Up throw

Ness using his up throw against Zelda.

An up throw is a throw performed by pressing up on the control stick after having a grabbed opponent.

Up throws were introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee - in the original Super Smash Bros., there were only forward throws and back throws. Some of the Smash 64 characters had their old forward throw become their new up throw, such as Kirby.

Up throws are typically used for starting aerial combos. Some have such good knockback that they, in some cases, can be used to KO opponents. For some characters, such as Mewtwo, it is one of their primary attacks for KOing an enemy.

Most up throws, such as Captain Falcon's, Link's and Peach's, consist of two hits; one damages the enemy holding them in place, while the other throws them. This means that the first hit can damage enemies next to the thrown opponent, but the second hit cannot. In the case of characters with just one hit, such as Mario's or Mewtwo's, the throw cannot damage other opponents, but for some throws, after the victim is thrown, a hitbox is generated on the enemy's body for the first frames as with other strong throws, which can damage other enemies with minimal knockback.

List of up throws in Super Smash Bros. Melee

Character	Description	Damage
Bowser	Throws his foe upward a short distance then spins around in his shell. Has set knockback.	8 hits, 9% total
Captain Falcon	Punches foe upward. Can lead into several follow-ups.	4% then 3% (7% total)
Donkey Kong	Throws foe above himself with one hand. Can chaingrab fastfallers and lead into an aerial or Giant Punch.	9%
Dr. Mario	Same as Mario's.	8%
Falco	Practically the same as Fox's, except the shots make foes flinch, and it is easier to SDI out of.	7% total
Fox	Throws foe upwards and shoots four times with his blaster. The shots can be easily avoided with DI, but it can easily combo into his up aerial, tilt, and smash. The shots have no knockback, and can be reflected and absorbed.	Throw does 3%, then the shots do 1% each (7% total)
Ganondorf	Knocks opponent above himself, similar to Captain Falcon's. Excellent to set up juggles with and can be an effective chainthrow at low percentages and fastfallers at mid percentages.	3% then 4% (7% total)
Ice Climbers	Bash the foe above themselves with their hammers. Its power makes it difficult to lead into other attacks.	5% then 6% (11% total)
Jigglypuff	Tosses the foe with a trailing flash above itself by spinning. Can lead into several aerial combos against fastfallers, and can lead into a Rest for an early percentage KO, known as the space animal slayer. Was originally its forward throw in Super Smash Bros..	11%
Kirby	Flies upwards with the opponent then crashes down violently, creating a massive explosion. Can be used for Kirbycide in some situations. Uniquely, it can pass through soft platforms during the fall. Used to be his forward throw in Smash 64.	10%
Link	Throws the foe above himself, then slashes them once, knocking them upward.	5% then 2% (7% total)
Luigi	Same as Mario's.	8%
Mario	Throws opponent upward with both hands. Good way to combo into an up tilt.	8%
Marth	Powerfully throws the opponent with one arm. Despite its pretty high base knockback, it has fairly low knockback scaling, being unable to KO under 150% in most situations. It can chaingrab space animals, while being able to lead into an up tilt then another up tilt or a regrab, or an up aerial.	4%
Mewtwo	Whirls the opponent around itself with Psychic force and launches them into the air. By far the strongest up throw in the game, KOing lighter characters at around 105%. Can chaingrab fastfallers and lead into forward aerial to regrab chains, as well as up aerial and up tilt.	12%
Mr. Game & Watch	Ball - Mr. Game & Watch juggles the enemy as a ball, then launches the opponent diagonally. Only up throw in the game to release opponent at an angle. Can chaingrab fastfallers.	8%
Ness	Psychokinetically lifts the foe by swirling a finger, then throws them upward. Can chain into some of his aerials. Decent knockback.	10%
Peach	Punches foe up into the air. Can chain grab any characters except fast fallers at 0%, and can also chain grab fastfallers between 23-30% and 80-90%.	5% then 4% (9% total)
Pichu	Tosses foe up and headbutts them with electricity. Can chaingrab fast-fallers at high percentages. No recoil damage to Pichu, even though the attack consists of electricity.	5% then 4% (9% total)
Pikachu	Places the opponent on its head, then headbutts the opponent upward. This is a useful throw against fastfallers at high percentages, as it can easily lead into an up smash.	5% then 4% (9% total)
Roy	Thrusts opponent upwards. Can chain-grab the space animals at lower percentages. It is the second strongest up throw in the game.	5%
Samus	Lifts the foe upwards with her Grapple Beam, then zaps them before throwing upwards.	7%
Sheik	Launches the enemy above her with both feet. Excellent for an aerial-attack follow up, but due to low hitstun follow-ups are difficult.	5% then 3% (8% total)
Yoshi	Spits the opponent upwards.	6%
Young Link	Takes foe and swings his sword in an arc above, launching foe above. Can lead into various combos, or simply his up aerial. At high percentage it can lead to his down aerial's meteor smash (up to 200%) if timed correctly. Can KO at 210%.	5% then 2% (7% total)
Zelda	Psychically thrusts foe to the sky.	11%

