Fox (SSBB): Difference between revisions

'''Fox''' ({{ja|フォックス|Fokkusu}}, ''Fox'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', confirmed at Nintendo World 2006. He was the first fighter to appear on the DOJO!! that did not appear on the E3 2006 video.

Jim Walker and {{s|wikipedia|Kenji Nojima}}, Fox's Engish and Japanese voice actors from ''Star Fox Assault'', reprise their roles in the English and Japanese versions of ''Brawl'' with newly recorded voice clips. In ''Brawl'', both succeed Shinobu Satouchi as Fox's voice actors.

Fox is currently ranked at 15th place on the [[tier list]], placing him in the middle of the C tier, a noticeable drop from his position at the top of the ''Melee'' tier list, and also his worst placement in the series. Fox maintains his incredible movement, fast frame data, high damage output, effective setup moves (especially his [[down aerial]]), and a very fast [[up smash]] with enough strength and [[reach]] to KO the majority of characters reliably under 100%. Additionally, Fox possesses the fastest [[projectile]] in ''Brawl'' in his {{b|Blaster|Fox}} (which is also [[transcendent]]), a decent [[recovery]] with respectable mixup options, and an effective semi-spike and defensive stalling tactic in his {{b|Reflector|Fox}}. Fox is notoriously frail, however, sustaining the fourth most [[knockback]] in ''Brawl'', with rather poor vertical endurance (despite strong vertical [[momentum cancelling]] abilities), and among the worst horizontal endurance. His endurance problems are exacerbated by his extreme [[falling speed]] and acceleration, which leave him heavily vulnerable to [[combo]]s and [[juggle]]s, [[lock]]s, and [[chain throw]]s, some of which (including {{SSBB|Pikachu}}'s and {{SSBB|Sheik}}'s) can bring Fox to KO percentage from zero [[damage]], if not [[zero death]]ing him outright. Additionally, Fox's attacks are very poor on [[shield]], with high [[ending lag]], low [[shield stun]], and insufficient reach to hit opposing shields safely. Fox also has poor horizontal aerial movement and mobility, a tendency to over-rely on his [[up smash]] to KO, and a projectile without any [[flinch]]. Nonetheless, Fox's offensive prowess tends to outweigh his significant flaws, with his [[matchup]]s being above average overall (despite a few [[Counter (matchup)#Hard counter|hard counters]]), along with above average [[tournament]] results (which are significantly better in Japan, where he ranks 7th on the [[Japanese tier list|tier list]]).

Fox is a lightweight who boasts impressive mobility, having the 3rd fastest dashing speed and the second fastest walking speed in the game (with {{SSBB|Marth}} having the fastest walking speed). Almost all of his attacks come out quickly and combo with each other. Fox's excellent speed is counter-balanced by the small and short reaching hitboxes in most of his attacks. This can complicate approaches, and his Blaster doesn't make up for that because it doesn't make opponents flinch. However, it is able to force approaches, unless the opponent has a lasting reflector, an absorbing move such as [[PSI Magnet]], or their [[crouch]] is low enough to avoid it.

One of Fox's primary advantages is his impressive KO power. His up smash is a fast and powerful vertical finisher, and is also his only move that can KO reliably under 100%. It's a good move due to its high knockback scaling, impressive speed for a smash attack, and respectable reach. It can also be [[combo]]'d into, most notably from a down aerial. Up aerial is also a great finisher; it can KO quickly when used near the upper blast line and is useful in juggling situations to close stocks early. Fox's impressive vertical KO options can be dangerous to characters with poor vertical endurance or momentum cancelling.

