SSBM/Captain Falcon

Introduction

Douglas Jay Falcon, or Captain Falcon, is everything defining about melee turned up to 12. Fast as lightning, nigh impossible to control at first, almost always jumping around, and incomparably flashy. There's a reason he's a fan favorite. He has a simple, strong toolset with some of the best moves in the game along with being able to tank a lot of hits due to his weight. His noticeable flaws include a lack of powerful grounded moves, slower than average start up on his otherwise incredible aerial attacks, along with the weakest defensive options of the top tiers. In other words, he’s Melee's gorilla. A character of extreme strengths and weaknesses.

Given his relatively linear moveset, he has to creatively use his movement to dance around his opponent and position his moves appropriately. This is made all the more difficult by how unwieldy his excessive speed, both in the air and on the ground, make him. However, no character is able to take a little momentum in a match and run with it quite like Falcon. Once he gets a solid hit or grab, he can feel truly unstoppable. And, like all melee characters, he has limitless depth with new tech and strategies being discovered to this day.

Make no mistake however, when zoomed out far enough Falcon's plan is quite simple. You run around spacing his gigantic aerials or try to grab the other guy. Then hit them really, really hard. Like a wise man once said, everyone has a plan until they’re kneed in the face.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Extremely Fast and Mobile - Unrivaled combination of ground and air mobility allows for Falcon to fly across the screen and reposition nigh instantaneously

Powerful Combos - The Captain has some of the deadliest and most explosive combos in the game off a full combo starter

Heavy Fast faller - His combination of high weight and fast falling speed makes him one of the most resilient characters to stray hits in the game, making dropped edge guards vs him particularly punishing

Linear Toolset - Falcon's lack of powerful grounded moves can make him predictable in how he approaches various situations

Defense and Recovery - Falcon has notoriously weak answers on defense and recovery

Startup - While Doug himself is quite fast, his moves have a significant amount of startup, leading to them having a propensity to be hit before they hitbox has come out.

Normals

Ground moves

Normal

Jab

Falcon's main rebuttal to opponent's attempting to abuse his lack of quick moves, his jab is heavily used by Falcon's despite its flaws

Jab1 - grab mention

Explain gentleman, aaa hold on the third one, if you miss a jab you can either time the inputs precisely or walk between jab1-2 or 2-3, learning to avoid accidental rapid jabs is tricky at first but a key skill for a Falcon player

Dash attack - Shoulder tackle. Strongest when it comes out, weaker afterward. Pretty fast, this move is good for knocking the foe away from the ledge to follow with an aerial attack or edgeguard, with proper mindgaming/prediction. 10%
Down tilt - Does a quick round kick. The down tilt is a great launcher, if difficult to land. It has a long lag and therefore is not one of C.F.'s preferred setups. However, it can combo at most percentages and almost every DI into a SHFFLed neutral aerial, which can further combo. Fox and Falco can often be regrabbed from a down tilt at medium damage percentages, and their side special moves can be intercepted by Falcon's down tilt if they try to sweetspot the ledge. The down tilt can also combo into a Knee Smash and the up aerial, depending on knockback and DI. 12% damage.
Forward tilt - Kicks his foot out in front of him. Fast with decent range. There are not a significant amount of combo options from an forward tilt because of its horizontal hit trajectory, low knockback and stun time, and wind-down lag. One can try to follow up with a up aerial or a Jump-canceled grab, and even a dash-canceled down tilt or Raptor Boost, but they are not true combos and can be countered by every character. It may be a good idea to wavedash slightly forward to maintain pressure, and enter a defensive stance or used after a pivot as a surprise attack to keep enemies away. An forward tilt, angled upward, can stun enemies long enough from an up/down throw that it can lead to a Knee Smash. 11% damage
Up tilt - Brings his leg up and brings it down in an axe-like way. His up tilt has horizontal knockback as well, and, like the forward tilt, is difficult to combo from. Due to its low trajectory, one can often follow off the edge of a platform or stage with a falling neutral aerial or non-sweetspotted forward aerial edgeguard, but this is not a true combo. It may be a good idea to wavedash slightly forward to maintain pressure, and enter a defensive stance. Most players use up tilts as an edgeguard technique since the heel can extend below the platform. 11% damage.

