Captain Falcon (SSB4)

Captain Falcon in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	F-Zero
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Blue Falcon

Captain Falcon (キャプテン・ファルコン, Captain Falcon) returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was confirmed during a live stream on July 14th, 2014, 16 years exactly to the same date that F-Zero X was released for the Nintendo 64 in Japan in 1998, alongside Lucina and Robin. His appearance has been updated since his last appearance.

Captain Falcon retains his false-American-accented English voice clips by Ryō Horikawa from Brawl in all versions of the game.

Attributes

Captain Falcon has the unique combination of having among the fastest mobility in Smash 4 (with the 12th fastest air speed, the 4th fastest falling speed, and the 2nd fastest dash), while at the same time having remarkable KO power in his moveset. His power makes him one of the most potent punishers in the game and gives him excellent combo-finishing ability. His grab game is also remarkable: he has one of the longest dash grabs in the game that also has little lag, and his throws are great for comboing (forward and down throws) and pressuring (up and back throws). His endurance is one of the best in the game due to his heavy weight (tied with Link and Yoshi for the 11th heaviest in the game) and high gravity along with fast falling speed.

However, Falcon has his flaws. Arguably his biggest weakness is his very poor recovery: although his air speed is rather fast and he has a wall jump, his falling speed and gravity are also very high, and his recovery options are slow, predictable, and don't go very far. Another weakness is his susceptibility to combos due to his heavy weight and high gravity and falling speed. He also lacks a projectile, which gives him serious issues dealing with camping characters, like Villager. Strangely, despite his excellent comboing ability, his speed does not translate him into having fast attack speed. His strongest attacks are very slow in startup, ending, and/or landing lag while his faster attacks lack KO power and are mainly used for damage-racking, giving him trouble KOing outside punishing and finishing combos. Despite this, Falcon's strengths overpower his flaws, and as a result, he is one of the more successful characters in tournaments.

With customs on, Captain Falcon gets many benefits. While Falcon Dash Punch is weaker and has slower startup than Falcon Punch, it dashes forward, forcing his opponents offstage for him to KO them with his above average edgeguard tools. Heavy Raptor Boost, while being slower and giving less distance, it has super armor throughout and much more power. Wind-Up Raptor Boost, while being weaker than regular Raptor Boost, it allows for mindgames as Captain Falcon backs up a bit before charging forward, and it moves faster as well. Falcon Strike, while being unable to grab opponents, thus sacrificing reusability, it has a hitbox during the entire ascent, granting better overall protection. It also goes higher and has much more horizontal momentum, not only giving Captain Falcon a better vertical recovery, it also gives him one of the quickest horizontal recoveries in the game, as his already fast air speed is put into even better use. Falcon Kick Flurry is basically the opposite of Falcon Kick, with the strongest hit being the last, allowing it to trap opponents, at the cost of some KO power. Finally, even though Lightning Falcon Kick has slower startup and weaker knockback than Falcon Kick, it travels significantly faster and the landing hit paralyzes opponents, which allows numerous setups should the Captain Falcon player be skilled and lucky enough to pull it off. It also goes straight through opponents, allowing for easy cross-ups.

Changes from Brawl

Captain Falcon has been significantly buffed from Brawl, in which he was a low-tier character despite his speed and power. Several of his moves have been given more reach and knockback, and some of his situational moves, such as his up tilt, have been greatly improved. Falcon's grab game has also been buffed, as his throws have less ending lag, allowing him to string together combos more reliably, much as he could before Brawl. Complementing this is his newly buffed dash grab, which comes out very quickly and covers a lot of distance. Falcon also significantly benefits from the removal of two of Brawl's mechanics - hitstun cancelling, the removal of which restored his comboing ability, and chain grabbing, which was one of his biggest weaknesses in Brawl. As he is a heavyweight character, Falcon also benefits from the rage mechanic, without his combos being affected. As in SSB and Melee, Falcon is mainly a heavily offensive rushdown character who relies on overwhelming his opponents with rapid combos and powerful finishers.

