Forward aerial

Captain Falcon using Knee Smash, his forward aerial attack, in Brawl.

Jigglypuff's forward aerial attack in Melee.

The forward aerial (abbreviated as "fair", "FAir", or "AFA", referred in the Brawl manual as "Front air" and as AttackAirF internally) is an aerial attack that is performed in midair by pressing the attack button and tilting the control stick/d-pad in the direction the character is facing. Its official term varies between titles, where it is known as a front midair attack in Melee, and a front air attack in Brawl and Smash 4. Forward aerials are usually not as strong as back aerials, though they have larger hitboxes most of the time, making them useful for edgeguarding.

List of forward aerials in Super Smash Bros.

Character	Description	Damage
Captain Falcon	Does two kicks. Will become Falcon's neutral aerial in future Smash Bros. iterations. First hit combos into up smash. 2nd hit has enough shield stun to forward throw out of it.	22% if both hits connect.
Donkey Kong	Punches downwards. A good spike move for edgeguarding. Combos into giant punch and into another forward aerial at middle to high percentages. Most known for its ability to be used vs. shields into a dash grab or down special.	16%
Fox	Does a drill kick in front of him. Another good aerial move of Fox's Combos into up smash and virtually all of his aerials. Good approaching and baiting tactics.	12%
Jigglypuff	Kicks in front of itself. Good range. Can "wall of pain" similar to Melee but to less of an extent. Combos into a Rest.	8-13%
Kirby	Does a drill kick in front of him. A very useful combo move. Down aerial→up tilt→short hop→forward aerial→forward smash is one of Kirby's staple combos.	20% if all hits connect.
Link	Swings his sword in front of him. Link's strongest aerial in terms of knockback. His main combo ender outside of up special move and forward smash.	20% if both hits connect.
Luigi	Luigi kicks forward while spinning. Good edgeguarding tool. Good range compared to Luigi's other aerials. Combos into the Hyrule tent into an up special.	16%
Mario	It is similar to Luigi's move. It is good versus certain characters like Jigglypuff. It has good range.	16%
Ness	Throws his hands out forcefully, knocking the opponent backwards. Similar to his dash attack.	12%
Pikachu	Thrusts its head forward, doing electric damage. Would be a very useful combo move if it was more difficult to DI out of drills. Combos into up smash and all other aerial attacks. Not as heavily disjointed as Pikachu's other aerials.	21% if all hits connect.
Samus	Bursts out fire out of her arm gun. A useful combo move. It has high damage and is good at breaking down shields. Combos into down aerial.	20% if all hits connect.
Yoshi	Thrusts its head downwards. A useful edgeguarding move and both a combo starter and a combo ender. Combos into his down special move on the ground. It can meteor smash an opponent.	18%

List of forward aerials in Super Smash Bros. Melee

Character	Description	Damage
Bowser	Claws forwards. Good for edgeguarding.	9-14%
Captain Falcon	The Knee Smash. Very powerful when sweetspotted.	18% when sweetspotted, 5-6% when sourspotted.
Donkey Kong	Clutches his hands together and punches down. Meteor smashes at the end of the move.	16%
Dr. Mario	Similar to Mario. Good for KOing.	17% sweetspotted, 16% sourspotted.
Falco	Similar to Fox. Five kicks in front.	27% if all hits connect.
Fox	Kicks forward five times.	17% if all hits connect.
Ganondorf	Nicknamed the "Skull Crusher." Punches downwards. Great KO move.	17%
Ice Climbers	Swings their hammer down. Meteor smashes if timed well.	10% both, up to 20%.
Jigglypuff	Kicks forward with its legs.	12%
Kirby	Kicks forward three times.	16% if all hits connect.
Link	Horizontally spins twice while slashing with his sword.	13% first hit, 7% second hit.
Luigi	A quick karate chop. High horizontal knockback and is one of his primary KO'ing aerial attacks.	12%
Mario	Punches downwards. Meteor smashes.	15%
Marth	Slashes forwards.	9% (base), 10% (middle), 13% (tip)
Mewtwo	Slashes forwards with its claw infused with darkness.	14%
Mr. Game & Watch	Swings a box forwards.	16% first few frames, 6% later frames.
Ness	Shoots multiple PSI shots out of his hands.	15% if all hits connect.
Peach	Slaps forward with her crown.	8-15%
Pichu	Similar to Pikachu. Spins forward emitting sparks.	7% damage if all hits connect. Pichu will do 4% damage to itself when using this move.
Pikachu	Twirls forward while emitting sparks.	8% if all hits connect.
Roy	Similar to Marth.	8%
Samus	Shoots with her cannon in an arc in front of herself.	23% if all hits connect.
Sheik	Does a quick karate chop. Semi-spikes.	13%
Yoshi	Swings head downwards while flipping. Meteor smashes powerfully.	17%
Young Link	Similar to Link.	12% first hit,
Zelda	The "Lightning Kick". Zelda kicks forward. Powerful if sweetspotted.	20% sweetspotted, 9% sourspotted.

