Final Smash
| “ | The basic gist of it? I suppose you could say it's kind of like a powerful and personalizedhammer. (Or maybe not...) | ” |
| —Masahiro Sakurai,Smash Bros. DOJO!! | ||
AFinal Smash (最後の切りふだ,Last Trump Card) is a type of last resort attack introduced inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, and a fighter's equivalent to a super move in other fighting games.
Overview
Final Smashes tend to be incredibly powerful attacks, often leaving the userinvincible for the move's duration (the periods vary from character to character, but always apply upon startup/execution), and are generallyunblockable. If properly executed, they usually have the capacity toKO at least one opponent. Final Smashes performed correctly will give the player a great advantage, and may help to catch up to others or cement a commanding lead. Many Final Smashes also temporarily slow down stage elements, such as platform movements and motions in the background. However, in many cases,stage hazards' hitboxes remain active while a non-cutscene Final Smash is in effect, making them exploitable for gaining additional damage.[1]
To perform a Final Smash, a player must first either destroy aSmash Ball, fill theFinal Smash Meter inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate (although then the Final Smash will be weaker), be given the ability byVictini or fall sufficiently far behind in a match that they are given a "Pity Final Smash" upon respawning. Once any of these happen, the screen will darken, the player'scharacter will be engulfed in a multi-colored aura and their eyes will glow a bright yellow; officially referred to asStandby Mode, the character'sneutral special move is effectively replaced with a single use of their Final Smash.
InBrawl, the majority of Final Smashes are powerful enough that they have the potential to KO incredibly early or evenone-hit KO if used properly. InSuper Smash Bros. 4, Final Smashes were universally made much weaker, many of them no longer being able to KO opponents at low percentages.InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, they have been slightly nerfed overall once again. If a player doesn't use a Final Smash granted by the Final Smash Meter in about 20 seconds, the effect will expire. Final Smashes have also been tweaked to be less disruptive to the gameplay.
Bayonetta'sInfernal Climax inSSB4 became the first Final Smash with the potential toinstantly KO trapped opponents. InUltimate, several Final Smashes have this property.
Most Final Smashes cause the camera to temporarily zoom in on the user when activated, though there are some situations where this does not occur, such as with Pac-Man's Final Smash,Super Pac-Man. InSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U, through a currently unconfirmed nature, there are some cases where Final Smashes that normally zoom in don't zoom in at all. InUltimate, there are two types of zooms: activating after breaking the Smash Ball will have a special closeup angle on the user, and activating from a Final Smash Meter will have a standard zoom similar toBrawl andSSB4.
While multiple players can be in standby mode simultaneously, only one Smash Ball or Final Smash can be present onscreen at any given time. When a Final Smash is active, all other players on standby temporarily exit standby mode and regain it upon conclusion, although they will keep the yellow eyes. When most Final Smashes are performed in the air, upon ending the move, the character gains a slight boost in height and regains their spent midair jumps, usually preventing a self-destruct.
Final Smashes are affected byRage andstale-move negation (and therefore will usually gain a freshness bonus) along withspirits, but are not affected by stat changes from equipment or Mii Fighter sizes inSmash 4.
Prior toBrawl
Masahiro Sakurai revealed in an interview with former Nintendo presidentSatoru Iwata that he intended to include Final Smashes in the originalSuper Smash Bros., even going as far as to recordvoice clips for each of them.[2] However, theNintendo 64's console limitations could've been the reason why they were scrapped and the idea wouldn't be implemented untilBrawl. Some of these voice clips, which were contained in theSuper Smash Bros.debug menu, were eventually and correspondingly used inBrawl.
Pity Final Smash
APity Final Smash (Easy Final Smash inSSB4 andUltimate) randomly occurs when any player is KO'd and is 5 points behind the current leader. Also, inSSB4, at least 6 KOs between all players must be landed for any player to acquire one. This player respawns with the ability to perform a Final Smash. This Final Smash cannot be dropped by the player.
In a 2-playertimed match inBrawl, since the points differ by two for each kill, it is possible to go from a lead of 4 points to 6 without triggering the Pity Final Smash condition (which is to be exactly 5 points behind). If a player SD's, and consequently loses only one point, then a Pity Final Smash is possible.
Pity/Easy Final Smashes cannot occur while aSmash Ball is present on the battlefield, even when the requirements are met. InBrawl, Pity Final Smashes can be disabled only by turning the Smash Ball off; simply setting the overallitem frequency to "None" does not prevent players from getting them. InSSB4, either method will prevent Easy Final Smashes. Additionally, they cannot occur in 2 player matches, for AI players, or by a player SD'ing.
