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Spike- An attack that sends theopponent directly downwards until hitstun wears off and cannot be canceled. These do not exist in Brawl - explained below.
Meteor Smash- An attack that sends theopponent directly downwards until hitstun wears off or until it has been meteor-canceled.
Stall-then-fall - An attack that sends the user directly downwards until hitlag wears off. Some stall-then-falls are spikes if they hit as the user begins their downward movement (i.e. Game and Watch or Toon Link)
Semi-spike - An attack that sends the opponent horizontally, with significant downward momentum. Semi-spikes are not technically meteors, and cannot be meteor-canceled.
Footstool Jump - Performed by pressing jump while a short distance above your opponent, if done in the air, a Footstool Jump acts as a weak spike. Its best use is to space aerials, like Marth's or Toon Link's Dair.
Meteor-canceling
Meteor-canceling, while still present in Brawl, is performed slightly differently. In Melee, if the player uses a second or third jump immediately after being meteored, the effects of the meteor smash will cancel, and the player is given the opportunity to recover. The higher your damage, the more difficult meteor-canceling becomes, as you fly downwards at a faster rate.
The key difference to meteor-canceling in Brawl is the time at which you input your second or third jump. Much like teching, if you press X or Y too early you will be unable to meteor cancel again for a set number of frames. Rather than jumping immediately after being meteored, you must wait a set amount of time before canceling. A way to avoid this is by using your third jump (Up-B), rather than your second jump, to cancel. As Doval discovered, you can “mash Up-B as much as you like, and you’ll get a Meteor Cancel every time.” This technique works because the number of frames you must wait before meteor-canceling does not reset when you press UP on the control stick, only when you press X or Y. This works whether Tap Jump is set to on or off.
The amount of time you must wait before meteor-canceling is approximately half the time it takes for hitstun to naturally wear off your character. BE CAREFUL: In Melee, all characters could meteor-cancel with their jumps, but the same does not hold true in Brawl. Pit, and possibly other characters with multiple jumps, cannot meteor-cancel with his second jump or Up-B. Also of note is that it is possible to meteor-cancel with a tether that is not a third jump (i.e. Lucas’ grab).
At this point assume that all spikes are Meteor Smashes. Why? My theory is that spikes were unintentionally a part of Melee. There are only five true spikes in Melee. Captain Falcon’s D-air only spiked at the n****e, whereas it is a meteor everywhere else on the hitbox. Roy, who usually sweetspots at the center of his sword, spikes at the tip of his U-Smash. Marth’s D-air spike was removed from the PAL version of Melee, and replaced with a Meteor Smash. It is possible Melee spikes were only a result of developer oversight while coding the conditions for a Meteor Smash to be canceled.
Sakurai, and the HAL team, do not distinguish between spikes and meteors in either game. On the Smash Bros. DOJO, Sakurai does not indicate that there are any other techniques that send the opponent directly downward, that also behave differently than Meteor Smashes. While there have been many examples thus far of developer error in Brawl’s engine, it seems unlikely they would neglect to include meteor-canceling on all Meteor Smashes. This just means you’ll have to get used to the new meteor-cancel system. When you’re edgeguarding off the stage, at times it may be more advantageous to use a semi-spike, which cannot be meteor-canceled.
List of Meteor Smashes
King Dedede
Up-B, Super Dedede Jump;
Spikes: Anywhere on Dedede’s underside during his descent.
Diddy Kong
D-air;
Spikes: Diddy’s fists.
Over-B, Monkey Flip;
Spikes: Press jump after latching on, Diddy will kick downwards.
Up-B, Rocketbarrel Boost;
Spikes: When used directly above opponent, flames.
DK
D-air;
Spikes: Entire hitbox as he stomps down.
F-air;
Spikes: The last several frames, as his fists reach the bottom of the arc.
Over-B, Head Butt;
Spikes: His head. Has the same properties as the Pitfall item.
Captain Falcon
D-air;
Spikes: If Falcon is directly above the opponent, his legs as he stomps downwards. No longer spikes at the n****e.
Over-B, Raptor Boost;
Spikes: Falcon will push the opponent downwards, allowing him to retain some horizontal movement in the air.
Charizard
D-air;
Spikes: Slowly, at the feet.
B-air;
Spikes: As his tail sweeps downward, the flame at the tip spikes.
Falco
D-air;
Spikes: At the knees. Must sweetspot.
Over-B, Falco Phantasm;
Spikes: As Falco moves horizontally.
Fox
D-air;
Spikes: At the legs, very weak spike.
Ganondorf
D-air;
Spikes: Entire hitbox as he stomps downwards.
Over-B, Flame Choke;
Spikes: As soon as Ganondorf grabs your opponent, he automatically spikes downward.
Down-B, Wizard’s Foot;
Spikes: Stall-then-fall, during first few frames of downward kick.
