Fox (SSB4)

Fox in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Star Fox
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Landmaster

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.

In Japanese, Fox is once again voiced by Kenji Nojima. In English, instead of being voiced by Jim Walker like in Brawl, he is now voiced by Mike West, his voice actor from Star Fox 64, its 3DS remake and Star Fox Zero.

Attributes

Fox fits in with the "hit-and-run" archetype, as he has very fast grounded mobility and above average frame data. Even with the universal nerfing of projectiles, Fox is one of the best zoners in the game due to his Blaster's ability to quickly tack on damage from a distance, which helps him considerably with characters who are hindered by zoning such as King Dedede and Ganondorf. His Reflector also helps him deal with fellow zoners by reflecting their projectiles back with even greater speed and power. His recovery is also very long distanced: he has Fox Illusion for a quick horizontal recovery that no longer leaves him helpless, and Fire Fox for a long recovery that can be angled in one of eight directions. He additionally has some good KOing moves. His up smash is still powerful and very fast, giving him a reliable KOing option on-stage. His up air and back air both have decent knockback and are his most reliable KOing options in the air. Additionally, some of his weaker finishers such as forward smash were buffed in power, making them more viable KO options even though his up smash and up air outshine them.

Fox's greatest strength is perhaps the versatility of his combo game. In addition to his neutral attack being capable of being jab canceled, all of his aerials and tilts can start combos. His dash attack and Fox Illusion are very useful approaches due to their ability to do the same, the latter being also difficult to punish. As well, Fox's down throw can set up powerful aerial strings at low percents and his grab game is effective overall, despite his lack of a KOing throw.

With custom moves on, Fox does gain some benefit. Impact Blaster acts similar to his Blaster in Smash 64. It fires slower, but does more damage, knockback and makes the opponents flinch similar to Falco's Blaster. Charge Blaster fires a single, powerful laser that has slower startup, but deals good damage, hitstun and knockback. Wolf Flash originally belonging to Wolf, goes at 35 degree angle instead of straight horizontal and can spike airborne opponents. Flying Fox has less start-up and flies faster, but doesn't go as far. Twisting Fox has more start-up and doesn't fly as far, but is much powerful and can KO as low as 60% off the top blast zone. Big Reflector, while not doing any damage upon activation and slightly decreased power on reflected projectiles, but as the name implies, is much bigger, giving it a larger reflection hitbox and in close range, pushes opponents away in they are in front of Fox, giving him some space and possibly gimp.

However, Fox has his flaws. Arguably, his biggest weakness is his frailty. While he has already very easy to KO in Brawl, his faster falling speed combined with his lighter weight makes his endurance one of the worst in the game, with many attacks being able to KO him very easily under 100%. His very fast falling speed also makes him an easy combo target, and when combined with his light weight, some characters can potentially combo Fox to KOing percents from only a single, effective combo. His recovery, while long, is one of the most predictable in the game. When combined with his very fast falling speed and rather poor air speed, this gives Fox a very hard time against competent edge-guarders. Additionally, while he has some good finishers, they are all punishable when missed. Despite these, Fox's strengths generally overpower his weaknesses, and as such as he has had excellent tournament representation, being used by high-level players such as Larry Lurr.

Changes from Brawl

Fox received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4, but as his nerfs outweigh his buffs, he was nerfed overall. Fox's neutral game is less effective, with increased lag on his aerials and his camping game being weakened 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, some of his finishers (such as up smash and back aerial) have been weakened. 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, and has a much worse launching angle, making it less effective for edge-guarding.

However, Fox benefits from the general changes of SSB4. This most notably includes the removal of chain grabbing, which was a major reason for his mid-tier placement in Brawl, and hitstun cancelling, 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 and the universal nerf in mobility options. Fox also benefits from a better jab cancel, 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. Finally, his Reflector was given more knockback and a larger hitbox in update 1.1.0, making it more effective than it was initially. However, considering that Fox was a high mid-tier in Brawl, it is overall debatable as to whether Fox as a character has been buffed overall relative to the cast.