Changes inUltimate
Sakurai stated in a Nintendo Direct that every Final Smash would be standardized to be simple and straight to the point. As a result, Final Smashes were made universally faster inUltimate, removing most player-controlled ones; the KO potential of Final Smashes has also been reduced. Because of the universal speed increase and control removal applied to Final Smashes, many Final Smashes such as Bowser's Giga Bowser, Wario's Wario-Man, and Little Mac's Giga Mac had their functionality changed significantly (they no longer use their full moveset transformation Final Smash; it is instead a single hit that quickly returns to regular gameplay). Others such as Fox and Falco's Landmaster and Donkey Kong's Konga Beat, have been completely replaced. TheFinal Smash Meter (FS Meter) is also introduced, which is a toggle feature in therules that allows players to gain a weaker form of their Final Smash by filling up their gauge during battle. However, while multiple meters can be full at once, only one Final Smash can be performed at a time. All other FS Meters are disabled while a Final Smash is active, then re-enabled once it concludes. As of update version 4.0.0, players can hold onto a full FS Meter for up to 20 seconds before losing it and starting over. In addition, when Victini appears, it will give the fighter who summoned it access to their Final Smash without filling up their meter.
During a Final Smash, thecamera controls are disabled. Additionally, a close-up of the fighter's eyes will briefly appear upon activating the Final Smash (except for Mii Fighters), and the stage background will change to a solid-colored pattern while the Final Smash is in effect.
List
- ^abcdefThese Final Smashesinstantly KO opponents above a certain percentage.
- ^abcdefPerformed as part ofPokémon Trainer's Final Smash,Triple Finish.
- ^Omnislash Ver. 5 was added inVersion 10.1.0 to Cloud'sAdvent Children costumes. Functions almost identically to Omnislash.
- ^abcDifferent name, but still have similar functions from the previous game.
- ^abThe move that is used depends on the range at which the Final Smash is activated.
- ^abThis Final Smash's function was heavily modified in the transition fromBrawl toSmash 4, then reverted back to resemble its original incarnation inUltimate. However, its title has remained the same across all three titles.
- ^abcdThese Final Smashes function in a completely different fashion inUltimate than they did in previous titles, but are considered to be the same move due to retaining similar aesthetic details and keeping the same name.
- ^abThese Final Smashes have opposing traits against their trapped opponents, depending on the current Aegis active:
- Pyra
- Damage
- Knockback
- Damage
- Mythra
- Damage
- Knockback
- Damage
- Pyra
- ^Known as "Housewarming Party" in PAL regions ofSuper Smash Bros. 4.
- ^While this move is called "Stampede!" on theMove List, it is known as "Yoshi Stampede" in the tips.
In competitive play
Intournaments, all items, including Smash Balls, are turned off, meaning that Final Smashes do not appear inBrawl andSmash 4 tournaments by default. While there has been some debate in the past whether Smash Balls should be the only item allowed, due to Final Smashes resembling the "super move" concept of more traditional fighting games, the general consensus is that they are detrimental to competitive play for several reasons:
- Smash Balls spawn randomly and can move around the stage in an unpredictable pattern, potentially giving a random player a large advantage from just being in the right place at the right time. Characters on Final Smash standby can also randomly drop it from any hit that deals hitstun.
- Characters with high mobility and range have their strengths exaggerated even more by Smash Balls, as they are better at pursuing and obtaining them; for example, it is unlikely that aLittle Mac player fighting aJigglypuff player on anΩ form stage can break the Smash Ball before their opponent gets to it unless it happens to spawn or float close to the ground.
- Brawl also has the issue where a Final Smash may take an invisible and unpredictable amount of time to load from disc, causing a player to potentially use a neutral special move for no apparent reason and giving the opponent a free opportunity to counter.
- The Final Smash Meter introduced inUltimate removes the above randomness issues, but introduces issues of its own:
- The meter charges passively over time, giving an incentive for players to stall.
- The meter also charges more from taking damage than dealing damage, making it difficult to prevent the opponent from obtaining one as a form of counterplay.
- Prior to the v4.0.0 update, a player on Final Smash standby who is even slightly ahead would be incentivized to stall and evade their opponent, as the Final Smash could not be dropped and any attempt by the opponent to approach would be instantly punished with the Final Smash. As of the 4.0.0 update, a charged FS Meter now has a time limit of 20 seconds.
- Several Final Smashes are disproportionately powerful; were Final Smashes to be allowed, certain characters would become overcentralizing picks due to their Final Smash alone.
- InBrawl,Sonic's Final Smash deals very high damage and knockback, and his immense movement speed makes it virtually impossible to avoid for long, while its long duration also makes it possible for Sonic to KO the same opponent twice in a single Final Smash usage.
