The up special move (commonly referred to as up B) is a special attack performed by pressing the special move button while holding the control stick upwards.
Up special moves are usually the main aspect of a character's recovery; using them typically covers the most vertical distance (and sometimes horizontal distance) out of any of the character's abilities, but renders the character helpless. Most up specials are designed to damage and disrupt opponents going for an edgeguard. As with up smashes, up specials can be used out of shield, where some of them (such as Whirling Fortress) are highly effective.
List of up special moves
| Character | Move | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bayonetta | Witch Twist | Bayonetta spirals upwards through the air attacking multiple times. Though the distance traveled upwards is short, Witch Twist can be used again following a double jump. Holding the button lets her fire bullets as well. This move belongs to her great aerial combo game next to her Side special |
| Bowser | Whirling Fortress | Bowser retracts into his shell and quickly spins horizontally. The move has fairly high damage and knockback, and quite a bit of horizontal distance, being a very useful out of shield move. |
| Bowser Jr. | Abandon Ship! | Bowser Jr. leaps out of his Koopa Clown Car, covering a great vertical distance. The Koopa Clown Car explodes upon touching something. He also wields a Hammer, though it is different from the Item. |
| Captain Falcon | Falcon Dive | Captain Falcon is given a quick boost upwards and forwards, and anything within his target area is pulled to him, given a blast of fiery energy, and launched away. If it connects, it sends Falcon backwards, but also removes the helplessness state, allowing him to perform the move again. This move acts as a grab, so it can hit enemies that are shielding. The range at which the enemy is latched on to Captain Falcon is much greater in Smash 64 than in Melee or Brawl. |
| Cloud | Climhazzard | Cloud slashes his Buster Sword upwards while rising quickly. If the peak of Climhazzard's ascent isn't hit, Cloud can execute a follow-up attack which causes him to fall rapidly with his sword drawn in front of him. If Limit Break is active, the attack power on the ascending hit, the height, and the distance gained increase drastically upon using it. (Limit break does not affect the descending part of the move) |
| Corrin | Draconic Ascent | Corrin grows wings and leaps upwards. A multi-hit move that can be angled by approximately 45°. It covers a moderate amount of distance and deals enough knockback to KO at 140%. |
| Dark Pit | Power of Flight | Functions similarly to Pit's Power of Flight. |
| Diddy Kong | Rocketbarrel Boost | This move can be charged, but holding it too long will cause it to come off and land on the stage. If Diddy gets hit while using this move, the barrel can possibly fly off and hit any enemies in the way. He takes 5% damage when using this move under a floor. The move can also meteor smash opponents in Brawl. In Smash 4, the move can be aimed more easily. |
| Donkey Kong | Spinning Kong | Donkey Kong extends both of his arms out, hands balled into fists, and spins quickly horizontally. Like Bowser's Whirling Fortress, this attack has very good horizontal recovery, decent damage and knockback, but poor vertical recovery distance. It is worth noting that the most damaging hitboxes are in Donkey Kong's fists, and his legs vulnerable to projectiles while he is recovering. Has invincibility frames at the beginning in Smash 64. Useful gimp move in Smash 64, high power KO special in Melee, approach option in Brawl, and combo tool in Smash 4. |
| Dr. Mario | Super Jump Punch | Functionally identical to Mario's. The only difference is that Dr. Mario's punch hits hard (Smash 4 only), whereas Mario's variation is more of a spring punch. It can be cancelled in Melee (extremely difficult, known as Coin Cancelling or up special cancelling). |
| Duck Hunt | Duck Jump | The duck grabs the dog, and starts to fly upwards. Decent height but rather poor horizontal movement. |
| Falco | Fire Bird | Falco stops in midair with flames gathering around him, then erupts like a rocket, flying quickly in one direction. This direction is chosen by moving the control stick in any direction during the point where flames are gathering. While flying through the air, the Fire Bird deals decent damage and knockback to any who are caught in the trajectory. It is technically a finishing move in Melee, as it can be used after hitting an opponent with Falco's shine. |