Fox his a variety of other useful moves besides his finishers. His forward aerial can add extra height to Fox's jump, due to producing a hovering effect if used shortly after jumping (known as Foxcoptering) - this can extend his recovery and allow him to quickly recover vertically, which isn't possible with his primary vertical recovery move ([[Fire Fox]]). His back air has high horizontal knockback and a generous auto-cancel window. As far as specials go, Fox's Blaster can easily build damage from a distance, refresh stale moves if it hits, and steal KOs in a Time match. Fox's Reflector not only reflects projectiles, but can [[semi-spike]] opponents when used in the air, making it a useful tool for [[gimp]]ing poor and/or slow recoveries, and also slows Fox's aerial movement. The jump cancel has been replaced with a dash cancel, allowing a continuous shine volley across the stage (it works best at 70% and above depending on the character). As far as recovery goes, [[Fox Illusion]] can be used to gain a horizontal boost, and can also be canceled before completion to trick opponents, as opposed to Fire Fox, which comes off much slower but can move vertically. However, Fire Fox is easily edgeguarded, due to leaving Fox vulnerable during the charge required to use the move (though it can damage opponents if they get too close). Fox is also able to [[wall jump]], [[boost grab]], and [[DACUS]] (though his [[Slide smash|sliding up smash]] doesn't gain much less distance than his DACUS).

Fox's most notable attribute, as well as the most notorious, is his short jump in relation to the rest of the Brawl cast (much like {{SSBB|Jigglypuff}} having the slowest falling speed in the game). Fox possesses the third fastest [[falling speed]] in the game (which is unusual for a character as light as he is), as well as having the higher [[gravity]] by quite a margin. It has advantages and some hindrances, all of which must be known to make the best use of Fox. Some advantages of such speed are that it makes him difficult to [[juggle]] and gives him strong vertical [[momentum canceling]]. However, his extreme gravity results in him barely travelling anywhere when he is hit by vertical hitting moves which do not inflict [[tumble]]. This results in him being very susceptible to certain [[chaingrab]]s (particularly {{SSBB|Pikachu}}'s buffered d-throw chaingrab that has a [[0-death]] on Fox) and well as low knockback moves which can string into themselves multiple times (most notably {{SSBB|Sheik}}'s forward tilt). His high gravity also makes him sustain more knockback once he enters tumble, which along with his low weight, makes his endurance among the absolute worst in ''Brawl''.

Another of Fox's weaknesses regards his transition from ''Melee'' to ''Brawl''; ''Brawl''{'}s general gameplay changes hinder Fox more than they help him. The introduction of hitstun cancelling as well as the cast's universally decreased falling speeds greatly reduce the potency of Fox's combo game like most characters. This means Fox can struggle to rack up damage and approach as effectively as he could in ''Melee''. Fox's only strong damage racking tool at lower percents is his up tilt which while effective, can be SDIed out of. The changes to air dodges also hinders Fox, as it not only hinders his combo ability, but it also removes his ability to [[wavedash]], which was one of his most vital movement options. The removal of DI against non tumble hitstun also immensely hinders Fox, as it means that he is now susceptible to inescapable chain grabs, as well as making it much more difficult to escape moves which chain into themselves multiple times (although this does also benefit his up tilt).

Lastly, Fox has a poor grab game. The blaster shots fired from his up and back throws are very easily avoided with successful DI, while up throw now struggles to combo because of its higher ending lag, combined with the cast's slower falling speeds. Back throw lacks KO potential and it has a poor launch angle for setting up edgeguards. Down throw is a decent setup throw which deals good damage but unlike Falco's, it does not have any guaranteed follow ups. While forward throw is Fox's strongest throw, it cannot KO before 150% at the edge. Because of it's glaring problems, Fox's grab game is very inconsistent and unreliable.

The end result is that Fox is a glass cannon. He can have difficulty approaching characters with superior range, forcing him to rely on his Blaster to approach if needed, which some characters can avoid rather effortlessly. His combination of being very light, and having very high falling speed and extreme gravity, along with an exploitable recovery gives him extremely poor endurance, especially against characters who can abuse his falling speed/gravity. However, he has excellent mobility on the ground, many quick and highly damaging moves, a very strong offensive game due to his speed and attack power, and once the opponent is knocked back he has flexible follow up options, but his speed can make him tough to control. Fox is overall a very fragile character who is very difficult to play and master but once he is mastered, he can be very difficult for most of the cast to deal with. This makes him a very solid character, although he does possess near unwinnable matchups against certain characters.