List of forward aerials in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Character	Description	Damage
Bowser	Slashes forwards. It looks like his Flying Slam (or Koopa Klaw).	13% on his hand, 12% on arm, 11% on shoulder.
Captain Falcon	Known as the Knee Smash. Very powerful when sweet spotted, which is difficult.	19% if sweetpotted, 3% if sourspotted.
Charizard	Covers himself with his wings and breaths fire outwards with good horizontal knockback and range, making it good for the wall of pain. Oddly, if the opponent is far enough away from Charizard, they will not take any knockback or hitstun from this attack - just damage.	10% if all hits connect.
Diddy Kong	Kicks out both legs and spins around. Similar to Mario's back aerial.	14% clean, 11% late.
Donkey Kong	Swings both hands down, clasped together. A very powerful but slow move that can meteor smash.	16%
Falco	Barrel rolls with his body horizontal, hitting five times with his head/beak. Has high landing lag.	11% if all five hits connect.
Fox	Five fast kicks; gives a slight hovering effect.	23% if all hits connect.
Ganondorf	Punches his fist downward, similar to Mario's forward aerial. Nicknamed the "Skull Crusher." Stronger and higher in knockback but does not spike and has a large landing lag. Also ties with Bowser's down aerial as the aerial attack with the longest duration.	17% if sweetspotted, 15% if sourspotted.
Ice Climbers	Swing hammers downward. Secondary climber's hammer can meteor smash.	12% leader, 12% partner if sweetspotted, 7% partner if sourspotted.
Ike	Swings sword downward. Has great range, but has long start up lag like most of his moves.	13%
Ivysaur	Whips forward with vines. Vertical knockback.	12%
Jigglypuff	Kicks forward with both feet. Can be used for wall of pain techniques.	12%
King Dedede	Swings his hammer upwards. Reliably KOs under 150%.	15% damage.
Kirby	Three fast foot slices forward. When combined with a jump this gives slight horizontal recovery.	12% if all hits connect.
Link	Swings sword forward and spins around, then swings it again. Its second hit is more powerful, but the first hit only comboes into the second hit at low percentages.	9% Hit 1, 12% Hit 2, up to 21%.
Lucario	Kicks forward; aura appears at the end of the foot. Inflicts little damage but can combo. It can be used twice in one short hop.	4% weakest, 7% strongest.
Lucas	Kicks forward with PSI energy at the end of his foot.	12% sweetspotted, 10% sourspotted, 8% late.
Luigi	Karate chops forward. Quick and weak though it can still KO at 150% (unless edgeguarding).	10%
Mario	Arcs his arm downward as his fist enlarges. Can be a meteor smash if the opponent is near to Mario.	13%
Marth	Swings sword downward. Can fit two in one short hop.	13% tipped, 10% untipped.
Meta Knight	Three very fast sword slashes. The first two hits can be ground-canceled, and from this, Meta Knight can lead in to almost any move.	10% if all hits connect.
Mr. Game & Watch	Swings a box forward. Powerful if hits when it comes out, but has high landing lag. If hit after it comes out, it deals a weak hit.	16% clean, 6% late.
Ness	Creates small bubbles of PSI energy for multiple hits. Good for combos.	11% damage if all hits connect.
Olimar	Swings a Pikmin in front of him.	Red Pikmin: 15%, Blue: 13%, Yellow: 12%, White: 5%, Purple: 14%.
Peach	Slaps her crown forward. Often considered her best KO move.	15%
Pikachu	Spins forward surrounded by electricity. Multiple hits available. Similar to Sonic and Falco's forward aerials.	11% damage if all hits connect.
Pit	Stabs both swords forward. Has a bit of start-up lag.	14%
R.O.B.	Pushes its hands forward in midair. Good for wall of pain.	10% if clean hit.
Samus	Creates a few small blasts with her arm cannon, slowly moving them downward. Has no landing lag.	3-4% per hit, 18% if all hits connect.
Sheik	Karate chops forward. Similar in power and knockback to Luigi's karate chop but with less range.	9%
Snake	Brings his leg upward, then ax-kicks. Slight upward boost, the foot spikes very powerully, the leg sends the opponent upwards with slight horizontal knockback as well. Strongest forward aerial meteor smash in Brawl.	15%
Sonic	Spins around headfirst very quickly. Has high landing lag. Similar to Falco and Pikachu's forward aerials.	14% if all hits connect.
Squirtle	Sticks feet forward. Similar to Mario's back aerial.	12% clean, 6% late.
Toon Link	Swings sword upward. Similar in animation to his back aerial, but a bit slower, though it is a much better finisher with high knockback.	13%
Wario	Kicks forward. Has below average knockback but lasts a very long time, good for wall of pain.	7%
Wolf	Slashes forward. Has upward knockback and is one of his best KO moves.	11%
Yoshi	Swings his head downward. Can meteor smash.	16% body, 15% head.
Zelda	Lightning Kick. Kicks forward with a powerful sweet spot on her foot.	20% if sweetspotted, 4% if sourspotted.
Zero Suit Samus	Two very fast kicks. The first kick is weaker but often cannot combo into the second hit.	6% first kick, 11% second kick, for up to 17%.

