Throw
- This article is about throws performed from a grab. For information about throwing items, seeItem throw.
Athrow (投げ) is an attack performed after a charactergrabs an opponent,damaging them and ending the grab. Throws appear in all installments of theSuper Smash Bros. series. InSuper Smash Bros.,twotypes of throws can be performed by tilting thecontrol stick left or right after grabbing the opponent, depending on the direction the user is facing. Beginning inSuper Smash Bros. Melee, the player can also tilt the control stick up or down to usetwoother throws. The main purpose of throws in general is to either startcombos, create space between the user and their opponent, or knock opponents near edges offstage to set up anedgeguard.
Properties[edit]
Throws cannot be escaped once started, with the exception ofDonkey Kong'scargo throw, andKirby's forward and back throws inMelee. Throws also grant a short period ofinvincibility to the thrower when started, as a measure of protection against any bystanders. InMelee andBrawl, this invincibility has a set duration of 8frames for every throw, which is increased to 18 frames inSmash 4. InSmash 64 andUltimate, throw invincibility is instead specific to each throw; in the latter game, it lasts from frame 1 all the way until the frame the opponent is thrown.
A general rule of throws is that characters that rely on supernatural powers, such asNess,Mewtwo,Zelda, andLucas, have above-average throws in strength, while those that mainly attack with swords or other weapons, such asLink,Marth, andSephiroth, have below-average throws in strength. However, this often refers merely to the damage orknockback inflicted by the throws, and does not strictly leave weak throws at a disadvantage, as they tend to be useful for starting combos, and can sometimes even lead into other KO moves.
Throws do not use standardhitboxes when releasing opponents, instead having a throw command with hitbox data that only affects the target of the throw, and not any bystanders. Throw releases also usually inflict nohitlag (thus being immune tosmash directional influence), nor have any associated graphical or sound effects (these are instead part of the throw animation itself). However, several throws possess a hitbox before their release, such asCaptain Falcon andLink's, which can hit both the thrown opponent and bystanders as if it was a standard attack, effectively hitting the thrown opponent twice. Similarly, a few throws such asMario's back throw havecollateral hitboxes, which can only hit bystanders and not the thrown opponent.
Throws always make charactersflinch upon release, regardless of whether or not they havearmor or knockback resistance. However, the target's weight, knockback taken multiplier, and knockback resistance still affect how much knockback the throw deals.
Weight-dependent throws[edit]
FromMelee toSmash 4, some throws have their speeds affected by the grabbed character'sweight. An easy example is comparing Mario's back throw speed against bothBowser andJigglypuff; the latter is thrown about twice as fast. This benefits heavier characters, as slowing down weight-dependent throws gives them more time to react andDI properly, and either leaves them less vulnerable to combos or allows them to escape altogether, due to the throw effectively having more ending lag. On the other hand, lighter characters are hindered by weight-dependent throws, as the resulting speed-up gives them less time to react, and more time for the opponent to combo them. For example,Jigglypuff'sspace animal slayer inMelee works againstFox andFalco, but notCaptain Falcon, as while theirfalling speed andgravity are similar, Captain Falcon's much higherweight causes Jigglypuff's up throw to execute slower.
InMelee andBrawl, the speed difference of weight-dependent throws is achieved by applying aframe speed multiplier equal to the target's weight divided by 100. In accordance to this formula, characters with weight values of 75 and 125 will cause a weight dependent throw to execute 50% faster and 25% slower, respectively (0.75× and 1.25× of the base duration), while a character with a weight of 100 will be thrown at the default speed. InSmash 4, the formula instead calculates the weight-dependent throw's total frames, and is equal tototal frames + 26 * (weight / 100 - 1), with its animation speed then being scaled accordingly. As a result, the difference between throw speeds remains constant regardless of the throw's total duration, and is generally less drastic between different weights; for example, weight values of 75 and 125 will always deduct or add 6.5 frames (rounded down) to the base duration, respectively.
Weight-dependent throws were removed inUltimate, causing all throws to execute at the same speed against all characters.