- Conversely, inBrawl,Zero Suit Samus's Final Smash is very weak due to its small area-of-effect and low power, and it forces her to turn into the less viableSamus when the Final Smash finishes, which the player will also not be able to reverse unless they acquire another Smash Ball or perform a difficultSmash Taunt that will leave them vulnerable.
- InUltimate,Peach Blossom andTriforce of Wisdom affect essentially the entire area of anytournament legal stage, allowing them to be activated instantly from anywhere with no setup, and have effects that nearly guarantee a KO regardless of counterplay.
- Compared to other chargeable attacks such asWario Waft,KO Uppercut, orFinishing Touch, as well as similar super move mechanics in other fighting games, Final Smashes areunblockable, make the user fullyintangible, and have no associated high-risk downside.
- InBrawl,Sonic's Final Smash deals very high damage and knockback, and his immense movement speed makes it virtually impossible to avoid for long, while its long duration also makes it possible for Sonic to KO the same opponent twice in a single Final Smash usage.
Pity Final Smashes also do not appear in competitive play, due to requiring a match have a minimum of 6 stocks, which is considered far too high for timely tournament progression. As such, Final Smashes of any form remain universally banned in competitive play.
Glitches
Regenerating terrain glitch
The Regenerating terrain glitch is aglitch inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl that causes certainFinal Smashes to stay in their activated state, if the character begins their Final Smash inside a piece of terrain that regenerates and interrupts the activation.
Eyeball glitch
InSSB4,a glitch can occur affecting the eyeballs of multiple characters, most notably Jigglypuff, as a result of an oversight in the coding of the graphical effects of characters eyeballs during Final Smashes. When breaking the Smash Ball with a move that causes a character's eyeballs to point in a certain direction, upon finishing their Final Smash, said fighter's eyeballs will be locked in this same position until a move or action is performed that also causes the fighter to look in a direction. This occurs because a fighter's eyeballs are temporarily replaced with yellow eyeballs when they break a Smash Ball, at which point their regular eyeballs are stored exactly as they were just before their eyeball model was replaced. In some extreme cases, this glitch can even be carried over into victory animations, such as one of Jigglypuff's victory animations.
Undead glitch
There was a glitch that existed inBrawl andSSB4 that allowedGiga Bowser,Wario-Man,Giga Mac,Mega Charizard X, orMega Lucario to survive after being defeated inStamina Mode. When this occurs, if the transformed character's HP is depleted, theirstamina gets reduced to 0 HP (zero hit points) and their transformations are undone. Then they are able to continue to fight; despite having "0 HP" displayed.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U digital manual description
"Break a Smash Ball and then press
to unleash your character's unique Final Smash."
Names in other languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
 Japanese | 最後の切りふだ,Last Trump Card |
 English | Final Smash |
 French | Smash final |
 German | Ultra-Smash |
 Spanish | Smash Final |
 Italian | Smash finale |
 Chinese (Simplified) | 最终绝招 |
 Chinese (Traditional) | 最後的絕招 |
 Korean | 마지막 비장의 무기, Final Ace in the Hole[3] |
 Dutch | Ultieme smash |
 Russian | Финальный смеш |
Gallery
Trivia
- Many Final Smash trophies credit their origin solely toBrawl in that game, or no credit at all is given infor Wii U, despite many Final Smashes (e.g.Light Arrow,Giga Mac,Wario-Man,Landmaster) being based on abilities from a character's respective series.
- In fact, the only one not to do so isSuper Sonic, which listsSonic the Hedgehog 2, the game in which the transformation debuted in theSonic the Hedgehog series, as its other game inBrawl, though it gives no game of origin infor Wii U like the other Final Smash trophies in that game.
- There are five Final Smashes that can affect a team player whenFriendly Fire is turned off:End of Day,Landmaster,Puff Up,Iceberg, andGalaxia Darkness (inBrawl only).
- When using a non-cutscene Final Smash that traps the target in place, if that target isKO'd (such as by a stage hazard or another player during astamina match) or despawns (such as Nana disappearing after Popo is KO'd) during the Final Smash, the attacker will complete the full attack while attacking nothing.
- InSmash 4, when a character uses their Final Smash, theirequipment is temporarily disabled. This is noticeable with Auto Heal and a high attack stat.
- IfRosalina is KO'd before her Final Smash wears off, her equipment will start working again.
- WhileBowser,Little Mac, andWario use mirrored versions of their regular special moves as opposed to any custom versions after transforming via their Final Smash,Lucario is still able to use its custom special moves, further enhanced by the boosted Aura.
- Ryu andKen are the only fighters with two distinct Final Smashes in a single installment.Cloud also received a new Final Smash for hisAdvent Children costumes in version 10.1.0 inUltimate, but it is mostly an aesthetic change to his default one.
