
6	Pichu	1.8	1.72	13	+.02	-.08
7	Roy	1.4	1.61	15	+.00	+.07
8	Young Link	1.8	1.6	13	+.02	-.08
9	Donkey Kong	1.6		15		+.05
10	Yoshi	1.33		13		+.08
11	Falco	1.9	1.5	11		-.08
12-13	Mario	1.5	1.5	10		+.06
	Dr. Mario
14	Mr. Game & Watch			8
15	Bowser	1		13		+.04
16	Samus	1.86	1.4	8		-.10
17	Mewtwo	1.4	1.4	18	+.10	+.00
18	Ice Climbers			13	+.02	+.05
19	Kirby			12		+.08
20	Ness	1.3		13		+.04
21	Ganondorf	1.3	1.35	15	+.01	+.08
22	Luigi	1.34	1.34	10	+.02	+.06
23	Peach	1.3	1.3	15		+.10
24	Link			12
25	Jigglypuff	1.4	1.1	13		-.065
26	Zelda	1.1		15		+.10

Source

Super Smash Bros. Brawl rankings

Rank	Character	Initial Dash	Run Speed	Dash Frames	Base Acceleration	Additional Acceleration
1	Sonic	1.5	3.5	11	+.04	+.15
N/A	Wario-Man	1.3	3.5	13	+.04	+.0954
2	Captain Falcon	2.05	2.18	16	+.02	+.1618
3	Fox	2.1	2.08	11	+.04	+.1111
4	Zero Suit Samus	1.7	1.93	13	+.04	+.0942
5	Sheik		1.92	8		+.1143
6	Meta Knight	1.75	1.847	13		+.0948
7	Charizard	1.3	1.8	11	+.02	+.0963
8	Pikachu	1.8	1.765	14	+.04	+.0912
9	Diddy Kong	1.7	1.721	11		+.15
10	Marth	1.5	1.7	17	+.01	+.082
N/A	Giga Bowser	1.9	1.7	15	+.05	+.12
11	Yoshi	1.33	1.68	15	+.04	+.096
12	Toon Link	1.5	1.65	13		+.0998
13	Donkey Kong	1.6	1.622	16		+.0667
14	Pit	1.5	1.583	13		+.1134
15	Mr. Game & Watch		1.553	9		+.0823
16	Bowser	1	1.527	14		+.0648
17	Mario	1.5	1.5	11		+.0998
18	Ivysaur	1.4				+.08
19	R.O.B.	1.3				+.1128
20	Lucas				+.02	+.0756
21	Samus	1.86	1.445	9	+.04	+.12
22	Falco	1.9	1.432	12		+.112
23	Lucario	1.8	1.414	11		+.15
24	Wolf	1.7	1.4			+.0998
25	Olimar	1.4				+.0872
26	Ness	1.3	1.393	14		+.0651
27	Ice Climbers	1.4	1.388			+.0736
28	Ike	1.5	1.371	11	+.01	+.0724
29	Kirby	1.4		13	+.04	+.0954
30	Squirtle	1.6	1.37	11	+.1	+.2
31	Snake	1.1	1.35	13	+.04	+.1154
32	Peach	1.5		16		+.1181
33	Wario	1.3		13		+.0954
34	Luigi	1.28	1.34	11		+.0786
35	Link	1.3	1.328	13		+.1197
36	Zelda	1.25	1.224	16		+.1175
37	King Dedede	1.4	1.22	11	+.01	+.0858
38	Ganondorf	1.3	1.16	16	+.02	+.0963
39	Jigglypuff	1.4	1.1	14	+.04	+.0829

Note that several slow runners can use their dash attack to travel a far distance quicker, and some characters have a DACUS to increase mobility. The most notable case of this is Snake, whose DACUS gives him much more stage control and ability to evade opponents.

