Taunt

Taunt is a move used in the Super Smash Bros., Mario Party, Mario Golf, and Mario Tennis series.

In the Super Smash Bros. series, this move is typically done as a way to brag after KO-ing another player. Unlike other taunts, Luigi's down taunt (which can meteor smash opponents), Snake's taunts, Greninja's down taunt, and Kazuya's side taunt are the only ones capable of harming an opponent character, though the first three only deal approximately 1% damage. Kirby's copied ability after using his Inhale will disappear after he taunts. If Samus quickly performs her taunts ↑↓↑ in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, she will turn into Zero Suit Samus instantly. Doing the same thing as Zero Suit Samus will cause her to revert back to normal Samus with her Power Suit back on.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, players are able to taunt once again, but instead of just one taunt in the previous games, nearly every character has three different taunts in this installment, except for Wario, who has four. However, during Wi-Fi mode, the taunt can be used for an even greater use. When players press one of the directions on the Control Pad during Wi-Fi mode, the characters will not only taunt, but a small speech bubble will appear above them, with a quote that the players set. Players can create any quote they want, and they can set four at one time, with each button on the Control Pad activating a different quote. However, this only works in the "With Friends" mode of Wi-Fi; in "With Anyone" mode, the taunt quotes do not work.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, several taunts have been changed. For example, Mario now throws Cappy in his side taunt instead of simply taking off his cap, while the Koopalings use their wands from New Super Mario Bros. Wii in their side taunts, rather than hammers like Bowser Jr. Some returning taunts have been shortened, sped up, or simplified compared to previous installments (for example, Bayonetta's up taunt ends before she finishes the line "If you need to learn how to talk to a lady, ask your mum."), while several characters such as Marth and Zelda now have more voices while taunting.

In the Mario Party series, each character has a taunt – however, in Mario Party 6, 7, and 8, it is unlockable. This taunt does nothing useful, and the player just shouts something to a character. In the Mario Golf series, when an opponent is about to hit a ball, the player can taunt the opponent – though this also has no in-game effect. If one human player is playing against another human, the taunt may distract the other player. The player can also cheer for the opponents in the Mario Golf series.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Note: Most returning characters' taunts are retained from Brawl.

Smash Taunts
Smash Taunting is a taunt available only to Snake, Pit and the Star Fox characters. This technique helps the player communicate with the player's allies.

To activate it, the player must execute a down taunt for one frame; however, the taunt only works on specific stages when the player is controlling a specific character.

All of these Smash Taunts cannot be performed while someone is in Final Smash standby, or someone has a fully assembled Dragoon/Daybreak. A conversation can also be interrupted if the aforementioned conditions are met while the conversation is active. Smash Taunts also cannot be performed at all on the Final Destination or Battlefield variant.

Snake's Smash Taunt
The player must choose Snake and play Shadow Moses Island. Once in the stage, the player should do a split-second down taunt. Then, if he is not interrupted, he will establish communication with Roy Campbell, Mei Ling, or Otacon, who begin talking about the fighters, similar to how players are able to obtain information during boss fights using the radio in the Metal Gear Solid series. If the player does this while playing against Falco, they will establish communication with Slippy Toad from the Star Fox series. If more than one opponent is taking part in the match, the game will select one to talk about at random. If Snake is KO'd during a conversation, the person on the other end will shout Snake's name, similar to during the Game Over screens of the Metal Gear Solid series.

For a complete list of Snake's conversations, see here.

Star Fox Smash Taunt
In this one, the player must choose Fox, Falco, or Wolf, select the Lylat Cruise stage and do a split-second down taunt.

After the spaceship warps to the next location, a conversation that matches the background begins. There are five background variations, so there are five types of communications per character.

The characters who make appearances here are Fox, Falco, Peppy, Slippy, Krystal, Wolf, Leon, and Panther.

Because the dialog is staged as if allies are observing the fight from the spaceship, the communication always excludes the one who is engaged in the fight. Strangely, whenever Wolf uses his Smash Taunt, Fox never appears in any of his conversations, while Falco does.

In the Super Smash Bros. Melee Corneria stage, the player can start the same set of communications that existed in the previous version of the stage; however, as only Fox and Falco could initiate these communications in Super Smash Bros. Melee, only Fox and Falco can initiate these communications in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as well.

For a full list of the Lylat Cruise conversations, see here.

Pit's Smash Taunt
The player can choose Pit and play as him in Palutena's Temple and in this one, Pit can call Palutena and Viridi by using a Smash Taunt known as Palutena's Guidance. Here, Pit, Palutena and Viridi talk about the characters who is fighting in the match. Chrom will also appear if Robin is Pit's opponent, or Dark Pit will join the conversation if he is the opponent. If more than one opponent is in the match, the game will select one to talk about at random.

See here for a full list of conversations with Palutena's Guidance.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Characters can taunt or cheer for the player in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour by using for taunting and  for cheering. This does not directly affect gameplay, but the quotes on the screen can provide as a distraction for the player.


 * In the American English version of the game, Shadow Mario's dialogue is purely ellipses. In the European/Australian version, however, he is more articulate.

Mario Power Tennis
In Mario Power Tennis, the player can taunt by tapping "A" while the ball is on the other side of the court. These taunts lower the power gauge of the foe, making it harder for him or her to get a special attack.

Mario Tennis Open / Mario Sports Superstars
In Mario Tennis Open and the tennis mode of Mario Sports Superstars, the player can taunt by tapping or pressing any shot button before an opponent's serve or before their return. A successfully completed taunts powers up the player's next shot. Most characters have their taunt animations reused from Mario Power Tennis, and characters who were previously playable in Mario Tennis Open are reused in Mario Sports Superstars

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash / Mario Tennis Aces
Taunting returns in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and Mario Tennis Aces with the same mechanics as in previous Mario Tennis games and the tennis mode of Mario Sports Superstars. CPUs additionally taunt when the player is serving.