Meteor Smash



A Meteor Smash is a kind of move introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee in which you can smash an opponent downwards quickly. In Melee, the opponent can cancel the Meteor Smash by jumping or using an upwards third jump attack immediately after being struck. If the Meteor Smashed person is holding up and/or a jump button when struck by the Meteor Smash and the control stick and/or jump button goes back to their neutral position, he/she can Meteor Cancel too. When Meteor Canceling in Melee, the character will glow white, have sparkling effects, and make a wind-cutting sound.

Meteor Cancels become more difficult to perform at higher damage because the character flies downwards at a higher speed as damage increases. It's possible to Meteor Cancel at any time still being in air during the character's tumbling animation, but it's obviously better to do it as soon as possible.

In Brawl, Meteor Cancels can still be performed, but can no longer be performed immediately after being hit. It's only possible to meteor cancel after falling about half of the original distance, and smashing jump buttons won't work, because after pressing the jump button there is a period of time in which the character cannot meteor cancel, similar to techs. Both double jump, triple jump and tether recoveries can be used to meteor cancel, but there are exceptions, such as Pit whose Up Special and jumps cannot be used to meteor cancel.

Any character in Melee and most in Brawl can Meteor Cancel with their second jump.

Meteor Smashing is useful against characters without effective triple jumps (i.e. Ike, Yoshi) who have limited use for an Up+B Meteor Cancel. (Although in Yoshi's case, one needs to make sure he still doesn't have his second jump, otherwise he could easily recover at lower %s.)

A technique in Melee and Brawl called Stage Spike is done by hitting the opponent into stages causing them to get Meteor Smashed to death.

List of Meteor Smashes
Not all characters have availability to a Meteor Smash. The characters that can Meteor Smash are listed here. Spikes are listed here but not Semi-Spikes.

Captain Falcon

 * Down aerial - A rather effective stomp with a decent hitbox area and high power (third strongest meteor in the game). It is often used because Captain Falcon can jump off the stage, hit with it, and still recover. If Captain Falcon hits with its upper hitbox (the nipples) it acts as a Spike and is called Nipple Spike. Is arguably the second best meteor smash in the game, only second to Ganondorf's dair.
 * Raptor Boost (air) - Captain Falcon rushes forward with a downwards vertical swing. This is a very risky attack because the attack is often done off-stage and once used renders him helpless. Conversely, Ganondorf's Gerudo Dragon in the air is not a Meteor Smash.

Donkey Kong

 * Down aerial - A standard stomp attack with Donkey Kong.
 * Forward aerial. This is an low-accuracy move which hits only if the opponent is touched by Donkey Kong's hands at the end of the move. Donkey Kong is very vulnerable at the end of the move.
 * Headbutt - Normally, this move buries opponents. But on aerial enemies, it works as a Meteor Smash. This tactic is useful for edge guarding as Donkey Kong can smash someone downwards while keeping himself on the floor.

Falco

 * Falco Phantasm - If the opponent is airborne while struck with this move, they will be sent downwards. It is relatively easy to meteor-cancel. Conversely, Fox's Fox Illusion is not a Meteor Smash.
 * Down throw - If Falco throws his opponent down near an edge which can't be passed through while facing away from the edge, the opponent will fall downwards at very high speeds.

Fox

 * Down throw - A weaker version of Falco's D-Throw. When Fox throws his opponent down at an edge which can't be passed through while facing away from the edge, the opponent will drop at considerable speed.

Ganondorf

 * Down aerial - Very similar to Captain Falcon's Down aerial, which is a very powerful stomp, except slightly slower. The hitbox covers nearly all of Ganondorf's body, so you can technically hit someone with it using Ganondorf's head. This is by far the strongest meteor smash in the game, being the only meteor smash that can reliably KO grounded opponents under 100%. It is also the most powerful aerial attack in the game when it hits an airborne opponent (even if the opponent is grounded, only Bowser's uair hits harder). Factoring this with the fact it is easy to land and recover from, it is the best meteor smash in the game.