- The inputHadoken, Shakunetsu Hadoken, and Oosoto Mawashi Geri can still be performed while in Final Smash standby mode.
- Firaga can also be repeatedly used while in Final Smash standby mode if it was the move used to break the Smash Ball, andMonado Arts can also be used in Final Smash standby mode, albeit only through the Art Dial by holding the special button while ending another special move. This makes Ryu, Ken, Shulk, and Sora (and Kirby with their Copy Abilities) the only fighters who can use a neutral special move in standby after breaking theSmash Ball, barringglitches and disc load delay.
- Mega Charizard X andMega Lucario are the only Final Smashes that grant super armor as well as a reduction in damage sustained while transformed.
- When any Final Smash is used, if the user is completely off-screen (when the user is takingmagnifying glass damage), there will be nostart-up lag or animation; the attack starts up immediately.Cool down time is still normal.
- Mario, Captain Falcon, and Jigglypuff are the only three characters in the Original 12 to have kept their Final Smashes the same fromBrawl in bothSmash 4 andUltimate without any functionality changes.
- This therefore makes Mario the only character part of the original 8 to not have his Final Smash change in function.
- Pit,Zero Suit Samus,R.O.B., andKing Dedede are the only characters to have a different Final Smash in every installment since their introduction, with a total of three each.
- Palutena andChrom are the only characters that originally appeared as part of a fighter's Final Smash in older installments, being Pit'sPalutena's Army andRobin'sPair Up, respectively, before becoming a fighter themselves in a later one. In Palutena's case, Pit's Final Smash was changed and did not include her, whereas, in Chrom's case, Robin's Final Smash was not changed and still includes Chrom. This means that original-colored Chrom can attack himself through Robin's Final Smash. Both coincidentally became playable in the game following their Final Smash cameo.
- Chrom,Dark Pit, andKen are the only Echo Fighters to have a different Final Smash from their base fighter.
- Charizard andLucario are the only characters to receive a new Final Smash in a future iteration of a game, only to revert back to the original Final Smash in the next. In Charizard's case, it receivedMega Charizard X inSmash 4, only to revert back toTriple Finish inUltimate (as a consequence of being grouped back into the Pokémon Trainer's party). Lucario hadMega Lucario inSmash 4, only to revert back toAura Storm inUltimate (also inUltimate, it is due to the design changes of how Final Smashes work in said game). However, unlike Charizard, Lucario keeps elements of itsSmash 4 Final Smash, as it still transforms into Mega Lucario for the duration of Aura Storm.
- Joker's Final Smash,All-Out Attack, is the only Final Smash that can cut directly to theresults screen.
- InUltimate, seven Final Smashes remove the damage percentage, either due to the presence of text boxes or pre-rendered cutscenes, these beingAll-Out Attack,Triple Finish,Team Star Fox,Team Star Wolf,Gigaslash,House of Boom, andSupernova.
- Of these, All-Out Attack, Gigaslash, House of Boom, and Supernova are the only Final Smashes to remove it for the entire duration of the move.
- InUltimate, when a character uses their Final Smash and another character is in the frame during the initial shot, the other character will have a shocked expression on their face.
- InSpirit Battles, after a puppet fighter with a permanent goldcondition uses a Final Smash, they will return to normal before having the golden effect reapplied to them, playing the power-up sound and creating glowing particles just like when a fighter turns to gold when they collect 100 coins inGolden Plains or summonXerneas from aPoké Ball.
- Stampede! (inUltimate) is the only Final Smash whose reference was from anopening movie, that beingMelee.
- InUltimate, there are noticeably many characters whose Final Smash (or new Final Smash, in the case of veterans) wasn't officially announced until the game's initial release. This includes,Young Link,Meta Knight,Diddy Kong,Lucario,R.O.B.,Robin,Daisy, andRichter. WhileRosalina & Luma's Final Smash was shown in their gameplay showcase video, it used thePower Star like inSmash 4, instead of theGrand Star from the final build.
- InUltimate, a handful of Final Smashes use pre-rendered cinematics for certain elements—specifically,All-Out Attack,Gigaslash,House of Boom, andSupernova. These attacks all share several aspects in common:
- They are all cutscene Final Smashes that are triggered by an attack making contact with an opponent.
- They all run at 30 frames per second, whereas the rest of the game runs at 60 frames per second.
- They all belong toDLC fighters from third-party franchises (Joker,Hero,Steve, andSephiroth).
- The damage percentages are completely removed during these cinematics.
- If the game is played via local wireless or online and the Switch home menu is booted up, the Final Smash will still continue to play out until the end.
- Wario, Joker,Steve, andSora are the only characters with a cinematic Final Smash who break the fourth wall by facing the screen during the cinematic inUltimate.