Appearance

• Due to the new visual aesthetics in SSB4, Fox's overall color scheme is brighter in comparison to his appearance in Brawl. Additionally, his fur is of a higher visual quality than before, much like Donkey Kong's and Diddy Kong's, and his teeth are more pronounced than in previous installments.
• Fox's Blaster has a redesigned appearance and the lasers appear to have a lighter hue to them, being more pink in color.
• Landmaster is now light blue instead of dark blue.

Attributes

• Fox is lighter than in Brawl (80 → 79), slightly worsening his already poor endurance. However, due to the removal of hitstun canceling and his fast falling speed, he is actually easier to combo despite his lighter weight, giving him a much worse endurance overall.
• Dashing speed is slightly faster (2.08 → 2.184).
• Fox's air speed is slightly increased (0.89 → 0.96).
• Fox's falling speed is faster (1.831 → 2.05), which makes him more susceptible to combos.
• The removal of chain grabbing is a significant benefit for Fox in his match ups against other characters.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack now links into a finisher and is able to jab cancel into itself, grabs, forward tilts, or up smashes more reliably.
• Neutral attack infinite pushes the opponent further away from Fox, making it possible to power shield the finisher at low to middle percents.
• Dash attack, up tilt, down tilt, up smash, and forward smash deal 1% less damage (7%/5%, 10%/8%, 9%/7%, 17%, and 15% → 6%/4%, 9%/6%, 8%/6%, 16%, and 14% respectively).
• Forward smash is slightly stronger (10 base/96 growth → 20 base/98 growth).
• Up smash has lower knockback scaling (96 growth → 94). It also has slightly less horizontal range, less vertical range, and more cooldown (interruptibility 44 frames → interruptibility 51 frames).
• Down smash has less base knockback (50 → 30) but higher knockback scaling (65 → 75), making it weaker overall.
• Down smash has a different charging animation.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral air has an added 2 frames of landing lag (9 → 11).
• Forward aerial is harder to SDI out of and is easier to combo into. It can now send opponents at the auto-link angle, which when combined with fast falling in the middle of the attack can lead into a footstool jump, potentially gimping characters with poor vertical recoveries such as Little Mac, Donkey Kong and even Charizard.
• Forward aerial gives a shorter "hover" effect than in Brawl. It deals drastically less damage (23% → 7%), and can no longer auto-cancel in a short hop. Its start-up is also one frame slower (6 → 7) and has significantly increased landing lag (18 → 27).
• Back aerial deals 2% less damage (15% → 13%) making it weaker despite its added knockback growth (85 → 88).
• Down aerial deals significantly less damage (21% → 11%), and has significantly more landing lag (12 → 25).
• Down aerial no longer weakly meteor smashes with low set knockback, making it easier to connect all hits, but lessens its utility against characters with poor vertical recoveries. It also has a new landing hitbox that weakly sends opponents vertically in the air. It has high hitlag which moderately reduces the significant landing lag of down aerial, but this only works on-hit. It's capable of linking into his up smash or dash attack at high percent.

Throws/other attacks

None of his throws were changed.

Special moves

• Blaster's lasers no longer auto-cancel upon landing and can only be fired twice from a short hop, lessening their utility.
• 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) and no longer dashes over the edge when used on the ground. It also has less landing lag when used in a short hop (8 frames) as an approach option.
• Fox Illusion is one frame slower (20 → 21) and can no longer be shortened, removing its mix up potential.
• Aerial Fox Illusion has much less horizontal momentum at the end of the dash.
• Fire Fox travels a greater distance, now nearly as much as it does in Melee (NTSC), and deals greater damage when fully connected.
• Reflector has far more cooldown and no longer semi-spikes aerial opponents, removing shine spikes entirely. It also deals 3% less damage (5% → 2%).
• Landmaster is less powerful and lasts a shorter duration.
• Landmaster's cannon can fire while airborne.

Update History

Fox received a mix of buffs and nerfs in 1.1.0. His jab cancel was weakened and his jab lock was completely removed, but his Reflector and Blaster were improved to compensate. Fox also doesn't seem to get notably affected by the changes to the shield mechanics.

1.0.6

• Neutral infinite has less visual whiffs.

1.1.0

• Neutral attack's first and second hitbox properties have had their knockback and endlag increased, removing his jab lock and weakening his jab cancel.
• Neutral infinite contains a new hitbox that deals 0.4% appearing on frame 3, linking the infinite better.
• Reflector's hitbox duration increased: 1 → 2 frames. Its hitbox size and horizontal displacement also increased.
• All variations of Blaster have had their ending lag decreased by 3 frames.

1.1.1

• Down throw deals less damage per Blaster shot: 2% → 1.5%. However, Fox now fires one more shot, leaving the total damage output unchanged.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	Punches twice, then attacks with a flurry of kicks ending in a stronger kick. Prior to update 1.1.0, Fox could lock his opponents with his double jab, allowing for a easy KO.
			1%
			0.7% (loop), 2% (final hit)
Forward tilt	↗		8%	Kicks his leg out. Can be angled up or down with the control stick. Below-average knockback.
	→		6%
	↘		7%
Up tilt			9% (clean), 6% (late)	Fox does a fast scorpion kick that covers his back. Excellent for follow-ups, such as down smash, forward aerial, and up aerial.
Down tilt			8% (close), 7%, 6% (far)	Fox swipes at the opponent with his tail.
Dash attack			6% (clean), 4% (late)	Fox jumps slightly off the ground while running and performs a kick.
Forward smash			14%	Fox does a spinning jump kick. Has possibly the lowest base knockback in the game for a forward smash, but decent knockback scaling.
Up smash		Flip Kick	16% (clean), 11% (late)	Fox flip kicks the opponent, losing strength the farther it is into the animation.
Down smash			14% (feet), 12% (legs)	Fox does a split to attack both sides of him.
Neutral aerial			9% (clean), 6% (late)	Fox does a sex kick that loses power the longer it's out. The late hit of this move can be useful for setting up a slide smash.
Forward aerial			2% (hit 1), 1% (hit 2), 0.6% (hit 3), 0.8% (hit 4), 3% (last hit)	Five kicks in succession. Good for building up damage, as foes will "stick" to Fox for the duration of the attack.
Back aerial			13%	Fox spins to kick behind himself.
Up aerial			5% (hit 1), 11% (last hit)	Fox flips himself upward for a tail whip and follow-up kick. Deals above-average knockback, KOing near the upper blast line starting at 110%
Down aerial			1.4% (hits 1-5), 3% (last hit), 1% (landing hit)	A spinning drill kick that hits multiple times in succession.
Grab			—
Pummel			1.2%	A quick knee strike.
Forward throw			4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Fox releases his foe and knocks them away with a punch. Can lead into a dash attack or up smash at low to high percentages if the opponent doesn't DI away or tech. It's also Fox's strongest throw, but it doesn't start KOing until extremely high percentages.
Back throw			2% (throw), 2% (3 lasers each)	Fox throws his foe backwards and shoots them with three rapid shots from his blaster.
Up throw			2% (throw), 2% (3 lasers each)	Fox throws his foe upwards and fires three rapid shots from his blaster. Can occasionally follow up into up aerial if the opponent's reaction is read.
Down throw			1.5% (4 lasers each), 1% (throw)	Fox forces his foe onto the floor and fires four point-blank shots at them with his blaster. Can link into a neutral or forward air.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Fox does a kick in front and in back.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Fox punches forwards, and kicks backwards.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Fox spins around, hitting foes with his tail.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Fox twirls at his opponent, doing a long range kick.
Neutral special	Default	Blaster	1.4% (far), 2%, or 3% (close)	Fox fires his blaster, which can fire rapidly but does not stun the opponent. The lasers lose power as they travel.
	Custom 1	Impact Blaster	2% (far), 3%, 4% or 4.3% (close)	Fox fires slower blaster shots that deal more damage and knock opponents back. Similar to Fox's old Blaster from Super Smash Bros.
	Custom 2	Charge Blaster	10.5%	Fox fires a single, powerful laser. Has a slower startup time but has considerable hitstun and good knockback. Less start-up time if used while airborne.
Side special	Default	Fox Illusion	3%	Fox becomes invisible and suddenly dashes through opponents, leaving behind after-images. Fox will send opponents at an upwards angle on contact.
	Custom 1	Fox Burst	13%	Fox cannot hit opponents with the dash itself, but 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)	Fox dashes at an upwards angle, meteor smashing opponents at a downwards angle if it hits with the sweet spot at the move's end. Based on Wolf's side special move from Brawl.
Up special	Default	Fire Fox	2% (charging hits 1-7), 14% (clean dash), 8% (late dash)	Fox charges up in fire and suddenly launches himself in one of many directions, depending on what direction is held.
	Custom 1	Flying Fox	0%	A variation that is faster and travels a shorter distance, but deals no damage.
	Custom 2	Twisting Fox	1% (charging hits 1-3), 1.2% (hits 1-7), 2% (last hit)	Fox spins rapidly, dragging opponents in as he fires himself off, dealing rapid damage, reminiscent of Fire Wolf. Can KO as low as 60% in the air. Has a very slight decrease in distance to compensate.
Down special	Default	Reflector	2% (activation), 1.4x damage (reflected projectiles)	Fox activates a Reflector around him. All projectiles are deflected and do more damage than they normally would. The Reflector damages nearby foes upon activation.
	Custom 1	Big Reflector	1.2x damage (reflected projectiles)	A larger Reflector that has a small decrease to the power of reflected projectiles, but it 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	2.1x damage (reflected projectiles)	Has a longer startup time, but doubles the power and speed of reflected projectiles. It cannot deal damage or pushback at close range and does not stall in midair.
Final Smash		Landmaster	5% (activation), 5-17% (ram), 13% (turning around), 11% (roll), 12 (landing) 8% (cannon while firing), 15% (cannon projectile)	Fox 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 cannon and running over foes. Fox's version lasts longer than Falco's, but has a lower air speed.

