Captain Falcon (SSBU)

Captain Falcon in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	F-Zero
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Blue Falcon

“	A fighter that possesses both speed and power! But in exchange, he is frequently left open. Being able to successfully land his neutral special, Falcon Punch, can greatly influence the battle in multiplayer matches.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Captain Falcon (キャプテン・ファルコン, Captain Falcon) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Captain Falcon is classified as fighter #11.

Captain Falcon is once again voiced by Ryō Horikawa, using recycled voice clips from Brawl and Smash 4.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Captain Falcon being the 11th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Fox or any character in his unlock tree, being the first character unlocked.
• Have Captain Falcon join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Captain Falcon must then be defeated on Port Town Aero Dive.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Captain Falcon has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to Ultimate. Many aspects of his playstyle have been adjusted through the transition, which has resulted in notable changes to the way he operates and an increase in his learning curve.

Falcon's grounded game has seen bountiful buffs in one way or another. On one hand, several of Falcon's options at close range have been improved, some of which are more rewarding by virtue of their increased combo potential. Notable examples are his neutral infinite connecting much more reliably and being therefore more effective for racking up damage; his forward tilt's lower lag making it safer for spacing; his up tilt consistently meteor smashing both grounded and aerial opponents, allowing for combos; and his up smash's increased damage, added leg intangibility, and reduced ending lag turning it into a high-risk, high-reward combo starter that can contest aerial approaches. On the other hand, his other options have improved KO ability, such as his dash attack, his new forward smash (despite already being remarkably powerful in Smash 4), and his down smash, the latter which now semi-spikes and hits low-profile opponents more effectively, allowing him to take stocks more reliably up close.

Furthermore, Falcon's entire special moveset has been buffed in miscellaneous ways: Falcon Punch has significantly increased knockback, making it deadlier as a hard read or shield break punish much like in previous games; Raptor Boost is a much more effective combo starter on the ground thanks to its lower knockback and leaves Falcon less vulnerable if it connects in the air (no longer causing helplessness in such case); Falcon Dive has increased knockback and less ending lag making it safer to hit opponents with and giving him a KO option that can counter shielding opponents; and Falcon Kick is faster, has increased power on the ground, and less landing lag. In addition to these direct changes, the universal changes in Ultimate benefit Falcon's rushdown oriented playstyle, having increased mobility and reduced landing lag on aerial attacks that allow him to juggle and punish opponents more effectively, most notably with his Knee Smash, which deals far more damage if sweetspotted, the ability to use any attack out of a dash cancel further improving his grounded game, and the removal of teching grounded meteor smashes giving his up tilt and down aerial increased combo potential.

However, Captain Falcon has received significant nerfs as well, which counterbalance most of his buffs. His dash grab, infamous in Smash 4 for being one of Captain Falcon's best approach punish and/or burst options due to its large ground coverage and high reward, now travels significantly less distance as a result of his increased traction — a change that also affects his throws negatively, with his forward throw losing all its guaranteed combo potential, and down throw being much less reliable for combos at higher percents in combination with its altered knockback. Most importantly, the latter can no longer lead into semi-guaranteed KO confirms at high percents, nor can it force an option select at the ledge, where the appropriate DI for forward throw resulted in a KO from down throw and vice versa. This hinders a large component of his playstyle from Smash 4, as his grab is now harder to land, less rewarding, and due to all standard grabs having increased ending lag in Ultimate, easier to punish if it misses. Another of Falcon's most nerfed moves is his up aerial; while it has slightly less ending lag, its increased landing lag compared to other aerials (which instead had it decreased) and lower damage weaken its punishability and KO setups, and the changes in knockback physics have slightly worsened the ability to chain into itself repeteadly. Adding to this, while his slower KO options were improved, his faster ones, such as back aerial and Raptor Boost, have been worsened, the latter no longer KOing at realistic percents in exchange for its increased combo ability. Meanwhile, his new forward smash, while dealing more knockback, has significantly decreased range, to the point it can sometimes miss at point-blank range if the opponent is pushed by Falcon himself.

Finally, while Falcon playstyle's benefits from some of the universal changes, other changes have negatively impacted the way he has to execute his playstyle. Namely, the tumbling animation from a footstool jump now being techable prevents him from racking up large amounts of damage and setting up KOs by repeatedly footstooling and meteor smashing opponents back up with his down aerial. Ironically, the changes to dash-dancing have also adversely affected him more than other characters; since his initial dash animation is one of, if not, the slowest in the game, this causes his dash-dancing animation to be more awkward and slower-moving than other characters, and reduces its mindgame potential compared to his previous extended dash-dance in Smash 4.

Overall, while Captain Falcon's buffs have improved several of his options and punish game, the nerfs to the previous options he had in Smash 4 mean he has to take higher risks at approaching and optimizing their use, instead of constantly relying on a few safe options to rack up damage and set up KOs, which is more dangerous for him, since a large number of characters in Ultimate are either zoners or have had their close-up game buffed to various degrees. As such, Falcon players have to be significantly more cautious of their opponents in order to win the neutral game, which now gives him a higher learning curve compared to Smash 4, where he had a rather low learning curve. His representation in the early metagame of Ultimate has been below average, although he still has seen some success thanks to the efforts of notable players such as Fatality, Big D and NickC, who continue to represent him in tournaments.

