SACRIFICIAL KO FAQ
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
This FAQ copyright 2008 by Aaron Kirschner
All rights implied by the above statement are reserved
The most up-to-date version of this FAQ will be on GameFAQs
Table of Contents (use the four letter codes for fast searches)
1. Introduction (ITDC)
2. Version History (VRHS)
3. Sacrificial KOs at a Glance (SKOG)
4. About this Guide (ABTG)
5. Sacrificial KOs by Character (SKCH)
6. Situational Sacrificial KOs (STKO)
7. Tips on Using Sacrificial KOs (TUSK)
8. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
9. Contact Me (CTME)
10. Legal Information (LGIF)
11. Thanks (THKS)
*Introduction* (ITDC)
This is a basic guide to sacrificial KOs in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I wrote
this guide to serve three purposes: 1) To be a basic reference documenting
each sacrificial KO; 2) To be a guide to players looking to implement
sacrificial KOs into their smash repertoire; and 3) In an attempt to remove
the notion that these techniques are strictly n00B techniques and give them
the legitimacy that they deserve in competitive smash. As a SysOp on the
Smash WIki, I have a working knowledge of the smash community and have built a
strong reputation as both a smash player and writer. I hope to extend that
into this guide. This is the second guide I have written for GameFAQs, my
first being the Creatable Spells guide for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
*Version History* (VRHS)
V 0.10: June 24, 2008
I began the guide with the Introduction and at a Glance section
V 0.39: July 28, 2008
All content through King Dedede added.
V 0.92: August 3, 2008
First submitted version. All information except Situational Sacrificial KOs.
*Sacrificial KOs at a Glance* (SKOG)
A sacrificial KO is any move that kills both the user and the opponent. These
have been in Smash Bros. since the N64 edition, with Kirby's swallow being
used to drop off the bottom blast line with the opponent. In Super Smash
Bros. Brawl, however, many more characters have moves that can function like
the "Kirbycide" and pull opponents over the blast lines with them. Before
going any further, I will point out that, for the material covered in this
guide, I will only use the term Sacrificial KO to refer to an attack that
directly KOs both parties. Going beyond the point of no return to use an
aerial attack to make sure you opponent dies, while not inherently a bad idea,
is not in the sense of this guide a sacrificial KO. Examples of Sacrificial
KOs include the aforementioned Kirbycide and Bowser's Flying Slam being used
to drop both characters of the stage. Also, it should be noted that in some
instances sacrificial KOs can be recovered from, both by the attacker and the
attacked. These still qualify as sacrificial KOs if the intention was to drop
both characters off the stage.
*About this Guide* (ABTG)
As stated, this guide serves to be a reference of each sacrificial KO move and
how to use them. To this end, I document each character that has one or more
Sacrificial KOs, and rate the effectiveness of each. I will also provide
commentary on how to perform each move and it practical application(s) in
battle. Each character's section will look like the following:
(CHARACTER NAME)
Move(s) that produce a sacrificial KO: (MOVES)
Difficulty of hitting with the move: (LOW-HIGH)
Effect of damage on success: (NONE-HIGH)
Chance of User's Recovery: (NONE-HIGG)
Chance of Opponent's Recovery: (NONE-HIGH)
Rating of specific Sacrificial KO: (1-10)
Overall rating of Characters Sacrificial KO potential: (1-10)
Comments:
Most of the categories are self-explanatory. When I rate the difficulty of
hitting with the move, I am talking about using it in an actual game. The
effect of damage stat looks as how much of a role damage percentile plays in
the success rate of an attempted sacrificial KO. In all cases, lower is
better. The greater role that damage plays, the closer you would have to be
to your opponents damage to pull off the move, thus diminishing the
effectiveness of the sacrificial KO. The chance of recovery is, for both
players, the chance that either party has not being KOed by the attack. The
rating of each attack is a ranking from 1-10 on how effective and useful that
move is. My overall rating of the characters Sacrificial KOs potential is on
a scale from 1-10 of how effective and useable the sacrificial KO(s) of that
character is/are.
