Down aerial

File:Lucario dair.jpg

Lucario's down aerial, which negates momentum.

Marth's down aerial.

The down aerial (abbreviated as "dair", "DAir", "d-air" or "ADA") is an aerial attack that is performed in midair by pressing the A Button, and tilting the control stick downwards. Its official term varies between titles, where it is known as a "Down Midair Attack" in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and a "Down Air Attack" in Brawl. Many of these moves are Meteor Smashes.

List of Down-airs in Super Smash Bros.

Down airs in SSB either are one of three things: drills, spikes, or just sideways knockback oriented moves. Due to most of them being drills, they are some of the few moves that can be easily DI'd out of in an otherwise low DI game.

• Pikachu (SSB): A high priority move like Pikachu's other aerials. Great shield stun.
• Yoshi (SSB): The most damaging move in SSB64 if all moves hit. Shield breaker. It is however a drill so its easy to DI out of. If the opponent can't DI well, a very easy 0 to death is up tilt into down air repeated. Weakest DJC aerial but good to combo into F-smash.
• Samus (SSB): High power and priority spike. Usually considered Samus's best move. Main kill combo is Down air into back air or charge shot. You can also repeatedly down air opponents and anticipate techs. Short hop down airs can lead to shield break if the opponent is careless
• DK (SSB): High power spike. Too little range. Combos well into both up smash, aerials, and Giant Punch at varying percentages
• Link (SSB): Very useful move to short hop. Has the most ending lag of any aerial and is overall the best way of showing the difference of Not Z-cancelling and Z-cancelling. Great power and great vs shields if Z-cancelled.
• Luigi (SSB): A drill so its easy to DI out of. a good combo move and good vs shields. Can combo a down air into up b or down air into up air into up b. If there wasn't smash DI in ssb64, this move would be Luigi's best move.
• Mario (SSB): Similar to Luigi but slightly more useful. combos into up air. A drill but with quicker hits so it is more difficult to DI out of. Good vs shields as well. Part of the basic Short hop down air short hop up air combo
• Kirby (SSB): A drill that is very difficult to DI of, very useful in both combos and gimping. Considered by many the best gimping move in all of SSB64. Down air on the ground combos into up tilts and f-smashes. Really good vs shields as well.
• Jigglypuff (SSB): Similar to the other drill based characters, combos into up tilts and up b.
• Fox (SSB): A very fast drill. Easy to DI out of. Combos into up smash, shine, and tap a combos.
• Captain Falcon (SSB): A powerful spike. Can also combine a down air into Falcon punch at mid or high percents depending on character.

