Captain Falcon (Super Smash Bros. Melee)


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

Captain Falcon (, Kyaputen Farukon), announced at E3 2001, is a starter character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, famous for his running speed, falling speed, combo ability, and the knee.

Falcon currently ranks 7th place on the tier list. He ranks high due to a superb punishing game and combo ability, in addition to the powerful Knee. However, he is a fast faller and one of the heavier characters of Melee, making him vulnerable to various combos and chaingrabs.

Attributes
Captain Falcon is well known for his extreme speed and combo ability. His dash speed is the fastest in the game, his air speed is fast, and his falling speed is very fast. His fast falling speed allows him to SHFFL very well, and it gives him resistance to vertical KOs. However, it also shortens his recovery and makes him easy to combo and chaingrab (especially since he is heavy and large). His running speed and high lateral air speed give him the game's longest and fastest long jump, allowing him to close great distances with short hop aerials and edge-guard faraway enemies. He also has the best dashdance and moonwalk in the game. He has one of the fastest backward rolls in the game and a good forward roll, but his techrolls are slow. Captain Falcon has some powerful attacks (e.g. Falcon Punch), but these moves are slow. Captain Falcon's forward aerial (the knee) is a powerful, low-trajectory finisher, but he is reliant on it to gain early KOs. The trajectory of Captain Falcon's low lag aerials complement his speed, allowing him to effectively combo all characters. Captain Falcon does have his drawbacks, however. Many of his moves have very small hitboxes, meaning that it can sometimes be hard to hit opponents, especially small characters, due to their lack of lower hitboxes. Captain Falcon also lacks projectiles and a reliable way to deal with opponents' projectiles. Captain Falcon has one of the best out-of-grab games available and the ability to wall jump. In recovery, Falcon Dive can't grab edge-hoggers, leaving him extremely vulnerable to them. To help this problem, Falcon Kick lets Captain Falcon regain his second jump. While a Captain Falcon player must be cautious of his weaknesses, he can use his power, speed and combo ability to overcome them.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack- Jabs twice then knees opponent, followed by several fast jabs. First two jabs do around 2-3% each, the "gentlemen" kneeing does 8%, and each jab after does 1% each. A fast and somewhat short-ranged jab-attack, this move is good for stopping close-up opponent's approach.


 * Dash Attack- Shoulder tackle. Strongest when it comes out, weaker afterward. Pretty fast, this move is good for knocking the foe away from the ledge to follow with an aerial attack or edgeguard, with proper mindgaming/prediction. 10%


 * Down Tilt- Does a quick round kick. The D-tilt is a great launcher, if difficult to land. It has a long lag and therefore is not one of C.F.'s preferred setups. However, it can combo at most percentages and almost every DI into a SHFFLed neutral aerial, which can further combo. Fox and Falco can often be regrabbed from a d-tilt at medium percents, and their Forward B attacks can be intercepted by Falcon's D-tilt if they try to sweetspot the ledge. The D-tilt can also combo into the Knee, and the u-air, depending on knockback and DI. 12% damage.


 * Forward Tilt- Kicks his foot out in front of him. Fast with decent range. There are not a significant amount of combo options from an F-tilt because of it's horizontal hit trajectory, low knockback and stun time, and wind-down lag. One can try to follow up with a u-air or a JC'd grab, and even a dash-canceled D-tilt or Raptor Boost, but they are not true combos and can be countered by every character. It may be a good idea to wavedash slightly forward to maintain pressure, and enter a defensive stance or used after a pivot as a surprise attack to keep enemies away. An angled up F-tilt is known to stun enemies long enough from an u/d-throw that it can lead to a Knee. 11% damage


 * Up Tilt- Brings his leg up and brings it down in an axe-like way. His up tilt has horizontal knockback as well, and, like the F-tilt, is difficult to combo from. Due to its low trajectory, one can often follow off the edge of a platform or stage with a falling n-air or non-sweetspotted f-air edgeguard, but this is not a true combo. It may be a good idea to wavedash slightly forward to maintain pressure, and enter a defensive stance. Most players use U-tilts as an edgeguard technique since the heel can extend below the platform. 11% damage.