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from SSB4, Captain Falcon's model features a more subdued color scheme. The top piece of his racing suit appears to be armor with visible scuffs. His eyes are larger, akin to Brawl.
• Captain Falcon has a slightly altered dashing animation.
• The pose at the end of Captain Falcon's triple size kick victory screen has been altered. Instead of pointing his wrist sideways, he points it upwards, forming a pose similar to his idle pose.
• Captain Falcon's mouth once again moves during his down and side taunts, like in Brawl.
• Captain Falcon's tumbling animation has been altered. He now faces more towards/away from the screen, similar to Little Mac, Shulk, Greninja, and other fighters.
• Captain Falcon's side taunt has been shortened significantly, showing him immediately gesturing with his hand.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Captain Falcon's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
• Captain Falcon walks faster (0.94 → 0.987).
• Captain Falcon runs faster (2.32 → 2.552).
  • His initial dash is faster (1.7 → 1.98).
• Captain Falcon's traction has been drastically increased (0.05 → 0.105). This makes it easier for him to punish out of shield.
• Captain Falcon's air speed is faster (1.1 → 1.218).
• Captain Falcon falls slightly faster (1.837 → 1.865).
  • His fast falling speed is faster (2.9392 → 2.984).
• Forward roll has more ending lag (FAF 28 → 30).
• Back roll has more startup (frame 4 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 28 → 35).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 27).
• Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 3-18 → 3-17).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-28 → 3-30).
• Air dodge has more ending lag (FAF 34 → 43).
• The changes to air dodges greatly benefit Falcon: the ability to only air dodge once allows him to take better advantage of his fast mobility to pressure and juggle opponents, while their increased ending lag allows him to punish them more effectively with powerful moves such as Knee Smash.
• The ability to run cancel any move significantly benefits Falcon's grounded neutral game and punish game. This allows him to pressure the opponent easier by canceling into a neutral or tilt attack, especially if pivot canceled.
• The ability to tech aerial footstools prevents Falcon from repeatedly footstooling and meteor smashing opponents back into the air with his down aerial, removing one of his most potent damage racking options.
• The reintroduction of dash-dancing hurts Falcon's grounded movement due to possessing one of the slowest initial dashes in the game, as it hinders its mindgame potential.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit has an altered animation, with Falcon jabbing underhanded. This slightly lowers its position, allowing it to hit shorter and crouching characters.
  • The first hit transitions into the second faster (frame 8 → 5), which transitions into either of the subsequent hits faster (frame 10 → 8).
  • The infinite has faster startup (frame 9 → 5), a much shorter gap between hits (5 frames → 2) and reduced knockback (15/15/8 base/50/50/30 scaling → 8 base/15 scaling), in addition to keeping opponents on the ground, allowing it to connect much more reliably.
  • The infinite's finisher deals more damage (2% → 3%), though with its knockback scaling compensated (70 → 55).
  • The first two hits and the infinite deal less damage (2% → 1.5% (hits 1-2), 1% → 0.6% (infinite)).
  • The infinite's finisher has drastically more ending lag (FAF 40 → 50).
  • The first three hits have reduced range overall (hit 1: 4.3u/4.3u/3.3u → 2.0/2.3/2.5/2.5; hit 2: 4.3u/4.3u/3.3u → 2.5/3.0/3.6; hit 3: 6.0u/3.5u → 5.5/3.8).
  • The infinite and its finisher have altered hitbox sizes (infinite: 4.2u/4.0u/4.0u → 2.25/6.5; finisher: 7.0u → 4.5/4.5). This gives the finisher more horizontal range, but reduces its vertical range.
  • The first and second hits have altered angles (hit 1: 80° → 361°/361°/180°/361°; hit 2: 80° → 361°) and knockback (both hits: 20 set/100 scaling → 20 base/25 caling) to keep opponents close to Captain Falcon, akin to other neutral attacks. This allows them to connect better and lock, but removes their guaranteed jab cancel setups.
• Forward tilt:
  • It has less startup and a longer hitbox duration (frames 9-11 → 7-10), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 32 → 30). This makes it safer to use at close range.
  • It has significantly increased base knockback, but significantly decreased scaling (10 base/100 scaling → 50/58). This noticeably improves its safety on hit at low percents, but drastically hinders its KO potential, to the point it can no longer KO reliably.
  • The sweetspot is now located in Falcon's knee rather than his foot. Since the foot hitbox still outprioritizes the knee hitbox, this makes it harder to land.
  • The knee hitbox and the foot hitbox have swapped sizes (knee: 4.3u → 5.3; foot: 5.3u → 4.3).
• Up tilt:
  • It has an altered animation where Captain Falcon's foot no longer reaches all the way to the floor, resulting in a more circular motion. This animation reduces its vertical range, making it almost unable to hit opponents hanging from an edge.
  • It now meteor smashes throughout its entirety, including grounded opponents, instead of only aerial opponents at the heel. Due to the removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes, this drastically improves its combo potential.
