Captain Falcon (SSBB)

Captain Falcon in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Captain Falcon
Universe	F-Zero
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Blue Falcon
Tier	F (33)

Captain Falcon (キャプテン・ファルコン, Kyaputen Farukon), whose full name is Douglas Jay Falcon, appears as an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Originating from the F-Zero universe, Captain Falcon returns once again to compete in Brawl.

Captain Falcon is currently ranked 33 on the tier list as a result of several factors. His attack speed and killing power are severely nerfed in comparison with Melee. Falcon's aerials tend to have poor hitboxes, making safe approaches nearly impossible, especially when considering his lack of projectiles. The impact of the new Brawl physics arguably hit Captain Falcon the hardest; less hitstun and the loss of L-canceling result in drastically fewer, weaker combos, and a less effective dashdance and inability to moonwalk give him even fewer options. Fairly poor out of shield options due to his very short grab range and mediocre range in his jab, predictable recovery, and low traction are also cited as problems for Falcon's metagame. As a result, he has many poor match-ups as well as poor overall tournament results.

How to unlock

To unlock Captain Falcon, the player must do one of the following:

• Play 70 brawls.
• Beating Classic Mode on Normal difficulty or higher in under 12 minutes, and after doing either of these, defeating Captain Falcon in a brawl match will unlock him.
• Alternately, one can have him join the player's party in the Subspace Emissary, which will unlock him.

Attributes

Captain Falcon is a heavy character with great momentum canceling, especially vertically due his very quick fast falling speed, with strong attacks, and has the second fastest running speed, second to Sonic. However, though his speed is useful, his dash has very low traction, causing him to trip more often than other characters, although he has the shortest tripping animation in the game. His attacks mostly consist of kicks and punches, including the famed Falcon Punch, which is one of the most powerful moves knockback wise in the game. However, it is a very situational move because it has a very slow start-up and high amount of ending lag. He is also capable of performing Wall jumps. He has the second fastest falling speed, but his air speed is one of the best in the game.

Many of his moves have high knockback and damage, lending him considerable power, but they also have considerable start-up time and small sweetspots. His standard special, the Falcon Punch, deals high damage, can KO at early percentages, and can be reversed in direction after start-up, but its extremely slow start-up makes it extremely situational in actual play. Raptor Boost makes him rush forward, then do a quick fiery uppercut that pops opponents in the air, but the abysmal shieldstun and slow start-up makes it very easy to block or shield and if he misses it he falls with considerable ending lag. When used in the air, he will instead swing downward, Meteor Smashing targets. This makes it useful when recovering, since it can meteor smash edge-guarders and even edgehoggers but the attack is slow, predictable, and it leaves Captain Falcon more vulnerable than the Falcon Dive. Raptor Boost also has the ability to cut through most projectiles, but Captain Falcon lacks a projectile himself. Falcon Kick sends him rocketing forward when used on the ground, and downward and slightly forward when used in midown aerial. It deals decent damage and knockback, but it has below-average start-up and the hitbox is rather small, making it only good at surprise, quickly get downward or punish laggy moves. Contrary to the name, Falcon Dive sends him upwards with a little horizontal movement, which gives him a great horizontal recovery when combining it with great air speed. If the Falcon Dive connects, it will deal damage to an opponent and Captain Falcon will jump off from them (sometimes stage spiking when used against edge-guarders, although it can be teched to prevent that) and he will be able to use Falcon Dive again. Falcon Dive can also grab edgehoggers if they are within its grab range. In terms of recovery, though, Falcon Dive is a slow move, can't auto-sweetspot ledges if he is using it in the opposite direction of the edge and it is easy to edgeguard because it has no grab box directly above him and although Captain Falcon has a very big ledge sweetspot range, Falcon Dive is easily edge hogged, and if he still manages to get to the stage, his recovery leaves him in a fairly high landing lag, high enough to often allow the edge-hogger to get up in time to punish it. Although it is a minor problem, Captain Falcon suffers from the landing lag glitch. Captain Falcon's very fast falling speed makes recovery problems even worse.

