Samus (SSBU)/Forward aerial

Hitbox visualization showing Samus's forward aerial.

Overview

Samus shoots 5 fiery blasts in front of herself starting high and going lower with every blast. Has fast startup at frame 6, large disjointed hitboxes, high damage and KO potential, and an amazing interruptibility window which when combined with her fast falling speed, makes it an outstanding anti-air option and arguably one of the safest pressuring tools in the game.

Forward aerial's effectiveness largely stems from its excellent synergy with her projectiles, Charge Shot and Missile, its large coverage allowing Samus to catch opponents attempting to maneuver around said projectiles via jumping. Additionally it can be comboed into via down throw at low-mid percentages, typically putting opponents into an awkward position for dealing with further pressure from projectiles. However, due to the move starting above Samus and not being able to hit targets below her until late into its long duration, it is generally ineffective at hitting grounded opponents, not garnering as much reward even if it does connect in this manner. Compounding on this is its poor safety on shield relative to Samus' other aerials (-12 for hits 1-4, -11 for final hit), although the disjointed nature of its hitboxes does allow Samus to space around shields.

Overall, while it was ultimately designed to be an anti-air move, it is nevertheless an important move in Samus' arsenal, especially playing a pivotal role in her zoning flowchart as it is a perfect counter to opponents who are jumping to approach her or to evade her projectiles.

Hitboxes

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
Hit 1
0	0	0	3.0%	0		Forward	0	100	25		6.0	armr	9.0	0.0	0.0	0.8×	1.0×	0%							Fire		All	All
1	0	0	3.0%	0		Forward	0	100	30		4.0	armr	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.8×	1.0×	0%							Fire		All	All
Hits 2-4
0	0	0	1.6%	0		Forward	0	100	35		6.0	armr	9.0	0.0	0.0	0.8×	1.0×	0%							Fire		All	All
1	0	0	1.6%	0		Forward	0	100	40		4.0	armr	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.8×	1.0×	0%							Fire		All	All
Hit 5
0	0	0	5.0%	0		Standard	40	140	0		5.5	armr	2.0	0.0	2.0	2.0×	1.0×	0%							Fire		All	All
1	0	0	5.0%	0		Standard	40	140	0		7.2	armr	9.0	0.0	2.0	2.0×	1.0×	0%							Fire		All	All

Timing

Attack

Hit 1	6-7
Hits 2-4	12-13, 18-19, 24-25
Hit 5	30-31
Ending autocancel	47-
Interruptible	60
Animation length	63

Landing lag

Interruptible	15
Animation length	36

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Hitbox

Autocancel

Interruptible

Samus's moveset

Neutral attack (1 · 2) · 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 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