Down smash

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The first part of Ganondorf's Down smash, the forward part
The second part, the backwards kick

Down smash (abbreviated "dsmash") is a smash attack performed by any character by tapping the control stick downward and pressing A at the same time or by pressing down on the C-stick. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the C-stick could not be used in one-player mode. It is generally an attack that hits low to the ground and hits to one or both sides of the character performing the attack.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it can be charged by holding down the A button for up to two seconds, resulting in higher damage and knockback. A typical attribute of a down smash is that they hit both the front and rear of the user, making them useful for crowds. They are usually defensive moves and for most characters it's faster than their side smash. Most Down Smashes will attack the front and back in an alternating fashion, such as Mario's, where he does a spin to kick enemies, but a few can hit both areas at the same time, such as Fox's, where he does splits to kick the area in front of and behind him in one motion. Mewtwo's down smash in Melee does not, and there are several down smashes in Brawl that do not. The other ones usually only attack on to the ground in front of them.

List of down smashes in Super Smash Bros.

  • Mario: Does a breakdancing sweep.
  • Luigi: Similar to Mario.
  • Donkey Kong: Extends his legs while spinning.
  • Yoshi: Sweeps his tail around him.
  • Link: Slashes in front of him, then behind him.
  • Samus: Extends her leg and twirls.
  • Kirby: Thrusts his legs out while spinning.
  • Fox: Does a split kick.
  • Captain Falcon: Extends his leg and twirls.
  • Pikachu: Does a breakdancing sweep.
  • Jigglypuff: Kicks on both sides around it simultaneously.
  • Ness: Does a "Walk the Dog" with his yoyo.

List of down smashes in Super Smash Bros. Melee

  • Mario: Does a breakdancing sweep.
  • Luigi: Similar to Mario with upwards knockback.
  • Dr. Mario: Similar to Mario but with more knockback.
  • Peach: Twirls her dress.
  • Bowser: Spins while inside his shell.
  • Donkey Kong: Holds up his arms and punches downwards.
  • Yoshi: Swipes his tail in front then behind him.
  • Link: Slashes in front then behind him.
  • Young Link: Identical to Link.
  • Zelda: Kicks in front then behind her.
  • Sheik: Balances on her head and breakdances.
  • Ganondorf: Kicks in front then behind him. Similar to Captain Falcon.
  • Samus: Sweeps her leg in a circle.
  • Ice Climbers: Swing their hammers around themselves.
  • Kirby: Does a spinning split kick.
  • Fox: Does a split kick.
  • Falco: Similar to Fox.
  • Captain Falcon: Kicks in front then behind him.
  • Pikachu: Spins around while emitting sparks.
  • Pichu: Similar to Pikachu.
  • Mewtwo: Shoots a blast of darkness in front of it.
  • Jigglypuff: Extends its foot on both sides of it.
  • Marth: Slashes in front, then behind him.
  • Roy: Similar to Marth.
  • Ness: Does a "Walk the Dog" with his yoyo.
  • Mr. Game & Watch: Slams two hammers to the sides of him.

