Double digits!
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HAMMER
The very first time we saw the hammer, we knew something was up. The hammer in the picture above doesn’t seem that menacing, but in reality it’s about as tall as the average character. Spooky. So what exactly does this monstrous sledgehammer do? It does what hammers do best – crushing, smashing, and destroying everything in sight. You’d better run away if your opponent gets this item.
HISTORY
We trace the hammer’s appearance all the way from the original Super Smash Brothers for the Nintendo 64. Back then, everyone loved the sight of this killing machine. When it popped up, all contestants will throw themselves into the fray for this item. In 64, as you can tell, this item literally killed in 1-2 shots. Talk about a monster. In Melee, the hammer was slightly nerfed, but it still remained a beast of an item. Now, it takes around 3-4 hits to kill starting from 0%, but it’s still considered a very valuable item.
In Super Mario Bros., the Hammer Bros also throw something like this, except it looked more like a toolbox hammer. Perhaps Nintendo derived this hammer from the Mario series…
And, of course, the inventor of the hammer will be acknowledged because he/she actually made the thing up.
PROPERTIES
Man. This thing’s got a lot of properties.
Specially graphical, the hammer has a wooden shaft and a black hammerhead. It’s really big, and your character swings it around when you get it, so as long as you’re within arm reach of your opponent, the hammer will score a deadly hit.
In the game, the hammer is one of the most damage-dealing items. When you pick it up, your character flails it wildly really fast, and this really cool and 8 bit-ish music comes up, striking terror in your opponents. You move as normal, but if you touch your opponent with the hammer, they will be sent flying off the screen. Yeah, it’s very powerful.
However, there are some drawbacks… sometimes, the hammer isn’t really made very well (yeah, blame Nintendo), and the hammerhead will fall off. When it does, you’ll still be flailing the shaft, but the hammerhead is on the floor. You do no damage to your opponents when the hammerhead is off, and the hammerhead can be picked up and thrown to deal massive damage. So if your hammerhead falls off, you’d better run.
Also, the hammer lowers your speed and your jump height, so it’s harder for you to reach your opponents. Such are the things that span the gulf between you and your opponent being slaughtered by a giant hammer.
OPINIONS, COMMENTS, STRATEGIES
The hammer really has no strategy – just grab, run and hit. However, in team brawls, there’s a tactic.
Have one team member grab the hammer and have another lock him in a chain grab or an A combo. Your opponent will be stuck. Then, the team member with the hammer will go up and hit the opponent, striking an inevitable KO. This requires you to be really lucky, and having the opponent’s team members in the right places and at the right times. Yeah, they won’t coordinate with you if you’re going to kill them.
Another way is to corner your opponent by advancing with the hammer. Your opponent should run away when you have the hammer and you are running towards them. When they are at a corner or something, hit over and over again to deal massive damage. This can work well if you have a team member that can lock your opponent in, or do an aerial to kill.
Naturally, your opponents will try to stay in the air longer. This is because the hammer gimps your jumping height, so you’ll probably not reach them. However, they can’t stay in the air forever. Predict where they’ll fall to, and hit. You should probably jump first and contact them in the air, because if your opponent air dodges, he/she’ll still be hit because once both players will fall after he/she air dodges. When the air dodge ends, he/she will be hit by the hammer and they will be KO’d.
You can also guard the hammer by standing next to it. Accumulate damage with your projectiles, and when you think you have enough, grab the hammer for a one-hit-knock-out.
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There’s not much to the hammer. It basically makes you a sluggish killing machine. That is sometimes what you want to bide time or just simply KO. If you are playing a Brawl, team battle or not, with items on, getting the Hammer is almost as important as getting a Smash Ball.
On a side note, if you hit a Smash Ball with a Hammer, you’ll get the Smash Ball in one hit.
Happy Brawling!
-Atmc