Characters' Dairs in brawl

• Mario: The famous Mario Tornado, replaced by the F.L.U.D.D. as a down special, is now his dair. Outer hitboxes draw the opponent into the center.
• Luigi: Spins rapidly in place. Multiple, effect-varying hitboxes surrounding, butt, feet, arms, and torso. If butt connects and sweetspots, it becomes a strong spike.
• Peach: Thrusts legs rapidly below herself at a slight angle. Good for starting combos.
• Bowser: Flips upside-down and rotates around inside his shell. Racks a lot of damage, and has an additional hit upon landing, which helps to keep opponents from taking advantage of the large landing lag.
• Donkey Kong: Thrusts leg below him to always meteor smash very powerfully while performing a strong-man pose in midair.
• Diddy Kong: Clasps one hand over the other and spikes always.
• Yoshi: The greatest damage racking aerial in the game. Flutter kicks super fast below him. Deals 33% and spikes after last hit.
• Wario: Flips upside down and rotates once or twice. Interestingly enough, when the move connects, he makes contact 7 times. Great damage racker.
• Link: Kneels above his sword with it upside down. Extremely powerful, incredibly long duration, and no startup lag. There is noticeable ending lag though, when he lands on the ground and has to yank it out. Also, if he hits an opponent, Link will hop up in the air (unless Link is fastfalling).
• Zelda: Thrusts leg once below her vertically. Spikes if sweetspotted. If sweetspotted, electric sound, pause, then foe down-rockets. Weak spike if not sweetspotted.
• Sheik: A Stall-Then-Fall. Sheik bends her body behind her center of gravity and leans leg out below her. Minimal knockback, and is dangerous, but it is very slow.
• Ganondorf: Jams legs underneath him. Multiple hitboxes, having weaker base knockback in the feet than in his head but by far the highest knockback scale in the game and always meteor smashes if it connects. Called "Thunderstomp" as it's the most powerful Meteor Smash in the game at 38% or higher and the 3rd strongest at 0% with OHKO potential - in fact, if it hits a grounded opponent, they can bounce off the ground and be Star KO'd at percents as low as 80% against light characters. Has an electric effect.
• Toon Link: An incredible priority Stall-Then-Fall. Similar to Link's, although rockets downwards without stopping and can spike near beginning few frames. Dangerous to use when not above ground, but if you have more lives than foe, risk one to spike them as they recover. Like Link's, it bounces off the opponent; after the bounce, it works like a normal aerial attack.
• Samus: Flips 90 degrees forward and faces the screen while swinging arm cannon in a 180 degree arc below her. Sometimes a meteor smash, but quite slow.
• Zero Suit Samus: A Stall-Then-Fall. Turns body in a linear form, then propels downward. If foe is hit in the air, they are carried down until they are knocked away once in contact with ground. Might make food for thought about "Zerocide" if it is used on a foe in the air and is carried downwards until both ZSS and foe KO.
• Pit: Swings both halves of bow downwards. Strangely, this move incurs upwards knockback most of the time.
• Ice Climbers: A half Stall-Then-Fall. Both position hammers below themselves and fall downwards a very slight distance. Knockback is upwards and a bit diagonal.
• R.O.B.: Pauses momentarily, then blasts boosters powerfully downwards. Will spike if hits. Can be used to stop vertical momentum, but is hard to use correctly, and will propel a bit upwards if incorrectly used.

Some down aerial attacks spike the opponent.

