There’s a lot to consider when deciding what makes a strong Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter. Some have high attack stats, some have strong defenses, and some have super speed. But the Final Smash is the piece-de-resistance. Nothing is more thrilling than the rush of snagging the Smash Ball, waiting for the opportune moment to claim your victory.

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But which Final Smash is the best? While personal preference is obviously important here, so are factors such as damage percentage, range, and knockback. Some characters can be relatively weak and unexciting with a Smash Ball, but some others can make for the greatest attacks in the whole game.

Updated January 26th, 2021 by Gene Cole: The list of characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has only grown since its release, with the stream of characters from the Fighter Pass DLC leading to many new and absurd Final Smashes to try out. Some of these newer characters deserve a mention for their special moves, as many have proven themselves to be the most dangerous opponents to end up with a Smash Ball.

16 Piranha Plant: Petey Piranha

Piranha Plant summoning Petey Piranha in Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Petey Piranha is undoubtedly a fan-favorite enemy for many Nintendo fans, particularly for Smash Bros players who experienced him as a boss in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This gives the Piranha Plant character a great nostalgic edge, summoning this boss to throw cages and blast fire at foes until they fly off the stage.

It’s not as destructive as the instant-knockout moves that some Final Smashes can be, but Petey Piranha’s large enough that it’s unlikely to fail as a killing blow against almost any opponent. Since it covers a huge amount of range, this also means it’s hardly going to miss anyone who can’t fly far away.

15 Sephiroth: Supernova

Sephiroth using his Supernova Final Smash in Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Just like his is in Final Fantasy 7, the recent addition of Sephiroth has presented Smash Bros. players with an incredibly dominant force that’ll annihilate anyone in his way. After slashing with his lengthy blade, foes hit by Sephiroth will immediately get launched into a cutscene with the one-winged angel before being blasted by energy into the sky.

Unlike many cutscene moves, this one doesn’t have as limited range to draw in opponents. Sephiroth’s blade is incredibly wide in its attacks, meaning it’s incredibly tough to avoid it without dodging at the perfect moment.

14 Joker: All-Out Attack

Joker eliminating Cloud with an All-Out Attack in Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Persona 5 representative Joker is fairly similar to Sephiroth, having wonderfully long attacks and a Final Smash that builds off of that skill. Unlike Sephiroth, though, Joker actually just sprints through your opponent at max speed before your fellow Phantom Thieves suddenly join the party to deal enough damage to blast them away.

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This gives you a huge amount of movement, sending you basically across the entire stage. Ideally, this means you’ll always hit so long as they don’t jump early enough, but even if you miss it can even work as a recovery move or dodge so that your failed attack doesn’t leave you vulnerable to a counter strike.

13 Banjo & Kazooie: The Mighty Jinjonator

The Jinjonator attacking foes in Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Jinjos were an absolute pain to collect in Banjo Kazooie, but Smash Bros. Ultimate finally has a better use for them than collecting Jiggies. Instead, they absolutely wreck the opponents who get hit by a menacing Jinjonator statue that rises from the ground, covering a wide distance in front of Banjo when he uses the move.

This manages to beat out Sephiroth mostly because of range, as this statue is surprisingly large and comes upwards instead of blasting forward from Banjo. This can help you catch opponents off-guard, particularly since Banjo doesn’t have any moves that come upward out of the ground in this way.

12 Min Min: ARMS Rush

Min Min using her ARMS Rush Final Smash in Super Smash Bros Ultimate

If you’re not the largest fan of Min Min as the ARMS representative for Smash Bros, you’ll probably appreciate the appearance of the full cast in the ARMS Rush. Her coiled arm quickly blasts forward across nearly half a standard stage, and all those impacted will be hit hard with a group-punch.

Once again, the power in this move comes in its range, as it can be deeply disappointing to fail with your moves after working hard to obtain a Smash Ball. Your reward is an incredibly reliable move that will absolutely give you a few lives over your opponents by the end of the cutscene.

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10 Pokemon Trainer: Triple Finish

via: GamesHedge

Any Pokemon fan will get hyped watching this one. Charizard, Ivysaur, and Squirtle use Fire Blast, Solar Beam, and Hydro Pump respectively–all at the same time–creating a super powerful and effective blast. The closer opponents are to the Pokemon, the more damage this move does, up to about 57%.

Compared to other Final Smashes in the game, it’s got a significantly larger hitbox; it should hit every opponent across the width of the stage, providing they’re not in the air. Dealing out high damage and being reasonably difficult to avoid, Triple Finish is a solid move.

9 Ridley: Plasma Scream

via: The Morgan PawPrint

A much-requested fighter by the fans, Ridley finally joins us in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and he brings a solid Final Smash with him. In an awesome cinematic, the opponent is launched onto Samus’s Gunship, Ridley unleashes a Plasma Attack on the ship, and it explodes.

