Forward Air Attack

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Captain Falcon's forward aerial attack, the Knee Smash.

The Forward aerial (abbreviated as "fair", "FAir", or "AFA", referred in the Brawl manual as "Front air") is an aerial attack that is performed in midair by pressing the A Button, and tilting the control stick in the direction the character is facing. Its official term varies between titles, where it is known as a "Front Midair Attack" in Super Smash Bros. Melee, or a "Front Air Attack" in Brawl.

List of Forward aerials in Super Smash Bros.

• Pikachu: A very useful combo move if it was difficult to DI out of drills. Combos into Up smash and all aerials
• Yoshi: A useful edgeguarding move and both a combo starter and a combo ender. Combos into his Down Special Move on the ground.
• Samus: A useful combo move. High damage and good at breaking down shields. Combos into down aerial.
• Donkey Kong: A good spike move for edgeguarding. Combos into giant punch and into another Forward aerial at middle to high percents. Most known for its ability to be used vs shields into a dash grab or down B.
• Link: Link's strongest aerial in terms of knockback. His main combo ender outside of Up special move and Forward smash.
• Luigi: Good edgeguarding tool. Good range compared to Luigi's other aerials. Combos into the Hyrule tent into an Up aerial.
• Mario: Good vs certain chars like Jigglypuff. good range
• Kirby: A very useful combo move. Down air, Up tilt, and Short hop is one of Kirby's staple combos.
• Jigglypuff: Good range but low priority. Can Wall of pain similar to melee but to less of an extent. Combos into a rest.
• Fox: Another good aerial move of Fox's Combos into up smash and virtually all of his aerials. Good approaching and baiting tactics
• Captain Falcon: Falcon's n-air from melee. First hit of hit combos into up smash. 2nd hit has enough shield stun to forward throw out of it.

Notable Front Midair Attacks in Melee

• Marth's forward aerial, a very quick launcher with a very large hitbox. Both its sweet spot at the tip of Marth's blade and the center of the blade can be used to combo the enemy, sometimes into Marth's deadly tipped forward smash. It should also be noted for its use in the Ken combo.
• Zelda's forward aerial, like her back aerial, can inflict high damage and knockback if sweet-spotted.
• Captain Falcon's forward aerial, better known as the knee, is an extremely powerful low-trajectory killer.
• Sheik's forward aerial is a very quick low-trajectory killer and semi-Spike
• Dr. Mario's and Ganondorf's forward aerial, each of which is sometimes called the "fist", are slow but powerful killers that send the enemy at a high angle.
• Ice Climbers' forward aerial is a meteor smash if Nana's attack hits.
• Mewtwo's forward aerial has high vertical knockback, is his most used aerial, and has combo potential at lower percents.

List of Forward Aerials in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Mario:
• Luigi:
• Peach:
• Bowser:
• Donkey Kong:
• Diddy Kong:
• Yoshi:
• Wario:
• Link:
• Zelda:
• Sheik:
• Ganondorf:
• Toon Link:
• Samus:
• Zero Suit Samus:
• Pit:
• R.O.B.:
• Kirby:
• Meta Knight:
• King Dedede:
• Captain Olimar:
• Fox:
• Falco:
• Wolf:
• Captain Falcon:
• Pikachu:
• Charizard:
• Ivysaur:
• Squirtle:
• Lucario:
• Jigglypuff:
• Marth:
• Ike:
• Ness:
• Lucas:
• Mr. Game & Watch:
• Snake:
• Sonic:

