Falling speed is the usual rate at which a character can move downward in mid-air. A character's falling speed can greatly impact his fighting style - for instance, Fox, a fast-faller, uses his aerial speed to perform shffl'd attacks very quickly, whereas Jigglypuff, a floaty character, uses its low falling speed to attack multiple times in mid-air.
Additionally, falling speed directly affects the vertical component of attacks' knockback in combination with weight. Attacks of upward trajectory knock back slow-falling, floaty characters more than they knock back fast-fallers. However, a floaty heavyweight will be harder to KO vertically than a floaty lightweight. Though both falling speed and weight affect knockback, they are independent of each other - a fast-falling character is not necessarily heavy, and vice versa. Samus and Fox are notable examples to this.
The items Bunny Hood and Metal Box increase the user's falling speed. Some stages can also affect a character's falling speed, such as the flying-type portion of Pokémon Stadium 2 and the falling portion of Summit. All characters can also fast fall at any time to increase falling speed.
Categories of falling speed[]
Falling speed is divided into two categories: floaty and fast-faller, each of which have certain advantages and disadvantages depending on playstyle.
Fast-faller[]
Fast-faller (not to be confused with the act of fast falling) is a name that refers to many characters is relatively fast falling speed. Fox and Captain Falcon are prominent examples in the Super Smash Bros. series.
Fast-fallers enjoy increased speed in the air and faster shffl'd approaches; however, they suffer from shorter recoveries. They are also susceptible to different combos from floaty characters. For instance, Captain Falcon can chain grab floaty characters with Down throw, but cannot do so against fast-fallers. On the other hand, he can tech-chase fast-fallers with up throw, which he cannot do against floaty characters. Generally, fast-fallers are more vulnerable to chain grabs and combos (although weight and character size are other factors as well); such as Marth's Up throw chain grab that he can finish with a Forward smash.
Floaty[]
Floaty is a name that describes characters with relatively slow falling speed. Jigglypuff is a prominent example of having a very slow falling speed (the slowest falling speed to be exact). Samus is also a very floaty character in all 5 games, unusual for a heavyweight.
Floaty characters have great benefits in terms of performing aerial attacks since one would be able to perform multiple aerial attacks in succession (such as Jigglypuff's slow falling speed and multiple mid-air jumps allows it to perform the Wall of Pain) and easier recoveries due to slow falling speeds allow easier maneuvering while consequently suffer the vulnerability of being juggled and having their recoveries easily predictable. On the flip side, floaty characters tend to be less vulnerable to chain grabs and combos.
Super Smash Bros.[]
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Super Smash Bros. Melee[]
Rank | Character | Falling Speed |
---|---|---|
1 | Falco | 3.1 |
2 | Captain Falcon | 2.9 |
3 | Fox | 2.8 |
4-5 | Donkey Kong | 2.4 |
4-5 | Roy | 2.4 |
6 | Marth | 2.2 |
7-9 | Link | 2.13 |
7-9 | Young Link | 2.13 |
7-9 | Sheik | 2.13 |
10 | Ganondorf | 2 |
11 | Yoshi | 1.93 |
12-14 | Bowser | 1.9 |
12-14 | Pikachu | 1.9 |
12-14 | Pichu | 1.9 |
15 | Ness | 1.83 |
16-18 | Mario | 1.7 |
16-18 | Dr. Mario | 1.7 |
16-18 | Mr. Game & Watch | 1.7 |
19-21 | Luigi | 1.6 |
19-21 | Kirby | 1.6 |
19-21 | Ice Climbers | 1.6 |
22-23 | Peach | 1.5 |
22-23 | Mewtwo | 1.5 |
24-25 | Zelda | 1.4 |
24-25 | Samus | 1.4 |
26 | Jigglypuff | 1.3 |
Notes[]
- Fighting Wire Frames have falling speeds of 2 (Male) and 1.8 (Female).
- Giga Bowser has a falling speed of 2.4.