List of up throws in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Character	Description	Damage
Bowser	Tosses the opponent upwards, retreats into his shell, and spins, damaging them with his spikes. Has decent set knockback. When used as Giga Bowser, the spikes zap the foe in each hit except the throw.	9 hits of 1%. As Giga Bowser: 8 hits of 2%, then 10% (26% total)
Captain Falcon	Holds the enemy up and punches them upward with his left hand. Mainly upwards knockback, though it appears to be slightly angled. Can combine with other attacks well, such as his up special move and up aerial. This is one of Falcon's more powerful throws knockback-wise.	4% then 3% (7% total)
Charizard	Sets opponent above itself, then slams them with its head.	5% then 6% (11% total)
Diddy Kong	Throws opponent up and kicks them.	5% then 4% (9% total)
Donkey Kong	Swings his arm back and throws the opponent. High base knockback but low knockback scaling. Has fast startup.	9%
Falco	Throws opponent upward and shoots up with his Blaster. Same as Fox's, but the shots cause flinching. Nearly useless at higher percentages due to it being easy to DI out of, allowing the opponent to avoid all laser shots.	8%
Fox	Throws opponent up and shoots them with his Blaster. The shots can be avoided using DI, deal no knockback, and can be reflected and absorbed.	2%, then 6% if all shots hit
Ganondorf	Throws opponent upward and jabs his/her back. A poor throw that isn't strong enough to KO under 200%, but its base knockback is too high to be effective at setting up more attacks at low percentages.	4% then 3% (7% total)
Ice Climbers	Throw upwards then smash with hammer. Can KO at 469%, but probably never going to.	4% then 2% (6% total)
Ike	Ike throws Ragnell into the ground and uppercuts the target into the air with one hand.	4% then 2% (6% total)
Ivysaur	Grabs opponent with vines and bounces them into the air with the bud on its back. Not quite as powerful as back throw, but still strong. Good for Bullet Seed combos.	10%
Jigglypuff	Spins and sends opponent up. Jigglypuff's strongest throw. Good finisher. Often a one-hit KO move during matches where enemies' launch resistance is decreased, such as Easy/Normal level of All-Star Mode or Multi-Man Mode.	10%
King Dedede	Hits opponent upward by sticking both his hands upward. Can set up an up aerial or a down aerial against heavy/fastfalling opponents at very low percentages, and can KO in Sudden Death. But Dedede's up throw is often neglected and rarely used because of his other throws and more useful options.	5% then 4% (9% total)
Kirby	Air Drop from Kirby's Ninja ability in Kirby Super Star or his Backdrop from Adventure. Kirby flies off the top of the screen, and comes back down violently in an explosion, like a Warp Star item. Has KO potential at very high percentages. Meta Knight shares this move as well, except without the explosion and inflicts more damage.	10%
Link	Throws foe a very short distance above him, then slashes. Can KO at high percentages.	5% then 2% (7% total)
Lucario	Uses aura to hit the opponent upwards with its paw. Extremely low knockback and damage increase (even with Aura) make this able to be combined with other attacks at practically any realistic combat percent. Lucario's best throw to set up a follow up attack (up tilt and up smash particularly). Can chain throw heavyweights and fast fallers.	From 4% to 8% (capped when at +170% damage)
Lucas	Psychokinetically tosses opponent straight up.	10%
Luigi	Faces the viewer and tosses the enemy upward. It is a throw that is inferior to his down throw for setting up due to its higher knockback.	8%
Mario	Throws his opponent high into the air. Good base knockback, but it has low knockback scaling. It can be followed by an up aerial juggle, but is mostly inferior to the down throw for setting up.	7%
Marth	Powerful upward throw with one arm. This is by far Marth's most powerful throw in terms of knockback, KOing lighter characters under 200%. It is also the only one of his throws that can KO in Sudden Death.	4%
Meta Knight	Like Kirby's, he jumps into the air holding his foe, and then crashes down. The differences are that this throw doesn't create an explosion, like Kirby's, and has less knockback. Can KO at very high percentages. Most damaging up throw (tied with Sonic's) in the game.	12%
Mr. Game & Watch	Juggles the enemy as a ball and then launches them upward.	8%
Ness	Psychokinetically spins the opponent above his head before sending them up. Leads into many PK Thunder tricks and juggles. Good knockback for an up throw, though the opponent will have to be around 200% to actually KO.	10%
Olimar	Pikmin leaps into the air (while holding opponent), turns the opponent upside-down, then slams them into the ground. With the purple pikmin, it is by far the strongest up throw in the game, being even able to star KO under 125%. It is overall the second strongest throw in the game (only Ness's back throw is stronger).	Red: 9%; Blue: 12%; Yellow: 11%; White: 6%; Purple: 11%
Peach	Puts opponent above her, and volleys them upward.	2% then 6% (8% total)
Pikachu	Headbutts opponent upward. Can combo into a Thunderspike in certain situations, but much less reliable than using an up tilt or up smash.	2 hits of 5% (10% total)
Pit	Does a handstand and kicks opponent with both feet.	5% then 6% (11% total)
R.O.B.	Grabs opponent, flies them into the air a short distance, turns them upside down, then crashes them into the ground. Can reliably KO at around 150%.	10%
Samus	Spins above her head and blasts opponent upward after zapping it.	Gradually deals 9%
Sheik	Sheik flips upside-down and kicks the enemy with both of her feet.	2 hits of 3% (6% total)
Snake	Back suplex, similar to Jigglypuff's back throw, but knocks the opponent upwards instead.	10%
Sonic	Tosses the opponent slightly above him and then lands on his hands as if to do a push-up. His quills harden just before they make contact and the foe is slashed upwards and at an angle. Excellent juggling ability at low percentages, and at high percentages, a great way to combo into Spring Jump then an up or back aerial, though the opponent can DI horizontally to have a higher chance of avoiding this. This throw is one of the most damaging in the game percentage-wise, and is the most damaging up throw in the game (tied with Meta Knight's), along with being able to KO lightweights at surprisingly low percentages for a throw.	3% then 9% (12% total)
Squirtle	Throws its opponent upward and tackles them while in its shell. Also has moderate KO power above 150% damage.	11%
Toon Link	Same as Link's.	7%
Wario	Throws them into the air and jumps up, headbutting them. Good against characters with poor air defense/easy to juggle characters. Can lead to rising fully charged Wario Waft against many characters, and also put them in a good position for up aerials.	4% then 6% (10% total). As Wario-Man: 4% then 13% (17% total).
Wolf	Throws the opponent upward and slashes them with both claws. Its base knockback is too strong for Wolf to effectively follow up on.	5% then 2% (7% total)
Yoshi	Spits the opponent upwards.	5%
Zelda	Telekinetically twirls opponent above her head, then releases them upward.	11%
Zero Suit Samus	Flips into the air and kicks the opponent. Can lead into aerial followups, but it has high ending lag, so a down throw is the preferred way to combo into aerials. ZSS's most powerful throw in terms of knockback, being the only one that can reliably KO in Sudden Death.	2% then 8% (10% total)

