Fox (SSB4)

Fox in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Star Fox
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Landmaster
Tier	A (7)

Fox (フォックス, Fox) returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was one of the characters confirmed to return in the game during the E3 2013 trailers on June 11th, 2013. He was also among the first wave of amiibo figures that are compatible with SSB4.

Kenji Nojima reprises his role as Fox's voice in the Japanese version with re-recorded voice clips. Mike West, his original English voice actor who voiced him in Star Fox 64, reprised his role in the 3DS remake, Star Fox 64 3D and in the Wii U title, Star Fox Zero, now once again voices Fox, replacing Jim Walker.

Fox has been ranked 7th (currently tied with Sonic) in all versions of the tier list to date, currently in the A tier. This is a noticeable improvement from his previous position from Brawl where he was ranked 15th of 38 characters as an upper mid tier character, and marks Fox's return to being ranked as a top tier character, like in Melee. He is also the highest ranked of the Original 8 and the "Perfect-Attendance crew" as well as the fourth highest ranked veteran. Fox's strengths include very quick mobility, a fast and transcendent projectile in his Blaster, and an anti-camping move in his Reflector. Altogether, these grant him one of the fastest and safest approaches in the entire game and allow him to easily keep up with almost any opponent. Fox also boasts a versatile combo game thanks to his quick, low knockback moves, along with capable KOing power, with a quick and powerful finisher in his up smash.

However, Fox's fast falling speed, high gravity, subpar air speed and light weight make him one of the easiest characters to both combo and KO, making him prone to momentum shifts. His recovery, while long-distanced, is linear and predictable, allowing for players to edgeguard him. His grab game is also poor, as his throws lack utility due to having no follow-ups past medium percentages or being realistic KOing options. The introduction of rage further burdens Fox, as the efficiency of his combos drops dramatically with it, as well as becoming even easier to KO.

Regardless, Fox's weaknesses are not enough to keep him out of the top tier, which is evident by his high tournament representation, such as from Larry Lurr, and Fox has attained great results.

Attributes

Fox fits in with the "hit-and-run" archetype, as he has very fast grounded movement and above average frame data. Fox's mobility is proficient overall: he possesses the third fastest walking speed, the fourth fastest dashing speed, below average air speed but high air acceleration, the highest gravity and the fastest falling speed out of the entire cast. Despite his falling speed, he is also one of the lightest characters in the game (sixth lightest).

Along with his mobility, his attack speed is remarkable. Most of his moves come out in fewer than 10 frames, and some, such as his up smash, also boast terrific power. Though his aerials have noticeable landing lag, they have favorable auto-cancel frames, with his up and back aerials auto-cancelling in a short-hop, and the latter two deal high knockback as well. Fox's frame data grants him a formidable approach, as he can pressure and poke with his tilts and aerials without leaving himself open to punishes. His Blaster, despite being nerfed, is an invaluable tool in Fox's arsenal. Its rapid-fire abilities and range give it great utility in zoning, camping, forcing approaches, and racking on damage. All of the above factors give Fox a powerful neutral game.

Another shining strength is Fox's combo game. All of his tilts and aerials are capable of starting combos. His up tilt can combo into itself at low- to mid-percents, and can lead into his aerials at higher percents. Dash attack deals vertical knockback, leading into aerial combos and juggles. Due to its high hitlag, down aerial has reduced landing lag if it connects, allowing different follow-ups at a variety of percentages. Fox's down throw is also a reliable combo-starter at lower damages. Forward aerial has several set-ups, and if Fox lands while doing the move, he can jab lock the opponent with low-angled forward tilt, and may extend the combo after they are forced into their neutral get-up. Fox can also forward air an opponent offstage and fastfall, which can lead into a footstool and kill extremely early.

Fox has good KO power for a character of his weight class. Up aerial is quick, powerful, and has a wide auto-cancel frame, making it relatively safe. Forward smash, while fairly weak, has moderate start-up and ending lag and long range. Down smash can catch opponents off-guard and gives them little chance to DI, along with its decent power and semi-spike angle. Back aerial has low start-up and is a deadly semi-spike as well. Finally, Fox's most potent KO move is his up smash, with minimal start-up and powerful knockback. He also has a few notable set-ups into it, as both his neutral and down aerials can combo into it at high percentages.

However, Fox has a few weaknesses. His recovery, while far-reaching, is average at best. Fox Illusion is fast and grants long horizontal distance, but is linear and can no longer be shortened. Fire Fox can be angled in any direction, but is also linear and slow. Though Fox Illusion can now be followed up with Fire Fox, his recovery is nonetheless predictable. His very high falling speed and low weight leave him at the mercy of meteor smashes, and he usually cannot survive them even at lower percentages. In addition, similarly to Greninja, Fox's walljump is highly situational and grants minimum vertical and horizontal distance.

Despite having several high-power moves, Fox sometimes has difficulty KOing his opponent. Most of his finishers are easily predictable even in spite of their speed, most notably his up aerial and up smash. Up aerial is hard to land without an air dodge read, and because it is commonly used to rack up damage, it is prone to staling. Back aerial and down smash have short reach and durations, and the latter is punishable. Forward smash is one of the weakest of its kind. His most reliable KOing move, his up smash, is difficult to connect without a read or set-up. It also has 45 frames of ending lag, making it extremely unsafe on shield. A majority of his moves also have somewhat short reach in comparison to other characters, forcing Fox to often be up-close to inflict damage most of the time.

Fox's grab game is quite mediocre. His down throw is easily DIed even at low percentages, and none of his other throws can combo effectively. He lacks a reliable KO throw, which further hinders his ability to close out stocks, and this gives him trouble against foes who continuously shield his finishers and set-ups. Fox does not have a particularly strong edgeguarding ability. He cannot maneuver effectively offstage due to his fast falling speed and slow air speed. He lacks a meteor smash outside of a pseudo autolink meteor in his fastfall forward air, and his aerials either have long durations, high ending lag, or both. In such situations, because of his falling speed, Fox often has to use Fire Fox to return to the stage, which is risky and can backfire if the opponent survives the attempt.

Finally, Fox has terrible endurance. His light weight and high gravity allow many characters to KO him below 100%. Not only that, but his falling speed leaves him extremely susceptible to combos, though less vulnerable to juggles. Thus, he loses the main advantage that light-weights possess while suffering from their most glaring weakness. Some characters can easily rack up 50% on Fox off of one combo, a prominent example being Luigi, and he along with other characters can potentially bring Fox to KO percents with one or two combos. His aforementioned recovery issues only exacerbate Fox's frailty. Since Fox aims to rack up heavy damage but can struggle KOing, he is in even greater danger of losing his stock to opponents with heavy rage, and his endurance prevents him from making effective use of the mechanic.

With custom moves on, Fox does gain good benefits. Impact Blaster behaves similarly to how his Blaster did in SSB in that it fires slower, but deals more damage, knockback, and makes the opponents flinch similarly to Falco's Blaster. Charge Blaster fires a single, powerful laser that has slower start-up, but deals good damage, hitstun and knockback. Wolf Flash, originally belonging to Wolf, propels Fox at 35° instead of only horizontally like Fox Illusion does and it can also spike airborne opponents. Flying Fox does not go as far and deals no damage, but has almost no start-up and propels Fox faster, making it harder to gimp. Twisting Fox does not fly as far and propels Fox slower, but has less start-up, sucks opponents in, and is much more powerful, KOing as low as 60% off the top blast zone. It also grants a large momentum boost, making it just as good for recovery despite the lowered distance.

Overall, Fox is a very capable character due to his great grounded mobility, fast attack speed, strong combo game, decent finishers and no crippling weaknesses aside from his poor endurance, poor horizontal aerial movement and linear recovery. He has attained excellent tournament representation, being used by high-level players such as Larry Lurr, and he has strong results at all levels of play.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Despite being directly nerfed from Brawl to Smash 4, several universal changes benefited Fox significantly more in SSB4. Fox's neutral game is less effective, with increased lag on his aerials and a weakened camping game due to the removal of auto-canceling on his Blaster. This means Fox can no longer safely bait as many bad approaches from his opponents. Additionally, his general damage output and frame data were nerfed and some of his finishers (such as up smash) have been weakened. He is lighter, and the changes to hitstun canceling combined with his higher fall speed and gravity makes him even easier to combo and worsens his endurance. One of his most significant nerfs was to his Reflector, which can no longer allow him to stall in the air effectively due to its drastically increased ending lag, no longer has intangibility on startup removing its ability to break combos and can no longer semi-spike, making it much less effective overall now being near useless outside of reflecting projectiles.

However, Fox benefits from the general changes of SSB4 enough to overcome these nerfs. This most notably includes the removal of chain grabbing, which was a major reason for his mid-tier placement in Brawl, and early hitstun canceling, which restores his ability to perform short combos with some of his more versatile attacks, such as his up tilt and neutral aerial. Additionally, while Fox's neutral game was nerfed, it still remains better than most due to his retained mix-ups, excellent foxtrot and short hop and his overall mobility. Fox also benefits from a better jab cancel at higher percents, which can set up KOs more reliably. His recovery has also improved, with Fox Illusion no longer leaving him helpless and Fire Fox traveling farther. Fox benefits from the untechable reeling animation arguably more than any other character, as it now allows Fox to combo his weaker moves (such as down or neutral aerial) into his smash attacks for a K.O.

As a result, he is considered to be much better relative to the cast than he was in Brawl despite his moveset being noticeably worse, reflected by his much greater tournament success compared to Brawl with many more dedicated mains pushing his metagame.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in SSB4, Fox's attire is sleeker, his overall color scheme is more vibrant, and his fur is of a significantly higher visual quality than in Brawl. His teeth are also more pronounced.
• Fox has received three new alternate costumes, one of which is based on Wolf O'Donnell.
• Blaster's design has slightly changed.
• Air dodge's animation has changed.