Ice Climbers

 * Forward aerial - Followed by a little start-up lag. The Ice Climbers execute this attack in the air, which is usually cancelled by Nana's hammer, and smash the opponent downwards.

Jigglypuff

 * Down aerial - This is an extremely hard Meteor Smash to execute. Jigglypuff's lower hitbox has Meteor Smash properties; it sends the enemy downwards at considerable speed and length. However, if another part of Jigglypuff touches the opponent, the Meteor Smash is cancelled.

Kirby

 * Down aerial - Kirby's drill has Meteor Smash properties. The speed at which the opponents fall is slow and the distance is short, making it a weak attack but it is a better edgeguarder than Fox's and Yoshi's dair.
 * Final Cutter - This is a relatively weak Meteor Smash but can be used against characters which recover with some extra height to throw them down. This Meteor Smash can be used for combos.

Link

 * Down tilt - One of the few tilt meteors. Link swipes the ground in front of him, smashing airborne opponents. A good edgeguarding technique. Link should use this on an enemy which is recovering from directly below.

Luigi

 * Down aerial - Luigi twists in the air and those he hits with his backside are sent downwards. If the wrong part of the attack hits, it results in considerable knockback, making it a great edgeguard nonetheless.
 * Taunt - Luigi kicks his foot into the ground. If you hit an opponent hanging on an edge, it will hit them with a Meteor Smash. Has weak set-knockback.
 * Down tilt - Luigi sticks his foot out in front of him. If a foe is hanging on the edge, it will weakly Meteor Smash them.

Mario

 * Forward aerial - Mario makes a large swinging motion with his fist, hitting those parallel to him downwards. This attack is slow and hard to execute, as it must be timed correctly to work. Weak, slow, and difficult to land, it is one of the worst aerial meteors in the game.

Marth

 * Dancing Blade - On the third hit of his Dancing Blade attack, if the "down" attack is chosen, Marth will spin and swing his sword into the ground. The movement produces a Meteor Smash. Its knockback and speed are average.
 * Down aerial - If Marth hits with the tip of the sword, the opponent will be smashed downwards at blazing speed. In the PAL version the Down aerial strikes the opponent downwards in the same way as in the NTSC version although in the PAL version you can Meteor Cancel it and make a straight fall, making it a Meteor Smash. However, in the NTSC version of the game this attack can't be Meteor Cancelled, making it a Spike. If Marth does not hit with the tip of his sword, Marth will jump a little bit and the opponent will move to the side slightly.

Mewtwo

 * Down aerial - A weak to moderate Meteor Smash, it has three hitboxes with slghtly varying degrees of power. The attack's hitbox is on Mewtwo's foot, and can be difficult to time properly.

Mr. Game & Watch

 * Down aerial - The first few frames of this move strike the opponent downwards, but only if opponent is right beside him.
 * Down throw - As with Fox and Falco.

Ness

 * Down aerial - Ness' stomp has quite a bit of start-up lag. Has rather high knockback at 0%, but it also has very low knockback scaling, being unable to KO grounded opponents at even 200%.

Peach

 * Down tilt - One of the few tilt meteors in the game. Peach swipes at the ground in front of her. Any airborne player hit with her forearm will fall quickly.

Roy

 * Down aerial - This attack is the same as Marth's but Roy's Down aerial is much weaker, has more ending lag, and is generally harder to pull off. It is perhaps the worst meteor in the game as it is extremely weak and extremely difficult to recover from due to it's ending lag and Roy's fast falling speed.
 * Double-Edge Dance - Similar to Marth's, except the third attack must be upwards.

Samus

 * Down aerial - Samus' standard Meteor Smash where she punches downwards. It has a wide hitbox and is the fourth most powerful meteor smash. A commonly used attack.
 * Up tilt - A very hard Meteor Smash to perform, but it is a Meteor Smash (evident by the fact you get the meteor smash bonus for KOing opponents with it).

