Shield (Super Smash Bros. series)
Shield is an ability in all three Super Smash Bros. games and also in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. In Super Smash Bros., it is performed by pressing the Z button.
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, it is done by pressing the L or R button. The player will then have a circle (red if it is Player 1, blue if it is Player 2, yellow if it is Player 3, green if it is Player 4 and grey if it is the CPU) around them, protecting them from attacks. The shield in Yoshi's case will be an egg. Also, players can control the strength of their shield, depending on how hard they press the L or R button. A thicker shield will erode slower from damage but faster from time, while a thinner shield will erode more from damage but significantly less from time duration, adding to shielding strategy. There are some attacks/items that can "break" a shield though. If a player has the shield on for too long, then the player will break his/her own shield, causing him/her to be confused. They will not be able to move for a couple of seconds, allowing other players to attack them.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, there are four different control types. With the Wii Remote by itself, the player can use the Shield by pressing the B Button (by default). Unlike in Melee however, players have no control over the shield's strength.
In all three games, there is a way to "Roll" with a shield, by tilting the control stick right or left while in shield mode. Additionally, in Melee and Brawl, players can perform sidestep dodges to avoid attacks.
In the DS verison of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, one of the items from the Sonic the Hedgehog series is the Shield. The shield could protect the player from incoming items in Dream Race and Dream Long Jump.