Smash attacks

Side smash - Reels his elbow back and thrusts it forward. Excellent knockback even when uncharged with good horizontal and vertical launching power, making it hard to DI. Somewhat fast as well. Uncharged usually kills around 100%+. 20% uncharged, 27% fully.
Up smash - Quickly thrusts both his feet upward in circular motions. A fast and powerful move, though short range. The second hit sometimes has difficulty connecting, as with Ganon's. When both hits connect, 19% uncharged, 27% fully charged. This is Falcon's most powerful move damage-wise (When fully charged).
Down smash - Kicks in front then back of him. Small noticeable startup, but good speed and knockback. 18% front, 16% back uncharged, 24% front and 21% back fully charged.

Other attacks

Ledge attack - Picks himself up and kicks. 10% damage.
100% ledge attack- Somewhat slowly gets up and punches in front of him. 8% damage.
Floor attack - Gets up and flips while kicking. 6% damage.

Aerial attacks

fAir/J6.A

Total: 39 Hit: 14-30 IASA: 36 Auto cancel: <6 35> Landlag: 19 Lcanceled: 9

"What's fAir? It's the Knee"

One of the best moves in the entire game, this is Falcon's defining move as a character. A combo starter that combos into itself to death while still being a devastating combo ender, being plus on block, and massive active frames to be used for edge guarding. This move is a problem for Falcon's opponents and is only limited by its start up and limited active frames of its strongest hitbox

Only the first 3 frames, or 1/20th of a second, are strong. After that it's a "weak knee"
Weak knee allows for combo extensions into strong knee or uAir or edge guards in situations strong knee does not, meaning that it's often better than a strong knee
Strong knee into standing grab will beat a shield grab, as it's +1 on block, creating a favorable EV situation in match ups where the opponent doesn't have a good answer

nAir/j.5A

Total: 44 Hit: 7-12, 20-29 Auto cancel: <3 34> Lcanceled: 7

"Two kicks. Two. Kicks."

Falcon's god button. It is a swiss army knife of a move and helps form the foundation of his neutral and combo game. Generally, a character's ability to make Falcon hesitate when using this move is what makes them win or lose the match up and is a defining interaction for the characters.

Unpunishable on block when performed correctly at -2, being particularly safe when spaced
Relatively quick start up and long active frames make it a great choice to throw out as a safe wall
Can combo into grab at low % and knee at higher %
Be wary of crouch cancelling, generally safe vs CC but it can catch you unawares
Generally want the 2nd hit to hit as low to the ground as possible to maximize combo potential and safety
First hit is vulnerable to being traded with, but the low recovery means it's challenging to whiff punish. Often requires a read to consistently beat

bAir/j.4A

Total: 35 Hit: 10-17 IASA: 29 Auto cancel: <6 21> Lcanceled: 9

"Cool guys don't look at explosions"

Falcon's back air has rather slow startup but is otherwise an oppressive move that is extremely hard to deal with once the opponent is past knockdown %. Its massive range means that very few characters can directly challenge the move if it is not preemptively challenged

Falcon's hand has a tipper property, meaning the end of the bAir hits harder than hitting it closer to Falcon's armpit, effecting combos
Low to the ground bAirs can be safely spaced once the opponent is at high % and confirmed into fAir if they are not willing to preemptively attack
Instant short hop bAir can be auto cancelled if the fast fall input is slightly delayed, and double jumped out of before landing if not fast fallen, adding layers to the landing mix up

dAir/j.2A

Stomp

Total: 44 Hit: 16-20 IASA: 38 Auto cancel: <3 36> Lcanceled landing recovery: 12

"The most powerful nipples in the game"