Yoshi

 * Down aerial - Yoshi's classic scuttle-kick. Each of his kicks is a Meteor Smash, although they are considerably weak. At high percentages Yoshi will smash the enemies quickly down. This is the strongest drill-type Meteor Smash.
 * Forward aerial - This move is very similar to Mario's Forward aerial, but instead Yoshi uses his head to slam the opponent downward. However, it is much stronger and faster than Mario's. In fact, it is the second strongest meteor in the game and is one of the best (Ganondorf's still far exceeds Yoshi's, however).

Young Link

 * Down aerial - If you hit the opponent with the hilt of the sword, they will be dealt fire damage and Meteor Smashed (sometimes referred to as the 'Dragon Down aerial'). Therefore, the opponent has to be directly above Young Link for it to work.
 * Down tilt -Similar to Link's D-tilt though more powerful. A good edge guarding technique. Young Link should use this attack on an enemy which is recovering from directly below him. Better than Link's Meteor Smash.

Zelda

 * Down aerial - An extremely weak Meteor Smash which Zelda performs by extending her leg downwards.
 * Down tilt - Zelda performs this attack by sweeping her leg. Another ground Meteor Smash which smashes the opponent downwards. This attack has extremely low range, power and priority and can only be used on the ground. Effective when the opponent is hanging off a ledge.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
It should be noted that, with the addition of the Footstool Jump, all characters can perform a Meteor Smash in Brawl. Characters with other Meteor Smashes are listed here. Only a few characters lack a meteor smash outside of Footstool Jumping. The thrown Pitfall, a falling Warp Star, Moltres' body, Metagross, Lakitu's Spinys, Deoxys (when it is ascending), Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire and Waluigi's stomp also have this effect. Semi-spikes are not included in this list. No Spikes are currently known in Brawl, so all Meteors can be cancelled. However, Meteor Cancelling is not possible when Meteor Smashed while swimming. Also, some Meteor Smashes can cause tripping at low percentages when hit on ground enemies.

Bowser

 * Down tilt as Giga Bowser - Sweeps twice with his claws along the ground. Only the first hit Meteor Smashes, however the first hit isn't dragged to the second hit.
 * Down aerial - Only if the final hit is sweetspotted. One of the most impractical meteors in the game as it is extremely weak and has high ending lag. Bowser is better off using his other, much better edgeguard options.

Captain Falcon

 * Down aerial - Captain Falcon's classic stomp, but will only Meteor Smash if the opponent is directly underneath him with good power. If they are to the side, they will be knocked upwards at an angle, which means that the nipple Spike has been removed from this. It is weaker and harder to land then it was in Melee.
 * Raptor Boost - If used in the air, Captain Falcon will leapfrog over the opponent, thrusting them downwards and himself hopefully to safety. This may not be a safe maneuver, unless when used as a recovery. This is an effective counter-edgeguard option against careless opponents.

Diddy Kong

 * Down aerial - Diddy Kong thrusts both fists under him, meteor smashing the opponent. It is a fast meteor with slightly below average power and a small hitbox. Similar to Wolf's dair, but stronger and more difficult to land.
 * Monkey Flip - When he catches the opponent, jump and the opponent will be sent downwards.
 * Rocketbarrel Boost - When an opponent is directly under the barrels, they are Meteor Smashed.

Donkey Kong

 * Down aerial - Very powerful, always Meteor Smashes if connects, yet it is slow. The best and most reliable of his three Meteor Smashes.
 * Forward aerial - Donkey Kong swings his fists together in an arc. Hits between frames 25 and 28, with being frames 27 and 28 a Meteor Smash. Slightly weaker than his down aerial but is still powerful.
 * Headbutt - If this hits an aerial opponent and makes contact when the head is near the bottom, rather than embedding them in the ground, it launches them downwards weakly but still has usefulness (like pivot spiking or using it in the edge).

