Captain Falcon (SSBM)

Overview

Captain Falcon is a familiar face to players of the original Super Smash Bros as he makes his return in the sequel. Capt Falcon is currently ranked 6th overall in the tier list and is famous for his speed, combo ability, and his Fair finisher (the knee).

Captain Falcon suffers from falling speed that renders him weak to enemy combos, and a poor up B recovery that is easily edge-guarded. Thus, Captain Falcon gets hit hard and dies quickly. Capt Falcon makes up for this with his unparalleled speed and versatile attacks which allow him to confuse, combo and defeat opponets. It is imperative for all Capt Falcon players to be able to SHFFL extremely well and to be wary of when certain knee setups are applicable.

Captain Falcon's matchups are strangely balanced - unlike other characters high up on the tier list, Capt. Falcon lacks "broken" attacks and fares only even matchups against even low-tier characters. There are many claims, for instance, that Captain Falcon is countered by low-tier characters like Ness, Pikachu and Mewtwo. His sixth place position is vindicated by the fact that he fares evenly against most top and upper tier characters, too, which allows him to fare well in tournaments comprised of these characters.

Falcon's true balance is his versatality as an offensive/counterattacking character. He has an amazing ability to break through defensive strategies with his JC'd grab or a well-placed knee (or even a forward-B), and a similarly effective counterattacking game, able to shield-jump into a down-air or neutral air and combo from there. His high speed makes him a threat anywhere, and he can use dash-dancing to simply dodge an attack and return with a JC'd grab before the opponent can react. The effect of this can quickly accumulate, as almost all of Falcon's moves combo into an aerial or a grab, which can lead to additional moves which re-combo into aerials and grabs, although he does not possess anything truly infinite, and proper DI can mitigate the damage. Nevertheless, playing with and playing against Captain Falcon requires an immense amount of technical knowledge, and this makes him a threat in every match.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Fast character with the fastest dash in the game
• Fast faller (Can be good and bad)
• Jump has huge horizontal distance
• Moveset complements his speed and allows him effectively combo all characters
• Low lag aerials
• His Fair (the Knee) is a fantastic finisher
• Maybe the best dashdancer in the game
• Makes the best use of the Moonwalk
• Speed allows players to be more creative, use various mindgames, and pressure opponents easier.
• High power smashes
• Decent edgeguarder

Cons

• Fast fall speed means he can be easily comboed
• Horrible recovery and easily edgeguarded
• Horrible Priority except for Neutral-air
• Slow smash/tilt/dash attack
• The Knee is only effective when it's hit with at the beginning of the move. Also the Knee has little range and priority, and players must be able to effectively combo into it or it will not land. This is a huge problem since it's Capt Falcon's preferred finisher. Other moves can KO, but the Knee is the preferred KO move for Capt Falcon.
• Capt Falcon counters no one (Not even Bowser), and there are many characters who have good matchups against Capt Falcon.
• No Projectile