Up smash

Mario's up smash in Melee.

Wii Fit Trainer's up smash in Smash 4, after being charged briefly.

An up smash (abbreviated u-smash) (上スマッシュ攻撃, Up/upper/above smash attack) is a smash attack performed by any character by tapping the control stick upward and pressing A, or, outside of Melee's single player modes, by pressing up on the C-Stick.

Since Super Smash Bros. Melee, all smash attacks can be charged by holding down the A button for up to one second, multiplying damage and knockback by up to 1.4. In Ultimate, these charges can be held for up to 3 seconds (or 180 frames), but the attack stops increasing in strength after the 1 second mark.

Up smashes have more flexibility than forward smashes and down smashes in terms of when they can be used. A jump may be cancelled into an up smash, enabling it to be used out of shield immediately and during any part of a character's dash animation, except the skidding animation when they stop running. From Brawl onwards, jump-cancelling to perform a running up smash is unnecessary, and the turn-around animation can be jump-cancelled into a reversed up smash. In Ultimate, jump-cancelling is not required for up smashes out of shield, and can now be done instantly.

List of up smashes

Character	Description
Banjo & Kazooie	unknown
Bayonetta	Uses her Wicked Weaves to summon Madama Butterfly's enormous fist for a punch directly upwards in front of herself.
Bowser	Hops up with his back facing upwards to strike with his shell.
Bowser Jr.	Performs a handstand, then activates the Junior Clown Car's propeller to strike with it.
Captain Falcon	Performs a spinning uppercut with his elbow. Throws an upwards butterfly kick.
Charizard	Slashes upwards with its leading wing, then its following one immediately after.
Chrom	Jabs Falchion upwards while releasing a stream of razor-like magic from it, ending in an outwards burst.
Cloud	Performs a straight-upwards arcing swing in front of himself with the Buster Sword.
Corrin	Crouches and braces their arms on either side of their head before transforming them into draconic lances and stabbing straight upwards.
Daisy	Jabs her hand upwards while twirling.
Dark Pit	Spins while slashing above himself three times.
Dark Samus	Unleashes a front-to-back arc of five phazon blasts from her arm cannon above herself.
Diddy Kong	Performs a pair of spinning punches leading straight into a jumping uppercut as he completes the spin.
Donkey Kong	Claps his hands together above himself.
Dr. Mario	Plants his feet and headbutts strongly above himself from back to front.
Duck Hunt	Crouch while the unseen gunman fires off a combo of three shots directly above them.
Falco	Performs a quick backflipping kick. Throws a modified upwards butterfly kick.
Fox	Performs a quick backflipping kick.
Ganondorf	Throws an upwards butterfly kick. Leans back and performs a straight-upwards stretch kick. Swings a massive blade in a wide front-to-back arc above himself.
Greninja	Jabs two watery blades upwards in forwards grip, then transitions to reverse grip while slashing them in downwards arcs for a second hit.
Hero	Stabs straight upwards with his sword.
Ice Climbers	Swing their hammers in an inwards arc above themselves.
Ike	Swings Ragnell in a large arc over his head, slamming it onto the ground behind him.
Incineroar	Performs an arcing upwards double axe-handle.
Inkling	Swings an Ink Blaster upwards to strike with its barrel, setting up for a close-ranged explosion of ink.
Isabelle	Blows a whistle and erects a stop sign in front of herself.
Ivysaur	Plants its feet while pumping an explosion of pollen from out of the bulb on its back.
Jigglypuff	Headbutts above itself.
Joker	Performs a jumping inwards slash with his knife.
Ken	Performs a crouching uppercut.
King Dedede	Swings his hammer in a front-to-back arc above his head.
King K. Rool	Hops straight upwards to strike with his head, then falls back down belly-first into a comical plank before he gets back up.
Kirby	Performs a quick backflipping kick.
Link	Performs a three-hitting combo of spinning, arcing slashes with the Master Sword.
Little Mac	Crouches briefly before throwing a fierce swinging-inwards uppercut.
Lucario	Crouches, then thrusts its palms straight upwards alongside a blast of aura.
Lucas	Holds his arms together, then swings them apart above himself while releasing an enormous upwards-traveling explosion of PSI.
Lucina	Stabs straight upwards with Parallel Falchion.
Luigi	Plants his feet and headbutts strongly above himself from back to front.
Mario	Plants his feet and headbutts strongly above himself from back to front.
Marth	Stabs straight upwards with Falchion.
Mega Man	Transforms both hands into electrodes and touches them together above himself, releasing a large electric spark.
Meta Knight	Performs a three-slash combo above himself while dramatically flipping.
Mewtwo	Holds its palm upwards, unleashing a swirl of powerful dark energy for multiple hits.
Mii Brawler	Performs a quick backflipping kick.
Mii Gunner	Unleashes five fiery cannon blasts in a front-to-back upwards arc.
Mii Swordfighter	Jumps up and performs a set of spinning slashes.
Mr. Game & Watch	Dons a heavy scuba-diving helmet and headbutts above himself with it.
Ness	Swings his yo-yo forwards, then performs an "around the world" with it.
Olimar	Points upwards, commanding his leading Pikmin to perform a jumping full-body tackle straight upwards.
Pac-Man	Performs an uppercut, then immediately opens his palm to release Inky.
Palutena	Raises her staff to project a colossal beam of light straight upwards.
Peach	Jabs her hand upwards while twirling.
Pichu	Headbutts above itself.
Pikachu	Performs a backflipping tail flick above itself.
Piranha Plant	Stretches its stem outwards and chomps above itself.
Pit	Spins while slashing above himself three times.
R.O.B.	Performs a handstand and unleashes a large upwards blast of fire from his thrusters.
Richter	Cracks the Vampire Killer straight upwards for a very long-ranged attack.
Ridley	Performs a frontflip and rakes above himself with his claws as he lands from it.
Robin	Swings the equipped blade into an upwards position.
Rosalina & Luma	Rosalina: Leans forwards, then gravitationally swings herself backwards for an arcing headbutt. Luma: Throws a quick one-foot backflipping kick.
Roy	Jabs the Binding Blade upwards while releasing a stream of flame from it, ending in an explosion.
Ryu	Performs a crouching uppercut.
Samus	Unleashes a front-to-back arc of five plasma blasts from her arm cannon above herself.
Sheik	Holds her hands upwards together, then fiercely swipes downwards and outwards with them.
Shulk	Slams the Monado onto the ground pommel-first and then releases its light blade for a follow-up attack.
Simon	Cracks the Vampire Killer straight upwards for a very long-ranged attack.
Snake	Slams a mortar onto the ground in front of himself and then fires a long-ranged upwards bomb from it.
Sonic	Jumps up and turns into his ball form to strike multiple times.
Squirtle	Fires off a pair of watery geysers, covering its body.
Toon Link	Jumps and swings the Master Sword in a wide upwards arc.
Villager	Crouches while detonating a fountain firework.
Wario	Inflates his head and spins around to strike upwards with it multiple times. Inflates his head and performs a headbutt.
Wii Fit Trainer	Performs the tree yoga pose, striking upwards with a double spearhand.
Wolf	Swings his legs outwards around himself, then performs a jumping scissor kick for a second hit.
Yoshi	Headbutts upwards. Performs a quick backflipping kick.
Young Link	Performs a three-hitting combo of spinning, arcing slashes with the Kokiri Sword.
Zelda	Waves her hand back and forth above herself while unleashing a stream of magic from it for several hits.
Zero Suit Samus	Spins while twirling her plasma whip upwards in a tornado-like fashion.

