Guide to Ace Arwing Pilot, Fox McCloud, Version 2.33 By: CunningKitsune Version 1.00 Created: Sunday, April 18, 2004 Last Updated: Tuesday, June 2, 2004 E-mail: MtGKid700@aol.com IM: MtGKid700 Legal Stuff Copyright 2004 Anthony Daniel Anastasia. This may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. Web sites currently authorized to possess this guide: www.gamefaqs.com www.smashboards.com http://s7.invisionfree.com/Melee_World/ http://qwester.supersheep.org/ Please inform me if you see any unauthorized sites with this guide. Contacting the Author If you wish to get in touch with me concerning this guide or any other meaningful topic related to SSBM, feel free to do so. If you send me an e-mail, include a relevant phrase in the Subject line (something along the lines of “About Your Guide”). Do not leave it blank and expect me to answer your e-mail, as I will not under any circumstances. If you do e-mail me, complete with subject line, I will do my utmost best to answer you quickly and to the best of my abilities. For future reference, you will probably have the most success speaking with me on Fox-related matters, since I play exclusively as him. I am a member of GameFAQs, SWF, and MWF (all the sites authorized to possess this guide), and my name is CunningKitsune on all three, if you would rather get in touch with me there. Constructive criticism and any additions or other observations concerning this guide are always appreciated. Thank you in advance for reading this, and I sincerely hope that it fulfills its purpose. About the Guide The principle aim of this guide is to enhance the reader’s abilities with Fox McCloud on a technical as well as psychological level. Nearly all of the content in this guide is centered on Fox as a one-on-one combatant; this is the format in which Fox best performs, in addition to being the definitive format for high-level tournament play. This guide also uses quite a bit of the modern SSBM lingo (shuffling, short-hopping, waveshine, etc.). Definitions of a good deal of the terms used in this guide are included, but others may be found on the internet. There is a very concise modern terms list for SSBM that covers virtually every aspect of modern SSBM lingo, in case you are still stumped. The first section of this guide, The Basics, is just that. It introduces Fox McCloud as a character and gives information on all of his moves. An exhaustive statistics list courtesy of Mew2King and co. is included. The second section, Advanced Techniques, introduces you to the higher-level techniques that Fox and the SSBM cast can perform, as well as some unique to the vulpine himself. The Improving Your Game sub-section delves into the inner workings of playing Fox on a psychological level, as well as giving the reader insights into Fox’s play styles and how to optimize the performance of their Fox in battle. The sub-section on the shine gives statistics of, techniques with, and uses for the kitsune’s reflector in battle, including a section on the infinites. The third section, The Casual Fox, is dedicated to Fox on non-tournament-level terms. It is a good stop for readers interested in Fox as an SSBM character, but not wanting to play him seriously at tournament-level. Items covered include his hidden taunt, and the section will be updated with world records for Fox’s Home Run Contest variations and Break the Target, among other things. The final section of the guide simply gives credit wherever it is due, and cites people directly related to and essential for the writing of this guide. Guide Outline I. The Basics A. Introduction to Fox McCloud 1. Pros and Cons B. Fox’s Moves 1. Ground a. Jab b. Straight c. Rapid Kick d. Fox Kick e. Back Kick f. Fox Tail g. Roundhouse Kick h. Flip Kick i. Fox Split j. Taunt 2. Running a. Jumping Side Kick 3. Air a. Flying Kick b. Tornado Kick c. Reverse Spin Kick d. McCloud Flip e. Drill Kick 4. Throws a. Knee b. Elbow Bash c. Skeet Blaster d. Star Blaster e. Floor Blaster 5. Special Moves a. Blaster b. Fox Illusion c. Fire Fox d. Reflector 6. The Physics of Fox An exhaustive list of statistics, courtesy of Mew2King and co. II. Advanced Techniques A. Introduction 1. L-canceling 2. Wavedashing 3. Shield-grabbing 4. Short-hopping 5. Dash-canceling 6. Crouch-canceling 7. Dash-dancing 8. Standing Dash-Grab 9. Fox Trotting 10. Triangle-jumping 11. Short-hop Laser 12. Waveshine B. Improving Your Game 1. Introduction a. Knowledge is Power b. Going in With a Plan c. Crush Your Enemy’s Concentration d. Style: Aggressive e. Style: Control f. Style: Aggro-control C. The Shine 1. Introduction 2. Properties of the Shine 3. Using the Shine a. Reflecting Projectiles b. Winning Close-Range Priority c. Gaining Close-Range Control d. Shine Spiking e. Setting Up For a Combo f. Countering Shield Grabbing g. Edgeguarding h. Stopping Horizontal and Upward Movement 4. Infinites a. Infinite Jump-Canceled Shine b. Infinite Down-Wavedash Shine c. Drill Shine d. Inverse Drill Shine, Method 1 e. Inverse Drill Shine, Method 2 f. Wall Drill Infinite Shine g. Infinite Forward-Reverse Waveshine III. The Casual Fox 1. Fox’s Hidden Taunt IV. Final Words I. The Basics A. Introduction Super Smash Bros. Melee is Fox's second visit to the Smash Bros. scene, and frankly, he has never been better. Although he has lost the stun capability of his blaster from the N64 version, he retains most if not all of his moves from the previous game, and then some. As a fighter, Fox is second to none in the hands of a very experienced, fast-paced player. His lightning quick moves, fast, effective finishers, and unparalleled ability to spam his projectile weapon combine to form a fighter who is more than capable of dealing with anything thrown his way. The new player, however, must be careful with Fox; more often than not, slow-moving or unwary players are caught off guard by the jerky, erratic nature of his moves. Also, there is always the natural tendency to continuously Illusion themselves right off the stage or fall off the edge in a Tornado Kick. Once he is well under your fingers, however, you will find that Fox can control any fight against any character using his incredible speed and versatility, and more than a little blaster fire. The Smash community holds Fox as the most skill-intensive character in the game. You'll need fast fingers and a fast wit to use him well. Players in the U.S. love his speed, power, and blaster. Players in Japan love his fast-paced, flashy, almost show-offy moves and, more than anything, his god-like Reflector. Fox is not for you if: 1. You are a slow player by nature. 2. You have slow fingers. 3. You do not think quickly. 4. You do not like winning. It will happen a lot with Fox. 5. You do not want to use high-tier characters. Fox is currently second in the tiers behind Sheik. 6. You want to be decent quickly. That's why Sheik is here. 7. You think power beats speed every time. Yeah, better think about that again. 8. You like raw power instead of blistering speed. You should be Ganondorf, Bowser, or Mewtwo. 9. You hate characters with very sensitive controls. Barring that stuff, you should enjoy playing as the lightning quick Fox. With time, you will become nearly unstoppable with the vulpine. If you don't have all that much time, Fox has a simple solution for you: blaster spamming. Works every time. 1. Pros and Cons Pros: -Lightning speed on nearly every move -Little overall lag -Is a fast-faller -The shine -Fast L-cancels -Very short short-hops -Great at controlling the fight -Has a solid mind game -A perfect combo character -Very adaptive playing style -Fast, effective finishers -Fast foot speed Cons: -Relatively light-weight -Fast-paced controls -Is a fast-faller -Many opportunities to self-destruct -Overall average priority -Recoveries can be caped or edgeguarded well -Low to medium range -Toughest character to play well B. Fox's Moves 1. Ground Jab Button: A Damage: 2-3% Speed: High Priority: Medium-high Range: Relatively short Start Time: Nonexistent Duration, Extremely fast Lag Time: Nonexistent Knockback: Extremely low A simple jab is usually how Fox begins his battles. This move has a very fast come-out time, but don't expect it to send the opponent flying across the arena or inflict great damage. Rather, the natural purpose of this move is, obviously, to lead into a Straight and series of Rapid Kicks. There are other uses for this move, too. Because of its high speed and natural tendency to prep opponents for equally speedy attacks, the Jab is a necessity in close- range combat, where it can tie up foes' timing and virtually negate all slow, high-lag power moves. At medium to high percentages, the Jab and its compatriot Straight can pop opponents up into the air slightly, a position where you can easily up-smash them for the kill. At lower percentages, toss in a few Back Kicks to tack on damage and lift your enemy high enough into the effective diameter of the up-smash. Take advantage of the Jab and Straight's high speed and tendency to lift foes off the ground to grab and up-throw them and open the door to combos. You can also use the Jab out of an L-canceled neutral + A or Drill Kick; this will get your opponent into combo position and will probably hit them before they can retaliate. If anything, the main use of the Jab and Straight is to break through your foe's defenses in close combat with pure speed, and then take advantage of that lapse to initiate Fox's excellent comboing abilities. If you plan to Jab into the Straight and a series of Rapid Kicks, try to initiate the series at a very close proximity to your target; this way, it will take longer for them to scroll or directional influence out of the Rapid Kicks. Straight Button: A, A Damage: 2-3%, 3% Speed: High Priority: Medium-high Range: Relatively short Start Time: Nonexistent; must closely follow use of Jab Duration: Extremely fast Lag Time: Nonexistent Knockback: Extremely low The follow-up to the jab, which usually leads into a series of Rapid Kicks. A one-two punch with a Jab and Straight can lead nicely to a powerful up-smash at 90-100%. The Straight is very much similar to, if not the same as, the Jab, but with one exception: when Fox Straights, he takes a slight step forward. If you time the rhythm of your Jabs and Straights, you can advance on your enemy very slightly with a Jab-Straight, Jab-Straight series (be careful not to press any other buttons during the waiting time for the Rapid Kicks; otherwise, you'll go into those instead of what you had intended to do, which is not really a bad thing). You can also follow the Jab-Straight with a quick waveshine into a grab or most anything else Fox can do (if you did not understand very much of that, those advanced terms will be explained in the following sections). See above for techniques concerning the Straight. Additionally, Straight the opponent at a close proximity if you plan to segue into Rapid Kicks. Rapid Kick Button: A, A, A... Damage: 2-3%, 3%, 1%... Speed: High Priority: Medium-high Range: Relatively short Start Time: Very slight (a few frames) during transition from Straight while Fox lifts up his foot Duration: A single series of kicks takes only a second or so. You control how long the series goes on for, though. Lag Time: Very slight (a few frames) as Fox replaces his foot Knockback: Extremely low A simple yet very effective way to add on damage, Rapid Kicks closely follow the Jab and Straight punches. Larger opponents can be caught in this move for upwards of 15% of damage, depending on where they are when you begin the series and their percentage when you first begin hitting them with it. For this reason, you should initiate the series as close as possible to the opponent so it takes longer for them to DI out of your flying feet. Also, be adept at very quickly executing the Jab and Straight (with two swift taps of the A button) to catch the opponent closer to yourself when you start the Rapid Kicks. When you see your opponent begin to crawl out of your Rapid Kicks, follow immediately into a down-tilt + A, grab, or other fast move so as to cut off their escape. Fox Kick Button: Left/Right tilt + A Damage: 4-9% Speed: High Priority: Medium-high Range: Medium; straight variation has longest range Start Time: Virtually nonexistent start-up; one of the fastest tilts in the game Duration: Very fast Lag Time: Very slight amount as Fox replaces his foot Knockback: Decent A simple one-foot kick. Beginning Fox players tend to spam this move even more than the blaster, for some random reason. Regardless, it is Fox's regular kick, and doesn't exactly excel at damage or knockback, in addition to leaving you open for a tiny bit as Fox withdraws his foot. Don't rely on this too much; quick Jabs and Straights are more reliable than this at low percentages (in addition to leaving you open for far less time), and the slight lag time afterwards will stop you from effectively pursuing foes at higher percentages (which is when you should use shuffled sex kicks). Fox's forward-tilt does come out rather quickly, however, and therefore carries a decent amount of priority with it. Remember, however, that this single attack essentially consists of three attacks: a kick aimed about level with Fox's head, another nearly straight out in front of him, and yet another at a low angle near the ground. The angle you tilt the control stick in for the attack determines which variant you will use (even a slight difference in the angle will change which variant you use); there is no clear-cut way to explain the angles, but with enough play you will "feel" where you need to tilt in order to execute a certain variant. In addition, each variant sends its foe at a different angle in the knockback, i.e. the high at a higher angle, the straight at a relatively straight angle, and the low at a relatively low angle (essentially a trip). The straight variant has the longest range of the three, and also has an interesting property to it. Since it pushes the enemy a good distance away, it can be used to effectively combat crouch-cancellers, a very important attribute for close-range melees involving characters that utilize crouch- canceling as a big part of their game, such as Samus. The upper variant is not really used as much as the other two variants. It doesn't have the crouch-canceling stopping ability of the straight variant, and with the withdrawal time of the move factored in, you cannot reliably combo out of it. The lower variant can be used as a form of edgeguarding (obviously because Fox's foot extends slightly below the stage). A nifty technique in and of itself, but if you want more effective