Super Smash Bros. 4 rankings

Rank	Character	Initial Dash	Run Speed	Dash Frames	Base Acceleration	Additional Acceleration
1	Sonic	1.5	3.5	11	+.04	+.15
N/A	Wario-Man	1.3	3.5	13	+.04	+.0998
N/A	Giga Mac	2.05	2.8	16	+.06	+.1618
2	Captain Falcon	1.7	2.32	16	+.1	+.06
3	Little Mac	2.05	2.24		+.02	+.1618
4	Fox	2.4	2.184	11	+.04	+.1111
5	Zero Suit Samus	1.7	2.1	13		+.0942
N/A	Mii Brawler (lightest)	1.952	2.0984	11	+.0488	+.0998
6	Greninja	1.6	2.08	11	+.05	+.12
7	Mewtwo	1.4	2.05		+.1	0
8	Sheik	1.7	2.016	8	+.04	+.1143
9	Charizard	1	2	11	+.015	+.0963
N/A	Giga Bowser	1.9	2	14	+.05	+.12
10	Cloud	1.8	1.97	11	+.01	+.09
11	Roy	1.4	1.95	17	0	+.07
12	Meta Knight	1.7	1.9	13	+.04	+.0948
13	Palutena	1.5	1.888	14		+.1181
14	Yoshi	1.33	1.86	15		+.096
15	Pikachu	1.8	1.85325	14		+.0912
N/A	Mii Swordfighter (lightest)	1.586	1.83	13	+.0488	+.1197
16	Diddy Kong	1.7	1.824	11	+.04	+.15
17	Bowser	1	1.792	14		+.0648
18-19	Marth	1.5	1.785	17	+.01	+.082
	Lucina
20	Toon Link		1.7325	13	+.04	+.0998
21	Mii Brawler (default)	1.6	1.72	11
22	Donkey Kong		1.7031	16		+.0667
23	Wii Fit Trainer	1.5	1.696			+.0998
24-25	Pit	1.5	1.66215	13		+.1134
	Dark Pit
26	Rosalina & Luma		1.632	16		+.1181
27	Duck Hunt	1.55	1.63	11		+.0998
28	Bayonetta	1.7	1.6			+.0942
29-30	Mario	1.6				+.0998
	Ryu
N/A	Mii Gunner (lightest)	1.952	1.586	9	+.0488	+.0998
31	Kirby	1.5	1.57	13	+.04	+.0954
32	R.O.B.	1.3	1.568	11		+.1128
33	Lucario	1.8	1.55			+.15
34	Mr. Game & Watch	1.5	1.5264	9		+.0823
35-36	Pac-Man	1.6	1.52	11		+.0998
	Shulk	1.5	1.52		+.01	+.0724
37	Samus	1.86	1.504	9	+.04	+.12
38-42	Ike	1.5	1.5	11	+.01	+.0724
	Lucas	1.3			+.02	+.08
	Mii Swordfighter (default)			13	+.04	+.1197
	Wario					+.0954
	Luigi	1.28		11		+.0786
N/A	Mega Lucario	1.8	1.4847	11	+.04	+.15
43	Falco	1.9	1.472	12	+.04	+.112
44	Olimar	1.6	1.47	11		+.0998
45	Ness	1.3	1.46265	14		+.0651
46	Mega Man	1.5	1.456	11		+.0998
47	Corrin	1.8	1.45	8	+.01	+.0724
48	Bowser Jr.	1.6	1.424	11	+.04	+.0998
49	Peach	1.5	1.4175	16		+.1181
N/A	Mii Brawler (heaviest)	1.312	1.4104	11	+.0328	+.0998
50	Link	1.3	1.3944	11	+.04	+.1197
51	King Dedede	1.4	1.36		+.01	+.0858
52	Dr. Mario	1.3312	1.3312	11	+.03328	+.0830336
53-54	Mii Gunner (default)	1.6	1.3	9	+.04	+.0998
	Zelda			16		+.1175
55	Villager	1.5	1.27	14		+.0998
N/A	Mii Swordfighter (heaviest)	1.066	1.23	13	+.0328	+.1197
56	Ganondorf	1.3	1.218	16	+.02	+.0963
57	Jigglypuff	1.4	1.155	14	+.04	+.0829
58	Robin	1.5	1.15	17	+.01	+.082
N/A	Mii Gunner (heaviest)	1.312	1.066	9	+.0328	+.0998

Update history

1.1.3

• Kirby's run speed: 1.5 → 1.57
• Lucario's run speed: 1.4847 → 1.55
• Mewtwo's run speed: 1.696 → 1.9

1.1.5

• Corrin's run speed: 1.5 → 1.45
• Mewtwo's run speed: 1.9 → 2.05

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate rankings

In Ultimate, run speeds have been buffed across the board by roughly 10%, with the exception of a few characters (for example, Snake's run speed was increased by more than 10%, Ike and Dr. Mario's were increased by less than 10%, and Ryu's wasn't changed at all). Additionally, most initial dashes have seen significant speed increases, which when combined with the altered foxtrot mechanics gives all characters an effective dash-dance. However, turnaround dashes now have 3 frames of delay before fighters begin accelerating, as opposed to the 1 frame delay of a regular dash, making it take slightly longer for fighters to begin retreating by dashing.

