Master Hand
| Master Hand | |
|---|---|
 Official artwork of Master Hand in Super Smash Bros. Brawl | |
| A boss in | SSB, Melee, Brawl, Kirby & the Amazing Mirror |
| Universe | Super Smash Bros. |
|
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Master Hand (マスターハンド, Masutā Hando) is a hand-like entity who acts as the main recurring boss in the Super Smash Bros. universe. He is the final boss of the 1P Game in Super Smash Bros. and of Classic Mode in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl at the end of the mode. He is only playable in the games through hacking, but in Melee, a glitch exists that makes him playable. Master Hand's corresponding left hand, Crazy Hand, was introduced in Melee.
Despite appearing in all three games of the series, considerable mystery surrounds the character, due to a lack of official explanations. The fact that the intro to Super Smash Bros. has Master Hand appearing to set up a stage and the playable characters has caused some to speculate that the world of Smash (and possibly the World of Trophies) are Master Hand's creation. Since he is the leader of the latter,[1] it is quite possible. Also, his Brawl trophy info (shown below) implies that he is not using his full power against the smashers and is merely toying with them for his own enjoyment.
Appearances
Super Smash Bros.
In Super Smash Bros., Master Hand is the final opponent of the 1P Game, acting as a final boss. He resides in the Final Destination. He uses his size and shape to his advantage - he slaps, punches and flicks the player around, but receives no knockback from the players' attacks; all of these trends would be carried over to later games in the series.
Master Hand can't be defeated by normal means; instead, he has 300 HP which must be depleted. Once 0 HP is reached, he explodes into the background while the screen fades to white; after the last results screen of the game, which lacks a conventional fanfare from before, a cutscene plays, showing the player's character turning back into their plush doll form, the camera zooming, then a sudden transition to black, punctuated with the sound of a door closing.
Master Hand first appears in the opening cinematic. He positions inanimate plush doll versions of two random characters on a table, and after carefully positioning everything around them, he counts to three, snaps his fingers, and changes the table into a stage resembling Peach's Castle; additionally, both of the plush dolls spring to life.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee sees Master Hand reprising his role as a boss in the single-player mode - he is the final boss of the 1-player Classic Mode, and has a set HP which must be depleted to win; he does not appear in the Adventure Mode or All-Star Mode, where his role is replaced instead by Giga Bowser and a team of Mr. Game & Watches. He is fought on the Melee version of Final Destination. Defeating Master Hand once again causes the screen to fade to white as he explodes into the background; after the last results screen, the player's character is seen tumbling, then turning into their Trophy state, landing in the Collection room of the game.
Master Hand received a multitude of alterations to his overall fighting style when moving on to Melee. His moveset is slightly altered and expanded, he loses the ability to turn around, and his HP is altered based on the difficulty; on Very Easy, he has 150 HP, on Easy, he has 250 HP, on Normal, he has 300 HP, on Hard, he has 330, and Very Hard caps it at 360. In addition to this increase in HP, his power increases with each increment in difficulty, with the highest levels giving him a multitude of attacks with OHKO potential. Additionally, instead of appearing as a glove, Master Hand's "wrist" instead fades into nothingness instead of a "cuff".
The game also introduced Crazy Hand, Master Hand's left-handed alter ego. When the two are on the field at the same time, they can perform powerful combination attacks. Crazy Hand appears when set conditions are met.
Master Hand does not appear in the opening cinematic, though his trophy (see below) elaborates his role in the Super Smash Bros. universe.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Master Hand reprises his role as the final boss of Classic Mode in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and once again is fought on Final Destination. His attacks are very similar to that of his Melee form with some changes. The amount of HP he has is still dependent on the difficulty as well. Crazy Hand also returns in Classic Mode, if certain conditions are met.
Role in Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary
Master Hand also appears in The Subspace Emissary, as the one giving orders to Ganondorf, Bowser and Wario. Soon after a Subspace Bomb is used on King Dedede's castle, Ganondorf receives new orders from Master Hand, which he gets via a TV screen; this leads the player to believe that Master Hand acts as the primary antagonist of the mode.