edgeguarding, go for the down-tilt to pop the opponent back into the air (where you can do more with them) or the vulpine's powerful shine (the shine will be discussed in detail later). Back Kick Button: Up tilt + A Damage: 5-12% Speed: High Priority: Medium Range: Medium Start Time: Nonexistent Duration: Fast Lag Time: Virtually nonexistent Knockback: Decent This move is deceptively powerful, and in itself is capable of KOing opponents at higher percentages (around the 130s). A natural follow-up to the hilarity that is Fox's down throw (against inexperienced foes), it can also aid in juggling your opponent following an up-throw (against experienced foes), where it can hit them three or four times before they float out of its reach, depending on their percentage and amount of DI. It can't really out-prioritize many air attacks, but otherwise it is a powerful, fast move that doesn't leave you open at all. The Back Kick is a natural partner with the Fox Tail, Jab, and Straight, all of which throw your opponent into the air in their own way. An interesting property of the kitsune's up-tilt is that, although it appears that he only strikes above himself, his up-tilt actually has the ability to hit both in front of and in back of him to a certain small radius. This isn't exactly game-breaking, but it does improve your ability to juggle from the ground with this move. Fox Tail Button: Down tilt + A Damage: 5-10% Speed: High Priority: Medium Range: Medium Start Time: Nonexistent Duration: A longer Fox tilt, which isn't really saying much for the vulpine's lightning moves Lag Time: Slight lag time after the attack while Fox swishes his tail back to its normal position Knockback: Significant Yet another natural follow-up to the down-throw, this move sends opponents into the air, opening them up for repeated juggling or a fast kill by an aerial up-tilt + A. Keep in mind that the hit box for this move is in front of Fox, not on both sides of him. In other words, don't try to hit an opponent at your rear with this move; that's why the down-smash is here. The Fox Tail can really open your comboing options once you have mastered L-canceling, as you will find yourself using this repeatedly to send foes helplessly into the air after an L-canceled Drill Kick. The Fox Tail has its own uses in circumventing spent shields, as it creeps underneath toward your foe's feet, and also functions as a deceptively strong vertical KO move. In addition, you can use the Fox Tail for edgegaurding, since Fox swishes his tail over the edge. With them off their aerial feet, you are free to push them into the open air yet again. With proper timing, a Fox Tail also can break up foolhardy, hasty charges, more often than not brought on by your blaster spamming, since the tail extends in front of the vulpine. Roundhouse Kick Button: Left/right Smash + A (Left/Right C-Stick) Damage: 8-15% Speed: Relatively high for a Smash Priority: High Range: Medium-high Start Time: Noticeable start-up frames as Fox winds up Duration: Relatively short as you fly past an opponent in the ineffective frames; watch yourself at lower percentages Lag Time: Noticeable lag once the attack finishes; again, watch yourself at lower percentages Knockback: Significant, although not high for a Smash Although not as powerful an attack as his wing mate Falco's, Fox's forward- smash is powerful and fast, always a good combination, and can be used effectively as an edge-guarding tool. Avoid it at low percentages, however, as your opponent may be able to hit you while you are in the lag from flying past them. Overall, this is certainly not Fox's most desirable Smash; that honor belongs to the up-smash. However, it is useful in its own right to plow through frontal defenses and still allow you time to pursue at higher percentages. The forward smash is also a useful tool in conjunction with the reverse wavedash mind game. Your goal in this is to charge toward your opponent while watching their character very closely for signs of movement. If you see them begin to wind up an attack, immediately wavedash backwards and follow with a forward-smash right into their face. However, note that you may have to decrease your wavedash’s regular horizontal movement (easily done by waiting a tiny bit longer than normal to air-dodge into the ground) in order to connect fully with the forward-smash. At this time, take notice that the forward-smash is more powerful nearer to its initial attack point. For example, you forward-smash while your opponent is falling to earth from a jump. You have been forward-smashing (that is, been in the animation of it) for about a quarter of a second or so when your opponent falls onto your forward-smash. You will notice that you will not get the “solid” hit of the forward-smash, but rather a “soft” hit (which is you essentially stepping on your foe) which produces far less knockback than a properly positioned forward-smash would have. For the most part, you should not concern yourself with properly timing the forward-smash. Nearly 98% of the time, the timing takes care of itself. Flip Kick Button: Up Smash + A (Up C-Stick) Damage: 10-18% Speed: High, for a Smash of this caliber Priority: Relatively high Range: Medium Start Time: Short in terms of a Smash Duration: Relatively fast Lag Time: Noticeable after the initial hit. You must wait for Fox to flip completely around back onto his booted feet before you can move again; time your follow-up to this move so that you begin it as soon as you can move again. Knockback: High This move, known to all competent Fox players, is the vulpine's notorious up- smash. Able to KO very consistently at relatively low percentages (an average of 90-100%), you will see this used as often as possible by any Fox player who knows what he or she is doing, and for good reason. It is fast, almost too fast when combined with its startling power. This move is all the more reason to utilize the C-Stick for smash moves instead of the control stick and A (unless you are extraordinarily talented at very fast button coordination). Remember that the up-smash changes its knockback power depending on which part of the circle created by Fox's flipping feet hits the opponent. Generally, the most knockback occurs between the outermost area (the perimeter of the circle) and the innermost area (slightly around Fox's body). If you hit the opponent too near Fox's body or on the very edge of the "circle" you will get essentially a "soft" hit, which will not produce as much damage and not nearly as much knockback as a properly positioned up-smash would. Rest assured, though, that it is not extremely difficult to position this attack; it will become a natural feeling for you with enough play. Of course, always try to achieve the proper positioning (you will know when you do, trust me) in order to increase knockback and give yourself more time to recover and resume the chase. Also, be aware that soft-hitting an opponent will not stun them for as long, and they may be able to recover and hit you back before the up-smash actually ends. If you are truly talented at positioning Fox, you can strike opponents in front of you with the diameter of this attack; chances are its stunning priority will win out and punch through their defenses. Enemies in the rear can also be hit by this attack, but this will nearly always result in a "soft" hit; the down-smash is best for covering both sides of your furry hide. For more craziness, try wavedashing out of the shine and into a killer up-smash. In addition, you can up-smash right out of the shield. To do this, you must, of course, be in the shield, and then jump and immediately smash up on the C-Stick. The C-Stick will cancel your jump, much like Z for standing dash- grabs, and Fox will up-smash straight out of his shield. This is a very powerful technique, indeed, and if you can show your opponent that you can do it consistently, it may make him think twice about his next move. You can also up-smash out of a run. This is not at all difficult to do, and may aid you in maintaining or beginning your combos or adding pressure onto your opponent. While you are running, simply quickly press up and “A” simultaneously (this must be perfectly synched, which is not exactly hard to do, but if you make a mistake, you will probably end up jumping), and you will perform a probably slightly charged up-smash. The same general effect is achieved when you dash-cancel into an up-smash using the C-Stick, but you are not given the ability to charge the up-smash easily while you are enroute to the spot you were running to (note that you can charge C-Stick smashes with the “Z” button, but it is extremely awkward to perform). The dash-cancel also slightly slows you down. Remember, you’re playing Fox; it is not in your character to be slow at anything. Using “A” for the running up-smash is far easier and more comfortable to perform than it is with “Z”. The main use of the running up-smash is to catch your opponent out of the air right before he hits the ground and is given a window to get away from your combo. You can also use it to zoom in with a pre-charged up-smash during the lag from one of your opponent’s moves and begin some damaging juggling. In general, the up-smash is Fox's most versatile Smash in terms of power, speed, and utility; it is a very effective killing move that comes out quickly, and in addition sends the opponent airborne for a significant distance, opening them completely to an aerial kill via McCloud Flip. Use this move often and use it well. Fox Split Button: Down Smash + A (Down C-Stick) Damage: 9-15% Speed: Relatively high Priority: Relatively high Range: Medium-high; hits on both sides Start Time: Fast Duration: Actual "attacking" time is short Lag Time: Oh, the lag time. After performing this painful attack, Fox must pick himself up and spin around to resume his forward fighting stance. Do not use this at low percentages; it will leave you wide open to retribution. Knockback: Decent A decent smash at higher percentages, the down-smash should be used sparingly, as it has very noticeable recoil as Fox twists around to resume his fighting stance. Used as an edge-guarding tool, it sends opponents off at a hideous angle if you can get Fox's foot to jut out over the ledge and into your foe's face. Be wary with this move, however. Granted, it is a Smash, but that does not automatically make it a killer move; on the contrary, the down-smash will rarely if ever kill someone (except possibly during edgeguarding), and the lag time afterwards is not worth using it that way. If you try this move at low and low-middle percents, you will get hit back, no questions asked. The down- smash is a good ender for a combo that has pushed your opponent to the edge of the stage, since by then its knockback power will have increased, and it comes out faster than the forward-smash does. If you need a fast reaction, the down- smash can also punish opponents that you see rolling behind you. Only try this at the high-middle and above percents, as there the move will knock them off their feet long enough for you to recover and resume your stance. Taunt: "Come on!" Button: Up Control Pad Fox leans far back to the ground and beckons to the opponent with a curling finger and a "Come on!" as he motions toward himself with his head. Duration: 110 frames, or 1.833333... seconds (thanks, Mew2King!) OK, so it doesn't do any damage; it's not even a move, technically. Nevertheless, there is nothing more annoying than hearing Fox taunt you from across the stage while blaster fire crashes into you over and over again. Besides which, mind games are always fun...and useful. See if you can irritate your foe into making a hasty, unorganized charge at you. You'll be surprised at how easy it is. 2. Running Jumping Side Kick Button: A Damage: 4-7% Speed: High Priority: Medium Range: Relatively high (horizontal distance) Start Time; Very fast Duration: The attack goes for quite a while and covers noticeable horizontal distance. Lag Time: Very noticeable after the initial effective moment as you fly past your target, but it doesn't take you too long to recover Knockback: Enough to pop opponents into the air slightly Not exactly the most powerful move, this kick does have considerable horizontal reach and does a decent job of plowing through a row of fighters. It is an average follow-up to mind games involving dash-dancing and wavedashing since it comes out pretty quickly, but you have far more effective options. If you do use it, make sure to do so when you can clear your opponent; you don't want to give them a chance to pivot around and smack you. Look out for shield-grabbing, too. For these reasons, it is generally better to perform multiple shuffled sex kicks instead of this move repeatedly; the kicks are far faster and have far less lag time than the Jumping Side Kick, in addition to being more powerful. In general, you can do far more with shuffled aerials than with this move, such as effectively pursuing your foe or continuing a combo. Don't rely too heavily on the running + A, especially at higher levels of play. If, by chance, you are facing a less-than-competent player, you can effectively juggle them on your foot with this move. You hit them once, and while they're in the air, you turn around immediately and do the same thing again. Watch out for the strange "anti-gravity" effect, though. Another use for this attack is against boomerang-happy Link and Young Link players, strangely enough. Normally, you would use your Reflector and effortlessly bat away the Hylian heroes' weaponry; this is if you don't really care about advancing on them, since you have a moment of time when the projectile hits your Reflector that you are "frozen" there. The time is not significant, but could cost you your advance, and thus, your trademark game- winning pressure. If you Jumping Side Kick into the boomerang, the collision will cancel your kick and send the boomerang back towards them, within which time you should have Fox-trotted right up to them and begun a nasty combo. Don't forget that there is also a tiny bit of lag for Link and Young Link when they grab their returning boomerang; try to use that to your advantage, too. 3. Air Flying Kick Button: A Damage: 7-12% Speed: Very high Priority: Relatively high Range: Medium-low Start Time: Very fast Duration: Fox's "sex kick" has him actually "attacking" for quite a while; if you screw up trying to short-hop, you can fast-fall quickly and essentially steer your foot into your target. Lag Time: Without L-canceling, too high for a Fox player. With L-canceling, you can combo into all sorts