Captain Falcon (SSBM)

Captain Falcon in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Universe	F-Zero
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Tier	A (7)

“

A bounty hunter who boasts speed and power. (Melee's instruction manual)

”

Captain Falcon (キャプテン・ファルコン, Kyaputen Farukon),whose full name is Douglas Jay Falcon, announced at E3 2001, is a starter character in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Falcon currently ranks 7th place on the Melee tier list. He still ranks rather high like in the SSB tier list because he retains his incredible comboing abilities; he has a fast falling speed and air speed, and the fastest dash in the game, giving him one of the best SHFFLs in the game. His high weight and fast falling speed also make him resistant to KO's in the upper blast line. His speed and fast roll-dodges enable an excellent dodging game. Falcon also has multiple quick-KO moves, most notably his Knee Smash, forward smash, and his Nipple spike, all of which can be combo finishers. Against high-tiered opponents, however, Falcon is susceptible to chaingrabs and combos due to his high falling speed. He is also prone to edgeguarding, since he has a predictable recovery that, like in SSB, cannot grab ledge-hanging enemies. Falcon lacks a projectile, impairing his approach in some matchups, while most of his attacks have long start-up. Regardless of his weaknesses, Captain Falcon still has an impressive number of matchups, including six that are near-unloseable.

Attributes

Captain Falcon remains one of the fastest characters in the game, therefore leading to great approach options and comboing ability despite lacking a projectile. He has the fastest dash speed, the second fastest falling speed (below Falco), high traction, good jumping prowess, and the longest dash dance (because of his many dash initiation frames). He also has one of the fastest lateral air speeds in the game. All of these attributes give him a short but quick wavedash and the best moonwalk in the game.

Captain Falcon`s primary strength is having many reliable KO and comboing options while retaining much of his speed; many of Falcon`s attacks have fairly long start-up lag, but deal high damage and knockback, have great range, and have little ending lag. The strength of Captain Falcon's superb comboing ability lies in his deadly SHFFL ability (due to a small short hop and a very fast falling speed) and a number of attacks that will reliably lead into one another in combos, giving him a great damage rate and a multitude of approaches and combo finishers. Captain Falcon's forward smash, despite its fairly long start-up lag, is the third most powerful forward-smash in the game in terms of damage and knockback and is an excellent combo finisher.

Captain Falcon has a great aerial game. His aerials are fast and powerful and allows for many approach and KO options; the second hit of his n-air has sex kick properties and can be SHFFLed very easily. Arguably, Captain Falcon's best move is his infamous forward aerial (Knee Smash), which can chain into one another through a series of well-timed sweetspots and sourspots. It deals high damage with little start-up lag, and can KO at damage percentages as low as 60%. It can be a combo starter and ender. His back aerial is a quick and powerful, yet short-ranged backhand punch which is good for for edgeguarding. His up aerial is strong bicycle kick with very fast-start up (5 frames), and can be used for edgeguarding. Last but not least, his famed down aerial is the fourth most powerful meteor smash in the game, has minor start-up, very low ending lag, high histun, and can chain itself into another dair by SHFFLing.

A combo notoriously difficult to execute is the infamous Sacred Combo, which involves Falcon doing a move (particularly his Knee Smash) that launches the foe offstage and hits him or her with a Falcon Punch in mid-air, before the hitstun of the previous attack wears off. If executed correctly, the opponent is likely to be KO'd. However, there are severe consequences if Falcon makes a mistake while performing this technique; there is a chance he`ll miss and if he jumps too far while performing this, he will SD which may see him down a stock or two. Nonetheless, it still remains as one of Falcon's most useful techniques.

Despite having a rather poor grab range (the sixth shortest to be exact), Falcon's grab game is among the most useful in Melee; his forward and back throws can set up edgeguards and his up and down throws can set up combos and many chain throws.