Many of his moves make powerful finishers. His forward aerial (informally known by many different names, of which "Knee of Justice" is probably the most popular) is known for having extreme knockback, but it is hard to sweetspot and has fairly slow start-up (the first frames of it are not avoidable on reaction but are still predictable). His back aerial has good start-up and knockback, his down aerial is a powerful meteor smash, and his forward smash deals high damage with very high knockback scaling. Even though most of his attacks have good power and damage output, they have considerable start-up lag, unfavorable hitboxes (which can make it difficult to land his attacks), and his little amount of disjoints can become a major trouble against characters with disjoints that outranges him, especially the faster ones. His throws chain well, but Captain Falcon himself is an easy target for chain grabbing and comboing (like Ike's jab canceling) due to his heavy weight, large size, and fast falling speed. All of this results in a poor approach.

Falcon's critical weakness lies in his abysmal shieldstun, which, combined with his slow ground attack speed and lack of projectiles, results in a lack of a reliable approach. His poor, small hitboxes in his aerials and fast falling speed only add to his approach problems, and also make it difficult for him to hit grounded characters from the air. His below average attack speed, unfavorable hitboxes, and only decent range makes approaching with Captain Falcon difficult, meaning he is easily camped. Though, his high mobility does help during approaches. Captain Falcon also has a difficult time handling small characters, because most of his attacks have very small and no low hitboxes.

In the end, Captain Falcon relies on his weight, survivability, power, decent range, and mobility to make up for his abysmal approaches, poor amount of disjointed hitboxes and his often sluggish attacks. He can KO and rack up damage quite easily when the opportunity presents itself, though he lacks a quick ground killing move.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

Captain Falcon has been severely nerfed from Melee to Brawl (one of the biggest nerfs between the two games, despite having some good buffs). His attacks are slower and have been given less favorable hitboxes, which makes safe approaches and landing blows difficult. Additionally, his traction is significantly lower, now one of the lowest. Captain Falcon's down aerial now has a sweetspot, smaller hitbox, is weaker, and can no longer Nipple Spike, meaning that he has a harder time meteor smashing in general. The Knee Smash (forward aerial) is much harder to sweet spot and is slightly weaker in terms of knockback (though it is stronger in terms of damage output, if only by 1%). In recovery, his falling speed is lower (but it is still very fast in comparison to other characters in Brawl). The Falcon Dive can now grab edge-hoggers and has a larger grab-zone, making Captain Falcon harder to edgehog. It also travels slightly more distance vertically, but much less horizontal distance; and can break targets in "Target Smash!!" mode. On the downside, Falcon Kick no longer enables him to regain his second jump. The Falcon Punch can now be reversed for a short time during the startup. The Falcon Punch has less startup time, but lower knockback. Captain Falcon is now able to swing the Home Run Bat like other characters can. Because of this, he can now properly use a Home-Run Bat for the Home-Run Contest. Captain Falcon's forward smash has been weakened significantly (now has only slightly above-average knockback, conpared from being the 3rd most powerful forward smash in Melee). However, his down smash is slightly stronger in terms of knockback, adding up to his few buffs. Raptor Boost is easier to use and makes a "leapfrog" effect when the attack connects in the air, making it much safer to use in the air.

In terms of cosmetics, Captain Falcon has a slightly new design from F-Zero GX, most notably his scarf (from F-Zero GP Legend). His victory theme changed to the finish from F-Zero GX/AX. He has a new "toppling" animation.

