Green Missile
 | This article is in need of additional images. The editor who added this tag suggests:GIF of the misfire inUltimate. If you have a good image for this article, upload ithere. |
| Green Missile | |
|---|---|
 Luigi charging Green Missile inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. | |
| User | Luigi |
| Universe | Mario |
TheGreen Missile (ルイージロケット,Luigi Rocket) isLuigi'sside special move.
Overview
The move can be charged for about three seconds, and once let go, Luigi launches himself sideways like a rocket, with the distance anddamage being based on how long the move is charged. At full charge, the move can reliably KO under 150%; however, it is not often used to KO due to being extremely predictable and taking too long to charge. Despite this, it still remains a very powerful KO move.
The move is essential to Luigi's recovery. Because of Luigi's atrocious air mobility (having the worstair speed in the first two games and the 2nd worst in the latter three, in addition toan up special that provides no horizontal movement), he cannot return to the stage reliably if he is sent far offstage. Green Missile allows him to cover significant horizontal distance and does not render himhelpless, allowing him to use his double jump and up special to return to the stage. Additionally, the move has a small amount ofintangibility upon release that can potentially protect Luigi from opponents' edgeguard attempts (a trait which only applies to regular Missiles inMelee andBrawl and misfires inSSB4 onwards). However, the move has a noticeable amount of ending lag and leaves Luigi vulnerable when using it, making it very susceptible to edgeguarding, especially if the opponent is willing to endure the hit to reduce the distance Luigi travels. Thus, it is crucial to mix things up to avoid becoming predictable.
The move also has a small chance to "misfire", an effect officially known asOverzealous Green Missile. A misfire's distance and damage will not be affected by how much it is charged, with both being greater than even a fully charged regular Green Missile. The probability of misfiring is1/8 forMelee andBrawl and1/10 forSSB4 andUltimate. When one occurs, the move's animation will have a noticeable fire/rocket effect. InMelee, Luigi's eyes will close as if he was struck, as opposed to being halfway open during a normal Green Missile;SSB4 introduced a unique sound effect, and Luigi spins as ifreeling inUltimate. InSmash 4 onwards, Luigi can never misfire inHome-Run Contest.
A misfire can allow Luigi to cover significantly greater horizontal distances than normal; however, as implied by the name, a misfire is not always beneficial. For example, if the move is aimed at an opponent who dodges and the move misfires, Luigi will likely travel horizontally a long distance off the stage regardless of the move's charge, making it very hard for him to get back on (as well as leaving him vulnerable toedgeguarding). InMelee, the spontaneous misfire fires Luigi extremely far, nearly three times the distance of an uncharged Green Missile and farther than the length ofFinal Destination, potentially causing anSD. This has been toned down fromBrawl onwards to about twice the regular distance, meaning a SD will generally not occur while Luigi is onstage.
As Luigi's regularup special recovery move,Super Jump Punch, gains no horizontal distance whatsoever,CPU Luigis inMelee are coded to use the Green Missile instead torecover. However, even at CPU level 9, they will never switch to the Super Jump Punch once they drop below the level of the stage, which will always cause them to uselessly repeat the Green Missile over and over below the edge and result in an unavoidable SD. This is most visible when fighting a CPU Luigi onMushroom Kingdom II. Additionally, the CPU will never charge the move, making it even more likely to come up short. High-level CPUs inBrawl are capable of properly combining the two recovery moves (though lower-level ones will only use the Super Jump Punch).
Super Smash Bros. Brawl allows Luigi to hold this move at full charge indefinitely. If a partially charged one hits a wall, there is a 40% chance (50% in later games) that Luigi will get stuck for a brief moment and have to pull himself free, accompanied by a spring noise as his body bobs up and down for comedic effect. Also added inBrawl is the lesser-known fact that the move gives Luigi a slight vertical boost if used right after a jump. This may be related to Luigi's normally slowfalling speed. If the trick is used when Luigi ismetal or is wearing aBunny Hood (both of which increase a character's falling speed), the boost will be much higher. Additionally, the move is now capable of sweetspotting the ledge, significantly improving its safety and reliability provided Luigi is parallel to the stage. Aesthetically, Luigi now shouts upon firing.
Super Smash Bros. 4 still allows the move to be held at full charge, but if Luigi's on the ground, he will cancel the move automatically via a panting motion after a certain amount of time, leaving him vulnerable for a short time. The move also lost its ability to sweetspot the ledge, making it a less safe recovery overall and meaning Luigi will generally have to combine it withSuper Jump Punch as inMelee to reliably snap to ledge. The vertical boost gained from using the move right after a jump is retained fromBrawl. Additionally, the move has a new aesthetic sound while charging, which resembles the whistle of a kettle boiling. Aesthetically, unlike in past games where Luigi orients himself to his left whenever he uses the move, he now always faces towards the screen during its whole animation.