List of up throws in Super Smash Bros. 4

Character	Description	Damage
Bowser	Tosses the opponent upwards, retreats into his shell, and spins, damaging them with his spikes. Can potentially combo into a forward or up aerial at low percentages, although timing is very strict. Has extremely low knockback scaling, not even KOing at Sudden Death percentages. When used as Giga Bowser, the spikes zap the foe in each hit except the throw, and it is the strongest throw in the game.	9 hits of 1%. As Giga Bowser: 8 hits of 2%, then 10% (26% total)
Bowser Jr.	Throws opponent upward.	7%
Captain Falcon	Holds the enemy up and punches them upward with his left hand. Mainly upwards knockback, though it appears to be slightly angled.	4% then 3% (7% total)
Charizard	Sets opponent above itself, then slams them with its head. Significantly stronger as of the 1.0.8 update, now outshining Mewtwo's up throw as the strongest in the game (although horizontal DI takes a bigger toll on Charizard's up throw than Mewtwo's).	8% then 3% (11% total)
Dark Pit	Same as Pit's.	4% then 7%
Diddy Kong	Throws opponent up and kicks them.	1% then 4% (5% total)
Donkey Kong	Swings his arm back and throws the opponent. High base knockback but low knockback scaling. Has fast startup.	9%
Dr. Mario	Same as Mario's.	8%
Duck Hunt	Dog stands on front two feet and kicks opponent up with back legs.	6%
Falco	Throws opponent upward and shoots up with his Blaster. Same as Fox's, but only shoots once, and the shot causes flinching. A very good combo throw at mid-high percentages.	8%
Fox	Throws opponent up and shoots them with his Blaster. The shots can be avoided using DI, deal no knockback, and can be reflected and absorbed.	2%, then 6% if all shots hit
Ganondorf	Throws opponent upward and jabs his/her back. A poor throw that isn't strong enough to KO under 200%, but its base knockback is too high to be effective at setting up more attacks at low percentages.	7% then 3% (10% total)
Greninja	Thrusts arms straight upward, sending opponent upward. Can KO at high percentages.	5%
Ike	Ike throws Ragnell into the ground and uppercuts the target into the air with one hand. Great follow-up potential.	3% then 4% (7% total)
Jigglypuff	Spins and sends opponent up. Jigglypuff's strongest throw. Good finisher. Often a one-hit KO move during matches where enemies' launch resistance is decreased, such as Easy/Normal level of All-Star Mode or Multi-Man Mode.	10%
King Dedede	Hits opponent upward by sticking both his hands upward. Can set up an up aerial or a down aerial against heavy/fastfalling opponents at very low percentages, and can KO in Sudden Death. But Dedede's up throw is often neglected and rarely used because of his other throws' more useful options.	5% then 4% (9% total)
Kirby	Air Drop from Kirby's Ninja ability in Kirby Super Star or his Backdrop from Adventure. Kirby flies off the top of the screen, and comes back down violently in an explosion, like a Warp Star item. Has KO potential at very high percentages. Meta Knight shares this move as well, except without the explosion.	10%
Link	Throws foe a very short distance above him, then slashes. Can KO at high percentages.	5% then 2% (7% total)
Little Mac	Uppercuts opponent.	4% then 3%
Lucario	Uppercuts the opponent with its paw. Damage and knockback scale with Aura.	7% (0%) 9% (50%) 12% (100%) 16% (150%) 18% (190%+)
Lucas	Psychokinetically throws the opponent straight up.	10%
Lucina	Same as Marth's.	4%