An infamously ignorant move. Getting hit by this move, even at 0%, can lead into touch of death combos in as little as 1-2 combo resets or mix ups for much of the cast. This is truly Doug's party starter

Falcon's best combo starter
Can extend legs through platforms if used on top of them, which will hit people beneath them
Combining this with edge cancelling to remove the recovery time makes it amazing on platforms
The upper most hitbox is a true spike commonly referred to as "the Nipple Spike" due to its location around Doug's pecs
High reward anti approach or approaching option, however it has high recovery if not edge cancelled which makes it risky to whiff. High risk, high reward

While Falcon can fall into his opponents with an attack much more successfully than most characters due to the size of this move, remember to avoid getting too predictable with it!

uAir/j.8A

Total: 35 Hit: 10-17 IASA: 29 Auto cancel: <6 21> Lcanceled: 9

"It's not my fault you jumped"

The size of this move along with Falcon's impressive dash jump means that situations that are challenging to deal with for other characters, such as a character being above and in front of you, are trivial to deal with for Falcon. This combined with it often being a guaranteed follow up after a throw in many situations, and being among the best combo extensions in the game, make it the move you are likely to use most often in Falcon combos as well as vs opponents who are a bit too jump happy.

If knee won't kill or combo into itself, uAir -> fAir is often a 50/50 kill with fAiring outright in practice
If nearly anyone is above you, this is usually a good response

Grabs & throws

Pummel - Knees opponent in the torso region. 2-3% damage per pummel.
Forward throw - Punches foe forward. Oddly, has two hits, the first hit doing 5% damage, second 4%.
Back throw - Kicks foe behind. Also has two very small and hardly noticeable hits. Knockback is usually hard to follow-up or combo with unless over a ledge. Throw does 5% first, 4% second.
Up throw - Punches foe upward. Yet another mysterious throw where Falcon supposedly only hits the foe once, although has two separate hitboxes. Foes usually fall straight down afterward, at lower damage percentages can lead into his side special and aerial follow-ups. 4% then 3%.
Down throw - Crushes foe to the floor. Only one hitbox unlike his other throws. This knocks the foe to the floor, and this can easily lead into his side special. At lower damage percentages, following his down throw and side special, an up smash or tilt is possible. At higher damage percentages, follow with an neutral aerial or whatever, depending on the foe's DI reaction. Throw does a single-hitting 7% damage.

Special moves

Up-B, 8B

Falcon Dive

Total: 64 Grab: 13-33 Can grab edges as soon as: 38 --When grabbing--- Total: 79 Hit: 2-6 Sends away: 20 landfallspeciallag: 30

"If only it turned them around before throwing them, now that'd be a recovery"

Falcon's primary recovery tool when double jump isn't enough
Falcon Dive also doubles as a command grab, however it is unsafe on hit at low % or when opponent can wall tech offstage
Doug cannot drift before the apex of the move, so when using it make sure to make it hard to hit you before that point in order to enable drift mix ups
Can fast fall through platforms to make punishing landing more difficult
Can edge cancel the move to remove all landing recovery
Being able to wall or ledge tech when recovering from below is vital
Can't be sweetspotted from below, Falcon always flips his entire body above ledge even at its lowest

Down-B, 2B

Falcon Kick

"Falcon KIIICK"

Hit (from ground): 14-32 Hit (from air): 15-29 Recovery time (from ground): 29 Recovery time (from air): 28NOTE: landing during the air recovery time causes the ground hit Ground hit lag: 45 Ground hit damaging: 1-2 Wall hit lag: 60

Falcon's down-b, or 2b, is a relatively niche move with 3 main use cases.

Refreshes double jump, enabling recoveries such as double jump falcon kick double jump when high enough
High recovery time means it can be easily punished if used too close to stage
Can be used to escape the corner, has a potent reverse hitbox
Bulleted list item

The most common by far is to use it when recovering it from high and far offstage. This is because it gives Falcon back his double jump, meaning that double jump, falcon kick, double jump is a commonly useful recovery. However, it has quite a bit of recovery so make sure you're far enough from your opponent so that they cannot hit you in it, and high enough that the time spent falling afterwards doesn't send you too low to recover!

The second usage is when you are being juggled without a double jump. When used in mid-air, it will stop your falling momentum, allowing for a falling option. Even if you're punished on its landing, you have regained your defensive options such as your double jump and ability to asdi down as you have now landed! The landing hitbox is also a potent shield poke, allowing for you to steal your turn in some cases. That said, be careful not to overuse it!

Finally, using it as an escape from the corner is quite useful as it sends you forward to center stage, meaning you'll often not die even if punished, and the initial animation both moves Falcon backwards (dodging attacks) and has a potent reverse hitbox. This can reverse a bad situation into a kill in ideal circumstances. It is to be used sparingly but remains a worthwhile addition to Falcon's toolbox.

Neutral-B, 5B

Falcon Punch

"You already know what it is"

Total: 99 Hit: 52-56

Falcon's most famous move and also likely his least useful. It is nevertheless not entirely without use. It can also be angled!

When an opponent is in a substantial amount of recovery, such as after breaking their shield or after Puff uses rest, Falcon punch is often a good option.

It can also be used as an edge guard vs opponents with linear recoveries such as Captain Falcon or Ganon when forced to use their up-b/8b, but ultimately its high recovery makes it niche at best.

While you can find other niche usages, such as Falcon punch being able to cover the entirety of a side platform in specific spots as a tech chase, or rolling to the ledge and FH up angled falcon punching a recovering Sheik, in general this is likely Falcon's least commonly used move.

Side-B, 4/6B

Raptor Boost

"F*ck it the move"

Total ground (whiffed): 79 Hit window (ground): 15-34 Hit window (air): 17-34 When he hits: 4-8 Lag from hitting (air): 45 Lag from hitting (ground): 25 Landlag: 20 landfallspeciallag: 20

Falcon's Raptor Boost is the favored special move of many Falcon players.

The initial part of the move pulls Falcon backwards within the first few frames, allowing it to dodge and then punish whiffed attacks or grabs with a full launcher. This makes it tempting to use from the corner when combined with slide off, as rarely will an opponent want to commit to overshooting all the way into the corner if they don't feel that they have to. It can also be used to cover 3 out of 4 tech options on an opponent's knockdown when you have sufficient time to set it up, all but one of the tech rolls, which again can be converted into a massive punish such as a fAir, uSmash, or grab.

Finally, it can be used as a recovery due to being lower lag and quicker than his Up-B/8B. Just be aware that if it activates on anything or anyone it will result in Falcon falling helplessly to his death!

Combos

The basics of Falcon combos are quite simple. Most of his best combos start off of either dAair, or j.2A, or grab.

Some rules of thumb are

1.) If they're above you, you can probably uAir/j.8A them. Even if it's not a true combo, few character can comfortably beat it and it's nearly always a massively favorable situation

2.) If you land a hit, preemptively dashing forward after it will usually allow you to either continue the combo or transition into an edge guard in most situations. They have to be surprisingly far to not get hit by Falcon again. Don't wait to dash until you've seen where they've been sent from your move. Dash preemptively, then react to how far your move has sent them!

3.) If you have enough hitstun to fAir/J.6A, do it! It is very rarely a bad idea to land a knee when you have the ability to combo into it. Otherwise, uAir/J.8A usually works

Frame Data

Speed options

Captain Falcon's aerial game is very fast, making performing combos fairly easy. His knee is a good KO move at medium-high damage. He also has one true spike. Use that as a follow-up in case his Knee Smash doesn't work, or to continue comboing.
Because Falcon's Falling Speed and weight are so high, he is the character that is most resistant to vertical knockouts.
Since he is a heavy character and a fast faller, attacks like Peach's down smash can be horrible against Falcon.

