Item

A Party Ball breaks open releasing various items in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

For the CPU Mode, see ITEM.

An item is an object that appears on-stage during a match that can be picked up for use by characters. Many items can be wielded once picked up, while others apply an effect, and almost all can be thrown at opponents. Items are a large part of the gameplay of the Smash Bros. series, but their inherent randomness and inconsistent risk/reward balance results in them being banned from tournament play.

If all recovery items are turned off in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the chance of naturally occurring items like the apples dropped by Whispy Woods on Green Greens and Chansey's eggs recovering health is eliminated; the apples will all be projectiles and the eggs will either be explosives or drop other items. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl the same is true regarding the apples (since Chansey does not appear). Additionally, the vegetables on Summit will not appear if food is turned off.

Overview

Items appear from stage-dependent designated locations at various times throughout a match based on the frequency set in the Item Switch. Characters can pick up items by standing near one and pressing the attack button; items can also be grabbed in midair starting in Melee with the grab button, or grabbed during dashes and aerial attacks in Brawl. Characters can only hold one item at a time. If an item is left alone, it will eventually disappear, flashing briefly beforehand. Items that are picked up by characters can be dropped or thrown with the grab button, and they may be dropped if the character takes a hard hit. The damage done by a thrown item depends on how fast it's moving. Most items can also be swallowed in Brawl.

Types of items

Items can be grouped into several categories based on their effects.

• Container items release other items once broken open, which can be done either by attacking them or by picking up and throwing them. In general, container items have a 12.5% (1 in 8) chance of exploding instead of releasing items.
• Battering items are wielded by characters once picked up, turning their neutral attack, forward tilt, dash attack, and forward smash into an item swipe.
• Shooting items fire projectiles when used, typically replacing the neutral attack and neutral aerial of the user. They all have limited ammunition and will merely shoot blanks once it runs out.
• Throwing items can only be thrown at opponents. Holding a throwing item means that a character cannot use most of their attacks as pressing the attack button will simply throw the item.
• Status items apply some sort of effect to the user, often beneficial but not necessarily. Some status items only need contact to be used (instead of needing to be grabbed).
• Recovery items decrease the damage of the user (or increase their HP in Stamina mode). Starting in Melee, recovery items can be picked up even when the character is already holding an item.
• Collectible items do not affect the match but instead are added to the player's collection once picked up. Computer players will not attempt to pick up collectible items, but if they do so accidentally they will not count.
• Special items do not fit into the above categories.

In addition to the above, certain items can be heavy, which limits those that pick them up into walking slowly (or not at all in SSB) and throwing. Only Donkey Kong can move quickly or jump while carrying a heavy item.