  • Since all of its hitboxes can now meteor smash, this makes the meteor smash stronger if Falcon's knee doesn't connect (22 base → 35).
  • It no longer moves Falcon forward with each use.
• Down tilt:
  • The hitbox on Falcon's torso now sends at an inverse angle (25° → 155°).
• Dash attack:
  • Both clean and late hits have more knockback scaling (50 → 67). This makes the clean hit stronger (KOing at around 170% without rage), and the late hit much safer on hit at low percentages.
• Forward smash:
  • Captain Falcon has a new forward smash: a backhand punch that resembles Warlock Punch.
  • It deals more knockback overall (angled up/non-angled: 24 base/95 scaling → 36/94; angled down: 24 base/83 scaling → 36/87), improving its KO potential, especially when angled down.
  • It has significantly less range, and only consists of two hitboxes rather than three (4.5u/3.0u/3.0u → 3.8/3.2). Falcon also doesn't lean forward as much before hitting. This makes the move harder to land and prone to missing short opponents.
• Up smash:
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 52 → 46). Combined with Falcon's faster jumpsquat and jump speed, this allows it to true combo into an up aerial from low to mid percents.
  • Both hits have a longer duration (hit 1: frame 22 → frames 22-23; hit 2: 28 → 28-29), and grant Falcon intangibility on his respective legs, making the move safer to use against opposing aerial attacks.
  • Both hits deal more damage (hit 1: 6%/11% → 7%/12%; hit 2: 13%/12% → 14%/13%).
  • The second hit has more base knockback, but less knockback scaling (30 base/104/106/112 scaling → 70 base/72/74/80 scaling).
  • One of the first hit's hitboxes (hitbox ID 1 → 0) now outprioritizes the other (hitbox ID 0 → 1). The hitboxes also have slightly altered angles (95°/110°/80°/90° → 96°/110°/80°/80°) and knockback values (hitbox 0: 140 set → 150; hitbox 1: 120 → 90; hitbox 3: 30 base/20 set → 8 base/10 set). These changes make the first hit connect better into the second hit.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has an altered animation where Falcon kicks lower to the ground, allowing it to hit smaller and crouching opponents more easily. In spite of this animation change, its horizontal reach is unaffected.
  • It launches at a lower, semi-spike angle (361° → 28°). This improving the move's KO potential especially near edges despite the second hit's lower knockback scaling (90 → 84).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials except up aerial have reduced landing lag (12 frames → 7 (neutral), 30 frames → 18 (forward), 12 frames → 10 (back), 21 frames → 12 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial transitions faster into the second hit (frame 20 → 13), with its total duration mostly reduced as well (FAF 45 → 40).
    • However, this slightly increases its ending lag by 2 frames, making it more difficult to chain multiple neutral aerials without landing.
  • The first hit no longer has set knockback (55 set/100 scaling → 50 base/25 scaling), and deals more knockback to grounded opponents (55 set/100 scaling → 65 base/75 scaling), improving its combo potential on landing, despite its increased SDI multiplier (1.0x → 1.4x).
    • However, this makes the first hit transition into the second hit less consistently on aerial opponents at very high percentages.
  • The second hit has less knockback scaling (130 → 120), improving its combo potential but worsening its KO power.
  • The first hit sends at lower angles (86°/78°/74° → 74°/80°/68°). Two of its hitboxes now send grounded opponents at lower angles as well (86°/78° → 68°/74°).
  • The first hit has reduced hitbox sizes (5.0u/6.5u/5.5u → 6.0/4.0/3.5), slightly reducing its range.
  • The second hit has altered hitbox sizes (4.8u/6.0u/5.0u → 5.2/6.0/3.8). This makes it easier to connect from afar, but slightly harder to connect up close.
• Forward aerial:
  • Sweetspotted Knee Smash deals more damage (19% → 22%), albeit with its knockback scaling compensated (93 → 81). Its damage change also makes it much harder to punish on landing if shielded.
  • The move's reduced landing lag increases the usefulness of its late hit's bonus trip chance, allowing Captain Falcon to get true followups if it trips the opponent.
• Back aerial:
  • It has slightly less knockback scaling (100 → 94), reducing its KO potential.
• Up aerial:
  • It has slightly less ending lag (FAF 34 → 32), improving its combo potential into itself.
  • It has one frame more startup (frame 6 → 7) with no animation change, making it unable to hit opponents right in front of Falcon.
  • It has one frame more landing lag (9 frames → 10). Combined with the decreased shieldstun for aerial attacks, this makes it much less safe on shield.
  • It deals 1% less damage (clean: 11%/10% → 10%/9%; late: 10%/9% → 9%/8%).
  • The clean hit has more base knockback, but less knockback scaling (16 base/100 scaling → 20/96). Combined with its lower damage, this improves its combo ability, but hinders its KO potential.
  • The clean hit sends at a lower angle (70° → 66°). Combined with its lower damage, this improves its combo ability into other moves, but worsens its ability to chain into itself, as well as its KO potential.
• Down aerial:
  • The removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes improves down aerial's combo potential onstage, compounded further by its reduced landing lag.