Smash Attacks

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

Other Attacks

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

Aerial Attacks

 * Forward Aerial- "The Knee". Captain Falcon sticks out his knee, which, when sweetspotted, will electrocute the foe, with little knockback later in the move. An extremely powerful move when sweetspotted, it is often regarded as one the the most powerful and useful moves in the game, and undoubtedly the most powerful forward aerial of Melee. This move is the usual end to most of Falcon's aerial combos, or even to use against grounded foes in an aerial assault. Easily KOs at percents as low as 60% off the edge. Impressive 18% when sweetspotted, and does 5-6% otherwise with terrible knockback.
 * Neutral Aerial- His forward aerial from SSB, kicks twice in front of him. A good two-hit combo starter or ender. This move can infamously lead into a Sacred Combo. First hit does 6%, second hit 7% damage.
 * Back Aerial- A quick punch behind him. Good power and speed, often used as an edgeguarding move. 14% damage.
 * Down Aerial- Stomps below him for good downward knockback. Minor startup and ending lag. Can Nipple spike, making it even more powerful. 16%.
 * Up Aerial- Does a backflip in midair and sticks his feet out. Knockback direction depends on what angle the move hits the foe, though strong nonetheless. Also good for juggling. 13% damage.

Grabs & Throws

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

Changes from SSB to Melee

 * New, higher quality voice samples, though his voice actor still remains the same.
 * Available as a starter.
 * Third hit of Neutral Combo gives more knockback, and can even KO at very high percents.
 * Falcon Dive has much slower start-up, has smaller grab range and grab attack has lost much of it's KO power, but gains a little more distance.
 * Dair has a slower start-up and the hitbox lasts a much shorter time, but can Nipple Spike.
 * Falcon Punch has slower start-up and no longer is a good recovery move due to the loss of the effect of slowing down Captain Falcon's falling speed.
 * New Smash attacks.
 * Forward aerial is now the Knee Smash. His Front Aerial in N64 is now his Neutral Aerial and it is altered and hits at an upper angle.
 * Now regains a double jump when Down B is used in the air.
 * Has a side special move, the Raptor Boost.
 * Has his stance altered from 64 with a new idle action included with his default one, which was also altered.
 * Down Aerial is slower, it can still nipple spike though.

Speed Options

 * Captain Falcon has the fastest dash speed in the game. Reaching an item before your opponent shouldn't be a problem unless he or she is significantly closer to the item.


 * Captain Falcon's aerial game is very fast, making performing combos fairly easy. His knee is a good KO move at medium-high damage. He also has one true spike. Use that as a follow-up in case the knee doesn't work, or to continue comboing.


 * Because Falcon's Falling Speed and weight are so high, He is the character that is most resistant to vertical knockouts.


 * Since he is a heavy character and a fast faller, attacks like Peach's down smash can be horrible against Falcon.

Ground Options

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

Air Options

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

Projectile/Protecting

 * Although Captain Falcon is good in the air and on the ground, he has no projectiles or ways to effectively deal with projectiles, which makes him vulnerable to campers with long range. Items like Ray Guns can help, but you shouldn't become overly reliant on items because they will run out of juice.


 * Using Falcon's Raptor Boost is a good way to dodge oncoming projectiles like Samus's Missile or Mario's Fireball.


 * Falcon is equipped with one of the best roll dodges in the game, as it is one of the fastest and longest. Both left and right roll dodges are quick and long.


 * Falcon has the best dash-dance in the game, so if timed right he can dash away from an attack and quickly dash back to retalliate.

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

Down Throw

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

Up Throw

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

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


 * Captain Falcon (Trophy #28)
 * Usually a relentless bounty hunter, Captain Falcon shifts gears to become a race pilot once the F-Zero Grand Prix begins. His beloved racer, the Blue Falcon, can exceed the speed of sound, and he knows how to drive it; he'll go down as one of the all time-greats. Now 36 years old, Captain Falcon wears his F-Zero X visor. 


 * Captain Falcon (Smash Red) (Trophy #29)
 * ''Falcon's style is a balanced combination of raw power and speed. His attacks are slow, but when combined with Falcon's high mobility, he's a formidable combat force. The Falcon Punch packs the highest degree of destructive power, while the explosive Raptor Boost can be used to smash airborne foes into the depths.
 * B: Falcon Punch
 * Smash B: Raptor Boost''


 * Captain Falcon (Smash Blue) (Trophy #30)
 * ''The Knee Smash, used in midair on foes in front of you, is slow and has a short reach, but if it connects, it'll send foes flying a long way on a low trajectory. Falcon uses his Falcon Dive to grab an enemy in midair and fling them away with an explosive blast. He can do this technique repeatedly without landing, so it can also be used as a recovery move.
 * Up & B: Falcon Dive
 * Down & B: Falcon Kick''



Trivia

 * Falcon is one of the few characters to have a true spike in Melee, that being his Nipple Spike.
 * Captain Falcon's Knee Smash has become very famous among the Smash community, for it's incredible killing power and the fact that it is used at the end of many combos. As such, it has gained many nicknames, including "The Knee".
 * Falcon is the only character to have every single smash attack changed from SSB to Melee