Notable Front Air Attacks in Brawl

• Mario: Arcs his arm downward as his fist enlarges. Can be a Meteor Smash if the opponent is near to Mario.
• Luigi: Karate chops forward. Quick though weak.
• Peach: Slaps her crown forward. Often considered her best kill move.
• Bowser: Slashes forwards. It looks like his Flying Slam (or Koopa Klaw).
• Donkey Kong: Swings both hands down, clasped together. A very powerful but slow move that can spike.
• Diddy Kong: Kicks out both legs and spins around. Similar to Mario's back aerial.
• Yoshi: Swings his head downward. Can spike.
• Wario: Kicks forward. Has below average knockback, but great priority and lasts a very long time, good for Wall of Pain.
• Link: Swings sword forward and spins around, then swings it again. Its second hit is more powerful.
• Zelda: Kicks forward with a powerful sweet spot on her foot. This move is often called Lightning Kick.
• Sheik: Karate chops forward. Similar in power and knockback to Luigi's karate chop but with less range.
• Ganondorf: Punches his fist downward, similar to Mario's forward aerial. Stronger and higher in knockback but does not spike and has a large landing lag. Also ties with Bowser's down aerial as the aerial attack with the longest duration.
• Toon Link: Swings sword upward. Similar in animation to his back aerial, but a bit slower, though it is a much better finisher with high priority and knockback.
• Samus: Creates a few small blasts with her arm cannon, slowly moving them downward. Has no landing lag.
• Zero Suit Samus: Two very fast kicks. The first kick is weaker but this move is so finicky that the first kick almost never combos into the following hit.
• Pit: Stabs both swords forward. Has a bit of start-up lag.
• Ice Climbers: Swing hammers downward. Nana's can spike.
• R.O.B.: Pushes its hands forward in midair. Good for the Wall of Pain
• Kirby: Three fast foot slices forward. When combined with a jump this gives slight horizontal recovery.
• Meta Knight: Three very fast sword slashes. The first two hits can be ground-canceled, and from this, Meta Knight can lead in to almost any move.
• King Dedede: Swings his hammer upwards.
• Captain Olimar: Swings a Pikmin.
• Fox: Five fast kicks; gives a slight hovering effect.
• Falco: Barrel rolls with his body horizontal, hitting five times with his head/beak. Has high landing lag.
• Wolf: Slashes forward. Has upward knockback and is one of his KO moves.
• Captain Falcon: The famous Knee of Justice. Very powerful when sweet spotted, which is far from easy.

  

  Another shot of Captain Falcon's Knee Smash.

• Pikachu: Spins forward surrounded by electricity. Multiple hits available. Similar to Sonic and Falco's fairs.
• Squirtle: Sticks feet forward. Similar to Mario's Bair.
• Ivysaur: Whips forward with vines. Vertical knockback.
• Charizard: Covers himself with his wings and breaths fire outwards with good horizontal knockback and range, making it good for the Wall of Pain. Oddly, if the opponent is far enough away from Charizard, they will not take any knockback or hitstun from this attack - just damage.
• Lucario: Kicks forward; aura appears at the end of the foot. Inflicts little damage but can combo. It can be used twice in one short hop.
• Jigglypuff: Kicks forward with both feet. Used for the Wall of Pain.
• Marth: Swings sword downward. Can fit two in one short hop.
• Ike: Swings sword downward. Has great range, but is a slow move like most of his moves.
• Ness: Creates small bubbles of PSI energy for multiple hits. Good for combos.
• Lucas: Kicks forward with PSI energy at the end of his foot.
• Mr. Game & Watch: Swings a box forward. Powerful if hits when it comes out, but has high landing lag. If hit after it comes out, it deals a weak hit.
• Snake: Brings his leg upward, then ax-kicks. Slight upward boost, the foot spikes very powerfully, the leg sends the opponent upwards with slight horizontal knockback as well.
• Sonic: Spins around very quickly.

List of Forward Aerial in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

• Mario:
• Luigi:
• Peach:
• Bowser:
• Rosalina and Luma:
• Bowser Jr.:
• Donkey Kong:
• Diddy Kong:
• Yoshi:
• Wario:
• Dr. Mario:
• Link:
• Zelda:
• Sheik:
• Ganondorf:
• Toon Link:
• Samus:
• Zero Suit Samus:
• Pit:
• Palutena:
• Dark Pit:
• R.O.B.:
• Kirby:
• Meta Knight:
• King Dedede:
• Captain Olimar:
• Fox:
• Falco:
• Captain Falcon:
• Pikachu:
• Charizard:
• Greninja:
• Lucario:
• Jigglypuff:
• Mewtwo:
• Marth:
• Ike:
• Lucina:
• Robin:
• Roy:
• Ness:
• Lucas:
• Mr. Game & Watch:
• Little Mac:
• Duck Hunt:
• Wii Fit Trainer
• Shulk
• Sonic:
• Mega Man:
• Pac-Man:
• Ryu: