Editing Captain Falcon (SSBB)

'''Captain Falcon''' ({{ja|キャプテン・ファルコン|Kyaputen Farukon}}, ''Captain Falcon'') appears as an unlockable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''. He was confirmed on February 22, 2008 on the Smash DOJO!!

Captain Falcon is ranked 34th on the [[tier list]] in the bottom tier, a massive drop from his 6th position in the current ''Melee'' tier list, making this by far his worst placement in the series. Captain Falcon has his trademark speed-and-power playstyle, in addition to great mobility, great [[momentum cancelling]] and overall survivability, a versatile [[up aerial]], and one of the best [[jab]]s in the game. However, his combo and KOing power were [[nerf]]ed from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', with his finishers either being weakened (such as [[forward smash]]), or significantly more difficult to land (such as his [[Knee Smash]]). In addition to this, most of Falcon's attacks have awkward [[hitbox]] placements, making safe [[approach]]es and [[spacing]] quite difficult, especially when considering his lack of [[projectile]]s. The impact of the new ''Brawl'' physics severely harmed Captain Falcon: the universal ability to act out of [[hitstun]] hurts him more than any other character, since his attacks no longer keep opponents in longer periods of hitstun. A less effective [[dashdance]] and an inability to [[moonwalk]] gives him even fewer approaching options. He also has fairly poor [[out of shield]] options due to his short [[grab]]bing reach and possessing either slow and/or poor reaching attacks. In addition, he possesses a linear recovery and a vulnerability to [[chain grab]]s. All of these factors result in him being unable to pressure opponents or escape opposing pressure. As a result, he has terrible [[matchup]]s and terrible overall [[tournament]] results.

*Play 70 [[VS. match]]es.

*Complete {{SSBB|Classic Mode}} on Normal difficulty or higher in under twelve minutes.

*Have Captain Falcon join the player's party in [[The Subspace Emissary]] ([[Outside the Ancient Ruins]]).

Captain Falcon is a [[Weight#SSBB_Weight_Ranking|heavy]] character with great momentum canceling, especially vertically due his very fast falling speed, with strong attacks, and has the second fastest [[Running_Speed#SSBB_Rankings|running speed]], second to {{SSBB|Sonic}}. However, though his speed is useful, his dash has very low [[traction]], causing him to trip more often than other characters, though his tripping animation being the shortest in the game slightly alleviates this. His attacks mostly consist of hard-hitting kicks and punches, resulting in him operating in close-quarters.

Many of his moves have high knockback and damage output, though they also have considerable startup time and small sweetspots. His standard special, [[Falcon Punch]], deals high damage, can KO at early percentages, and can be reversed in direction after start-up, but its extremely slow startup and audio cue makes it close to impossible to successfully land. [[Raptor Boost]] makes him rush forward and perform a fiery uppercut that launches opponents upwards opponents in the air, but its terrible shieldstun and slow startup makes it trivial to block or shield. If he misses it, he will suffer from considerable ending lag. When used in the air, he will instead swing downward, which can [[meteor smash]] targets. This makes it useful when recovering, since catch edge-guarders and [[edgehog]]gers off guard, but the attack is slow, predictable, and leaves Captain Falcon more vulnerable than the Falcon Dive. Raptor Boost also has the ability to cut through most projectiles. [[Falcon Kick]] sends him rocketing forward when used on the ground, and downward and slightly forward when used in mid-air. It deals decent damage and knockback, but like his other moves, it has subpar start-up and the hitbox is rather small, making it only good at surprise, quickly get downward or punish laggy moves. [[Falcon Dive]] sends him upwards with some horizontal movement, which gives him an important recovery move when combining it with great air speed. If the attack connects, it will deal high damage to the opponent and Captain Falcon will jump off from them. This also enables him to use the attack again should it connect. When used near the stage, the attack can sometimes stage spike when used against edge-guarders, though Falcon Dive can be teched to prevent that. It can also deal with edgehoggers if they are within its grab range. In terms of recovery, though, Falcon Dive is a slow move, cannot auto-sweetspot ledges if he is using it in the opposite direction of the edge and it is easy to edgeguard because it has no grab box directly above him. Although Captain Falcon has a very big ledge sweetspot range, Falcon Dive is easily edge hogged, and if he still manages to get to the stage, his recovery leaves him in a fairly high landing lag, high enough to often allow the edgehogger to get up in time to punish it. Although it is a minor problem, Captain Falcon suffers from the [[landing lag glitch]]. Captain Falcon's very fast falling speed makes recovery problems even worse.