Falco

 * Down aerial - First few frames meteor smashes with average power. Start-up lag wise, it is the second fastest meteor in the game (only Marth's is faster). This is the best meteor smash in the game in short-hop edgegaurd situations and is by far the best meteor at meteor smashing opponents recovering from above (this is mostly dued to Falco's incredible jumping abilities).
 * Falco Phantasm - Aerial opponents hit by this are Meteor Smashed. However, unless used as a recovery, this can be a dangerous maneuver, and it is weak.
 * Landmaster (Final Smash) - Running over ledge grabbers occasionally Meteor Smashes them.

Fox

 * Down aerial - A very weak drill Meteor Smash.
 * Landmaster (Final Smash) - Running over ledge grabbers occasionally Meteor Smashes them.

Ganondorf
Has the most Meteor Smashes in Brawl, along with Ike
 * Down aerial - Anyone caught in the stomp is electrocuted and sent flying downward if they are in the air, no matter when and where it connects. It has rather low ending lag in the air, making it easy to recover from (just like it was in Melee), but it has high landing lag. It is still the most powerful meteor in the game and is still the only meteor that reliably KOs grounded opponents under 100%. It is also the most powerful aerial in the game when it hits an airborne opponent (Like in Melee, there are very few aerials thst hit grounded opponents harder, such as Link's sweetspotted dair). It is one of the few meteors capable of meteor smashing at 0% and is one of the best meteor smashes in the game, especially at meteor smashing opponents recovering from below.
 * Flame Choke - Ganondorf lifts his opponent by the head and launches them directly into the ground. If it is used over a ledge, they are sent downwards weakly, and will grab any ledge which can be grabbed at any percentages, as it has set knockback.
 * Wizard's Foot - A Stall-Then-Fall. If used in the air, the first few frames of this move Meteor Smash. Difficult to use without self-destructing, however. Mostly inferior to the dair meteor as it is weaker, harder to land, and much more difficult to recover from.
 * Beast Ganon (Final Smash) - If Ganondorf stuns his opponent(s), but does not hit them, they will fall straight down. Usually only performable if opponent is on ledge.

Ice Climbers

 * Forward aerial - Ice Climbers swing their hammers in an arc. Only the CPU partner's hit can Meteor Smash.

Ike

 * Down tilt - Ike crouches and sweeps his blade forward along the ground. A very strong Meteor Smash with great range, yet quite slow. It is by far the strongest tilt meteor and is arguably the best tilt meteor. If it hits the opponent with the handle, it sends them horizontally instead, but with the same power as the meteor hitbox.
 * Down aerial - Ike thrusts his blade below him. The entirety of the blade Meteor Smashes very powerfully anyone who is hit at the initial thrust with huge power. Also has a long, disjointed range. It is the third strongest meteor on grounded opponents (can star KO under 125%) and the second strongest meteor on airborne opponents (Ness's meteor is stronger at low %s, but Ike's quikly exceeds his due to his dair's much greater knockback scaling).
 * Aether - Meteor Smashes with the downwards slash, similar to Kirby's Final Cutter.
 * Eruption - Meteor Smashes if opponent is underneath, and gets hit only by the tip.

King Dedede

 * Super Dedede Jump - Meteor Smashes the opponent when falling down. It can be dangerous to use unless using it while recovering. It is a powerful meteor that may KO a careless edgeguarder.
 * Down aerial - The first hit is an extremely weak Meteor Smash.

Kirby

 * Down aerial - Moderate-power drill Meteor Smash. Kirby can fast-fall while using this move to amplify the knockback. It is by far the best drill meteor as Kirby can perform multiple meteor smashes and still recover or perform a foot-stool jump after landing the meteor which almost always results in the opponents' death.
 * Final Cutter - This move Meteor Smashes with the downwards slash. Mostly it combos someone into the shock wave, but it can be used on the edge to Meteor Smash.

Link

 * Down tilt - Link sweeps his sword along the ground, Meteor Smashing anyone off the edge. Decent range and power but is extremely difficult to land due to it's small sweetspot.

Lucario

 * Aura Storm - If an opponent overlaps Lucario in the air they will be sent down quickly. It has set knockback, though the knockback is still determined by how much damage he has.