of things. Knockback: Medium This kick is interesting in that Fox's foot stays out for quite a while, giving the move a large chance of hitting a foe (Fox's "sex kick"). Average damage and very fast come-out time comprise this move, Fox’s basic aerial attack. Note that the damage that this move inflicts decreases with the amount of time that Fox has his foot out; thus, the strongest attack will occur at the very beginning of this move. At higher levels of play, this move is used very frequently in conjunction with short hopping and L-cancelling so as to use your aerial attacks close to the ground. If you are proficient at L-canceling and wavedashing, a shuffled sex kick can lead into a shine (which serves to stop any attempt at shield- grabbing) that you can wavedash out of and into an up-smash. Shuffled sex kicks are also useful for mind games. Throw your foe off his game with blaster spamming, forcing him to come to you before the damage racks up too high, and knock him off his feet with this move. Or, do the old Fox-trot-towards-and- wavedash-backwards trick into a shuffled sex kick (among other things). If you wish, you can short-hop this to use as an edgeguarding move, but you can also use the Fox Tail, down- or forward-smash if short-hopping isn't your game. Shuffled versions of both of Fox's aerial kicks are very useful for forcing your opponent over the edge or segueing into Fox's other combos. Generally, if you can short-hop, fast-fall, L-cancel the two aerial kicks, you will find yourself opening a vast majority of your combos with them. Tornado Kick Button: Towards Tilt + A (Towards C-Stick) Damage: Usually 5-18% (varies depending on number of hits) Speed: Relatively high Priority: Medium-low Range: Medium Start Time: Very fast Duration: You are left kicking in the air for quite a while (or until you land), so watch your future timing plans. Lag Time: The Tornado Kick doesn't L-cancel as well as Fox's other aerials; regardless, without it, you are facing a considerable amount of landing lag time. Knockback: Very low A rapid series of aerial kicks that can add on a decent amount of damage. If you don't L-cancel this, you will find yourself facing considerable lag time once you land. This move is known to inexperienced Fox players everywhere as one of the two main causes of self-destructs. Because of Fox's sensitive controls, the unwary player attempting to edge-guard can slide off the arena in a Tornado Kick with even the slightest touch of the control stick or A button. Stick to the sex kicks for far more effective aerial combat; the Tornado Kick stops on its own accord and carries very little knockback, meaning a quick-witted foe could hit you right when you finish the move, as chances are they haven't gone anywhere. The sex kicks are also much better in L-canceling, yet another requirement for your high-level Fox. Reverse Spin Kick Button: Away Tilt + A (Away C-Stick) Damage: 8-15% Speed: Very High Priority: Medium Range: Medium Start Time: Very fast Duration: Essentially a backwards sex kick. Lag Time: Significant without L-canceling. Not as cleanly L-cancelable as the forward sex kick, but still fast. Knockback: Medium The backwards partner of the Flying Kick, this has the same long stay-out time and fast come-out time (Fox's "reverse sex kick"). If you can begin juggling your foe (usually with the aid of an up-throw or short-hopped McCloud Flip), you can combine this kick with fast falls and effectively bounce your foe through the air and out of the arena. Along with the forward sex kick, these two moves constitute the backbone of your aerial assault. You can short- hop into this move if you feel it is necessary; just watch your timing on the L-cancel. Remember for both the forward and back sex kick that you can jump right out of a shield (or shine) and into either move; you don't want to waste milliseconds waiting for your shield to completely lower, now, do you? In addition, the reverse sex kick functions in an edgeguarding/edgehogging capacity. If you grab the edge to make it more difficult for your opponent to return and you see that he is going to land squarely on the stage anyway, you can perform an interesting form of edgeguarding with a bit of quick reaction time and finger work. To do this, you must drop from the edge, and then immediately jump back up (so that it appears as if you jumped up from the ledge) and use the away C-stick to execute a reverse sex kick into your opponent's face, sending him, her, or it out into the open air yet again. You can repeat this as many times as you wish as long as you can grab the ledge again after each attempt. Of course, doing this requires that you can anticipate the trajectory of your opponent's comeback, so you may need to vary the length of your drop and jump in order to hit them. McCloud Flip Button: Up Tilt + A (Up C-Stick) Damage: 9-16% Speed: High Priority: Medium Range: Relatively close-range Start Time: Fast Duration: Just long enough for Fox to launch two quick upwards kicks. Lag Time: Fox flounders about on the ground for a bit trying to right himself if you don't L-cancel this. This is especially obvious when short-hopping this. Knockback: Relatively high Another member of Fox's four most feared moves, it is the McCloud Flip that gives the vulpine his incredible aerial knockout ability. This move, which has increased greatly in power since the N64 version, easily kills even the heaviest of opponents, Bowser and Ganondorf included. Those two heavyweights can usually be killed with little trouble at around 110-120% with the McCloud Flip on stages with an average ceiling height. On low-ceiling stages, such as Flat Zone and, appropriately enough, Corneria and Venom, the percentage decreases to around 90-100%. A neat trick is doing the Flip in a short hop, allowing you to begin some very damaging juggling or even unorthodox edgeguarding. Remember to fast-fall once you commence juggling in order to fit in follow-up Flips for the kill before the enemy hits the ground. The anatomy of a sweet-spotted hit on the McCloud Flip is quite strange. Usually, the most powerful hits occur at the tips of Fox's feet (or the tip of the target's body), where you will usually get one clean stroke. If the first stroke of the move hits on your enemy's body, you will usually get one hit and then a finishing stroke. The sweet spot is quite consistent, though. Usually, you only get the "slap" of a failed McCloud Flip if you fall away from the target too fast (such as in fast-falling) or are way too far away for the second stroke to hit. Holding up during the move seems to help clarify these failed sweet spot issues. To sum up, use this move often and use it well; it is the key to Fox's aerial juggling game in addition to being a very effective vertical kill move. Drill Kick Button: Down Tilt + A (Down C-Stick) Damage: Usually 1-16% (varies depending on number of hits) Speed: High Priority: Medium-low Range: Close-range Start Time: Very fast Duration: If you let the move go for the full length of time, that is, you land after you stop drilling and don't fast-fall, it lasts a decent amount of time. Lag Time: Significant if not L-canceled; if L-canceled, there is virtually no lag time. Knockback: Nonexistent A move that sends Fox spiraling downwards at his opponent in a flurry of kicks. The move itself has no actual knockback, and therefore is best used to set up combos with grabs, the Fox Tail, Flip Kick, or even the Reflector if you wish to completely annul shield-grabbing. For added style, L-cancel the Drill Kick and quickly Jab the opponent, then quickly up-smash them to get them into the air and ready for juggling. The other feasible use for the Drill Kick is as part of one of Fox's destructive "Infinite Shine" techniques. Note that the Drill Kick is not a spike. If you try to use it that way, you will drill yourself through your opponent and into the abyss. Additionally, you can edgeguard with this move against certain characters with specialized or relatively low-priority return attacks. These include Kirby, Jigglypuff, Captain Falcon, Ganondorf, Fox, Falco, Bowser, Link, and Young Link (note that more often than not, you will need to short-hop Drill Kick to reach these characters in time; use of the technique is also limited by the trajectory of the returning character). The Drill Kick will push them downwards, which is especially handy against Fox and Falco players. Watch the trajectory that Falcon and Ganondorf are returning in, though. If you misjudge, your Drill Kick will land you in their fiery or electrical grasp. An edgeguarding Drill Kick should be done on the Links before the ending up-stroke of their recovery, which will probably out-prioritize your Drill Kicks and bat you away. 4. Throws Fox executes his throws quickly (within half a second of the beginning of the throw), so be ready with follow-up attacks. Fox also has a short reach, so compensate for that by using dash-grabs whenever possible. Of course, all buttons are while Fox is holding on to the opponent. Generally, stick to the up-throw for all-purpose comboing and juggling use, and the forward and back throws to get your foes off the arena. The down-throw is flashy, but is teched far too easily to be feasible in a higher-level fight. Knee Button: A... Damage: 3% Speed: High Fox knees his opponent while they are stuck in his grip, pure and simple. Use this to add on damage and create a farther throw. Be careful not to get too knee-happy though, or your foe will rotate out of your grip before you get to the fun part. Elbow Bash Button: Towards Damage: 3% Speed: High Fox's forward throw isn't very powerful; its most common use is to get the opponent off the arena, where they are vulnerable to shine spiking and edge- hogging. At higher percents, you may be able to dash-grab and catch them again, or hit them with a short-hopped forward sex kick after you forward- throw. Skeet Blaster Button: Away Damage: 7% Speed: High Fox's back throw is flashy, but not very powerful. Yet again, its primary use is to get opponents off the edge and into the open air, where you are better able to control them with blaster fire, edge-hogging, and shine spiking. Star Blaster Button: Up Damage: 7% Speed: High Fox's most useful throw, the up-throw gets your opponents into the air and ready for juggling or a deadly McCloud Flip as a finisher. It can also be used multiple times, with Fox hurling opponents into the air, blasting them, and catching them again during their descent. Combo this with the up-tilt A for repeated beatings or the up-smash for a big hit. At lower percentages, the up throw can be used in combination with the Back Kick and up-smash until usually around 30-40%, and possibly 50% on the larger characters. Mix in Jabs and Straights to tie up returning enemies and lower their defenses for another up-throw. Floor Blaster Button: Down Damage: 4% Speed: High Ah, the down-throw, bane of non-techers everywhere. This is a natural starter for the Fox Tail and Back Kick, both of which can throw opponents into the air as you prepare to juggle them (provided your opponent does not tech). At higher levels, it is possible to "throw-spike" an opponent with the down-throw. You must of course be facing out into open air when you grab them, and ideally you will grab them out of the air either right above the edge of the arena or above nothing. You will know whether you did this correctly once you down- throw. If you did, the throw will essentially meteor-smash them downwards to their death in a gigantic spike. Generally, though, this technique is far too random and impractical to be used consistently. Enemy directional influencing usually throws the down-throw off, also. 5. Special Moves (Ground or Air) Blaster Button: B... Damage: 1-3% a shot Speed: High Priority: None Range: Very long range (projectiles tend to do that), but the lasers themselves tend to disappear after a certain distance Start Time: Fast; Fox pulls out his trusty Blaster very quickly. Duration: Whatever you deem necessary. Lag Time: Little; the closest thing to lag in this move is when Fox replaces his Blaster. Knockback: None The third member of Fox's most feared moves, Fox's blaster is a spammer's delight, simply put. Combined with his lightning running speed and the fast come-out and withdraw time of the blaster, Fox can snipe opponents from afar, forcing them to come to him in a blind haste. Although they do not stun, unlike Fox's N64 blaster, the lasers cannot be out-prioritized by any move in the game except for, of course, a shield of some kind, and with good button timing you can keep Fox firing for a virtually limitless amount of time. A well-known fact in the Smash community is that the vulpine's blaster was too powerful for the current tournament stage set, which included Hyrule Temple. The quick fox and his equally quick blaster were practically made for that large stage, and Fox players became very adept at scampering about the stage, sniping their opponents to high percents. Because of this (and multiple other camping issues), it was agreed upon very early to ban Hyrule Temple from standardized tournament play. The Blaster is a handy gauge for your opponent's skill level, also. At the beginning of the match, wavedash backwards and begin blasting your opponent (including Ness, but probably not Fox or Falco, as everyone and their brother knows about their Reflectors). Watch carefully how they react; if they charge toward you (which is mostly the only thing most characters can do), you know they have some competence in the game and should plan accordingly. Watch for them to roll towards you, also, in which case you can anticipate the length of their roll and knock them out of it (remember that there are periods of vulnerability after the roll that you can take advantage of). If they shield, chances are you're playing a not-so-smart player, but don't let your guard down nevertheless; a blind, unplanned charge with Fox will usually end in you getting hit hard. Plan your advances accordingly, and use the vulpine's Blaster to force your foes to you lest they take too much damage. You should be wary around characters such as Ness, Falco, and the mirror match Fox, as they all have ways to combat the Blaster. Ness is far too slow to pressure a good Fox player, though, and remember that your shine-spike devastates his recovery move. Opposing Falcos and Foxes can Reflect the blaster bolts back at you; your main offense against them consists of edgeguarding and shine-spiking, which absolutely destroys their recovery in addition to allowing you a window to bust through their fast