A Guide to The Crowd Pleaser - Captain Falcon

1.
Captain Falcon is originally from the F-Zero games. If you don't already know, F-Zero is a very fast paced racing game. Captain Falcon has been in every smash game thus far. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Falcon is a viable character, however, he is not mained by any of the "Gods". In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Falcon was majorly nerfed. He lost most of his combos since the game was slowed down a lot. His Forward Air was also nerfed because they made the sweetspot significantly smaller than it was in Melee. He was considered a low tier in this game and was not viable in competitive play. In Super Smash Bros. 4, Captain Falcon is back and viable again. He is considered a low high tier character.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.
Pros:

+ Very Fast ( 2nd Fastest Run Speed )
+ Heavy ( Tied For 13th Heaviest with Yoshi and Link )
+ Amazing Aerials
+ Great Combo Ability
+ Amazing Dash Grab
+ Longest Perfect Pivot in the Game ( besides Speed Shulk )
+ Great Offstage Game
+ Lots of Kill Options

Cons:

- Mediocre Recovery
- Mediocre Ground Game
- Easily Comboed
- Bad Regular Grab Range
- No Projectile
- Can be Camped
- Can't Get Out of Combos Easily (doesn't have a 3rd frame Nair like Luigi and Pac-Man)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.
Jab:

Damage: 2,2,5: 9% total
Kills Falcon from the center of Final Destination at: 230%
Active Hitbox: Jab 1: Frames 3-5, Jab 2: Frames 5-7, Jab 3: Frames 6-8
Captain Falcon has a very good Jab.His first Jab comes out very fast. His Jab is a good way to grab the opponent from a close range. All you have to do is Jab the opponent twice, stop, and then grab the opponent. This technique is usually called "The Gentleman".

Rapid Jab:

Damage: 2,2,2,1,1,1,1,2: 12-14% total (depending on how much you mash the A button)
Kills Falcon from the center of Final Destination at: 400%
Active Hitbox: ???

There isn't much use to this move. The opponent can easily DI out of the finishing punch. This move his less knock back than Falcon's regular Jab. Stick to his regular Jab.

Dash Attack:

Damage: 6% (weak hit) 10% (sweetspot)
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 380% (weak hit) 255% (sweetspot)
Active Hitbox: Frames 7-9, Frames 10-16 (late/weak hit)

Falcon's Dash Attack is a pretty good move. You can use dash attack to get the opponent into the air. It is not as reliable as down throw for followups, but it is still a decent option.
You can followup dash attack with many of Falcon's aerials. It has a little bit of ending lag, so be careful and don't use this move if the opponent is shielding because it can and will be punished.

Forward Tilt:

Damage: 9%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 210%
Active Hitbox: Frames 9-11

Falcon's Forward Tilt is a good poking tool. It comes out relatively fast. This move can be angled either upward or downward. This move and be useful for ledge guarding and dealing damage close to the opponent. This move is ok, but nothing special.

Down Tilt:

Damage: 10%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 190%
Active Hitbox: Frames 11-12
Falcon's Down Tilt is a good move to get the opponent off of the stage. It sends them at a very hard to recovery from angle, so if they have a bad recovery, you can kill them pretty early with this move. This move is alright, I'd say I little bit better than Forward Tilt.

Up Tilt:

Damage: 11%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 170%
Active Hitbox: Frames 17-20

Falcon's Up Tilt is a good move. It can be used as a combo restarter, meaning that when your done with a combo, Up Tilt can restart the combo. Up Tilt can also be used in combos. Up Tilt is also a meteor. The Up Tilt meteor kills Falcon at around 40%.

Forward Smash:

Damage: 19-26%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 60-98%
Active Hitbox: Frames 19-22

Forward Smash is one of Falcon's most powerful kill tools. It has a large amount of ending lag, so it is very risky to use. If you angle this move downward, it has farther range. The move is good at punishing rolls. Only use this move when you're sure that you can hit the opponent without getting punished afterward. This move is a high risk, high reward move.

Up Smash:

Damage: Hit 1: 6-8%, Hit 2: 13-18% - Total: 19-26%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 70-110%
Active Hitbox: Hit 1: Frame 22, Hit 2: Frame 28

Up Smash is another one of Falcon's killing options. You can perform a running Up Smash, where you run, Up Smash, and then you slide a little bit. Up Smash has 2 hits to it. The first hit does very little damage and hallls little knockback. The second hit is the more powerful of the two hits. It is possible to hit the opponent with only the first hit, so just try to be close enough to get both hits.