Lucas

 * Back aerial - Lucas sweeps a downwards arc behind him with his legs, accompanied by Psi Hexagons to increase range. The hexagons are the sweetspot and send the opponents flying away, but only the tip of his foot will Meteor Smash. Very hard to land, and the angle at which the opponent is sent downwards (possible deviation of about 20 degrees to either side) is also hard to predict, and this may cause the opponent to get smashed down onto the stage if the Meteor Smash is performed near the edge.
 * Down aerial - Lucas stomps downwards with four Psi Hexagons. The first two have little knockback, and the fourth can Meteor Smash quite weakly.

Luigi

 * Down tilt - Opponent must be directly under Luigi in order to be Meteor Smashed. It has less-than-average knockback.
 * Down aerial - Meteor Smashes at the first few frames of his spinning hands. Can be used at both sides of him. It is much easier to do than in Melee.
 * Down Taunt - One of the only two taunts in the game that can hit an opponent. Luigi kicks his foot into the ground. If you hit an opponent hanging on an edge, it will Meteor Smash them very powerfully with set knockback. Strongest Meteor Smash at 0% in Brawl.

Mario

 * Forward aerial - Mario swings his fist in an arc. Sends opponents downwards if they are hit at the right time. Fairly weak for a single hit Meteor Smash and slow. Must be sweetspotted to meteor smash unlike in Melee, but due to Brawl's physics, it is less risky.

Marth

 * Down aerial - Large downwards arc of the blade. Anyone caught with the tip is sent away quickly, meteor Smashing powerfully. Start-up lag wise, it is the fastest meteor in the game but it is also one of the lagiest as well (has high landing and ending lag). One of the more difficult meteors to land and can result in a SD, especially if the player fast-falls.
 * Dancing Blade - Weakly Meteor Smashes with the third hit of this attack if the direction selected is down (green). It only works if it is not sweetspotted.

Mr. Game & Watch

 * Down aerial - A Stall-Then-Fall. Stalls in the air, then falls quickly with his key extended downwards. Anyone hit in the air with the initial fall is sent downwards. Is one of the safer stall-then fall aerials.
 * Down throw - Juggles opponent in the air like a ball then sends them down into the ground. If done close to the edge, the opponent is Meteor Smashed.

Ness

 * Down aerial - Step Kick. Ness' classic stomp and the 2nd strongest Meteor Smash at 0%. It has very low knockback scaling and is incabaple of KOing grounded opponents under 200%. Despite this, it is one of the deadliest meteors in the game, being one of the few meteors that can successfully meteor smash someone at 0%. As damage rises, other meteor smashes quickly become more effective.

Olimar

 * Down aerial - Thrusts a Pikmin under him. The first few frames can Meteor Smash the opponent. They effect and power of the Meteor Smash is different depending on which Pikmin is used. White Pikmin produce a very weak meteor smash. Yellow Pikmin produce a average power meteor smash with electric damage. Blue and Purple Pikmin produce a powerful meteor smash. The red Pikmin produces one of the strongest meteors in the game, accompany by fire damage (only Ganondorf's and Ike's dairs are always stronger then the red Pikmin's dair). Due to the small hitbox and even smaller sweetspot, this is a difficult meteor to land.
 * End of Day - If a midair opponent (opponents on the ground are submerged into the ground instead) makes contact with the Hocotate Ship when it appears, they are sent downwards very quickly.

Peach

 * Down tilt - Sweeps hand along the ground with fairly short range. It is hard to catch people in it, but can Meteor Smash. It can also meteor smash opponents hanging on the ledge.

Pit

 * Up smash - First swipe is a Meteor Smash to set up for the second and third hit, which launch upwards.
 * Down tilt - Sweeps his blade along the ground. Decent power and range, but is difficult to land like other tilt meteors.