List of items

Item	SSB	Melee	Brawl	Type	Heavy	Notes	Universe
Apple				Throwing/Recovery		Produced by Whispy Woods on Green Greens. Each apple can be either a throwing item or a recovery item, and in rare cases may explode when thrown.	Kirby
Assist Trophy				Special		When picked up, once the character lands on the ground, they will perform a short animation and summon a random character to aid them in the fight.	Super Smash Bros.
Banana Peel				Throwing		Once thrown, trips opponents that touch it.	Mario
Barrel				Container		When thrown, struck, or lands on a hill, may roll across the stage and damage what it hits before breaking.	Super Smash Bros.
Barrel Cannon				Throwing		When thrown or it lands on a hill, grabs and launches the first character it hits. Disappears very quickly.	Donkey Kong
Beam Sword				Battering		Starting in Melee, gets longer when swung depending on character.	Super Smash Bros.
Blast Box				Throwing		Very poor throwing distance. Explodes upon taking 30 damage or a flame attack.	Super Smash Bros.
Bob-omb				Throwing		If not grabbed within a few seconds of its appearance, it lights its own fuse and begins walking around, exploding on any character it meets. If it doesn't meet a character it will blow itself up after a while.	Mario
Bumper				Throwing		Can be placed on the stage or (in Brawl) set in midair, where it will knock away characters that touch it.	Super Smash Bros.
Bunny Hood				Status		Increases the user's movement speed, jump height, and falling speed.	The Legend of Zelda
Capsule				Container			Super Smash Bros.
Cardboard Box				Throwing		Produced by Snake's taunts. Automatically thrown once picked up, unless the user is DK.	Metal Gear
CD				Collectible		Unlocks a random piece of stage music when picked up. Disappears extremely quickly.	Super Smash Bros.
Cloaking Device				Status		Renders the user mostly invisible and makes them immune to damage (but not knockback).	Perfect Dark
Cracker Launcher				Shooting		Limits the user to walking and a single jump, and automatically dropped from any flinch.	Super Smash Bros.
Crate				Container			Super Smash Bros.
Deku Nut				Throwing		When thrown, damaged, or after a short time (even if held), nearby characters are stunned (if grounded) or launched (if aerial).	The Legend of Zelda
Dragoon				Special		Appears in three pieces that must be collected all at once; characters can lose pieces from their possession when hit or KO'd. Once one character has all the pieces the Dragoon is assembled and flown into the stage for a one-hit KO ram attack.	Kirby
Egg				Container		Produced by Chansey and Yoshi series stages. Essentially identical to Capsules.	Super Smash Bros.
Fan				Battering		Fastest-swinging battering item.	Super Smash Bros.
Fire Flower				Shooting		Produces a continuous stream of fire.	Mario
Flipper				Throwing		Once thrown, halts in the air and bops characters that run into it.	Super Smash Bros.
Food				Recovery		Each type of food recovers a different amount of damage.	Super Smash Bros.
Franklin Badge				Status		Temporarily makes the wearer immune to projectiles by automatically reflecting them. Can be knocked off.	EarthBound
Freezie				Throwing		Freezes characters struck. Slides across the stage. Can be destroyed before being picked up.	Mario
Golden Hammer				Special		Acts the same as the regular Hammer, though faster and with the ability to float. May be a Golden Squeaky Hammer as opposed to losing its head.	Mario
Gooey Bomb				Throwing		When thrown, attaches to characters and can transfer to other characters that pass by. Explodes after a certain time or if attacked when not on a character.	Super Smash Bros.
Green Shell				Throwing		When thrown, attacked, or landed on, slides across the stage and damages everything it hits.	Mario
Gyro				Throwing		Produced by R.O.B.'s down special move.	R.O.B.
Hammer				Special		Limits the user to walking and a single jump; the user cannot even choose to drop the item. May randomly lose its head and become useless; the head can be picked up and thrown for massive damage.	Donkey Kong
Hand Grenade				Throwing		Produced by Snake's neutral special move. Does not explode on contact. If Snake shields, anyone who is holding one of his grenades instantly drops it.	Metal Gear
Heart Container				Recovery		Strongest recovery item.	The Legend of Zelda
Home-Run Bat				Battering		In Brawl, forward smash uses a unique animation.	Super Smash Bros.
Hothead				Throwing		Follows the contours of the stage once thrown. Grows in size and damage but lasts for a shorter time when hit by flame or electric attacks.	Mario
Key				Throwing		Only appears in specific Subspace Emissary stages. Unlocks doors when thrown at them or the holding character touches them.	Super Smash Bros.
Lightning Bolt				Status		When touched, shrinks all opponents. Can backfire and shrink the user or enlarge all opponents.	Mario
Link's Bombs				Throwing		Produced by the down special move of Link and his clones. Explodes in the user's hands if not thrown in time.	The Legend of Zelda
Lip's Stick				Battering		Flowers opponents. Has a limited supply of short-range spore projectiles produced on f-tilt or f-smash.	Panel de Pon
