Special Zoom

Special Zoom is a mechanic introduced in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It is an aesthetic effect which was designed to add intensity during a match.

Overview
Special Zoom activates when a fighter gets hit by certain attacks. The background will flash blue with critical hit effects. If there are only two players on screen, the game will freeze briefly and the camera zooms towards the action. This slow-motion effect last for a very short period of time in 1v1s, and shorter if there are more than two players.

It uses the sound effect which was previously used in Little Mac's KO Uppercut in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Camera control is disabled during some Special Zoom events.

Most attacks that trigger the Special Zoom effect are either slow or are hard to hit, but there exist other moves that trigger this effect when certain conditions are met. Certain items and stage hazards also trigger this effect.

Special Zoom still occurs if the opponent shields the move. This doesn't happen at all if the opponent has invincibility.

Finish Zoom
Finish Zoom is a similar Special Zoom effect, which occurs when an attack will likely result in a game-ending KO. However, it is possible that the opponent could survive the final attack by other techniques, so this can occur again. Like Special Zoom, Finish Zoom also zooms on the point of impact and briefly freezes the game. Finish Zoom uses a red background instead of a blue one, and has a sound similar to a ping hit.

Trivia

 * If a non-cinematic Final Smash causes Finish Zoom, the background will change to the stage's normal background, rather than the background for the Final Smash.
 * In-game files reveal that Captain Falcon's forward aerial was planned to have the Special Zoom effect, but was scrapped for some reason
 * During the last five seconds in a timed match, the Finish Zoom will be disabled.