Fox (SSBM)/Down special

Overview

The hitbox of Fox's shine.

Fox's hitbox and intangibility can be seen on frame 1.

Fox's Reflector, known informally as a shine, can reflect projectiles that are fired on Fox back at the opponent. It's primary use (in Melee), however, is as a direct attack, knocking opponents on a set semi-spike trajectory.

This move is widely considered the best move in the game, as well as the primary factor in the advancement of Fox's metagame. It comes out in one frame without any delay and has set knockback and hitstun, allowing it to be used for edgeguarding; gimping an opponent with this move is called a shine spike. By jump canceling the shine, which allows him to wavedash out of it, Fox can follow up with other moves such as a neutral aerial, up tilt, up smash, or another shine, allowing it to be used as a combo starter, extender or finisher at any percent.

The shine is also known for its fantastic ability to pressure shields. Due to the shine's ability to be jump-canceled, Fox can perform a technique called the multi-shine, where he can use several shines in a row without leaving the ground; Fox can use SHFFL'd aerials in the mix to force opponents to react as well. Fox can also use the initial frame of invincibility and jump cancel the shine into a grab (known as shine grabbing) to safely grab opponents. Even if he misses the shine as an attack, Fox can safely jump away from the opponent and force a reaction.

Though it's extremely fast and versatile, the move is not without flaws. The hitbox lasts for a single frame, necessitating Fox to be in range before activating it, rather than using it as an approach tool like his neutral aerial. Against opponents who tumble (Fox, Falco, Jigglypuff & Pikachu being the most common in tournament), if it hits while they're still on the ground, they can tech, potentially escaping a punish. If it hits while they're on the ground and near the edge of the stage or a platform, they can slideoff, immediately becoming actionable. Against opponents who don't tumble (Marth, C. Falcon, Peach, etc...), if it hits while they're in the air and slightly above the stage or a platform, they can land on the ground, causing an air-ground transition and cancelling their remaining hitstun, potentially leading to a reversal. If they're grounded, they can still cause an air-ground transition by performing a technique called unforbidden SDI, which requires that they 1) be next to the edge of a platform or stage and 2) be knocked back by the shine inwards towards the center; by SDI-ing off the edge, the victim can then SDI up or diagonally-up, before being knocked back onto the ground, which will, as mentioned previously, cancel their hitstun.

In regards to its weaknesses as a reflector, Fox is unable to jump-cancel the move for ⅓ of a second after reflecting a projectile. This is long enough to leave him open to a punish, especially against projectiles that have low end lag, such as Fox's lasers in the mirror match. Against opponents who also have a move that can reflect projectiles, it will shatter if it bounces back the same projectile too many times due to an upper limit to how much base damage the reflected projectile should have before making contact with the Reflector. When this happens, Fox will go through the stun animation and be completely vulnerable to attack.

Hitboxes

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Clang	Rebound	Effect	G	A	Sound
0	0	5%	0		0	100	80	7.999488	3	0.0	0.0	0.0						Burn

Timing

Minimum duration

Hitbox	1
Intangible	1
Reflects	4-21
Jump-cancellable	4-21
Turnaround possible	4-21
Animation length	39

In general

Hitbox	1
Intangible	1
Reflects	4-[release+1]
Jump-cancellable	4-[release+1]
Turnaround possible	4-[release+1]
Animation length	[release+19]

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Hitbox

Vulnerable

Loop point

Reflect

Intangible

Turning around disables jump-canceling for 3 frames. These frames will always reflect, regardless of release time. If the reflect window was increased that way, the ending lag will also increase by the same amount.

Properties

Reflection radius	8.5
Reflection damage*	1.5x
Reflection speed	1.0x
Max reflectable damage	50
Reflection lag**	20

* Rounded up to the next whole number

** 20 frames + the ending animation

Similar moves

• Falco (SSBM)/Down special

Fox's moveset

Neutral attack (1 · 2 · inf) · Forward tilt · Up tilt · Down tilt · Dash attack · Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash
Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial
Grab · Pummel · Forward throw · Back throw · Up throw · Down throw
Forward roll · Back roll · Spot dodge · Air dodge · Techs
Floor attack (front) · Floor getups (front) · Floor attack (back) · Floor getups (back)
Edge attack (fast) · Edge getups (fast) · Edge attack (slow) · Edge getups (slow)
Neutral special · Side special · Up special · Down special