Throws and other attacks

• Falcon has altered swing animations for battering items like the Beam Sword, no longer performing a stab forward when using a forward smash. This applies to all except his dash attack.
• Grabs:
  • Standing and pivot grabs have less startup (standing: frame 7 → 6; pivot: frame 12 → 10).
  • All grabs have more ending lag (FAF 31 → 36 (standing); 38 → 44 (dash); 37 → 39 (pivot)).
  • All grabs have less range on aerial opponents (standing/pivot: 3.3u → 1.65; dash: 2.6u → 1.3).
  • Due to Falcon's increased traction, dash grab does not cause him to retain as much horizontal momentum. This significantly decreases its range.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
  • It deals more hitlag (4 frames → 14), but has much less startup (frame 4 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 16 → 7).
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw's first hit deals less damage (5% → 3.5%; 9% → 7.5% total).
  • Due to Falcon's increased traction no longer allowing him to retain horizontal momentum during the throw, it has lost its combo potential.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw's first hit deals less damage (5% → 3.5%; 9% → 7.5% total).
• Up throw:
  • Up throw's release deals more damage (3% → 5%; 7% → 9% total), allowing it to KO more reliably at high percents despite its reduced knockback (80 base/110 scaling → 68/100) and very slightly lower angle (85° → 84°).
• Down throw:
  • Down throw has less base knockback, but more knockback scaling (80 base/45 scaling → 65/70). Combined with Falcon's increased traction no longer allowing him to retain horizontal momentum during the throw, this hinders its combo potential past low and mid percents despite its higher angle (65° → 68°); most notably, this removes his semi-guaranteed setups into forward aerial at high percents.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 10%).

Special moves

• Falcon Punch:
  • It has less ending lag when not reversed (FAF 110 → 104).
  • It has significantly altered knockback (grounded/aerial/aerial reversed: 0 base/90 scaling → 93/59; grounded reversed: 0 base/90 scaling → 85/65). This makes it no longer unsafe on hit at low percents (as in previous games), and significantly increases its KO power despite its reduced knockback scaling (for reference, it can KO middleweights at 55% from the center of Final Destination).
  • Both versions have larger hitboxes (grounded/reversed: 4.0u/2.5u/3.5u → 4.5/2.5/4.0; aerial/aerial reversed: 4.6u/2.875u/4.025u → 5.175/2.875/4.6).
  • Falcon Punch does not move Falcon as far when performing the move, slightly reducing its range despite its larger hitboxes.
  • Like several other powerful attacks in the game, Falcon Punch triggers Special Zoom when it successfully hits an opponent.
  • Falcon Punch's flames are more pronounced and better resemble an actual falcon model than in Smash 4. In addition, the falcon particle effect lingers for much longer.
• Raptor Boost:
  • Grounded Raptor Boost has less startup (inert detector: frame 16 → 10), and less ending lag if it misses (FAF 80 → 72).
  • Falcon has super armor on the grounded version's right before the uppercut comes out (frames 1~8). This significantly improves its use for zonebreaking.
  • The grounded uppercut has more startup (frame 4 → 6).
    • However, it has much less ending lag (FAF 36 → 29), greatly improving its combo potential.
  • The grounded uppercut sends at a lower angle (85° → 76°) and deals much less knockback (100 base/75 scaling → 82/75). While this improves its combo potential, it significantly reduces its KO power, no longer KOing opponents at realistic percentages without rage.
  • The grounded uppercut has altered hitboxes, which are now attached to Falcon's body (startup: 7.0u → 6.0/5.5; ending: 7.0u → 4.5). This reduces its range.
  • The grounded uppercut has reduced hitlag (2.0x → 1.5x). This makes it harder to DI.
  • Both versions deal more damage (9% grounded/8% aerial → 10% both), with knockback not compensated on the aerial version, improving the meteor smash's KO potential.
  • Aerial Raptor Boost no longer causes helplessness or landing lag if the uppercut is activated, increasing its safety.
  • The aerial version no longer has a sourspot during the attack's activation. This significantly improves the meteor smash's reliability.
  • The move has a slightly altered animation.
• Falcon Dive:
  • It covers more horizontal range and travels higher, and reversing it no longer decreases its horizontal distance.
  • It has less landing lag (30 frames → 24).
  • One of the move's grabboxes has increased size (4.5u → 5.0), and a higher position (Y-axis displacement: 12.0 → 13.0), improving the move's protection from above, as well as its reach, while only marginally reducing its consistency against grounded opponents.
  • The throw has less ending lag (FAF 61 → 55).
  • The throw deals more damage (12% → 13%; 17% → 18% total) and has altered knockback (40 base/82 scaling → 85/62). Overall, this improves its KO potential.
  • The hitbox when Falcon latches onto an opponent deals knockback to bystanders (50 base/100 scaling, at an angle of 361), instead of simply damaging them, making the move safer to use in doubles or free-for-alls.
  • Connecting with the throw no longer gives RCO lag.
  • Falcon Dive has Captain Falcon flash with an orange tint when grabbing an opponent. It additionally has a new animation, in which he grabs his opponent with one hand while leaning more similar to Dark Dive in SSB4 onward, and the flip after grabbing an opponent has him spin slightly.
  • The move's sound effects no longer cut off when grabbing an opponent.
• Falcon Kick:
  • Grounded Falcon Kick has less startup (frame 18 → 15), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 74 → 71).
  • The grounded version's clean hit deals more damage (13% → 15%), all of its hits have more knockback scaling (clean: 60 → 84; mid: 40 → 60; late: 60 → 65), and they launch at a much more horizontal angle (clean: 80° → 52°; mid: 68° → 52°; late: 50° → 46°). This increases its KO ability overall, with the clean hit remaining mostly the same from center stage save for its angle, which allows it to KO earlier near edges.
  • Aerial Falcon Kick has much less landing lag (48 frames → 36), making it safer as a landing option.
  • The aerial version deals more knockback (clean: 40 base/60 scaling → 80/52; mid/late: 40 base/65 scaling → 80/46; landing: 20 scaling → 35). This improves the clean hit's KO potential (now KOing at around 150% from center stage) and makes the entire move safer on hit.
  • The aerial version's landing hit sends at a lower angle (80 → 60). This makes it harder to punish.
  • The aerial version's mid and late hits deal less damage (mid: 13% → 12%; late: 11% → 9%). This worsens their KO potential despite their higher knockback.
• Blue Falcon:
  • The starting hit has smaller hitboxes (19.0u/22.0u/19.0u → 16.0/18.0/16.0) with altered displacements (hitbox 0: 10.0 Z-axis displacement → 13; hitbox 2: 50.0 Z-axis displacement → 45). This significantly reduces its range, especially right in front of Falcon.
  • The finishing hit has less knockback scaling (165 → 135), no longer being a potential One-hit KO, and rendering it only slightly above average in strength overall.
  • Blue Falcon releases flames on both sides when the Blue Falcon itself is on the racetrack, making it appear much like a falcon itself.
  • The track Captain Falcon drives on sports a new design with no side rails, better matching the rail-less sections of F-Zero race tracks.

