L-canceling

L-canceling (an abbreviation of lag canceling and also known as smooth landing) is a technique in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee that shortens the ending lag when hitting the ground during an aerial attack. Only regular aerial attacks can be L-canceled; special moves that have landing lag cannot. With the introduction of Equipment in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, smooth landing is available as an equipment effect that gives a congruent effect, similar to Auto L-Cancelling.

In Super Smash Flash 2, there is no L-cancelling mechanic. However, almost every aerial move in the game has a brief period of time at the beginning or end of the animation during which the player will not have any landing lag. The auto-cancel frames are intentionally timed to resemble the length of an L-Canceled landing animation, which is referred to as Auto L-Cancelling or Aerial Lag Reduction. This allows for both new and experienced players to perform combos without needing to press the shield button as they land.