Captain Falcon's recovery is overall mediocre. Despite having a high air speed, Captain Falcon is prone to edge-guarding because his recovery move cannot grab ledge-hangers. His recovery can be extended by performing an uninterrupted Falcon Kick in the air so that he can regain his midair jump, but this will greatly reduce his vertical height. Raptor Boost, while boasting good horizontal distance, cannot grab ledges. His fast falling speed prevents him from traveling as far.

Captain Falcon's fast falling speed is gives him great comboing ability and resistance to vertical KOs, but makes him easy for others to combo him. He is among the easiest characters to chain throw, leading to a poor matchup against Sheik. A good Captain Falcon player must utilize Captain Falcon's speed and power to deliver quick KO's and overwhelm his opponent.

Moveset

Ground moves

Normal

• Neutral attack - Jabs twice then knees opponent, followed by several fast jabs. First two jabs do around 2-3% each, the "gentlemen" kneeing does 8%, and each jab after does 1% each. A fast and somewhat short-ranged jab-attack, this move is good for stopping close-up opponent's approach.
• Dash attack - Shoulder tackle. Strongest when it comes out, weaker afterward. Fairly fast, good for knocking the foe away from the ledge to follow with an aerial attack or edgeguard, with proper mindgaming/prediction. 10%
• Down tilt - Does a quick round kick. The down tilt is a great launcher, if difficult to land. It has a long lag and therefore is not one of C.F.'s preferred setups. However, it can combo at most percentages and almost every DI into a SHFFLed neutral aerial, which can further combo. Fox and Falco can often be regrabbed from a down tilt at medium damage percentages, and their side special moves can be intercepted by Falcon's down tilt if they try to sweetspot the ledge. The down tilt can also combo into a Knee Smash and the up aerial, depending on knockback and DI. 12% damage.
• Forward tilt - Kicks his foot out in front of him. Fast with decent range. There are not a significant amount of combo options from an forward tilt because of its horizontal hit trajectory, low knockback and stun time, and wind-down lag. One can try to follow up with a up aerial or a Jump-canceled grab, and even a dash-canceled down tilt or Raptor Boost, but they are not true combos and can be countered by every character. It may be a good idea to wavedash slightly forward to maintain pressure, and enter a defensive stance or used after a pivot as a surprise attack to keep enemies away. An forward tilt, angled upward, can stun enemies long enough from an up/down throw that it can lead to a Knee Smash. 11% damage
• Up tilt - Brings his leg up and brings it down in an axe-like way. His up tilt has horizontal knockback as well, and, like the forward tilt, is difficult to combo from. Due to its low trajectory, one can often follow off the edge of a platform or stage with a falling neutral aerial or non-sweetspotted forward aerial edgeguard, but this is not a true combo. It may be a good idea to wavedash slightly forward to maintain pressure, and enter a defensive stance. Most players use up tilts as an edgeguard technique since the heel can extend below the platform. 11% damage.

Smash attacks

• Forward smash - Reels his elbow back and thrusts it forward. Excellent knockback even when uncharged with good horizontal and vertical launching power, making it hard to DI. Somewhat fast as well. Uncharged usually KOs around 100%+. This attack is the 3rd most powerful forward smash in the game. 20% uncharged, 27% fully.
• Up smash - Quickly thrusts both his feet upward in circular motions. A fast and powerful move, though short range. The second hit sometimes has difficulty connecting, as with Ganon's. When both hits connect, 19% uncharged, 27% fully charged. This is Falcon's most powerful move damage-wise (When fully charged).
• Down smash - Kicks in front then back of him. Small noticeable startup, but good speed and knockback. 18% front, 16% back uncharged, 24% front and 21% back fully charged.

Other attacks

• Ledge attack - Picks himself up and kicks. 10% damage.
• 100% ledge attack- Somewhat slowly gets up and punches in front of him. 8% damage.
• Floor attack - Gets up and flips while kicking. 6% damage.