Rank	Character	Initial Dash	Run Speed	Dash Frames	Pivot Dash Frames	Base Acceleration	Additional Acceleration
1	Sonic	2.31	3.85	10	12	+ 0.044	+ 0.165
2	Captain Falcon	1.98	2.552	15	17	+ 0.11	+ 0.066
3	Little Mac	2.365	2.464			+ 0.033	+ 0.17798
4	Sheik	2.178	2.42	7	9	+ 0.044	+ 0.121
5	Mythra	2.45	2.41	10	13	+ 0.02	+ 0.12
6	Fox	2.09	2.402		12	+ 0.044	+ 0.12221
7	Zero Suit Samus	2.42	2.31	12	14		+ 0.10362
8	Greninja	2.178	2.288	10	12	+ 0.055	+ 0.132
9	Mewtwo	2.255	2.255			+ 0.11	0
10-11	Charizard	2.288	2.2			+ 0.0165	+ 0.10593
	Ridley	1.8				+ 0.04	+ 0.0998
12	Banjo & Kazooie	1.68	2.18			+ 0.08	+ 0.07
13	Cloud	2.145	2.167			+ 0.011	+ 0.099
14-15	Roy	2.2	2.145			+ 0.033	+ 0.077
	Chrom
16	Meta Knight	2.211	2.09	12	14	+ 0.044	+ 0.10428
17	Palutena	2.035	2.077	10	12		+ 0.12991
18	Joker	1.9	2.06			+ 0.04	+ 0.11
19	Yoshi	1.98	2.046	14	16	+ 0.044	+ 0.1056
20	Pikachu		2.039	13	15		+ 0.132
21	Diddy Kong	2.09	2.006	10	12		+ 0.165
22	Bowser	2.255	1.971	13	15		+ 0.07128
23-24	Marth		1.964	10	12		+ 0.0902
	Lucina
25	Inkling	2.118	1.925				+ 0.10978
26	Mii Brawler	1.87	1.92
27	Toon Link	1.914	1.906	12	14
28	Pichu	1.98	1.892	10	12	+ 0.06	+ 0.14
29	Donkey Kong	2.09	1.873	15	17	+ 0.044	+ 0.07337
30	Wii Fit Trainer	2.024	1.866				+ 0.10978
31	Sephiroth	1.92	1.86	10	12	+ 0.03	+ 0.09
32	Hero	1.88	1.84			+ 0.03	+ 0.08
33-34	Pit	2.09	1.828	12	14	+ 0.044	+ 0.12474
	Dark Pit
35	Rosalina & Luma	2.035	1.795	15	17		+ 0.12991
36	Duck Hunt	1.76	1.793	10	12		+ 0.10978
37-40	Mario	1.936	1.76
	Ken						+ 0.11
	Bayonetta						+ 0.10362
	Squirtle						+ 0.088
41	Young Link	2.09	1.749	12	14		+ 0.0902
42	Kirby	1.9	1.727				+ 0.10494
43	R.O.B.	2.002	1.725	10	12		+ 0.12408
44-45	Piranha Plant	1.82	1.72			+ 0.06	+ 0.08
	Terry	1.65				+ 0.04	+ 0.12
46	Lucario	2.255	1.705			+ 0.044	+ 0.165
N/A	Ice Climbers (partner)	1.68	1.683	12	10	+ 0.0484	+ 0.089056
47	Mr. Game & Watch	1.98	1.679	8		+ 0.044	+ 0.09053
48-49	Shulk	1.87	1.672	10	12	+ 0.011	+ 0.07964
	Pac-Man	1.87	1.672			+ 0.044	+ 0.10978
50-51	Samus		1.654				+ 0.132
	Dark Samus				15
52-54	Wario	1.837	1.65	12	14		+ 0.10494
	Lucas	1.815		10	12	+ 0.022	+ 0.088
	Luigi	1.815				+ 0.044	+ 0.08646
55	Falco	2.035	1.619	11	13		+ 0.1232
56	Olimar	1.606	1.617	10	12		+ 0.09592
57	Ness	1.826	1.609	13	15		+ 0.07161
58	Mega Man	1.958	1.602	10	12		+ 0.10978
59	Ryu	1.76	1.6			+ 0.04	+ 0.1
60-64	Ivysaur	1.903	1.595			+ 0.044	+ 0.099
	Corrin	1.892		7	9	+ 0.011	+ 0.07964
	Peach	1.826		15	17	+ 0.044	+ 0.12991
	Daisy
	Snake	1.76		10	12		+ 0.12694
65-66	Sora	1.78	1.58	11	13	+ 0.04	+ 0.06
	Mii Swordfighter	1.74		12	14	+ 0.044	+ 0.13167
67	Bowser Jr.	1.76	1.566	10	12		+ 0.10978
68-69	Min Min	1.9	1.55			+ 0.04	+ 0.11
	Kazuya	1.58
70	Wolf	2.09	1.54			+ 0.044	+ 0.10978
71	Link	1.98	1.534	12	14		+ 0.13167
72	Ice Climbers (leader)	1.68	1.53		10		+ 0.08096
73-74	Simon	1.73	1.52	10	12	+ 0.04	+ 0.0998
	Richter
75	Ike	1.815	1.507			+ 0.02	+ 0.0724
76	King Dedede		1.496			+ 0.044	+ 0.09438
77	King K. Rool	1.936	1.485				+ 0.066
78	Isabelle	1.815	1.48				+ 0.10978
79	Steve	1.45	1.45			+ 0.115	0
80-81	Zelda	1.958	1.43	15	17	+ 0.044	+ 0.12925
	Byleth	1.8		10	12	+ 0.02	+ 0.13
82	Dr. Mario	1.5375712	1.397792			+ 0.0349448	+ 0.087187276
83	Villager	1.815	1.397	13	15	+ 0.044	+ 0.10978
84	Pyra	1.69	1.38	11	13	+ 0.015	+ 0.11
85	Mii Gunner	1.63	1.37	8	10	+ 0.044	+ 0.10978
86	Ganondorf	1.87	1.34	15	17	+ 0.033	+ 0.10593
87	Jigglypuff	1.65	1.271	13	15	+ 0.044	+ 0.09119
88	Robin	1.815	1.265	16	18	+ 0.011	+ 0.0902
89	Incineroar	1.76	1.18	10	12	+ 0.02	+ 0.09