Update History

3.1.0

• Forward tilt deals more knockback.
• Up tilt has less startup lag.
• Forward air's sweetspot hitbox is larger.
• Back air deals more knockback.
• Raptor Boost's hit detection now has less startup (frame 6 → 2), making it as fast as other attacks with a hit detection hitbox.
• Falcon Kick has more active frames.

Moveset

• Captain Falcon can wall jump.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			1.5%	Two straight punches followed by a knee strike. Alternatively, the first two punches can be followed by a series of punches, culminating in an underhand punch that has very high base knockback. The infinite and underhand punch have deceptively high range, being able to reach fighters slightly further out than his normal two-punch knee strike. The first two hits can also lock.
			1.5%
			5%
			0.6% (loop), 3% (last)
Forward tilt	↗		10% (foot), 9% (leg)	A roundhouse kick that can be angled. The move has a sweetspot on Captain Falcon's foot, and a slightly weaker sourspot on his leg. A bit slower than neutral attack, but has more range over it, and can start tech chase situations at mid percents. Angling the move increases its damage, and angling down allows it to hit short characters effectively, which Captain Falcon struggles with.
	→		9% (foot), 8% (leg)
	↘		10% (foot), 9% (leg)
Up tilt		Wheel Kick	11%	An axe kick that meteor smashes both grounded and aerial opponents. Useful for grounded combos or hitting opponents jumping over the ledge and meteoring them.
Down tilt			10%	A sweep kick with horizontal knockback, making it useful for edgeguarding because of this trajectory, as well as its kill power and ability to hit ledge hangs. Has high starting lag for a tilt.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 6% (late)	A shoulder tackle that grants a lot of forward distance. Useful for punishing landings and can occasionally start combos due to its diagonal trajectory and speed, but it is punishable on shield like most dash attacks. It has increased knockback compared to the previous installment, making it a situational KOing move.
Forward smash	↗		20%	Rears back and performs a lunging backhanded punch while posing, which has a flame effect. Has high starting and ending lag, but the move has a high range since Captain Falcon rears back, which can cause other moves to completely whiff. Also can be angled, increasing its damage slightly.
	→		19%
	↘		20%
Up smash			7%/12% (hit 1), 14%/13% (hit 2)	Performs a 540 kick. A potent move that despite its slow startup, has low ending lag and deceptive horizontal range. Both hits deal more damage at the upper portion of Captain Falcon's leg. At low to mid percents, it can combo into an up aerial against fast-fallers, and a decent anti air due to hitting twice and having leg intangibility.
Down smash			14% (hit 1), 18% (hit 2)	Kicks forward and then backward. The back kick is more powerful than the front kick, and makes the move useful for roll reads. Unlike most down smashes, it cannot hit ledge hangs, although it compensates by having decent horizontal range and somewhat low endlag.
Neutral aerial			4% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	Kicks forward twice. It is a reliable followup to his down throw at mid-percents, and transitions faster than the version in SSB4. The first hit has vertical knockback on grounded opponents, intended to reliably lead into the second hit, but if Falcon lands with only the first hit, it becomes a viable combo starter that can combo into his aerials. Also an effective edgeguard tool, due to being a multi hit and having decent kill power offstage.
Forward aerial		Knee Smash	22% (clean sweetspot), 6% (clean sourspot), 3% (late)	Captain Falcon's renowned Knee Smash. It has very high knockback and an electric effect if sweetspotted, but is incredibly weak if sourspotted or hit with the late hit. It deals massive shield damage and has respectable landing lag, making it an excellent shield-pressuring tool if aimed well. Also used as a combo finisher or hard read tool against airborne opponents, such as if they airdodge predictably.
Back aerial			13% (clean), 8% (late)	A quick backhanded strike. Low landing lag, making it one of Captain Falcon's best approach options. The move has good power, and it can combo into a dash attack or grab on landing at low percents.