Aerial attacks

• Forward aerial (Knee Smash) - Captain Falcon sticks out his knee. If sweetspotted (located anywhere on his body at the first frames of execution), the victim is electrocuted and is sent in a difficult-to-DI-out-of semi-spike trajectory. If sourspotted, the move is very weak with little knockback, though it can be chained into another Knee. An extremely powerful move when sweetspotted, it is often regarded as one of the most powerful and useful moves in the game, and undoubtedly the most powerful forward aerial of Melee. This move is the usual end to most of Falcon's aerial combos, or even to use against grounded foes in an aerial assault. Easily KOs at damage percentages as low as 60% off the edge. Impressive 18% when sweetspotted, and does 5-6% otherwise with terrible knockback.
• Neutral aerial - His forward aerial from SSB, kicks twice in front of him. A good two-hit combo starter or ender, though the second hit is difficult to land. This move can infamously lead into a Sacred Combo. First hit does 6%, second hit 7% damage. Total 13%.
• Back aerial - A quick punch behind him. Good power and speed, often used as an edgeguarding move. Weak if the opponent is hit late in the attack. 14% damage.
• Down aerial - Stomps below him for good downward knockback and high hitstun. Minor startup and ending lag. Can nipple spike if hit within the torso region, making it even more powerful. If used on a grounded opponent, this move is a great combo starter, and can KO at high percentages. One of the strongest meteor smashes in the game. 16%.
• Up aerial - Does a midair bicycle kick and sticks his feet out. Knockback direction depends on what angle the move hits the foe, though strong nonetheless. Also good for juggling, and edgeguarding if hit near the end of the attack. 13% damage.

Grabs & throws

• Pummel - Knees opponent in the torso region. 2-3% damage per pummel.
• Forward throw - Punches foe forward. Oddly, has two hits, the first hit doing 5% damage, second 4%.
• Back throw - Kicks foe behind. Also has two very small and hardly noticeable hits. Knockback is usually hard to follow-up or combo with unless over a ledge. Throw does 5% first, 4% second.
• Up throw - Punches foe upward. Yet another mysterious throw where Falcon supposedly only hits the foe once, although has two separate hitboxes. Foes usually fall straight down afterward, at lower damage percentages can lead into his side special and aerial follow-ups. 4% then 3%.
• Down throw - Crushes foe to the floor. Only one hitbox unlike his other throws. This knocks the foe to the floor, and this can easily lead into his side special. At lower damage percentages, following his down throw and side special, an up smash or tilt is possible. At higher damage percentages, follow with an neutral aerial or whatever, depending on the foe's DI reaction. Throw does a single-hitting 7% damage.

Special moves

Captain Falcon's special moves

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

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Changes from SSB to Melee

When making the transition from SSB to Melee, Falcon was not significantly buffed nor nerfed, although he did gain some of both.

In terms of buffs, all of Falcon's Smash Attacks were changed and made much more powerful (especially his Up and Down Smashes while his Forward Smash to a slightly lesser extent). His new Up Smash has much higher knockback scaling and damage, making it an excellent finisher under 130%. He also gain a new Forward Aerial (now the third most powerful in Melee) and is a very powerful KO move (which can KO as low as 60% offstage) while his Forward Aerial in SSB is his Neutral Aerial and hits at an upper angle. A general increase in his air speed (went from the 3rd slowest in SSB to the 3rd fastest in Melee) and the introduction of moonwalking, improvement of dashdancing, and wavedashing has significantly improved Falcon's combo ability. The third hit of his neutral combo gives more knockback and can KO under 200%, unlike most neutral combos. His Down Aerial has more reach and power. Falcon Kick now restores Falcon's second jump, improving his recovery even more. Like most veterans, Falcon received a new Side Special move, Raptor Boost, which now set up more combos. Falcon Punch is stronger and has more range. Falcon Kick goes a further distance. Since throws were weakened from N64 to Melee, he has more combo and chain throwing abilities with his new Up and Down Throws (His Forward Throw in SSB was changed to his Down Throw in Melee).