Notable up smashes

• From Melee onwards, but not in Smash 4, Ness's up smash can hit opponents while charging as the yo-yo comes to rest on the stage in front of him. This is especially dangerous in Ultimate, where the yo-yo can fall down and hang off of ledges and hits multiple times, allowing it to lead into the attack proper. It is the only up smash to have a hitbox while charging. Ness's similarly-functioning down smash is the only down smash to have such a distinction, while Corrin possesses the only such forward smash.
• Bowser's up smash has protection on his shell during his attack – in Melee it is intangible, but from Brawl onwards it is fully invincible – which makes the attack dangerous to trade with, especially from above. From Smash 4 onwards, Mr. Game & Watch's up smash grants head invincibility as well, and its speed makes it notoriously difficult to intercept.
• Snake's up smash has a number of unique properties. For one, the charging interval begins after Snake slams the mortar down in front of himself, making it the only smash attack to have a hitbox before it starts charging. It is the only up smash to be a projectile. Charging the attack also has no effect on the damage or knockback of the projectile, but instead greatly increases the velocity at which it is launched, and thus the height it reaches. The attack is also notable in Brawl for enabling the furthest-traveling DACUS in the game.
• Inkling's up smash covers opponents in ink.
• King K. Rool's up smash, after his initial hop, protects him for a handful of frames with his characteristic Belly Super Armor. It also has a small hitbox as he begins to fall down which spikes, which makes it one of only three smash attacks to spike – the others being a sourspot on Roy's up smash in Melee, and Bayonetta's down smash.
• Throughout the series, but especially in Melee, Fox's up smash has been considered especially effective due to its high power and near-instant startup.
• In Smash 4, Mario's up smash is considered the best in the game due to its power, range, speed, and the intangibility it grants on his head.
• Also in Smash 4, Ganondorf's up smash, despite his bottom tier placement, is usually ranked among the best in the game as well. Despite its enormous power, it has deceptively low ending lag, making it very difficult and dangerous to punish.

Gallery

• 

  The first hit of Captain Falcon's up smash in Melee.

• 

  Ganondorf's up smash in Brawl. Note how, since he is no longer a clone of Captain Falcon, it is one single, slow kick instead of two rapid ones.

• 

  Link's up smash in Brawl.

• 

  Kirby's up smash in SSB.

• 

  Lucario's up smash in SSB4.

See also

• Forward smash
• Down smash