Captain Falcon enters the battlefield in Brawl

Moveset

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - Punches twice then knees the opponent, which is followed by a series of punches. The first two punches and the kick do 4% and 5% respectively, and the punches at the end do 1% each. A good jab-canceling move, the first hits can lead into a grab. Extremely fast, this is Captain Falcon's fastest attack, start-up lag wise (3 frames), though poor shieldstun.
• Dash attack - Rams a shoulder into the opponent. Quick (hits on frame 7-16), but few reliable follow-ups, extreme unsafety on shields due lack of shieldstun and high ending lag means it's still an unsafe approach move. When the hit is successfully landed, it can lead into his neutral aerial, running up smash, or some other aerial combo. Does 9-12% damage. The attack, though short in duration, is at its strongest when it first comes out.
• Strong side - Roundhouse kick. Mediocre range. This can be angled up or down. At higher damage percentages, near the ledge, it can lead into Falcon Dive, The Knee, or a down aerial. Best used as a quick punisher, though fairly awkward in general. Can KO when angled up at very high damage percentages, though overwise fairly weak. Does 7-10% damage. Hits on frame 9-11.
• Strong up - An Axe kick with good horizontal knockback. This move's hitbox stretches from above Falcon, giving it some anti-air properties, to dropping in front of him. Above average KO power with good range, with a disjoint slightly extending the range, though somewhat slow (hitbox out on frame 17 and it ends on frame 22). It also moves Falcon forward a little. When used near the ledge, it can lead into a down or forward aerial. Inflicts 10-13% damage.
• Strong down - Does a sweep kick with vertical knockback. This move has lost practically the combo ability it had in Melee, the only real combo being at moderate-high damages, where it can lead into his Knee. The starting lag is predictable, and ending lag prevents any quick follow up, usually giving the foe enough time to escape at lower damages. It has decent horizontal reach. Does 10%. Hits on frame 11-15.

Smash

• Side smash - Rears back and jabs an elbow forward, making a fire effect in contact. Great knockback scaling but its low base knockback makes its killing power only slightly above average among forward smashes (though the high knockback scaling makes momentum canceling not very effective on it). It also has fairly good reach, but slow (although is still his fastest smash) and has abysmal shieldstun. Can also be angled. Does 19-26% damage. Hits on frame 18-20.
• Up smash - Kicks into the air twice. Good knockback for a up smash, especially for a multi-hit up smash. This is one of Falcon's best moves due to the good vertical range, power, damage output, its usefulness as a running up smash (due to Captain Falcon's very fast dash speed), and juggling ability. It has very poor horizontal reach, which can make it difficult to land on grounded opponents, but the horizontal disjoint makes the range better than it looks and using it during a dash can help with this problem. First kick does 8-11%, second hit does 13-18%. Total, 21-29% damage. This move can be followed by Falcon's up special or simply his up aerial. Start-up of 22 frames.
• Down smash - A kick forward, then backward. Very high horizontal knockback with great reach and little vertical knockback as well, though rather easy to DI at mid to high damage percentages. If the move connects when the foe is directly on Falcon, the first hit has a small trapping hitbox below him so the foe gets hit into the second kick, though quite rare. Unlike most of his moves, it's safe on shields and has a quick charge release, making it one of his better moves. However, it is one of the slower down smashes in the game. Does 16-18% for each kick. Surprisingly, this is Captain Falcon's strongest and most reliable smash attack, KO percentage wise. First kick on frame 19-21, second kick hits on frame 29-31.

Other

• Ledge attack - Flips over and brings his foot down. Very fast with good range. Does 10%. The only ledge attack that is stronger than its 100% counterpart.
• 100% ledge attack - Cimbs up the ledge and does an uppercut attack. Medium Speed, though short range. Does 8%. The only 100% ledge attack that does less damage than the normal ledge attack.
• Floor attack - Spin kicks his foes. Very fast.
• Trip attack - Gets up and hits forward and backward with his fist.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial - Kicks horizontally twice, first hit does 4%, then 6% damage, for 10% total damage if they both connect. The first hit has very low set knockback which is intended to lead directly into the second hit. Has almost no landing lag. It's purpose from Melee has been reduced dramatically due to the lower hitstun, making both kicks connect much harder, and it's duration is risky to use airborne. If the first kick is autocancelled, it can lead to a grab or jab. Start-up of 7 frames.
• Forward aerial - Knee Smash; jabs a knee forward. If sourspotted, it deals 3% with extremely low knockback, but if sweetspotted, it deals 19% with extremely high knockback, making it an excellent horizontal finisher, although it is very hard to land due to 14 frames start-up, sweetspot lasting only 1 frame and the back counts as a semi-sourspot (very weak but still stronger than hitting in later frames, though it is much less useful than hitting later). When sweetspotted, an electric effect can be seen. Also, the sour-spotted knee can trip opponents if they are not airborne, which has combo starting potential, goes well into a grab/smash. And against characters with poor recoveries, the sourspotted knee can edge guard them, or follow-up the Knee into his Up Aerial. Has high landing lag, but it can be completed in the air during a short hop before Captain Falcon lands.
• Back aerial - A quick backhand. Has high knockback when sweetspotted, although significantly less than his forward aerial. It has somewhat low reach but the sweetspot has a very short duration and the sourspot is exceedingly weak (its not as extreme as in the case of his forward aerial). Has some landing lag, though it is less than his forward and down aerials. Hits on frame 10-15.
• Up aerial - Kick flips with fast start-up and good all around range (though non directly below him). The attack does more horizontal knockback if hit at the tip but more vertical knockback if his body connects. Has almost no landing lag at all. One of his best moves and is easily his most versatile attack, it easily juggles or follows into another aerial, with good KO potential at high damage percentages. It can also edgeguard quite well and more reliably than his forward, down and back aerials. Does 12% damage when sweetspotted. Hits on frame 6-12.
• Down aerial - Stomps downward. This is a meteor smash with above average power when his boots hit the target. When it connects on his body, it deals horizontal knockback, which means that the nipple spike has been removed. Even so, the knockback is surprisingly high for a non sweetspot and it can earn Captain Falcon many surprise KOs, especially since foes may DI the wrong way, thinking they are going down instead of horizontal. It has a fairly small hitbox, making it hard to land. This can also be completed like Ganondorf's Down Aerial following a short hop, but the horizontal range is much worse, making this much less effective than Ganondorf's and it has high landing lag should someone perform it too late in the short hop. Hits on frame 16-18.

Grabs & throws

• Grab: Captain Falcon's standing and pivot grab both have terrible range (in the standing one, it has the 2nd shortest horizontal grab range in the game, only slightly better than Ganondorf's, and the pivot grab one has 16 frames start-up to reduce its usefulness despite Captain Falcon's mobility), while his dash grab has fairly long ending lag (predictable as an approach and punishable when spot dodged.
• Pummel - Knees the enemy's midsection. A fast pummel. Does 2% damage.
• Forward throw - Punches the enemy and sends them forward. Can be followed by a dashing up smash for a KO, and the throw itself has some KO power when the opponent's damage percentage is high. Can also be followed with his dash attack, or even a Falcon Kick at medium damage percentages. Can be used to pseudo-chain throw the opponent at very low damage due to Captain Falcon's dashing speed. Leads into aerial follow ups near the ledge. Does 4% then 5% damage.
• Back throw - Puts the enemy behind him and kicks. First 4% then 5%. Looks identical to his back throw from the original SSB, though with much less KO potential. Usually only used to get the opponent offstage for a up aerial setup, but can lead into a backwards-running up smash.
• Up throw -Holds the enemy up and punches them upward with his left hand. Mainly upwards knockback, though it appears to be slightly angled. Can combine with other attacks well, such as his up special and up aerial. Does 3% then 4%. This is one of Falcon's more powerful throws in terms of knockback.
• Down throw - Flips opponent and throws them on the ground. Can combine with other attacks well, however this is heavily depending on the foe's DI reaction, weight, and damage. Usually a dashing up smash, a running short hop up aerial, or mindgames into another attack or down throw. In some cases at higher damages (usually around 130%), the foe is launched within range of an aerial. Does7% damage.

Special moves

Captain Falcon's special moves

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

Taunts

• Up taunt - Clenches his fists while surrounded by a fiery aura.
• Side taunt - Jumps back, extends his hand out, and says "Come on!"
• Down taunt - Gives a salute while saying "Show me your moves!" This taunt can be done faster if Captain Falcon is facing left.

On-Screen Appearance

• The Blue Falcon appears then Captain Falcon jumps out of it as it speeds off.

Captain Falcon's matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in the Subspace Emissary

In Subspace Emissary, Captain Falcon will team up with Captain Olimar and his Pikmin. When Olimar sends his Pikmin to attack a giant ROB, it wakes up the robot, causing it to shake off the Pikmin. Luckily, Captain Falcon drives his F-Zero machine straight towards them, jumps out in mid-motion, and Falcon Punches the ROB, thus destroying it, but upon landing, Olimar's remaining Pikmin (except for the red Pikmin beside Olimar) were killed when he slid into them. When Captain Falcon shouts "Falcon Punch!" in this Subspace Emissary Cutscene, it strongly resembles the sound bit from the N64 version of the game. Once the two get out of the forest, they find a Primid transport platform that is holding the trophied Donkey Kong hostage. The two watch as Diddy Kong falls from Falco's Arwing, and fires peanuts at the ship. After Diddy Kong revives DK, Captain Falcon grabs Olimar, and jumps off the ledge and onto the ship. Then the four must fight off a horde of Primids. Afterwards, the ship will take them into the secret Subspace HQ, where they will meet up with Samus, Pikachu, and, eventually, a friendly ROB.

Captain Falcon in the SSE

After fighting off a large army comprising of various Subspace troops with the others, the heroes are unable to stop the ROBs which arm the last remaining Subspace bombs. Captain Falcon seemed to be analyzing the power of the Subspace Bombs, because afterwards, he motions to everyone to "Get out of this place ASAP". Captain Falcon presses a few buttons on his wrist, summoning his ship, the Falcon Flyer. Everyone piles into the ship and prepares to escape the doomed base when they are attacked from behind by Meta Ridley. After defeating the monster, they escape the floating island where a giant explosion of subspace engulfs the island. (In fact, the explosion is so fatal, the island doesn't return to normal even after Tabuu is beaten. Instead, a light - shaped like an "X" - is in its place.) Captain Falcon joins with the other heroes and uses his ship to help in the assault on the Subspace Battleship. He continues to help throughout the rest of the story.

Towards the end, Captain Falcon and everyone else glimpse Tabuu. In a single, devastating act, Tabuu turns everyone into trophies. All are brought back to life due to the Dedede Badges and efforts of Kirby, Luigi, Ness, and Dedede. With the aid of Sonic, Tabuu becomes vulnerable, and a final battle between the characters and Tabuu begins. The player may pick Captain Falcon to fight Tabuu, if the player has found and picked up the Captain Falcon trophy.

Exclusive Stickers

The following stickers can only be used by Captain Falcon:

• Blue Falcon: [Specials: Direct] Attack + 3
• Capt. Falcon (F-Zero): [Slash] Resistance +23
• Capt. Falcon (F-Zero GX): [Arm, Leg] Attack + 8
• Capt. Falcon (F-Zero X): [Specials: Direct] Attack +19
• Gomar & Shioh: [Specials: Direct] Attack +10
• Samurai Goroh: [Arm] Attack +18
• Black Shadow (F-Zero GX):[Flame] Attack +25

Palette swap

File:Alt-cfalcon3.jpg

Captain Falcon's changeable clothing in SSBB

Trophy description

A skilled F-Zero pilot and resourceful bounty hunter. All that's known of his past is that he hails from Port Town. He's won fame and fortune outracing his opponents in his beloved Blue Falcon. His incredible athleticism and never-say-die attitude makes him the pilot to turn to in times of trouble.

: F-Zero

: F-Zero GX

Trivia

• Captain Falcon is one of the few characters to speak during The Subspace Emissary. He yells out "Falcon Punch!" while using the move on a giant R.O.B. and he says "Come on!" following with a snap to summon the Falcon Flyer.
• Captain Falcon is one of four characters who has a holstered weapon but does not use it.
• Captain Falcon has a two hit side smash with the Star Rod and Beam Sword.
• Captain Falcon is one of the only four characters to wear a helmet, the others being Olimar, Samus, and Wario's biker outfit.
• SSBB is the only Smash Bros. game to have Captain Falcon's scarf hanging out off his shirt.
• Captain Falcon can be seen in the "How To Play" video in the game, despite being a secret character.
• Captain Falcon and Ness are the only two characters to have their unlockability status change between games.
• KO percentage wise, Captain Falcon is the only character in Brawl whose down smash is their most powerful smash attack.
• Captain Falcon only does 10% with both forward smash hits with the Star Rod in Brawl instead of 18% like the rest of the characters.

External links

• Dojo page
• Screenshots of Captain Falcon and the rest of the Subspace Emissary characters
• Captain Falcon Guide on SWF
• Captain Falcon's hitbox size of each of his moves