However, when all of the characters arrive in Subspace, Ganondorf reports to Master Hand after betraying Bowser; when Master Hand shows himself, however, Ganondorf learns that he has actually been under the control of Tabuu via the Chains of Light. Ganondorf attacks Tabuu with his Dark Dive as an act of defiance, but is easily knocked back, though his fall causes him to break the Chains of Light that Tabuu had controlled Master Hand with, thus freeing him. Master Hand too attempts to strike Tabuu, but just like Ganondorf, is defeated with little effort. As he is a different kind of being from the playable characters, he does not change into a trophy, and simply lies motionless on the ground when defeated by Tabuu, appearing to bleed from the areas he was previously attached to; his ultimate fate is never shown.
Knowing that he would be able to use Master Hand to recruit fighters to aid him in his goals, Tabuu enslaved Master Hand with the Chains of Light some time before the plot of the Subspace Emissary begins.
Other appearances
Master Hand appears in the Game Boy Advance game Kirby and the Amazing Mirror as a mini-boss. Vacuuming him up will give Kirby the Smash ability, an ability that gives Kirby some of his moves from Super Smash Bros. Melee (though in a slightly altered state). Master Hand and Crazy Hand are also the bosses of the Candy Constellation stage.
HP
| HP Values |  |
 |
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSB | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 |
| Melee | 150 | 250 | 300 | 330 | 360 |
| Brawl (Classic) | 150 | 250 | 300 | 330 | 360 |
| Brawl (Boss Battles) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Trophies
Melee trophy
Master Hand (trophy #159)
The Master Hand awaits anyone who survives the long difficult road to the Final Destination. This symbolic link between the real world and the imaginary battlefields of Super Smash Bros. Melee is quite a handful in battle, and just because he wears a white glove doesn't mean he fights clean. Get ready to get flicked, swatted, punched, and poked like crazy!
- Super Smash Bros.
Brawl trophy
Master Hand
A being tied to the link between this world, where trophies fight, and the world beyond. The meaning of his existence is unknown, as are his goals, but he seems to have obtained (and kept hidden) a power that borders on absolute. He also seems to feel a certain joy in challenging chosen warriors who've claimed many victories. He waits even now in Final Destination.
: Super Smash Bros.
: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Origin
While Master Hand as a character is unique to the Smash series, his attacks are very similar to Wham Bam Rock's attacks in Kirby Super Star. Wham Bam Rock only uses its rock hand to attack. One of the moves that looks similar is that Wham Bam Rock and Master Hand point at the player like a gun; however, Wham Bam Rock makes rocks fall while Master Hand shoots out bullets. Both Wham Bam Rock and Master Hand perform a move that involves "walking" across the stage to flick the player. They both will also try to grab on to the player and cause damage.[2]
Playability
Though there are several rumors of "cheats" that supposedly allow Master Hand to be played as a normal character, all of them are false; the only methods of controlling Master Hand are through a hacking device such as a GameShark or Action Replay.
To date, the only known way of playing as Master Hand exists as an application of the Name Entry glitch in Melee; this application allows for controlling Master Hand in Melee, with some limitations.
The following is a list of moves when controlling Master Hand.
None of the move names are official.
Super Smash Bros. moveset
Note that Master Hand's moves will automatically target the highest-numerical player other than himself (Player 1 or 2 in most cases)
| Move | Name | Notes | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| R◄ | Poke | Master Hand pokes the air twice. The second poke is more powerful. | 8-26% |
| A► | Slam | Master Hand makes a fist and slams into the player. | 20% |
| B►[m 1] | Gun | Master Hand makes the shape of a gun, and fires sets of 2 bullets. He fires 1 set if above 100 HP, and three sets if below. | 5% per bullet |
| R▲ | Drill | Master Hand flies up, then slams down while spinning in a drill-like fashion. | 1-25% |
| A► | Ram | Master Hand flies off the screen, then appears in the background as a fist. He attempts to slam into the player, then flies back onto the stage from the top of the screen. | 16% |
| L▲ | Sweep | Master Hand makes several sweeping motions. The amount of motions depend on the size of the platform. | 12% |
| R▼ | Crush | Master Hand flies off the top of the screen, then appears in the background. He attempts to flatten the player. | 16% |
| L▼ | Walk | Master Hand "walks" using his pointer and middle fingers. When he reaches his opponent, he "kicks" them. | 18%. |
| A▲ | Jet | Master Hand makes a vaguely plane-like shape, then flies into the background. He attempts to fly into the player, then flies in from the right. If the player makes contact with him when he is taking off, they will be burned launched downwards. | 12-16% |
| L► | Slap | Master Hand makes a slapping motion across the platform. | 16% |
| R► | Punch | Master Hand hovers over the target, then quickly punches down. | 8-24% |
- ^ B► attacks were not given to "normal" characters until Melee.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Master Hand can only be controlled if set to Player 3. Also note that the directions are pressed on the directional pad, not the control stick.
