Falcon Dive

Falcon Dive
The move in SSB4
User	Captain Falcon
Universe	Super Smash Bros. F-Zero
Article on F-Zero Wiki	Falcon Dive

“	Grab an enemy then propel him or her into the air.	”
—Melee's instruction manual

“	Jump up, grab, and send foes flying with an explosion.	”
—Smash for 3DS's foldout

Falcon Dive (ファルコンダイブ, Falcon Dive) is Captain Falcon's up special move. Contrary to the name, Falcon does a leap in the air, fist extended while glowing green. If Captain Falcon catches the foe while still ascending, he'll grab the foe and launch off with a cry of "Yes!". The attack cause an explosion and burns the opponent after Captain Falcon launches. If a hit is scored, the move can be used again; if not, Falcon becomes helpless. When used on the ground or in the air, it can be reversed.

Falcon Dive can easily stage spike opponents while allowing Falcon to recover.

Appearances

Super Smash Bros.

Falcon Dive in Smash 64.

A string of up aerials followed with a Falcon Dive

In Super Smash Bros., this move was Falcon's main recovery move, other than the Falcon Punch angled upwards (which gave him a slight vertical and horizontal boost).

When the move connects with foes, it will strongly launch them at a 45° angle, thus making it hard to DI the knockback. It does a solid 20% damage upon connection with high knockback (average KO is around 130%). As with all of Falcon's special moves, it had 2-D rendered sprites as special effects. When contact is successful, it will restore a foe's midair jump and Falcon will not be helpless, free to use the move again.

Perhaps to compensate for its KO potential, Falcon Dive is arguably the worst recovery move in the game. In addition to the poor vertical boost it offers, Falcon Dive cannot grab onto enemies hanging on ledges, making it susceptible to edge-hogging.

A string of multiple up aerial attacks from Captain Falcon followed by a Falcon Dive, throughout all of the games in the Smash Bros. series is commonly referred to as an "SSB64 Combo", as this was a very common combo in said game.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Falcon Dive in Melee.

Aside from better voice quality and better special effects, Falcon Dive travels farther than in Smash 64, though the hitbox isn't out for as long. It is also much weaker and cannot be reliably comboed into due to Melee's lowered hitstun modifier. Thus, it has very little offensive utility; while it can still be used in attempts to stage spike an opponent, the opponent can tech the incoming explosion and even counter with an aerial.

As with Smash 64, contact will allow the foe to reuse a midair jump and give Captain Falcon the ability to use the move once more.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Brawl, the knockback was nerfed further to where it cannot KO at realistic damages, KOing at roughly 200%. Timing and landing the move seems to be improved due to the floatiness and the slower falling speed of characters in Brawl. However, doing it in the opposite direction Falcon is looking drastically decreases the horizontal distance which decreases the recovery distance and didn't happen in Melee. Also, Captain Falcon is vulnerable to hits during the start-up and to moves that hit directly above him (where the move has no grab box).

A number of things were changed from its Melee function to Brawl's. It no longer restores a foe's midair jump, though Falcon can still use the move afterwards. This move cannot break Smash Balls but it is capable of destroying targets in Target Smash!! when the body comes in contact with the target.

Perhaps the biggest change and buff of the move from Melee to Brawl is the ability to grab and effectively stage spike foes that hang on the ledge much more efficiently; Falcon Dive in Brawl is capable of grabbing foes hanging onto the ledge and function as it normally would airborne, making Captain Falcon harder to edgehog than ever before, though it's still vulnerable to edge hogging if the edge hog is timed early enough. It is excellent at punishing foes who camp on ledges, as the incoming explosion after they get grabbed will immediately stage spike them if they do not anticipate and tech it in time. Since techs are considerably more difficult to perform in Brawl, this is considered one of Captain Falcon's few buffs from Melee to Brawl.

In Super Smash Bros. 4

In Super Smash Bros. 4, Falcon Dive was buffed again; its start-up was slighty decreased, it covers more distance while losing less momentum, and deals slightly more damage. However, since regular hitboxes now outprioritize grabs, it is harder to land against more aggressive players. The move's animation after a connected grab's explosion is also modified, as Captain Falcon now does a flourishing backflip before righting himself.

Customization

Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:

1. Falcon Dive	2. Falcon Strike	3. Explosive Falcon Dive
"Jump and grab a foe. If you connect with your prey, you'll explode off of them."	"Jump higher than the Falcon Dive, but doesn't grab opponents."	"Doesn't jump as high as the Falcon Dive, but it's more explosive."

1. Falcon Dive: Default.
2. Falcon Strike: Has better vertical distance than Falcon's other recovery moves. However, he doesn't grab opponents at all during the move, making him much easier to edgeguard and weakening the move's stage spike capabilities.
3. Explosive Falcon Dive: Opponents grabbed by Falcon are launched with a much more powerful explosion. It is able to Star KO near the upper blast line at high percents much more easily. Significantly reduces Falcon's recovery distance as a tradeoff, however. Also has higher start-up lag.

Differences with Dark Dive

• Goes higher than Ganondorf's Dark Dive, if it hits an opponent.
• Falls faster and is harder to sweetspot with.
• Deceptively large ledge sweetspot when facing backwards at the peak height.
• Overall weaker than the Dark Dive in Melee, but much stronger than Dark Dive in Brawl and Smash 4 and is impossible to punish for landing it.
• Falcon Dive releases the opponent earlier than Dark Dive.
• Falcon does an uppercut and somersaults airborne if it misses.
• Flame effects instead of electrical when hit.
• Two hits when connects, compared to Dark Dive's multi-hitting version.

Gallery

• 

  Falcon Dive in Brawl

• 

  Falcon ascending in the move in Brawl.

Trivia

• The way Captain Falcon yells "Yes!" during a successful connect has also become somewhat of an internet meme, in similar way to his Falcon Punch. The amount of enthusiasm Falcon uses when he shouts it makes it sound like "YESZ!" "YESH!" or "HYES!"; this too has become a popular meme on the internet. Some players such as the makers of Brawl- have gone on to connect the phrase to usages of his knee.

Captain Falcon's special moves

Neutral special	Falcon Punch
Side special	—	Raptor Boost
Up special	Falcon Dive
Down special	Falcon Kick
Final Smash	—		Blue Falcon