*Sacrificial KOs by Character* (SKHC)
The following characters have no Sacrificial KOs:
*Captain Falcon
*Falco
*Fox
*Ice Climbers
*Jigglypuff
*Link
*Lucario#
*Lucas
*Luigi
*Mario
*Marth
*Mr. Game & Watch
*Ness
*Olimar
*Peach##
*Pikachu
*Pit
*Pokemon Trainer
*R.O.B.
*Samus
*Sheik
*Snake
*Sonic
*Toon Link
*Wolf
*Yoshi
*Zelda
*Zero Suit Samus
# Lucario technically has a sacrificial KO with his neutral special, but it
is practically useless.
## Peach potentially has a sacrificial KO if she pulls a Bob-omb with her
down special. See Situational Sacrificial KO's for more information.
The following characters have one or more Sacrificial KOs:
BOWSER
Move that produces a sacrificial KO: Flying Slam (side special)
Difficulty of hitting with move: Medium
Effect of damage on success: Medium-hi
Chance of user's recovery: Impossible
Chance of opponent's recovery: Impossible (very low for Link/Toon Link)
Rating of Flying Slam as a Sacrificial KO: 7/10
Overall rating of Bowser's Sacrificial KO potential: 8/10
Comments: Bowser is a useful character for performing sacrificial KOs. While
the Flying Slam is hurt by the fact that damage can play a big role
in its success, Bowser can easily put that damage on.
DIDDY KONG
Move that produces a sacrificial KO: Monkey Flip (side special)
Difficulty of hitting with move: Medium-hi
Effect of damage on success: High
Chance of user's recovery: Very High
Chance of opponent's recovery: Medium
Rating of Monkey Flip as a Sacrificial KO: 2/10
Overall rating of Diddy Kong's Sacrificial KO potential: 1/10
Comments: Diddy is awesome, no denying, but it's not because of his
Sacrificial KO. Using the Monkey Flip as a sacrificial KO requires
considerable set-up, and is just hardly ever the best option. If
you somehow manage to Monkey Flip on to someone over the bottom
blast line, it is just better to press X and have Diddy jump off
the opponent and spike them instead.
DONKEY KONG
Move that produces a sacrificial KO: Carry (grab + forward throw)
Difficulty of hitting with move: Low
Effect of damage on success: Very High
Chance of user's recovery: Medium
Chance of opponent's recovery: Medium
Rating of Carry as a Sacrificial KO: 2/10
Overall rating of Donkey Kong's Sacrificial KO potential: 1/10
Comments: This is another one of those things that can be done, but
probably shouldn't. If your opponent is at a high enough percent
that you could carry them long enough to actually drop off the
blast line, the back throw would most likely kill them as well, and
not cost you a life.
GANONDORF
Move that produces a sacrificial KO: Flame Choke (side B)
Difficulty of hitting with move: Low
Effect of damage on success: NONE!!!
Chance of user's recovery: Impossible
Chance of opponent's recovery: Impossible
Rating of Flame Choke as a Sacrificial KO: 10/10
Overall rating of Ganondorf's Sacrificial KO potential: 10/10
Comments: This is by far one of the best sacrificial KOs in the game. It is
also the only one that has no dependency on the opponent's or the
user's damage, meaning that it can be used at any time to remove
one stock from each player and reset damage to 0% each. The best
part about this move is that if used properly, you will still
recover to the edge if the opponent dodges. Basically, if you feel
that your opponent will KO you before you can get them, go ahead
and try to Flame Choke them in the air near the ledge to even the
damage.
IKE
Move that produces a sacrificial KO: Aether (up special)
Difficulty of hitting with move: Low
Effect of damage on success: Low
Chance of user's recovery: Impossible
Chance of opponent's recovery: High
Rating of Aether as a Sacrificial KO: 3/10
Overall rating of Ike's Sacrificial KO potential: 2/10
Comments: While Ike's Aether is primarily a recovery move, he can get
opponents caught in the sword's hitboxes and drag them through the
bottom blast lines. However, it is not hard to DI or dodge out of
this, and there is no chance of the user's recovery. If you know
there is no way to recover, this can be worth a shot, but it should
never be a primary goal of an Ike player.
