amiibo Wiki: Captain Falcon

Captain Falcon is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Super Smash Bros. series Captain Falcon amiibo was first released on December 14, 2014 as part of Wave 2.

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Captain Falcon is currently placed in the A tier in Super Smash Bros. 4. Although Captain Falcon is somewhat outclassed by Ganondorf, he possesses many strengths of his own; his recovery is relatively strong, can be angled, and pairs well with his high aerial mobility. Falcon’s smash attacks are both fast and strong and can even score shield breaks with proper timing. He also has a powerful infinite jab that can help him rack up damage fast.

However, Captain Falcon is held back by minor AI flaws. It may use its side special, Raptor Boost, at inappropriate times (such as when directly next to an opponent), leaving the character horribly vulnerable to attack. The AI may also use Falcon Dive at random, giving its opponent a great opportunity to strike.

True to his high ranking, Captain Falcon has accrued solid tournament results and representation. DONkLE and FarmingSim were two of the character’s primary trainers and found success with the character. Despite his respectable results, Captain Falcon is still considered a direct downgrade from Ganondorf.

If you would like to read the Super Smash Bros. 4 Captain Falcon amiibo training guide, please refer to this post.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Captain Falcon received a mix of buffs and nerfs for his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. As with all fighters, his mobility has been increased; this consists of enhancements to his walk speed, run speed, and air speed. In terms of his base moveset, Falcon’s up tilt is now a consist meteor smash against grounded and aerial opponents, his up smash deals more damage, and his forward and down smash attacks have higher KO potential. Falcon Kick has also been made both faster and stronger. The changes to Ultimate’s AI benefit Captain Falcon immensely, as he can now utilize his aerials off-stage to gimp opponents (whereas AI in Smash 4 rarely left the stage).

However, Captain Falcon has suffered from several nerfs; his grabs and throws are much weaker and his new forward smash has decreased range compared to its previous iteration. Ultimate’s air dodge changes do not benefit Captain Falcon; he is now easier to gimp than ever and may lose off-stage battles against characters with stronger recoveries (namely Lucas and King K. Rool).

Overall, it is difficult to say whether Captain Falcon has improved from his previous iteration. Despite his nerfs, Blank and his Captain Falcon amiibo, Joe, have found a great deal of success in Ultimate’s refined metagame. Thanks to these results, trainers consider Captain Falcon to be viable in the current tournament environment.