Taunts

• FoxTaunt1Smash4.jpg
• FoxTaunt2Smash4.jpg
• FoxTaunt3Smash4.jpg

• Up Taunt: Fox charges up fire similar to Fire Fox and says "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 a bit, and says "Come on!" (かかってこい！, Come at me!), whilst waving his hand in a beckoning gesture.

Idle Poses

• Does a Tae-Kwon-Do fighting stance and takes a deep breath.
• Holds out his hand and makes a beckoning gesture.

On-Screen Appearance

Ejects from an Arwing.

Victory Fanfare

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

Victory Poses

• FoxPose1WiiU.png
• FoxPose2WiiU.png
• FoxPose3WiiU.png

• Poses with his blaster, saying "Mission complete!"
• Spins his blaster and puts it in his holster, saying "This is Fox. Returning to base."
  • If Falco is present after a match, he might say "Better luck next time, Falco."
• Crosses his arms, looks upward, and raises his tail. (His "character chosen" animation and taunt in 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

•  Bloodcross
•  Feel Tension
•  GrimTurtle
•  Ksev
•  Larry Lurr
•  MegaFox
•  Nakat
•  Nietono
•  Snow
•  Sodrek
•  Xzax
•  Yui

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Regulars: Fox is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are starters from the original Super Smash Bros. game.
• 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. All opponents are space characters or characters from other planets.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players choose a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

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 KO'ing 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!

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  Classic (3DS)

• FoxAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Landmaster

Gallery

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

• 

  Fox's amiibo.

• 

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

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  Fox's appearance during E3 2013.

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  Fox using his dash attack.

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  His Blaster.

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  Fox using Fox Illusion.

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  Fox using his Reflector to reflect Samus's attack.

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  Fox, surrounded by flames.

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  Fox taunting in the Wii U version.

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  Fox using his up smash in the Wii U version.

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  One of Fox's aerial attacks in the 3DS version.

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  Fox being grabbed by Peach.

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  Fox and Toon Link on the 3DS version of Battlefield.

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  Being kicked by Sonic.

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  The new finishing kick of Fox's jab.

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  Fox jumping at Mario.

Trivia

• Fox's Alt. trophy in the Wii U version resembles his All-Star trophy from Melee. Both of these trophies also use Fox in his green costume.
• 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.
• Super Smash Bros. 4 is the only Smash Bros. game where Fox is not holding his blaster in his official art.