Captain Falcon (SSBM)/Side special

This article is about the hitbox visualization in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For the move itself, see Raptor Boost.

Hitbox visualization of Captain Falcon's grounded Raptor Boost.

Hitbox visualization of Captain Falcon's aerial Raptor Boost.

Hitbox visualization showing Captain Falcon's grounded side special when it connects with an opponent.

Hitbox visualization showing Captain Falcon's aerial side special when it connects with an opponent.

Overview[edit]

Captain Falcon's side special move is officially known as Raptor Boost; he dashes forward and, if he comes into contact with an opponent, releases a fiery uppercut that launches the opponent upward, making it a great combo starter. However, if the move does not hit an opponent, Captain Falcon will fall over and leave himself highly vulnerable to punishes, thanks to the move's insanely high ¾ of a second of end lag. Additionally, if he dashes over an edge, he will become helpless until he lands. During start up, the move advantageously steps back swiftly, which can be used for evasion before the move hits (commonly referred to as hurtbox extension), such as immediately out of a tech for the opponent to whiff a grab.

The aerial version of the move meteor smashes opponents it hits, but this is extremely weak and impractical, since Captain Falcon cannot grab the ledge whilst using this move and becomes helpless whether or not it hits. This version of the move is almost never seen, and considered inferior to the grounded version, although it's occasionally used as an option to perform a sacrificial KO, when the opponent is very far off-stage. Aside from that, it does see niche use as a recovery tool, allowing Falcon to get back onto the stage or a platform since it gives him more horizontal distance than his air dodge; this is incredibly risky, though, as the opponent can easily intercept it with an attack, or even allow themselves to intentionally be hit, thus shortening the distance Falcon travels and letting him fall to his death. When grounded, the move can also evade projectiles during the dash forward. The grounded version can also be canceled immediately, having no lag, if the move is interrupted by a wall.

Hitboxes[edit]

Grounded[edit]

ID	Part	Damage	SD	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Sound
Search
0	0	0%	0	0	0	0	3.999744	0	6.2496	3.171672	0.0	Punch
1	0	0%	0	0	0	0	3.999744	0	6.2496	7.999488	0.0	Punch
2	0	0%	0	0	0	0	3.999744	0	6.2496	14.827176	0.0	Punch
Hit
0	0	7%	2	78	80	0	7.49952	25	0.0	0.0	0.0	Burn

Aerial[edit]

ID	Part	Damage	SD	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Sound
Search
0	0	0%	0	0	0	0	3.999744	0	5.859	3.171672	0.0	Punch
1	0	0%	0	0	0	0	3.999744	0	5.859	9.99936	0.0	Punch
2	0	0%	0	0	0	0	3.999744	0	5.859	-4.827816	0.0	Punch
Hit
0	0	7%	2	60	70	0	7.49952	25	0.0	0.03906	0.0	Burn