In terms of nerfs, his attacks are slower in terms of start-up. His Forward Smash has slightly less reach, his Up Smash has been made slower, has drastically reduced utility, and lower base knockback, and his Down Smash is much slower and can't hit crouching/small enemies as easily as before. Hitting with the semi-spike part of his Up Aerial is much weaker than hitting with the initial part, making semi-spiking much less effective (Despite this, it is still used as an effective edgeguarding move). Up Tilt hits only once and is weaker in terms of damage (10% less). Back Aerial and Down Aerial's hitboxes last for a shorter time. Falcon Punch's use as a recovery move is hindered severely due to it being slower and can no longer has the effect to slow down Falcon's falling speed. In addition, it now has two weaker (in terms of damage) sourspots while the sweetspot is very close to his body. Falcon Dive and Falcon Kick received some nerfs (Both having smaller hitboxes and less power, though both are still powerful for a special move). His Forward Aerial from SSB (now his Neutral Aerial) has slightly less horizontal reach and less power in terms of knockback and damage. It should be noted that although his attacks have mostly very high knockback scaling, their base knockback is low, even his Forward Aerial's, making him almost completetly unable to drive his opponents offstage under low percentages (though most characters have that problem).

In terms of cosmetics, Falcon is one out of two characters who is now available as a starter from SSB (the other being Ness) and he had his stance altered from SSB with a new idle action included with his default one, which was also altered. His green and blue palette swaps from SSB are now accessible through normal battle instead of just Team Battles like Mario and Kirby. Like Pikachu and Kirby, he has new, higher, and more energetic quality voice samples, though his voice actor still remains the same.

Strategies

Speed options

• Captain Falcon's aerial game is very fast, making performing combos fairly easy. His knee is a good KO move at medium-high damage. He also has one true spike. Use that as a follow-up in case his Knee Smash doesn't work, or to continue comboing.
• Because Falcon's Falling Speed and weight are so high, he is the character that is most resistant to vertical knockouts.
• Since he is a heavy character and a fast faller, attacks like Peach's down smash can be deadly against Falcon.

Ground options

• Captain Falcon's ground attacks have some lag, but, in return, they generally have good knockback and damage. Captain Falcon's up smash hits twice which can KO at low percentages. His side smash is a little laggy, but has great range and knockback. His down smash is two kicks which hit both sides of Falcon so opponents on either side of him will be hit so long as they are within range. In addition, his down smash has a very good reach and priority.
• Falcon's tilts include his forward tilt, a long ranged kick with decent damage and knockback, his down tilt, a sweeping kick which sends opponents upwards, and his up tilt, where he lifts his leg in the air and smashes it down. The up tilt is frequently used for edgeguarding.

Aerial attacks

• Forward aerial (Knee Smash) - Captain Falcon's forward aerial is a great, if not Falcon's best, finisher. Timed at the end of grab and aerial combos, it can KO opponents at about 60%. Although the move does require precise timing to land, since a non sweetspotted hit will be very weak, the sourspot can be used as a form of Wall of Pain that can combo into another knee.
• Back aerial - A backhand hit with a significant startup lag. Falcon's back aerial is excellent, especially for edgeguarding. While an opponent is off stage it is common to hop backwards and intercept them with a back aerial for the KO.
• Neutral aerial - Two fast kicks. The Neutral aerial is good for racking up damage.
• Up aerial - A quick back-flip kick. Good for attacking airborne opponents as it is fast and relatively strong, and has a long duration making it comparatively easy to land.
• Down aerial - An airborne stomp. Falcon's down aerial has a considerable amount of startup lag. It is good for use on the ground, where it will send opponents upward, sometimes Star-KOing at high percentages or creating a setup for a Knee. Hitting opponents with the upper hitbox (above Falcon's waist) will result in a nipple spike.