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Standing proudly amongst the top five Final Smashes in terms of damage, Plasma Scream deals around 76% damage. This means that the Final Smash alone kills any opponent if they’re at 45%, which is nothing to sniff at. Plus, it looks great.

8 Zero Suit Samus: Zero Laser

via: YouTube

You might think that Samus is weaker without her armored suit, but she’s happy to prove us wrong. Her Final Smash is incredibly powerful, able to launch foes out of the arena from just 0% damage.

Leaping atop her Gunship, the player controls a crosshair which when aimed, fires a punishing ray of energy, repeatedly dealing out damage. They are then flung into the air, and often completely out of the stage. It’s also a very quick move, which helps when trapping as many players as possible, as they have very little time to escape. Zero Suit? Zero problem.

7 Pac-Man: Super Pac-Man

via: Fanbyte

There’s a reason this move is called "Super." Pac-Man transforms into his original 8-bit self and munches on the other players, dealing up to around 81% damage. That kind of damage places this move in the top three most damaging Final Smashes of the original cast of the game in terms of numerical stats.

The opponents who are successfully ‘eaten’ get blown offstage. A big advantage is that it covers a lot of the stage, giving it a good success rate of hitting multiple opponents at once. It’s also a nice throwback with Pac-Man disappearing off one side of the screen and reappearing on the other, just like in the original arcade game.

6 Simon & Richtor: Grand Cross

via: Variety

For the first time ever, Castlevania characters have been added to the Smash Bros. roster, and they’re starting off their Smash career with a bang. Richter is an Echo Fighter of Simon, so they use the same Final Smash. Following a decent attack combo, this move is devastating.

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Use a trapping move such as Holy Fire to hold the enemy in place, then follow it up with Grand Cross to send them ‘Away!’ and finish them off for good. It’s able to KO at 25% damage, so you don’t have to wait long to make the best use of it.

5 Captain Falcon: The Blue Falcon

Captain Falcon running over his opponents in Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Since the introduction of Final Smashes in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, there have been many changes to the moves belonging to classic characters. Most that can be used in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate just provide a fast killing blow, and several older Final Smashes being replaced to no longer involve silly or confusing gimmicks.

Thankfully, one of the quickest attacks has remained the same, and that would be Captain Falcon’s ability to run people over with his high-speed space car. Captain Falcon has been an inspiration of memes for decades, and that's perfectly captured by his Final Smash being as powerful as it is hilarious.

4 Marth & Lucina: Critical Hit

via: YouTube

Lucina and Marth share Critical Hit as their Final Smash. This move deals 62% damage and has huge knockback, able to KO an opponent in one hit. It’s so powerful, it can even be dangerous to use. It has a huge range, usually covering the entire width of the stage.

The move ends with Marth and Lucina swinging their swords when they reach an opponent. However, if they don’t hit anything, they can fly off the stage, ending in a self-destruct. You can end the move early by pressing the attack button, triggering the sword slash, and saving them from certain doom.

3 Wario: Wario-Man

via: YouTube

Wario still loves his garlic in Ultimate as much as ever, and after eating it he rushes forwards, slamming into enemies ahead of him. If he hits someone, he transforms into the powerful (and maybe a little bit gross) Wario-Man. Wario-Man then attacks his target, darting about, punching and kicking them, and ending the sequence with a giant, lethal fart. Nice.

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If there are several enemies ahead of him, Wario-Man will attack them all. This move is also capable of knocking players out at less than 30% damage, making it easy to kick multiple butts at once.

2 Zelda: Triforce Of Wisdom

via: Zelda Universe

Zelda schools her rivals by trapping them in the Triforce of Wisdom and banishing them. If they’re at 100% damage, they’ll instantly be knocked out once they’re dragged into the Triforce; otherwise, it flings them away, likely making them get KO’d if they don't have a good recovery move.

The best part of this Final Smash is its awesome suction power. Your targets have to be very far away not to get sucked in and most stages don’t have enough space to escape. This move is virtually inescapable. No amount of dodging or shielding can save you if you get caught too close, making it a valuable Final Smash.

1 Peach & Daisy: Peach Blossom

via: YouTube

On the surface, this move seems empty and flowery, but Peach and her echo fighter Daisy are deadlier than you think. After either Peach or Daisy complete their dance, nearby rivals are damaged up to 36%, three healing peaches or daisies fall from the sky, and anyone within a set distance falls asleep.

It’s impossible to escape from. If an opponent is in the air at the time, they’ll fall to their death. They also stay asleep for a long time, allowing you to not only eat the items and heal 60% damage, but to use a fully charged Smash Attack.

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