moves. As a side note, Fox's blaster shots cancel Sheik's needles, so don't be afraid to start a projectile war with her, as it is certainly a plus to make the ninja come to you. Your blaster can't stop all of the needles from a long-charged attack, so be wary. Despite the loss of Hyrule Temple and its massive spamming potential, you can still spam the Blaster on most medium and large stages due to your foot speed. Captain Falcon, with his faster foot speed, may be able to keep you from consistently spamming the Blaster, but nearly every other enemy can be sniped out with ease. Augment your fast, low-percent attacks (such as Jabs, Straights, Rapid Kicks, and the Fox Tail) with the Blaster to increase their comboing potential. Around 30-40% on most opponents is a good comboing percentage for Fox, and with the Blaster that goal is nowhere near out of reach. Note that you can short-hop, fire off Fox's laser, and then fast-fall in order to make yourself into a moving turret. This will help increase your ability to respond to your opponent when he charges towards you (remember that the blaster has a bit of ending lag time as Fox replaces it in its holster). Fox Illusion Button: Left/Right Smash + B Damage: 3-7% Speed: Extremely fast Priority: Very high due to execution speed Range: The Fox Illusion sends you across a far horizontal distance and cuts through opponents if they don't shield. You can shorten the distance by pressing B before you shoot off. Start Time: Large for Fox. Obviously not a melee move. Duration: You cut through foes and are effectively "attacking" throughout the entire horizontal distance that you move. Lag Time: A little lag at the end as Fox steadies himself, but you should blast past your enemy anyway. Knockback: Below average; sends opponents into the air This move sends Fox towards the opponent at a blindingly fast speed; the opponent must be aware enough to shield before this move connects, or it will launch them into the air. The Illusion is a good surprise move for unwary players or even as an escape method, but be aware that it begins with a significant start-up animation lag time, and it ends with lag, as well. Be sure to position yourself while using this move to land far enough away from your opponent to compensate for the lag. Hitting B during the start-up animation shortens the length of the Illusion. Also, the Illusion is the preferred means of recovery if you are level with the stage; it is surprising how many easy KOs a Mario or Dr. Mario can score with a quick flip of his Cape on a Fire Fox recovery (this recovery can also be Caped with good timing, so watch out). With obscene timing, an opposing Fox or Falco can Reflector you out of this, but if they miss they'll be sent flailing into the air. The Illusion can function as a means of escape, a recovery move, a follow-up to mind games, or as a way to keep opponents on their toes. Mix this move in at long distance with the Blaster and stir in some melee attacks to keep your foe guessing, and use it frequently enough so as to remind your foe to listen for the distinctive "ping" sound as the move begins lest you pop them into the air. Another use is to eliminate dash dancing, especially against characters with more lag on the ground. It is difficult to follow this move with anything very consistently due to its ending lag time, so don't expect it to be a very good starter for combos. You have shuffled sex kicks, the Fox Tail, and the up-throw among other things to begin your combos. Fire Fox Button: Up tilt + B Damage: 7-14%, plus 4% if the starting flames hit Speed: Medium Priority: Medium Range: Pretty long; good enough to be Fox's principal recovery move Start Time: Medium-length beginning time as Fox charges up Duration: This move sends you quite a distance in whatever direction you wish. Lag Time: Very, very little once you land. Knockback: Average Fox's other means of recovery, the Fire Fox is a bit of a gamble to use since it can be Caped and edge-guarded pretty easily. Regardless, it has considerable range and is more versatile than the Fox Illusion as a recovery move. You can also perform a "levitating" Fire Fox, using the move while jumping from a run. You will float towards the enemy while engulfed in flames, catching them on the embers and hitting them with the upstroke of the move. This is situational, however; it should only be used if the opponent is assured of returning to the stage in order to add on damage. For mind games, jump and Fire Fox yourself into the ground at a sharp angle. You will bounce at an equally sharp angle and land either behind your enemy or directly in front of him. In either case, make use of the Fire Fox's virtually nonexistent recovery time and up-smash them (another rather situational tactic). Don't rely on the Fire Fox as an effective attack, however; it's not fast enough nor powerful enough to be used as often as something like the up- smash or McCloud Flip. Reflector Button: Down tilt + B Damage: 5% Speed: Highest possible (1 frame, or 1/60 of a second) Priority: Very high due to extreme speed Range: Close-range, but reaches out a bit on either side of Fox Start Time: Virtually instantaneous Duration: Dependent. If you jump-cancel the Reflector, it is extremely short. If you don't jump-cancel it or you reflect a projectile with it, you are stuck until Fox deactivates the strange device. The Reflector can only hit an opponent at its start time. Lag Time: Again, if you reflect something or don't jump-cancel it, the Reflector has a small amount of lag time. Knockback: A set distance for each character (dependant on traction) Here it is, the fourth, deadliest, and most powerful member of Fox's most feared moves. Contrary to beginning-player belief, the vulpine's Reflector is not used solely to deflect projectiles, although that is a big part of it. By now, those inexperienced smashers must be thinking, "What can you possibly do with this crazy thing other than reflect stuff?" The list goes on and on and on; this move more than any other sets Fox apart from his wing mate Falco (and virtually every other character) in the tiers. An entire section will be devoted to the uses of this powerful move, which include winning priority wars, killing at very low percentages, destroying your foe's plans of projectile spamming, setting up for a combo, and the infamous Infinite Shine techniques (Fox's Reflector is affectionately known as the "shine" in the Smash community; ask any seasoned player and they will know what it is). The insanity increases once you master L-cancelling, fast-falling, and wavedashing, all of which will be discussed later. To start, know that you can cut the Reflector animation short by simply jumping up out of it, and that you can turn around while in the Reflector (the use of this will be shown later). 6. The Physics of Fox Don't let the word "physics" scare you; it simply refers to each character's innate weight, traction, falling speed, and other similar properties. Obviously, Fox, being the little guy that he is, can be killed easily and quickly while in inexperienced hands. Players who have not mastered his more advanced techniques tend to spam one or two moves, and wonder why their button mashing leads them to repeatedly Illusioning themselves off the stage. The truth is, Fox can be very difficult to KO effectively. He is a fast-faller, one of a few characters, including Falco and Captain Falcon, who fall at an accelerated rate compared to the other fighters. This can work for or against you. If Fox is knocked upwards, his fast falling may allow you to live for another hit or two. On the other hand, if Fox goes flying horizontally too far, he will plummet out of reach of the ledge, which chances are your opponent will be hanging onto. You can increase Fox's falling speed by holding down on the Control Stick at the peak of his relatively short jump. Experienced players use Fox's fast falling to their advantage, plummeting quickly to earth to avoid being juggled and greatly increase their comboing speed. As a Fox player, you must acquaint yourself with using his fast, jerky moves in order to increase your already blinding speed. Once you can implement the more advanced aspects of Fox into your game, such as L-cancelling, fast- falling, short hopping, and wavedashing, you will not be surprised when you can get an opponent above 100% within the first minute of the match. If you don't know yet, Fox is overall the fastest character in the game, and his speed will let you live for quite a while if used properly. Below are tons of statistics pertaining to Fox and virtually everything that he does (note that 1 frame = 1/60 of a second; thus, there are 60 frames in a second). I give an immeasurably huge amount of thanks to Mew2King and those who helped him for finding, recording, and compiling all of these statistics and many, many, many more. Thanks a lot, Mew2King and co.; this section could not exist without you guys. Dodge Rating: 63.6363...%; 14/22 frames; dodge starts on second frame. RANKING: Best in game (among others) Air Dodge Rating: Starting Time: 3 frames. Invincible Time: 26 frames (frames 4-29): RANKING: Same as every other character except Peach, Zelda, and Bowser. Roll Rating: (both rolls) 51.612903225806451%; 16/31 frames; both rolls start on fourth frame. RANKING: Group C, third best in game (among others) Clobbering Item Attack Starting Speed (Beam Sword, Home Run Bat, Lip's Stick, and Star Rod): A-5 frames; forward tilt + A-12 frames; dash A-6 frames Item Throwing Speed: A/Forward + A-7 frames; Back + A-7 frames; Up + A-6 frames; Down + A-5 frames; Aerial A/Aerial Forward + A- 6 frames; Aerial Back + A-7 frames; Aerial Up + A-6 frames; Aerial Down + A-6 frames; Dash + A-4 frames. RANKING: Best in game (among others) Fire Flower and Ray Gun Shooting Speed Starting Time: 10 frames. RANKING: Group C, third best in game (among others) Home Run Bat Smash Attack Speed: 30 frames. RANKING: Group G, seventh best in game (among others) Running Stopping Speed: 18 frames. RANKING: Best in game along with Falco. Running Turning Speed: 30 frames. RANKING: 16th in game. Item Pick-up Speed (using A): Pick-up Speed: 2 frames. Total Time: 7 frames. RANKING: Best in game (among others) Barrel, Crate, and Party Ball Pick-Up Speed: 24th in game Weight: 75. Weight measures how far characters are knocked horizontally. Mario = 100 (average). RANKING: 22nd heaviest. Walking Speed: 1st in game. Running Speed: 2nd in game. Falling Speed: 3rd highest in game. Fox has the highest acceleration speed while falling. Fast-fall Falling Speed: 48. RANKING: 3rd fastest in game. Traction Rating: 237 (69.3%). RANKING: 12th in game. Wavedash Length: 13th farthest in game. Ducking Rating: 17th in game. Crate Carrying Speed: 26th (slowest) in game. Landing Recovery Time From a Jump: 4 frames. RANKING: Group B, second best in game (among others) Jumping Speed: 4 frames. RANKING: Best in game (among others). Every second jump takes 1 frame. First Jump Height: 7th in game. Second Jump Height: 6th in game. Total Jump Height: 6th in game. Shield Release Recovery Time: 15 frames. RANKING: Group B, second best in game (among others) Ledge Attack Horizontal Range (0-99%): 4th in game. Ledge Attack Power (0-99%): 8% (6% at close-range). RANKING: Group C, third best in game (among others) Ledge Attack Power (100-999%): 8%. RANKING: Group D, fourth best in game (among others) Horizontal Aerial Moving Speed: 26th (slowest) in game. Horizontal Aerial Falling Distance: 25th in game. Super Scope Shot Rapidness: One shot every 6 frames; 10 shots per second; lasts 5-6 seconds if shot nonstop. RANKING: Group A, best in game (among others) Rapid Attack Speed: 7 frames apart in rapid A (last hit takes 8 frames) between a set of 5 kicks. Total time until set of hits repeats: 36 frames. Average speed: 7.2 frames apart, 8 1/3 hits per second. Blaster Schematics: 10 frames apart; the first shot is 12 frames (exactly 6 shots per second). Aerial blaster shots are also 10 frames apart; the first shot is 10 frames. Grabbing Range (Relative approximations): 12th in game. Grabbing Release Power: 2% (this is how much damage a character receives when he or she escapes your grab due to another character hitting you) Grabbing Speed: Grab-7 frames. Total Time-30 frames. Dash Grab-12 frames. Total Time-40 frames. Grab-Attack Starting Speed: 5 frames. RANKING: 2nd in game (among others) Horizontal Projectile Speed Rating: 1st among selectable characters. Projectile Lasting Time: 34 frames. RANKING: 3rd shortest in game. Forward/Backward Throw Power Rating: Forward: 28th place. Backward: 50th place. Both rankings are out of 61. Vertical Throw Power Rating: 18th place. Ranking is out of 30. Forward Smash Rating: 22nd place. Fully-charged Forward Smash Rating: 21st place. Fox's Shine Distance Along the Ground If your opponent is holding no direction, then their own weight and traction determine how far the shine will send them. If they are holding down, their distance will be shortened, and they will stay on their feet. Character No Direction Holding Down Dr. Mario............13 ft.............6 ft Mario................13 ft.............6 ft Luigi................33 ft.............15 ft Bowser...............12 ft.............5 ft Peach................8 ft..............4 ft Yoshi................12 ft.............6 ft Donkey Kong..........9 ft..............4 ft Captain Falcon.......9 ft..............4 ft Ganondorf............10 ft.............5 ft Falco................----..............5 ft Fox..................----..............5 ft Ness.................14 ft.............6 ft Ice Climbers.........25 ft.............11 ft Kirby................----..............6 ft Samus................12 ft.............5 ft Zelda................8 ft..............4 ft Shiek................10 ft.............5 ft Link.................7 ft..............3 ft Young Link...........----..............5 ft Pichu................----..............5 ft Pikachu..............----..............4 ft Jigglypuff...........----..............5 ft Mewtwo...............----..............10 ft Mr. Game and Watch...----..............8 ft Marth................15 ft.............7 ft Roy..................