• Kirby: Spins around in multiple circles. Legs produce most damage and knockback. Can meteor smash.
• Meta Knight: Swings sword below him. Looks like Marth's dair, but will never spike. It can semi-spike though. Can be used on the ground (short-hopped) to set up a kill by edgeguarding. Very safe move.
• King Dedede: Spins hammer around under him for multiple hits. Works well in the ascent of a ground jump.
• Olimar: Arcs a Pikmin below his knees. Similar to bair and fair. If the enemy is directly below Olimar, it becomes a meteor smash, with power varying by Pikmin - purple, yellow, and red are very strong, blue is of mediocre strength, and white is weak.
• Fox: Spins legs around, a bit diagonally, hitting multiple times. Weakest Spike in the game after last hit. Similar to Falco, Kirby, or Jigglypuff's dairs. Useful when shorthopped for combos.
• Falco: Same as Fox's, except only one hit, not several. No lag, and moderately strong meteor smash when hit near first to near-last frames and hit in the middle to bottom hitbox of his body. Has a disjointed hitbox.
• Wolf: Similar to Diddy Kong's. Laggier, though as a spike more often connects because has a much Wolf's much faster air speed compared to Diddy Kong.
• Captain Falcon: Same as Ganondorf's, except quicker, and doesn't spike as powerfully near nipples. If hit near chest, slanged as nipple spike in Melee, but in Brawl it's hitbox is neither a meteor smash or spike.
• Pikachu: Like his fair, but downwards with only one hit. High lag when landing.
• Squirtle: Similar to Mario Tornado, but is better vertically ranged because of Squirtle's long tail.
• Ivysaur: Blasts its bulb below himself. Surprisingly, does not launch Ivysaur upwards, but stalls it in the air, like Lucario's dair. Can be a powerful spike if the foe is right beneath Ivysaur, but it's laggy and not so useful due to Ivysaur's extreme vulnerability to edge hoggs when it is off stage.
• Charizard: Flicks tail out of hitboxes and stomps his feet down. Very strong, and Meteor Smashes. Though it Meteor Smashes straight downwards, it sends grounded opponent upwards and sideways.
• Lucario: Blows up two bursts of aura beneath its foot. Stalls all frames of vertical momentum and can be used to delay it. Very powerful move in general and can be used in multiple ways because of immobility.
• Jigglypuff: Spins around. Identical to Kirby's. Absolutely no knockback unless at %s above 200.
• Marth: Swings sword beneath his legs. Can spike if hit at any part of the tip, but has some poor landing lag in Brawl.
• Ike: Faces screen while swinging sword down. If hits during initial frames, it spikes. Not so easy to spike because it has poor horizontal range. One of Ike's four spikes.
• Ness: Jams foot down. Somewhat laggy, but is an extremely powerful meteor smash. Sends horizontally if connects in later frames conect.
• Lucas: Four quick downward kicks. Can rack up to 20% damage, though unlikely, each kick doing exactly 5%. A medium power spike served with last kick. Easy strategy by using on vincible edgeholding foe. Simple spike use out of immediate initial jump ascent.
• Mr. Game & Watch: A Stall-Then-Fall (Donkey Kong Jr.) Grabs a key and plunges downwards. Upwards knockback; similar in most ways to Ice Climbers' stall then fall. Can be aimed slightly to the side and can be canceled in the middle with Fire. Can also perform the Stall-Then-Fall Glitch along with Toon Link. Is a spike if the enemy is directly under him and during initial frames, and if you tap down on the d-pad after executed, the move will slow. Much less risky Stall-Then-Fall than other ones.
• Snake: Launches four subsequent kicks below himself. Similar to Lucas', but more damage, knockback, and doesn't spike. Can be used very well in a short hop for a medium-high percent kill on a grounded opponent. Similar to his neutral aerial, this can do up to 28% damage having the last stomp higher knockback than his neutral aerial and last hit being able to connect in a short hop at the expense of being harder to trap with.
• Sonic: A Stall-Then-Fall. Lasts a long duration, but has high landing lag. This attack is actually similar to his Spring Jump in that they both cover about the same height (the only difference, of course, is the direction they go)

Notable characters' down aerials

• Captain Falcon's down aerial, a spike in 64 and Melee.
• Falco Lombardi's down aerial, a fast spike in Melee and Brawl with high range vital to Falco's pillar.
• Fox McCloud's down aerial, notorious for its use in his infinite combo.
• Wolf's down aerial, a spike exact in strength to Falco's "Dair" spike, although it takes a split second longer to complete.
• Lucario, Ivysaur, R.O.B.'s down aerials all stop vertical momentum, making those moves good for recovery.
• Mario's down aerial, officially named the Mario Tornado in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
• Yoshi's down aerial, a very damaging move which can take up to 40% with its multiple kicks.
• The Ice Climbers, Mr. Game & Watch, Sheik, Sonic, Toon Link and Zero Suit Samus' down aerials, all of which are Stall-Then-Fall aerials in Brawl. Also, if Toon Link's down aerial hits a foe, he will "pogo-hop" and allow him to hit another enemy again.

Ganondorf's down aerial in Brawl can be auto canceled in short hops and KO below 100% who connects on the ground while in an aerial opponent making it a great approach move and as a spike it always spikes if connects with enough power to OHKO an opponent in most cases.

• Marth's down aerial, possibly the most feared with its speed and range in Melee and Brawl.

Notes

• According to the SSBB Prima Official Game Guide, Wolf's Down Aerial Attack is a "Dair" spike, and is indeed similar to Falco's "Dair" spike.
• Ganondorf's down aerial in Brawl can be auto canceled in short hops and KO below 100% who connects on the ground while in an aerial opponent making it a great approach move and as a spike it always spikes if connects with enough power to OHKO an opponent in most cases.