Kirby using Inhale on Black Mage to perform a Kirbycide; the most well known sacrificial KO move.
A sacrificial KO (also called a kamikaze or a suicidal KO) is a maneuver in the main Super Smash Bros. games and in Super Smash Flash 2 where one character KOs both themselves and an opponent with a single move. In most cases, this involves grabbing the opponent and dragging them downwards to the bottom blast line, though self-damaging attacks can also prove effective. Sacrificial KOs result in the user self-destructing.
Sacrificial KOs are useful if the user has a high damage percentage and the opponent has a low percentage; as the user is more likely to be KO'd in this way, taking down a comparatively fresh opponent at the same time can even out the match. If the user has a lead in stocks, sacrificial KOs accelerate the match and can even score victories if the victim only has one stock remaining. In the same way, low-damage or trailing players can be harmed by sacrificial KOs, as this often simply brings them closer to losing.
If both players have only one stock remaining, then the user can win, lose, or enter Sudden Death, depending on the exact characteristics of the individual technique such as each player's damage percentages and weight values, the knockback of the move, and the proximity to the blast line. In the case of grab-based methods, this will always result in Sudden Death.
List of sacrificial KO methods[]
Grab-based methods[]
| Character | Execution |
|---|---|
| All characters | By grabbing an opponent while standing on a moving platform, if the grab is not broken, both characters will be KO'd if the platform reaches a blast line. This can occur on platforms such as the falling platforms on Mushroom Kingdom, Central Highway, and Sky Sanctuary Zone, the platforms on Butter Building as the stage scrolls upward, Rambi, and Rayman's Plum. |
| Bandana Dee | Bandana Dee can use his forward throw to carry his opponent off the stage if used near a ledge. |
| Bowser | "Bowsercide" is executed with Flying Slam, with Bowser grabbing an opponent and diving off the stage with them. |
| Donkey Kong | Donkey Kong can use his forward throw to carry his opponent off the stage with him. However, the opponent can break free before being KO'd. |
| Ganondorf | "Ganoncide" is executed with the aerial version of Flame Choke, with Ganondorf grabbing the opponent and plummeting off the stage. |
| Jigglypuff | Jigglypuff can use its back throw when over a moving platform to carry its opponent off the stage. |
| Kirby | "Kirbycide" is the most famous form of sacrificial KO, and it can be executed in multiple ways with Kirby. One way is with Inhale, in which he can suck an opponent in and carry them off the stage with him. However, the opponent can break free before being KO'd. |
| Kirby can use his forward throw, back throw, and up throw to carry his opponent off the stage if used near a ledge. | |
| Kirby can use Chomp by copying it from Wario, which works in the same way as it does with Wario. | |
| Kirby can use Gum-Gum Pistol by copying it from Luffy, which works in the same way as it does with Luffy. | |
| Luffy | Luffy can use Gum-Gum Pistol to grab an opponent while in falling. However, the opponent breaks out as soon as they are pulled all the way to Luffy. |
| Meta Knight | Meta Knight can use his up throw when over a moving platform, over a ledge, or above a ceiling to carry his opponent off the stage. |
| Wario | Wario can use Chomp to grab an opponent while falling, taking them down with him. However, the opponent can break free before being KO'd. |
Other methods[]
| Character | Execution |
|---|---|
| All characters | The usage of self-damaging explosive items such as Motion-Sensor Bombs, Blast Boxes, and Bob-ombs in close ranges can lead to a sacrificial KO due to the explosion hitting multiple players. |
| Ichigo | Ichigo can use Gazan offstage to meteor smash an opponent, causing both characters to plummet to the bottom blast line. |
| Kirby | Kirby can use Final Cutter offstage to meteor smash an opponent, causing both characters to plummet to the bottom blast line. |
| Sandbag | Much like with explosive items, Sandbag can use Bob-omb Toss near an opponent, causing both characters to receive heavy knockback and often fly to the side or upper blast lines. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Originally, Meta Knight could move left or right when using his up throw, which made him able to perform a sacrificial KO with it more easily. However, this function was removed in a subsequent patch due to the technique already being considered effective.
- In v0.9a of the demo, performing Kirby's or Meta Knight's sacrificial KO methods would sometimes cause the game to crash.