Captain Falcon in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | |
---|---|
Universe | F-Zero |
Other playable appearances | in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4 |
Availability | Unlockable |
Final Smash | Blue Falcon |
“ | A fighter that possesses both speed and power! But in exchange, he is frequently left open. Being able to successfully land his neutral special, Falcon Punch, can greatly influence the battle in multiplayer matches. | ” |
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site |
Captain Falcon (キャプテン・ファルコン, Captain Falcon) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Captain Falcon is classified as fighter #11.
As in Smash 4, Ryō Horikawa's portrayal of Captain Falcon from Brawl was repurposed for Ultimate.
How to unlock
Complete one of the following:
- Play VS. matches, with Captain Falcon being the 11th character to be unlocked.
- Clear Classic Mode with Fox or any character in his unlock tree, being the 1st character unlocked.
- Have Captain Falcon join the player's party in World of Light.
With the exception of the third method, Captain Falcon must then be defeated on Port Town Aero Dive.
Attributes
Captain Falcon is a tall, heavyweight character. However, despite his weight, he boasts outstanding mobility; he boasts the second fastest dash speed, the 6th fastest falling speed, along with the eleventh fastest air speed. Strangely, though, his walking speed is rather slow.
Despite lacking a projectile, Falcon has an overall effective neutral game, courtesy of his mobility. His primary combo starter is grounded Raptor Boost; its low knockback along with its vertical launching angle and low ending lag make it a fearsome combo starter if landed, allowing it to combo into a plentiful of moves. His up tilt consistently meteor smashes opponents even if they are grounded, making it not only a great combo tool, but a decent edgeguarding tool as well. One of his best combo tools is his up aerial; at a wide range of percents, it can create incredibly long chains, especially into itself due to its low base knockback and overall low lag. Alternatively, Falcon can chain his up aerial into some of his deadliest finishers, most notably into his forward aerial, the Knee Smash.
Captain Falcon, like most of his fellow heavyweights also boasts excellent KO power, as well as a formidable edgeguarding ability. His up and down smashes are both excellent baiting options due to their low lag, making them safe on shield and potentially even on whiff. Even if they both have rather noticeable startup, it is also long enough to punish spot dodges reliably. His up smash in particular even functions as a situational combo starter at low percentages, allowing Captain Falcon to deal huge amounts of damage off of a few hits. His forward, back, and down aerials deal high knockback, along with the formermost being a powerful semi-spike. His down tilt, while having noticeable startup, sends at a semi-spike angle with high knockback, and has low ending lag, making it not only a good spacing and poking tool, but also a great edgeguarding and KO move.
However, he has his weaknesses. Though he has numerous hard-hitting moves, most of them are difficult or slow to land, some prominent examples being his smash attacks. His Knee Smash is faster than those moves, but it suffers from a rather small sweetspot that lasts for only one frame, making it hard to land without an air dodge read or setup off of an up aerial. As a result, he often has to rely on edgeguarding to score his kills. Though his neutral game is good overall, his lack of a projectile leaves him susceptible to camping. His high weight and fast falling speed give him endurance, but they also leave him especially vulnerable to combos, and he has no fast options with which to break them.
Captain Falcon also has somewhat limited options from landing a grab. To begin with, his grabs' ranges are overall somewhat short despite his height, making it risky to throw out. His down throw, while a decent combo starter at low percentages, loses said combo potential very quickly at higher percentages. His forward and back throws don't have much other purposes other than KOing, with the former being relatively weak for a KO throw. His up throw has too high of ending lag in order to combo properly, and cannot KO too reliably at high percentages. Overall, while his grab game isn't outright useless, it doesn't have much reward past high percentages.
Captain Falcon's greatest problem lies in his recovery, despite having an impressive air speed. His two recovery options, Falcon Dive and Raptor Boost, are linear and do not grant enough distance, making them predictable and easily intercepted, and they have small ledge sweetspots. These two moves do not have hitboxes above him, leaving him open to meteor smashes, which he usually cannot survive due to his short recovery and falling speed. To his merit, he can reuse Falcon Dive if it connects with an opponent, and even stage spike them, though this is easily teched. However, in some offstage instances when Falcon Dive connects on a opponent, they can hit the ledge be launched back at him, leaving him very vulnerable to gimps and be KO'd. Although he has a wall jump, he will be in danger offstage without his double jump.
Overall, Captain Falcon fits into a huge rushdown playstyle; when combining his excellent mobility and combo game, he can string very long combos for huge amounts of damage. However, one must be cautious due to his noticeable susceptibility to combos.
Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4
Captain Falcon has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to Ultimate. Many aspects of his playstyle have been adjusted through the transition, which has resulted in notable changes to the way he operates and an increase in his learning curve. Due to Captain Falcon's changes, he was overall slightly nerfed.
Falcon's grounded game has seen bountiful buffs in one way or another. On one hand, several of Falcon's options at close range have been improved, some of which are more rewarding by virtue of their increased combo potential. Notable examples are his neutral infinite connecting much more reliably and being therefore more effective for racking up damage; his forward tilt's lower lag making it safer for spacing; his up tilt consistently meteor smashing both grounded and aerial opponents, allowing for combos; and his up smash's increased damage, added leg intangibility, and reduced ending lag turning it into a high-risk, high-reward combo starter that can contest aerial approaches. On the other hand, his other options have improved KO ability, such as his dash attack, his new forward smash (despite already being remarkably powerful in Smash 4), and his down smash, the latter which now semi-spikes and hits low-profile opponents more effectively, allowing him to take stocks more reliably up close.
Furthermore, Falcon's entire special moveset has been buffed in miscellaneous ways: Falcon Punch has significantly increased knockback, making it deadlier as a hard read or shield break punish much like in previous games; Raptor Boost is a much more effective combo starter on the ground thanks to its lower knockback and leaves Falcon less vulnerable if it connects in the air (no longer causing helplessness in such case); Falcon Dive has increased knockback and less ending lag making it safer to hit opponents with and giving him a KO option that can counter shielding opponents; and Falcon Kick is faster, has increased power on the ground, and less landing lag. In addition to these direct changes, the universal changes in Ultimate benefit Falcon's rushdown oriented playstyle, having increased mobility and reduced landing lag on aerial attacks that allow him to juggle and punish opponents more effectively, most notably with his Knee Smash, which deals far more damage if sweetspotted, the ability to use any attack out of a dash cancel further improving his grounded game, and the removal of teching grounded meteor smashes giving his up tilt and down aerial increased combo potential.