On the other hand, some of Captain Falcon's previous staple moves were nerfed; for example, his Knee Smash now has much more landing lag and can no longer autocancel, and Falcon Dive has decreased safety due to its higher ending lag, weakening some of his possible recovery mixups. As a result, while being considered noticeably better than in Brawl he is often still considered to be slightly inferior to his Melee incarnation. However, these nerfs are very minuscule compared to the massive buffs he received.

Overall, Captain Falcon has achieved notable tournament success, and is considered by the competitive community to be a strong choice for tournament play. While Falcon is not as common or as dominant as other perceived top-tier characters such as Sheik and Rosalina & Luma, he has a dedicated playerbase that brings his usage in line with many characters said to be better than he is; many top players use Falcon either as a main (such as Fatality) or a secondary (such as ZeRo), and he is also one of the most frequently used characters in low and mid-level play.

Aesthetics

• Captain Falcon now has a brighter color scheme overall in SSB4, which matches his appearance in the F-Zero series.
• Falcon's racing suit and boots are now tighter, which make his model more well-defined and muscular than in Brawl.
• All of Captain Falcon's actions involving fire have more fiery visuals.
• Like other characters, Falcon has more exaggerated facial expressions (albeit less noticeable due to his helmet), and clenches his teeth when performing certain attacks and during one of his victory poses.
• Captain Falcon's face also has more-visible dimples.
• Oddly enough, Falcon's mouth no longer moves for his voiced down and side taunts (instead grimacing with a closed mouth for his down taunt), despite his mouth being fully animated for a few of his moves and victory poses. His mouth can still be seen moving in certain circumstances, such as during the slowdown after ending a match, which may be carryover from Brawl.

Attributes

• Captain Falcon walks slightly faster (0.85 → 0.94).
• Captain Falcon dashes faster (2.18 → 2.32).
• Captain Falcon's gravity is higher (0.1027 → 0.12), slightly worsening his endurance.
• Air speed is slower (1.18 → 1.1).
• Captain Falcon can no longer do a two-hit forward smash with battering items, nor can he fire multiple stars at once with the Star Rod.

Ground attacks

• Gentleman (neutral attack's third hit) has drastically more knockback (10 base/50 growth → 70 base/100 growth) and now initiates independently of the infinite strike, making it much easier to use and allows it to be skipped upon initiating the infinite, keeping it from knocking opponents out of the infinite's reach.
• Neutral infinite now transitions into a finisher that has surprisingly large range and high base knockback (albeit low growth), making the infinite much safer overall.
• Dash attack deals more damage (8%/6% → 10%/6%) along with improved knockback (80 base/40 growth → 90 base/50 growth).
• Up tilt can now meteor smash aerial opponents if the foot is landed. The non-meteor smash hitbox now send opponents at a higher trajectory (60°), increasing its combo usage.
• Outside of the meteor smash, up tilt's 60° trajectory weakens its KOing ability. It also deals 2% less damage (13 → 11%), with knockback compensated.
• Down tilt sends opponents at a semi-spike trajectory, allowing it to set up tech-chases, setup edge-guards, and edge-guard effectively itself. It also has less cooldown (interruptibility frame 37 → 35).
• Since down tilt no longer sends opponents vertically, the move has significantly decreased combo potential.
• Forward smash has increased knockback (20 base/85 growth → 24 base/94 growth) and its hitbox lasts 1 frame longer.
• Forward smash has 1 frame increased start-up (18 frames → 19 frames) and moderately increased cooldown (interruptibility frame 48 → 60).
• Up smash's first kick has slightly more horizontal reach.
• Up smash's first kick has slightly less damage potential (8%/8%/11%/11% → 6%/6%/11%/11%).
• Down smash's knockback properties of its two kicks have been reversed, with the back kick now being more powerful.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial has slightly more knockback growth (125 → 130).
• Neutral aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 12 frames, being more than in Brawl, but less than the non-L-canceled version in Melee.).
• Up aerial's trajectory has been reverted to its Super Smash Bros. iteration (70°), making it a much better combo move.
• Up aerial's sweetspot does 2% less damage (13%/12%/12% → 11/10/10%) and the sourspot deals 1% less damage (10% → 9%).
• Knee Smash (forward aerial) greatly benefits from the removal of hitstun cancelling and up aerial's new trajectory, giving more reliable set-ups into it.
• Knee Smash has increased landing lag (22 frames → 30 frames), cool down (40 frames → 46 frames) and can no longer autocancel in a short hop.
• Back aerial deals 1% less damage (14% → 13%) which makes it weaker despite increased base knockback (20 → 25).
• Down aerial has slightly larger hitboxes, with the meteor hitbox now taking priority over the sourspot.
• Down aerial can no longer autocancel in a short hop.