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U digital manual description

"Quickly tap left or right to dash. You will continue dashing until you release ."

See also

• Dash-dancing
• Dash-canceling
• Pivoting

Trivia

• In SSB4 and Ultimate, Dr. Mario's dash speed (along with most of his other attributes) is actually coded to be identical to Mario's. However, due to external multipliers, his dash speed is slower in-game as a result.
• In Smash 4, Sonic and Lucas are the only characters whose dashing speeds remain untouched from their previous appearances.
• Mewtwo is the character who holds the title for the largest dashing speed increase from one game to another; its dashing speed was increased by 0.65 units in its transition from Melee to Smash 4. Conversely, Ganondorf holds the title for the largest decrease from one game to another; his dashing speed was decreased by 0.19 units in his transition from Melee to Brawl.
• Charizard is the character who holds the title for the largest initial dash increase from one game to another; its initial dash was increased by 1.288 units in its transition from Smash 4 to Ultimate.
• Banjo & Kazooie's dash is the Talon Trot, where Kazooie will run while carrying Banjo on her back. It is one of only two of the duo's moves that give Kazooie a hurtbox, with the other being their up tilt.
• There are some inconsistencies for some characters' running speeds in their origin games, presumably due to balancing reasons:
  • While generally being faster than Mario in more modern Mario games, like in New Super Luigi U and the Super Mario Galaxy series, Luigi has been slower in every game in the Super Smash Bros. series to date. It likely references him being slower than Mario in earlier appearances, such as Super Mario Bros. 2, as a trade-off for higher jumps.
  • In most Mario series spin-offs, Bowser often has among the lowest speed stats, but has above average run speed in all Super Smash Bros. games featuring him, especially Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
  • Wolf and Falco dash slower than Fox, despite being faster than him in Star Fox: Assault.
  • Ike is a generally slow character in the Smash games, despite having great speed stats in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. Also the case with Byleth.
    • However, in Fire Emblem: Fates as a secret Amiibo fighter, Ike has poor speed stats, likely in reference to his Smash appearances.
  • Lucario dashes significantly slower than Pikachu, Pichu, and Ivysaur (in Brawl) despite Pikachu having the same base Speed stat and Pichu and Ivysaur being slower in the Pokémon games.
    • Also, in Pokémon, Mega Lucario gets a notable speed increase, but Mega Lucario runs slower than regular Lucario in Smash 4.
  • King K. Rool is faster than Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in the Donkey Kong Country games when running away, yet is immensely slower than them in Ultimate.