However, Captain Falcon has received significant nerfs as well, which counterbalance most of his buffs. His dash grab, infamous in Smash 4 for being one of Captain Falcon's best approach punish and/or burst options due to its large ground coverage and high reward, now travels significantly less distance as a result of his increased traction — a change that also affects his throws negatively, with his forward throw losing all its guaranteed combo potential, and down throw being much less reliable for combos at higher percents in combination with its altered knockback. Most importantly, the latter can no longer lead into semi-guaranteed KO confirms at high percents, nor can it force an option select at the ledge, where the appropriate DI for forward throw resulted in a KO from down throw and vice versa. This hinders a large component of his playstyle from Smash 4, as his grab is now harder to land, less rewarding, and due to all standard grabs having increased ending lag in Ultimate, easier to punish if it misses. Another of Falcon's most nerfed moves is his up aerial; while it has slightly less ending lag, its increased landing lag compared to other aerials (which instead had it decreased) and lower damage weaken its punishability and KO setups, and the changes in knockback physics have slightly worsened the ability to chain into itself repeatedly. Adding to this, while his slower KO options were improved, his faster ones, such as back aerial and Raptor Boost, have been worsened, the latter no longer KOing at realistic percents in exchange for its increased combo ability. Meanwhile, his new forward smash, while dealing more knockback, has significantly decreased range, to the point it can sometimes miss at point-blank range if the opponent is pushed by Falcon himself.
Finally, while Falcon playstyle's benefits from some of the universal changes, other changes have negatively impacted the way he has to execute his playstyle. Namely, the tumbling animation from a footstool jump now being techable prevents him from racking up large amounts of damage and setting up KOs by repeatedly footstooling and meteor smashing opponents back up with his down aerial. Ironically, the changes to dash-dancing have also adversely affected him more than other characters; since his initial dash animation is one of, if not, the slowest in the game, this causes his dash-dancing animation to be more awkward and slower-moving than other characters, and reduces its mindgame potential compared to his previous extended dash-dance in Smash 4.
Overall, while Captain Falcon's buffs have improved several of his options and punish game, the nerfs to the previous options he had in Smash 4 mean he has to take higher risks at approaching and optimizing their use, instead of constantly relying on a few safe options to rack up damage and set up KOs, which is more dangerous for him, since a large number of characters in Ultimate are either zoners or have had their close-up game buffed to various degrees. As such, Falcon players have to be significantly more cautious of their opponents in order to win the neutral game, which now gives him a higher learning curve compared to Smash 4, where he had a rather low learning curve. His representation in the early metagame of Ultimate has been below average, although he still has seen some success thanks to the efforts of notable players such as Fatality, Big D and NickC, who continue to represent him in tournaments.
Aesthetics
- As with all veterans returning from SSB4, Captain Falcon's model features a more subdued color scheme. The top piece of his racing suit appears to be armor with visible scuffs. His eyes are larger, akin to Brawl.
- Captain Falcon has a slightly altered dashing animation.
- The pose at the end of Captain Falcon's triple size kick victory screen has been altered. Instead of pointing his wrist sideways, he points it upwards, forming a pose similar to his idle pose.
- Captain Falcon's mouth once again moves during his down and side taunts, like in Brawl.
- Captain Falcon's tumbling animation has been altered. He now faces more towards/away from the screen, similar to Little Mac, Shulk, Greninja, and other fighters.
- Captain Falcon's side taunt has been shortened significantly, showing him immediately gesturing with his hand.
- Down taunt has been shortened when facing right, now matching its left-facing duration.
Attributes
- Like all characters, Captain Falcon's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
- Captain Falcon walks faster (0.94 → 0.987).
- Captain Falcon runs faster (2.32 → 2.552).
- His initial dash is faster (1.7 → 1.98).
- Captain Falcon's traction has been drastically increased (0.05 → 0.105). This makes it easier for him to punish out of shield.
- Captain Falcon's air speed is faster (1.1 → 1.218).
- Captain Falcon falls slightly faster (1.837 → 1.865).
- His fast falling speed is faster (2.9392 → 2.984).
- Forward roll has more ending lag (FAF 28 → 30).
- Back roll has more startup (frame 4 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 28 → 35).
- Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 27).
- Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 3-18 → 3-17).
- Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-28 → 3-30).
- Air dodge has more ending lag (FAF 34 → 43).
- The changes to air dodges greatly benefit Falcon: the ability to only air dodge once allows him to take better advantage of his fast mobility to pressure and juggle opponents, while their increased ending lag allows him to punish them more effectively with powerful moves such as Knee Smash.
- The ability to run cancel any move significantly benefits Falcon's grounded neutral game and punish game. This allows him to pressure the opponent easier by canceling into a neutral or tilt attack, especially if pivot canceled.
- The ability to tech aerial footstools prevents Falcon from repeatedly footstooling and meteor smashing opponents back into the air with his down aerial, removing one of his most potent damage racking options.
- The reintroduction of dash-dancing hurts Falcon's grounded movement due to possessing one of the slowest initial dashes in the game, as it hinders its mindgame potential.
Ground attacks
- Neutral attack:
- The first hit has an altered animation, with Falcon jabbing underhanded. This slightly lowers its position, allowing it to hit shorter and crouching characters.
- The first hit transitions into the second faster (frame 8 → 5), which transitions into either of the subsequent hits faster (frame 10 → 8).
- The infinite has faster startup (frame 9 → 5), a much shorter gap between hits (5 frames → 2) and reduced knockback (15/15/8 base/50/50/30 scaling → 8 base/15 scaling), in addition to keeping opponents on the ground, and inflicting 2 additional frames of hitstun with each hit. This allows it to connect much more reliably.
- The infinite's finisher deals more damage (2% → 3%), though with its knockback scaling compensated (70 → 55).
- The first two hits and the infinite deal less damage (2% → 1.5% (hits 1-2), 1% → 0.6% (infinite)).
- The first three hits have reduced range overall (hit 1: 4.3u/4.3u/3.3u → 2.0/2.3/2.5/2.5; hit 2: 4.3u/4.3u/3.3u → 2.5/3.0/3.6; hit 3: 6.0u/3.5u → 5.5/3.8).
- The infinite's finisher has drastically more ending lag (FAF 40 → 50).