| Fox | Fire Fox | Behaves similarly to Falco's Fire Bird, except for a few small changes: The Firefox deals slight damage to any enemy who comes into contact with Fox while he is still gathering flames (except in Smash 64), and the distance traveled is significantly longer. |
| Ganondorf | Dark Dive | Behaves almost identically to the Falcon Dive, except in Melee, it charges the enemy full of dark energy rather than fire, and deals much higher damage and knockback. It is also considerably slower. In Brawl, it can grab edge-hoggers and has poorer damage and knockback than Falcon Dive, and an uppercut is performed if the enemy is slightly out of the grab's range. |
| Greninja | Hydro Pump | Greninja uses water from its hands to send it flying upward. Greninja can change the direction of where it is going while using this move. Functions similarly to Pikachu's Quick Attack. |
| Ice Climbers | Belay | Sends one of the Ice Climbers far into the air, with a cord attached to the other one, which pulls it up afterwards. This attack has the highest vertical recovery range of any up special move in Melee, but it can only be performed if both Ice Climbers are together. If they are separated or one is defeated, this move will do nothing but enter the Ice Climber into helpless mode. However, in Brawl, if used by a lone Ice Climber it will rise very slightly. |
| Ike | Aether | Ike throws Ragnell in the air, then jumps up, catches it, and falls back to earth. Ike has super armor in the frames after he throws Ragnell, but before he jumps up. |
| Jigglypuff | Sing | Pink waves and musical notes radiate out from Jigglypuff as it sings a short song. Any non-airborne enemy caught within these waves will be put to sleep for a short period of time. Like a grab, button mashing can cause the character to escape the sleep more quickly, but higher damage forces the opponent into sleep for longer. Attacking the sleeping character or nudging them off the edge will cause them to wake up. This is not a triple jump, does not at all aid in recovery, and does not put Jigglypuff into a state of helplessness. |
| King Dedede | Super Dedede Jump | King Dedede takes a great leap into the air and lands with tremendous force. However, when he lands, he is left vulnerable to attack. In addition, one can cancel the jump by tapping the control stick downwards on the controller. However, if one does this right when he's about to land or hits a ceiling in the middle of the jump, it will leave King Dedede vulnerable for even longer. The direction can be changed by holding the control stick before King Dedede jumps. |
| Kirby | Final Cutter | Kirby extends a blade and launches straight up into the air, then proceeds to fall at a very fast speed. This attack does not normally cause helplessness. If Kirby uses it in midair and does not land on a platform or edge, he will unavoidably fall to his death. However, if the platform he lands on disappears, such as in Pictochat, he will become helpless. While moving up and down, Kirby can catch enemies with the extended blade. When Kirby hits the ground, it shoots a wave forward along the ground, also dealing damage. |
| Link | Spin Attack | Link extends his sword horizontally and spins, shooting slashing energy slightly beyond the length of the blade. It gains good vertical distance in midair, but not a significant amount of horizontal distance. In the air, any enemy caught deep inside the spin will be hit several times. Enemies caught at the outside area of the spin will be hit with a fairly sizable knockback. In Brawl, when on the ground, Link can charge this move. |
| Little Mac | Rising Uppercut | Little Mac jumps while rising and spinning with his fist upwards. It is said to not be very useful for recoveries, but is very strong. |
| Lucario | Extreme Speed | Pauses very briefly then moves very quickly. While moving, Lucario can change its angle up to 90 degrees. Afterwards, if it touches a wall, it can wall cling. Deals no damage in Brawl, though there is a weak hitbox at the end in Smash 4. Can be cannceled on the ground to allow Lucario to attack out of it. |
