Falcon Kick

Falcon Kick (, Falcon Kick) is Captain Falcon's down special move.

Overview
Falcon bursts forward in a rush of fire a good distance forward, with reasonable start-up lag and wind-down lag. It has reasonable knockback and damage, and often hits characters in shorthops, but is difficult to pull off and avoid punishment.

Its use and physics has changed over the series, but in all versions, if the Falcon Kick goes into a wall (including the blocks in the stage Green Greens), he will bounce off and gain height, though this animation has a significant amount of ending lag.

In Super Smash Bros.


In Super Smash Bros., Falcon rushes forward, blazing with a flaming kick. It travels enough distance to go from the lowest brown platform on Hyrule Castle to the top of the green wall in the "Tent" area. It has good range, and can KO at very high percents, where it launches foes at a 45° angle above Falcon. This move comes out fast as well, and is great to approach or punish. Falcon Kick, as with Falcon Punch, has its fire effects rendered as 2D sprites.

When Falcon hits a wall while using it, he bounces off and gains height, but this is very laggy. There is a glitch where the move will "bounce" when used close to any ledge while facing the opposite direction of it. The only way to achieve this position is by rolling towards a solid platform's ledge, which appears to register a character as both on and (exceptionally slightly) off of said platform. This explains why the wall collision animation plays instead of normal aerial or grounded travel, as well as why certain other attacks ('s, for instance) push the user off the ledge after jumping (with no horizontal controller input) from that spot.

Interestingly, the hitbox of aerial Falcon Kick only covers up to Falcon's thigh, leaving his leg and foot completely exposed. The Falcon Kick's travel speed also slows down per target hit, causing multiple targets at once to severely slow down Captain Falcon during the attack. The aerial version however, is not as affected in comparison.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee


There have been some changes to the move in Super Smash Bros. Melee, notably with how he will regain his second jump after using this move in the air. The move lost a little speed and now has to be hit clean during the first few active frames, but is slightly more powerful, seems to travel farther, and has better rendered effects (though a few red fire sprites appear in the move). This move is also easier to use near a ledge. The range is about half of. When it hits the turning blocks in Yoshi's Island with the aerial version, the move cancels.

Despite these new factors, it isn't used particularly often outside of recovering due to his new throwing and aerial meta-game.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl


This move can travel about half the distance of and it also makes a good move to punish foes, chase them while dodge rolling, or tech chase. Unlike Melee, it doesn't regain his second jump if used in midair, though the aerial version now fully covers Captain Falcon's leg and foot, giving it better reach below him.

The attack's duration makes it unsafe on hit at lower percents. When it first comes out it has moderate knockback, though this initial hitbox is still not powerful enough to reliably KO under 150%. However, like Wizard's Foot its ending lag can be canceled if it is used in a position so the move ends in the edge very close to the stage, (nicknamed "Falcon Kick Canceling"), but unlike Wizard's Foot, hitting the opponent with the move slows Falcon significantly, and is punishable on lower percents, especially if going through multiple foes or if shielded.

In terms of animation, Captain Falcon now brings up his right arm a bit during the attack, and tucks in his left leg more while curling up his body.

In Brawl, Ganondorf's Wizard's Foot while airborne was given two initial hitboxes, one that spikes and one that sends the foe powerfully upwards, but this is not the case with Captain Falcon. In the air, Falcon will quickly go downwards at an slight left or right angle (depends on which direction he is facing), and if the foe is hit within the initial frames, they receive moderately powerful horizontal knockback. It has high duration, with similar frames to its grounded version; however, this can spell doom for Falcon players should they do the move off a ledge, as even with Falcon Dive's very large ledge sweetspot, Captain Falcon's falling speed may take him too far down. It can also be used when jumping off a grabbed ledge on the foe as a surprise aerial attack (though note the high ending lag when it hits the ground). Also just like Ganondorf's, Falcon can jump and immediately cancel it into this attack.

In Super Smash Bros. 4


The Falcon Kick returns in Super Smash Bros. 4, and is much stronger, with the early hitbox is now strong enough to KO under 150%. The recoiling flip performed by Falcon after hitting a wall is also different, with him doing a twirl to the side.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate


In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Falcon Kick's KO power has been buffed (especially after game updates to the point where it's even stronger than Ganondorf's Wizard's Foot in Melee), as well as its startup, ending and landing lag being reduced.

Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:


 * 1) Falcon Kick: Default.
 * 2) Falcon Kick Fury: A multiple-hitting kick that travels slower and deals less damage. Drags opponents along if it connects. :
 * 3) Lightning Falcon Kick: A quick, electrical flying kick that goes straight through enemies. However, it is significantly weaker and has more startup. When the aerial version hits the ground, it creates a spark that will briefly paralyze enemies, and ending an aerial kick stalls Falcon for a brief moment. Stronger near the start of the move.
 * In, the Lightning Falcon Kick is a challenge unlock obtainable by playing StreetSmash for the first time. :

Trivia

 * Prior to Smash 4, the animation used when Captain Falcon bounces off a wall by using this move is the same as the animation used when releasing an opponent from the Falcon Dive.
 * In Brawl, if Falcon Kick is used specifically against the lower right corner of the blocks drawing in PictoChat, Captain Falcon can repeatedly use it with no ending lag for an indefinite amount of time.
 * If Falcon Kick Fury is interrupted, it can possibly cause opponents to fly extreme distances, similar to how characters fly when losing the Rocket Belt due to a strong enough attack.
 * has unused down special animations left in her animation files that resemble both the grounded and aerial versions of Falcon Kick, suggesting that during development Min Min used Captain Falcon as a base.