Luigi	Faces the screen and tosses the enemy upward. It is a throw that is inferior to his down throw for setting up due to its higher knockback.	8%
Mario	Throws his opponent high into the air. Good base knockback, but it has low knockback scaling. It can be followed by an up aerial juggle, but is mostly inferior to the down throw for setting up.	8%
Marth	Powerful upward throw with one arm. This is by far Marth's most powerful throw in terms of knockback, KOing characters under 200%. It is also the only one of his throws that can KO in Sudden Death.	4%
Mega Man	Throws opponent straight up.	7%
Meta Knight	Like Kirby's, he jumps into the air holding his foe, and then crashes down. The difference is that this throw doesn't create an explosion, like Kirby's. Can KO at very high percentages.	10%
Mewtwo	Whirls the opponent around itself with Psychic force and launches them into the air.	12%
Mii Brawler	Knocks the enemy up with a palm strike.	8%
Mii Gunner	Tosses the enemy above himself/herself then fires a single energy pellet at the foe.	2%, 3%
Mii Swordfighter	Slashes the enemy above his/her head.	5%
Mr. Game & Watch	Juggles the enemy as a ball and then launches them upward.	8%
Ness	Psychokinetically spins the opponent above his head before sending them up. Leads into many PK Thunder tricks and juggles. Good knockback for an up throw, though the opponent will have to be around 200% to actually KO.	10%
Olimar	Pikmin leaps into the air (while holding opponent), turns the opponent upside-down, then slams them into the ground.	Red: 6.4%; Blue: 12.8%; Yellow: 8%; White: 8%; Purple: 8%
Pac-Man	Throws opponent straight up with one hand.	5%
Palutena	Shoots opponent upward with her staff.	8%
Peach	Puts opponent above her, and volleys them upward.	2% then 6% (8% total)
Pikachu	Headbutts opponent upward. Can combo into a Thunderspike in certain situations, but is less reliable than using an up tilt or up smash.	1% then 3% (4% total)
Pit	Does a handstand and kicks opponent with both feet.	5% then 6% (11% total)
R.O.B.	Grabs opponent, flies them into the air a short distance, turns them upside down, then crashes them into the ground. Can reliably KO at around 150%.	12%
Robin	Thrusts hand upward with Bronze Sword, hitting opponent with the hilt.	9%
Rosalina & Luma	Throws opponent upward using magic.	7%
Roy	Tosses the opponent straight up.	6%
Ryu	Kicks the opponents with his left leg.	8% (throw), 15% (kick)
Samus	Spins above her head and blasts opponent upward after zapping it.	Gradually deals 9%
Sheik	Sheik flips upside-down and kicks the enemy with both of her feet.	2 hits of 3% (5% total)
Shulk	Throws opponent upward, then thrusts the Monado into them.	3% then 4%
Sonic	Tosses the opponent slightly above him and then lands on his hands as if to do a push-up. His quills harden just before they make contact and the foe is slashed upwards and at an angle.	1% then 5% (6% total)
Toon Link	Same as Link's.	7%
Villager	Throws opponent upward out of net.	10%
Wario	Throws them into the air and jumps up, headbutting them.	4% then 6% (10% total). As Wario-Man: 4% then 13% (17% total).
Wii Fit Trainer	Serves opponent like a volleyball.	11%
Yoshi	Spits the opponent upwards.	5%
Zelda	Telekinetically twirls opponent above her head, then releases them upward.	10%
Zero Suit Samus	Flips into the air and kicks the opponent. Can lead into aerial followups, but it has high ending lag, so a down throw is the preferred way to combo into aerials. ZSS's most powerful throw in terms of knockback, being the only one that can reliably KO in Sudden Death.	2% then 8% (10% total)

Notable up throws

Characters with notable up throws include:

• Mewtwo: The strongest in Melee by far, and one of the strongest in the whole Smash Bros. series. One of Mewtwo's best finishing moves. It can be used to chain grab or set up combos against fast-fallers at low percentages.
• Charizard: In Smash 4, similar to Kirby and Meta Knight's up throw in appearence to a Wrap Star, except that the opponent is launched upwards and slammed down with the character, and the trajectory cannot be altered. As with a Warp Star, as Charizard and the opponent come down from above the stage, it can be used to fall onto to a higher part of the stage. As of 1.0.8 patch, Charizard now has the strongest up throw in Smash 4.
• Roy: The second strongest in Melee, it can easily be used to chain grab fast-fallers.
• Marth: The third strongest in Melee. Just like Roy, it can be used to chain grab fast-fallers.
• Peach: Peach's up throw is a defining part of her metagame in Melee, being able to chaingrab fastfallers to rack up a large amount of damage, as well as being able to chaingrab large amount of non-fast fallers at low percentages.
• Jigglypuff: Similar to Mewtwo's, but with less knockback scaling and higher base knockback. It is notable for allowing the space animal slayer. This move exists in Smash 64, but with less base knockback and higher knockback scaling, as well as being a forward throw instead.
• Mr. Game & Watch: The only up throw in Melee and Brawl to release the opponent at an angle.
• Kirby and Meta Knight: Very similar in appearance to a Warp Star, except that the opponent is launched upwards and slammed down with the character, and the trajectory cannot be altered. As with a Warp Star, as Kirby/Meta Knight and the opponent come down from above the stage, it can be used to fall onto to a higher part of the stage (except in Melee where Kirby drops through soft platforms), KOing enemies quicker at stages like Smashville. In Brawl, Kirby's up throw can be used as a Kirbycide from the left edge of the lowermost platform of Temple when facing right, from the right edge of the bottom platform of Skyworld, and from the leftmost part of Final Destination in Melee. In Smash 64, this move also existed, with almost the same properties as in Brawl, but as a forward throw.
• Sonic and Meta Knight: Out of the up throws in Brawl, they deliver the highest damage output (not including characters under the effects of Final Smashes; Wario-Man and Giga Bowser), dealing 12% damage. Their up throws has been nerfed in Smash 4 as they deliver less damage.
• Olimar: The most powerful in Brawl with the purple Pikmin.
• Lucario: The most damaging throw in Smash 4, dealing 18% damage, when Lucario is at full power.

Gallery of up throws in Brawl

• 

  Bowser

• 

  Captain Falcon

• 

  Charizard

• 

  Diddy Kong

• 

  Donkey Kong

• 

  Falco

• 

  Fox

• 

  Ganondorf

• 

  Giga Bowser

• 

  Ice Climbers (Popo)

• 

  Ike

• 

  Ivysaur

• 

  Jigglypuff

• 

  King Dedede

• 

  Kirby, part 1

• 

  Kirby, part 2

• 

  Link

• 

  Lucario

• 

  Lucas

• 

  Luigi

• 

  Mario

• 

  Marth

• 

  Meta Knight, part 1

• 

  Meta Knight, part 2

• 

  Mr. Game & Watch

• 

  Ness

• 

  Olimar, part 1

• 

  Olimar, part 2

• 

  Peach

• 

  Pikachu

• 

  Pit

• 

  R.O.B.

• 

  Samus

• 

  Sheik

• 

  Snake

• 

  Sonic

• 

  Squirtle

• 

  Toon Link

• 

  Wario

• 

  Wario-Man

• 

  Wolf

• 

  Yoshi

• 

  Zelda

• 

  Zero Suit Samus