Ice Climbers
F-air;
Spikes: Only Nana’s hammer, must have both Ice Climbers.
Ike
D-tilt;
Spikes: Entire blade while slashing the ground.
D-air;
Spikes: The entire blade in the initial frames, as he first thrusts his blade down.
Up-B, Aether;
Spikes: On downward slash.
Neutral-B, Eruption;
Spikes: At the tip.
Ivysaur
D-air;
Spikes: The initial hitbox (bulb), before gas comes out.
N-air;
Spikes: Bottom of body, i.e. lower stomach, back legs, bottom part of leaves.
Kirby
D-air;
Spikes: Middle of Kirby’s feet.
Up-B, Final Cutter;
Spikes: On downward slash.
Link
D-tilt;
Spikes: Entire blade while sweeping ground.
Lucas
D-air;
Spikes: The hexagon created by the fourth downward kick.
B-air;
Spikes: The kick arcs downwards, at the bottom of that arc.
D-tilt;
Spikes: Entire hitbox, weak spike.
Luigi
D-air;
Spikes: At Luigi’s back.
D-taunt;
Spikes: The kicking animation.
Mario
F-air;
Spikes: During the last few frames of the attack, when Mario's fist becomes big.
Marth
D-air;
Spikes: At the tip. Must sweetspot.
U-tilt;
Spikes: Back of the sword, must not sweetspot.
Over-B, Dancing Blade;
Spikes: Third strike, downward (green) option.
Mr. Game and Watch
D-air;
Spikes: Stall-then-fall, at very close range.
Ness
D-air;
Spikes: Entire hitbox on startup. Dair also has a hitbox late in the move with strong horizontal knockback.
D-tilt;
Spikes: Entire hitbox, weak spike.
Peach
D-tilt;
Spikes: At her hand, not her arm.
Pit
D-tilt;
Spikes: Any part of Pit's lower body.
R.O.B.
D-air;
Spikes: Directly below him, at the flames.
Samus
D-air;
Spikes: Samus' entire forearm as it sweeps downward.
Snake
F-air;
Spikes: At the heel during the entire arc.
Taunt (All);
Spikes: Once the box has been thrown off, if the opponent is tethered, ledgehogging, or recovering from below the stage.
Sonic
U-Smash;
Spikes: At apex of jump.
Toon Link
D-air;
Spikes: Stall-then-fall, spikes at the tip of the blade during the first few frames (as long as the hilt glows).
Wario
Over-B, Wario Bike;
Spikes: If thrown, acts as a weak spike, hitting multiple times forcing your opponent downwards. Can be DIed out of in some situations.
Wolf
D-air;
Spikes: At his arms as they thrust downwards.
Over-B, Wolf Flash;
Spikes: As Wolf ends his horizontal movement.
Yoshi
F-air;
Spikes: At Yoshi’s head.
D-air;
Spikes: During any of the flutter kicks.
Zelda
D-tilt;
Spikes: At the thigh. From knee to foot will not spike.
D-air;
Spikes: Entire hitbox; sweetspot at the toe.
Zero Suit Samus
D-air;
Spikes: Stall-then-fall, spikes at extended leg.
Down-B, Flip Jump;
Spikes: Press any attack button while the character model is flashing, Zamus will stick out her leg and spike at the entire hitbox in the first few frames.
Up-B, Plasma Wire;
Spikes: At the tip when fully extended, pulls opponent downwards.
Semi-spikes
C. Falcon
U-air;
Spikes: In the last few frames.
F-air;
Spikes: In the last few frames.
Fox
Down-B, Reflector (Shine);
Spikes: Any edge of the hexagon.
Ganondorf
U-air;
Spikes: In the last few frames.
Marth
D-tilt;
Spikes: At the tip.
Metaknight
F-air;
Spikes: At the tip, during the last slash. Very difficult to sweetspot.
D-air;
Spikes: As blade sweeps beneath him.
Mr. Game and Watch
Neutral-B, Chef;
Spikes: In the first few frames, as he takes out his pan.
Ness
B-air;
Spikes: At the feet.
Dash attack;
Spikes: First two sparks. Ledgedash makes this easier.
Olimar
Up-B, Pikmin Chain;
Spikes: The top Pikmin when recovering diagonally.
D-air;
Spikes: The first few frames as he puts the Pikmin diagonally below him.
Peach
F-Smash;
Spikes: With golf club or tennis racket.
Pikachu
U-air;
Spikes: The tip of the tail as it’s above Pikachu.
Sheik
F-air;
Spikes: Hitbox.
Yoshi
D-tilt;
Spikes: The tip of his tail. Large hitbox.
Zelda
Up-B, Farore's Wind;
Spikes: As she reappears.
D-smash;
Spikes: Hitbox.
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