List of forward aerials in Super Smash Bros. 4

Character	Description	Damage
Bowser	Slashes forward in a diagonal arc.	13% (hand), 12% (arm), 11% (body)
Bowser Jr.	The Junior Clown Car swings a wrecking ball in front of Bowser Jr.	11%/9% (clean), 8%/6.5% (mid), 5%/4% (late), 2% (landing)
Captain Falcon	Knee Smash: Jabs his left knee forward. It has very high knockback when sweetspotted, but has a large landing lag.	19% (clean sweetspot), 6% (clean sourspot), 3% (late)
Charizard	Slices the air with its talons.	11% (arm), 12% (tip)
Dark Pit	Identical to Pit's.	1.5% (hits 1-2), 4% (hit 3)
Diddy Kong	Quickly kicks both feet forward while spinning.	10% (clean), 8% (late)
Donkey Kong	Thrusts his fists in front of him, bringing them down from over his head.	16% (fists early), 15% (fists meteor), 13% (arms)
Dr. Mario	Identical to Mario's but does not meteor smash opponents.	11.2% (early), 16.8% (clean), 10.08% (late)
Duck Hunt	The dog thrusts the duck forward, who attacks with its beak.	6% (early), 10% (tip clean), 7% (tip late)
Falco	Turns horizontally and spins, hitting multiple times with his beak. All attacks chain well into each other, with the final hit dealing considerable knockback.	1% (hits 1-5), 4% (hit 6), 3% (landing)
Fox	Performs five rapid kicks in quick succession. Good for building up damage, as foes will "stick" to Fox for the duration of the attack.	2% (hit 1), 1% (hit 2), 0.6% (hit 3), 0.8% (hit 4), 3% (hit 5)
Ganondorf	Unleashes a poweful overhead punch in a downwards arc. Has great knockback, but a lot of landing lag.	17% (fist), 16% (arm)
Greninja	Slashes forward with a water katana in reverse grip. It has some start up lag.	14%
Ike	Performs a downward overhead swing with Ragnell. Has great range, but has long startup.	12%
Jigglypuff	Kicks both its feet out in front of itself. Deals weak knockback but can be used for wall of pain techniques.	9% (clean), 6% (late)
King Dedede	Swings his hammer in front of himself downwards.	12%
Kirby	Quickly kicks in front of himself three times.	4% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2), 5% (hit 3)
Link	Swings his sword forward and then spins around, swinging it a second time. Difficult for both hits to connect at higher percentages.	8% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)
Little Mac	Performs a very weak uppercut with very low knockback.	5% (hand), 4% (arm)
Lucario	Kicks forward in a slight upwards tilt. Damage and knockback scale with aura.	6%
Lucas	Kicks in front of himself with PSI energy surrounding his foot.	11.5% (sweetspot), 8% (sourspot)
Lucina	Identital to Marth's.	8.075%
Luigi	Chops in front of him horizontally with his hand, has extremely low end lag, being able to use this attack twice out of his short hop.	9%
Mario	Raises his fist above his head and swings his it downward. Meteor smashes opponents when sweetspotted.	12% (early), 14% (clean), 10% (late)
Marth	Quickly swings his sword downwards in front of himself. A good edgeguarding technique.	7% (base), 10% (tip)
Mega Man	Flame Sword: Quickly summons a flaming sword to his hand and swings it downwards in front of himself. Based off Sword Man's weapon from Mega Man 8.	8%
Meta Knight	Quickly slashes in front of himself three times. Very quick for a multi-hitting move.	2.2% (hits 1-2 for grounded opponents), 1.5% (hits 1-2 for aerial opponents), 3% (hit 3)
Mewtwo	Quickly swipes his hand forward. The comes out very quickly and has high knockback.	13%
Mii Brawler	Two kicks in front, similar to Zero Suit Samus.	3% (hit 1) 5% (hit 2)*
Mii Gunner	Fires a single energy shot. The force slightly pushes back the Mii Gunner.	5% (close), 3% (far)*
Mii Swordfighter	Stabs forward multiple times.	3% (hits 1-2), 5% (hit 3)*
Mr. Game & Watch	Swings a box forward dealing, strong horizontal knockback when it first comes out. Originates from Mario Bros.	11.5% (clean), 6% (late)
Ness	Releases a pulse of PSI power with his palms, hitting multiple times. Excellent for linking into combos.	1% (hits 1-3), 4% (hit 4)
Olimar	Swings a Pikmin in front of himself.	R: 10.2% YB: 8.5% W: 6.8% P: 11.9%
Pac-Man	Does a quick hoizontal kick in front of himself.	5.3%
