A Special Move is any move performed by pressing the B button or whatever button the player assigns in Brawl. Generally, special attacks provide more damage than smash attacks, although it's unlikely to provide a KO in some situation. Unlike other attacks, special attacks can have wildly different functions - for instance, Falco's forward B is a quick running swipe familiar to a dash attack, whereas Samus' forward B is a projectile that leaves Samus stationary. Usually, only special attacks can be projectiles (an exception is Snake's and Olimar's Up smash), and some are able to render the user helpless if used in mid-air (usually those that function as mid-air jumps, like most up B attacks). A Final Smash is a special type of special move that can be accessed when the Smash Ball is obtained. When obtained, the standard special move is then replaced with the final smash that usually does a very high damaging attack that can affect more than one person.
Special attacks include the Standard Special Move, Side Special Move, Down Special Move, Up Special Move and the Final Smash.
| Attacks in the Super Smash Bros. series | |
|---|---|
| Standard ground attacks | Neutral attack · Dash attack |
| Tilt attacks | Forward tilt · Up tilt · Down tilt · Crouching attack |
| Smash attacks | Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash |
| Aerial attacks | Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial · Grab aerial · Glide attack |
| Throws | Grab · Pummel · Forward throw · Back throw · Up throw · Down throw |
| Get-up attacks | Floor attack · Edge attack |
| Special moves | Neutral special move · Side special move · Up special move · Down special move · Command-input move · Final Smash |