Up aerial		Overhead Kick	10%/9% (clean), 9%/8% (late)	A flip kick. Has fast startup with a decently long duration, good all-around range (though not directly below him), low ending lag, minimal landing lag, low base knockback and autocancels in a short hop. All these factors make it a great combo starter, which can combo into itself or down air at low-mid percents.
Down aerial			14%	Performs a double foot stomp. Meteor smashes when sweetspotted at his legs, and sends opponents horizontally if sourspotted at his hips. It can lock opponents at low to mid percents, and when it starts bouncing opponents off the ground, can combo into Knee Smash.
Grab			—	Reaches out with a short range. While Captain Falcon's dash grab does not cause him to slide as much, it can no longer whiff up close since characters are not able to run through each other in Ultimate.
Pummel			1.3%	Knee strikes the opponent.
Forward throw			3.5% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Punches the enemy, sending them forward diagonally. Can easily be followed up with a dash attack at low percentages, and kill at higher percents.
Back throw			3.5% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Puts the enemy behind him and kicks them backwards, knocking them back diagonally. His best kill throw horizontally.
Up throw			4% (hit 1), 5% (throw)	Holds the enemy up and punches them upward with his left hand. Can kill off the top, useful for when Captain Falcon is not in position for forward or back throws to kill.
Down throw			6%	Swings the foe overhead and then slams them on the ground with a single arm. Alongside Raptor Boost and the first hit of neutral aerial, this is one of Captain Falcon's main combo starters, being capable of starting combos into neutral aerial at 0%, up aerial at a wide range of percents, and even forward aerial at specific percentages as a KO setup.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Does a spin on the ground to kick both sides.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Spins around to do a double kick.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Punches both sides.
Edge attack Edge getups			10%	Gets up and kicks with his right leg.
Neutral special		Falcon Punch	25% (ground), 28% (ground reverse), 22% (air), 25% (air reverse)	Winds up and releases his iconic fiery punch, yelling "Falcon Punch!" while doing so. Turning around while using the move increases its power, but slightly increases its startup lag, while landing an aerial punch lowers its power. Inputting up or down on the control pad when Captain Falcon is performing an aerial Falcon Punch will result in a very small boost in that direction.
Side special		Raptor Boost	10%	Dashes forward, performing an uppercut on the ground if the move connects with an opponent, or an overhand in the air. The aerial version meteor smashes aerial opponents if they are directly below Falcon. On the ground, Captain Falcon is granted super armor right before the hit connects. The move will now deal the same damage regardless of whether it is performed on the ground or in the air. The aerial version will leave Captain Falcon helpless if the move does not connect against opponents. Unlike the version in SSB4, Raptor Boost is not a KO option due to its low knockback, thus making it better suited for starting aerial combos.
Up special		Falcon Dive	5% (hit 1), 13% (throw)	Leaps upward and grabs any opponent that comes in range, launching them away with an explosion. If successful, Captain Falcon will flip backward while shouting "Yes!", and he can use the move again instead of becoming helpless. This is Falcon's main recovery option.
Down special		Falcon Kick	15%/11%/7% (ground), 15%/12%/9% (air), 9% (landing)	Bursts forward with a flaming high-speed kick, uttering "Falcon Kick!" in the process. If used on the ground, he will travel horizontally. If used in the air, he will plunge down at a diagonal angle. The move gets weaker as it continues, though the early hits have KO potential.
Final Smash		Blue Falcon	10% (hit 1), 20% (hit 2), 10% (throw)	Calls in the Blue Falcon, which flies through the stage in front of him. If the Blue Falcon hits any opponents, a short cutscene plays where Captain Falcon is seen piloting the Blue Falcon, and he then runs over the caught opponents and sends them flying. Characters who are not hit during a successful attempt will stay in place (as they cannot be visible at this time) until the end of the move. Like certain other Final Smashes, if no one is hit when the Blue Falcon appears, the attack fails.