Maxim Tomato				Recovery			Kirby
Metal Box				Status		Increases the weight and falling speed of the user. Can be activated by pickup or by direct attack; indirect attacks will either destroy it (in Melee) or do nothing (in Brawl).	Mario
Motion-Sensor Bomb				Throwing		Attaches to the stage once thrown; characters that approach it after a short time cause it to explode.	Super Smash Bros.
Mr. Saturn				Throwing		Walks around the stage and can be knocked about by attacks.	EarthBound
Parasol				Battering		Reduces the holder's falling speed.	Kirby
Party Ball				Container		Once activated by being thrown or damaged, float into the air and opens, dropping its items.	Super Smash Bros.
Peanut				Throwing/Recovery		Produced by Diddy's Peanut Popgun and Rocketbarrel Barrage. Can be caught and re-thrown, or left to hit the stage and possibly drop a food-like item.	Donkey Kong
Pellet				Throwing		Produced by the Pellet Posies on Distant Planet. Can be thrown into stationary Onions to produce other items.	Pikmin
Pitfall				Throwing		Embeds itself into the ground once thrown; characters that approach it after a short time will be buried or plunged.	Animal Crossing
Poison Mushroom				Status		Slides across the stage. When touched, shrinks the character.	Mario
Poké Ball				Throwing		Once thrown and lands on the ground, unleashes a Pokémon to aid the user.	Pokémon
Power Suit Piece				Throwing		Produced by the Zero Laser or by starting a match as Zero Suit Samus.	Metroid
Ray Gun				Shooting		Fires blasts of energy that have infinite horizontal range.	Super Smash Bros.
Red Shell				Throwing		When thrown, attacked, or landed on, slides across the stage and damages everything it hits. Aims for nearby characters and avoids sliding off edges.	Mario
Rolling Crate				Container		When thrown, struck, or lands on a hill, will roll across the stage and damage what it hits without breaking. Can be stood on.	Super Smash Bros.
Sandbag				Special		When attacked, produces items.	Super Smash Bros.
Screw Attack				Throwing/Status		Turns the holder's jumps into Screw Attacks. In Melee, applies for as long as the holder keeps the item, and a forced Screw Attack will be applied to those the item is thrown at. In Brawl, applies until the item wears off and does not need to be held in-hand once picked up.	Metroid
Smart Bomb				Throwing		Produces a large explosion when thrown or attacked. Has a chance to be a dud.	Star Fox
Smash Ball				Special		Flys around the stage. Characters must break in order to obtain. Once broken, player presses their neutral special button to use Final Smash.	Super Smash Bros.
Smoke Ball				Throwing		Once thrown, spews smoke around its immediate area. May stick to opponents.	Super Smash Bros.
Soccer Ball				Special		Cannot be picked up. When attacked, careens in the knockback direction with high damage and knockback.	Mario
Spring				Throwing		When idle, repels characters when touched depending on whether it is upright or sideways.	Donkey Kong
Star Rod				Battering/Shooting		Has a limited supply of long-range star shots produced on f-tilt or f-smash.	Kirby
Starman				Status		Renders the character it touches invincible for a limited time.	Mario
Sticker				Collectible		Adds to the player's sticker collection.	Super Smash Bros.
Stock Ball				Special		Only appears in specific Subspace Emissary stages at lower difficulties. Adds one stock to the player's total.	Super Smash Bros.
Super Mushroom				Status		Slides across the stage. When touched, enlarges the character.	Mario
Super Scope				Shooting		Can shoot small rapid-fire pulses of energy or charge large blobs of energy.	Nintendo
Superspicy Curry				Status/Shooting		Causes the user to constantly shoot short-range fireballs and be incapable of walking slowly.	Kirby
Team Healer				Throwing/Recovery		Heals teammates when thrown at them. When thrown at opponents, can heal or damage them at random. Only appears during team battles.	Super Smash Bros.
Timer				Status		Slows down all opponents. Can backfire and slow down the user, or slow down the entire game.	Super Smash Bros.
Trophy				Collectible		Adds to the player's trophy collection.	Super Smash Bros.
Trophy Stand				Throwing		Only appears in the Subspace Emissary. Causes weak or low-health enemies to turn into trophies; merely damages strong and healthy enemies.	Super Smash Bros.
Unira				Throwing		Attaches to the stage once thrown or attacked and pokes opponents that come near. Can be set or reset with a direct attack; indirect ones do nothing.	Clu Clu Land
Vegetable				Throwing		Produced by Peach's down special move. Deals varying damage depending on its facial expression.	Mario
Wario Bike				Throwing		Produced by Wario's side special move. Must be destroyed before Wario can use the move without being nearby.	Wario
Wario Bike wheels				Throwing		Produced by destroying the Wario Bike.	Wario
Warp Star				Special		Once picked up, the user flies into the sky and then crashes down with an explosion.	Kirby
Yoshi Egg				Throwing		Only appears in Event 13: Yoshi's Egg. The event ends in failure if it breaks.	Yoshi