Toon Link double jumping in Brawl.

A double jump (also called an air jump or a midair jump) is a jump that can be used once every time the user is airborne. Just like the grounded jump, double jumping is achieved by hitting up on the Control Stick or hitting the jump button. Every character has at least one double jump in the Smash Bros. series, regardless of whether such an ability exists in their original series, while some characters can use up to five.

Overview

A character's double jump(s) are restored upon landing, grabbing a ledge, being KO'd and respawning, or being grabbed by an opposing character (even if the character being grabbed does not touch the ground). Unlike most recovery moves, double jumps are not given back to the player upon being put into hitstun. This can be catastrophic to a character trying to return to the stage if they have already used their double jump(s) and an opponent edge guards their attempt to recover.

In contrast with jumps from the ground, each character only has one height of a double jump, whereas the player can control grounded jumps to be either short hops or full hops. The exception to this is with characters with more than one midair jump, as these usually decay in height with each successive jump.

Yoshi's double jump is unique in that it provides a significant amount of knockback-based armor.

Animations

Double jumps are a lot more varied in animation than single jumps. Most characters twist or flip, and some characters inflate themselves (Kirby, Jigglypuff, King Dedede) or flap their wings (Meta Knight, Charizard, Pit, Dark Pit, Bayonetta, Ridley, Kazooie). During these animations, all characters cast a double circle platform beneath them that disappears after the jump is completed (except for R.O.B. in Brawl, in which a smoke ring is formed instead from the base of his Robo Burner; this does not waste any fuel from his recovery). Like jumps from the ground, characters have a different animation if they are jumping backward. For example, Mario spins around when performing a regular midair jump, but does rapid backward somersaults when performing a backward midair jump. If a character flips, their collision bubble moves accordingly, though this has no effect on the jump itself. Some[citation needed] characters will create a brief "ripple" effect in the air at the start of their mid-air jump.

Delayed double jumps

Most characters have their vertical speed instantly set to their given value upon using their double jump, providing an immediate height boost. Certain characters instead have double jumps that have a short pause before applying a slower and constant upwards boost, controlled by animation rather than an immediate velocity change. Depending on the game, the floatiness of such second jumps allows for several techniques such as double jump canceling and rising aerials. Ness, Mewtwo, Lucas and Kazuya have this type of double jump. Yoshi had a delayed double jump in Smash 64, Melee and Brawl, while Peach had it in Melee before losing it in Brawl.

Multiple double jumps

Most characters can only jump once while in the air; however, some characters can jump multiple times without touching the ground. Most characters cannot turn around in midair using their double jump, but all characters with multi-jumps can turn around when in midair by using jump while holding away from the direction the character is facing on the Control Stick. Characters without multiple midair jumps that can turn around include Yoshi, who is also able to turn around with his midair jump, and Steve, who can use Minecart to turn around at any time midair regardless of having no jumps left.

Fighters with multiple midair jumps tend to gain substantially less height per jump than the jumps of fighters with only one. There is usually also a brief delay between the end of one jump and being able to start the next. Usually, this delay is small enough for the character to gain a decent amount of height with all of their jumps, but if the character is metal, these multi-jumps become useless or nearly useless.

Characters with multi-jumps usually have poor air speed (with the exception of Jigglypuff, who has among the best air speed, in exchange for among the worst jump height).

In Melee, Captain Falcon and Ganondorf gain another midair jump after using Falcon Kick and Wizard's Foot, respectively. In the initial release of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, a bug allowed Robin and Kirby, upon copying Robin, to regain all of their respective midair jumps after charging Thoron; this bug was removed in version 1.0.4.

In games from Melee onward, characters with multiple midair jumps cannot drop through soft platforms during any of their midair jumps until their animation completes, even if holding down on the Control Stick or after fast falling. This does not apply to their ground jumps and is unlike other characters, who can all drop through platforms during any portion of their midair jump.

A Smash Run Power allows any character to have extra midair jumps.

Some Spirits, such as Ho-Oh, give players an additional midair jump when equipped.

Multiple double jumpers

Fighter           Jumps
Banjo & Kazooie   2
Charizard       2
Dark Pit     3
Jigglypuff           5
King Dedede       4
Kirby           5
Meta Knight       5
Pit       3
Ridley   2
Sephiroth   2 (in Winged Form)

Double jump heights

 