Attributes

• Fox is lighter (80 → 79), hindering his endurance. While this would also make him less susceptible to combos, his faster falling speed, higher gravity, and the changes to hitstun canceling collectively result in him being more susceptible to combos.
• Fox dashes faster (2.08 → 2.184).
  • Fox's initial dash is much faster (2.1 → 2.4), still being the highest but now by a noticeable margin.
• Fox's air speed is faster (0.89 → 0.96).
• Fox falls faster (1.831 → 2.05), now having the fastest falling speed in the game. This improves his vertical endurance, but makes him more susceptible to combos.
• Fox's gravity is higher (0.175 → 0.19). This improves his aerial mobility, but hinders his horizontal endurance.
• Fox's double jump is lower, hindering his recovery.
• The changes to hitstun canceling both help and hinder Fox. They improve his combo potential, but make him more susceptible to combos.
• The removal of chain grabbing significantly improves Fox's endurance.
• The removal of meteor canceling makes Fox significantly more susceptible to meteor smashes, due to his high falling speed.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack's second hit has an altered animation where Fox scoots forward with a slightly more-upright straight punch, increasing its range. Neutral infinite has also received several changes that improve its utility: it has gained an additional hit at the start of its animation; its looping hits have more base knockback (5/3 → 20) and a lower SDI multiplier (1× → 0.4×), which alongside the weakening of SDI allows them to connect much more reliably; and the move has received a finisher, a side kick.
  • Neutral attack's first and second hits have more ending lag (FAF 16/18 → 18/21) and knockback (hit 1: 10 (base)/20 (scaling) → 15/40, hit 2: 25 (base)/30 (scaling) → 25/32 (base)/70/80 (scaling)), and the latter launches at different angles (80°/20° → 40°/76°/68°), hindering the move's jab canceling potential until high percents. The first hit also has a shorter duration (frames 2-3 → 2), and the second hit deals less damage (2% → 1%), as does the neutral infinite (2%/1% (all hits) → 0.4% (starting hit)/0.7% (loop)).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt now has transcendent priority. It also has an altered animation where Fox swings his leg more horizontally inward, as opposed to thrusting his leg out forward.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt consists of a clean and late hit instead of being consistent throughout, and both have a collectively shorter duration (frames 3-10 → 3-5 (clean)/6-7 (late)), while dealing less damage (10%/8% → 9%/7%/6% (clean)/6%/5% (late)).
  • Up tilt can combo opponents much more efficiently due to the changes to hitstun canceling and its lower damage output, even gaining some KO setups at high percents.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt deals less damage (9%/8%/7% → 8%/7%/6%). However, coupled with the changes to hitstun canceling, this grants the sourspot combo potential starting at mid percents.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has become a much more reliable combo starter due to the changes to hitstun canceling.
  • Dash attack deals less damage (7% (clean)/5% (late) → 6%/4%), with its base knockback compensated (35/20 → 55/40).
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has faster startup (frame 14 → 13).
  • Forward smash deals less damage (15% (clean)/12% (late) → 14%/11%), albeit with its knockback compensated (clean: 10 (base)/96 (scaling) → 20/98; late: 2 (base) → 20). It also has increased ending lag (FAF 42 → 46).
  • Forward smash has Fox's right foot enlarge more, giving it a better visual range indicator.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash deals less damage (17%/15% → 16%/14% (clean), 13% → 11% (late)) and its clean hit has decreased knockback scaling (96 → 94), hindering its KO potential. The move also has more ending lag (FAF 47 → 56), as well as a shorter duration (frames 8-10 (clean)/11-15 (late) → 8-9/10-11), significantly decreasing its range behind Fox.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash's knockback was altered (50 (base)/65 (scaling) → 30/75), making it slightly stronger overall.
  • Down smash has a shorter duration (frames 6-10 → 6-7) and more ending lag (FAF 46 → 53). It also has a new charging animation where Fox stands upright on one leg while bracing himself when looking up; this somewhat enlarges his hurtbox while charging compared to the previous animation.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has increased landing lag (9 frames → 11).
  • Due to Fox's faster falling speed and higher gravity, it can no longer autocancel in a short hop.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial now sends aerial opponents at the autolink angle (75° → 366°) with set knockback (10 (base)/50 (scaling) → 120 (set)/100 (scaling)). Coupled with the weakening of SDI, this allows it to connect much more reliably, despite its SDI multiplier being increased (1× → 1.3×), and if Fox fast falls in the middle of the attack, it can lead into a footstool jump, allowing it to gimp opponents very effectively.
  • Forward aerial deals significantly less total damage (23% → 7.4%), going from the most damaging forward aerial in Brawl to one of the least damaging in SSB4. The last hit also launches at a lower angle (75° → 70°) and has lower knockback scaling (140 → 130), hindering its KO potential near the upper blast line. Lastly, it gives a shorter "hover" effect due to Fox's higher gravity, worsening its recovery potential.
  • Due to Fox's increased gravity and fall speed, forward aerial can no longer auto-cancel in a short hop.
  • Forward aerial has increased landing lag (18 frames → 27).
  • Forward aerial's last hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 2×).
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has bigger hitboxes (4u/4u → 4.6u/4.6u).
  • Back aerial benefits from the increased shieldstun, now being completely safe on shield if its auto-cancel is timed properly.
    • However, Fox can no longer hit smaller characters (or as many crouching characters) with back aerial and still auto-cancel it due to his aforementioned increased falling speed/gravity.
  • Back aerial deals less damage (15% → 13%), making it weaker despite its increased knockback scaling (85 → 88), and its sourspot hitboxes have been removed, reducing its range in front of Fox.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial's second hit has a shorter duration (frames 12-14 → 12-13).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has a new landing hitbox with a high hitlag multiplier, allowing it to benefit from frame canceling. The move also has altered angles (285° → 250°/110° (loop), 60° (last hit)) and knockback (33 (base)/40 (scaling) → loop: 5 (base)/38 (set)/100/30 (scaling); last hit: 50/140), while the last hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 2×). Combined with the move's quick autocancel window, the weakening of SDI, and the changes to hitstun canceling, it can now connect much more reliably, start combos at a wide range of percents despite the changes to the move (even having KO setups), and pressure shields more effectively, significantly improving its utility.
  • Due to its altered angles and knockback, down aerial is no longer a conventional meteor smash, removing its gimping ability. The looping hits also deal less damage (3% → 1.4%), reducing its total damage output (21% → 12.4%). The move's altered angles combined with its much higher landing lag also hinders its combo potential if not auto-cancelled making it much harder to set up into KO moves and removing its ability to reliably combo into itself at higher percents.
  • Down aerial has increased landing lag (12 frames → 25).