Palutena	A very quick jump with considerable ending lag.	7%
Peach	Takes her crown off her head and strikes with it in a vertical arc. Has some startup but deals a large amount of damage and knockback.	15%
Pikachu	Spins forward surrounded by electricity, dealing multiple hits.	1.7% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5)
Pit	Spins his bow horizontally in front of himself, slashing foes multiple times before launching them diagonally.	1.5% (hits 1-2), 4% (hit 3)
R.O.B.	Swings both arms forward in a clobbering strike.	7%
Robin	Uses his bronze sword or Levin sword and sweeps the area beneath him, dragging the sword up. The Levin sword has much more knockback and damage.	Bronze: 6% Levin: 11% (clean), 5% (late)
Rosalina & Luma	Rosalina: Backflips in the air, creating a miniature galaxy at her feet. Deals multiple hits. Luma: Headbutts forward.	Rosalina: 1% (hits 1-3), 4% (hit 4) Luma: 5%
Roy	Performs a downward slash in front of himself while holding his sword in a reverse grip.	11% (base), 7% (tip)
Ryu	Performs a classic Street Fighter flying kick, based on Ryu's jumping heavy kick.	15% (clean sweetspot), 13% (late sweetspot), 9% (clean sourspot), 8% (late sourspot)
Samus	Blast her arm cannon in a downward arc in front of herself. The first four shots have set knockback with the final shot dealing considerable knockback.	3% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-4), 5% (hit 5)
Sheik	A quick downward swipe. Deals low knockback, but has great combo potential and very low landing lag.	5.5% (arm), 4.8% (body)
Shulk	Swings the Monado directly downwards in front of himself. Has good range and can be used to edgeguard, especially when using the Jump Art.	7.5% (blade), 6% (beam)
Sonic	Spins around horizontally, hitting the opponent multiple times with his head.	0.8% (hits 1-5), 3% (hit 6)
Toon Link	Swings his sword in front of himself ina horizontal arc. Good as a finishing move in the air.	13%
Villager	Fires a pellet from a slingshot. The pellet deals moderate knockback at point blank range, which is deadly especially offstage.	7% (close), 4% (mid), 2.5% (far)
Wario	Quickly thrusts his leg out. It has very quick start up and combos very well into other attacks.	7% (clean) 4.5% (late)
Wii Fit Trainer	Performs the Single-Leg Extension pose. The outstretched leg can meteor smash opponents.	10% (clean), 6% (late)
Yoshi	Winds up then performs a headbutt downward. The head can meteor smash.	15% (body), 14% (head)
Zelda	Kicks forward with an extremely powerful pulse from her extended foot with great knockback, yet a terrible sourspot.	20% (sweetspot) 4% (sourspot)
Zero Suit Samus	Two quick kicks forward with her jet boots. The second hit is often difficult to chain into after the first hit.	5% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)

* This assumes the Mii is default height and weight.

Notable forward aerials

• In Melee, Brawl, and SSB4, Captain Falcon's forward aerial is the famous Knee Smash and has very high KO potential if sweetspotted. It is considered more useful in Melee than Brawl and SSB4.
• Ganondorf's forward aerial is nicknamed the Skull Crusher and has high KO potential, although it is not as powerful or fast as the Knee Smash.
• Snake's forward aerial is the most powerful forward aerial meteor smash in Brawl.
• Zelda's forward aerial is known as the Lightning Kick, and is a powerful finisher at high percents when sweetspotted.
• Marth's forward aerial is considered one of the best in its respective games, due to its fast startup and low ending lag, good range, its edgeguarding capabilities, and versatility.
• In Brawl, Falco's forward aerial is often considered the worst in the game, due to its poor range, high ending lag, and inferiority to similar attacks, such as Pikachu's and Sonic's. In SSB4, it was drastically buffed, given massive knockback with its final hit, reliably KOing offstage around 100% while not being particularly hard to land, making it arguably one of the best forward aerials in the game.
• Jigglypuff's forward aerial is useful in performing the wall of pain, especially in Melee.