List of meteor smashes (SSBM)

For a list of spikes, see Spike#List of spikes in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

This is a list of meteor smashes in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Meteor smashes are less effective overall in Melee than they were in the original Super Smash Bros., as not only were meteor smashes given a significant speed nerf in general (in terms of both startup and ending lag, though the latter to a lesser extent), meteor cancelling was introduced, which allows players to instantly negate all knockback from a meteor smash.

Captain Falcon

Down aerial - An effective stomp with a large hitbox size (covering Falcon's entire body and a small distance outside it), decent start-up and low ending lag, and high power (fourth strongest meteor smash in Melee). It is often used because Captain Falcon can jump off the stage, hit with it, and recover with ease due to its low ending lag. If Captain Falcon hits with its upper hitbox (the nipples), it acts as a spike and is called the nipple spike.
Raptor Boost (aerial) - Captain Falcon rushes forward with a downwards vertical swing that weakly meteor smashes airborne opponents. This is an impractical attack for edge-guarding, because besides being very weak, it renders Falcon helpless and causes him to fall immediately after landing it. It also can't be used to counter opposing edge-guarding, as landing it will result in Falcon not being able to recover. Conversely, its counterpart, Ganondorf's aerial Gerudo Dragon, does not produce a meteor smash hitbox.

Donkey Kong

Down aerial - Does a stomp attack. It has below average start-up with moderate to high ending lag, but has a large hitbox with above average power. It should ideally be used against characters recovering from above, due to Donkey Kong's poor vertical recovery.
Forward aerial - Performs a delayed double-axe handle punch. This is a low-accuracy meteor which hits only if the opponent is touched by Donkey Kong's hands at the end of the move. The attack has very slow start-up lag, with very high ending lag. It is the most difficult of all his three meteor smashes to perform, and is arguably impractical, as the down aerial always meteor smashes, is stronger, is faster, and is generally much easier to perform successfully.
Headbutt - Normally, this move buries opponents, but on aerial enemies, it works as a weak meteor smash. This tactic is useful for safe edge-guarding as Donkey Kong can meteor smash a recovering opponent while keeping himself onstage. However, the meteor's low power makes it easy for the opponent to recover from it.

Falco

Falco Phantasm - If this move is used in the air and strikes an airborne opponent, they will be meteor smashed weakly. It is relatively easy to meteor cancel, but can surprise a non suspecting opponent. Conversely, the move it was cloned from, Fox's Fox Illusion, does not have any meteor smash hitboxes. It is extremely risky to perform due to rendering Falco helpless.
Down throw - If Falco throws his opponent down near an edge which can't be passed through while facing away from the edge, the opponent will fall downwards at very high speeds. It can be used to score KO's on lighter opponents at 0% damage but it can be sourspotted on rare occasions and can be meteor cancelled by heavier opponents. This can be notably true due to Falco's Blaster having knockback even in his throws, unlike Fox's, and thus may mess up the angling if used as an intentional meteor smash.

Fox

Down throw - A stronger version of Falco's down throw. When Fox throws his opponent down at an edge which can't be passed through while facing away from the edge, the opponent will drop at a quick, considerable speed. It easily KO's any character at any amount of damage regardless of their weight, but it can also be sourspotted on rare occasions. On stages with walls extending down from the ledge, such as Yoshi's Story or Fountain of Dreams, it can be DI'd and wall teched, effectively canceling it. It should be noted that since Fox's Blaster in even his throws have no knockback, the throwing animation itself is the main source of the knockback to consider.

Ganondorf

Down aerial - Identical to Captain Falcon's down aerial in animation, being an extremely powerful and electrified stomp, except slightly slower. Its large hitboxes cover nearly all of Ganondorf's body, so it is technically possible to meteor smash someone while hitting them with Ganondorf's head. This is by far the strongest meteor smash in the game, being the only meteor smash that can reliably KO grounded opponents under 100%. It is also the most powerful aerial attack in the game when it hits an airborne opponent (even if the opponent is grounded, only a few aerials hit harder, such as Bowser's up aerial). Factoring this with the fact it is easy to land and for Ganondorf to recover from due to its low ending lag, it is usually considered the best meteor smash in Melee.

Ice Climbers

Forward aerial - Swing their hammers in an arc downwards, and meteor smash the opponent if landed at the handle. This move has some start-up and ending lag, with relatively poor reach and average power. Both Nana and Popo's hammers can meteor smash.