On-screen appearance

• The Blue Falcon flies in and spins to a stop, Captain Falcon jumps out, and then the Blue Falcon speeds off. Like in previous games, Captain Falcon has the unique property where his jumping animation will differ based on facing direction (a simple vaulting jump if facing right, and a front flip if facing left).

Taunts

• Up taunt: Charges himself up with a fiery aura, similar to Falcon Dive's startup.
• Side taunt: Thrusts his arm out and gestures for his opponent to come closer, exclaiming "Come on!".
• Down taunt: Gives a salute to his right side while saying "Show me your moves!" When facing left, Captain Falcon extends his saluting arm behind him; this also shortens the taunt.

Idle poses

• Leans forward and thrusts his arm out.
• Similar to the first one, but he crouches slightly and thrusts his elbow out instead of his arm.

Victory poses

• Performs two jump kicks, then does a pose.
• Charges up fiery energy. Based on one of his Smash 64 poses.
• Does three roundhouse kicks and then strikes a pose.

An electric guitar-based cover of the short track that would play when a character finished a race in F-Zero GX

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In competitive play

Notable players

•  Big D - Considered to be one of the best Captain Falcon players in the world. Uses Captain Falcon as a secondary main behind King Dedede, and placed 33rd at GENESIS 6 and 4th at Don't Park on the Grass 2018.
•  Fatality - The best Captain Falcon player in the world. Placed 17th at Frostbite 2019, 4th at Midwest Mayhem Ultimate and 9th at Super Splat Bros.
•  NickC - Placed 5th at NYXL Pop-Up!, and 13th at both Let's Make Moves and Glitch 6.

Classic Mode: Up Close and Personal

Captain Falcon fights opponents who specialize in close-range combat.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Donkey Kong	Jungle Japes	Battle for Storm Hill
2	Ganondorf	Gerudo Valley	Gerudo Valley
3	Ryu	Suzaku Castle	Ryu Stage
4	Roy	Arena Ferox	Attack - Fire Emblem
5	Mii Brawler (x6)	Coliseum	The Devoted	Horde Battle. Mii Brawler costume combinations:No headwear and Red Fighter Uniform, Ninja Headband and Orange Tracksuit, Ribbon Girl Mask and Ribbon Girl Outfit, No headwear and Green Fighter Uniform, Saki Amamiya Wig and Cyan Tracksuit, and Spring Man Mask and Spring Man Outfit.
6	Little Mac	Boxing Ring	Jogging / Countdown
Bonus Stage
Final	Bowser , then Giga Bowser	Final Destination	King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3 (Bowser) Giga Bowser (Giga Bowser)	A Maxim Tomato appears after defeating Bowser in the final round.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Captain Falcon has Fire Field (Remix) accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Captain Falcon in World of Light

Captain Falcon was among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, Captain Falcon was present when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. He attempted to escape in the Blue Falcon, but Galeem vaporized him and his vehicle before he could do so. He was then imprisoned by Galeem along with the rest of the fighters (excluding Kirby).

Captain Falcon can be found early in the mode if the player goes through Villager's path instead of those of Marth and Sheik. He is in the middle of a racetrack that can only be traversed with the assistance of the Pico spirit.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
11		Captain Falcon	Attack	3,300	Port Town Aero Dive (Ω form)	F-ZERO Medley

Spirits

Captain Falcon's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Captain Falcon in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