Down Smash:

Damage: Hit 1: 14-19%, Hit 2: 18-25%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 90-140%, 70-115%
Active Hitbox: Hit 1: Frame 19-20, Hit 2: Frame 29-30

Falcon's Down Smash is mediocre. It's good at covering rolls because it hits on both the front and the back. This move can be a good killing move if you hit with the back foot.

Neutral Air:

Damage: Hit 1: 4% Hit 2: 6%, Total: 10%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination At: 180%
Active Hitbox: Hit 1: Frames 7-8, Hit 2: Frames 20-21

Falcon's Neutral Air is a very good move. This is one of the moves that you use after down throw as a followup. I would say this move is almost as good as Up Air because it is one of the moves that makes Falcon a good character. Make sure that this move hits with both hits because if it doesn't then this move is very weak.

Forward Air:

Damage: 3% (late), 6% (weak hit), 19% (sweetspot)
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination At: 85%
Active Hitbox: Frame 14 (sweetspot), Frames 15-30 (weak hit/late)

Another move that makes Captain Falcon who he is in smash. This move has amazing power and can kill very early. You can use this move when comboing and after Down Throw. The sweetspot is hard to hit (not as hard as in brawl, but not as easy as in melee). The sweetspot is easy to hit once you get the timing of the move down. Don't spam this move though because it has tons of landing lag. Forward Air is a very good move.

Back Air:

Damage: 8% (late/weak hit) 14% (sweetspot)
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 130
Active Hitbox: Frames 10-11 (sweetspot), Frames 12-15 (late/weak hit)

Another one of Falcon's great Aerials. Back Air is a great walling tool and defense move. Shorthopping followed by a few Back Airs is a good way to wall out the opponent. This move is also good for killing if you sweetspot it near the ledge. This move is an amazing gimping tool.

Up Air:

Damage: 10% (weak hit) 11% (strong hit)
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 170%
Active Hitbox: Frames 6-10 (sweetspot), Frames 11-12 (late/weak hit)

This move is Captain Falcon's best move in my opinion. It is his one of his best combo tools. This move combos into itself. It kills off the top decently early. Not much else to say about this move, it's amazing so use it as much as you can.

Down Air:

Damage: 14%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 180%
Active Hitbox: Frames 16-18

Falcon's Down Air is a good move. It can be used as a combo starter and follow it up with Up Air. This move has a little too much landing lag to be used safely. Down Air's main purpose is as a spike. This move only spikes when you hit the sweetspot, which is Falcon's feet. The late hit sends the opponent off the stage, but not downward.

Neutral Special (Falcon Punch):

Damage: 25% (ground), 28% (ground reversed), 22% (air), 25% (air reversed)
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 82% (regular ground) 70% (reversed)
Active Hitbox: Frames 53-57, Frames 61-65 (reversed)

The infamous Falcon Punch actually serves a purpose in this game. It is good for catching people landing after they air dodge close to the ground. Don't throw out this move randomly though because the starting and ending lag is ridiculous. It also has less knockback than Forward Smash in this game for some reason.

Side Special (Raptor Boost):

Damage: 8% (air) 9% (ground)
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 130%
Active Hitbox: Frames 4-8 (ground) Frames 5-6 (air)

Falcon's Raptor Boost is an okay move in this game. It lost its combo potential from Melee, but in this game, it can be used as a backup killing move. This move is also used as a meteor spike. You have to hit the opponent on the very tip of the move to meteor them. This move is also a recovery option. It is not as good as Up Special because it goes a shorter distance and sometimes you can land on the stage with it and get punished.

Up Special (Falcon Dive):

Damage: Hit 1: 5%, Throw: 12%, Total: 17%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 185%
Active Hitbox: Frames 14-30

This move is Falcon's main form of recovery. It's not that good, but it has been buffed since past games. It can also be used a kill move. This move can be used as a combo finisher after a few Up Airs.

Down Special (Falcon Kick):

Damage: 13% (close, ground), 11% (middle, ground), 7% (far away, ground), 15% (close, air), 13% (middle, air), 11% (late, air) 9% (landing)
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 130% (close, ground) 330 (far away, ground)
Active Hitbox: Frames 18-20 (Early, ground) Frames 21-28 (ground) Frames 29-38 (Late, ground) Frames 16-17 (Early, aerial) Frames 18-25 (aerial) Frames 26-33 (Late, aerial) Frames 2-3 (Landing)

This is another one of Falcon's backup killing options, although it is not as reliable as Raptor Boost. Falcon Kick only kills reliably if you are on the ground, and are really close to the opponent. This move is pretty bad when used in the air, but can still be a good mixup if you are waiting in the air.

Forward Throw:

Damage: 10%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 250%

Forward Throw can lead up to things such as Dash Attack and Jab. It's an ok throw to get the opponent offstage. I would say this is Falcon's 2nd best throw.

Back Throw:

Damage: 10%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 210%

This throw's only use is for getting the opponent off stage. Other than that this throw is pretty bad. Falcon's 3rd best throw.

Up Throw:

Damage: 8%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 210%

This is Falcon's worst throw. The opponent can easily get out of combos when you Up Throw because this move doesn't put enough lag on the opponent, so therefore you cannot use this move to start combos.

Down Throw:

Damage: 6%
Kills Falcon From The Center of Final Destination at: 465%

This is Falcon's best throw by far. It is one of the moves that makes him a great character. This move is your main combo starter. It gets more range because of his amazing dash grab. You can followup with most of your aerials after you use this move. This is an amazing move.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.
Captain Falcon is usually played aggressively, mostly in the air. His aerial game is very good and his ground game is average. Falcon is pretty good at gimping, with his best tool for it. is Back Air. Try to get as many grabs as humanly possible. Try to keep the opponent in the air since his aerials are fantastic. He can be walked out by projectiles, so make sure to rush down somebody like Link. He has 3 spikes, Down Air, Up Tilt, and Side B, so keep that in mind when play offstage/near the ledge. Once the opponent is in the air, keep them there with Up Air and Neutral Air. Once the opponent is around 70% start going for the knee. Go offstage if needed, since he is good at gimping. You need to mixup your attacks. Don't just spam Up Airs all the time and think you're going to win. He has many great mixup options. Play defensly if you need to, don't just play offensively all of the time.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.
Captain Falcon has some of the best combo ability in Super Smash Bros. 4. Here I will be listing some of the combos he can perform. Keep in mind that most of these are not true combos.

1. D-Throw -> U-Air
2. D-Throw -> N-Air
3. Dash Attack -> U-Air
4. Dash Attack -> N-Air
5. D-Throw -> Knee (low %'s you shorthop, mid %'s you full hop, high %'s you do a double full hop).
6. D-Throw -> U-Air -> Knee (Mid %'s)
7. Falling U-Air (Mid %'s)
8. Jab -> D-Throw -> Most Aerials
9. D-Air -> U-Air / N-Air / Knee (High %'s)
10. D-Air -> U-Tilt -> U-Air -> Knee
11. U-Tilt -> D-Air [Spike] (near the ledge)
12. Falling U-Air -> D-Air [Spike] (near the ledge)
13. D-Throw -> U-Air -> U-Air -> Up-B
14. F-Throw -> Dash Attack -> Most Aerials
15. D-Air -> D-Air -> Knee (High %'s)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.
I would consider this the best stage for Captain Falcon. The first plus for this stage would be the three platforms. It is very easy to hit Up Airs on the platforms and it is easier to start combos when under or above them. The second plus is that you can spike through the floor. Since Falcon has Down Air, he can use this to his advantage.

This stage is pretty good for Captain Falcon. This stage gives Falcon plenty of room to grab the opponent and create combos. There is nothing that is great for Falcon in this stage, but it's okay.

This stage is like a combination of Final Destination and Battlefield. It's a smaller Final Destination with a moving platform. Since it's like a smaller Final Destination it has a good amount of room for Falcon to start combos. The platform helps him when the opponent is standing on it and when recovering, since it moves over the blast zone. I'd say this is his 2nd best stage out of the 3 starters, although I think he can do well on all of them.

I will do more stages when I learn about more of them. I thought that the 3 starter stages would be good for now.

------------------------------------------------------
7.
YouTube guides for Captain Falcon: http://youtu.be/u9wYsL0MQ8Q
http://youtu.be/_Fp_nadraL4
http://youtu.be/SUqaHGWwSpA
http://youtu.be/-pZD8pHBMwA
http://youtu.be/1af6VfFoKOQ

Matches:
http://youtu.be/oWssFuVZ6BA
http://youtu.be/GawkJJ-AnrQ
http://youtu.be/L4dONFvOYIc
http://youtu.be/r5wmxze6rnI
http://youtu.be/rQcrDaeI3l0
http://youtu.be/Azs2rcq5CII
http://youtu.be/X7P7n51ErMk
http://youtu.be/dAX3yZ5cqRI

Combo Videos:
http://youtu.be/MCXDG_EoTDQ
http://youtu.be/Sn-xCEU2eEM
http://youtu.be/Y5awrA9RnpM
http://youtu.be/Yc6mfx7FM_Q
http://youtu.be/JRz4LuHbI1k
http://youtu.be/16Kmm577Y7w
http://youtu.be/kZFEcqo80h8

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading. I will update this guide once I learn more about this character. Leave feedback below, it is appreciated. =D