Pokémon Trainer

 * Ivysaur
 * Down aerial - Turns upside down and shoots a burst of powder from his bulb. Very situational due to lag and risk of getting edge-hogged. Looks like his uair, except up-side down. Unlike his uair, it is a very weak aerial attack.
 * Neutral aerial - Just the bottom of body, weak and difficult to Meteor Smash because of the small hitbox.
 * Charizard
 * Down aerial - Stomps beneath himself, and regardless where it connects, it will Meteor Smash. It is unique as it is the only meteor that hits grounded opponents harder then airborne opponents. In fact, it is the second strongest meteor on grounded opponents (but it still pales in comparision to Ganondorf's dair). On airborne opponents however, it's power is only above-average.
 * Back aerial - If his tail sweeps downward with the flame at the tip. Is extremely weak, only is meant to hit opponents into the second, much stronger hitbox.

R.O.B.

 * Down aerial - R.O.B. fires his thrusters downwards. It is powerful, but has considerable start-up. Decent range.

Samus

 * Up tilt - Very hard to time with.
 * Down aerial - Samus swings her arm-cannon in a downwards sweep. Meteor Smashes with a fairly large hitbox, though comes out a little slowly. This is her only way to KO at lower percentages.

Snake

 * Forward aerial - Snake does an ax-heel kick, bringing his leg down from above his head to a little behind him. Anyone caught in his foot arc will get Meteor Smashed. The move will send the opponent very powerfully down and backwards. If the leg connects it instead send the opponent upwards with good knockback. It is the strongest fair meteor in the game and is also the best fair meteor.
 * Forward tilt - Snake's first hit with his knee spikes the opponent into the ground with set, weak knockback. It is extremely difficult to achieve the spike while the opponent is airborne but it is possible.

Toon Link

 * Down aerial - A Stall-Then-Fall. Stalls in the air, then falls quickly with sword thrust downwards. Very fast, anyone hit in the air with the initial fall is sent downwards, but this attack often makes him self-destruct if he misses.

Wario

 * Down aerial as Wario-Man - Face his head downward and drills, falling at a very fast speed. A very strong Meteor Smash, covers a great distance and since he can fly, he can easily land this attack off-stage without dying.
 * Throwing his Bike - When it hits his opponents in midair, it will bounce off their head. If his opponents give up, the bike will push them downwards. If his opponents keep trying to recover, the bike will rack up over 100% damage.
 * Down throw as Wario-Man - When used next to a stage ledge, it will very powerfully Meteor Smash anyone he has grabbed. It is easier to use if Wario-Man is facing into the middle of the stage.

Wolf

 * Down aerial - Thrusts his arms downwards quickly, and with long duration. It is easy to land, but it is a rather weak meteor smash (opponents have to be over 50% for it to successfully meteor smash).
 * Wolf Flash - The very end of the attack in his lower hitbox is a Meteor Smash.

Yoshi

 * Forward aerial - Like Mario's and Donkey Kong's, only Yoshi swings his head in an arc. Meteor Smashes at the more extended parts of his head. Much weaker then it was in Melee, but it can be used to finish off a grab-release chain.
 * Down aerial - Rapidly kicks his feet under him. Most damaging drill Meteor Smash, with 11 hits of 3% each.

Zelda

 * Down tilt - Zelda sticks her foot out, normally popping people up. If it hits an airborne opponent, it pops them downwards.
 * Down aerial - Zelda sticks her foot downwards. There is a sweet spot on the foot. If the opponent is hit with this sweet-spot, they pause momentarily while being electrocuted, then are shot downwards with high power. If the move hits anywhere else, it is a weak Meteor Smash. Can only sweetspot against aerial or shielding opponents.

Zero Suit Samus

 * Down aerial - A Stall-Then-Fall aerial. A weak Meteor Smash that nails down during the entire fall. Hard to use without dying.
 * Flip Jump - Zero Suit Samus does a flip jump. If an attack button is pressed while she performs this, she sticks out her foot pointing towards the center of the arc of the jump. Anyone who hits the tip of the foot is Meteor Smashed.
 * Plasma Wire - This move shoots upwards, pulling anyone above Zero Suit Samus down on the last hit.

All Characters

 * In addition, all characters can footstool jump.