Throws/other attacks

• Standing and dash grabs have less ending lag (FAF 30 → 29 (standing), FAF 40 → 36 (dash)). Dash grab also has faster startup (frame 11 → 10).
• Pivot grab has slower startup (frame 9 → 11).
• The weakening of DI benefits Fox's back and up throws, as opponents can no longer DI out of the lasers' line of fire as effectively.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals more damage (1% → 1.2%).
• Down throw:
  • The changes to hitstun canceling grant down throw utility as a combo starter at low percents.
  • Down throw deals less damage per shot (2% → 1.5%), reducing its total damage output (9% → 7%).
• Floor attack:
  • Floor attacks deal more damage (6% → 7%) and shield damage (1 → 8) per hit, with minimally compensated knockback scaling (50 → 48).
  • Floor attacks' angles have been altered (361° → 48°).
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack no longer has set knockback (110 (set)/100 (scaling) → 90 (base)/20 (scaling)).
  • Edge attack has less startup lag (frame 25 → 19).
  • Edge attack deals consistent damage (8% (legs)/6% (body) → 7%).
  • Edge attack has a shorter duration (frames 25-32 → 19-21) and less intangibility (frames 1-23 → 1-16).

Special moves

• Blaster:
  • Blaster now has a clean hit, a mid hit and a late hit with the mid hit dealing the same damage as the previous late hit and the new late hit dealing less damage (2% → 1.4%).
  • Blaster's clean and mid hits have shorter durations with the new late hit having the longest duration (frames 11-17 (clean)/18-30 (late) → 11-12/13-19/20-30).
  • Blaster has one more frame of ending lag (FAF 39 (ground)/37 (air) → 40/38).
  • In a similar vein to Falco, Blaster no longer auto-cancels upon landing and can only be fired twice from a short hop, weakening its utility.
• Fox Illusion:
  • Fox Illusion no longer leaves Fox helpless after the move is performed in the air, though it can still only be used once in the air.
  • Fox no longer dashes over the edge when using it on the ground.
  • Fox Illusion has less landing lag.
  • Fox Illusion has altered knockback (60 (base), 68 (scaling) → 10/170 (ground)/200 (air)).
    • This improves its KO potential.
    • However, this also makes the much less safe on hit at lower percents hindering its utility at lower percents.
  • Fox Illusion deals less damage (4% → 3%).
  • Fox Illusion has more startup lag (frame 20 → 21) and ending lag (FAF 64 → 70).
  • Aerial Fox Illusion has much less horizontal momentum at the end of the dash and both variants can no longer be shortened, hindering its mix-up potential.
  • Fox can no longer reuse Fox Illusion if he is aerial grab released out of it.
• Fire Fox:
  • Fire Fox travels a greater distance, covering nearly as much distance as it did in the NTSC version of Melee.
• Reflector:
  • Reflector now protects Fox from all types of explosives when active, with the exception of sudden death Bob-ombs, which results in the total nullification of any damage that could have been taken.
  • Reflector deals less damage (5% → 2%), with its knockback not fully compensated (60 (base)/30 (scaling) → 66/32(grounded)/45 (aerial)), and no longer semi-spikes aerial opponents (10° → 40°), significantly weakening its edgeguarding ability. It also has more startup (frame 3 → 6) with the non-held variant now containing a 20-frame window where Fox is locked in his reflection hitbox before he can release it, resulting in more ending lag (FAF 23 → 41). This overall significantly hinders its safety as an attack on the ground as well as its followup potential and removing Fox's ability to stall with it in the air. It also no longer grants intangibility frames, removing its use as a combo breaker.
• Landmaster:
  • Landmaster can now fire its cannon while airborne.
  • Landmaster is weaker and has a shorter duration.
  • Landmaster is now light blue, instead of dark blue.

Update history

Fox has been slightly buffed overall in game updates. His jab cancel was weakened and his jab lock was completely removed, though his Blaster and Reflector were improved. Fox also does not seem to be notably affected by the changes to the shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1.

1.0.6

• Neutral infinite has less visual whiffs.

1.1.0

• Neutral attack's first and second hit's knockback and ending lag increased, removing Fox's jab lock and weakening his jab cancel.
• Neutral infinite received a hitbox that deals 0.4% and appears on frame 3. This makes its hits connect together better.
• Reflector's hitbox duration increased: 1 frame → 2.
• Reflector's hitbox size and horizontal displacement increased.
• All variations of Blaster had their ending lag decreased by 3 frames.

1.1.1

• Down throw's Blaster shots deal 0.5% less damage: 2% → 1.5%. However, its total damage output is unchanged due to Fox now firing one more shot.

1.1.4

• Hard tripping now grants five frames of invincibility.