----..............7 ft ---- = Character will fall to the ground. All tests were done on Final Destination. Other surfaces and/or inclines will affect distances. For those of you attempting his Drill Kick infinite combo, 9 feet is the maximum distance they can travel before they go too far to combo. Credits: element_of_fire for making this list. II. Advanced Techniques A. Introduction The Smash community regards Fox McCloud as the most difficult character to master at high levels of play. His unparalleled speed, incredibly fast jump time (4 frames, or 1/15 of a second), and fast-paced controls can push even the most skilled Melee player to the limit. Although Fox's basic moves are powerful when combined with his speed, it is his advanced aspects that make him such a powerful character. The following techniques form the basis of nearly everything that the vulpine can do, and they can also be applied to every other character, with slight adjustments for timing. In this section, you will learn how to perform these critical techniques and how to apply them to your game. Once you have mastered them, you will quickly see why Japanese players hold Fox in such high esteem. With his controls and these techniques well under your fingers, the fox will become a potent, unstoppable (and admittedly show-offy) force. 1. L-Canceling What it is: Cutting short the recovery animation of an aerial attack, allowing you to begin instantly another attack. How to do it: Press L, R, or Z (preferably L) when landing from an aerial attack. Specifically, you "land" when you begin to see dust clouds forming around your character's feet. Pressing L, R, or Z at this time will stop the recovery animation and return your fighter to his or her fighting stance, ready to launch another attack. Uses: L-canceling is the defining technique for high-level Melee players. Using it will greatly speed up your character and open many doors to comboing. In combination with the lightning-quick Fox, L-canceling can be downright deadly. So many uses exist for L-canceling that it is nearly impossible to name them all. Of course, the technique's primary use is to cut off the lag time after an aerial attack. You will quickly notice whether you have done the technique correctly; it is most noticeable with Link's Sword Plant (aerial down tilt + A), which has massive recoil lag as Link yanks his sword from the ground. If you are unsure whether you are doing it correctly, try it first with the Hylian hero, and then move on to Fox's naturally fast moves. L-canceling is an absolute necessity at higher levels of play. Professional players frequently mock lower-level players because they move too slow, evidence of not L-canceling. The technique works with nearly every advanced aspect of Fox's game, include his Reflector, Back Kick, and infamous up-smash. Short-hopping a move, fast-falling, and then L-canceling (abbreviated "shuffle" in the online community) is an absolute necessity if you are to use Fox to his fullest. There is no one place to begin on L-canceling with Fox, but below are some practical uses for the technique that I use frequently when combined with other advanced tactics. [1]Short-hop, Fast-fall Drill Kick, L-canceled into an up-smash Fast and deadly, this combo is an excellent way to rack up damage on the ground and then toss your foe into the air, ready for a lethal McCloud Flip or prolonged juggling. Most easily done on slower opponents (but usable on every character), simply jump above your opponent and fast-fall downwards in a Drill Kick. Once you land, L-cancel the lag and up smash. Follow with whatever you please. [2] Fast-fall Drill Kick, L-canceled into an up throw and McCloud Flip Similar to the above combo, jump and fast-fall in a Drill Kick onto your opponent, then L-cancel it and immediately grab and up throw them. Follow it all up with a powerful McCloud Flip and whatever else your evil comboing heart desires. However, know that at lower percentages you may not get enough leverage with the up throw to execute a McCloud Flip in time. Instead, you can continue to up throw your opponent with repeated Back Kicks, or simply up- smash them, grab them during their descent, and then execute the combo. [3] Fast-fall Drill Kick, L-canceled into a Jab and up-smash Mentioned earlier, this combo is a great way to get your opponent to stand still for your finishing up smash. [4] Shuffled Flying Kick into any grab/up smash/Back Kick/Fox Tail The start to this combo, a shuffled Flying Kick, is very versatile and forms the basis of many more combos with Fox. High-level players use it all the time, and some (myself included) often tack on a Reflector at the end to shove the opponent away from them and into another shuffled Flying Kick. 2. Wavedashing What it is: An unorthodox method of movement in which you "glide" along the ground. While in this movement, you can use all of your attacks. With most characters, wavedashing is as fast as running. How to do it: Air-dodge diagonally into the ground immediately after jumping. The game converts your motion in the air to horizontal motion, resulting in a strange movement where you essentially "glide" across the ground in a cloud of dust. Try it first with Luigi in Training Mode, set on a slow speed (start with 2/3 or 1/3 if you need to). You will know you did it correctly when you see Luigi go sailing smoothly along the ground. Once you are comfortable with the technique, move on to Fox. Note, however, that Fox jumps much faster than Luigi does, so you'll need fast fingers to wavedash correctly (if you wait slightly too long with Fox to dodge into the ground, you'll do what is called a triangle jump, a variant of wavedashing which has its own uses and merits and will be discussed later). Uses: The wavedash is another member of the group of advanced tactics that make Fox such a powerful character. With this technique, you open a wealth of options for mind games, one of the vulpine's specialties, and even some possibilities for comboing. Most players use wavedashing for "offensive defensive" movement, essentially. While wavedashing, you are able to use any attack as if you were still standing on the ground. This allows you to cover your retreats with fast Jabs and Straights or even Fox Tails or up smashes if you are feeling particularly evil. If you want, you can drive your foes further back with forward wavedashing, and then sprint away and blaster spam them to higher percentages. During close battle, you can wavedash backwards to avoid an incoming strike and then immediately wavedash forward into an up-smash, Fox Tail, or other pre-juggling move. You can also edge-hog using wavedashing by wavedashing off the edge facing towards the ledge. Fox will immediately grab the ledge; this is far faster than doing a normal backwards jump to grab the ledge and is very useful, so use it well. I use wavedashing most for what I think is its most effective use: mind games. Especially with a fast faller and jumper like Fox, the strange movement wavedashing grants you can be used to fake out your opponent and make them use a high-lag attack, allowing you to rush in unopposed and do some serious damage. The most common way to do this is to run as quickly as possible at your opponent, making it seem as if you are making a hasty, poorly planned attack. When they wind up an attack to smack you, the proverbial baseball, away from them, immediately wavedash backwards. While they are still in the lag, wavedash or run forwards (if running, you might need to fox trot, yet another technique that will be discussed later) and hit them with any attack. A fast dash-grab also works wonders. Once you learn how to work with wavedashing and its myriad of mind games, you should observe every character's moves and memorize what their start-up frames look like. If your eyes are fast enough, you can see what attack your enemy is about to use during your headlong dash and determine its lag time and how much time you will have to hit them back. Wavedashing is also used to combat L-canceling. If an opponent comes down on you with an aerial attack and L-cancels it, you are not given enough time to hit back. Wavedashing solves this. If you see your enemy about to use an aerial attack on your head, wavedash to either side before they land. This will clear you of their attack and let you hit them back. Be sure not to triangle jump, as that usually will not move you far enough away to avoid being hit. Wavedashing in combos is not entirely necessary, but does show that you have some serious skill. Players do this to position themselves better for follow- up strikes. The idea behind this is that since every character's start-up dash animation has some amount of lag to it, you can wavedash instead to move instantly and continue attacking, useful for such things as properly positioning yourself for that properly-timed up-smash that will lead to more juggling. On a side note, wavedashing is an essential part to reaching the epitome of Fox skill; it is a member of the feared "Infinite Shine" combos. These combos are comprised of an extremely difficult series of short-hops, fast-falls, Drill Kicks, and L-cancels into a Reflector and then followed again by a wavedash and the same series, repeatedly, in perfect succession and time. In theory, a flawless player could do this forever (up to 999%). In order to be truly infinite, however, you would need to invert the process (since no stage extends forever), a method known appropriately enough as the inverse infinite shine, In this combo, after pushing the opponent to the edge of the stage, you would need to turn around somewhere in the Infinite Shine process, thus making the Reflector push him or her in the new direction you are facing. I will not cover this tactic here, since very, very few Fox players can actually do it, and virtually none can do it forever short of playing with modified controllers. More than anything, it is the vulpine's greatest way to flaunt his abilities, but the vast majority of Fox players find that his other advanced techniques are far more practical in battle. 3. Shield-grabbing What it is: Simply put, it is grabbing out of your shield. How to do it: While in a shield, simply press A. This causes your character to instantly lower the shield and grab. Uses: This technique is simple to do and extremely useful. Even more than L-canceling, this technique separates the low-level Smash players from the intermediate. It limits your opponent's options, and makes him need to know how to L-cancel, since if he does not, you can shield his aerial attack and then quickly shield-grab him. Know this technique well, and use it freely. 4. Short-hopping What it is: As the name implies, it is hopping a small distance above the ground. How to do it: There are two ways to short-hop: with the control stick or with the X/Y buttons. I suggest you begin with the X/Y buttons. To short-hop with them, you must tap the button extremely lightly, almost as if you are grazing it with your finger instead of pressing it, and then very quickly release your finger from the button. The game judges whether you short-hop based on how long your finger stays on the button, not how much force you put into pressing it. Thus, you have to be able to get your finger (probably your thumb) off it as quickly as possible. Common opinion holds that it is easier to fast-fall if you short-hop with X or Y. Short-hopping with the control stick is a bit more complicated, in addition to being the method that I mainly use to short-hop. It works best while in a run, since you already have the stick tilted towards where it needs to go for you to short-hop. To short-hop with the control stick, you must move it with more than a little bit of pressure at a slight angle above the respective side angle of the shape around the stick. You can fast-fall also if you quickly snap down the stick from its short-hopping position, but watch your timing. You can also short-hop from a standstill position, but it requires an awkward position and movement of the control stick; overall, it is much easier to short-hop using X and Y. Uses: Short-hopping is used strictly for comboing, or at times for edge- guarding and Fox’s short-hop laser, or SHL (see later on in this section). The idea is that if you jump a shorter distance off the ground, you can get to the ground far faster than from a normal jump (whoa, you think?) and then execute another attack in a shorter amount of time. I will not list any combos using short-hopping, and after a while the reason why will become clear. Once you learn to short-hop, L-cancel, and fast-fall, you will be able to improvise your own combos in the heat of battle and instantly adjust them to any situation or whatever position your enemy occupies. Static lists of combos, except for start-ups such as the fast-fall Drill Kick L-canceled into whatever, are not very practical, as most of these combos require your foe to be in a certain position or even percentage. 