• Captain Falcon Spirit.png

  591. Captain Falcon

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
41		Bullet Bill	Super Mario series	•Captain Falcon Team (×4)		1,800	Mushroom Kingdom	•Item Tidal Wave •Item: Bullet Bill	•Certain items will appear in large numbers •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Airship Theme - Super Mario Bros. 3
141	File:Funky Kong Spirit.png	Funky Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Captain Falcon •Diddy Kong •Donkey Kong		9,000	Kongo Jungle	•Item: Bullet Bill	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	Funky's Fugue
437		Machamp	Pokémon series	•Giant Captain Falcon (×2)		3,900	Wrecking Crew	N/A	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power •The enemy favors neutral attacks •The enemy is giant	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (64)
447	File:Hitmonlee.png	Hitmonlee	Pokémon series	•Captain Falcon (x2)		3,600	Suzaku Castle	N/A	•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power	Pokémon Gym/Evolution - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue
487	File:Blaziken Spirit.png	Blaziken	Pokémon series	•Captain Falcon		3,800	Coliseum	•Uncontrollable Speed	•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •The enemy is very fast and can't stop quickly	Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire
597	File:Baba Spirit.png	Baba	F-Zero series	•Captain Falcon		1,900	Big Blue	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy has increased move speed	Dream Chaser
601	File:Blood falcon.png	Blood Falcon	F-Zero series	•Captain Falcon (×2)		9,400	Port Town Aero Dive	N/A	•The enemy's special moves have increased power •The enemy favors special moves •The enemy has increased move speed	Car Select
764		Zero (Metal Gear Solid 3)	Metal Gear Solid series	•Captain Falcon •Snake		3,500	Shadow Moses Island	•Move Speed ↓	•You have reduced move speed after a little while	Snake Eater
872	File:Duo.png	Duo	Mega Man series	•Captain Falcon (x2)		3,700	Wily Castle (Ω form)	N/A	•The enemy's neutral special has increased power •The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch •Stamina battle	We're Robots (Dr. Wily Stage 2)
984	File:Guile Spirit.png	Guile	Street Fighter series	•Captain Falcon		13,700	Pilotwings (Ω form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Guile) •Jump Power ↓	•Stamina battle •Hostile assist trophies will appear •All fighters have reduced jump power	Guile Stage Type A
995	File:Charlie Nash.png	Nash	Street Fighter series	•Captain Falcon		3,700	Halberd (Ship deck)	•Metal Shift •Jump Power ↓	•The enemy will occasionally turn metal when the enemy's at high damage •Stamina battle	Guile Stage
1,107		Fighting Alloy Team	Super Smash Bros. series	•Captain Falcon Team (×4) •Zelda Team (×4) •Mario Team (×4) •Kirby Team (×4)		3,300	Final Destination (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Cruel Smash
1,126		Mach Rider	Mach Rider series	•Captain Falcon		1,700	Port Town Aero Drive	N/A	•The enemy has increased move speed •The enemy starts the battle with a Super Scope	Mach Rider
1,136	File:Eagle.png	Eagle	Advance Wars series	•Captain Falcon		1,800	Corneria	•Defense ↑ •Attack Power ↑ •Item: Shooting Types	•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while •The enemy has increased defense after a little while •The enemy starts the battle with a Staff	Garage
1,209	File:Drake Redcrest.png	Drake Redcrest	Chibi-Robo! series	•Captain Falcon •Tiny Metal R.O.B.		1,700	Living Room	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy's neutral special has increased power •The enemy loves to taunt	ST01: Roll Out, Wonderful 100!
1,242		Nick	Captain Rainbow	•Captain Falcon		1,500	Fountain of Dreams	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Takamaru) •Item: Super Star	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Minor Circuit (Original)
1,279	File:Henry fleming codename steam.png	Henry Fleming	Codename: S.T.E.A.M.	•Captain Falcon		1,900	New Pork City (Battlefield form)	•Item: Shooting Types	•The enemy starts the battle with a Rage Blaster	Trouble Brewing II
1,310		Ryuji Sakamoto	Persona series	•Captain Falcon •Mii Gunner (Pirate Hat, Steampunk Getup)		4,800	Luigi's Mansion (Battlefield form)	•N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy starts the battle with a Home-Run Bat	Last Surprise

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
260	File:Alfonzo Spirit.png	Alfonzo & Engineer Link	The Legend of Zelda series	•Toon Link •Captain Falcon		3,600	Spirit Train	•Attack Power ↑	•The enemy's dash attacks have increased power •The enemy has increased attack power after a little while •The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you	Full Steam Ahead	Alfonzo
595		Jody Summer	F-Zero series	•Zero Suit Samus •Captain Falcon		9,400	Big Blue	N/A	•The enemy has increased move speed and reduced weight	White Land (Remix)	John Tanaka
604	File:Black Shadow.png	Black Shadow	F-Zero series	•Ganondorf •Captain Falcon		13,500	Port Town Aero Dive (Battlefield form)	•Sudden Damage	•You'll occasionally take sudden damage after a little while	Devil's Call in Your Heart	Blood Falcon
1,306		Phantom Thieves of Hearts	Persona series	•Joker •Pikachu •Captain Falcon •Zero Suit Samus •Chrom •Sheik		13,300	Mementos	•Sudden Final Smash •Item: Daybreak Parts	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash when the enemy's at high damage •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There	Ryuji Sakamoto

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Captain Falcon's fighter card.

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  On Boxing Ring.

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  Using Raptor Boost on Figure-8 Circuit.

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  Taunting Little Mac on Arena Ferox.

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  Taunting with Ganondorf on Temple.

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  Using Falcon Punch on Port Town Aero Dive.

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  Wearing the Blood Falcon costume on Battlefield.

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  Struck by Falco's Falco Phantasm on Pokémon Stadium.

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  Struck by the Ice Climbers' Squall Hammer on Summit.

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  Taunting on Big Blue.

Trivia

• A pre-release screenshot for the game shows Captain Falcon in his Blood Falcon costume, with the logo on the back reading "Hell Hawk"; in the final game, this is only true for the Japanese release of the game, as other languages translate it to "Blood Hawk".
• Captain Falcon's fighter number, #11, is coincidentally his Vs. Mode unlock number; he is the only character in Ultimate with this distinction.
• Captain Falcon can be unlocked by clearing Classic Mode the first as Fox; this is a reference to how both characters originated from science-fiction franchises F-Zero and Star Fox, both involve their vehicle Blue Falcon and Arwing as Final Smashes and are both Smash 64 veterans.
  • There is also a character in F-Zero X and F-Zero GX named James McCloud, who is heavily based on Fox's father of the same name.
  • Captain Falcon also occupies the sixth column in Brawl's character selection alongside the entire Star Fox cast including Falco and Wolf, as all three characters are included in Fox's unlock column.