Captain Falcon (SSBU)/Neutral special

Captain Falcon neutral special hitbox visualizations.
Grounded	Aerial
Grounded reversed	Aerial Reversed

Overview

Captain Falcon winds up his fist and announces his signature move Falcon Punch. Although it possesses humongous knockback and damage potential from the move alone upon hitting an opponent, the move can easily be shielded, unable to break a full shield despite dealing more shieldstun. As a result of its lengthy endlag, foes can retaliate and initiate a variety of follow up moves, causing Falcon to waste inititiative. Falcon Punch finds use only after shield break scenarios, where he can exploit the opponent’s helplessness. Due to how situational the move is, many players consider it to be the least useful special move, and by extension, his least useful move overall.

Hitboxes

Landing any hitbox produces a Special Zoom.

Grounded

ID	Part	Rehit rate	Damage	SD	Angle	Angle type	BK	KS	FKV	Set weight	Radius	Bone	Offset			H×	SDI×	T%	Clang	Rebound	Effect	Type	G	A	Sound	Direct	Hit bits	Hit part	Blockable	Reflectable	Absorbable	Flinchless	No GFX	Heedless
Normal
0	0	0	25.0%	0		Standard	93	59	0		4.5	armr	-1.0	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
1	0	0	25.0%	0		Standard	93	59	0		2.5	shoulderr	-2.5	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
2	0	0	25.0%	0		Standard	93	59	0		4.0	armr	4.2	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
Reversed
0	0	0	28.0%	0		Standard	85	65	0		4.5	armr	-1.0	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
1	0	0	28.0%	0		Standard	85	65	0		2.5	shoulderr	-2.5	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
2	0	0	28.0%	0		Standard	85	65	0		4.0	armr	4.2	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All

Aerial

ID	Part	Rehit rate	Damage	SD	Angle	Angle type	BK	KS	FKV	Set weight	Radius	Bone	Offset			H×	SDI×	T%	Clang	Rebound	Effect	Type	G	A	Sound	Direct	Hit bits	Hit part	Blockable	Reflectable	Absorbable	Flinchless	No GFX	Heedless
Normal
0	0	0	22.0%	0		Standard	93	59	0		5.175	armr	-1.0	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
1	0	0	22.0%	0		Standard	93	59	0		2.875	shoulderr	-2.5	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
2	0	0	22.0%	0		Standard	93	59	0		4.6	armr	4.2	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
Reversed
0	0	0	25.0%	0		Standard	93	59	0		5.175	armr	-1.0	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
1	0	0	25.0%	0		Standard	93	59	0		2.875	shoulderr	-2.5	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
2	0	0	25.0%	0		Standard	93	59	0		4.6	armr	4.2	0.0	0.0	1.5×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All

Differences for Kirby's Copy Ability

• The hitboxes have different sizes (4.5u/2.5u/4u → 2.5u/5u/4u) and offsets (X: -1u/-2.5u/4.2u → -3u/1u/5u; Z: 0u → 2u), with the ID 1 hitbox also being assigned to a different bone ("shoulderr" → "armr"), better matching Kirby's proportions.
  • Kirby's aerial Falcon Punch does not have larger hitboxes than the grounded version (5.175u/2.875u/4.6u → 2.5u/5u/4u).
• Kirby's aerial Falcon Punch deals less knockback (93 base/59 scaling → 58/68), and does not deal more damage when reversed (base: 25% → 22%). This makes it considerably weaker, with the normal and reversed versions KOing around 13% and 26% later (respectively) from center stage compared to Captain Falcon's.

Timing

Normal

The move can be reversed on frame 15. For the aerial version, the control stick is checked on frame 51 to apply vertical momentum in the chosen direction; additionally, a small, set amount of upward momentum (0.2) is applied upon initiation.

Hitbox	53-57
Interruptible	104
Animation length (grounded)	115
Animation length (aerial)	124

Grounded
Aerial

Reversed

For the aerial version, the control stick is checked on frame 60 to apply vertical momentum in the chosen direction.

Transition start	15
Turnaround	35
Hitbox	62-66
Interruptible	118
Animation length (grounded)	123
Animation length (aerial)	133

Grounded
Aerial

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Hitbox

State change

Interruptible

Differences for Kirby's Copy Ability

• Both aerial versions have a shorter animation (124 frames → 119 (normal), 133 → 129 (reversed)), allowing Kirby to do airborne actions such as fast falling and grabbing ledges earlier without interrupting the move.
  • However, the grounded reversed version has a longer animation instead (123 frames → 129).

Parameters

Move

Momentum forward	1
Stick sensitivity for vertical boost in midair	0.25 to 0.65
Maximum vertical boost in midair	0.92
Travel angle with vertical boost	35°

Special Zoom

Duration	40 frames
Slowdown magnitude	2
Zoom rate	4.5 (Captain Falcon) 4 (Kirby)
Time before zoom	3 frames
Background duration (non-1v1)	30 frames

Captain Falcon's moveset

Neutral attack (1 · 2 · 3 · 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
Floor attack (front) · Floor attack (back) · Floor attack (trip) · Edge attack
Neutral special · Side special · Up special · Down special · Final Smash