| Lucas | PK Thunder | Shoots an electric bolt out of Lucas's head. While it is in the air, the bolt can be controlled by moving the control stick (Lucas will remain stationary, or fall if he is in midair). Hitting the bolt into an opponent will cause damage. The bolt will not disappear after hitting an opponent. If the PK Thunder is steered into Lucas himself, it launches him in the opposite direction from the one he was hit at. While being launched, Lucas is invulnerable for a large period of time and can cause significant damage and knockback to anyone hit by his body. Even if this attack is not used to launch Lucas, it will cause helplessness when used in midair. |
| Lucina | Dolphin Slash | Functions similarly to Marth's version. |
| Luigi | Super Jump Punch | Luigi jumps straight up while punching, then falls down on his head. Differs from that of Mario and Dr. Mario in that it does not send Luigi forward at all except in Smash 64 (making it much worse for horizontal recovery). The hit at the outside of the hitbox only deals 1% and makes one coin, and has no knockback at all. However, if the enemy is far inside the hitbox, rather than racking up multiple coins, it performs a "Fire Jump Punch", accompanied with a ping and dealing much higher damage and knockback. |
| Mario | Super Jump Punch | Sends Mario upwards and slightly forwards. Any enemy hit while performing this attack will be pulled upwards with Mario, and coins will fly out. If enemies are very close when it is used, this can hit several times for multiple coins and higher damage. If they are at the edge of the hitbox, it will only hit for 1 or 2 percent (and coins). |
| Marth | Dolphin Slash | Marth flies quickly upwards, blade extended vertically. Provides decent vertical recovery, but very little horizontal recovery (a bit more horizontal recovery in Brawl). It's also a good KO move if hit during the beginning. Can be reversed (called simply a Reverse Dolphin Slash) which, interestingly enough, has higher knockback. |
| Mega Man | Rush Coil | Mega bounces off of Rush, jumping high into the air. He jumps even higher if he bounces off Rush a second time. |
| Meta Knight | Shuttle Loop | Leaps into the air with sword drawn, and then backflips 270 degrees and goes into a glide, which puts him into helpless mode if it is cancelled. It can be used as an offensive move if hit just after he starts to use it. One of Meta Knight's best ground KOing moves. (This move does not allow Meta Knight to glide in SSB4.) |
| Mewtwo | Teleport | Mewtwo vanishes and appears a fair distance away in any direction. Does not cause any damage. Overall possibly the best recovery in Melee due to its low cooling time, speed, and distance. |
| Mii Brawler | Soaring Axe Kick | The Mii flips into the air, then hits opponents with an axe kick |
| Mii Gunner | Lunar Launch | The Mii releases an explosion beneath himself/herself, flying upwards. |
| Mii Swordfighter | Stone Scabbard | The Mii slashes upwards while rising, then stabs downwards while falling. |
| Mr. Game & Watch | Fire | Mr. Game & Watch launches quickly upwards, propelled by a duo of Game & Watch characters with a fireman's trampoline who then disappear. High vertical distance but minimal horizontal distance. Adjusted in Brawl to include a parachute at the end of the propulsion by the firemen, making it easy to get additional horizontal distance, while in Melee he becomes helpless after using it. Causes a powerful gust of wind at the beginning of the move in Brawl. |
| Ness | PK Thunder | Shoots an electric bolt out of Ness' head. While it is in the air, the bolt can be controlled by moving the control stick (Ness will remain stationary, or fall if he is in midair). Running the head into an opponent will cause damage, but it will cause the bolt to disappear. Slight damage can also be caused by hitting an opponent with the tail of the attack, and this will not cause the attack to disappear. If the PK Thunder is steered into Ness himself, it launches him in the opposite direction from the one he was hit at. While being launched, Ness is invulnerable for a large period of time and can cause significant damage and knockback to anyone hit by his body. Even if this attack is not used to launch Ness, it will cause helplessness when used in midair. PK Thunder can be used to edgeguard and reverse Ness ("PK Tailwhip"). |
| Olimar | Pikmin Chain  |
The Pikmin currently following Olimar form into a chain that Olimar uses to latch onto a ledge, performing a tether recovery. The number of Pikmin following Olimar at the time drastically effects the distance this move can cover. Can be stopped by a player grabbing the ledge, therefore making Olimar unable to grab the ledge with this move. Moderately useful combo move. |