Projectile/Protecting

• Using Falcon's Raptor Boost is a good way to dodge oncoming projectiles like Samus's Missile or Mario's Fireball.
• Falcon is equipped with one of the best roll dodges in the game, as it is one of the fastest and longest. Both left and right roll dodges are quick and long.
• Falcon has the best dash-dance in the game, so if timed right he can dash away from an attack and quickly dash back to retalliate.

Grabs

Captain Falcon has some good grabs that are used to start chains and combos, most notably into his forward aerial, which can allow for quick KOs.

Down throw

• Can chain-grab many characters with average falling speeds and weights at various damage percentages. Simply down-throw, follow the opponent's DI with a dash, and use a Jump Cancelled Grab to grab again. If the opponent DIs towards the player, a re-grab in place or turning and re-grabbing may be possible.
• Combos into neutral aerial at most damage percentages and DIs against non-fastfallers.
• Can combo into a forward aerial at medium to high damage percentages against non-fastfallers. This may be escapable at some damage percentages with DI. This is also an option at very high damage percentages against fast-fallers.
• Tech-chasing chain grabs are possible as well against fast-fallers. Additionally, one can Tech-chase with Isai Stomps and Raptor Boost. Down-smash is additionally useful as it hits in front of and behind C.F., hitting 2/3 tech-rolls and hitting non-techs if properly timed.

Up throw

• Combos into neutral up and forward aerials at various damage percentages and DIs against virtually every character. The higher the percent, the more chance opponents have to break free.
• Combos into down tilt at low-medium damage percentages against fast-fallers.
• Combos into forward smash and down smash against fast-fallers at medium damage percentages, depending on DI.
• Against fast fallers at low damage percentages, does not combo directly but leads to Tech-chasing.
• Combos into a up smash against fast-fallers that do not DI to a side. Against large, heavy characters, can be wavedashed into at several DIs.
• Can combo into an angled forward tilt depending on DI. Useful for catching awkward DIs and damage percentages.
• If an opponent bounces, it is possible to hit them with any SHFFL'd aerial, a down-smash, Raptor Boost, Falcon Kick, Falcon Punch, and any tilts out of the bounce.
• Raptor Boost is always an option, and directly combos against many characters at low damage percentages and against most DIs, however is known to be very touchy and avoidable. Can be used to tech-chase as well.
• Up throw can lead to a dashing, jump-cancelled re-grab against Fox at very high damage percentages (approximately 110%) if the opponent DI's away. This is possible due to Fox's light weight and high downward acceleration.

Trophy descriptions

In addition to his normal trophy, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Captain Falcon on any difficulty:

Captain Falcon (Classic) (Trophy #28)

Usually a relentless bounty hunter, Captain Falcon shifts gears to become a race pilot once the F-Zero Grand Prix begins. His beloved racer, the Blue Falcon, can exceed the speed of sound, and he knows how to drive it; he'll go down as one of the all time-greats. Now 36 years old, Captain Falcon wears his F-Zero X visor.

Captain Falcon (Adventure) (Trophy #29)

Falcon's style is a balanced combination of raw power and speed. His attacks are slow, but when combined with Falcon's high mobility, he's a formidable combat force. The Falcon Punch packs the highest degree of destructive power, while the explosive Raptor Boost can be used to smash airborne foes into the depths.

• B: Falcon Punch
• Smash B: Raptor Boost

Captain Falcon (All-Star) (Trophy #30)

The Knee Smash, used in midair on foes in front of you, is slow and has a short reach, but if it connects, it'll send foes flying a long way on a low trajectory. Falcon uses his Falcon Dive to grab an enemy in midair and fling them away with an explosive blast. He can do this technique repeatedly without landing, so it can also be used as a recovery move.

• Up & B: Falcon Dive
• Down & B: Falcon Kick

• 

  Classic

• 

  Adventure

• 

  All-Star

Costumes

Captain Falcon's changeable clothing in SSBM

Trivia

• Captain Falcon is the only character to have every single smash attack changed from SSB to Melee.

External links

• Captain Falcon combo video
• "One Hundred Billion Knees"