Super Smash Bros.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. 4

Rank Character Double Jump Height
1 Mewtwo 58.542999
2 Yoshi 51.560001
3 Falco 50.506073
4 Greninja 46
5 Zero Suit Samus 44.199909
6 Bayonetta 42
7 Luigi 41.305771
8 Diddy Kong 41.208694
9 Rosalina 40
10 Sheik 40
11 R.O.B. 38
12 Lucario 37.619999
13 Captain Falcon 37.306652
14 Samus 37
15 Fox 37
16-17 Mario, Dr. Mario 36.331814
18 Charizard 36
19 Palutena 35.900002
20 Wii Fit Trainer 35.599998
21 Pikachu 35.5
22 Mii Brawler 35.5
23 Donkey Kong 35.5
24 Sonic 35
25 Shulk 34.799999
26 Lucas 34.48
27 Ness 34.476265
28 Bowser Jr. 34.400002
29 Pac-Man 34.099998
30 Duck Hunt 33.799999
31 Toon Link 33.799999
32-33 Lucina, Marth 33.660133
34 Mii Gunner 33.500343
35 Olimar 33.5
36 Robin 33.208813
37 King Dedede 32.849998
38 Mega Man 32.799999
39 Bowser 32.611839
40 Cloud 32
41 Villager 32
42 Zelda 31.552761
43 Corrin 31
44-45 Dark Pit, Pit 31
46 Ike 31
47 Wario 30.5
48 Peach 30.025824
49 Ryu 29.5
50 Link 29
51 Meta Knight 28.925524
52 Mii Swordfighter 28.299999
53 Roy 28
54 Mr. Game & Watch 27.511969
55 Little Mac 26
56 Ganondorf 26
57 Kirby 22
58 Jigglypuff 19.786329

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

  This article or section may be out of date. (tagged December 2020)
The editor who added this tag elaborates: Needs values for Fighters Pass Vol. 2 fighters
You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to bring it up to date.
Rank Character Double Jump Height
1 Mewtwo 57.35
2 Yoshi 51.56
3 Falco 50.51
4 Greninja 46
5 Ness 45.65
6 Zero Suit Samus 44.2
7 Lucas 44.13
8 Bayonetta 42
9 Luigi 41.31
10 Diddy Kong 41.21
11-12 Rosalina & Luma 40
11-12 Sheik 40
13 Piranha Plant 38.52
14 R.O.B. 38
15 Lucario 37.62
16 Captain Falcon 37.31
17-19 Samus 37
17-19 Dark Samus 37
17-19 Fox 37
20-21 Mario 36.33
20-21 Inkling 36.33
22 Pichu 36.02
23 Charizard 36
24 Palutena 35.9
25 Wii Fit Trainer 35.6
26-28 Pikachu 35.5
26-28 Mii Brawler 35.5
26-28 Donkey Kong 35.5
29 Squirtle 35.35
30 Sonic 35
31 Ice Climbers 34.69
32 Bowser Jr. 34.4
33 Pac-Man 34.1
34 Snake 34.07
35-36 Joker 34
35-36 Sephiroth 34
37-38 Duck Hunt 33.8
37-38 Toon Link 33.8
39-41 Marth 33.66
39-41 Lucina 33.66
39-41 Young Link 33.66
42-43 Olimar 33.5
42-43 Shulk 33.5
44 Robin 33.21
45 Mythra 33
46 King Dedede 32.85
47-48 Mega Man 32.8
47-48 Incineroar 32.8
49-50 Bowser 32.61
49-50 King K. Rool 32.61
51-53 Cloud 32.5
51-53 Isabelle 32.5
51-53 Villager 32.5
54 Mii Gunner 32.3
55 Ivysaur 32.25
56-57 Ridley 32
56-57 Banjo & Kazooie 32
58 Zelda 31.55
59-63 Corrin 31
59-63 Pit 31
59-63 Dark Pit 31
59-63 Ike 31
59-63 Hero 31
64 Wolf 30.71
65 Wario 30.5
66-67 Peach 30.03
66-67 Daisy 30.03
68-69 Ryu 29.5
68-69 Ken 29.5
70-75 Simon 29
70-75 Richter 29
70-75 Link 29
70-75 Terry 29
70-75 Min Min 29
70-75 Pyra 29
76 Meta Knight 28.93
77 Byleth 28.5
78 Mii Swordfighter 28.3
79-80 Roy 28
79-80 Chrom 28
81 Dr. Mario 27.785184
82 Mr. Game & Watch 27.51
83-84 Little Mac 26
83-84 Ganondorf 26
85 Steve 22.5
86 Kirby 22
87 Jigglypuff 19.79

Origin

Double jumping is a common mechanic in many platforming video games. Occasionally it is given as a power-up or an upgrade, while other times it is just a natural ability. Fighters who can double jump in their native games include Banjo and Kazooie, Bayonetta, Daisy, Kirby, Samus, Sonic, Wario, and Yoshi.

Gallery

Trivia

  • Despite being able to actually fly, both Charizard and Ridley have fewer midair jumps than both Pit and Dark Pit, who cannot actually fly on their own.
  • In SSB4, with any character that can turn around using their midair jump, holding backward and pressing the attack button a few frames before the character fully turns around will cause them to use their back aerial instead of their forward aerial as they turn around, thus erroneously attacking in the opposite direction. This appears to be a glitch, as it did not happen in previous games.
  • Melee is the only game to not introduce any characters with multiple double jumps.
  • Banjo & Kazooie are the only third party and DLC fighter to always have multiple double jumps. Sephiroth also has the ability to perform more than one midair jump, but only in his winged form.

See also