Forward aerial

Ryu's forward aerial attack in Ultimate

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

Jigglypuff's forward aerial attack in Melee.

A forward aerial (前空中攻撃, Front/Forward midair attack; commonly abbreviated as Fair or f-air, and referred to as AttackAirF internally) is an aerial attack that is performed in midair by pressing the attack button and tilting the control stick in the direction the character is facing. Its official term varies between titles; it is known as a front midair attack in Super Smash Bros. Melee, a front air attack in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4, and a forward air attack in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Compared to back aerials, forward aerials are usually weaker but have more range, making them well suited to the neutral game and edgeguarding.

List of forward aerials

Character	Description
Banjo & Kazooie	Banjo swings one fist in a downward arc.
Bayonetta	Whips one of her hand pistols forward, then the other one, and finally follows up with an overhead axe kick. A three-stage natural combo.
Bowser	Swings one arm in a downward arc. Swipes his claws with one arm in a downward arc.
Bowser Jr.	Deploys a wrecking ball from the Koopa Clown Car and waves it in front of himself. Possesses a landing hitbox.
Byleth	Hits with the side of Areadbhar's blade.
Captain Falcon	Throws out two consecutive kicks with his respective legs. From Melee onward, this is his neutral aerial. A knee strike that is extremely powerful during its first active frames, but much weaker during its later frames. It is known as the Knee Smash.
Charizard	Flaps its wings forward to send out a fiery wind, hitting multiple times. Swipes its claws with one arm in a downward arc.
Chrom	Slashes in a heavy downward arc.
Cloud	Slashes in a large downward arc with a double grip after a delay.
Corrin	Slashes in a downward arc.
Daisy	Grabs her crown and swings it in a downward arc.
Dark Pit	Performs a series of horizontal buzzsaw-like slashes with the Silver Bow, hitting multiple times.
Dark Samus	Unleashes five small electric blasts from her Arm Cannon from top to bottom.
Diddy Kong	Performs a spinning dropkick.
Donkey Kong	Performs a double axe handle swing.
Dr. Mario	Swings one fist in a downward arc.
Duck Hunt	The dog thrusts his lower back to propel the duck, who performs a corkscrew peck.
Falco	Performs five consecutive spin kicks. Spins in a horizontal corkscrew to perform a drilling peck, hitting multiple times. Possesses a landing hitbox in Smash 4 and Ultimate.
Fox	Performs a spinning dropkick. Performs five consecutive spin kicks. Performs five spin kicks in quick succession, rising slightly with each kick. Possesses a landing hitbox in Ultimate.
Ganondorf	Punches in a large downward arc.
Greninja	Slashes horizontally with a large kunai made out of water.
Hero	Slashes in a heavy downward arc.
Ice Climbers	Swing their hammers in a downward arc.
Ike	Slashes in a downward arc.
Incineroar	Performs a dropkick.
Inkling	Performs a dropkick.
Isabelle	Fires a pellet from a slingshot.
Ivysaur	Swings both vines in a downward arc.
Jigglypuff	Performs a dropkick.
Joker	Throws out two consecutive kicks with his respective legs. If active, Arsene throws out a roundhouse kick in tandem with Joker's second kick.
Kazuya	Performs a flying kick.
Ken	Performs a flying kick.
King Dedede	Swings his hammer in an upward arc from a horizontal spin. Swings his hammer in a downward arc from a somersault.
King K. Rool	Performs a dropkick.
Kirby	Performs a spinning dropkick, hitting multiple times. Performs three consecutive spin kicks. Possesses a landing hitbox in Melee.
Link	Slashes horizontally in a circle around himself. Slashes horizontally in front of himself, then does a full spin and delivers a second slash.
Little Mac	Weakly throws out a hook.
Lucario	Performs a stretch kick.
Lucas	Performs a lunging kick, releasing a PSI spark from his foot.
Lucina	Slashes in a downward arc.
Luigi	Peforms a spinning dropkick. Performs a vertical knifehand strike.
Mario	Peforms a spinning dropkick. Swings one fist in a downward arc.
Marth	Slashes in a downward arc.
Mega Man	Swings his Flame Sword in a downward arc.
Meta Knight	Performs three consecutive arcing slashes.
Mewtwo	Swipes horizontally with one hand infused with dark energy.
Mii Brawler	Throws out two consecutive kicks with their respective legs.
Mii Gunner	Fires a blue energy shot from their arm cannon.
Mii Swordfighter	Performs three consecutive stabs at different angles.
Min Min	Extends and fires her ARMS. Can also change depending on Megawatt, Ramram, and Dragon.
Mr. Game & Watch	Swings a boxed package in front of himself. Holds a bomb in front of himself and drops it, exploding after half a second or hitting a part of the stage (platforms).
Mythra	Slashes the Aegis Sword in front of herself in a wide arc starting below herself.
Ness	Thrusts both palms forward. Thrusts both palms forward and emits PSI sparks from them, hitting multiple times.
Olimar	Grabs his leading Pikmin by its stem and swings it in a downward arc. If no Pikmin are following Olimar, he still performs the move, but it has no effect.
Pac-Man	Performs an outward spin kick.
Palutena	Performs a lunging kick, releasing a spark from her foot.
Peach	Grabs her crown and swings it in a downward arc.
Pichu	Spins in a horizontal corkscrew and discharges electricity from its head, hitting multiple times. Deals recoil damage to Pichu.
Pikachu	Spins in a horizontal corkscrew and discharges electricity from its head, hitting multiple times.
Piranha Plant	Swings its pot in an upward arc.
Pit	Separates the Palutena bow and stabs with both blades simultaneously. Performs a series of horizontal buzzsaw-like slashes with the Palutena Bow, hitting multiple times.
Pyra	Slashes the Aegis Sword in front of herself in a wide arc starting below herself.
R.O.B.	Swings both arms in a downward arc.
Richter	Whips horizontally with the Vampire Killer. Can be angled diagonally up or down, and function as a tether recovery.
Ridley	Performs three consecutive stabs with his tail at different angles.
Robin	Slashes in an upward arc ending in front of himself. Can use either the Bronze Sword or the Levin Sword.
Rosalina & Luma	Rosalina: Somersaults backward and emits a starry trail from her feet in front of herself, hitting multiple times. Luma: Performs a headbutt.
Roy	Slashes in an downward arc. Slashes in a heavy downward arc.
Ryu	Performs a flying kick.
Samus	Unleashes five small fiery blasts from her Arm Cannon from top to bottom.
Sephiroth	Stabs forward with the Masamune.
Sheik	Swipes her arm in a downward arc.
Shulk	Slashes in a downward arc.
Simon	Whips horizontally with the Vampire Killer. Can be angled diagonally up or down, and function as a tether recovery.
Snake	Performs an axe kick.
Sonic	Spins in a horizontal corkscrew, hitting multiple times.
Sora	A 3 hit combo of a downward swing, an upward swing, and a front-flip swing. Can be canceled at any phase.
Squirtle	Performs a dropkick. Performs a dropkick with a water vortex around its legs.
Steve	A arcing forward swing of a pickaxe. If initiated using the short hop aerial shortcut in Ultimate, becomes a quicker forward swing with a sword instead.
Terry	A diagonally angled kick.
Toon Link	Slashes in an upward arc from a horizontal spin.
Villager	Fires a pellet from a slingshot.
Wario	Performs a flying kick.
Wii Fit Trainer	Performs the Single-Leg Extension, stretching an arm in front of herself and a leg behind herself, both at a diagonal angle. The leg part also has a hitbox allowing her to hit someone behind her as well.
Wolf	Swipes his claws with one arm in a downward arc.
Yoshi	Swings his head in a downward arc.
Young Link	Slashes horizontally in front of himself, then does a full spin and delivers a second slash.
Zelda	Performs a magically infused lunging kick that is extremely powerful if it hits near Zelda's foot, but extremely weak otherwise. It is known as the Lightning Kick.
Zero Suit Samus	Throws out two consecutive kicks with her respective legs.

Notable forward aerials

Mario's forward aerial attack in Melee

• The forward aerials of Cloud, Donkey Kong, the Ice Climbers (only Nana's in Brawl and Ultimate), Mario (from Melee onward), Steve, Snake, Yoshi, and Wii Fit Trainer can all meteor smash.
  • Snake's forward aerial is among the strongest meteor smashes in both Brawl and Ultimate.
  • The meteor smash hitbox of Wii Fit Trainer’s forward aerial is located on her leg, behind her, making it the only forward aerial capable of hitting behind its user.
  • Mario's forward aerial became an Internet meme because of Alpharad, who shouted the phrase "Forward Aerial!" every time he landed its meteor smash during a Smash 4 video on YouTube dedicated to Mario.
• Both Bayonetta and Sora's forward aerials are the only ones in the series to consist of a natural combo.
  • In Bayonetta's case, her forward aerial in Smash 4 was often considered one of the best forward aerials in the game due to the first hit's large hitboxes and low lag allowing it to easily hit opponents and combo into various other moves (including After Burner Kick and Witch Twist to start ladder combos), as well as loop into itself to drag opponents offstage. In Ultimate, however, it has been significantly nerfed, possessing smaller hitboxes and much more lag that removes all of the first hit's followups aside from the next hits of the natural combo.
• Simon and Richter's forward aerials have two unique distinctions from every other in the series: they can be angled up or down much like forward tilts and forward smashes, and function as tether recoveries. Their back aerials also have these properties.
• The forward aerials of Villager, Mii Gunner, and Isabelle are projectiles, and as such, can be reflected or Pocketed, as well as absorbed in the case of Mii Gunner.
• Steve's forward aerial is the only one which changes depending on whether it is performed using the short hop aerial shortcut in Ultimate or not. It is a more powerful pickaxe swing in front of him if performed without the short hop aerial shortcut, but becomes a faster and weaker sword swing with similar properties to neutral aerial if performed with the short hop aerial shortcut. This property is shared with back aerial.
• Captain Falcon's forward aerial from Melee onward, the famed Knee Smash, deals very high damage and knockback with its clean hit. It is the strongest forward aerial in each game it features in (except in Brawl where Zelda's is stronger). It is considered more useful in Melee than in later games, due to the former possessing the ability to L-cancel and more favorable sweetspot placements and superior frame data for the move.
• Zelda's forward aerial is one of her Lightning Kicks, and deals very high damage and knockback at high percents when sweetspotted, but is extremely weak when sourspotted. Much like Captain Falcon's Knee Smash, it is particularly powerful in Melee, but its utility has been reduced in later games due to the removal of L-canceling, as well as receiving a smaller hitbox on its sweetspot, much more ending lag and a less favorable auto-cancel window starting in Smash 4.
• Marth's forward aerial is considered one of the best in Melee and Brawl, due to its low lag all around, long range with a wide arc, and edgeguarding capabilities. Starting in Smash 4, however, it was drastically nerfed by receiving more lag (starting, ending and landing) and a shorter hitbox duration, no longer being as safe to use upon landing or if untippered against shields.
• Jigglypuff's forward aerial is useful in performing the wall of pain, especially in Melee.
• King K. Rool's forward aerial in Ultimate is widely considered to be one of his best moves overall. While the move has high ending lag in the air, it more than compensates for it with its huge range, lingering hitbox, massive damage, great KO potential and very low landing lag for its power and range. As K. Rool can negate the otherwise high FAF by performing the move close to the ground, the move has very few downsides and thus has extreme versatility: it is very useful and important in neutral due to its safety and high reward, is very safe on shield when spaced correctly, is arguably King K. Rool's best combo starter at low- and mid percents, is a great KO move at higher percents due to it being relatively non-committal for a move with good KO potential, and its also fantastic at ledgetrapping, catching jumps, bad approaches, and even for edgeguarding as of patch 13.0.0. Due to this, the move is extremely important for King K. Rool's general gameplan.
• Sheik's forward aerial is one of her best moves for spacing and approaching, and overall one of the best aerials in the series, with an extremely early autocancel window (starting on frame 11) and long range enabling her to land it multiple times on opponents upon hitting them. In Melee, it is a devastating semi-spike with very high knockback for its speed. Conversely, its incredibly low knockback in Smash 4 and Ultimate allows it to freely combo into itself and most of her other moves, including Bouncing Fish.
• Fox's forward aerial from Brawl onward causes him to rise slightly when used. In Smash 4, it is also notable for being able to lead into a footstool jump offstage if used in a fast fall, which can lead to very early KOs; in Ultimate, this is still possible, albeit significantly harder to pull off.
• Mewtwo's forward aerial in both Smash 4 and Ultimate is known for its sheer versatility, having very low lag all around, decent range, being a potent combo starter at low percents, and having strong KO potential at higher percents due to its knockback scaling. While it was slightly nerfed from Smash 4 to Ultimate, it is still considered to be among the best in the game.
• Much like Marth's in Melee and Brawl, Wolf's forward aerial in Ultimate is often considered one of the best in the game due to its deceptively fast startup, low landing lag, wide vertical arc, decent damage output, and high launch angle that synergize well with his fast falling speed and gravity, allowing it to combo into itself and several other moves even up to high percents.
• Min Min's forward aerial is considered the longest ranged forward aerial in the game due to how long it extends, especially when using the Dragon.
• Sephiroth's forward aerial can cling to walls up to three times before landing making it useful for recovery.