The Home-Run Bat (ホームランバット) is a battering item in the Super Smash Flash series hailing from the Super Smash Bros. series.
Overview[]
In Super Smash Flash[]
In the original Super Smash Flash, the Home-Run Bat is based on its appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. As with other battering items, it can be swung forward when attacking while holding it, except its swing uniquely takes about a second to release and slams downward. It deals 40% damage per frame and massive knockback to opponents hit, making it one of the strongest attacks in the game. The Home-Run Bat disappears after being used five times. It can also be thrown away by holding up or down while airborne and pressing the attack input, dealing 6% damage per frame and weak knockback to opponents hit and disappearing.
When holding the attack input, the Home-Run Bat continually resets its charging state until the input is released, allowing the player to more easily time their strike. However, each time the item resets its charge counts for one of its uses, though when continuing to hold it after its fifth use, it only disappears after attacking.
In Super Smash Flash 2[]
In Super Smash Flash 2, the Home-Run Bat's design is original to this game with a dark gray hilt and metallic barrel with the Super Smash Bros. series symbol printed below the end cap. It has a different forward smash attack from other battering items, in that it takes about a second to swing and cannot be charged. This attack deals 28% damage and massive knockback, allowing for a one-hit KO on contact with opponents. This attack can also be used to reflect projectiles. It otherwise deals moderate knockback and 7% damage when used as a neutral attack, 13% damage as a forward tilt, and 16% damage as a dash attack. When thrown, it deals 12% damage and strong knockback to opponents hit.
In addition to randomly appearing throughout a match, Home-Run Contest starts the player with a Home-Run Bat to the left of their starting position. The massive knockback of its forward smash attack makes it the most effective way for most characters to launch the Sandbag as far as possible. Its high damage when thrown also makes it useful for bat dropping, a technique in which the player drops the Home-Run Bat while airborne to hit Sandbag and then follows up with an attack that negates its knockback, allowing for high damage accumulation in a short period of time.
Origin[]
As with many items hailing from the Super Smash Bros. series, the Home-Run Bat has no defining origin game, instead being based on real-life baseball bats. The objective of baseball is to score "runs" by hitting a ball that is thrown by the opposing team's pitcher with the aforementioned bat, which is swung by the batter. Should the batter hit with the correct timing and angling, the ball can be sent out of the playing area or even out of the park, scoring what is referred to as a "home run", allowing the batter, as well, as any other players standing on the bases, to circle the bases and reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process. The one-hit KO property of the Home-Run Bat is directly based on this way of scoring.
The Home-Run Bat may also be inspired by the critical hits from the EarthBound games. Ninten and Ness, the main protagonists of EarthBound Beginnings and EarthBound, respectively, use baseball bats as their main weapons, with more powerful variants found in later parts of the games. Critical hits occur at random chances, dealing much more damage than ordinary attacks. Ness himself uses a common baseball bat as his forward smash in SSF2, which makes the same sound effect as a Home-Run Bat when hitting its sweet spot.
Gallery[]
Super Smash Flash[]
Screenshot[]
Super Smash Flash 2[]
Screenshots[]
Early designs[]
Trivia[]
- Prior to Beta in SSF2, the Home-Run Bat's design was instead based on its more wooden appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
- An unused version of this design appears as the Home-Run Bat Sandbag uses during his Final Smash, Home-Run Combo, as well as his victory pose.
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