Fox

Smash Attacks

SIDE SMASH

Fox hurls himself at your opponent, striking with both feet.

DOWN SMASH

Fox drops into the splits, kicking both in front of and behind him.

UP SMASH

A flipkick attack that launches opponents vertically.

Basic Attacks

Standing Attack

Fox does two jab attacks into rapid kick strikes before kicking the opponent away.

Forward Tilt

A quick front kick attack. This can be aimed up or down.

Up Tilt

Fox bends forward and flips a leg up behind him to kick above and in front of him!

Down Tilt

Fox spins around while crouching, using his tail to sweep the opponent, popping that opponent into the air.

Dash Attack

Fox runs and does a flying jump kick toward your opponent.

Edge Attack

Fox flips back to the stage and uses both of his legs to sweep the opponent.

Air Attacks

Neutral Air Attack

Fox sticks out his leg in a jump kick attack that has good startup and stays out for a long time.

Up Air Attack

Fox uses both legs to do a backward flipkick attack. This attack has very small horizontal range.

Down Air Attack

Fox spins and drills his way down into the opponent. This attack hits multiple times.

Forward Air Attack

Multiple spinning kicks! Can hit up to five times.

Back Air Attack

Fox turns and does a spin kick attack behind him.

Special Attacks

Blaster (Neutral Special)

Fox rapid-fires lasers at his opponent. They deal damage but do not cause the opponent to flinch. Be sure to use this at a distance.

Fox Illusion (Side Special)

A lightning-quick dash that sends Fox through opponents, knocking them upward. If used on the ground, you don’t fly over the edge of a stage. When used in the air, however, you fly over an edge.

Fire Fox (Up Special)

Fox charges up before blasting off in a direction of your choosing. Great for both horizontal or vertical recovery.

Reflector (Down Special)

This move reflects projectiles while increasing their speed and power. It can also damage opponents who are close enough to get hit by it. On hit, it pushes the opponent back pretty far.

Final Smash

Landmaster

Fox jumps straight off-stage and returns in the Landmaster vehicle; the upward jump off-stage is also a small attack. The Landmaster vehicle itself has a few ways to attack. First, it has its main cannon, which can be fired with any attack button. The attack also hits anyone standing on the cannon itself. You can also perform a roll attack with the Landmaster by hitting Down. Of course, you can also drive over opponents or land on them to cause damage. Jumping in the Landmaster uses the ship’s thrusters to push you upward. Use this to lift opponents up past the blast line to KO them if they don’t hit Down to pass through the ship. Be careful not to go so high that you self-destruct, though! Also avoid falling off the stage while in the Landmaster, as there’s no way to cancel out of the ship! While your thrusters can lift you for a while, if you get part of the ship stuck under the stage, you’re going to be in trouble quick! Finally, if opponents attack the ship enough, it reduces the amount of time you get to spend in it!

Strategy

Fox is one of the fastest characters on the ground or in the air with incredible falling speed, given his average weight. With short hops and fast-fall, Fox can usually pull off multiple jumps and aerials in the time slower characters take to do one. While this can be a benefit for combos, it also works in reverse, allowing opponents to combo him easier on the ground with tilt combos and rapid strikes. His speed is counterbalanced by his generally short-ranged attacks. The main exception to this is his long-range Blaster. It doesn’t cause opponents to flinch, however, so they can choose to ignore it and attack Fox.

Learning to shoot Fox’s Blaster as fast as possible is a good way to rack up damage on your opponents. You can easily do three Blaster shots in a full jump, so try to do three in a short hop! Even though opponents won’t flinch, it will try their patience and eventually force them to approach you. Also, when Blaster hits, it refreshes your stronger attacks. Fox Illusion is a quick long-range attack that can catch opponents off guard, but its slow startup and landing lag make it more useful as a recovery tool. Fire Fox allows you to blast in any direction, but generally you want to use this for recovery as well. The flames around Fox can hit opponents, but Fox can also be hit by projectiles to cancel this out. Against projectile-heavy opponents, Fox can also use his Reflector, which returns projectiles at increased speed and damage, but it’s a little slower to start up than in previous games.

For KOs in the air, Back Air is your best horizontal option while Up Air is your best vertical option. From the ground, Up Smash is good, as Fox’s head is invincible, and Down Smash is good because Fox’s feet are invincible. Side Smash is still your best longer-range attack option, though. Use Fox’s ground speed and fast falling speed to combine your attacks and rack up damage with combos. Forward Air, Down Air, and his Up and Down throws are good ways to start racking up damage.

Recovery

With Fox’s fast fall speed, be ready to recover as soon as possible. Remember to use your wall jump when necessary; it basically gives you an extra jump. For horizontal recovery, Fox has his Fox Illusion, which covers a lot of distance. For vertical recovery, Fire Fox is his main option. Once you input the notation for Fire Fox, you can hit any direction to send Fox flying in that direction, but he is in a fall state afterward. Note that Fox Illusion doesn’t leave you in a fall state, so you are actually able to follow it up with Fire Fox as well! This greatly helps Fox’s recovery game. When approaching the stage from above, use Fire Fox, Down Air, or Forward Air. Additionally, use Fox’s Reflector to slow his fall and stall.