5. Dash-canceling What it is: Canceling the forward movement of your dash by crouching, allowing you to fake out the opponent or use an attack other than your running attack at a moment's notice. How to do it: While dashing, simply crouch (press down on the control stick). This will slow or completely stop your forward movement. Uses: Though certainly not as versatile as L-canceling or short-hopping, dash-canceling does have its merits. Mastery of this technique with Fox will give you more options to mess with your opponent's head and his game, in addition to allowing you to utilize your ground attacks in a faster manner, therefore increasing the amount of pressure you can apply with your onslaught. One of dash-canceling's uses is in mind games, especially with a fast runner like Fox. You can charge headlong towards your opponent, effectively feigning a hasty, random, almost last-ditch attack. However, when you see the start-up frames of their retaliatory attack, you can dash-cancel your dash and end up directly in front of them, ready for a long-distance Fox Tail to sweep them into the air, or a powerful forward smash, or, if you are really daring, a down-smash underneath their shield. You can also dash-cancel yourself so as to position your opponent in the furthest possible effective diameter of Fox's up-smash. If you can pull this off, the up-smash should plow through their defenses, outprioritizing their retaliatory strike and sending them airborne. Keep in mind only to do this if you see them go into their own attack; otherwise, your opponent will shield the effective moment of the up-smash and shield-grab you. Speaking of shield-grabbing, you can use dash-canceling to trick your foe into putting himself into a shield, thinking he's ready to grab you out of your dash. What a surprise awaits him, however, when you screech to a halt out of range of his grab and ready to sprint forward into your own grab. A more situational use of dash-canceling is to interrupt the opponent's own dash with a Fox Tail or forward-smash in Melee's version of chicken. If you find yourself hurtling towards your enemy, who himself is flying towards you, dash-cancel your dash and quickly judge the distance between yourself and your enemy. Then sweep them off their feet with a Fox Tail or simply roll over them with a forward-smash. Dash-canceling is also used to allow ground attacks at fast speeds. Normally, you can only use ground attacks while standing still or walking. Dash-canceling allows you to use your dash to get to the enemy, and then quickly launch into a ground attack once you've reached him. You can use this to continuously apply pressure to the other guy, hunting him down incessantly with the fox's fast running and then dash-canceling into any attack you wish, whether it is a simple Jab to throw them off their feet, a Fox Tail to prep them for juggling, or an up-smash for the killer blow. 6. Crouch-canceling What it is: Crouching (holding down on the control stick) when you are hit, increasing your defenses and greatly reducing the attack's normal knockback. How to do it: Hold down on the control stick when hit or while being hit. Uses: Fox isn't exactly the bulkiest or heftiest of characters; therefore, his natural tendency is to be knocked off the stage very easily and frequently. Crouch-canceling partly solves that problem. With it, you can increase the vulpine's resilience to enemy strikes and greatly increase his lifespan. When coupled with Fox's already outstanding evasion abilities, crouch-canceling can keep you in the game more than long enough to hit back and finish your foe. Crouch-canceling is more situational than anything; if you are hit, hold down on the control stick to reduce the knockback, plain and simple. The only practical technique you can use with crouch canceling is what has been dubbed the "crouch-cancel counter" ("CCC" for you SWF members), which conveniently works quite well with Fox. What this triple-consonant acronym means is using your down-tilt, the Fox Tail, while crouch-canceling. The logic behind this is that the crouch-canceling will reduce the attack's knockback along with Fox's own reaction to it, allowing you to strike back virtually instantly and press your advantage again. The Fox Tail is perfectly adapted to this task; not only does it knock the opponent into the air flailing helplessly in the face of an inevitable McCloud Flip juggling or up-smash, but it also creeps underneath shields and comes out pretty quickly. Crouch-canceling and the counter that comes with it are essential tools to lengthening the lifespan of everyone's favorite furry space animal. 7. Dash-dancing What it is: Constantly turning around in the start-up animation of your dash, allowing you to quickly jet in either direction at any time you choose. How to do it: Quickly tap the control stick back and forth; you should see Fox as if he is split between running in two separate directions, his head appearing in one direction and then disappearing quickly only to reappear facing the other. Uses: Dash-dancing functions in mind games for the most part, but can also add fluidity and a certain sense of preparedness to your game. Since dash-dancing allows you to jet off in any direction at any time, you can frequently use it to fake out the opponent or prepare yourself for the direction of your foe's directional influence if you knock them to a certain height. Nothing in the world is funnier than the look on someone's face when they first see you dash-dancing. To them, it will appear as though you are just randomly hitting towards and away on the control stick and creating a screwed-up animation. Little do they know that you have something else up your sleeve. You can slightly vary the lengths of your individual dash-dance animations and allow yourself to essentially dash-dance across the level. The value of this technique is that you are slowly advancing on the opponent, pushing them back, while simultaneously opening up the dual options of fight or flight. The fight component comes in when you can make them blink and think that you are going to charge at them. More often than not, they will unleash some random attack, trying to catch you off guard. If your eye can catch the start-up frames of their attack, you can immediately judge the type and length of the attack and whether it has any lag time for you to take advantage of. If it does, plow in with a shuffled (short-hop, fast-fall, L-canceled) Flying Kick (or Fox's "sex kick", as it is known on SWF) and string together an improvised combo, one that hopefully includes plenty of juggling with fast-fallen McCloud Flips and perhaps some air time courtesy of the Back Kick (up-tilt A) or Fox Tail. If the attack is a decently fast one (meaning there is not much lag time for you to leech off of) you can immediately dash-dance away and continue your charade until they either come after you, in which case your quick speed should prevail more often than not, or blink again, hopefully with a higher-lag move. If you sense your opponent losing his concentration, see if you can perform a Fox Illusion toward him. You can also combine dash-dancing with the wavedash and triangle jumping in yet more of the vulpine's mind games. These tricks take into account three things, all of which depend on the type of attack being used and who is using it. These criteria are priority of the enemy attack, its speed, and, of course, its lag time. As mentioned before, dash-dancing can psych the opponent out into thinking you are going to do something that you really won't do. Instead, you'll do something seemingly random that will throw them for a loop if it succeeds. The trick is yet again to get your foe to blink, this time using a combination of sudden reverse wavedashing and dash-dancing. Use the dash-dancing to get your foe on his toes, and when you see an opening, charge forward. Your enemy should be ready with a retaliatory attack; otherwise, they've fallen entirely for your ruse, and you can dash-grab them or whatever else you deem necessary. If they let loose with an attack, wavedash backwards (make sure you still end up in decent range of them, however), and soar in with a powerful forward-smash (at medium to high percentages) or the ubiquitous shuffled sex kick. If you want to control your range from them at a finer level, try delaying your diagonal dodge into the ground for the wavedash; the result is a triangle jump, a spin-off of the wavedash that will move you in smaller, more controllable increments while still allowing you your attacks. 8. Standing Dash-Grab What it is: While running, you phase into a grab that is in the standing position, not the lowered position, while still moving forward. Some characters have a longer reach in a standing grab than a dash-grab, and the standing dash-grab occurs faster than the regular dash-grab. How to do it: While running, you must press up on the control stick, as if you are going to jump, but then immediately press Z (note that since Fox jumps incredibly quickly, you may need to work on your timing in order for this to work with him). This will cancel your jump and begin your grab, but your character will be standing up instead of in a lowered dashing position. Uses: The standing dash-grab is useful in a surprising number of situations. Since Fox's moves are all naturally quick and rather jerky, you need to be quite adept at cutting even the tiniest amounts of time off of your lag time and reducing the amount of time that you are "stagnate", meaning not moving and/or attacking. These issues will most often arise in heated close combat. The standing dash-grab is helpful because it occurs quickly, allowing it to be used out of anything from a shuffled attack to dash-dancing, and spans a wide area (that is, the amount of time that you are "grabbing" and can grab someone is significant). Standing dash-grabs can be performed on numerous occasions. These include continuing to apply pressure to an opponent after your shuffled attack has knocked them away and, most significant of all, a follow-up to all manner of mind games. Fox McCloud, with his natural speed and agility, is born to apply pressure. You must always be doing something that appears even remotely threatening in order to keep the opponent on his toes and guessing as to what you are going to do next. For example, once you have batted the opponent away with some attack, don't sit back and wait for him to tech and come back to you; rather, you must continue the chase. Fox-trot out of the attack that you used to send your foe flying and see if you can catch him out of the air with a well-timed standing dash-grab. If successful, up-throw him and clean him up, or hurl him off the stage and proceed to edge-guard and edge-hog or, if you so desire, shine-spike him. If you don't trust yourself with timing on the dash-grab, you can always fox-trot to pursue and use shuffled sex kicks or McCloud Flips to clean up, or simply open fire with the vulpine's handy Blaster. Mind games work well with the standing dash-grab and its lower relative, also. Combine fox-trotting and wavedashing or triangle-jumping to fake out the opponent and charge in with a fast dash-grab. Use the aforementioned dash- dancing mind game to again fake out your foe and break him with a dash-grab. 9. Fox Trotting What it is: Dashing out of your initial dash animation in order to create a faster-than-normal run. How to do it: To fox trot, you must begin to dash by smashing the control stick in your desired direction and then very quickly smashing it again. This will cause you to dash out of your dash animation, and your run will take on the speed of your dash animation. Uses: Fox McCloud is the epitome of pressure. Nearly all of his attacks are incredibly fast, and when combined with his blaster and quick running speed, he is an incredibly unnerving foe to face. Only Captain Falcon has the edge on Fox in running speed, but since Fox's main weapon in battle is his amazing combo ability, you as a Fox player need to be able to move as quickly as possible, whenever possible. It only makes sense that increasing your running speed even more could augment your ability to pressure your opponent and initiate your close-range combos faster. Fox-trot whenever possible, and even try fox- trotting out of your dash-dance to really grant your game some fluidity. Remember that you can dash-cancel your fox-trot and then immediately dash or fox-trot again. One of fox trotting's greatest uses comes in during item matches. The ability to get to a newly spawned item first is invaluable, no matter what item it is. An item gives you one more tool to abuse in order to dominate your opponent, and as such you should practice using a few items so you are not completely clueless while using them. 10. Triangle-jumping What it is: A relative of wavedashing, it is essentially a delayed version of that technique in which your jump and subsequent dodge into the ground form a triangle. This does not cover as much horizontal distance as the wavedash, but it has its own uses. How to do it: Similar to the wavedash, you must jump and then quickly (not immediately) air-dodge into the ground. Unlike the wavedash, triangle-jumping is done after your character's feet leave the ground, creating, appropriately enough, a triangle. Uses: Triangle-jumping is essentially a delayed variant of the wavedash. The game doesn't convert your air-dodge into horizontal distance, however, so triangle-jumping will get you no where near as much horizontal distance as wavedashing will. This has its plusses and minuses. A plus is that you can more accurately control where your character will end up after the triangle-jump (since it occurs in smaller, faster increments). This is an advantage in mind games in which you wish to respond to your opponent's mistake with a shuffled aerial, forward- or down-smash, or even the down-tilt + A, since your triangle-jumping response won't carry you as far away as would a wavedash. Another plus is that since Fox can't attack again until near the end of his wavedash, you can use triangle-jumping to get yourself into the frames where you can attack again quicker after dodging or using mind games with it. Because of its lack of horizontal distance, however, triangle-jumping has a few flaws. If you try to use it evasively against characters with a decent reach, they still may be able to hit you even though you triangle-jumped backwards. Another flaw is that, again, since triange-jumping doesn't cover as much horizontal distance as wavedashing (and requires more vertical time), it is not as effective a technique as wavedashing when combating L-cancelled aerials. In addition, the vertical time from the triangle-jump may very well put you in reach of your opponent's retaliatory L-canceled aerial. Use wavedashing to counter these techniques. 