Solo moves
| Move | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A↑ | Jet | Master Hand makes a vaguely plane-like shape, then flies into the background. He attempts to fly into the player, then flies in from the right. When Master Hand makes a vaguely plane-like shape, if the player is at his wrist, the player will meteor smashed. This attack can be meteor cancelled at the start of his attack. 10-30% |
| A→ | Ram | Master Hand flies off the screen, then appears in the background as a fist. He attempts to slam into the player, then flies back onto the stage from the top of the screen. If the player is in the middle of the jump, then the player will be meteor smashed, therefore the ram cannot KO grounded player until the player is a very high percentage. This attack can be meteor canceled. 34% |
| A↓ | Crush | Master Hand flies off the top of the screen, then appears in the background. He attempts to flatten the player. Semi-spikes the characters powerfully if the player is inside of his palm. If a player is very close to the thumb, it will be sent upward with high vertical knockback. 30% |
| B↑ | Lasers | Master Hand shoots a laser beam from each of his fingertips. Only the endpoints do damage. 9% each |
| B→ | Gun | Master Hand makes the shape of a gun, and fires sets of bullets. He fires 1 set if above 100 HP, and three sets if below. 10% (one set) 6% (three sets) |
| Z up or down | Grab | Master Hand grabs his opponent and begins to crush them. They can escape by button mashing, but, if they fail to do so, Master Hand will toss them away. 13%/crush, then 18-20% afterwards. Depending on the direction pressed with Z, Master Hand will throw the opponent differently. If up is used, he will throw them upward behind him. If right, he will slam them into the ground meteor smashing the player. Since he slams them into the ground, the down throw is incapable of KOing any opponents unless the stage has a lower blast line in the middle. Anyone touches Master Hand while crushing other player will take damage, but no knockback and will never cause the player to flinch. |
| R← | Poke | Master Hand pokes the air three times. The third poke is more powerful. 7-34% |
| R→ | Punch | Master Hand hovers over the target, then quickly punches down. Meteor smashes the player when he punch down with explosion effect and the player is middle of the jump. Airbone players cannot be meteor smashed. 24% |
| R up | Slap | Master Hand slaps the ground. 26% |
| R↑ | Drill | Master Hand flies up, then slams down while spinning in a drill-like fashion. If player is in the airbone and is touching Master Hand while he attempt to slams down while spinning in the air, the player will be spiked. Almost no knockback if the player doesn't utilize DI. This attack can punish any players who utilize DI. If the player utilize DI at his palm and wirst, they will be sent sideways with decent horizontal knockback. If the grounded opponents utilize DI at his fingertips, last hit is a semi-spike. 1-48% |
| L↑ | Sweep | Master Hand makes a slapping motion across the platform. 25% |
| L↓ | Walk | Master Hand "walks" using his pointer and middle fingers. When he reaches his opponent, he "kicks" them. 10-30% |
Moves used in conjunction with Crazy Hand
MH (Master Hand) and CH (Crazy Hand) must both press the input shown to trigger the combination attack.These only work in Melee.
| MH input | CH input | Move | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Y← | Y→ | Applaud | A shockwave is released that puts the player to sleep, then the two hands clap together five times. |
| Y↑ | Y↑ | Double Punch | The two hands punch together. |
| Y↑ | Y↓ | Catch | Crazy Hand punches across the stage and is caught by Master Hand. A shock wave that deals shadow damage is released at impact. |
Brawl (hacked)
A hacker (Y.S) made a code using USBGecko program that allows the player to use bosses on boss battles on Brawl. Those are the available commands for Master Hand. He is not playable, just controllable. He can only be used in Boss Battles (some glitches occur and some attacks cannot be used). This is because unlike the first two games, Master Hand is no longer considered a character. He is in the "Boss" class, and therefore his controls work differently. This is similar to how Sandbag is no longer considered by the game to be a character, as he cannot be grabbed in Brawl. Available commands: [A] [A↑] [A↓] [A→] [A←] [B] [B↑] [B↓] [B→] [B←] [R] or [L]
Changes from Melee to Brawl
- Has been buffed - many of his attacks are faster, deal more damage, and are more difficult to dodge. Walking Hand and Hand Swipe have almost instantaneous start-up.