Ground options

Captain Falcon's ground attacks have some lag, but, in return, they generally have good knockback and damage. Captain Falcon's up smash hits twice which can KO at low percentages. His side smash is a little laggy, but has great range and knockback. His down smash is two kicks which hit both sides of Falcon so opponents on either side of him will be hit so long as they are within range. In addition, his down smash has a very good reach and priority.
Falcon's tilts include his forward tilt, a long ranged kick with decent damage and knockback, his down tilt, a sweeping kick which sends opponents upwards, and his up tilt, where he lifts his leg in the air and smashes it down. The up tilt is frequently used for edgeguarding.

Aerial attacks

Forward aerial (Knee Smash) - Captain Falcon's forward aerial is a great, if not Falcon's best, finisher. Timed at the end of grab and aerial combos, it can KO opponents at about 60%. Although the move does require precise timing to land, since a non sweetspotted hit will be very weak, the sourspot can be used as a form of Wall of Pain that can combo into another knee.
Back aerial - A backhand hit with a significant startup lag. Falcon's back aerial is excellent, especially for edgeguarding. While an opponent is off stage it is common to hop backwards and intercept them with a back aerial for the KO.
Neutral aerial - Two fast kicks. The Neutral aerial is good for racking up damage.
Up aerial - A quick back-flip kick. Good for attacking airborne opponents as it is fast and relatively strong, and has a long duration making it comparatively easy to land.
Down aerial - An airborne stomp. Falcon's down aerial has a considerable amount of startup lag. It is good for use on the ground, where it will send opponents upward, sometimes Star-KOing at high percentages or creating a setup for a Knee. Hitting opponents with the upper hitbox (above Falcon's waist) will result in a nipple spike.

Projectile/Protecting

Using Falcon's Raptor Boost is a good way to dodge oncoming projectiles like Samus's Missile or Mario's Fireball.
Falcon is equipped with one of the best roll dodges in the game, as it is one of the fastest and longest. Both left and right roll dodges are quick and long.
Falcon has the best dash-dance in the game, so if timed right he can dash away from an attack and quickly dash back to retalliate.

Grabs

Captain Falcon has some good grabs that are used to start chains and combos, most notably into his forward aerial, which can allow for quick kills.

Down throw

Can chain-grab many characters with average falling speeds and weights at various damage percentages. Simply down-throw, follow the opponent's DI with a dash, and use a Jump Cancelled Grab to grab again. If the opponent DIs towards the player, a re-grab in place or turning and re-grabbing may be possible.
Combos into neutral aerial at most damage percentages and DIs against non-fastfallers.
Can combo into a forward aerial at medium to high damage percentages against non-fastfallers. This may be escapable at some damage percentages with DI. This is also an option at very high damage percentages against fast-fallers.
Tech-chasing chain grabs are possible as well against fast-fallers. Additionally, one can Tech-chase with Isai Stomps and Raptor Boost. Down-smash is additionally useful as it hits in front of and behind C.F., hitting 2/3 tech-rolls and hitting non-techs if properly timed.

Up throw

Combos into neutral up and forward aerials at various damage percentages and DIs against virtually every character. The higher the percent, the more chance opponents have to break free.
Combos into down tilt at low-medium damage percentages against fast-fallers.
Combos into forward smash and down smash against fast-fallers at medium damage percentages, depending on DI.
Against fast fallers at low damage percentages, does not combo directly but leads to Tech-chasing.
Combos into a up smash against fast-fallers that do not DI to a side. Against large, heavy characters, can be wavedashed into at several DIs.
Can combo into an angled forward tilt depending on DI. Useful for catching awkward DIs and damage percentages.
If an opponent bounces, it is possible to hit them with any SHFFL'd aerial, a down-smash, Raptor Boost, Falcon Kick, Falcon Punch, and any tilts out of the bounce.
Raptor Boost is always an option, and directly combos against many characters at low damage percentages and against most DIs, however is known to be very touchy and avoidable. Can be used to tech-chase as well.
Up throw can lead to a dashing, jump-cancelled re-grab against Fox at very high damage percentages (approximately 110%) if the opponent DI's away. This is possible due to Fox's light weight and high downward acceleration.