Moveset

• Fox can wall jump.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	Two alternating jabs followed by a flurry of kicks, ending with a mid-level roundhouse kick. The second one is very easy to drop via jab cancel, allowing Fox to combo into other quick moves or into a grab.
			1%
			0.4% (connecting hit), 0.7% (loop), 2% (final hit)
Forward tilt	↗		8%	A roundhouse kick. Can be angled up or down, but has below average knockback. When angled downwards, it can jab reset at low percentages.
	→		6%
	↘		7%
Up tilt			9% (clean), 6% (late)	A scorpion kick. Excellent for follow-ups, such as back aerial, forward aerial, or up aerial. It comes out extremely fast, being frame 3, making it a good surprise attack for foes approaching from behind. Combined, its extremely fast start up and low reaching start up hitbox means it can be used as an easy "two frame" ledge snap punish, which of course can be followed up with.
Down tilt			8% (close), 7%, 6% (far)	Swipes at the opponent with his tail. Slightly less range than the animation would indicate. The sourspot sends opponents at a higher angle, which allows it to combo into other attacks more easily, most notably into a KO confirm up aerial at high percentages.
Dash attack			6% (clean), 4% (late)	A flying kick. One of Fox's best combo starters.
Forward smash			14%	An outward crescent kick. It has good range since Fox somersaults forward. Has possibly the lowest base knockback in the game for a forward smash, but decent knockback growth.
Up smash		Flip Kick	16% (clean), 11% (late)	A bicycle kick, similar to Yoshi's up smash. It loses strength the farther it is into the animation. The clean hit has the slash effect. It hits on frame 8, has high power, and has intangibility on head during startup and clean hit, making it Fox's most potent finisher. However, it has high ending lag (45 frames).
Down smash			14% (feet), 12% (legs)	A split kick. Very fast start-up, hits on both sides and launches opponents at a semi-spike angle.
Neutral aerial			9% (clean), 6% (late)	A flying kick. Due to being a sex kick, it loses power the longer it is out. However, the late hit can be useful for setting up a slide smash or any other attacks, especially due to rather low landing lag coupled with Fox's quick falling speed.
Forward aerial			2% (hit 1), 1% (hit 2), 0.6% (hit 3), 0.8% (hit 4), 3% (last hit)	Five swiveling roundhouse kicks performed in quick succession. This move makes Fox "hover" until the move ends if used right after a jump. Good for building up damage, as opponents will be trapped within the flurry of kicks for the duration of the attack. Suffers from moderate landing lag, but auto-cancels from a full hop. When fast-fallen, the first three kicks combined with a footstool are capable of gimping opponents offstage.
Back aerial			13%	A back kick. Has a very generous auto-cancel window, to where it can be used at the peak of a short hop and still auto-cancel. A useful edge-guarding attack, and deadly at the sides of the stage due to its good knockback and angle, though not to the extent of Falco's.
Up aerial			5% (hit 1), 11% (last hit)	A somersault kick. Auto-cancels out of a short hop. Fox's strongest aerial, as it deals high knockback to the point where it can even KO grounded opponents reliably at around 140%. In the air, it KOs at around 110%. and However, the first hit of up aerial can be SDI'd out of to avoid getting hit by the second hit.
Down aerial			1.4% (hits 1-6), 3% (last hit), 1% (landing hit)	A drill kick that hits multiple times in quick succession. Auto-cancels from a full hop, making it useful for reading jumps. The last hit deals low knockback. The landing hit launches opponents away and at high percentages, a running up smash can be used as an immediate follow-up.
Grab			—
Pummel			1.2%	Knee strikes the opponent. Fast, but weak.
Forward throw			4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Releases the opponent and quickly performs a cross, launching them forward. Can lead into a dash attack or up smash at low to high percentages if the opponent does not DI away or tech. It is also Fox's strongest throw, but it does not start KOing until extremely high percentages.
Back throw			2% (throw), 2% (shots)	Throws the opponent backward and shoots them with three rapid shots from his Blaster.
Up throw			2% (throw), 2% (shots)	Throws the opponent upward and shoots them with three rapid shots from his Blaster. Can occasionally be followed up into an up aerial if the opponent's reaction is read properly.
Down throw			1.5% (shots), 1% (throw)	Forces the opponent onto the ground and fires four rapid, point-blank shots at them with his Blaster. A semi-reliable combo starter into forward aerial, back aerial, or up aerial, depending on DI, but since it has high base knockback and scaling, such follow-ups become impossible past very low percentages unless the opponent DIs poorly.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Does a kick in front and in back.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Punches forward and kicks backward.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Spins around, hitting opponents with his tail.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	A dropkick.
Neutral special	Default	Blaster	1.4% (far), 2%, or 3% (close)	Takes his Blaster out of its holster and fires at the opponent. The Blaster's lasers are fired rapidly, but do not make the opponent flinch and they lose power the farther they travel. They nearly cover the length of Final Destination.
	Custom 1	Impact Blaster	2% (far), 3%, 4% or 4.3% (close)	The Blaster fires slower lasers that don’t travel as far, but deal more damage and knock opponents back, making it function similarly to Fox's Blaster in Super Smash Bros.
	Custom 2	Charge Blaster	10.5%	Fires a single, powerful laser. Has a slower start-up time, but has considerable hitstun and good knockback. Less start-up time if used while airborne. Pushes Fox back slightly.
Side special	Default	Fox Illusion	3%	Dashes forward at a blindingly fast speed, leaving behind afterimages. Fox will launch opponents at an upwards angle on contact. Can be used as a situational recovery option.
	Custom 1	Fox Burst	13%	Doesn’t go as far, and cannot hit opponents with the dash itself, but it will generate a large explosion wherever he stops. It can also be used to stall in midair.
	Custom 2	Wolf Flash	3% (dash), 9% (end of the move), 10% (sweetspot hitting airborne opponents)	Dashes at an upwards angle, meteor smashing opponents at a downward angle if it hits with the sweetspot at the move's end. Covers slightly less horizontal distance. It was Wolf's side special move in Brawl.
Up special	Default	Fire Fox	2% (charging hits 1-7), 14% (clean dash), 8% (late dash)	Cloaks himself in fire and suddenly fires himself in one of many directions, depending on what direction is held.
	Custom 1	Flying Fox	0%	Quicker, lacking any starting charge, but deals no damage.
	Custom 2	Twisting Fox	1% (charging hits 1-3), 1.2% (hits 1-7), 2% (last hit)	Spins rapidly, dragging opponents in as he fires himself off and dealing rapid damage, similarly to Fire Wolf. Can KO as low as 60% in the air. Has a decrease in distance to compensate, but grants a larger momentum boost at the end of the move, meaning it covers the same overall distance.
Down special	Default	Reflector	2% (Reflector), 1.4× (reflection)	Activates a Reflector around himself. All projectiles are deflected and do more damage than they normally would. The Reflector damages nearby foes upon activation, and deals relatively fixed knockback. Fox can change direction while using the move, and can roll after reflecting something by tilting the control stick.
	Custom 1	Big Reflector	1.2× (reflection)	A larger Reflector that has a weaker reflection multiplier, but has a slightly larger reflecting hitbox. It pushes back enemies at close range instead of damaging them from the front, and pulls enemies in from the back.
	Custom 2	Amplifying Reflector	2.1× (reflection)	Has a longer start-up time, but a much stronger reflection multiplier. It cannot deal damage or pushback at close range and does not stall Fox in midair.
Final Smash		Landmaster	5% (activation), 5-17% (ram), 13% (turning around), 11% (roll), 12 (landing) 8% (cannon while firing), 15% (cannon projectile)	Calls in a Landmaster. While piloting it, Fox can drive it around and hover by holding down the jump button. The Landmaster also has many methods of attacking, such as firing the laser turret and running over foes. Fox's version lasts longer than Falco's, but has a lower air speed.

