Footstool Jump

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Yoshi lands onWario's head.

TheFootstool Jump (踏み台ジャンプ,Springboard Jump) (StepJump in the game scrips), also known as aStepping Stone Jump, is atechnique inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl,Super Smash Bros. 4, andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. When characters are directly above another character, they can press the jump button to bounce off of the character's head. When used on a grounded opponent, it briefly freezes the opponent while they are in an animation of the player bouncing off their head. When used on an opponent in midair, it causes the opponent totumble a set distance. It does no damage and can be used between two and six times in succession (depending on which character is used—a fasterfalling speed means that the character cannot footstool jump as many times), with each jump resulting in approximately half the rebound. Teammates cannot jump on each other unlessFriendly Fire is set on (however, inSSB4 andUltimate'sTraining Mode, the CPUs can jump on each other). Like a normal jump, this jump can beshort hopped. Players can also footstool off someone hanging on a ledge, but the character being jumped off will not fall and the footstool will not gain as much height.Pit performs this move in a cutscene in theSubspace Emissary.

While said to be ameteor smash on theSmash Bros. DOJO!!, it does not actually function as a meteor smash when used against an airborne opponent, as it does not produce properknockback; the tumble animation from being footstooled cannot be canceled early like a meteor smash can throughmeteor canceling inBrawl only and it does not play the meteor smash sound effect inSSB4 andUltimate. However, if this results in a Fall, it will count as a KO for the footstooling player, even if no damage has otherwise been dealt for that stock.

Characters who aresleeping cannot be footstool jumped until they are awake. Additionally, a footstool cannot cancel out an opponent's move that is in progress, regardless of if they're grounded or not. So if a footstool is used on an opponent that is in the process of performing a move, the player will do a footstool jump that cannot be short hopped, while the opponent continues through with their move without interruption; this act is referred to by the competitive community as aphantom footstool.

InBrawl andSSB4, a fighter footstooled in midair is unable totech upon landing from their tumble. InUltimate, teching is possible.

InUltimate ifPiranha Plant is footstooled while it is crouching,it will automatically attack whoever footstooled it, making it the only character in the entire series with this trait. As of version 13.0.0, fighters that have been put into acrumpling state byKazuya'sDevil Fist can no longer be footstooled. This was done to remove an infinite that would lock the opponent in a crumpling state if performed correctly.

Applications[edit]

Footstool jumping is primarily used togimp opponents whenedgeguarding. It can also lead straight into meteor smashes with fast startup and/or long vertical range, such asMarth's down aerial inBrawl. Footstools can additionally be used onstage to knock an opponent down, which can then setup for a guaranteedfree hit orlock inBrawl andSSB4, or atech-chase situation inUltimate. Using the footstool to intentionally achieve these things can be difficult, due to its inability to affect an opponent that is performing a move.

Vertical spacing[edit]

Main article:Vertical spacing

A more advanced application is using the footstool jump to aid in the landing of Marth's down aerial meteor smash inBrawl.

Infinite footstool combos[edit]

InBrawl,Captain Falcon andZero Suit Samus can perform an infinite (and thus potentialzero-to-death) combo onR.O.B. Captain Falcon's combo begins with aneutral aerial, followed by immediately fast-falling and performing a footstool on R.O.B. and repeating. When Captain Falcon racks up enough damage, he can use theKnee Smash as a finisher. Zero Suit Samus's combo can be done by starting with herdown smash, performing a footstool on R.O.B., then immediately using herdown aerial and repeating. Zero Suit Samus can also use herdash attack,forward tilt, the second jab in her jab combo, and/or theParalyzer to mix it up, as those moves havelocking properties, which can lead to finishers such asPlasma Whip.

InSSB4, it is possible with someitems to perform an infinite combo by footstooling an opponent, dropping the item on them to cause ajab reset, and repeating.Villager andPac-Man can do this with theirwoodchip andBonus Fruit respectively. This requires a very high amount oftechnical skill to consistently perform, however. In early versions ofSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS,Zero Suit Samus can use her Paralyzer to perform an infinite footstool combo onRobin akin to the one she could perform inBrawl on R.O.B., due to gaining unusually little height after footstooling the latter; however, this was patched out in version1.0.4.Mewtwo can also perform an infinite combo on most characters by canceling its footstool jump withDisable and using a well-spaced backward-facing neutral aerial. Perhaps most notably,Peach is capable of an infinite footstool combo known as the "Umeki Rainbow", named after the Peach playerUmeki, who was able to consistently perform it in tournament sets. The combo uses Peach'sfloating ability to fully cancel the upward momentum of a grounded footstool jump, as well as the first hit of her up aerial. Prior to version 1.1.5, the combo was possible on a large portion of the cast, but her up aerial's range against grounded opponents was nerfed in 1.1.5, resulting in the combo now only being possible on a few of the taller members of the cast.

InUltimate, the ability to tech midair footstools upon landing effectively results in most infinite footstool combos (except for the ones that only utilize grounded footstools) no longer being guaranteed. In addition, characters must wait for 16 frames after attacking before they can footstool (starting from when the attack ends or is interrupted).

Origin[edit]

The Footstool Jump is very similar to one seen inKirby Super Star and inKirby & The Amazing Mirror, where Kirby could perform large jumps by jumping on the heads of his potential allies. It is also similar to how players can bounce on other players in some minigames in theMario Party series, as well as modern entries in theSuper Mario Bros. series.

While footstooling does not exist as a mechanic inSuper Smash Bros. Melee, the cutscene where Luigi appears inAdventure Mode is extremely similar in concept, where Luigi jumps on Mario's head to gain a boost and send him downward.

Piranha Plant being able to attack players when it is footstooled while crouching can be considered a reference to its main method of attack in the 2DSuper Mario games.