Appearances[edit]
InSuper Smash Bros.[edit]
Throws inSuper Smash Bros. are generally stronger than in later games. They deal high damage (12% for forward throws and 16% for back throws on average), launch opponents horizontally, and have high base knockback. However, they still have low knockback scaling, and as such are not exceptional KO moves, with a few exceptions. Because of this, they are often used to set up edgeguards. The main exceptions to this areCaptain Falcon andJigglypuff, whose forward throws launch opponents vertically, making them useful for combos. All throws cause enough knockback to make opponents enter atumbling state under normal conditions.
InSuper Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
InMelee, throws in general inflict much less damage and knockback, with only a few throws being powerful enough to KO at realistic percents. Every throw in the transition fromSmash 64 toMelee received a reduction to their power (with the majority of them now dealing less than 10% damage), anddirectional influence can also be used to further hinder their effectiveness. However, many more throws, usually the newly-introduced up and down throws, are highly viablecombo starters, and can even lead repeatedly into subsequent grabs, which is known aschain grabbing.
As mentioned before,Melee introduced weight-dependent throws, which change their execution speed based on the opponent's weight. Additionally, inMelee only, all throws calculate knockback with a weight of 100, homogenizing combo and KO potential for every character; as a result, the only effect weight has on throws is the duration of weight-dependent ones.
InSuper Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
InBrawl, the introduction ofhitstun canceling has hindered the combo potential of many throws, limiting the followups numerous characters can get out of them. This makes KO setups out of throws less common than inMelee. However, due to DI no longer working against knockback that does not cause tumbling, as well as hitstun canceling requiring tumbling to work, throws with low enough knockback and ending lag have more effective followups, with chaingrabs in particular being powerful; some notorious examples areFalco,King Dedede, andPikachu's down throws. The stronger effect ofstale-move negation inBrawl further improves these throws' combo potential if used repeatedly, while preventing the opponent from escaping them.
Additionally, throws that can KO reliably at high percents are less common than inMelee, with those such asPeach's forward throw orMario's back throw beingnerfed in power. However, some others such as up throws can KO slightly earlier due to universal changes (characters having reducedfalling speed andgravity), and because weight is now properly considered for the knockback calculation of throws, they can KO lighter characters more reliably.
The effect of throw invincibility is mitigated inBrawl becausehitlag from an attack is only applied to the attacker, not the character using the throw. Additionally, the attacker's hitbox can hit the thrower after the invincibility wears off, even if initially blocked by it. Therefore, moves with either high hitlag or long-lasting hitboxes may be impossible to block with the 8 frames of throw invincibility.
InSuper Smash Bros. 4[edit]
Throws have not received many direct changes inSmash 4, other than the lengthened throw invincibility and the duration of weight-dependent throws. However, chain grabbing has effectively been removed, as characters are now immune to grabs for 70 frames after escaping from one. This makes throws much less effective if they do not cause tumble. Naturally, some throws have been rebalanced in terms of knockback and speed. Some throws (likeFalco's down throw) had their knockback noticeably increased, weakening their followups after a grab, while still usually being too weak to KO. On the other hand, the removal of hitstun cancelling and the weakening of DI gives many new followup options out of a throw if it causes tumble. Some notable examples of this can be seen withLuigi,Mr. Game & Watch,Sheik andDonkey Kong. Multiple throws are also more effective at KOing, not only due to receiving an increase to their knockback but also due to the introduction ofrage, although some throws did naturally see a decrease to their KO power.
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Throws have significantly changed; weight dependent throws have been removed, making all characters' throw speed remains the same regardless of the thrower's weight, much like inSmash 64. In addition, the thrower is now invincible until the opponent has been thrown. Uniquely for Kazuya for all his throws aside from hisup throw the camera briefly shifts to a unique angle in 1v1 matches every time he throws an opponent.
Gallery[edit]
Ness's forward throw inSuper Smash Bros.
Fox's back throw inMelee.
Kirby throwing Mario inBrawl.
Meta Knight using his back throw onSamus inSmash 4.
Kazuya usingGates of Hell inUltimate.