- The infinite has an increased hitlag multiplier (0.3× → 0.5x). Combined with the universally increased hitlag, this allows opponents to SDI the hits, which was previously impossible due to their lack of hitlag, despite their decreased SDI multiplier (0.7× → 0.4×).
- The infinite and its finisher have altered hitbox sizes (infinite: 4.2u/4.0u/4.0u → 2.25/6.5; finisher: 7.0u → 4.5/4.5). This gives the finisher more horizontal range, but reduces its vertical range.
- The first and second hits have altered angles (hit 1: 80° → 361°/361°/180°/361°; hit 2: 80° → 361°) and knockback (both hits: 20 set/100 scaling → 20 base/25 caling) to keep opponents close to Captain Falcon, akin to other neutral attacks. This allows them to connect better and lock, but removes their guaranteed jab cancel setups.
- Forward tilt:
- It has less startup and a longer hitbox duration (frames 9-11 → 7-10), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 32 → 30). This makes it safer to use at close range.
- The sweetspot is located in Falcon's knee rather than his foot. Since the foot hitbox still outprioritizes the knee hitbox, this makes it harder to land.
- It has significantly increased base knockback, but significantly decreased scaling (10 base/100 scaling → 60/58). This noticeably improves its safety on hit at low percents, but drastically hinders its KO potential, to the point it can no longer KO reliably.
- The knee hitbox and the foot hitbox have swapped sizes (knee: 4.3u → 5.3; foot: 5.3u → 4.3).
- Up tilt:
- It has less startup (frame 17 → 14), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 40 → 37).
- It meteor smashes throughout its entirety, including grounded opponents, instead of only aerial opponents at the heel. Due to the removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes, this drastically improves its combo potential.
- This makes the meteor smash stronger if Falcon's knee doesn't connect (22 base → 35).
- It has an altered animation where Captain Falcon's foot no longer reaches all the way to the floor, resulting in a more circular motion. This animation reduces its vertical range, making it almost unable to hit opponents hanging from an edge.
- It no longer moves Falcon forward with each use.
- Down tilt:
- The hitbox on Falcon's torso sends at an inverse angle (25° → 155°).
- Dash attack:
- Both clean and late hits have more knockback scaling (50 → 67). This makes the clean hit stronger (KOing at around 170% without rage), and the late hit much safer on hit at low percentages.
- Forward smash:
- Captain Falcon has a new forward smash: a backhand punch that resembles Warlock Punch.
- It deals more knockback overall (angled up/non-angled: 24 base/95 scaling → 36/94; angled down: 24 base/83 scaling → 36/87), improving its KO potential, especially when angled down.
- It has significantly less range, and only consists of two hitboxes rather than three (4.5u/3.0u/3.0u → 3.8/3.2). Falcon also doesn't lean forward as much before hitting. This makes the move harder to land and prone to missing short opponents.
- Up smash:
- It has less ending lag (FAF 52 → 46). Combined with Falcon's faster jumpsquat and jump speed, this allows it to true combo into an up aerial from low to mid percents.
- Both hits have a longer duration (hit 1: frame 22 → frames 22-23; hit 2: 28 → 28-29), and grant Falcon intangibility on his respective legs, making the move safer to use against opposing aerial attacks.
- Both hits deal more damage (hit 1: 6%/11% → 7%/12%; hit 2: 13%/12% → 14%/13%).
- The second hit has more base knockback, but less knockback scaling (30 base/104/106/112 scaling → 70 base/72/74/80 scaling).
- One of the first hit's hitboxes (hitbox ID 1 → 0) now outprioritizes the other (hitbox ID 0 → 1). The hitboxes also have slightly altered angles (95°/110°/80°/90° → 96°/110°/80°/80°) and knockback values (hitbox 0: 140 set → 150; hitbox 1: 120 → 90; hitbox 3: 30 base/20 set → 8 base/10 set). These changes make the first hit connect better into the second hit.
- Down smash:
- Down smash has an altered animation where Falcon kicks lower to the ground, allowing it to hit smaller and crouching opponents more easily. In spite of this animation change, its horizontal reach is unaffected.
- It launches at a lower, semi-spike angle (361° → 28°). This improves the move's KO potential especially near edges, despite the second hit's lower knockback scaling (90 → 84).
Aerial attacks
- All aerials except up aerial have reduced landing lag (12 frames → 7 (neutral), 30 → 18 (forward), 12 → 10 (back), 21 → 12 (down)).
- Neutral aerial:
- Neutral aerial transitions faster into the second hit (frame 20 → 13), with its total duration mostly reduced as well (FAF 45 → 40).
- However, this increases its ending lag by 2 frames, making it more difficult to chain multiple neutral aerials without landing.
- The first hit no longer has set knockback (55 set/100 scaling → 50 base/25 scaling), and deals more knockback to grounded opponents (55 set/100 scaling → 65 base/75 scaling), improving its combo potential on landing, despite its increased SDI multiplier (1.0x → 1.4x).
- However, this makes the first hit transition into the second hit less consistently on aerial opponents at very high percentages.
- The second hit has less knockback scaling (130 → 120), improving its combo potential but worsening its KO power.
- The first hit sends at lower angles (86°/78°/74° → 74°/80°/68°). Two of its hitboxes now send grounded opponents at lower angles as well (86°/78° → 68°/74°).
- The first hit has reduced hitbox sizes (5.0u/6.5u/5.5u → 6.0/4.0/3.5), slightly reducing its range.
- The second hit has altered hitbox sizes (4.8u/6.0u/5.0u → 5.2/6.0/3.8). This makes it easier to connect from afar, but slightly harder to connect up close.
- Neutral aerial transitions faster into the second hit (frame 20 → 13), with its total duration mostly reduced as well (FAF 45 → 40).
- Forward aerial:
- Sweetspotted Knee Smash deals more damage (19% → 22%), albeit with its knockback scaling compensated (93 → 81). This damage increase also makes it much harder to punish on landing if shielded.
- The move's reduced landing lag increases the usefulness of its late hit's bonus trip chance, allowing Captain Falcon to get true followups if it trips the opponent.
- Back aerial:
- It has altered knockback (25 base/100 scaling → 27/97), KOing slightly later.
- Up aerial:
- It has slightly less ending lag (FAF 34 → 32), improving its combo potential into itself.
- It has one frame more startup (frame 6 → 7) with no animation change, making it unable to hit opponents right in front of Falcon.
- It has one frame more landing lag (9 frames → 10). Combined with the decreased shieldstun for aerial attacks, this makes it much less safe on shield.