Kirby

Down aerial - Does a drill kick downwards, weakly meteor smashing with all its hitboxes except its landing hitbox. While the meteor smash is very weak, Kirby can "drag" the opponent down, increasing its effectiveness, and easily recover due to Kirby's long distanced vertical recovery.
Final Cutter - When Kirby is falling down after jumping with the cutter, anyone below him will be meteor smashed. This is a relatively weak meteor smash with set knockback but can be used against characters which recover high to throw them down, though Kirby must be above the edge when using the move for edgeguarding as it leaves Kirby unable to do anything until he lands.

Link

Down tilt - One of the few tilt meteors. Swipes the ground in front of him, meteor smashing airborne opponents if landed properly. A somewhat risky edgeguarding technique, as if it is not landed properly, it will hit the opponent upwards, aiding their recovery. It is generally ideal for Link to use this on an enemy that is recovering from below. Unlike Young Link, Link can not use the outermost hitbox to meteor smash, making the move difficult to land.

Luigi

Down aerial - Quickly spins once in the air via a corkscrew dropkick. This attack has two hitboxes - the upper hitbox (located at his waist) meteor smashes with relatively strong knockback, and the lower hitbox located at his legs results in powerful horizontal knockback, making it a great edgeguarding attack nonetheless. This move can be used on both sides of him, but his backside is generally easier to land the meteor smash hitbox because of the angle at which he spins, however this move is very hard to land, so his superior forward, back, and sourspotted down aerials should be used in its place.
Taunt - Slowly kicks his foot into the ground with pitiful range. If it hits an opponent, it will meteor smash. It has very weak set knockback, with an extremely small hitbox (that can only really hit someone offstage if they're hanging on the ledge), that also comes out with very slow start-up lag. It is overall nearly impossible to land against a good opponent, and is the most impractical meteor smash in Melee.

Mario

Forward aerial - Performs a delayed overhand, meteor smashing anyone he hits. This attack has very slow start-up lag and very high ending lag, making it a risky and difficult meteor smash to land, especially with Mario's poor recovery. It is additionally very weak and is one of the weakest single-strike meteor smashes in Melee, being easy to recover from even at over 100%. Overall it's considered to be one of the worst meteor smashes in Melee, and is often ignored in competitive play in favor of Mario's other much superior edge-guarding options. Its long duration, large hitbox, and lack of sourspots, however, make it a very good edgeguarding mix-up.

Marth

Dancing Blade - On the third input of his Dancing Blade attack, if the "down" attack is chosen, Marth will turn and swing his sword into the ground while standing upright. The movement produces a meteor smash hitbox. Its knockback and speed are average. It is very effective over a ledge; however, timing is very important to successfully meteor smash a recovering opponent. The tip of the sword does not meteor smash, however.
Down aerial (PAL only) - Swings his sword in an arc below him, having incredible reach and the fastest start-up lag of any meteor smash in Melee, but also among the highest ending lag. If Marth hits with the outer half of the sword, the opponent will be meteor smashed downwards at considerable speed. In the PAL version, this move hits at less of a diagonal angle than it does in the NTSC version, thus it is registered by the game as a meteor smash, and does not spike like the NTSC version. This move is notable for being used as a finisher in the famous Ken Combo (forward aerial into a down aerial meteor smash). If Marth does not hit with the tip of his sword, the opponent will be hit horizontally weakly.

Mewtwo

Down aerial - Flips and stomps downwards. A weak to moderately powerful meteor smash, it has three hitboxes with sightly varying degrees of power. The meteor smash has slow start-up lag, and the overall size of the hitboxes are small, making it a difficult meteor smash to land. However, it will always meteor smash when landed, and has low risk, due to Mewtwo's great vertical recovery.

Mr. Game & Watch

Down aerial - Pulls out a key and thrusts it below him. The first few frames of this attack strike the opponent downwards.

Ness

Down aerial - Does a stomp attack downwards, with quite a bit of start-up lag. It has high base knockback, but it also has very low knockback scaling, being unable to KO grounded opponents at even 200%, and is relatively easy to meteor cancel. Ness's subpar recovery can make this a risky meteor smash if he uses this attack offstage and misses.