 

 

 

The most severe nerf was to his [[Reflector]]. While it has seen some improvements such as having lower ending lag, stronger stalling capabilities, increased intangibility and has altered knockback preventing it from knocking down lighter characters at lower percents, it has slower start-up and can no longer be jump-cancelled hindering its safety. The removal of wavedashing drastically harms Reflector's utility as wavedashing was what gave Shine its incredible followup potential making the main reason why the move was so oppressive in ''Melee''.

*{{change|Fox has a new idle stance. He now takes on a fighting stance and hops in place rapidly. In addition, Fox has two new idle animations; one where he takes a Tae-Kwon-Do-esque fighting stance, and the other where he does a beckoning gesture with his hand.}}

*{{change|Fox's previous [[taunt]] has been moved to his down taunt.}}

*{{buff|Fox is [[Weight|heavier]] (75 → 80).}}

**{{nerf|However, due to ''Brawl''{{'}}s changes to the knockback formula (knockback is now also based on a character's [[gravity]]), his vertical endurance is still drastically worse, to the point he has the 5th worst vertical endurance out of 39 characters without [[momentum canceling]], and the 11th worst with momentum canceling, whereas in ''Melee'', he had the 6th best vertical endurance out of 26 characters.}}

*{{buff|Fox's [[air speed]] is faster (0.83 → 0.89) improving his recovery and ability to escape aerial pressure.}}

*{{buff|Fox's additional [[air acceleration]] is higher (0.06 → 0.08), increasing the total amount (0.08 → 0.09) despite his base air acceleration being lower (0.02 → 0.01). However, it is much lower relative to the cast, going from the 2nd highest out of 26 characters to just the 13th highest out of 39.}}

**{{nerf|Down tilt deals less damage (10% → 9%/8%/7%), has lower knockback scaling (125 → 100), and its inner hitboxes send opponents at lower angles (70° → 45°/65°), significantly hindering its combo and KO potential.}}

**{{change|Fox has a new back aerial: a face-away-backwards-hooking-kick slanted upward at the same angle as his prior back aerial (which recovers into the back turning motion much quicker).}}

**{{buff|It has increased base knockback (0 → 20) and now semi-spikes when sweetspotted (361° → 30°), significantly improving its edgeguarding potential, as well as its KO potential despite its knockback scaling being lowered (100 → 85).}}

**{{nerf|Up aerial has more startup (frame 8 → 9), its second hit has a shorter duration (frames 11-14 → 12-14), and deals less damage (13% → 11%) with significantly less knockback (40 (base)/116 (scaling) → 30/100), now requiring opponents to be around 140% or near the upper blast line to KO, instead of reliably KOing under 100% regardless of their proximity to the upper blast line. It also has increased landing lag (18 → 22 frames).}}

|usmashname=Flip Kick ({{ja|サマーソルトキック|Samāsoruto Kikku}}, ''Somersault Kick'')

:''See also: [[:Category:Fox players (SSBB)]]''

*{{Sm|Trump|USA}} - Considered to be one of the best Fox mains in the USA, with wins over {{Sm|MVD}}, {{Sm|Seibrik}}, {{Sm|Hungrybox}}, {{Sm|Purple Guy}}, {{Sm|ESAM}}, and {{Sm|RedHalberd}}.

[[File:Subspace fox.PNG|thumb|250px|Fox in ''[[SSE]]''.]]

An [[Arwing]] is seen engaging the battleship [[Halberd]], but is soon struck and begins to fall toward it. This causes {{SSBB|Kirby}} and {{SSBB|Peach}}/{{SSBB|Zelda}} to be blown overboard in its wake.

==In Solo Modes==

 

 

===[[Event Match]]es===

====Solo Events====

====Co-Op Events====

===[[Congratulations_screen#Super_Smash_Bros._Brawl|Ending Images]]===

Fox Congratulations Screen Classic Mode Brawl.png|Classic Mode

Fox Congratulations Screen All-Star Brawl.png|All-Star Mode