Winged Pikmin  |
Summons two Winged Pikmin to carry Olimar and whatever Pikmin is following him. The amount of Pikmin following Olimar when he summons the Winged Pikmin negatively affects the recovery ability of this move. | |
| Pac-Man | Pac-Jump | Pac-Man produces a trampoline from the Namco arcade game Mappy. The trampoline can be bounced on by Pac-Man and other characters up to three times. After each bounce, it changes color from blue to yellow to red. If the trampoline is jumped on when it is red, it will break, and the character who jumped on it will enter a helpless state. The trampoline will remain stationary even in midair, and will vanish after a set amount of time or after it breaks. |
| Palutena | Warp | Palutena disappears, then invisibly teleports in one of the directions and reappears. It does not do any damage, but Palutena is immune to damage while the move is in progress. It is similar to other specials which teleport to another location. |
| Peach | Peach Parasol | Peach pulls out an umbrella and opens it, greatly reducing her fall speed and increasing her horizontal recovery range. As she is pulling it out, she is given a vertical boost. The parasol stays extended, reducing fall speed until Peach either hits the ground or presses down on the controller. Pressing down will cause Peach to go into helplessness and fastfall, but uniquely, pressing up in this state will resume the Parasol attack. Additionally, the top of the Parasol deals slight damage and upwards knockback, allowing skilled players to juggle several hits of this, especially against low % and fastfalling characters (much more useful in Melee). It is possible to continuously do this against an edgeguarding opponent with a bad vertical recovery to gimp them (called an umbrella gimp). |
| Pichu | Agility | Pichu performs a quick teleport-like action in any direction. Inputting another direction during this first teleport allows Pichu to immediately perform a second teleport upon finishing the first. Pichu will also be dealt 1% in recoil damage for the first teleport then 3% for the second. If the control stick is released during the second teleport, it will get slightly more distance. It moves more smoothly than Pikachu's Quick Attack. This move does no damage. |
| Pikachu | Quick Attack | Behaves like Pichu's Agility, except does not deal recoil damage and any enemy caught at the mid or end point of these teleportations will be dealt slight damage (except in Smash 64). Can QAC in Brawl. Widely considered to be the best recovery in the original Smash 64 (it remains one of the overall top recoveries of any smash game due to its multiple invincibility frames and range, with particular invincibility in Smash 64. However, it lacks a hitbox in said game. |
| Pit | Wings of Icarus |
Wings of Icarus allows Pit to fly freely for a while. Pit can attack out of this move. If Pit is hit while using the move, he is unable to use it again until he lands. Can be used in a Brawl technique known as Wing Dashing, which allows Pit to move around the screen quickly. |
| Power of Flight |
Pit charges up and flies in a direction chosen by the player, similar to the up specials of the Star Fox characters. | |
| Pokémon Trainer | Varies | As Pokémon Trainer does not actively engage in battle himself, instead relying on his three Pokémon, there are three different moves that can be considered his Up Special attacks:
|
| R.O.B. | Robo Burner | R.O.B. uses a rocket thruster to boost himself into the air. Offers both vertical and horizontal recovery. It is possible to stop the move, use an attack or other move, and then resume hovering. After landing, R.O.B. must remain on the ground for 1.5 seconds before the move will be fully recharged. |
| Robin | Elwind | Robin fires two waves of razor-sharp wind magic downwards, propelling him upwards. |
| Rosalina | Launch Star | Rosalina flies upwards with a rainbow-colored Launch Star. Appears to have an adjustable trajectory. |
| Roy | Blazer | Similar to Marth's Dolphin Slash, except it sets the enemy character on fire. If the control stick is held left or right during the initiation of the move, it will increase horizontal distance at the expense of vertical distance. There is no equivalent to the Reverse Dolphin Slash due to the hitbox and sweetspot layout of Roy's blade being different than Marth's. |
