Fox (Super Smash Bros. Melee)


 * This article is about Fox's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For other uses, see Fox McCloud. Also, for information about Fox's clone, see Falco (SSBM).

Announced at E3 2001, Fox (フォックス) is emblematic of speed, dominating foes with his rapid attacks, quick movement and overpowering offense in all areas of his game. Because of these advantages, Fox has won many tournaments and currently ranks 1st on the tier list, no longer tied with Falco and Jigglypuff (suggesting that he has the most potential of any character in Melee), ousting Sheik from the number one position for the third time. He now resides in the top tier along with Falco, Jigglypuff, and Sheik.

Fox, however, is equally notorious for being an extremely difficult character to master. Almost all of his attributes reflect an unbridled speed, requiring quick fingers and reflexes to master. Players need most concentration to SHFFL aerials and shine combos with efficiency, if not done properly, Fox will get vulnerable to grabs by an opponent, which almost certainly means a painful chain throw or combo. Because of these struggles, Fox must remain slippery, unpredictable, and above all, faster than his opponent to win.

Fox is available as a starter.

Attributes
Fox is most notorious for his speed. He has the second fastest dash speed, tied with Marth for the fastest walking speed, the fastest normal falling speed, the third fastest fast falling speed, fast dash-dancing, and fast attacks. His fast fall and low, fast short hop contribute to an extremely quick SHFFL. Fox has high-damage and flexible combos, including several infinite combos (e.g. his famous waveshine infinite). When it comes to KOing, Fox has very powerful up-sending finishers (particularly his Up Smash and his Up Aerial), and his shine spikes are deadly against the majority of the cast. Projectiles are generally ineffective against Fox due to his Reflector, which comes out in one frame, making it tied for the fastest move in the series with Jigglypuff's Rest and Falco's own Reflector. Fox's Blaster can easily rack up damage because it is very quick and covers a great distance. However, it does not make opponents flinch. Thus, it can't be used to break approaches. Fox has highly variable approaches, including SHDL/SHDB approaches, SHFFL'd aerials, and a good wavedash. Fox also can Wall jump.

Although Fox has significant strengths, he also has major weaknesses. Fox is very easily KO'd due to a combination of being a lightweight, having the slowest air speed (along with Falco), and having the fastest falling speed. Additionally, his recovery can be caped and edgeguarded easily due to its linear nature unless it's timed correctly. His extremely fast falling speed makes him easy to combo and chaingrab (although he is difficult to shield grab because of his Reflector). A professional Fox player must do everything quickly to avoid getting nailed by his disadvantages.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack - Fox jabs forwards with his paw, followed by a series of fast consecutive kicks. A versatile jab that can combo into several other attacks, including Up Smash (similar to Super Smash Bros.). Very useful against shields, to jab reset, and into shine cancels. More useful against lightweights than heavyweights such as Jigglypuff. 2%-4% damage on the first jab, 2% damage on the second jab, and 1%-2% damage on the kicks.
 * Strong Forward: Fox sticks a foot out to the side. This is best used for a quick close-ranged spacing move. 9% regardless of angle.
 * Strong Up - Fox performs a quick and surprisingly strong vertical back kick. It covers Fox's whole body; thus, it makes Fox and his vertically-aimed foot a  hit-box. Its speed, power, and hit-box make it great for close-up spacing. It can easily combo into itself, Up Air, and Up Smash. Used as part as a chain-grab against fast fallers with it being connected to his Up Throw. It can start killing around 120%, mostly on the lesser lightweights. 12% damage.
 * Strong Down - Fox performs a sweeping hook kick. Moderately fast. Can combo at mid-percents into aerials. It can also become a somewhat solid ground killer at higher percentages. 10% damage.
 * Dash Attack - Fox runs forward and sticks a foot out. Low priority but good combo ability, especially into Up Smash. Very vulnerable to crouch canceling. 6% damage.

Smash Attacks

 * Forward Smash - Fox performs a flying hook kick. Has moderately low knock-back for a smash, though is fast, and is actually quite reliable at higher percents, knocking out at usually around 120%. This move does 14% uncharged, 18% fully charged.
 * Up Smash - Fox performs a back flip kick. This move is very fast, and when used on the ground while facing the foe, it has very high vertical knock-back. It is very reliable at mid-high damages. Shine into Up Smash is very useful for kills. 18% uncharged, 22% fully charged.
 * Down Smash - Fox does a split, hitting on both of his sides. Has high     knock-back. Useful for edge-guarding and an excellent spacing/killing move. 15% uncharged, 18% fully charged.

Other Attacks

 * Ledge Attack - Climbs up and slides his legs onto the platform in a similar fashion to his Forward Smash in Super Smash Bros. 8% damage.
 * 100% Ledge Attack - Slowly climbs, then very suddenly thrusts out his foot. 8% damage.
 * Floor Attack - Kicks on both sides. 6% damage.

Aerials

 * Neutral Aerial - Sticks the entire foot out. Sex Kick properties. A very quick aerial. Very good against shields and great power when it first comes out. 12% damage.
 * Forward Aerial - Fox kicks forward five times. Good knock-back when all hits connect. Unfortunately, this move is extremely awkward due to the short amount of forward distance, short range of the move, and poor physics of the kicks being chained together. All hits are very hard to connect without a good setup, especially on lighter characters. ~17% damage when all hits connect.
 * Back Aerial - Fox does a quick no-look kick backwards. Sex Kick properties. Great knock-back when it first comes out. Overall a good edge-guarding move. 15% damage.
 * Up Aerial - Fox whips his tail up and kicks immediately after. A very high knock-back move, good vertical killer, can combo out of Up Throw on virtually everyone. Can be Smash DI'd out of however. Two hits of 5% damage, for a total of 10% damage.
 * Down Aerial - Fox spins around, drilling downwards with his feet. It can combo into Up Smash and out of Up Tilt. Useful into shines as well. It is the weakest spike in the game, giving almost no knock-back when it is used on an opponent. However, when it is used on a Wire Frame, it sends them strongly diagonally downwards, like a spike. 18% damage when all hits connect.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - A quick knee jab to the opponent. 2-3% damage.
 * Down Throw - Fox throws the opponent into the ground and shoots him/her with his blaster. This throw does not make opponents bounce off the ground like other Down Throws (except Falco's) because it is a Meteor Smash. Not useful due to being able to tech out of it, but techs can be read for kills. Can lead into Up Tilt or his Reflector. It Meteor Smashes over a ledge if his body is partially overlapping it. 5% damage.
 * Back Throw - Fox throws the opponent backwards and shoots them with his blaster. Used mainly for setting up edge-guards off-stage, though really not many other uses besides mixing up a Fox player's throw game. 7% damage.
 * Forward Throw - Fox punches the opponent forward. This is Fox's only throw that does not involve him shooting his opponent with his blaster. Despite its generally poor combo ability, it can chain-grab on some heavy characters, although it is best used for edge-guarding. 7% damage.
 * Up Throw - Fox uses the laser and throws the opponent into the air. It can easily combo into Up Tilt, Up Air, and Up Smash. It can also chain-grab other Fox and Falco at lower percentages, but it can be Smash DI'd out of the chain-grab. 7% damage.

Taunt

 * Fox crouches and says "Come on!", gesturing with an open hand for others to come to him. In the Japanese version, he also says "かかってこい!" (Kakatte koi!; literally, "Come and fight!", or "Bring it on!", hence loosely it also means "Come on!").

Smash Taunt: Fox can do a Star Fox conversation that can only be used on Corneria or Venom by quickly tapping Down on the Control pad. This taunt can only be used once per match.

Changes from SSB to Melee

 * Now has a side special: Fox Illusion
 * Blaster now has rapid-fire capabilities, though it no longer causes flinching, it just inflicts damage.
 * Much lighter in weight.
 * New Forward Aerial.
 * Fire Fox travels further and has better rendered fire effects.
 * New throw animations.
 * Falls much faster.
 * New Forward Smash.
 * Different Taunt.
 * Much slower air speed. It went from one of the faster air speeds to now the slowest in the game tied with Falco.

Techniques

 * Shine spike
 * Waveshine
 * Infinite Combo
 * SHL/SHB or SHDL/SHDB

Statistics
~Courtesy of Mew2King's Super Hardcore Very In-Depth Smash Guide~


 * Fox is tied for the fastest walking speed in the game, along with Marth.
 * Fox has the 15th longest forward, back, and average roll in the game.
 * Fox has the 16th fastest turning speed in the game.
 * Fox is the 5th lightest character in the game in the NTSC version, and 4th lightest in the PAL version.
 * Fox has the slowest barrel/crate carrying speed in the game.
 * Fox has the 2nd fastest running speed in the game.
 * Fox has the 2nd fastest average falling speed in the game.
 * Fox has the 3rd fastest top falling speed.
 * Fox has the fastest acceleration in falling speed in the game.
 * Fox has the 12th longest wavedash in the game.
 * Fox is tied for 7th highest primary jump in the game, along with Ice Climbers.
 * Fox is tied for 6th highest second jump in the game, along with Ness.
 * Fox is tied for 6th total jumping height in the game, along with Kirby and Pikachu.
 * Fox is tied for 4th shortest short hop in the game, along with Bowser, Dr. Mario, Mario, Roy, and Young Link.
 * Fox has the 6th shortest 0-99% ledge roll in the game.
 * Fox has the 7th shortest 100-999% ledge roll in the game.
 * Fox has the 4th longest ledge attack horizontal range (0-99%) in the game.
 * Fox has the 6th shortest ledge attack horizontal range (100-999%) in the game.
 * Fox is tied for slowest horizontal aerial moving speed in the game, along with Falco.
 * Fox has the 14th longest grab range in the game.
 * Fox is tied for 10th biggest shield in the game, along with Falco and Ness.
 * Fox has the 7th shortest taunt in the game.
 * Fox's blaster is the fastest moving projectile (other than the Great Fox's lasers) in the game.
 * Fox is tied for 4th weakest forward smash (non-charged) in the game, along with Mewtwo.
 * Fox has the 6th weakest forward smash (fully charged) in the game.

The best (arguably) Fox players in the world currently are: Dark. No one else.

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


 * Fox
 * "Fox McCloud is the leader of a band of adventurers-for-hire known as Star Fox. Fox and his fellow pilots Peppy, Slippy, and Falco patrol the Lylat system in their mother ship, the Great Fox. From the cockpit of his Arwing, Fox leads the ceaseless pursuit of the evil scientist Andross, who doomed Fox's father."


 * Fox (Smash Red)
 * Fox is among the quickest and nimblest of the Smash Bros. characters. His speed is offset by low firepower, however, and he's better at one-on-one fights than melees with multiple foes. His Blaster is unique: it does damage but it doesn't make enemies flinch. His Fox illusion is best used as a surprise attack.
 * B: Blaster
 * Smash B: Fox Illusion


 * Fox (Smash Blue)
 * Fox falls quickly, so he's a tough target to strike from below; however, this advantage can work against him when he goes flying sideways. You can use the Control Stick to set the direction of the Fire Fox technique while it's charging up. On a side note, Fox is also much lighter than he was in the N64 Super Smash Bros. game.
 * Up & B: Fire Fox
 * Down & B: Reflector

Trivia

 * For all three victory poses, Fox is the only character in Melee who says the exact same quote: "Mission Complete." However, he has two other victory phrases in the Japanese version.
 * Fox is the only one who can do outside combinations like a down grab and down special, and the off the edge kill throw (beside Kirby, which he can with all of his throw except possibly with the down throw).