KING DEDEDE
Move (1) that produces a sacrificial KO: Inhale (neutral special)
Difficulty of hitting with move: Medium
Effect of damage on success: Medium
Chance of user's recovery: Medium-low
Chance of opponent's recovery: Medium-low
Rating of Inhale as a Sacrificial KO: 7/10
Move (2) that produces a sacrificial KO: Super Dedede Jump (up special)
Difficulty of hitting with move: Very High
Effect of damage on success: Low
Chance of user's recovery: Very Low
Chance of opponent's recovery: Very Low
Rating of Flying Slam as a Sacrificial KO: 1/10
Overall rating of King Dedede's Sacrificial KO potential: 7/10
Comments: King Dedede may technically have two sacrificial KOs, but he
might as well only have one. Trust me, the Super Dedede Jump is
almost impossible to time to spike the opponent on the way down
against a good opponent. Luckily, Inhale is an effective
Sacrificial KO. While Dedede may not hold enemies in his mouth
as long as Kirby does, he falls faster, so the difference is
negligible. Be careful with this, as a good player will punish
you if you show your main game-plan being Dededecide. However,
you shouldn't have any trouble sneaking in a good Dededecide if you
practice.
KIRBY
Move (1) that produces a sacrificial KO: Inhale (neutral special)
Difficulty of hitting with move: Medium-low
Effect of damage on success: Medium
Chance of user's recovery: Medium-low
Chance of opponent's recovery: Low
Rating of Inhale as a Sacrificial KO: 10/10
Move (2) that produces a sacrificial KO: Final Cutter (up special)
Difficulty of hitting with move: High
Effect of damage on success: Low
Chance of user's recovery: None
Chance of opponent's recovery: Very Low
Rating of Final Cutter as a Sacrificial KO: 4/10
Overall rating of Kirby's Sacrificial KO potential: 10/10
Comments: Kirby and Ganondorf are the only two characters to get 10 out of 10
in this guide, and for good reason. Kirby's inhale is just flat
out better than King Dedede's. It comes out faster, has better
range, and keeps the opponent in Kirby's mouth longer. It can be
be used quite effectively on an edgeguarding enemy. Kirby's other
sacrificial KO (the Final Cutter) functions much like Ike's does,
but it has more potential to keep a hold on the opponent and drag
them off the stage. It is also faster, so it's harder for the
enemy to dodge. Kirby can also gain the sacrificial KOs of Wario,
King Dedede, and Meta Knight; his inhale is strictly better than
all of those.
META KNIGHT
Move that produces a Sacrificial KO: Mach Tornado (neutral special)
Difficulty of hitting with move: Low
Effect of damage on success: Almost none
Chance of user's recovery: Medium
Chance of opponent's recovery: Low
Rating of Mach Tornado as a Sacrificial KO: 6/10
Overall rating of Meta Knight's Sacrificial KO potential: 4/10
Comments: At first glance, Meta Knight seems to display all the factors
needed for a high score on sacrificial KO potential. So why does
he only score a 4 out of 10? Quite simply, there is almost always
a better option. If you're trying to take your opponent off the
top blast line, you'd be just as well served to let the knockback
kill your opponent and not die. As for going off the side, it's
hardly ever possible, and the same thing as above applies. It is
more than possible to perform a Sacrificial KO with Meta Knight,
it's just rarely a good idea.
WARIO
Move that produces a Sacrificial KO: Chomp (neutral special)
Difficulty of hitting with move: High
Effect of damage on success: High
Chance of user's recovery: Low
Chance of opponent's recovery: Low
Rating of Chomp as a Sacrificial KO: 4/10
Overall rating of Wario's sacrificial KO potential: 4/10
Comments: Chomp is just much too hard to hit with to be an effective move
for producing Sacrificial KOs. It is almost required that the
opponent is off-stage edgeguarding for the move to have any chance
of success. Even then, the move has some issues. Using it stops
Wario's forward momentum, and Wario is always on the bottom,
meaning that if it is used during Caveman Time, Wario will always
lose.