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, the move is almost the same as the previous games in which it appeared, but his energy effect now moves toward him than away from him, and his stance is changed. He also spins if he misfires. The move travels farther compared to previous games; misfiring, however, no longer gives any height. This makes the move likely to send Luigi under the stage if used while Luigi is already close to or considerably under the ledge. The move was given slightly reduced endlag in a patch, making it slightly safer to use.
InMelee, an uncharged Missile will travel farther if the control stick istapped, rather than just held, during the input. InSSB4, Green Missile will also charge faster and deal more damage in the same manner asSkull Bash. In the same game, the indicator of Luigi's charge is shortened from 6 to 5 flashes, and the damage is increased from 6% to 9%.
The move is similar toSkull Bash, though Skull Bash cannot misfire.
Customization
Special Move customization was added inSuper Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Green Missile | 2. Floating Missile | 3. Quick Missile |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 "A sideways dive that can be charged. It's Luigi, so this move can backfire."
| "Flies sideways in a straight line. Charges up quickly but doesn't do a lot of damage."
| "Fly faster and farther than normal, sliding across the ground if you miss."
|
- Green Missile: Default.
- Floating Missile: The move charges up at a much quicker rate, and flies forward in a straight line, for a longer period of time (although it goes the same distance). Compared to the regular Green Missile, opponents take knockback at a steeper angle if they are hit (361 ->30). However, the move has noticeably lower damage (6-21 -> 4-18) (25 -> 23 misfired), subsequently killing much later even in spite of the said steeper knockback angle.Main article:Luigi (SSB4)/Side special/Custom 1
- Quick Missile: Luigi flies faster and travels noticeably further than normal, significantly aiding his recovery. However the move has marginally longer charging time, somewhat increased landing lag and reduced damage (6-21% -> 5-20%) especially when misfired (25% -> 20%) and as such it kills later. In addition, the variant has a 7% misfire rate (down from the default 10%) and a 75% rate of sticking in walls if moving fast enough (up from the default 50%).Main article:Luigi (SSB4)/Side special/Custom 2
Floating Missile inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Quick Missile inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Instructional quotes
 trophy description |  | The Green Missile is similar to Pikachu's Skull Bash, but there's a 12.5% chance of a spontaneous misfire. |
 case foldout |  | Charge it to dive across the stage. Sometimes backfires. |
 Move List |  | Charges up a diving attack that can explode with unexpected power. |
Origin
The move is unique toSmash Bros. andLuigi has never used a move like this in anyMario game. Luigi has been known to have a comical style though, as mentioned onthe officialSmash Bros. website, which could explain the Green Missile's rather silly execution.
Like theEgg Roll andWhirling Fortress, the Green Missile has appeared in games released after its introduction inSuper Smash Bros. Melee. Luigi would later use this move as one of his attacks inMario Sports Mix, and he also uses a similar move inMario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii version). Luigi (andPrincess Peach) did a similar move inThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episodeThe Adventures of Sherlock Mario.
Gallery
Green Missile inMelee.
Luigi getting his head stuck in a wall.
Green Missile inBrawl (misfire).
Green Missile inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Green Missile inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Green Missile as shown by the Move List inUltimate.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
 Japanese | ルイージロケット,Luigi Rocket |
 English | Green Missile |
 French | Missile vert |
 German | Grüne Granate |
 Spanish | Misil verde |
 Italian | Missile verde |
 Chinese | 路易吉火箭 |
 Korean | 루이지 미사일,Luigi Missile |
 Dutch | Groene Raket |
 Russian | Зеленая ракета |
Trivia
- As noted above, Green Missile's charging stage gains notable vertical distance when used immediately after a jump inBrawl onwards.Luigi Cyclone shared this property untilUltimate. When these two moves are combined with his usual recovery move (optimally in the order jumped Green Missile→jumped Cyclone→Green Missile at apex of height→Super Jump Punch), it becomes possible for Luigi to travel absurd distances aerially, being able to easily perform manystage jumps, including clearing the entireOnline Practice Stage and traversingTemple aboveground.
Technical details
- Luigi (SSBM)/Side special
- Luigi (SSBB)/Side special
- Luigi (SSB4)/Side special
- Luigi (SSBU)/Side special
See also
- PimpUigi'sUnder the Sea video