On-screen appearance

• Ejects from an Arwing.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Fox charges up a fiery field around himself similarly to when he performs Fire Fox, saying "Here I come!". (行くぞ！, Let's go!)
• Side taunt: Fox throws his Blaster into the air, then allows it to land back into its holster.
• Down taunt: Fox backs up, bends down slightly, and says "Come on!" (かかってこい！, Come at me!) whilst waving his hand in a beckoning gesture.
• Smash taunt: When fighting as Fox on the Corneria stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS or Lylat Cruise in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, quickly tap down on the directional pad once and he will kneel down and seem as though he is trying to communicate with someone through a device, and then stand back up, at which point a conversation will begin with another character from the Star Fox universe.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Does a Tae Kwon Do fighting stance and takes a deep breath.
• Holds out his hand and makes a beckoning gesture, as if performing his down taunt.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Fox! Fox! Fox!	Fo-x! *claps 3 times*
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

This victory theme is based upon the main theme of Star Fox 64, most specifically the title theme. It is also reminiscent of the music that would play when a mission was completed or accomplished.

• Poses with his Blaster, saying "Mission complete!" In the Japanese release, he says "作戦完了！" (Operation complete!)
• Spins his Blaster and re-holsters it, saying "This is Fox. Returning to base." Japanese: こちらフォックス、これより帰還する。 (This is Fox, heading back.)
  • If Falco is present after a match, he might say "Better luck next time, Falco." Or in Japanese: まだまだだな、ファルコ。 (Not just yet, Falco.)
• Crosses his arms, looks upward, and raises his tail. The pose matches his "character chosen" animation and taunt from Super Smash Bros.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Fox	2132	2332	3132	2122	2322
	3322	1131	1331	2131	3131

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the PGR 100, which recognizes the official top 100 players in Super Smash Bros. 4 of all time.