*Situational Sacrificial KOs* (STKO)
COMING SOON
*Tips on Using Sacrificial KOs* (TUSK)
Sacrificial KOs are some of the most misunderstood moves in Super Smash Bros.
They are often dismissed as poor choices or "n00b" tactics. I will not
address the latter, as I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as a
n00b tactic. There is only what wins and what does not, and that need not be
the same from game to game. As for the concept that they are a poor choice,
the logic here is much more understandable. Of course, there are situations
where they are a poor choice, the most obvious being when you have one stock
and your opponent has two. However, there are also many situations where a
sacrificial KO is a favorable move. The reverse of the above scenario is one,
but there are also many where you have the same number of stocks as your
opponent, or even have fewer. I'll focus on three of the most common
situations below. I plan to add more later, but these three should function
to provide a primer on how to best utilize sacrificial KOs.
The first situation I'll look at is using sacrificial KOs to accelerate the
game and/or force Sudden Death. Sacrificial KOs have the power to simply
advance the game one stock forward. This can actually be quite a helpful
maneuver, as the longer the game goes, the more likely it is to favor the
player with more outright skill. If you're in a situation where you feel that
your opponent will just slowly build a lead on you, using sacrificial KOs to
bring the game to 0%, 1-stock each (i.e. Caveman Time) can remove some of your
opponent's advantage. When there is only one stock left, if you manage to get
in just one kill, you win. If the game dragged on for four or five stocks,
your opponent might be able to gain this lead back, but with one life left,
they don't have this option. You could also use sacrificial KOs to force
Sudden Death. Sudden Death is a completely different game from normal play,
as any good hit will kill the opponent. This is especially useful with King
Dedede, where just one of his Waddle Dees will KO the opponent.
The second situation to consider is evening damage percentages. This
situation is much easier to understand than the above. Imagine that you are
at around 150% damage, yet your opponent is only at 25%. A simple Sacrificial
KO will bring both players back to 0%. Even if your opponent is ahead of you
on stocks, this can be a good move. It's very likely that your opponent will
kill you before you kill them, and it's equally likely that they will put
damage on you before you get them back (if you even do). By using a
Sacrificial KO, you take the inevitable stock loss to yourself, but you also
make sure that your opponent also takes a stock loss.
The third scenario for using Sacrificial KOs is as a Guard Break.
Edgeguarding is a strategy employed by many players, and rightfully so. When
opponents are edgeguarding, they are almost always near or off the edge of the
stage (the exception is Zelda). This puts them in perfect position for a
Sacrificial KO to take them out. The best choices for this are Kirby,
Ganondorf, and King Dedede; but Bowser and Ike can also work.
*Frequently Asked Questions* (FAQS)
ASK AND I WILL ANSWER
*Contact Me* (CTME)
Ok, before I give out the e-mail address that you can reach me at, I will lay
down some ground rules about e-mailing me. First of all, do not send me mass
e-mails. I will block you and you will not be able to ask or send me anything
ever. Second, know that this is my third e-mail account. I plan to check
this at least once a week, but I do have other duties, like practicing
clarinet. I will try to respond to your question if I think the guide does
not accurately answer it. Also, please have some kind of subject that lets me
know what the e-mail is about. Ok so here it is; the e-mail address to send
me stuff at:
[email protected]
There you are. Use it wisely.
*Legal Information* (LGIF)
This guide is the sole property of Clarinet_Hawk and the primary user of this
alias on GameFAQs.com, Aaron Kirschner. Any reproduction without express
written consent is prohibited. If you want consent to post part of this FAQ
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If I deem that you may use my work, I will send you an e-mail explicitly
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you will lose permission to post any of my works.
*Thanks*
To Ax, my best friend and SLAPAHO teammate forever.
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