Many of his moves also make for powerful finishers. His [[Knee Smash|forward aerial]] is renowned for its extreme knockback, but it is hard to sweetspot and has fairly slow start-up (the first frames of it are not avoidable on reaction but are still predictable). His back aerial has good startup and knockback, his down aerial is a powerful [[meteor smash]], and his forward smash deals high damage and has very high knockback scaling.

In the end, Captain Falcon relies on his weight, survivability, power, decent range, and mobility to make up for his abysmal approach options, poor amount of disjointed hitboxes, barren combo tree, and his often sluggish attacks. He can KO and rack up damage quite easily when the opportunity presents itself, though he lacks a quick ground finisher.

==Changes from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''==

Captain Falcon has been heavily nerfed from ''Melee'' to ''Brawl''. The vast changes in the gameplay physics removes many of his options while also significantly inhibiting his mobility, mixup options, and ability to play offensively. Additionally, his overall frame data is worse and his KO power was considerably toned down, since many of his moves have reduced KO power, while his forward aerial was nerfed to be rendered situational, since its sweetspot has a shorter duration, a smaller hitbox and increased hitlag making it much harder to land. Even if he does land it, his opponents have ample time to [[DI]] and [[SDI]] the move. The changes to hitstun and falling speeds, as well as changes to his moves that increased their lag or altered their angle, also harm Captain Falcon's hitstun-heavy combos. On top of this, none of Captain Falcon's major issues from ''Melee'' have been addressed: despite generally better aerial mobility, his recovery has been shortened and weakened even further elsewhere as [[Falcon Dive]] is more reliant on momentum while [[Falcon Kick]] no longer restores his double jump.

However, Captain Falcon has received a few buffs. His specials have seen some minor improvements, as [[Falcon Punch]] can now be reversed, which gives it some extra power. [[Raptor Boost]] is far more useful offstage, since he can now use other attacks like his aerials or his Falcon Dive. Falcon Dive can also grab opponents hanging onto the ledge. Despite how much ''Brawl''{{'}}s mechanics have harmed him, Falcon does benefit from the changes to aerial [[grab release]]s, which gives him some followups out of a grab.

Overall, Captain Falcon fares significantly worse off in ''Brawl'' than ''Melee'', as the handful of buffs he received do not make up for the nerfs to his KO power and the game's mechanics drastically harming his offensive and defensive capabilities. While he still has great mobility and has a handful of solid moves, such as his jab and up aerial, he lacks reliable options to challenge his opponents and overall has poor defensive capabilities. Ergo, his tournament representation and results are significantly worse than they were in ''Melee'', resulting in him being a contender as one of the worst characters in the game.

*{{change|Captain Falcon has a new design primarily based on ''F-Zero GX'', although he has his scarf from ''F-Zero GP Legend'' (with the tip hanging out the front as opposed to completely tucked in), has hair coming out from the back of his helmet, has new kneeguards and a redesigned shoulder pad, and his belt buckle is now blue with his insignia and his initials adorned at the bottom. His helmet and chest buttons keep their ''Melee'' design.}}

*{{nerf|The universal changes to the physics in ''Brawl'' make his [[dashdance]] less effective (on top of increasing the chances of randomly [[tripping]]), and [[moonwalking]] and [[L-canceling]] have been removed, giving him fewer options to approach. In addition, Captain Falcon no longer carries momentum from his dash when he jumps, and the ability to act out of hitstun hurts him more than other characters by making his finishing moves (all of which have been nerfed, as outlined below) harder to combo into and land.}}

*{{buff|Captain Falcon is now able to swing the [[Home-Run Bat]] like other characters can. Because of this, he can now properly use a Home-Run Bat for the [[Home-Run Contest]].}}

**{{buff|[[Up tilt]] has has more reach (due to it moving Falcon forward slightly) and lasts one frame longer (frames 17-21 → 17-22). It also has larger hitbox sizes overall and a hitbox has been added closer to his body (4.6872/3.1248 → 6.5/4.0/3.0).}}

**{{buff|Down tilt's altered angles have granted it edgeguarding potential, somewhat akin to his down tilt in ''Smash 64.''}}

**{{buff|[[Dash attack]] has significantly altered knockback (22 (base), 90 (scaling) → 80/40), making much safer to use at very low percentages.}}