Peach

Down tilt - One of the few tilt meteors in the game. Swipes at the ground in front of her. Any airborne player hit with her forearm will be meteor smashed. If the hand connects instead of the arm, the opponents will be sent upwards and can KO airbone opponents around 130%. This meteor smash is moderately difficult to land on aerial opponents because of its small hitbox and can only be used effectively over a ledge to KO.

Roy

Down aerial - This attack is similar to Marth's down aerial, but is drastically weaker, has more ending lag, and its meteor smash hitbox is much harder to land. Hitting with Roy's wrist just above the hilt of the sword will meteor smash. Like Young Link's down aerial, the opponent has to be above Roy for the move to meteor smash. It is considered to be the worst meteor in Melee, as it is extremely weak (it is even weaker than Mario's forward aerial), difficult to land, and Roy will self-destruct when used offstage due to its very high ending lag and Roy's fast falling speed. Overall the move is impractical for edge-guarding purposes, and it is pretty much never used in competitive play outside of attempts to be flashy.
Double-Edge Dance - It is identical to Marth's side special, but the third input must be upwards instead.

Samus

Down aerial - Samus' standard meteor smash where she swipes her arm cannon downwards in an arc. It has a wide hitbox and is the fifth most powerful meteor smash in Melee. A commonly used attack due to its strong power, ease of landing, and low risk.

Yoshi

Down aerial - Yoshi's classic drill,commonly referred to as Flutter Kick. Each of his kicks is a meteor smash, although they are extremely weak. This move deals 53%, being the most damaging meteor in the game.
Forward aerial - This attack is similar to Mario's forward aerial, but instead Yoshi uses his head to slam the opponent downward. However, it is much stronger and faster than Mario's, and is not quite as risky. It is the third strongest meteor smash in Melee and is generally one of the most effective.

Young Link

Down aerial - Thrusts and holds his sword under him for a while. If the player hits the opponent with the hilt of the sword, they will be dealt fire damage and meteor smashed powerfully (sometimes referred to as the "fire spike"). While this is the second strongest meteor smash in Melee, it is generally impractical for any edge-guarding uses. This is due to the extreme difficulty of landing it as the hilt hitbox is very small and can only hit opponents above, the fact that it will hit opponents upwards instead if the meteor smash hitbox does not land, and its high duration makes it that Young Link will self-destruct if he misses with it offstage. It is also difficult to land a meteor smash hitbox on grounded opponents, but its power is capable of star KOing grounded opponents under 150%.
Down tilt - Sweeps his sword on the ground in front of him. It is similar to Link's down tilt though surprisingly more powerful and easier to land. It is ideal to use this attack on an enemy which is recovering from below. It is considered better than Link's down tilt meteor smash, considering the fact that, unlike Link's down tilt, it can meteor smash with the tip of the sword.

Zelda

Down aerial - An extremely weak meteor smash which Zelda performs by stomping downwards. While it is relatively fast, it is by far the weakest single hit meteor smash in Melee, while also having a very small hitbox. To give an idea of its power, it cannot KO grounded opponents at even 500%, while Mario's gains KO potential around 250%. Considered to be one of the worst meteor smashes in Melee, as it's just too weak to be useful.
Down tilt - Swinging and thrusting her leg across the ground. Another down tilt that can meteor smash opponents. This attack has extremely poor reach and power however, making it difficult to use and not effective when it lands. Can only really used if the opponent is hanging on the ledge.

Items

Warp Star - Produces an extremely powerful meteor smash while diving downwards, before it hits the ground.
Poké Ball Pokémon:
- Togepi's Earthquake can meteor smash aerial opponents in a range two-fifths the size of its burying range.
- The center of Moltres' body is a meteor smash equally as strong as the rest of the attack.

Enemies and bosses

Fighting Wire Frames - The Wire Frames in general share the meteor smashes of their parent characters, though the Male Wire Frame cannot use Raptor Boost, and the Female Wire Frame lacks Zelda's down tilt meteor.
Master Hand - Several of Master Hand's attacks can meteor smash, though the player is not in real risk from them, as Master Hand cannot land them offstage.
- Both the Power Punch and Flying Punch are meteor smashes, and are strong enough to KO off the top.
- The tail end of the Jetstream before Master Hand flies into the background is a weak meteor.
Crazy Hand - Crazy Hand shares the meteor smashes of the Power Punch and Jetstream.