Final Smash
The Final Smash is a special move that is only possible through the aid of a Smash Ball in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. After breaking open one of these items, its power flows into the fighter, charging him or her up. The fighter's eyes glow white and yellow, at which point the fighter is free to unleash the Final Smash at any moment by pressing the special move button. However, if the fighter does not initiate the Final Smash soon enough, other fighters can take away the Smash Ball by hitting the fighter in possession of it with a powerful attack. When this happens, the fighter's aura reverts to Smash Ball form and can be claimed by other fighters. Each person's attack is a manifestation of their individual personalities or unique abilities. For example, Zero Laser charges up Samus' Power Suit while Peach Blossom is a magnification of Peach's joyful personality.
The game also has a function known as a Pity Final Smash. The Pity Final Smash can be granted to fighters in special circumstances during a stock match. When the fighter is KO'd while being five stocks behind the leading player, the fighter respawns with a Pity Final Smash. A Pity Final Smash serves the same functions as a normal smash, but it has the advantage of not having a Smash Ball form, and therefore cannot be taken away by other fighters.
Final Smashes are phenomenally powerful and can completely tip the scale of battles. However, each is not without its own repercussions. The attacks can cause self-destructs, and Samus even changes into Zero Suit Samus after using her Final Smash.
Due to the extreme power of the Final Smash, they are often banned in official tournaments along with items.
Final Smash Types
While each fighter's Final Smash is different, their are four general types:
- A common type is where the player must get near an opponent and execute the Final Smash, or else they will miss. These may attack one or more opponents, inflicting great damage that often knock out opponents. Even if they fail to do so directly, an affected opponent is usually extremely weak afterwards. Examples for these kind are Link's Triforce Slash, Meta Knight's Galaxia Darkness, Ike's Great Aether and Captain Falcon's Blue Falcon.
- The second type is based on transformations. These change fighters completely, giving them a completely new moveset and sometimes granting invincibility or the ability to fly. In this type, the player must control the fighter during the Smash, unlike other types. These Smashes are often more difficult to perform, as players must keep track of their position while they attack, lest they self-destruct in the process. Some examples for this type are Sonic's Super Sonic, Bowser's Giga Bowser Transformation, Yoshi's Super Dragon, Ganondorf's Beast Ganon, and Wario's Wario-Man.
- The third type is a Final Smash that creates an effect independent of the fighter. These Final Smashes can be focused around the player of even across the entire stage. Some of these Final Smashes cause status effects on affected fighters, while others cause swarms of attacks. Often, the fighter can be controlled by the player during the duration of the Final Smash. Some examples for this type of Smash are Pit's Palutena's Army, Princess Peach's Peach Blossom, Luigi's Negative Zone, Ness' and Lucas' PK Starstorm, and Captain Olimar's End of Day.
- There are some Final Smashes, such as Donkey Kong's Konga Beat, which borrow elements from more than one category.
- Damage
- Probable KO
- Damage and push back
- Other
History
Final Smashes are either based on the character's individual background in their series, like Zelda's and Sheik's Light Arrow. However, some may have been invented specially for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, like Mario's Mario Finale. Although they were already planned to be included in the original Super Smash Bros.[1], Final Smashes made their first appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and gained considerable attention due to their ability to turn the tide of battle in seconds. Masahiro Sakurai compared the moves to the Hammer item found in all Super Smash Bros. titles[2], as all players rush to collect it, and the ones who didn't flee after it has been collected.
List of Final Smashes
- Aura Storm (Lucario)
- Beast Ganon (Ganondorf)
- Blue Falcon (Captain Falcon)
- Cook Kirby (Kirby)
- Critical Hit (Marth)
- Diffusion Beam (R.O.B.)
- End of Day (Olimar)
- Galaxia Darkness (Meta Knight)
- Great Aether (Ike)
- Grenade Launcher (Snake)
- Giga Bowser Transformation (Bowser)
- Iceberg (Ice Climbers)
- Konga Beat (Donkey Kong)
- Landmaster (Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Wolf O'Donnell)
- Light Arrow (Zelda, Sheik)
- Mario Finale (Mario)
- Negative Zone (Luigi)
- Octopus (Mr. Game & Watch)
- Palutena's Army (Pit)
- Peach Blossom (Princess Peach)
- PK Starstorm (Ness, Lucas)
- Power Suit Samus (Zero Suit Samus)
- Puff Up (Jigglypuff)
- Rocketbarrel Barrage (Diddy Kong)
- Super Dragon (Yoshi)
- Super Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
- Triforce Slash (Link, Toon Link)
- Triple Finish (Pokémon Trainer)
- Volt Tackle (Pikachu)
- Waddle Dee Army (King Dedede)
- Wario-Man (Wario)
- Zero Laser (Samus Aran)
References
- ^ "Actually, I thought of using the Smash Ball since the very first Nintendo 64 version of the game." - Masahiro Sakurai, Wii.com - Iwata Asks: Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Vol. 5, accessed 2008-1-28
- ^ "People who have played the previous Smash Bros. title need only imagine the stronger, more majestic version of the Hammer to understand what I’m talking about." - Masahiro Sakurai, Wii.com - Iwata Asks: Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Vol. 5, accessed 2008-1-28
