Super Smash Bros./Items

Items are some of the main things that make this game so addictively fun. I mean, how can you have massive explosions without explosives? However, they can also make play very frustrating and/or annoying. Essentially, items act to balance out character and player differences, making for a fun casual game, but in serious play they don’t allow for the skilled players to always defeat the less skilled ones. There is quite the list of available items, and some are more fun than others.
NOTE: In high-level competitive play, items are invariably turned off. Play whichever way suits you the best, but remember that you will be scoffed at if you want to play with the best and you depend on items.
Containers.
Put simply, these are items that contain other items, as many as three at a time. To open these containers, you can either pick them up and throw them or you can simply attack them. Beware, though, as some no-good individual has made random containers explosive, which means sometimes you go BOOM when you break them. However, people tend to take that chance in an attempt to get an item from a barrel or a crate, because it's a lot quicker than picking it up and throwing it. When you point a direction, and push the A-button, your character throws the item in that direction. Remember though, when taking long shots at an opponent, it’s better to break the container and throw one of the items inside then to throw the container itself, because you’re either wasting the items, or placing them at your opponent's feet if you miss.
Hand-to-Hand Weapons.
These weapons are held by a character and swung at them to inflict damage and death. Because they are an additional weapon, they provide a longer-range attack with a disjointed hitbox (attacking part is not part of the attacker, so you can't hit the attack to stop it), as well as adding on additional damage. Each one of these weapons has a different attack for: neut. A, ftilt, DA, and fsmash, and they are not used for any other attacks, which means that when you execute other attacks, you'll just do them while holding the item, without actively using it. Also, each character has a different version of each of the above movements, so learn your characters’. All of these weapons, when thrown, are action-blockable.
Projectile Weapons.
Thrown.
This category covers the items that are meant to be thrown at an opponent. Pressing "A" while holding these items throws the item (as that is its whole purpose). However, one must remember that every item in the game (save the Hammer, Heart, Tomato, and Star) can be thrown by pressing the R-button. Neuts, tilts, and smashes all work as well when throwing items, for different stick pressure while throwing causes different throwing distance. Some items work very well when thrown (melee weapons especially), so that should be a very viable option when using an item. However, do not throw away items unnecessarily, because you are just giving them to your opponent if you miss. Also, though items will bounce if thrown with some sideways momentum, when thrown straight up or down they do not, unless they bounce off of another character.
Another reason to be careful; this is the only non-explosive item that will hit and damage you if you happen to be an idiot and run into it, even if you just threw it. Beware.
Healing Items.
Healing items, of which there are two types, heal you (but if you had to be told that, you should probably be spending your time elsewhere). These items normally don't drop as frequently as others do, so be sure to quickly make your way to them if they do drop.
Because they can give an unfair advantage to one player or another that does not depend very much on skill. Essentially, it either levels or immensely steepens the playing field, so these two items are usually banned from serious competition.
Hammer.
The hammer is most likely the best weapon to tilt the odds of winning in your favor. It drives your character into a smashing spree (Your character takes his/her hammer and whacks it back and forth) With 30% damage per hit, the hammer will send most enemies flying sky-high in a couple of hits... however, double (or triple) jumping is impossible. Also, if for some reason, you get knocked off the stage, the only way to make it back on with the hammer is to "float" back with the tilted fall. Also, remember that you cannot throw away the hammer. You hold on to it for the duration that it lasts, which you may regret as you plummet to your death.
For fighting a hammer, many people run away, but if you do it right, you can use your opponent's hammer as a handicap. Kirby's B-down Stone and Link's bomb will hit right through the hammer and maybe even knock it out of their hands, and if they hit while the hammer is back, boomerangs, fireballs, and other projectiles will connect. Also, the hammer's blocking radius does not extend very far behind your opponent, so you can smash them in the back if you can get behind them. Essentially, you're trying to either knock the hammer out of their hands or knock them off of the edge where they will fall helplessly into the pit.
However, once again, as this item is rather cheap, it is often banned from tournaments as well.
Star.
The star is another powerful item. It grants you limited invincibility, so you will not be hit or damaged from any attack. While you have the star, the invincibility music from the Mario games plays, but be careful, as the invincibility dies a few moments before the music does. Also, this invincibility does not save you from flying through a KO barrier (I've gotten a star as I flew upward from a smash and the music played for about .5 seconds before abruptly stopping). An interesting twist is if you are invincible and you fall off of the edge of Zebes, you will fall right through the lava to your death, as it will not hurt you and launch you back up. This is also regarded as a "cheap" item, and is also usually banned from tournaments.