Captain Falcon (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Captain Falcon's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Captain Falcon.

Captain Falcon (キャプテン・ファルコン, Kyaputen Farukon, full name, Douglas Jay Falcon) appears as an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Originating from the F-Zero universe, Captain Falcon returns again to compete in Brawl. To unlock Captain Falcon, the player must either play 70 brawls or beat Classic Mode on Normal difficulty or higher, and after doing either of these, (s)he must defeat Captain Falcon in a brawl match. Alternately, one can have him join the player's party in the Subspace Emissary, which will unlock him.

Captain Falcon is currently ranked 35 on the tier list as a result of the nerf of his priority from Melee, combined with his slow attack speed (making it nearly impossible for him to approach, especially when considering his lack of projectiles), the impact of the new Brawl physics (Falcon was arguably hit the hardest by the physics changes; less hitstun and the loss of L-cancelling result in drastically fewer, weaker combos, and he can no longer dashdance effectively or moonwalk.), predictable recovery, low traction, terrible match-ups (none of all are in his favour, some as low as 20/80 and only neutral against Ganondorf, the other poor character), and as a result of this issues, terrible overall tournament results.

Attributes
Captain Falcon is a heavy character with strong attacks and has the second fastest running speed, behind Sonic. His attacks mostly consist of kicks and punches, including the famed Falcon Punch. Many of his moves have high knockback and damage, lending him considerable power. His standard special, the Falcon Punch, deals high damage and the direction can be reversed, but takes considerable start-up time. His Raptor Boost and Falcon Kick send him rocketing forward to deal damage, but it has terrible priority. Raptor Boost also has the ability to reflect most projectiles. Contrary to the name, Falcon Dive sends him upwards with a little horizontal movement. If his Falcon Dive connects, it will deal damage to an opponent and Captain Falcon will get off from them, sometimes stage spiking, and he will be able to use Falcon Dive again. Additionally, many of his moves make powerful finishers- for example, his forward aerial (informally known as the Knee of Justice) is known for having extreme knockback, his down aerial makes a powerful spike, and his forward smash deals high damage with high knockback. His throws chain well, and Captain Falcon is also capable of performing the Wall jump.

However, many of his moves have considerable start-up time and small sweetspots, and Captain Falcon has no projectiles. His Falcon Dive is also a very slow recovery move, and it is easily edgeguarded (having very fast falling speed makes this problem even worse). His fast dash, though it's speed is useful, causes him to trip very often. He is also a good candidate for chain grabs due to his heavy weight, large size, and fast falling speed.

Falcon's critical problem lies in his guttural priority combining his slow attack speed resulting in lack of a reliable approach. Many of his ground attacks and three of his specials are easily cancelled by a number of unusual moves from other characters, such as certain jabs, and having slow start-up attacks makes things worse. This forces him to dodge many attacks instead, since he can't fight them. His extremely low priority combined with below average attack speed and only decent range makes the approaches of Captain Falcon nearly impossible, meaning he is easily camped. Coupled with his lack of a safe approach, Captain Falcon will usually have a difficult time handling most opponents controlled by highly skilled players, especially small characters, because many of his attacks have no low hitbox.

Changes from Melee to Brawl
Captain Falcon has been severly nerfed from SSBM to SSBB (arguably the biggest nerf from Melee to Brawl). His attacks are slower and have lower priority (now the lowest overall in the game), which makes safe approaches nearly impossible. Additionally, his traction is significantly lower, now one of the lowest. Captain Falcon can no longer Nipple Spike and now 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 significantly 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. It also travels slightly more distance vertically and can break targets in "Target Smash!" mode. On the downside, Falcon Kick no longer enables him to regain his second jump, and Falcon Dive travels much less horizontal distance. The Falcon Punch can now be reversed for a short time during the startup. The Falcon Punch has less startup time, but lower knockback. Like other characters, Captain Falcon's side smash with a Home-Run Bat is unique from one used with other Battering weapons. Because of this, he can now properly use a Home Run Bat for a Homerun Contest. Captain Falcon's down smash is stronger in terms of knockback, but has much lower priority like his other moves. Raptor Boost is easier to use and makes a "leapfrog" effect when attack connects in the air.

In terms of cosmetics, Captain Falcon has a slighty 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.

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. Extremely fast. Surprisingly much higher priority than many of his other moves.
 * Dash Attack - Rams a shoulder into the opponent. Quick and powerful. Decent priority. 9-12%.
 * Strong Side - Roundhouse kick. Low priority. Mediocre range. 7-10%.
 * Strong Up - An Axe kick with horizontal knockback. Decent priority. Good range. Somewhat slow. 10-13%.
 * Strong Down - Does a sweep kick with vertical knockback. Mediocre priority. Decent range. 9-12%.

Smash

 * Forward Smash - Rears back and jabs an elbow forward. High knockback. Extremely low priority and slow. 19-26%.
 * Up Smash - Kicks into the air twice. Good knockback. Mediocre priority. First kick does 10-11%, second hit does 10-12%. One of his poor moves.
 * Down Smash - Kick forward, then backward. High horizontal knockback. Higher knockback if the tip of the boot connects. Extremely low priority and slow. 12-15% for each kick.

Other

 * Ledge attack - Flips over and brings his foot down. Very fast. 5-6%
 * 100% Ledge attack - climbs up the ledge and does an uppercut attack. Medium Speed.
 * 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 for 10% total damage. Decent priority.
 * Forward Aerial - Knee Smash: Jabs a knee forward. Excellent horizontal killer. Extremely low priority, unless sweetspotted. 3%, 19% when sweetspotted.
 * Back Aerial - Punches backwards. Decent knockback and priority.
 * Up Aerial - Kick flips with good reach. The attack does more horizontal knockback if hit at the tip. Good priority.
 * Down Aerial - Stomps downward. This is a powerful meteor smash when his boots hit the target.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Knees the enemy's midsection.
 * Forward Throw - Punches the enemy in the gut and sends them forward.
 * Back Throw - Puts the enemy behind him and kicks them in the stomach.
 * Up Throw -Holds the enemy up and punches them upward with his left hand. Can combine with other attacks well.
 * Down Throw - Flips opponent and throws them on the ground. Can combine with other attacks well.

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.

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 and, upon landing, Olimar's remaining Pikmin (except for the red Pikmin beside Olimar). When Captain Falcon shouts "Falcon Punch!" in this Subspace Emisarry 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 DK 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. 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 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.

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

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 the four that has a holstered weapon but does not use it at all. The others are Ganondorf, Snake and Sheik.
 * Ironically, Captain Falcon is given an 8/10 in the Prima official guide, despite being ranked 3rd to last on the current tier list and having terrible matchups.
 * Captain Falcon's "Come on!" and "Blue Falcon!" are in Melee's master sound test despite not appearing anywhere else in that game.
 * Captain Falcon can be seen in the "How To Play" video in the game, despite being a secret character; in the Final Smash montage, Falcon can be seen sleeping from Peach's Peach Blossom. He also can be seen during Lucas' PK Starstorm during the montage (though he is harder to spot, since the scene lasts such a short time.).
 * Captain Falcon has a two hit side smash with the star rod and beam sword.