- It deals less damage (clean: 11%/10% → 10%/9%; late: 10%/9% → 9%/8%).
- The clean hit has more base knockback, but less knockback scaling (16 base/100 scaling → 20/96) and sends at a lower angle (70° → 66°). Combined with its lower damage, these changes improve its combo ability, but hinder its KO potential.
- Down aerial:
- The removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes improves down aerial's combo potential onstage, compounded further by its reduced landing lag.
Throws and other attacks
- Falcon has altered swing animations for battering items like the Beam Sword, no longer performing a stab forward when using a forward smash. This applies to all except his dash attack.
- Grabs:
- Standing and pivot grabs have less startup (standing: frame 7 → 6; pivot: frame 12 → 10).
- All grabs have more ending lag (FAF 31 → 36 (standing); 38 → 44 (dash); 37 → 39 (pivot)).
- All grabs have less range on aerial opponents (standing/pivot: 3.3u → 1.65; dash: 2.6u → 1.3).
- Due to Falcon's increased traction, dash grab does not cause him to retain as much horizontal momentum. This significantly decreases its range.
- Pummel:
- Pummel deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
- It deals more hitlag (4 frames → 14), but has much less startup (frame 4 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 16 → 7).
- Forward throw:
- Forward throw's first hit deals less damage (5% → 3.5%; 9% → 7.5% total).
- Due to Falcon's increased traction no longer allowing him to retain horizontal momentum during the throw, it has lost its combo potential.
- Back throw:
- Back throw's first hit deals less damage (5% → 3.5%; 9% → 7.5% total).
- Up throw:
- Up throw's release deals more damage (3% → 5%; 7% → 9% total), allowing it to KO more reliably at high percents despite its reduced knockback (80 base/110 scaling → 68/100) and very slightly lower angle (85° → 84°).
- Down throw:
- Down throw has less base knockback (80 → 65), but more knockback scaling (45 → 70). Combined with Falcon's increased traction no longer allowing him to retain horizontal momentum during the throw, this hinders its combo potential past low and mid percents despite its higher angle (65° → 68°); most notably, this removes his semi-guaranteed setups into forward aerial at high percents.
- Edge attack:
- Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 10%).
Special moves
- Falcon Punch:
- It has less ending lag when not reversed (FAF 110 → 104).
- It has significantly altered knockback (grounded/aerial/aerial reversed: 0 base/90 scaling → 93/59; grounded reversed: 0 base/90 scaling → 85/65). This makes it no longer unsafe on hit at low percents (as in previous games), and significantly increases its KO power despite its reduced knockback scaling (for reference, it can KO middleweights at 55% from the center of Final Destination).
- Both versions have larger hitboxes (grounded/reversed: 4.0u/2.5u/3.5u → 4.5/2.5/4.0; aerial/aerial reversed: 4.6u/2.875u/4.025u → 5.175/2.875/4.6).
- Falcon Punch does not move Falcon as far when performing the move, slightly reducing its range despite its larger hitboxes.
- Like several other powerful attacks in the game, Falcon Punch triggers Special Zoom when it successfully hits an opponent.
- Falcon Punch's flames are more pronounced and better resemble an actual falcon model than in Smash 4. In addition, the falcon particle effect lingers for much longer.
- Raptor Boost:
- Both versions deal more damage (9% grounded/8% aerial → 10% both), with knockback not compensated on the aerial version, improving the meteor smash's KO potential.
- Grounded Raptor Boost has less startup (inert detector: frame 16 → 10), and less ending lag if it misses (FAF 80 → 72).
- Falcon has damage-based armor (10%) on the grounded version right before the uppercut comes out (frames 1-6). This significantly improves its use for zonebreaking.
- The grounded uppercut has a reduced hitlag multiplier (2.0x → 1.5x), making it harder to DI.
- The grounded uppercut has more startup (frame 4 → 5).
- However, it has much less ending lag (FAF 36 → 29) and inflicts 3 additional frames of hitstun, greatly improving its combo potential.
- Aerial Raptor Boost no longer causes helplessness or landing lag if the uppercut is activated, increasing its safety.
- One of the aerial uppercut's sourspots has been removed, with the meteor smash hitbox now having the highest priority, improving its reliability.
- The grounded uppercut sends at a lower angle (85° → 76°) and deals much less knockback (100 base/75 scaling → 82/55). While this improves its combo potential, it significantly reduces its KO power, no longer KOing opponents at realistic percentages without rage.
- The grounded uppercut has altered hitboxes, which are now attached to Falcon's body (startup: 7.0u → 6.0/5.5; ending: 7.0u → 4.5). This reduces its range.
- The move has a slightly altered animation.
- Falcon Dive:
- It covers more horizontal range and travels higher, and reversing it no longer decreases its horizontal distance.
- It has less landing lag (30 frames → 24).
- One of the move's grabboxes has increased size (4.5u → 5.0), and a higher position (Y-axis displacement: 12.0 → 13.0), improving the move's protection from above, as well as its reach, while only marginally reducing its consistency against grounded opponents.
- The throw has less ending lag (FAF 61 → 55).
- The throw deals more damage (12% → 13%; 17% → 18% total) and has altered knockback (40 base/82 scaling → 85/62). Overall, this improves its KO potential.
- The hitbox when Falcon latches onto an opponent deals knockback to bystanders (50 base/100 scaling, at an angle of 361), instead of simply damaging them, making the move safer to use in doubles or free-for-alls.
- Connecting with the throw no longer gives RCO lag.
- Falcon Dive has Captain Falcon flash with an orange tint when grabbing an opponent. It additionally has a new animation, in which he grabs his opponent with one hand while leaning more similar to Dark Dive in SSB4 onward, and the flip after grabbing an opponent has him spin slightly.
- The move's sound effects no longer cut off when grabbing an opponent.
- Falcon Kick:
- Grounded Falcon Kick has less startup (frame 18 → 15), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 74 → 71).
- The grounded version's clean hit deals more damage (13% → 15%), all of its hits have more knockback scaling (clean: 60 → 84; mid: 40 → 60; late: 60 → 65), and they launch at a much more horizontal angle (clean: 80° → 52°; mid: 68° → 52°; late: 50° → 46°). This increases its KO ability overall, with the clean hit remaining mostly the same from center stage save for its angle, which allows it to KO earlier near edges.
- Aerial Falcon Kick has much less landing lag (48 frames → 36), making it safer as a landing option.