**{{nerf|Dash attack deals less damage (10%/7% → 8%/6%). Its lower damage coupled with its drastically lower knockback scaling makes it much weaker at much higher percentages (can KO Mario under 210% in ''Melee'' but cannot KO Mario until around 360%-380% in ''Brawl''.}}

**{{nerf|[[Forward smash]] deals significantly less knockback (24 (base), 100 (scaling) → 20/85) and slightly less damage (21%/20%/19% → 20%/19%/18%). It now has only slightly above-average knockback, compared from being the 3rd most powerful forward smash in ''Melee''. It also lasts one frame shorter (frames 18-21 → 18-20).}}

**{{buff|[[Up smash]] has more horizontal reach . Due to Falcon having much lower traction, it covers significantly more distance when performed out of a dash improving its approach potential (he can also [[DACUS]] to make it cover a shorter distance).}}

**{{nerf|Both hits of up smash have increased start-up (frame 21 (hit 1), frame 27 (hit 2) → 22/28), the first hit's sweetspots deal less damage (14% → 11%) and the second hit has reduced knockback scaling (128/126/110 → 102/103/110). Up smash also has increased ending lag (FAF 40 → 53), no longer being as fast as Mario's up smash overall.}}

===Aerial attacks===

*{{buff|Due to his lower fall speed, Captain Falcon can once again [[auto-cancel]] all of his aerials in a short hop as opposed to just his back and up aerials.}}

**{{buff|Knee Smash deals 1% more damage on a clean hit (18% → 19%), making it slightly stronger despite its knockback being altered (24 (base)/100 (growth) → 30/93). Its new sourspot hitboxes enable it [[Wall of pain]] potential.}}

**{{nerf|Knee Smash now requires a [[sweet spot]] (the hitbox on his knee) to land a clean hit.}}

**{{nerf|The clean hitbox duration has been lowered (frames 14-16 → 14), now requiring it to land on the very first active frame.}}

**{{nerf|It also has a much smaller hitbox size (5.08u → 3u).}}

**{{nerf|The late hit deals 3% much like in the PAL version of ''Melee'' with severely reduced knockback, and the initial hitbox behind his knee deals 6% damage with similar properties to NTSC ''Melee'''s late hit.}}

**{{nerf|The clean hit has significantly increased freeze frames upon connecting (1x → 1.2x, especially for Captain Falcon due to electric hitlag properties being slightly altered to where both the attacker and the victim suffer the same amount of hitlag as opposed to just the victim taking the extra hitlag), allowing the opponent to DI and SDI the hit to lessen its knockback, which was altered (as aforementioned above).}}

**{{nerf|It has more landing lag (19 frames → 22).}}

**{{nerf|Down aerial now has smaller hitboxes (6.8/6/5.6 → 4.5/6) and its sweetspot has much less base knockback (40 → 10) meaning that he has a harder time meteor smashing and utilizing the move in general despite the changes to meteor canceling. Its duration was shortened as well (frames 16-20 → 16-18), it auto-cancels 3 frames later (frame 36 → 39), and it has more ending lag (FAF 38 → 45).}}

*{{nerf|Due to universally decreased fall speeds and the introduction of [[hitstun canceling]], up and down throws can no longer combo or [[chaingrab]] opponents. Down throw can also no longer be used for [[tech chasing]] severely harming its utility.}}

**{{nerf|Its knockback has been altered (78 (base), 80 (scaling) → 100/52). Combined with the changes to [[hitstun]], it's completely useless as a combo starter, while also being even weaker at KO'ing than in ''Melee'' (and it wasn't even a KO move in ''Melee'' to begin with).}}

**{{buff|Grounded Falcon Kick no longer has a chance of blasting Captain Falcon off diagonally downwards when he travels towards an edge near the end of the move.}}

**{{buff|The aerial version's hitboxes are now on Captain Falcon's attacking leg, giving the move better range.}}

|neutralname=Jab ({{ja|ジャブ|Jabu}}) / Straight ({{ja|ストレート|Sutorēto}}) / Kneebutt ({{ja|ニーバット|Nībatto}}) / Mach Punch ({{ja|マッハパンチ|Mahha Panchi}})

|ftiltname=Round Kick ({{ja|ラウンドキック|Raundo Kikku}})

|utiltname=Wheel Kick ({{ja|ホイールキック|Hoīru Kikku}})

|dtiltname=Sprawl Kick ({{ja|スプロールキック|Supurōru Kikku}})