List of down smashes in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

  • Mario: Does a breakdancing sweep that travels very fast.
  • Luigi: Same as Mario's, but more vertical knockback.
  • Peach: Spins around with her outstretching skirt slashing and sucking in opponents, like Pikachu's. Has been nerfed in Brawl.
  • Bowser: Spins around very fast within his shell, slicing anybody within range. It's harder to escape in Brawl.
  • Donkey Kong: Crashes his two fists on either side of himself. Very fast, great knockback.
  • Diddy Kong: Similar to Luigi's. A fast breakdancing sweep with horizontal knockback.
  • Yoshi: Swings his tail around on either side of himself. Mediocre horizontal knockback.
  • Wario: Breakdances, but balances on his back and hits with his (large) head. Gradually gets weaker.
  • Link: Slices his sword along the ground in front of himself and then behind himself. This is also used in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
  • Zelda: Kicks forward and backward with incredible speed. Less than second to use, fastest down smash in the game, and no lag whatsoever in any way, shape, or form.
  • Sheik: Breakdances on her head and spins around kicking while leaping back up. Has three hitboxes, making it tough to shield.
  • Ganondorf: Kicks strongly in front of him, then shifts his foot to kick behind him. If hit with first kick, the attack mostly carries opponent to second hit. Is somewhat laggy.
  • Toon Link: Same as Link's only faster, and first hit usually carries into second. KO at very low percentages if only the first hit connects and the opponent has poor horizontal recovery.
  • Samus: Sweeps her leg around in a circle around herself to inflict vertical knockback. Very fast, but has ending lag.
  • Zero Suit Samus: Fires a close-range, uncharged paralyzer bolt at the ground in front of herself. No initial knockback, but commonly used to set up for side smash or Plasma Whip.
  • Pit: Similar to Link's. Slashes once in front, then behind.
  • Ice Climbers: They swing their hammers once around themselves going about 270 degrees around.
  • R.O.B.: Lowers arm unit on torso unit, and then quickly spins arms around many times for good range, multiple hits, good knockback, and a useful damage racker.
  • Kirby: Feet enlarge and Kirby spins, jutting them out to the side.
  • Meta Knight: Extremely quick front and back swipe. It is Meta Knight's best ground kill move and is the fastest smash attacks in the game.
  • King Dedede: Similar to Ice Climbers, only slower, more damage, knockback, range, and priority, and sends foes skyward.
  • Olimar: Sends two Pikmin to leap out on both sides. Very quick, but has less knockback than his side smash.
  • Fox: A long-ranged split-kick. A fast and useful move.
  • Falco: A short ranged split kick. Can semi-spike occasionally while edgeguarding if hits with his front foot's heel. A good move to use as punishing a dodged or shielded attack.
  • Wolf: Claws on either side of himself very fast. Arguably Wolf's best ground killer.
  • Captain Falcon: Kicks powerfully forward, then swings his leg behind him to kick again. Laggy, but good knockback.
  • Pikachu: Spins round while emitting blasts of sparks from its body. Multiple hits, short range, and good damage racker. If DI'd out of, it becomes a semi-spike.
  • Squirtle: Spins around quickly in its shell. Poor range.
  • Ivysaur: Whips its two vines on either side of itself for moderate horizontal knockback.
  • Charizard: Leaps up a small distance, then crashes down quickly. Causes an earthquake that pushes opponents away in a 4 player battle.
  • Lucario: Pulls hands apart quickly on either side with aura imbued at the tips. Powerful, but some start-up lag.
  • Jigglypuff: A split kick similar to Kirby's Down Smash. Is always a semi-spike.
  • Marth: Slashes in front, then the back. Good edgeguarder and a very strong attack if tippered.
  • Ike: Does an odd performance 180 degree wrist turning sword swing on either side of himself. His fastest ground attack.
  • Ness: Does a "Walk the Dog" trick with his yo-yo. Hits behind, then in front with his yo-yo. Can damage while charging, but charging does not increase damage or knockback of the move on release.
  • Lucas: Blasts a huge amount of PSI hexagons at his feet, but only on one side. Can still hit people behind him that are close. Great knockback and range, but huge lag. Can be a semi-spike.Strongest in the game if all hexagons hit and fully charged.
  • Mr. Game & Watch: Swings two mallets down on either side of himself. Great vertical knockback when tippered compared to its speed , a good semi-spike if not, and comes out faster than most attacks. The tip is not hard to find.
  • Snake: Plants a motion sensing mine in the ground. If Snake steps on it, it will deal damage to himself. Only one can be planted at a time, and if the platform one was on disappears, the mine blows up on first contact. The longer this attack is charged, the more transparent the mine becomes and the more damage it will cause upon explosion.
  • Sonic: Darts forwards and backwards very fast (of course) as a ball. Some start-up lag, but decent power.

Notable down smashes

  • Peach's down smash in Melee, which is arguably the most feared of all smashes due to its priority, knockback, quick start up, and damage. It does at least 70% damage if the opponent attempted to crouch cancel. The smash has been nerfed in Brawl and it is not as useful. But if four hits connect, it will deal up to 20-28% damage. Even the smash has been nerfed in Brawl it can still stage-spike an opponent at the edge, long duration allows it to punish sidestepping, and has 20% chance of tripping.
  • Mewtwo's down smash is the only down smash in Melee that does not cover both the front and rear of the user.
  • Snake's down smash allows him to plant a mine, which does no damage unless stepped on (this includes Snake), and is deactivated when he plants another or is KO'd. If for any reason the mine falls from the platform it was on, it detonates on impact with anything.
  • Pikachu's down smash in Brawl seems to be a slightly weaker version of Peach's Melee Down smash.
  • Zelda's down smash is the fastest down smash in Melee and Brawl.
  • Zero Suit Samus's down smash only hits the area in front of her, and deals very little knockback, but paralyzes whoever is hit by it, opening up a chance for a follow up attack. The knockback is overridden by any other knockback during the stun.
  • Ness's down smash has unique properties by which it can be charged. Rather than at the beginning of the attack, the Smash attack is charged up in the middle of the attack, but only if Ness' Yo-yo comes to rest on a flat surface. Charging the smash does not increase damage or knockback.
  • Lucas's only reaches a very short distance behind him; characters must be almost touching him to be in the rear hitbox.

Types of Down Smashes

Sweeping Down Smashes

The dsmash of the following characters "sweeps" around them. That is to say it hits to one side of them and then hits the other.

In Super Smash Bros.:

In Super Smash Bros. Melee:

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl:

One-Sided Down Smash

The dsmash of the following characters only hits the side in front of the character.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee:

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl:

Simultaneous Down Smash

The dsmash of the following characters hits to both sides of the character at the same time, making it the most advantageous type of Down Smash to clear a crowd.

In Super Smash Bros.:

In Super Smash Bros. Melee:

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl:

See also


v • d • e
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
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