- Hand Drill is more difficult to dodge: it can only be dodged if a player perfectly executes a roll, or leaves the stage until the attack finishes. Even then, many characters' rolls are too short to escape his vacuum, and going off the stage can make it hard to come back, as there are hitboxes of the drill that prevents the player from grabbing the ledge. However, this attack is still easier to avoid by using the attacks that can move the character a considerable distance (though not every approch attack can be used avoid this attack easier) if timed correctly.
- After using Jet Technique, Master Hand returns to his normal position on the right side of the stage, instead of appearing on the left and traveling back to the right side. Jet attack can no longer meteor smash during the start up.
- During the start of Master and Crazy Hands' Applause attack, characters are hit by the Fan effect while in the air.
- Ram creates no freeze frames, regardless of whether it hits or misses. Now, it also deals horizontal knockback and can no longer meteor smash.
- Laser attack moves forth and back once.
- Gun attack cannot be avoided by crouching. Also gun attack only fires one shot.
- Walking Hand begins almost instantaneously and has more power, allowing Master Hand to suddenly hit, and potentially KO, nearby players.
- Hand Swipe is faster, stronger, and covers a larger area.
- Up throw now has horizontal knockback instead of upward knockback.
- Relative to the average knockback of their moves, Master Hand is now more powerful than Crazy Hand.
Attack Order
Brawl
Attacks in parenthesis require Crazy Hand.
First Move
- Sweep
- Lasers
- Punch
- (Double Punch)
Second Move
- Drill
- Grab
- Gun
- (Applaud)
- (Double Punch)
- (Catch)
Third Move
- Background Punch
- Background Jet
- Background Slap
Fourth Move
- Grab
- Walk
- Crush
- (Applaud)
- (Twin Laser)
Fifth Move
- Slap
- Poke
- (Double Jet)
Trivia
- Master Hand has shared his voice actor with the announcer of each Smash Bros. game to date, as well as Crazy Hand in Melee and Brawl.
- Also, the fact that the Announcer does not introduce Master Hand or even mention his name in the game normally, this has lead many to believe that they are the same person.
- Unusually, the Sound Test of Melee gives him his own introduction from the Announcer; some take this as a sign that this meant Master Hand was supposed to be a playable character in Melee, but that the idea was later scrapped.
- In the formerly Nintendo video game Banjo-Kazooie, there is a piano playing floating hand called Motzand encountered in the game's later levels who greatly resembles Master Hand.
- If Master Hand sets a record in Melee, via the Name Entry Glitch, the record will be given to Mario. This happens because Master Hand isn't really a playable character so he has an ID of 0, so it gives the record to the nearest ID which is 1 and ID 1 is Mario.
See also
References
- ^ Masahiro Sakurai (10th April, 2008). Mysteries of The Subspace Emissary (text). Smash Bros. DOJO!!. Retrieved on 24th June, 2011. “Master Hand is the master of our world.”
- ^ CrappyCaptureDevice (3rd February, 2008). Master Hand's Moves - History Behind Super Smash Bros. Melee (video). YouTube. Retrieved on 24th June, 2011. “Shows where a few of the Master Hand's moves come from.”
| Bosses | |
|---|---|
| Super Smash Bros. | Master Hand · Metal Mario · Giant Donkey Kong · Fighting Polygon Team |
| Melee | Master Hand · Crazy Hand · Giga Bowser · Fighting Wire Frames (Male · Female) |
| Brawl | Master Hand · Crazy Hand · Petey Piranha · Rayquaza · Porky · Galleom · Ridley · Duon · Meta Ridley · Tabuu · Fighting Alloy Team (Red · Blue · Yellow · Green) · False characters |
| Smash 4 | Master Hand · Crazy Hand · Master Core · Fighting Mii Team |
| Ultimate | Master Hand · Crazy Hand · Rathalos · Galleom · Giga Bowser · Galeem · Dharkon · Dracula · Ganon · Marx · Fighting Mii Team · False characters |