|dashname=Turbo Shoulder ({{ja|ターボショルダー|Tābo Shorudā}})

|fsmashname=Overheat Elbow ({{ja|オーバーヒートエルボー|Ōbāhīto Erubō}})

|usmashname=Dual Edge ({{ja|デュアルエッジ|Duaru Ejji}})

|dsmashname=Front & Back Kick ({{ja|フロント＆バックキック|Furonto ando Bakku Kikku}})

|nairname=Rotary Kick ({{ja|ロータリーキック|Rōtarī Kikku}})

|fairname=[[Knee Smash]] ({{ja|ストライキングニー|Sutoraikingu Nī}}, ''Striking Knee'')

|bairname=Back Knuckle ({{ja|バックナックル|Bakku Nakkuru}})

|uairname=Overhead Kick ({{ja|オーバーヘッドキック|Ōbāheddo Kikku}})

|dairname=Stampede Bomb ({{ja|スタンピードボム|Sutanpīdo Bomu}})

|grabname=Grab ({{ja|つかみ|Tsukami}})

|pummelname=Grab Kneebutt ({{ja|つかみニーバット|Tsukami Nībatto}})

|fthrowname=Short Body Blow ({{ja|ショートボディブロー|Shōto Bodi Burō}})

|bthrowname=Striking Throw ({{ja|ストライキングスルー|Sutoraikingu Surū}})

|uthrowname=Rising Flat ({{ja|ライジングフラット|Raijingu Furatto}})

|dthrowname=Head Crush ({{ja|ヘッドクラッシュ|Heddo Kurasshu}})

|usdesc=Captain Falcon grabs his opponent and releases them with an explosion. Goes into helpless if he misses but if the move connect, he's free to use the same move again.

|desc=The Blue Falcon appears then Captain Falcon jumps out of it as it speeds off. If Captain Falcon starts the match facing left, he will do a flip as he exits the Blue Falcon.

===Most historically significant players===

:''See also: [[:Category:Captain Falcon players (SSBB)]]''

<!--This character has a ten player limit for this section. Before adding and/or removing a player, read these guidelines: https://www.ssbwiki.com/SmashWiki:Notability#%22Most_historically_significant_players%22_guidelines -->

*{{Sm|Ally|Canada}} - While Ally never used Captain Falcon in serious tournament matches against legitimately threatening opponents, it became perhaps the most famous "low tier main" of a top player in ''Brawl'', with Ally being able to beat high level players with Falcon and dominate low tier tournaments. As such, Ally was considered to have the best Falcon for a long time, and only Stroumbert would contend with him for this title near the end of ''Brawl''.

*{{Sm|Daiki|Japan}} - Like Ally, Daiki had an extraordinarily competent Captain Falcon that he never used as a main nor serious secondary, but in ''Brawl''{{'}}s late competitive life, Daiki would use primarily Falcon at some [[Kantō]] regionals. In particular, his 7th at {{trn|Piosuma 7}} using solo Falcon and 7th at {{trn|Umebura 1}} using primarily Falcon are the best known results anyone have achieved with Falcon in ''Brawl'', giving him a strong argument for having the best Falcon in the world.

*{{Sm|Stroumbert|Canada}} - Like Ally, he didn't actually main Captain Falcon, but he became known for having an especially competent Captain Falcon, and would end up competing with Ally for the title of best Falcon in ''Brawl'' by the end of its competitive life.

Captain Falcon was initially seen as the worst character in ''Brawl''; right away, players noticed the severe nerfs to Falcon's key traits (such as his Knee Smash, his go-to finisher in ''Melee'', becoming extremely difficult to land), and that he got adversely affected to a severe degree by the universal mechanical changes; most prominently the introduction of [[hitstun canceling]], which hurt Falcon worse than any other character due to not only being one of the most combo-reliant characters, but also his combo game was diminished more severely by it due to him relying on higher knockback moves to combo. It was additionally widely believed at the time that Falcon had "terrible [[priority]]" and would thus be unable to win any exchanges with opposing characters. As such, despite Falcon's still very fast movement speed and powerful attacks, players at the time did not believe he could do anything to any competent degree in competitive matches. A year after ''Brawl'''s release, it was realized that Ganondorf and {{SSBB|Link}} were even worse characters than Falcon; as such, on the third tier list, Falcon rose up from last place and has never ranked there since. Players also began recognising some of the significant caveats Falcon had, such as his access to one of the best jabs, his still rather strong effectiveness at punishing, his still great mobility, and his incredible endurance potential while having a capable recovery that does not compromise it. Additionally, with Ally's tremendous success with Falcon in low tier tournaments, it was seen that Falcon had some clear advantages over his low tier brethren. With this, Falcon shot up to 32nd on the fourth tier list, and then consistently hovered around the 33rd-34th spot. However, he was still crippled by his remaining flaws; although his attacks enjoy the same amount of priority as those of any other character, he still suffered from a lack of disjointed range that could not compete with other longer-ranged characters.

While Captain Falcon was no longer seen as a candidate for worst character in the game, the stigma from his previous last placings still held on, and thus he was commonly seen as a joke character on the level of Ganondorf. With this, Falcon had barely any serious players; nearly everyone who could play Falcon at a competent competitive level only used him as a "low tier main" or "fun character", including his best players Ally and Stroumbert, leaving true competitive Captain Falcon mains very rare even at the local level. As such, Falcon's tournament representation was barren even by low tier standards, and only {{SSBB|Jigglypuff}} saw even worse representation in ''Brawl'' tournaments, leaving Falcon's capability to perform beyond low tier play rarely seen in practice.

[[File:Subspace captainfalcon.PNG|thumb|250px|Captain Falcon in the ''[[SSE]]''.]]

In The Subspace Emissary, Captain Falcon teams up with [[Olimar (SSBB)|Captain Olimar and his Pikmin]]. When Olimar sends his Pikmin to attack a giant [[R.O.B.]], it wakes up the robot, causing it to shake off the Pikmin. Luckily, Captain Falcon drives his F-Zero machine straight towards them, jumps out in mid-motion, and Falcon Punches the ROB, thus destroying it, but upon landing, Olimar's remaining Pikmin (except for the red Pikmin beside Olimar) were killed when he slid into them. Once the two get out of the forest, they find a [[Primid]] transport platform, otherwise known as the Smash Skiff, that is holding the trophied {{SSBB|Donkey Kong}} hostage. The two watch as {{SSBB|Diddy Kong}} falls from {{SSBB|Falco}}'s [[Arwing]], and fires peanuts at the ship. After Diddy Kong revives DK, Captain Falcon grabs Olimar, and jumps off the ledge and onto the ship. Then the four must fight off a horde of Primids. Afterwards, the ship will take them into the secret Subspace HQ, where they will meet up with {{SSBB|Samus}}, {{SSBB|Pikachu}}, and, eventually, a friendly {{SSBB|R.O.B.}}

After fighting off a large army comprising of various Subspace troops with the others, the heroes are unable to stop the ROBs which arm the last remaining Subspace bombs. Captain Falcon seemed to be analyzing the power of the Subspace Bombs, because afterwards, he motions to everyone to leave quickly. Captain Falcon presses a few buttons on his wrist, summoning his ship, the [[Falcon Flyer]]. Everyone piles into the ship and prepares to escape the doomed base when they are attacked from behind by [[Meta Ridley]]. After defeating the monster, they escape the floating island where a massive number of Subspace Bombs destroy the island. Captain Falcon joins the other heroes and uses his ship to help in the assault on the Subspace Gunship. He also helps in [[The Great Maze]].

Towards the end, Captain Falcon and everyone else confront [[Tabuu]]. In a single, devastating act, Tabuu turns everyone into trophies. All are brought back to life due to the [[Dedede Badge]]s and the efforts of {{SSBB|Kirby}}, {{SSBB|Luigi}}, {{SSBB|Ness}}, and {{SSBB|King Dedede}}. With the aid of {{SSBB|Sonic}}, Tabuu becomes vulnerable, and a final battle between the characters and Tabuu begins. The player may pick Captain Falcon to fight Tabuu, if the player has collected the Captain Falcon trophy in Subspace.

==In Solo Modes==

 

 

===[[Event Match]]es===

*'''[[Co-Op Event 6: Unwanted Suitors]]''': {{SSBB|Zelda}} and {{SSBB|Zero Suit Samus}} must defeat an invisible Captain Falcon and {{SSBB|Luigi}} on [[Port Town Aero Dive]].

===[[Congratulations_screen#Super_Smash_Bros._Brawl|Ending Images]]===

Captain Falcon Congratulations Screen Classic Mode Brawl.png|Classic Mode

Captain Falcon Congratulations Screen All-Star Brawl.png|All-Star Mode

*If one clips through Captain Falcon's head with a hacked camera, they will find a blue eye.