Throws/other attacks

• Captain Falcon's dash grab covers significantly more ground, making it much easier for Falcon to grab opponents.
• Forward and down throws have less ending lag, which allows them to lead into followups more effectively. The former also has significantly increased knockback (45 base/108 growth → 55 base/120 growth).
• Down throw deals slightly less damage (7% → 6%) with knockback compensated.
• Back throw has significantly increased base knockback (30 → 60), now giving it potential to KO at high damages on the ledge and set-up edgeguards easier. It also deals 1% more damage (8% → 9%).

Special moves

• Falcon Punch deals slightly less damage (27% → 25%) with significantly decreased knockback (30 base/93 growth → 0 base/90 growth). It also has more cooldown (interruptibility frame 100 → 110).
• Falcon Punch deals consistent damage throughout all its hitboxes.
• Raptor Boost deals 2% more damage (7% → 9%), covers more range and has significantly increased knockback growth (52 → 75), making it a reliable KO move below 150%. It also no longer dashes over the edge when used on the ground.
• Raptor Boost has more ending lag and the aerial version gives less height. It is also no longer a guaranteed meteor smash, requiring Falcon to be above an opponent.
• Falcon Dive has much faster start up and covers more distance while losing less momentum.
• The removal of grab armor removes the minimal protection Falcon Dive provided, making Captain Falcon easier to edge-guard. The animation after landing Falcon Dive also has significantly more ending lag (45 frames → 61 frames).
• Falcon Kick deals significantly stronger knockback (50 base/70 growth → 60 base/80 growth) when used on the ground, with the initial hitbox now KOing under 150%. Additionally, the removal of hitstun cancelling no longer allows opponents to punish Captain Falcon for landing it at low percentages.
• Blue Falcon has a larger hitbox upon start-up.

Update history

Falcon has received nerfs in most balance patches so far, with most of them reducing the power of his downward angled forward smash. However, changes to the shield mechanics in 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 have indirectly buffed Falcon, as the increase in shieldstun and the application of hitlag on shields benefit many of his moves, improving his offensive playstyle.

1.0.4

• Some hitbox data has been adjusted.

1.0.6

• Down-angled forward smash's knockback has been noticeably reduced.
• Neutral infinite has less visual whiffs.

1.0.8

• Non-angled and up-angled forward smash's knockback scalings have been minimally increased, now KOing about 1-2% sooner.
• Down-angled forward smash's knockback scaling has been minimally decreased, KOing about 1-2% later.
• Up aerial's knockback has been reduced while its sweetspot, sourspot and middle hitboxes all do less damage: 13%/12%/12%/10% → 11%/10%/10%/9%. This makes it a less reliable KOing option.
• Up aerial's reduced knockback allows it to combo up to higher percents.

1.1.0

• Back aerial's damage reduced: 14% → 13%.
• Infinite jab's horizontal displacement has been reduced: 5.0u/4.8u → 3.0u/2.8u.
• Infinite jab's finisher's horizontal displacement has been reduced: 14u → 10u.

Technical changelist

Change	Old value	New value
Forward smash knockback growth on non-angled and up-angled variants	94	95
Forward smash knockback growth on down-angled variant	84	83
Up air damage	13%/12%/12%/10%	11%/10%/10%/9%
Up air knockback growth	10/10/8/8	16/16/10/10

1.1.1

• Wind-Up Raptor Boost deals more damage (8% (ground)/7% (air) → 9% (ground)/8% (air).

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	Captain Falcon punches twice, then knee strikes the opponent. Alternatively, the first two punches can be followed by a series of punches, culminating in an underhand punch.
			2%
			5%
			1% (loop), 2% (last)
Forward tilt	↗		10% (foot), 9% (leg)	Performs a roundhouse kick.
	→		9% (foot), 8% (leg)
	↘		10% (foot), 9% (leg)
Up tilt			11%	Does an axe kick with good horizontal knockback. His heel can meteor smash aerial opponents.
Down tilt			10%	Does a sweep kick with horizontal knockback.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 6% (late)	Shoulder tackles his opponent. It can set up an aerial attack.
Forward smash	↗		20%	Captain Falcon rears back and makes a lunging burning elbow. KOs at 100%
	→		19%
	↘		20%
Up smash			11%/6% (hit 1), 13%/12% (hit 2)	Performs a spinning double hop-kick. A potent move with relatively little start-up lag and deceptive horizontal range.
Down smash			14% (hit 1), 18% (hit 2)	Quickly kicks forwards and then backwards.
Neutral aerial			4% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	Captain Falcon kicks forwards twice. A decent follow-up option after a down throw, and it can lead into other moves as well.
Forward aerial		Knee Smash	19% (clean sweetspot), 6% (clean sourspot), 3% (late)	Captain Falcon performs a knee strike that deals electric damage. It has very high knockback when sweetspotted, but high landing lag.
Back aerial			13% (clean), 8% (late)	Captain Falcon does a quick backhanded strike. Can SHFF.
Up aerial			13%/12% (clean), 12%/10% (late)	Does a flip kick with fast start-up and good all-around range (though not directly below him). Has little to no landing lag, making it an effective move for comboing.
Down aerial			14%	Captain Falcon stomps downward. A strong meteor smash when sweetspotted at his legs, but high horizontal knockback nonetheless if sourspotted.
Grab			—	Captain Falcon's grab range is short. However, his dash grab has deceptively high range and propels him forwards a good distance.
Pummel			2%	Knee strikes the opponent. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw			5% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Captain Falcon punches the enemy, sending them forward. Can be followed up with a dash attack.
Back throw			5% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Captain Falcon puts the enemy behind him and kicks. Can KO at high percentages.
Up throw			4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Captain Falcon holds the enemy up and punches them upward with his left hand.
Down throw			6%	Swings the foe overhead and then slams them on the ground with a single arm. Can be followed up reliably with neutral air or up air.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Captain Falcon does a spin on the ground to kick both sides.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Captain Falcon spins around to do a double kick.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Captain Falcon punches both sides.
Edge attack			7%
Neutral special	Default	Falcon Punch	25% (ground), 28% (ground reverse), 22% (air), 25% (air reverse)	Captain Falcon winds up and releases his iconic fiery punch. Inputting a direction (up or down) when charging Falcon Punch in the air will give a slight boost in that direction, and this also applies for custom variants.
	Custom 1	Falcon Dash Punch	20%/16%/13%/11% (ground), 22%/18%/15%/13% (ground reverse), 17%/15%/13%/11% (air), 20%/18%/16%/14% (air reverse)	Captain Falcon dashes forward a fair distance forward before unleashing his Falcon Punch. Weaker than normal, especially in the later stages.
	Custom 2	Mighty Falcon Punch	22%/18%/9%/6% (ground), 25%/18%/6% (ground reverse), 19%/18%/6% (air), 22%/18%/6% (air reverse)	Has a very large hitbox, but has less power and longer startup lag.
Side special	Default	Raptor Boost	9% (ground), 8% (air)	Captain Falcon dashes forward and follows up with an uppercut. Can meteor smash the opponent if used in the air.
	Custom 1	Heavy Raptor Boost	12% (ground), 12% (air)	More starting lag and has less range, but has more power and has super armor.
	Custom 2	Wind-up Raptor Boost	9% (ground), 8% (air)	Moves backwards a bit before dashing forward. The charge is faster, but deals less damage and knockback. Can be used for mindgames.
Up special	Default	Falcon Dive	5% (hit 1), 12% (throw)	Captain Falcon attempts to grab an opponent, finishing with an explosion. If successful, he will cry "YES!!!". Does a harmless flip if the attack fails.
	Custom 1	Falcon Strike	8%	Jumps up and punches in the sky, damaging opponents above him. Goes higher than Falcon Dive and has more horizontal momentum, but doesn't grab opponents.
	Custom 2	Explosive Falcon Dive	10% (hit 1), 15% (throw)	Charges longer and doesn't go as high as Falcon Dive, but has more launching power.
Down special	Default	Falcon Kick	13%/11%/7% (ground), 15%/13%/11% (air), 9% (landing)	Captain Falcon bursts forward with a flaming high-speed kick. If used in the air, Captain Falcon will plunge down at a diagonal angle.
	Custom 1	Falcon Kick Fury	1% (ground loop hits), 7% (ground last hit), 2% (air loop hits), 5% (air last hit), 5% (landing)	Hits multiple times, with the last hit launching the opponent. The last hit has less knockback, however.
	Custom 2	Lightning Falcon Kick	12%/10%/6% (ground), 14%/12%/10% (air), 4% (landing)	A fast kick that doesn't have as much power and takes slightly longer to charge, but goes right through opponents. The landing hit paralyzes opponents.
Final Smash		Blue Falcon	10% (hit 1), 20% (hit 2), 10% (throw)	Captain Falcon calls in the Blue Falcon, which crashes through the stage in front of Captain Falcon. Whoever it hits when it first appears will be hit by the rest of the move. Characters who are not hit will stay in place until the end of the smash. A short cutscene appears, and the opponents are run over and sent flying. Like certain other Final Smashes, if no one is hit when the Blue Falcon appears, then the attack fails.

Taunts

• CaptainFalconUpTauntSSB4.jpg
• CaptainFalconSideTauntSSB4.jpg
• CaptainFalconDownTauntSSB4.jpg

• Up Taunt: Charges himself up with a fiery aura, similar to when using the Falcon Punch.
• Side Taunt: Holds out his hand and gestures his opponent to come closer, exclaiming "Come on!".
• Down Taunt: Faces the camera, salutes and exclaims "Show me your moves!" (The animation is different and faster if he is facing left).

Idle Poses

• Leans forward and thrusts his arm out.
• Similar to his other idle pose, but this time crouches slightly and thrusts his elbow out.

On-Screen Appearance

The Blue Falcon spins to a stop, Captain Falcon jumps out, and then the Blue Falcon speeds off.

Victory Fanfare

An electric guitar-based cover of the short track that would play when a character finished a race in F-Zero GX.

Victory Poses

• CaptainFalconPose1WiiU.png
• CaptainFalconPose2WiiU.png
• CaptainFalconPose3WiiU.png

• Performs two jump kicks, then does a pose.
• Charges up fiery energy, similar to one of his Melee poses, but with fire added.
• Does three roundhouse kicks and then strikes a pose.

In Competitive Play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Captain Falcon	2111	2112	2113	2121	2122
	2123	2221	2211	2133	3111

Notable players

Active

•  Acid
•  Doom
•  Fatality
•  Glutonny
•  Pichi
•  Saiya
•  Tearbear
•  UltimateRazer
•  ZeRo

Inactive

•  Trifroze

Alternate costumes

Reveal trailer

<youtube>N9ytrX0wweA</youtube>

Trophies

Captain Falcon

In the F-Zero racing scene, Captain Falcon uses his Blue Falcon to win big. His origin largely a mystery, he's made his way to the Smash Bros. battlefield to prove his worth outside the cockpit. He's got speed and power, and his distinct Falcon Punch leaves a dent. Start it in the air to surprise your foes!

We love it when this F-Zero pilot from Port Town takes a break from racing the Blue Falcon to take on challengers in brawls. His balance of speed, power and weight is spot on, and his slow but mighty Falcon Punch is oh so sweet when it finally connects. Try starting the attack in mid-air and punching your way into a frantic fray!

: F-Zero (08/1991)

: F-Zero GX (08/2003)

Captain Falcon (Alt.)

Captain Falcon's default down special, Falcon Kick, is no ordinary kick—it surges forward in a fiery blaze. It's a versatile attack that moves sideways on the ground and diagonally down in the air. His forward air attack, Knee Smash, can send an enemy flying for miles if hit just right.

The captain's Falcon Kick isn't just any old kick - it blazes either to the side or diagonally down to terrorise the enemy. Its speed also makes it top-notch for surprise attacks! Another move to try out is his forward air attack, Knee Smash. If you get as close to someone as you can before using it, it can launch hem miles!

: F-Zero (08/1991)

: F-Zero GX (08/2003)

Blue Falcon

Captain Falcon's Final Smash lets him pull opponents into the middle of an F-Zero race-where competitors have been known to break the speed of sound-and run them over with his racing machine, the Blue Falcon. If he manages to grab you, there's no escape. The impact launches its victims diagonally upward.

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Blue Falcon

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Secret: Captain Falcon is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are characters that have been unlockable in previous Super Smash Bros. games.
• Bounty Hunter Clash: Captain Falcon must defeat Zero Suit Samus in a 2 stock battle. Afterwards, 2 Villagers will appear and challenge the player.
• Up to Speed: Captain Falcon appears as an opponent that Sonic must defeat.

Co-op Events

• Full Speed Ahead: Captain Falcon and Sonic must defeat another Captain Falcon and Sonic in a high-speed stock battle.
• Sky Pirates: Meta Knight and Dark Pit must defeat Captain Falcon and Falco before the plane returns to the airfield.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Gallery

• 

  Captain Falcon's reveal in the By Book, Blade, and Crest of Flame trailer.

• 

  Captain Falcon's full design in the By Book, Blade, and Crest of Flame trailer.

• 

  Captain Falcon's amiibo.

• 

  Raptor Boost on Link.

• 

  Using Falcon Punch.

• 

  Knee Smash.

• 

  On-screen appearance.

• 

  Falcon Kick on Mega Man.

• 

  About to strike Robin with Raptor Boost.

• 

  Left-face down taunt in Smash Ball standby on Halberd.

• 

  Blue Falcon, Captain Falcon's Final Smash, being used on Yoshi, Sheik, and King Dedede.

• 

  Forward smash.

• 

  Right-face down taunt with Palutena, as well as Captain Falcon using a Metal Box.

• 

  Neutral aerial on Mario.

• 

  Back aerial.

• 

  Down tilt.

• 

  Forward Smash on Toon Link.

• 

  Falcon Dive on Link.

Trivia

• The lines bordering Captain Falcon's "eyes" change depending on the costume used.
• Prior to patch 1.1.0, on certain characters such as Shulk or even himself, if players performed a dash grab and pummeled the character that's near the ledge (as on the ledge didn't work) the pummels would pass right through them doing no damage. Players that were too close would miss the grab and the character's feet must touch the ground when the players grabbed them. However, large characters like Bowser & Donkey Kong would still take damage.
• Of all the veterans that have appeared since Brawl, Captain Falcon and Ganondorf are the only ones to not make use of knockback sound clips that weren't used ingame in Brawl despite having them.