- The aerial version deals more knockback (clean: 40 base/60 scaling → 80/52; mid/late: 40 base/65 scaling → 80/46; landing: 20 scaling → 35). This improves the clean hit's KO potential (now KOing at around 150% from center stage) and makes the entire move safer on hit.
- The aerial version's landing hit sends at a lower angle (80 → 60). This makes it harder to punish.
- The aerial version's mid and late hits deal less damage (mid: 13% → 12%; late: 11% → 9%). This worsens their KO potential despite their higher knockback.
- Blue Falcon:
- The starting hit has smaller hitboxes (19.0u/22.0u/19.0u → 16.0/18.0/16.0) with altered displacements (hitbox 0: 10.0 Z-axis displacement → 13; hitbox 2: 50.0 Z-axis displacement → 45). This significantly reduces its range, especially right in front of Falcon.
- The finishing hit has less knockback scaling (165 → 135), no longer being a potential One-hit KO, and rendering it only slightly above average in strength overall.
- Blue Falcon releases flames on both sides when the Blue Falcon itself is on the racetrack, making it appear much like a falcon itself.
- The track Captain Falcon drives on sports a new design with no side rails, better matching the rail-less sections of F-Zero race tracks.
Update history
Captain Falcon has been buffed via update 3.1.0. Back aerial's knockback was increased, which slightly restored its KO potential after it was initially nerfed in the transition from SSB4. Knee Smash's sweetspot and Falcon Kick's clean hit were both made easier to land, thanks to adjustments to their hitboxes. Captain Falcon's close range options and combo game were also improved: forward tilt's base knockback was increased, up tilt's lag was decreased, and Raptor Boost's uppercut gained additional hitstun and higher damage-based armor alongside a marginal decrease to its startup.
- Forward tilt has more base knockback (50 → 60).
- Up tilt has less startup lag (frame 17 → 14), with its total duration also being decreased (FAF 40 → 37).
- Knee Smash's sweetspot is larger (3u → 3.75u).
- Back aerial has more knockback (25 (base)/94 (scaling) → 27/97).
- Raptor Boost's uppercut has less startup lag (frame 6 → 5) and deals 3 more frames of hitstun. These changes improve its combo potential.
- Raptor Boost's armor has a higher damage threshold (8% → 10%).
- Falcon Kick's clean hit has a longer duration (frames 15-17 → 15-19 (grounded), 16-18 → 16-20 (aerial)), with its total duration also remaining the same.
Technical changelist 3.1.0
Changed | Before | After |
---|---|---|
Up tilt frame 1-16 | No Frame speed multiplier | FSM: 0.8125× |
Raptor Boost frame 1-7 | No frame speed multiplier | FSM: 0.8× |
Moveset
- Captain Falcon can wall jump.
For a gallery of Captain Falcon's hitboxes, see here.
Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.
Name | Damage | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Neutral attack | 1.5% | Two straight punches followed by a knee strike. Alternatively, the first two punches can be followed by a series of punches, culminating in an underhand punch that has very high base knockback. The infinite and underhand punch have deceptively high range, being able to reach fighters slightly further out than his normal two-punch knee strike. The first two hits can also lock. | ||
1.5% | ||||
5% | ||||
0.6% (loop), 3% (last) | ||||
Forward tilt | ↗ | 10% (foot), 9% (leg) | A roundhouse kick that can be angled. The move has a sweetspot on Captain Falcon's foot, and a slightly weaker sourspot on his leg. A bit slower than neutral attack, but has more range over it, and can start tech chase situations at mid percents. Angling the move increases its damage, and angling down allows it to hit short characters effectively, which Captain Falcon struggles with. | |
→ | 9% (foot), 8% (leg) | |||
↘ | 10% (foot), 9% (leg) | |||
Up tilt | Wheel Kick | 11% | An axe kick that travels in a very circular motion. This move is a very dangerous for opponents being very quick, hard to punish, and meteor smashes both grounded and aerial opponents. Useful for creating grounded combos or hitting opponents jumping over the ledge and slightly high recoveries. | |
Down tilt | 10% | A sweep kick with horizontal knockback, making it useful for edgeguarding because of this trajectory, as well as its kill power and ability to hit ledge hangs. Has high starting lag for a tilt. | ||
Dash attack | 10% (clean), 6% (late) | A shoulder tackle that grants a lot of forward distance. Useful for punishing landings and can occasionally start combos due to its diagonal trajectory and speed, but it is punishable on shield like most dash attacks. It has increased knockback compared to the previous installment, making it a situational KOing move. | ||
Forward smash | ↗ | 20% | Rears back and performs a lunging backhanded punch while posing, which has a flame effect. Has high starting and ending lag, but the move has a high range since Captain Falcon rears back, which can cause other moves to completely whiff. Also can be angled, increasing its damage slightly. | |
→ | 19% | |||
↘ | 20% | |||
Up smash | 7%/12% (hit 1), 14%/13% (hit 2) | Performs a 540 kick. A potent move that despite its slow startup, has low ending lag and deceptive horizontal range. Both hits deal more damage at the upper portion of Captain Falcon's leg. At low to mid percents, it can combo into an up aerial against fast-fallers, and a decent anti air due to hitting twice and having leg intangibility. | ||
Down smash | 14% (hit 1), 18% (hit 2) | Kicks forward and then backward. The back kick is more powerful than the front kick, and makes the move useful for roll reads. Unlike most down smashes, it cannot hit ledge hangs, although it compensates by having decent horizontal range and somewhat low endlag. | ||
Neutral aerial | 4% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2) | Kicks forward twice. It is a reliable followup to his down throw at mid-percents, and transitions faster than the version in SSB4. The first hit has vertical knockback on grounded opponents, intended to reliably lead into the second hit, but if Falcon lands with only the first hit, it becomes a viable combo starter that can combo into his aerials. Also an effective edgeguard tool, due to being a multi-hit and having decent kill power offstage. | ||
Forward aerial | Knee Smash | 22% (clean sweetspot), 6% (clean sourspot), 3% (late) | Captain Falcon's renowned Knee Smash. It has very high knockback and an electric effect if sweetspotted, but is incredibly weak if sourspotted or hit with the late hit. It deals massive shield damage and has respectable landing lag, making it an excellent shield-pressuring tool if aimed well. Also used as a combo finisher or hard read tool against airborne opponents, such as if they airdodge predictably. | |
Back aerial | 13% (clean), 8% (late) | A quick backhanded strike. Low landing lag, making it one of Captain Falcon's best approach options. The move has good power, and it can combo into a dash attack or grab on landing at low percents. | ||