11. Short-hop Laser What it is: Short-hopping, firing a blaster bolt, and immediately fast-falling into another cycle of this series, if you so wish, or into anything else that you want to do. How to do it: As stated above, you must short-hop, fire a blaster bolt, and then immediately fast-fall. The fast-fall should be as fast as you can make it. You can SHL both forwards and backwards, obviously, but going backwards is much more difficult because of the danger of an improperly-positioned or late push of the control stick for the backwards jump. If you press “B” for your Blaster once this has happened, you will perform a backwards Fox Illusion, which will more often than not zip you off the edge. Uses: Fox’s SHL, due to his blaster’s inability to stun, is nowhere near as powerful a technique as his wingmate Falco’s. For Fox, the SHL functions as a mind game to egg your foe on and get him to come towards you. It also turns you into a mobile turret while also allowing you to blaster spam. The mobility of the SHL will allow you to respond more quickly to what your opponent’s answer for your blaster spamming is and also lets you follow effortlessly into nearly anything that Fox can do: a quick Jab to stun the other guy, a down-smash for when he gets too close, a forward-smash to begin pressuring him, etc. If you see yourself becoming idle during the course of the match and you don’t want to give your opponent some clear time to think, whip out your SHL and make him solve that problem instead. If anything, Fox’s SHL is your tool to prevent the match from stagnating and your foe from gaining some time to think clearly. Use it when you can. 12. Waveshine What it is: Wavedashing out of Fox’s shine and into whatever you may want to do. How to do it: Simply put, you activate Fox’s shine with down + B and then wavedash, not triangle-jump, out of it (see above for how to do the wavedash). Make sure you make each of the inputs for the waveshine clearly. For example, when you press “X” or “Y” to jump out of the shine (it’s unnecessarily harder to waveshine with the control stick), make sure you press the button and hold it long enough for the game to actually register a jump. Remember, since it is not necessary to short-hop for a wavedash, you don’t have to brush your finger off the side of the button or move it off of there incredibly quickly. Just focus on making sure that the game knows that you plan to jump with a decent press of your jump button of choice. This will help increase your consistency with waveshining. Uses: Oh, the uses… The parts of the waveshine work together to produce an effect that is both interesting to see and powerful in battle. The shine that starts the waveshine is meant to crack your foe’s defenses with its obscene priority and come-out time. The wavedash afterwards is meant to cancel your shine lag and propel you in the direction of your opponent, where you can better connect with your follow-up strike. Waveshining is a huge asset at close-range and for your comboing abilities, in addition to being a necessary component of Fox’s drill shine infinites, if you so wish to get into those. You have many options open to you when you connect with your waveshine. You can quickly Jab your foe from a waveshine to make sure he does not react before you and further open him to more comboing options. A Straight is usually not necessary after a waveshine, and you have more powerful options than your Rapid Kicks. You can down-tilt from a waveshine, also. This has the added bonus of having a good amount of reach and popping your foe into the air, where he can be juggled to high percents or simply finished off with a McCloud Flip. You can up-smash from a waveshine as prep for juggling or as a finishing blow, or you can down-smash from a waveshine if your enemy is at a higher percent and the down-smash will get him off the edge. If you see that it will not, you are better off with another option that you can chain into more combos. A forward-smash from a waveshine isn’t necessarily your best option; due to its recoil time after its initial effective hit, you won’t be able to pursue your foe and continue or even begin any combos. In this case, the forward-smash generally loses its position in the waveshine sequence to the far more powerful up-smash, obviously your best smash option out of a waveshine. You should stick to the up-smash for the vast majority of waveshine smashing that you plan to do, but remember that the forward-smash can be used to hit opponents off of the edge if you are near it or your foe has horrid horizontal recovery. Try shuffling neutral aerials (the forward sex kick) out of a waveshine; the button timing and coordination is a bit tricky, and you may have to reposition your hands very quickly during the course of your shuffling from the waveshine, but the end effect is worth it. You gain more distance from your short-hopped aerial while also gaining more than enough time to continue your combo thanks to Fox’s supreme shuffling prowess. A Tornado Kick is another option available to you from a waveshine, but it really is not a good one since you will not be able to connect with its multiple hits and it does not L-cancel as well as the neutral aerial does. You should use shuffled neutral aerials instead of shuffled Tornado Kicks. Obviously, the back sex kick only applies during backwards waveshines, which you will rarely use during your matches. A short-hopped McCloud Flip is a novel trick to perform from a waveshine if you can pull it off. It will lead you into juggling, as does most of what comes from a waveshine. A short-hopped Drill Kick can lead into one of Fox’s infinites if you choose that route or can tack on some damage in preparation for an L-cancel into a finisher, such as the up-smash. You can even grab from a waveshine, most often into the up-throw that will lead into more combos, or occasionally into the throw that will get your opponent off the edge. B. Improving Your Game 1. Introduction There is more to Fox than blaster, blaster, blaster, up-smash, random shine, blaster. When playing as Fox, you absolutely must know that even though the vulpine is ranked second in the game, he is not invincible. On the contrary, when played poorly, which is very much entirely possible, Fox quickly becomes one of the easiest opponents in the game. The unique properties and controls of his moves make him a challenge to control well. The equally unique executions of his moves (like how directing a Fire Fox into the ground when you are standing on the ground will jet you off to the left or right and probably off the edge) undoubtedly kill off numerous new players due to their own u nfamiliarity with Fox's controls. The dire Master of Disaster "bonus" that comes with that unfamiliarity quickly becomes commonplace, and new players often shy away from the fast fox to more easily controlled characters such as his wingmate Falco or even Roy. To play effectively with Fox, you must realize that you can't simply walk, run, or fox-trot up to an opponent and expect to slice through them with your amazing speed. A good Fox player is always thinking and devising ways to circumvent sturdy defenses and pull off a killer combo. What follows are some suggestions pertaining to Fox's forms of play and some methods to counter established forms of play and common human tactics. a. Knowledge is Power Now, this can apply to Fox on many levels. Knowledge includes among other things knowing your character's moveset and its corresponding controls, the start and lag time of your own moves, your character's innate physics (how high does he or she jump? How fast does he or she fall?), the properties of your recovery moves and when they are best used, and the knockback power of your own attacks. However, knowledge can also apply to things other than your own character. Indeed, perhaps the best knowledge you can have is that of other characters. With Fox, knowledge truly is power. If you know how Fox will behave in his attacks and his movements, you can better devise a plan to attack your opponent with. On the other hand, a good Fox player must also be familiar with his opponent's character. Familiarize yourself with the moveset of that character, his attacks and their respective properties (start and lag time, knockback), any verbal or visual cues that the character throws off, and his or her recovery moves. If you know absolutely nothing about what you are facing, you are unprepared. You will not know what to do, what they will do, or how to get around it, a skill essential to a high-level Fox. You won't know not to crouch- cancel that Peach's down-smash. You won't know not to fire your blaster into Ness's PSI Magnet. You won't know that the shine-spike eats Ness's recovery move for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In short, you will always be caught by surprise, and when you are as light a guy as Fox, being caught by surprise often means your foe adding another KO to his score. Knowledge with Fox is critical, and if you have the quick eye to go with it, so much the better. Don't let your concentration waver during the match. Keep your eyes glued to yourself and your opponent. You need to watch him to see what he is doing or going to do and whether he creates any lag or period of distraction that you can take advantage of. Likewise, you need to watch yourself to see where you are heading after that shuffled sex kick, or how high you need to jump to land that follow-up aerial back kick, or where you need to tilt the control stick to sweet-spot that Fire Fox. Simply put, you must always pay attention. b. Going in with a Plan You can hastily run at all the newbie players that you want. At higher levels of play, that will get you a short-hopped Knee to the face. You will quickly notice that if you expect to win with Fox by relying completely on your speed via a frontal assault, you will be sorely disappointed over and over again. It is tough to do, but you must try to incorporate as many tricks and mind games as possible into your repertoire. If you plan to run at the opponent, also plan to wavedash backwards and dash-grab if you've caught him by surprise, or wavedash back and come in with a forward-smash if he tries to oppose you. Your Blaster is a big part of your plans in any game. It is your primary method of controlling your opponent (except Ness, Fox, Falco, and possibly Zelda; your shine will help you there). A barrage of lasers from long-range effectively says to your opponent, "Come and stop me from blaster spamming, or I'll finish you with a single smash attack". Remember that blaster spamming is not cheap. It is an established technique in the game, one that can be remedied by a simple hasty charge at Fox, which conveniently plays into your gloved paws. The blaster is your tool for toying with your opponent's mind, and it can be more useful than you might at first think. While executing your combos, one of the best things that you can do is always to think where your foe will go if you hit him with your next attack and if you miss him with your next attack. This mindset allows you to compensate for either situation, your success or your mistake. Watch the enemy DI, also, because that tends to throw off your usual combo routine. Also, during aerial combos, you should fast-fall constantly so you can get to your opponent again before he or she can recover. In addition, you should have a specified plan for how you intend to finish off your opponent while executing your combos. Certain stages such as Corneria, Venom, and Flat Zone, with their obnoxiously low ceilings, call for vertical kills via plenty of up-throws, up-smashes, up-tilt + A's, and the always-necessary McCloud Flip. If horizontal kills are more of what's in store for your foe, you should use horizontal throws to push them off the stage, edgeguarding, edgehogging, and plenty of shine-spiking. For characters with easily predicted recovery moves, such as Captain Falcon, Ganondorf, and the two Links, you should know where they plan to direct themselves and ready an appropriate move for edgeguarding. The forward- and down-smash are particularly useful in this capacity. c. Crush Your Enemy’s Concentration Playing as Fox is as much an exercise in button timing, speed, and coordination as it is a test of your own psychological warfare abilities. You as the quick Fox player need to have a coherent plan of attack for how you plan to break through your enemy’s defenses and overwhelm him or her with your characteristic backbreaking combos. However, at the same time, you need to prevent your enemy from formulating his or her own plan of attack against you. You need to force him to pay attention to you rather than his own character and strategies during the course of the entire match. Your goal in psychological warfare with Fox can be achieved using in no small part Fox’s innate speed and ability to pressure and the unique properties of a few of his moves. One of your goals during the course of your matches should be to disrupt your opponent’s game plan and his focus on his own character and strategies. You have more than a few ways to achieve this. Your primary method is never to stagnate during a match. You must always be doing something that appears even remotely threatening, even at long distances. For example, if you plan to blaster spam, try Fox’s SHL instead of a simple standing blaster. The SHL makes you more fluid in your movements and gives you far more options than the standing blaster could ever hope to give you. It makes your opponent think where you will go or what you will do after that next SHL. Will you continue with it, and force him to come to you? How will he stop you? Can he afford to approach you directly when you can clearly see where he is going while he cannot see where you are going? Don’t stop moving during the course of the match. If you find yourself at a stage-length stand-off with your foe, don’t stand still. That affords your opponent too much quiet time. Instead, start SHLing, or start dash-dancing, or fox-trot towards your opponent and play mind games with a dash-cancel or reverse wavedash. You don’t want to give your opponent quiet time to think and compose his thoughts; you are Fox, and you are known in the SSBM community for your trademark pressuring abilities and faster-than-lightning speed. Use these traits to your advantage, but remember to take caution in your own actions and not simply charge headlong into any situation as a universal answer to everything. Smart pressuring should be your motto. A lack of repetition in your moves will spread your foe’s thoughts out over a large area and make you less predictable. A golden rule of practically every fighting game on the face of the earth is not to be repetitive. The human mind learns and adapts, obviously, and it will do that for your move set. For example, your foe may notice that you have trouble L-canceling fast-fallen aerials. The next time you try to hit him with a fast-fallen aerial, he will shield-grab you, and he will do this over and over again until you either correct your flaw or change your strategy to one more suited to your abilities. Another example is your opponent’s noticing your dependence on the running + A (don’t depend on it, by the way). He sees that you always run at him and use that particular move for a frontal attack, no variety or anything. Now, he can predict your move as you come at him, and yet again shield-grab you from your attack. In this case, you would need to adapt to his adaptation and try a new strategy. Hopefully, you will be broad-based enough in your abilities to be able to customize your strategies in response to your opponent’s adaptation to your older ones. Don’t be afraid to show off randomly during the course of the match if you want to or can; it serves to do more than heighten your image. It also shows your opponent that you can do something, and that he should watch out for it. In addition, it occupies your opponent’s mind with what else you may be capable of and how good you really are. For example, try to shine-spike at least once in your match, preferably at a significantly low percentage. After you shine-spike him, your foe will know that if you get him off the edge, he may die at a percentage too low for him to afford if he wants to keep up with you. This puts fear into his mind, and forces him to spend some mental time thinking about how to prevent himself