- Sandbag has a falling speed of 1.6.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Rank | Character | Falling Speed |
---|---|---|
1 | King Dedede | 1.95 |
2 | Captain Falcon | 1.837 |
3 | Fox | 1.831 |
4 | Wolf | 1.8 |
5 | Snake | 1.73 |
6 | Falco | 1.708 |
7-8 | Ganondorf | 1.65 |
7-8 | Ike | 1.65 |
9 | Link | 1.6 |
10-11 | Donkey Kong | 1.58 |
10-11 | Sheik | 1.58 |
12-13 | Pikachu | 1.5 |
12-13 | Marth | 1.5 |
14 | Sonic | 1.45 |
15-16 | Diddy Kong | 1.43 |
15-16 | Zero Suit Samus | 1.43 |
17 | Pit | 1.42 |
18 | Wario | 1.4 |
19-20 | Bowser | 1.39 |
19-20 | Meta Knight | 1.39 |
21 | Lucas | 1.37 |
22-23 | Ivysaur | 1.35 |
22-23 | Charizard | 1.35 |
24 | Ness | 1.31 |
25-26 | Squirtle | 1.3 |
25-26 | Olimar | 1.3 |
27 | Yoshi | 1.29 |
28-29 | Mario | 1.28 |
28-29 | Toon Link | 1.28 |
30 | Mr. Game & Watch | 1.24 |
31 | Luigi | 1.22 |
32-35 | Kirby | 1.2 |
32-35 | Lucario | 1.2 |
32-35 | Ice Climbers | 1.2 |
32-35 | R.O.B. | 1.2 |
36 | Zelda | 1.13 |
37 | Samus | 1.07 |
38 | Peach | 1.05 |
39 | Jigglypuff | 0.98 |
Notes[]
- The Alloys are equipped to have falling speeds of 1.28 (The same as Mario, just like they share his weight, air speed and gravity), even though they are modeled after characters of differing air status (falling, air movement, gravity).
- Giga Bowser and Wario-Man have falling speeds 2.5 and 2.2 respectively.
- No character in Brawl can surpass a falling speed of 2 without fast falling; King Dedede comes closest, falling nearly as fast as Ganondorf in Melee.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U[]
Rank | Character | Falling Speed |
---|---|---|
1 | Fox | 2.05 |
2 | King Dedede | 1.95 |
3 | Greninja | 1.85 |
4 | Captain Falcon | 1.837 |
5-8 | Falco | 1.8 |
5-8 | Little Mac | 1.8 |
5-8 | Mega Man | 1.8 |
5-8 | Roy | 1.8 |
9 | Bayonetta | 1.77 |
10-11 | Sheik | 1.75 |
10-11 | Diddy Kong | 1.75 |
12-13 | Zero Suit Samus | 1.7 |
12-13 | Mii Brawler | 1.7 |
14-15 | Lucario | 1.68 |
14-15 | Cloud | 1.68 |
16 | Meta Knight | 1.66 |
17-21 | Ganondorf | 1.65 |
17-21 | Ike | 1.65 |
17-21 | Bowser Jr. | 1.65 |
17-21 | Duck Hunt | 1.65 |
17-21 | Corrin | 1.65 |
22 | Donkey Kong | 1.63 |
23 | Wario | 1.61 |
24-27 | Link | 1.6 |
24-27 | R.O.B. | 1.6 |
24-27 | Ryu | 1.6 |
24-27 | Mii Swordfighter | 1.6 |
28-29 | Marth | 1.58 |
28-29 | Lucina | 1.58 |
30 | Pikachu | 1.55 |
31-35 | Mario | 1.5 |
31-35 | Dr. Mario | 1.5 |
31-35 | Robin | 1.5 |
31-35 | Shulk | 1.5 |
31-35 | Mewtwo | 1.5 |
36-37 | Pit | 1.48 |
36-37 | Dark Pit | 1.48 |
38-39 | Sonic | 1.45 |
38-39 | Mii Gunner | 1.45 |
40-41 | Charizard | 1.4 |
40-41 | Palutena | 1.4 |
42 | Bowser | 1.39 |
43 | Lucas | 1.37 |
44-46 | Zelda | 1.35 |
44-46 | Olimar | 1.35 |
44-46 | Pac-Man | 1.35 |
47 | Villager | 1.32 |
48 | Ness | 1.31 |
49-50 | Samus | 1.3 |
49-50 | Wii Fit Trainer | 1.3 |
51 | Yoshi | 1.29 |
52 | Toon Link | 1.28 |
53 | Luigi | 1.25 |
54 | Mr. Game & Watch | 1.24 |
55 | Kirby | 1.23 |
56 | Rosalina | 1.2 |
57 | Peach | 1.15 |
58 | Jigglypuff | 0.98 |
References[]
- Mew2King's page of statistics
- An SWF post about weight and falling speed in Brawl
- Another SWF post about weight and falling speed in Brawl