Up aerial | Overhead Kick | 10%/9% (clean), 9%/8% (late) | A flip kick. Has fast startup with a decently long duration, good all-around range (though not directly below him), low ending lag, minimal landing lag, low base knockback and autocancels in a short hop. All these factors make it a great combo starter, which can combo into itself, down air at low-mid percents and Falcon Dive near the blast zone. | |
Down aerial | 14% | Performs a double foot stomp. Meteor smashes when sweetspotted at his legs, and sends opponents horizontally if sourspotted at his hips. It can lock opponents at low to mid percents, and when it starts bouncing opponents off the ground, can combo into Knee Smash. | ||
Grab | — | Reaches out with a short range. While Captain Falcon's dash grab does not cause him to slide as much, it can no longer whiff up close since characters are not able to run through each other in Ultimate. | ||
Pummel | 1.3% | Knee strikes the opponent. | ||
Forward throw | 3.5% (hit 1), 4% (throw) | Punches the enemy, sending them forward diagonally. Can easily be followed up with a dash attack at low percentages, and KO at higher percents around 159% from the edge of Final Destination. | ||
Back throw | 3.5% (hit 1), 4% (throw) | Puts the enemy behind him and kicks them backwards, knocking them back diagonally. His best kill throw horizontally. KOing middleweights at around 147% at the edge of Final Destination with DI. | ||
Up throw | 4% (hit 1), 5% (throw) | Holds the enemy up and punches them upward with his left hand. Can kill off the top, useful for when Captain Falcon is not in position for forward or back throws to kill. KOing middleweights at around 181% on Final Destination. | ||
Down throw | 6% | Swings the foe overhead and then slams them on the ground with a single arm. Alongside Raptor Boost and the first hit of neutral aerial, this is one of Captain Falcon's main combo starters, being capable of starting combos into neutral aerial at 0%, up aerial at a wide range of percents, and even forward aerial at specific percentages as a KO setup. | ||
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
— | — | ||
Techs | — | — | ||
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
7% | Does a spin on the ground to kick both sides. | ||
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
6% | Spins around to do a double kick. | ||
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | Punches both sides. | ||
Edge attack Edge getups |
10% | Gets up and kicks with his right leg. | ||
Neutral special | Falcon Punch | 25% (ground), 28% (ground reverse), 22% (air), 25% (air reverse) | Winds up and releases his iconic fiery punch, yelling "Falcon Punch!" while doing so. Turning around while using the move increases its power, but slightly increases its startup lag, while landing an aerial punch lowers its power. Inputting up or down on the control pad when Captain Falcon is performing an aerial Falcon Punch will result in a very small boost in that direction. | |
Side special | Raptor Boost | 10% | Dashes forward, performing an uppercut on the ground if the move connects with an opponent, or an overhand in the air. The aerial version meteor smashes aerial opponents if they are directly below Falcon. On the ground, Captain Falcon is granted super armor right before the hit connects. The move will now deal the same damage regardless of whether it is performed on the ground or in the air. The aerial version will leave Captain Falcon helpless if the move does not connect against opponents. Unlike the version in SSB4, Raptor Boost is not a KO option due to its low knockback, thus making it better suited for starting aerial combos. | |
Up special | Falcon Dive | 5% (hit 1), 13% (throw) | Leaps upward and grabs any opponent that comes in range, launching them away with an explosion. If successful, Captain Falcon will flip backward while shouting "Yes!", and he can use the move again instead of becoming helpless. This is Falcon's main recovery move and works as a out of shield option due to being a command grab and deals high knockback. | |
Down special | Falcon Kick | 15%/11%/7% (ground), 15%/12%/9% (air), 9% (landing) | Bursts forward with a flaming high-speed kick, uttering "Falcon Kick!" in the process. If used on the ground, he will travel horizontally. If used in the air, he will plunge down at a diagonal angle. The move gets weaker as it continues, though the early hits have KO potential. | |
Final Smash | Blue Falcon | 10% (hit 1), 20% (hit 2), 10% (throw) | Calls in the Blue Falcon, which flies through the stage in front of him. If the Blue Falcon hits any opponents, a short cutscene plays where Captain Falcon is seen piloting the Blue Falcon, and he then runs over the caught opponents and sends them flying. Characters who are not hit during a successful attempt will stay in place (as they cannot be visible at this time) until the end of the move. Like certain other Final Smashes, if no one is hit when the Blue Falcon appears, the attack fails. |
On-screen appearance
- The Blue Falcon flies in and spins to a stop, Captain Falcon jumps out, and then the Blue Falcon speeds off. Like in previous games, Captain Falcon has the unique property where his jumping animation will differ based on facing direction (a simple vaulting jump if facing right, and a front flip if facing left).
Taunts
- Up taunt: Charges himself up with a fiery aura, similar to Falcon Dive's startup.
- Side taunt: Thrusts his arm out and gestures for his opponent to come closer, exclaiming "Come on!".
- Down taunt: Gives a salute to his right side while saying "Show me your moves!" When facing left, Captain Falcon extends his saluting arm behind him; this also shortens the taunt.
Idle poses
- Leans forward and thrusts his arm out.
- Similar to the first one, but he crouches slightly and thrusts his elbow out instead of his arm.
Victory poses
- Left: Charges up fiery energy. Based on one of his Smash 64 poses.
- Up: Performs a 540 kick, then does a crouching fighting pose.
- Right: Does three roundhouse kicks and then strikes a pose.
In competitive play
Many players have noticed Falcon’s higher learning curve in transition from Smash 4 to Ultimate. As a result, his player base has noticeably dropped, due to the fact that his once easy-to-use combos (which includes his dash grab and footstool combos) have became harder to use (for instance, the footstool combos don’t benefit him as much as they are now techable). As a result, while players such as Fatality and NickC have demonstrated Falcon can still make noticeable impacts in tournaments, the changes to his playstyle have required players to be more cautious in the neutral game. Opinions on him have varied between a solid mid-tier to a solid high-tier; however, with patch 3.1.0, with his options on his punish game becoming more reliable, his perception has risen slightly. While his representation is still relatively average compared to the rest of the cast, his results has begun to improve compared to launch.
Notable players
Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Spring 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from February 1st, 2019 to July 7th, 2019.
Active
- Fatality (#48) - One of the two best Captain Falcon players in the world. Placed 4th at Midwest Mayhem Ultimate, 5th at DreamHack Dallas 2019, 9th at Super Splat Bros, 17th at Frostbite 2019 and Port Priority 5, and 25th at Super Smash Con 2019. Has wins over kameme, MVD, Raito, Puppeh, Plup, Pelca, and Goblin.
- Glutonny (#14) - Uses Captain Falcon as secondary. Placed 1st at Albion 4 using Captain Falcon as one of his characters.
- Marss (#3) - Uses Captain Falcon as a secondary. Placed 1st at Smash Factor 8 and MONZA Ignition Speed Festival using Captain Falcon as one of his characters.
- NickC - One of the two best Captain Falcon players in the world. Placed 5th at NYXL Pop-Up! and Smash at The Paramount, 13th at Let's Make Moves, Glitch 6, and Shine 2019, and 17th at Super Smash Con 2019. He has defeated ScAtt, Mr E, Sinji, Lui$, Goblin, and MuteAce.
- Nishiya - One of the best Captain Falcon players in Japan. Placed 3rd in Sumabato SP 7, and 25th in Sumabato SP 2.
- Ogey - Considered to be the best Captain Falcon player in Europe. Placed 4th at SEL 4: Crêpes Strikes Back and 65th at EVO 2019 with both Captain Falcon and Wolf. Ranked 7th on the France Power Rankings.
Inactive
- Big D - One of the best Captain Falcon players in North America. Uses Captain Falcon as a secondary, and placed 4th at Don't Park on the Grass 2018 and 33rd at GENESIS 6. Hasn't officially dropped the character, but mainly focuses on playing Ice Climbers.
Classic Mode: Up Close and Personal
Captain Falcon fights opponents who specialize in close-range combat. To fit with the theme, Captain Falcon fights Giga Bowser as his final boss, the one with by far the least amount of projectiles (one).
Round | Opponent | Stage | Music | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Donkey Kong | Jungle Japes | Battle for Storm Hill | |
2 | Ganondorf | Gerudo Valley | Gerudo Valley | |
3 | Ryu | Suzaku Castle | Ryu Stage | |
4 | Roy | Arena Ferox | Attack - Fire Emblem | |
5 | Mii Brawler (x6) | Coliseum | The Devoted | Horde Battle. Mii Brawler costume combinations:
|
6 | Little Mac | Boxing Ring | Jogging / Countdown | |
Bonus Stage | ||||
Final | Bowser , then Giga Bowser | Final Destination | King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3 (Bowser) Giga Bowser (Giga Bowser) |
A Maxim Tomato appears after defeating Bowser in the final round. |
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Captain Falcon has Fire Field (Remix) accompany the credits.
Role in World of Light
Captain Falcon was among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.
During the opening cutscene, Captain Falcon was present when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. He attempted to escape in the Blue Falcon, but Galeem vaporized him and his vehicle before he could do so. He was then imprisoned by Galeem along with the rest of the fighters (excluding Kirby). A puppet fighter of him can be seen behind Mario in the group of puppet fighters under Galeem's control.
Captain Falcon can be found early in the mode if the player goes through Villager's path instead of those of Marth and Sheik. He is in the middle of a racetrack that can only be traversed with the assistance of the Pico spirit.
Fighter Battle
No. | Image | Name | Type | Power | Stage | Music |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 | Captain Falcon | Attack | 3,300 | Port Town Aero Dive (Ω form) | F-ZERO Medley |
Spirits
Captain Falcon's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Captain Falcon in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.
- Captain Falcon Spirit.png
591. Captain Falcon
In Spirit battles
As the main opponent
Spirit | Battle parameters | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Image | Name | Series | Enemy Fighter(s) | Type | Power | Stage | Rules | Conditions | Music |
41 | Bullet Bill | Super Mario series | •Captain Falcon Team (×4) | 1,800 | Mushroom Kingdom | •Item Tidal Wave •Item: Bullet Bill |
•Certain items will appear in large numbers •The enemy is easily distracted by items |
Airship Theme - Super Mario Bros. 3 | ||
141 | Funky Kong | Donkey Kong series | •Captain Falcon •Diddy Kong •Donkey Kong |
9,000 | Kongo Jungle | •Item: Bullet Bill | •The enemy is easily distracted by items | Funky's Fugue | ||
437 | Machamp | Pokémon series | •Giant Captain Falcon (×2) | 3,900 | Wrecking Crew | N/A | •The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power •The enemy favors neutral attacks •The enemy is giant |
Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (64) | ||
447 | Hitmonlee | Pokémon series | •Captain Falcon (x2) | 3,600 | Suzaku Castle | N/A | •The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power | Pokémon Gym/Evolution - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue | ||
487 | Blaziken | Pokémon series | •Captain Falcon | 3,800 | Coliseum | •Uncontrollable Speed | •The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •The enemy is very fast and can't stop quickly |
Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire | ||
597 | Baba | F-Zero series | •Captain Falcon | 1,900 | Big Blue | N/A | •Stamina battle •The enemy has increased move speed |
Dream Chaser | ||
601 | Blood Falcon | F-Zero series | •Captain Falcon (×2) | 9,400 | Port Town Aero Dive | N/A | •The enemy's special moves have increased power •The enemy favors special moves •The enemy has increased move speed |
Car Select | ||
764 | Zero (Metal Gear Solid 3) | Metal Gear Solid series | •Captain Falcon •Snake |
3,500 | Shadow Moses Island | •Move Speed ↓ | •You have reduced move speed after a little while | Snake Eater | ||
872 | Duo | Mega Man series | •Captain Falcon (x2) | 3,700 | Wily Castle (Ω form) | N/A | •The enemy's neutral special has increased power •The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch •Stamina battle |
We're Robots (Dr. Wily Stage 2) | ||
984 | Guile | Street Fighter series | •Captain Falcon | 13,700 | Pilotwings (Ω form) | •Assist Trophy Enemies (Guile) •Jump Power ↓ |
•Stamina battle •Hostile assist trophies will appear •All fighters have reduced jump power |
Guile Stage Type A | ||
995 | Nash | Street Fighter series | •Captain Falcon | 3,700 | Halberd (Ship deck) | •Metal Shift •Jump Power ↓ |
•The enemy will occasionally turn metal when the enemy's at high damage •Stamina battle |
Guile Stage | ||
1,107 | Fighting Alloy Team | Super Smash Bros. series | •Captain Falcon Team (×4) •Zelda Team (×4) •Mario Team (×4) •Kirby Team (×4) |
3,300 | Final Destination (Battlefield form) | N/A | •Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle | Cruel Smash | ||
1,126 | Mach Rider | Mach Rider series | •Captain Falcon | 1,700 | Port Town Aero Drive | N/A | •The enemy has increased move speed •The enemy starts the battle with a Super Scope |
Mach Rider | ||
1,136 | Eagle | Advance Wars series | •Captain Falcon | 1,800 | Corneria | •Defense ↑ •Attack Power ↑ •Item: Shooting Types |
•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while •The enemy has increased defense after a little while •The enemy starts the battle with a Staff |
Garage | ||
1,209 | Drake Redcrest | Chibi-Robo! series | •Captain Falcon •Tiny Metal R.O.B. |
1,700 | Living Room | N/A | •Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy's neutral special has increased power •The enemy loves to taunt |
ST01: Roll Out, Wonderful 100! | ||
1,242 | Nick | Captain Rainbow | •Captain Falcon | 1,500 | Fountain of Dreams | •Assist Trophy Enemies (Takamaru) •Item: Super Star |
•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy is easily distracted by items |
Minor Circuit (Original) | ||
1,279 | Henry Fleming | Codename: S.T.E.A.M. | •Captain Falcon | 1,900 | New Pork City (Battlefield form) | •Item: Shooting Types | •The enemy starts the battle with a Rage Blaster | Trouble Brewing II | ||
1,310 | Ryuji Sakamoto | Persona series | •Captain Falcon •Mii Gunner (Pirate Hat, Steampunk Getup) |
4,800 | Luigi's Mansion (Battlefield form) | •N/A | •Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy starts the battle with a Home-Run Bat |
Last Surprise |
As a minion
Spirit | Battle parameters | Inspiration | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Image | Name | Series | Enemy Fighter(s) | Type | Power | Stage | Rules | Conditions | Music | Character |
260 | Alfonzo & Engineer Link | The Legend of Zelda series | •Toon Link •Captain Falcon |
3,600 | Spirit Train | •Attack Power ↑ | •The enemy's dash attacks have increased power •The enemy has increased attack power after a little while •The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you |
Full Steam Ahead | Alfonzo | ||
595 | Jody Summer | F-Zero series | •Zero Suit Samus •Captain Falcon |
9,400 | Big Blue | N/A | •The enemy has increased move speed and reduced weight | White Land (Remix) | John Tanaka | ||
604 | Black Shadow | F-Zero series | •Ganondorf •Captain Falcon |
13,500 | Port Town Aero Dive (Battlefield form) | •Sudden Damage | •You'll occasionally take sudden damage after a little while | Devil's Call in Your Heart | Blood Falcon | ||
1,306 | Phantom Thieves of Hearts | Persona series | •Joker •Pikachu •Captain Falcon •Zero Suit Samus •Chrom •Sheik |
13,300 | Mementos | •Sudden Final Smash •Item: Daybreak Parts |
•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash when the enemy's at high damage •Reinforcements will appear during the battle |
Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There | Ryuji Sakamoto |
Alternate costumes
Gallery
On Boxing Ring.
Using Raptor Boost on Figure-8 Circuit.
Using Falcon Punch on Port Town Aero Dive.
Wearing the Blood Falcon costume on Battlefield.
Struck by Falco's Falco Phantasm on Pokémon Stadium.
Struck by the Ice Climbers' Squall Hammer on Summit.
Taunting on Big Blue.
Character Showcase Video
Trivia
- A pre-release screenshot for the game shows Captain Falcon in his Blood Falcon costume, with the logo on the back reading "Hell Hawk"; in the final game, this is only true for the Japanese release of the game, as other languages translate it to "Blood Hawk".
- Captain Falcon's fighter number, #11, is coincidentally his Vs. Mode unlock number; he is the only character in Ultimate with this distinction.
- Although most characters from the original Super Smash Bros. are numbered by their debut game's original release date, Captain Falcon and Ness can be considered an exception; F-Zero was originally released in 1990, four years before EarthBound. Additionally, in Super Smash Bros., Captain Falcon will always be fought first if the unlock conditions for both him and Ness are met simultaneously. However, it is also possible that Ness is numbered per the 1989 release date of EarthBound Beginnings, which is also how he is ordered in Brawl's All-Star Mode.
- Captain Falcon is the first character to be unlocked when clearing Classic Mode as Fox; this is a reference to how both characters originate from science-fiction franchises (F-Zero and Star Fox), both involve their vehicles (the Blue Falcon and the Arwings) as Final Smashes, and are both Smash 64 veterans.
- There is also a character in F-Zero X and F-Zero GX named James McCloud, who is heavily based on Fox's father of the same name.
- Captain Falcon and Falco both appear as Fox's opponents in Event 43: Birds of Prey in Melee.
- Captain Falcon also occupies the sixth column in Brawl's character selection alongside the entire Star Fox cast, including Falco and Wolf; all three characters are included in Fox's unlock column.
- All four fighters also appear in Cloud's Classic Mode route.
- Captain Falcon's stock icon bears a strong resemblance to his stock icon from Smash 4.
- Captain Falcon's render pose greatly resembles Mario's pose in Brawl.
- Captain Falcon is the only unlockable fighter, as well as one of only two characters (the other being Mario) to face Giga Bowser as their final boss in Classic Mode.
- Oddly, no sound effect plays whenever a character gets hit by the lower hitbox of the first hit of Captain Falcon's up smash. This is due to the hitbox having no sound assigned in his moveset files.
- Interestingly, both of Captain Falcon's falling animations uses the incorrect animation when moving forward and backwards in midair. He uses his secondary falling animation when moving during his first falling animation and vice versa.
F-Zero universe | |
---|---|
Fighter | Captain Falcon (SSB · SSBM · SSBB · SSB4 · SSBU) |
Assist Trophy | Samurai Goroh |
Stages | Mute City · Big Blue · Port Town Aero Dive · Mute City SNES F-Zero Grand Prix (Adventure Mode) |
Vehicles | F-Zero Racers (Blue Falcon) · Falcon Flyer |
Trophies, Stickers and Spirits | Trophies (SSBM · SSBB · SSB4) · Stickers · Spirits |
Music | Brawl · SSB4 · Ultimate |
Masterpiece | F-Zero |