from losing another stock like that. Show off your shuffling skills during a small amount of idle time. SHL instead of standing still whenever you can. All of these things and more can intimidate your opponent, and intimidation is a form of mind games. You should not try to hold back your skills in a match for the purpose of “fooling” your foe. You will not be fooling anyone; you will simply be intentionally handicapping yourself against an opponent who may not be doing the same thing in a match where you will more than likely need those skills to survive. d. Style: Aggressive Fox and the aggressive style of play practically go hand-in-hand. Fox's unparalleled overall speed and the minimal lag on all of his moves make him perfect for hunting down and tearing apart unwary foes. Playing aggressively with Fox is walking a thin wire, though. On one hand, it is entirely possible to assume that you will simply overwhelm your opponent with your vicious speed and powerful finishing moves coupled with your enemy-spiking, priority-winning, projectile-deflecting Reflector. On the other hand, if you go in with just the mind set of pure, unrefined aggression, you will put yourself in a tight spot in that you will not have thought of any possible obstacles in your way (like shield-grabbing) or formulated any plans on how best to maneuver past enemy defenses. This will more than likely get an inexperienced player killed. If you really want to play straight aggro with Fox, at least do it in the smartest possible fashion. Master L-canceling, fast-falling, short-hopping, timing with the shine from an L-canceled aerial, both forms of the dash-grab (running and standing), wavedashing, triangle-jumping, dash-dancing, and fox trotting. Granted, that list does cover a very large chunk of Fox's game, but it simply shows how tough it is to use Fox well. The above moves will greatly increase your speed, an absolute requirement for pure aggression, and allow you to flow from one backbreaking combo into another. Edgeguard aggressively and often, and always shine-spike whenever you get the chance. Rely on the aerial up + A and up-smash for your fastest percentage kills if you can't manage to shine spike. Use dash-dancing to keep your options open, and wavedashing and triangle-jumping to fake out your opponent and open the way to a juggling combo. Most importantly, always keep on top of your enemy. Don't give him time to breathe or formulate a counter plan. You want his game to be a confused mess of chaos full of options that probably won't work against your all-out assault. e. Style: Control Fox can also play a relatively controlling game thanks to his shine and Blaster. The basics of the aggressive style, especially shuffling aerials and wavedashing, still apply to the control style of play, but with a greater emphasis on lasers and the Reflector. A common start to a controlling game is an immediate wavedash backwards followed by blaster shots until your foe works his way up to you. The blaster allows you to feel out your opponent. Judging by how he reacts to the blaster fire, you can formulate an estimate of his play style and how best to control it. If you are facing a character with a potent anti-projectile ability, you may have to switch to aggro with a mix of shines from L-canceled aerials in order to win priority quickly. Controlling a game with Fox involves his speed, evasion, mind games, blaster, and shine. Dodge frequently to work your way up to your opponent, and start adding damage with your quick neutral “A” moves. Against more defense-oriented opponents, make them come to you with the blaster, and stop any projectile ideas of their own with your shine. Use crouch-canceling and the CCC to lengthen your lifespan. Mind games are a must, complete with dash-canceling and reverse wavedashing into forward-smashes. A shine from L-canceled aerials stops any notions of shield-grabbing thanks to its obscenely fast come-out time of 1 frame. Use shield-grabbing to play a strong defense and force your opponent to play to your whims, and stick to your fastest moves in close-range combat to tack on fast damage. In addition, don't be afraid to fox-trot or Illusion away from a tight spot and begin firing your blaster from afar. You are playing a controlling game and want your foe to do what you want him to do. f. Style: Aggro-Control The aggro-control style is a balanced blend of the two styles of aggressive and control. It is best suited to the widest variety of situations that a Fox can encounter and allows you to be more flexible in your proceedings than a gun-ho aggro Fox or blaster-spamming control Fox. Keep in mind that this style may not necessarily work for you, and you should play your Fox however you feel is best for you. Oftentimes the best strategies are those you have concocted yourself. Being an aggro-control Fox requires you to have a good amount of control over Fox's myriad of advanced techniques, especially the art of shuffling (which should be applied to every successful Fox's style anyway). Your goal is to adapt your game based on your opponent's game. For example, opponents that try to stay away from you should be cut down with blaster fire. In most cases, this will force them to come to you; now, you must switch into aggressive style and knock them off their feet with the fastest of your melee moves. Use your neutral A's on the ground to tie up your foes, and be adept at instantly phasing into a grab if you see your opponent's protective bubble pop up. Remember that against defensive-oriented opponents you have an equally solid defense. As mentioned before, your blaster aids you in controlling where your opponent is headed, and your shine serves double-duty in winning you close- range priority and batting away useless enemy projectiles. For weapons such as the Links' bombs and Peach's turnips, practice catching them instead of always reflecting them; this saves you the time when you are stuck after you reflect something (the slight pause in your Reflector) and allows you to use your opponent's weaponry against him or her. An aggro-control Fox should make aggression his default stance against vastly slower characters such as Bowser, Mewtwo, and Ganondorf. These fighters have very few answers for your lightning melee moves (Ganondorf has the best shot at opposing you with his quick ground neutral A) and more often than not you can entangle them with Jabs and Straights that lead into stronger up-smashes or up- throws to McCloud Flips. If the situation warrants it, fall back on your blaster and allow them to meander over to you, in which case you can probably easily escape or start a quick combo. Mix in close-range shines and aggressive style against faster opponents. Chances are they will come to you more often and at a decent pace that can make blaster spamming less effective. The close-range shines will allow you to dodge their shield-grabs if you mess up on an L-cancel and will also disable them for a split second, more than long enough for you to start a combo. Faster opponents are generally lighter, so aim for vertical kills. Captain Falcon has a certain aversion for being killed in the air, but he is a cinch to edgeguard, and you outpace him far more often in your moves. C. The Shine 1. Introduction The shine, the reflector, the hex, whatever you want to call it, Fox's down + B move is easily his defining move for high-level play. This is so true that you can probably weed out higher-level Fox players from a crowd of them just by asking what the uses of his Reflector are. The most common answer will be "To reflect projectiles," but the higher-level players will know that it is much, much more than that. This section is devoted to the uses, properties, and abilities of Fox's shine, and how to incorporate them into your game. 2. Properties of the Shine Fox's shine is the most interesting move in the game, in my opinion. At first glance, it seems to serve only to reflect projectiles back from whence they came, but upon closer examination, you will see that it can do far more than just that. Proper use of the vulpine's shine will set you apart from other Fox players in your abilities, so learn the following sections well and practice frequently. The shine (I will refer to Fox's down + B as the "shine" from now on) has a come-out time of exactly 1 frame, or 1/60 of a second, making it the fastest move in the entire game. It can hit opponents right when it comes out, and thanks to its insane start time you can effortlessly and instantly whip it out in close-range combat. When you use the shine, it will stop all of your horizontal movement in the air, an interesting trick that has a use or two. You can also turn around while in the shine, yet another trick with its own uses that will be discussed later in this section. In addition, the shine also has a set knockback (meaning that it will always send the opponent the same distance regardless of their percentage but dependant on traction). Try shining Luigi and any other character and you will see the difference. Another property of the shine is that it will always knock the opponent away from you, never towards you. You can also do many things to get out off the shine and into virtually anything else that Fox can do. You can jump out of the shine, a technique known as jump canceling. This will instantly cut off the shine's animation and restore your movement (note that if you do not jump-cancel the shine, you will have to wait for it to disappear on its own, a process that takes 3 or 4 blinks, which is way too long for a Fox player). Since you can jump out of the reflector, you can also short-hop, wavedash, and triangle jump out of it. Practice all of these methods and try to incorporate them into your game whenever possible. Remember way back in this massive guide when it said you could perform a standing dash grab by canceling your running jump with Z? Thanks to this ability, you can grab immediately out of the shine, although it is very difficult to shine someone and then grab them as they slip away quickly. You can also up-smash out of the shine, or even Fire Fox or Illusion out of it via jump-cancels if you so desire. 3. Using the Shine Below is an extensive look at the uses of Fox's shine, how to perform them, and how they figure into your game plan. Enjoy! a. Reflecting Projectiles For most new Fox players, this is the shine's only use. They are far from correct in assuming this, but it is nevertheless a very useful ability of the shine. For those of you who don't know how to reflect a projectile with the reflector, you simply activate the shine with down + B and wait for the offending missile to crash into you. It will be sent back from whence it came with no harm done to you. This causes you to reverse direction inside the shine, and also freezes you in the shine for a bit (during this time, you cannot jump-cancel the shine). For most opponents, your shine is a gigantic hamper to a great deal of their plans. It stops most if not all of their long-distance attacks, forcing them to come to you and your compliment of lightning-fast melee moves. Should they refuse to budge, you always have your trusty Blaster at your side, ready to come out with a tap of the B button. Should they shield, it is only a matter of time before the blaster bolts or your own attacks break their weakened shield and completely expose them to your onslaught. The shine alone is responsible for the nightmares that Fox gives such foes as Samus, Link, and Young Link, all of whom are heavily dependant on their projectiles to keep from being overwhelmed at close-range. Remember that you have defenses other than the shine against a select few other projectiles. For example, you can Jab or kick a boomerang away, catch a bomb or turnip, cancel Sheik's needles with blaster bolts, or stop the aerial movement of a thrown bomb with blaster bolts. Sometimes you should resort to these tactics to avoid the down time the shine has when it reflects a projectile, thus freeing you to continue to apply pressure. b. Winning Close-Range Priority The shine's 1-frame start time lends it a fantastic ability to counter (or "clank") melee moves. Don't be afraid to use the shine in close quarters; that is in fact one of its most useful moments. The shine is so fast that it is possible to activate it in between the hits of a rapid attack, although Sheik's and Kirby's rapid attacks may be too fast for human hands to shine-counter. Use the shine during hand-to-hand combat to outpace your foe's vastly slower moves, either clanking them or hitting your enemy with the shine and effectively yanking the controls away from him for a split second. Once you have countered an attack, it opens the way to your own follow-up and disallows slower moves thanks to the pressure you are applying. Try a nice up-smash after clash- canceling your opponent's attack to really throw him for a loop (or kill him, whatever happens). c. Gaining Close-Range Control This sort of ties in with "Winning Close-Range Priority". Again, thanks to the shine's incredible start time, you can pull it out at virtually any time in melee combat. Your aim in melee combat against an aggressive opponent is to gain control using the shine. An opponent who is shined at close proximity temporarily loses control of his fighter while he or she is in the "hurt" animation. This serves to take the pressure off of you and heap it onto your opponent, who with his controls now shortly severed is open to your wealth of fast combo options. Wavedash out of your shine and into whatever you please, preferably a move that will set them up for juggling or a fast Jab to throw them off their feet and into your combos. d. Shine Spiking A feared ability of Fox is his ability to spike at very low percentages with his shine. To do this, simply get your opponent off the stage, jump into them, shine, and jump-cancel back onto the stage (or grab onto the ledge). To shine spike effectively, you must hit your opponent with the lower-right portion of the shine's hexagonal shape; this will send them off in a 30-45 degree angle to the southeast away from the stage. Remember that the back of Fox's shine has a bit more range, so try to jump off facing the ledge. A correctly performed shine spike will push your enemy in an obscene angle too far away from the stage to recover, and this spike cannot be meteor canceled. It is best to grab onto the ledge after shine spiking to make it more difficult for your target to return, so you can either jump off facing the ledge as stated before or turn around in the shine after shine spiking to jump to the ledge. