Fox (SSBM): Difference between revisions

'''Fox''' ({{ja|フォックス|Fokkusu}}, ''Fox'') is a playable [[starter character]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''.

Fox currently ranks 1st on the ''Melee'' [[tier list]], a moderate improvement from his already high 4th ranking in ''Smash 64'' and is his best placement in the series to date. He is emblematic of speed, possessing fast attacks that also give him excellent comboing and damaging abilities. Overall, he can dominate foes with his quick movement and overpowering offense in all areas of his game. He also boasts numerous approaching methods, giving him some of the best neutral game options among the entire cast. He has access to effective, long-distance recovery options in [[Fire Fox]] and [[Fox Illusion]]. He has KO options and setups at a wide variety of percentages, and his high falling speed makes him resilient to vertical KOs. His aerial game also includes several low-lag yet effective and powerful moves to complement his ground game, especially when [[SHFFL]]'d, and is incredibly effective at approaching and edgeguarding. The main reason for Fox's success, however, is his {{b|Reflector|Fox}} (also known as the "shine"), which is one of the most versatile tools in the game. Aside from its intended purpose, the Reflector activates on frame 1 (making it the fastest move in the game), has set knockback, and can be [[jump cancel]]ed; this allows for [[shine spike]] gimps, neutral stance resets, getup option mixups, and even combos when [[wavedash]]ing is incorporated.

Despite being ranked first, Fox is not flawless. One of Fox’s primary weaknesses is his rather short [[reach]], due to his lack of disjointed hitboxes outside of his Shine. As such, he gets outspaced by other top tiers, especially in aerial combat, though his fast movement can compensate for this. His high falling speed makes him very easy to combo and chaingrab off of a single conversion from the opponent, and his light weight can result in extremely early horizontal KOs if the player's [[DI]] is poor. Although he boasts long-distance recovery options, their linear paths makes it easier for certain characters like {{SSBM|Marth}} to predict his recovery path and [[edge guard]] or [[gimp]] him. Fox also has an extremely high technical learning curve, as most of his techniques require extremely nimble fingers and fast reaction time. Also, due to his aforementioned flaws, Fox is considered to be a glass cannon, where he could lose a stock if a single mistake is made, giving him a high cerebral learning curve. So while Fox has incredible fighting prowess and potential, many consider Fox to be arguably the hardest character to play as and master, requiring a lot of practice. Although Fox can rack up damage quickly, his combo game is rather unreliable, as many of his strings rely on tech-chasing and DI mixups rather than guaranteed hits. Fox also lacks a good combo finisher in his kit, as his shine spike is extremely situational and cannot be properly used to end his combos. Unlike other top tiers, such as {{SSBM|Falco}}, {{SSBM|Marth}}, {{SSBM|Sheik}}, and {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, who can net a kill off of starting a combo at mid percents, Fox's best option after a combo is to create an edgeguard situation (usually with his {{Mvsub|Fox|SSBM|back aerial}}), which gives the opponent a chance to recover. As such, Fox relies on getting a kill confirm at high percents to net KOs if he can't successfully edgeguard or shine spike his opponents.

==Attributes==

Fox has also received notable nerfs, however. Although [[Blaster|Blaster's]] projectile travels faster and can fire rapidly, it deals less damage overall and no longer causes hitstun, making it slightly less effective for [[camping]]. This also means that Blaster can no longer be used to [[gimp]] opponents or lead into followups. Fox also suffered a big decrease in his air speed, limiting his recovery. Despite some of his moves becoming more powerful, some of his toolkit has become noticeably weaker: while his up smash is still a deadly finisher, its lower KOing power means that he will need to rack up more damage in order to close out stocks faster. Lastly, Fox's weight was tremendously decreased, hindering his horizontal endurance. While his higher falling speed and gravity make up for his vertical endurance, they make him even more susceptible to combos, and the inclusion of up and down throws have made him very susceptible to [[chain grab]]s.

===Aesthetics===

**{{nerf|This new taunt has much more ending lag (FAF 60 → 110), making it riskier to use.}}

===Attributes===

*{{buff|Fox's [[traction]] is higher (0.0667 (2) → 0.08), making it easier for him to punish [[out of shield]].}}

*{{nerf|Fox's [[air speed]] is much slower (1.2 (36) → 0.83), going from 3rd fastest out of 12 characters to the 7th slowest out of 26.}}

*{{buff|Fox's [[air acceleration]] has been unchanged (0.08 (2.4) → 0.08). Compared with the returning veterans, however, his air acceleration is significantly higher, going from the 4th lowest out of 12 characters to the 2nd highest out of 26.}}

*{{nerf|Fox [[jump]]s drastically lower (42.5 (1275) → 31.28), hindering his vertical recovery and ability to chase opponents above him.}}

*{{change|Fox [[falling speed|fall]]s significantly faster (2 (60) → 2.8), to the point where it is now almost as high as his [[fast fall]]ing speed in the previous game. His increased falling speed aids his [[approach]] and pressure ability due to his very strong [[SHFFL]], and makes him harder to KO vertically, but makes him more susceptible to combos.}}

**{{nerf|Fox's [[fast fall]]ing speed is also faster (3.2 (96) → 3.4). However, the difference between his falling speed and fast falling speed is much lower (increase: 60% → 21.4%), which makes it more predictable when landing and gives him fewer options in the air.}}

*{{nerf|Fox's snout and the darker portion of his tail now have hurtboxes. This make Fox easier to hit.}}

*{{buff|The introduction of [[air dodge]]s has immensely benefited Fox as it gives him access to [[wavedashing]] and wavelanding and his fast jumping and falling speed allow him to make excellent use of wavedashing.}}

**{{nerf|Each hit has a fairly short duration which along with the long gap between each hit, makes forward aerial much more awkward to land.}}

**{{nerf|Forward aerial has more ending lag (FAF 40 → 53) and a longer animation (39 frames → 59).}}

*[[Back aerial]]:

**{{change|Back aerial has an altered animation: Fox's body is more upright while performing the move, with his legs being positioned in a less straight angle. As its hitboxes were not adjusted, this improves back aerial's vertical range but reduces its horizontal range.}}

**{{buff|Fire Fox now has hitboxes while it is charging, which leaves Fox much less vulnerable and increases Fire Fox's maximum damage potential (16% → 2% (hits 1-7)/14% (hit 8)/25% (total)).}}

**{{buff|Fire Fox has a larger hitbox (3u → 4u).}}

**{{buff|Fox can now grab the ledge while charging Fire Fox. When combined with the fact that ledge intangibility is no longer cancelled when letting go of the ledge, this also allows Fox to safely stall at the ledge where he will be completely intangible if timed correctly, allowing him to stall or setup [[edgehog]]s and shine spikes.}}

**{{buff|Fox can now grab ledges from behind after dashing with Fire Fox.}}

|neutralinf=y

|neutralcount=2

|neutral1dmg=4%

|neutral2dmg=4%

|neutralinfdmg=1% (loop)

|neutraldesc=A quick jab that can combo into several other attacks, including an up smash. Very useful against shields, to [[jab reset]], and into shine cancels. The second jab makes Fox move forward a bit and is followed by a flurry of rapid kicks. Its combo ability into other moves makes it the best jab in the game.

|ftiltdmg=9%

|ftiltdesc=Sticks his foot out to the side. This is best used for a quick close-ranged [[spacing]] move. This move can be aimed up or down.

|utiltdmg=12% (foot grounded), 9% (leg & foot aerial)

|utiltdesc=Performs a quick and surprisingly strong vertical back kick. It covers Fox's whole body; thus, it makes Fox and his vertically-aimed foot a hitbox. Its speed, power, and hitbox make it great for close-up spacing. It can easily combo into itself, up air, and up smash. Used as part as a [[chain-grab]] against fast-fallers with it being connected to his up throw. Begins to KO at around 120% on mostly the floaty lightweights. Fox's foot deals more damage on grounded opponents.

|dtiltdmg=10%

|dtiltdesc=Performs a sweeping tail lash. Moderately fast. Can combo at mid-percentages into aerials. It can also become a somewhat solid finisher at higher percentages.

|dashdmg=7% (clean), 5% (late)

|dashdesc=Runs forward and sticks his leg out. Good combo ability, especially into an up smash. Very vulnerable to [[crouch canceling]].

|fsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|15}} (clean), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|12}} (late)

|usmashname=Flip Kick ({{ja|サマーソルトキック|Samāsoruto Kikku}}, ''Somersault Kick'')

|usmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|18}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|17}} (clean NTSC/PAL), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|13}} (late)

|usmashdesc=Performs a bicycle kick. This move is very fast, and when used on the ground while facing the foe, it has very high vertical knockback. It is very reliable at mid-high damages. Shine into up smash is very useful for KOs. Considered one of the best up smashes in the game due to its extreme speed, extreme power, decent range, and ability to be easily set up into it. It is the second most powerful up smash in the game, behind {{SSBM|Pikachu}}'s. Fox's head is intangible during the early part of the animation.

|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|15}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|13}} (feet NTSC/PAL), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|12}} (legs)

|dsmashdesc=Does a split kick, hitting on both of his sides. It is fast and has moderate knockback, sending opponents on a [[semi-spike]] trajectory. Useful for [[edgeguarding]] and spacing. Both of Fox's legs are intangible near the start of the move.

|nairdmg=12% (clean), 9% (late)

|nairdesc=Sticks his foot out, a simple [[sex kick]]. A very quick aerial, good against shields and great power when it first comes out. One of the best neutral airs in the game due to its combo ability and reliable setups into shine.

|fairdmg=7% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2), 6% (hit 3), 4% (hit 4), 3% (hit 5)

|fairdesc=Kicks forward five times. Good knockback when all hits connect. Regrettably, this move is very awkward due to the short amount of forward distance, short range of the move, and bad physics of the kicks being chained together. All hits are extremely hard to connect without a good set-up, especially on lighter characters.

|grabname=Grab ({{ja|つかみ|Tsukami}})

|grabdesc=

|pummeldmg=3%

|pummeldesc=Knees opponent.

|fthrowdmg=4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)

|fthrowdesc=Punches the opponent forward. Despite its generally poor combo ability, it can chain-grab on some heavy characters. It is best used for forcing opponents offstage, setting up an edgeguard.

|bthrowdmg=2% (throw), 2% (shots)

|uthrowdmg=2% (throw), 2% (shots)

|dthrowdmg=1% (shots), 1% (throw)

|floorfname= 

|floorfdmg=6%

|dspage=Reflector (Fox)

|dsdmg=5% (startup), 1.5x damage for reflected projectiles

}}

|djump = 40.204

|rdjump = 2

}}

|djump = 40.204

|rdjump = 2

}}

===[[Crowd cheer]]===

===[[Victory pose]]s===

:''See also: [[:Category:Fox players (SSBM)]]''

*{{Sm|Chillin|USA}} - Widely credited as the inventor of the Fox metagame during ''Melee''{{'}}s early lifetime, Chillin was known for pioneering many of Fox's essential techniques, such as [[waveshine]] combos and falling {{Mvsub|Fox|SSBM|up aerial}}s, as well as taking sets off of {{Sm|Ken}}, the best player in the world at the time.

*{{Sm|Colbol|USA}} - One of the best Fox players in the world, known for placing 10th on the [[SSBMRank 2014]], and his 5th place finish at {{Trn|Apex 2014}}, which was one of the strongest placings for a solo Fox main at the time.

*{{Sm|Druggedfox|USA}} - Known for his heavy reaction and punished based playstyle. Among his significant results include 13th place at {{Trn|EVO 2016}}, 17th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2016}}, 9th at {{Trn|UGC Smash Open}}.

*{{Sm|Lucky|USA}} - One of the best solo Fox mains in SoCal, known for his extensive consistent placements and longevity throughout the 2010s, with victories over Hungrybox, Mang0, Mew2King, and PPMD.

*{{Sm|Mang0|USA}} - One of the Five Gods, known for switching from Jigglypuff to Fox along with a Falco co-main. Mang0 is known for his free-flowing combo game and heavily read-based playstyle. His victories at {{Trn|EVO 2013}} and {{Trn|EVO 2014}} (using primarily Fox) are regarded as two of the most significant supermajor wins for Fox in the game's history.  

*{{Sm|PC Chris|USA}} - One of the best ''Melee'' players in the pre-''Brawl'' era, with multiple first place finishes during his prime, most notably at {{Trn|MLG Las Vegas 2006}}. Dual mained {{SSBM|Falco}} and Fox.

*{{Sm|Plup|USA}} - Co-mains with Sheik. Usually uses Fox against Jigglypuff, but sometimes has solo Fox showings, mostly at smaller tournaments.

*{{Sm|SFAT|USA}} - Best Fox main in NorCal and one of the top Fox players in the world, known for consistently placing top ten in global rankings throughout the 2010s.

*{{Sm|Silent Wolf|USA}} - Formerly the [[Pacific Northwest]]'s best player before retiring, known for his highly technical playstyle and proficiency in the {{SSBM|Peach}} matchup.

*'''[[Event 43: Birds of Prey]]''': The player uses Fox and must defeat a team consisting of Falco and Captain Falcon in a two-stock match on [[Big Blue]].

<gallery>

FoxClassicMode.jpg|Classic Mode

FoxAdventureMode.jpg|Adventure Mode

</gallery>

==[[Trophies]]==

{{Trophy/Fighter

==External links==

{{SSBMCharacters}}

{{EnemiesAdvSSBM}}