| Ryu | Shoryuken | Ryu attacks using a powerful uppercut. |
| Samus | Screw Attack | Samus quickly rolls up into a ball and launches upwards, spinning. Any enemy caught at any point within the attack will be pulled up to the top and hit multiple times for some damage. In all three games, it can be used as an out-of-shield move. It can be DI'd out of in Smash 64 and Melee. |
| Sheik | Vanish | Sheik stays in one place (or, if in the air, jumps upward slightly), then disappears with a puff of flame. Any enemy caught in that flame will be dealt damage and shot straight upwards. Sheik will then reappear a short distance in any direction from where she disappeared, but will have a much longer than usual lagtime upon hitting the ground. |
| Shulk | Air Slash | It works in a similar vein to Marth and Lucina's Dolphin Slash, using the Monado to propel Shulk upwards with an airstrike. By pressing the attack button at the end of the move, Shulk can follow up with a second slash, like in Xenoblade Chronicles. |
| Snake | Cypher | Grabs his flying reconnaissance camera and uses it to fly upward. Can be re-used by hurting himself with his C4. Upon use in the air, Snake will fall for a short distance as he grabs the Cypher. Snake has a unique type of knockback resistance while hanging on to the Cypher, and will not flinch from an attack that deals exactly 7% or less. |
| Sonic | Spring Jump | A classic spring from the Sega Genesis-era Sonic the Hedgehog games appears below Sonic, propelling him upward with a powerful bounce. The spring can stay in the ground and, if the opponent moves quickly enough, they can also utilize this spring, bouncing equally as high. If used in the air, the spring will fall and damage opponents who touch it. |
| Toon Link | Spin Attack | Identical to Link's variation, except it gives much longer recovery distance, is a bit shorter in range, and hits multiple times on the ground. |
| Villager | Balloon Trip | Villager floats upwards with the Balloon Fighter's helmet. The balloons can be popped by enemies, ending the move prematurely and forcibly making him/her helpless. |
| Wario | Corkscrew | Wario spins and moves vertically slightly. He goes much higher when he is Wario-Man. |
| Wolf | Fire Wolf | Somewhat similar to Fox's Fire Fox and Falco's Fire Bird. It sends Wolf into the air horizontally almost immediately after it is used. The control stick can be used to determine the direction upon activation. Unlike Fire Fox, the attack deals multiple hits, carries the enemy it catches with it, has no fire effect, and ends with a knockback-dealing kick. |
| Wii Fit Trainer | Hula Hoop | The Wii Fit Trainer rises up while hula hooping. |
| Yoshi | Egg Throw | Yoshi launches an egg upwards in an arc, which can be angled along a variety of trajectories, hitting anywhere from far horizontally in front of Yoshi to slightly behind and above Yoshi. The egg explodes upon contact or after moving along for a set air-time. It is fairly unique in that it is not a true triple jump, does not noticeably aid in recovery, and does not put Yoshi into a state of helplessness. In Brawl, the move actually moves Yoshi upwards very slightly. |
| Young Link | Spin Attack | Identical to Toon Link's, except cannot be charged. Also, the recovery distance is slightly larger than Link's but is poor for his weight class. |
| Zelda | Farore's Wind | Zelda flashes for a second, then invisibly teleports a long distance in one of the 8 main directions. This move has a long recovery range, but is very limited in its options as to direction, making it possible to overshoot stages or platforms, or get caught under stage lips, like in Battlefield. In Brawl and SSB4, opponents near where she reappears are damaged. Can be canceled on the edge in Brawl for a surprise KO such as combined with a down aerial or up aerial. |
| Zero Suit Samus | Plasma Wire |
Zero Suit Samus flicks her whip upwards, catching enemies midair. If it connects with a ledge, it results in a tether recovery. Can technically combo grounded into down smash. |
| Boost Kick |
Zero Suit Samus kicks upwards with her jet boots engaged, hitting multiple times while rising and concluding with a kick that appears to have decent power behind it. |
List of custom up special moves
Gallery
Some up special moves are tether recoveries in Brawl.
| 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 |