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, 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.