Active

•  Blacktwins - One of the best players in Canada with a strong Fox co-main. Placed 7th at Saints Gaming Live 2018 and 13th at Showdown: Battle Royale 3. Has wins over V115, Chrim Foish, Holy and DKbill.
•  Charliedaking (#67) - Overall one of the best Fox players in the world. Ranked 4th on the SoCal Power Rankings. Placed 5th at 2GGC: ARMS Saga, 7th at 2GGC: West Side Saga, 9th at GameTyrant Expo 2017, and 13th at IBP Masters Showdown. He had defeated Abadango, NAKAT, Kameme, JK, Raito, VoiD and Locus. Took ZeRo to Game 5. Formerly ranked 35th on the Panda Global Rankings v4.
•  colinies - Top Midwest player. Currently being ranked 24th on the Midwest Smash 4 Power Rankings and 3rd on the Ohio Smash 4 Power Rankings.
•  crow - Placed 17th at EVO 2018, has a win over NAKAT's Ness with Fox.
•  C.R.Z. - Placed 25th at Albion 2.
•  Daybreak - One of the best Midwest Fox players after Ksev dropped the character. Ranked 7th on the Michigan Power Rankings.
•  Demitus - Also one of the best Midwest Fox players. Ranked 21st on the Midwest Smash 4 Power Rankings and formerly 9th on the Chicago Power Rankings.
•  Dugan - Formerly ranked 11th on the New Jersey Power Rankings. He was known for his use of advanced techniques such as perfect pivoting, dash-dancing, and footstool setups. He has beaten players such as Mr.E, Vinnie, 8BitMan, Boss, Blue, and Raptor.
•  Eon (#98) - One of the best SoCal Fox players. Ranked 8th on the SoCal Power Rankings. Has wins over players like komorikiri and 6WX
•  Fwed - The best Fox player in Canada. Ranked 3rd on the Montreal Power Rankings and 17th on the Canada Smash Ranking. Placed 9th at DreamHack Montreal 2018 and 13th at Get On My Level 2017 and DreamHack Montreal 2017. He has taken sets off of players such as Dark Wizzy and Blacktwins.
•  Ghost - Ranked 19th on the SoCal Power Rankings. Has wins on players such as Raito, Elegant, and Xzax.
•  GrimTurtle - Placed 9th at MLG World Finals 2015.
•  iModerz - Ranked 1st on the Buffalo, NY PR and 2nd on the New York Power Rankings. Has wins over players like San.
•  Kuro (#97) - Former Pit main who has switched over to Fox and is considered one of the best Fox mains in Japan. Ranked 23rd on the JAPAN Power Rankings. Placed 1st at Karisuma 15 and 7th at Umebura 29. Has wins on Tsu-, Earth, Eim, and Masha
•  Larry Lurr (#8) - The best Fox player in the world. Ranked 16th on the Panda Global Rankings v5.
•  Light (#43) - One of the best Fox players in the world. Ranked 1st on the New England Power Rankings and 13th on Panda Global Rankings v5.
•  MegaFox - Considered to be one of the top Fox players in the United States. He has wins over top players such as Dabuz, MVD, Zinoto, Locus, Ned, Shaky, Vinnie, and Ryo under his belt. He is currently ranked 2nd on the Texas Power Rankings and was formerly ranked 44th on the Panda Global Rankings.
•  NAKAT (#49) - Co-mains Fox and Ness while using many characters as secondaries. Considered one of the best Fox players in the world. Placed 13th at EVO 2017, 13th at 2GGC: ARMS Saga, 17th at GameTyrant Expo 2017 and 2GGC: Fire Emblem Saga, and 33rd at GENESIS 4 and 2GGC: Civil War; Has wins over Abadango, Dabuz, Falln, and Kameme. Currently ranked 33rd on the Panda Global Rankings v4.
•  Odyssey - Top Fox main from New Jersey. Placed 4th at Collision XV, 9th at Smash Sounds, and 25th at Shine 2018. He has taken sets off of players such as ANTi, Mr. E, and komorikiri.
•  Shogun (#82) - One of the best Fox players in Japan. Ranked 27th on the JAPAN Power Rankings.
•  Sodrek - One of the best Fox players in Europe. Formerly ranked 3rd on the German Power Rankings, and placed 7th at B.E.A.S.T 6, 9th at Syndicate 2016, and 49th at The Big House 6.
•  VoiD - A Sheik main with a strong Fox secondary. One of the best SoCal Fox players. Ranked 3rd on SoCal Smash 4 Power Rankings. Also ranked 9th on the Panda Global Rankings v4.
•  wusi - Currently ranked 5th on the German Power Rankings. Placed 13th at Syndicate 2017.
•  Xzax (#92) - Formerly ranked 2nd on the NorCal Power Rankings. Has wins over players like ZeRo. Currently on a semi-active state.
•  Yakara - One of the best Fox players in Japan. Placed 1st at Waseda Festival 2017. Has wins over Choco, Eim, takera, and Gackt.
•  ZD - Best Fox in MD/VA. Ranked 2nd on the MD/VA Power Rankings. Placed 13th at CEO 2017 after defeating Dyr, Ryuga, and Mr.E.

Inactive

•  Bloodcross
•  Ksev - Considered the best Fox player in the Midwest. Formerly ranked 13th on the Michigan Power Rankings. Now mainly use Cloud.
•  Nietono
•  SH (#75) - Previously best Fox player in Japan.
•  Tension
•  ZeRo - One of the very first notable Fox players before switching to Diddy Kong. Has wins over Trela and FOW.

Tier placement and history

During the game's release, Fox was considered a mid-tier character by the SSB4 community. Players believed the reductions to his overall damage output, the weakening of his up smash, the heavily increased landing lag on his aerials, the loss of Blaster auto-cancelling and shine-spikes, and his increased frailty resulted in him being worse than his Brawl incarnation. However, they slowly reassessed their thoughts on the character, as the removal of chaingrabbing and edge-hogging and the heavy changes to hitstun cancelling would prove beneficial to Fox, as such mechanics plagued him in Brawl. Opinions on Fox improved further as players discovered the first two hits of his jab could perform infinites and easily combo into other moves, including his main finishers. As a result, a massive amount of Fox players rushed into the competitive scene and quickly gained results, with many spamming the infinite as their battle strategy. Ultimately, this "infinite" carried even casual players to victories over experts. While his jab received nerfs in patch 1.1.0 (which removed the infinite and reduced its combo utility, and caused his large playerbase reliant on the infinite to either drop Fox or perform noticeably worse), his results have continually improved, with smashers like Charliedaking, Eon, Light, MegaFox, and Larry Lurr getting excellent tournament results, the latter winning against ZeRo 3-0 in a dominating fashion at CEO 2016. He has also notably benefited from the nerfs to Sheik, Luigi, and Bayonetta, who were among Fox's most challenging match-ups prior to their nerfs, though he still struggles against the latter.

These points have led Fox to be considered a top tier character by the community as the metagame has advanced, which is reflected on him ranking at 7th on all iterations of the 4BR tier list. This also makes Fox the only character to consistently stand on the same placing on each iteration of the tier list (although he currently shares the spot with Sonic on the fourth and current tier list). However, some smashers such as Dabuz and ESAM have claimed that Fox should be ranked higher on the tier list due to his dominant results and overwhelming advantage state with both players ranking Fox among the top 5 characters in the game while some say he should stay where he is due to his poor disadvantage state.

Trophies

Fox

Fox is the leader of the mercenary unit Star Fox, often enlisted to defeat the evil Andross. His piloting skills are top notch, but in Smash Bros. he brings speed and fast attacks to the battle. His Reflector move allows him to turn projectile attacks against his foes, increasing their power for a punishing blow.

Leader of the Star Fox team, Fox is a skilled pilot with a strong sense of justice. In this game, he's quick on his feet and can use his speed to toy with opponents, attacking relentlessly and giving them no room to breathe. Even if they try to attack him from afar with projectiles, his Reflector move just sends them flying right back!

: Star Fox (03/1993)

: Star Fox 64 (07/1997)

Fox (Alt.)

Fox is at home in the air, and many of his moves, like his up smash, Flip Kick, will send foes up there. It's great for KOing a damaged opponent. Another handy move is his up special Fire Fox. The flames that surround Fox deal damage to nearby foes, and you can launch yourself in any direction once charged.

The Flip Kick that Fox does for his upward smash can really send foes flying. It's well worth pulling out this attack in combos against airborne opponents. Try following it up with his red-hot Fire Fox special to hammer them repeatedly. The fact that you an fly in any direction with this move is a real bonus too!

: Star Fox (03/1993)

: Star Fox 64 (07/1997)

Landmaster (Fox)

Originally designed for exploration, the Landmaster in Fox's Final Smash has been converted into an ultra-high-performance, anti-air, rolling combat vehicle. When Fox hops aboard, he can drive or roll into foes and blast them with cannon fire. It can even fire in midair. And best of all, Fox is safe from damage inside this metal beast!

Originally designed for exploration, the Landmaster in Fox's Final Smash has been converted into an ultra-high-performance, anti-air, rolling combat vehicle. When Fox gets on board, he can drive or roll into foes and blast them with cannon fire. It can even fire in mid-air. And best of all, Fox won't take any damage while inside!

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Landmaster

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Regulars: Fox is one of the opponents fought in this event. All the opponents are starter characters that debuted in Super Smash Bros.
• Behind Enemy Lines: Fox must survive against Bowser Jr. and Mega Man for 1 minute. All characters start at 200% damage.
• Up to Speed: Sonic must defeat Fox, Falco, and Captain Falcon in a high-speed 1 stock battle.

Co-op Events

• Keep 'Em off the Ship!: Fox and Falco must prevent a group of Mr. Game & Watches from landing on the stage. The opponents have more stock on higher difficulties.
• Visiting Onett: Fox is one of the opponents fought in this event. The opponents are outer space-oriented characters or characters from other planets.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players choose a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Fox in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

• 

  Fox's amiibo.

• 

  Fox's appearance in the 3DS version of the game.

• 

  Fox's appearance during E3 2013.

• 

  Using his dash attack.

• 

  His Blaster.

• 

  Fox using Fox Illusion.

• 

  Using his Reflector to reflect Samus's attack.

• 

  Using his up taunt.

• 

  Taunting in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

• 

  Using his up smash in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

• 

  Fox's forward aerial in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• 

  Fox and Toon Link on Battlefield in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• 

  Neutral infinite's new finisher.

• 

  Fox jumping at Mario.

Trivia

• Fox has three English voice actors in both versions of Super Smash Bros. 4. He has Mike West for his battle voice and the Orbital Gate Assault Smash taunts, Jim Walker for the Lylat Cruise Smash taunts, and Steve Malpass for the Corneria Smash taunts.
  • However, despite his current Japanese voice actor being Takashi Ōhara since Star Fox 64 3D, Kenji Nojima reprises Fox in Japanese by the time of both Smash 4 and Star Fox 3D's release dates. This trait is also shared with Falco.
• Super Smash Bros. 4 is the only Smash Bros. game where Fox is not holding his Blaster in his official art.
• Fox is the only top tier character in Smash 4 to have never changed position on any tier list, staying at 7th.
• Fox is the only character in SSB4 whose normal falling speed is higher than 2, at 2.05.
  • This is also the first iteration where Fox has the fastest falling speed out of all characters in the game.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Fox will appear to have two upper jaws if the game is paused right after getting hit, but only while using an attack that makes him visually open his mouth. This appears to be a graphical error similar to the "double mouth" glitch experienced by Sonic.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, there's an animation bug for the first two his of Fox's jabs where his forearms will detach from his model. This is hard to see due to the visual whiffs.
  • Additionally, Fox has an expression bug with his down taunt where his blinking expression overlaps with his neutral expression of paused after he performs the second beckoning gesture.
  • There's one more expression bug where if Fox grabs a edge with Fire Fox, his eyes disappears during his edge catching animation.
• Fox and Meta Knight are the only two characters whose clapping animation are slightly different in between the two versions. In Fox's case, his tail remains stiff in the Wii U version while it moves around freely (just like in Brawl) in the 3DS version.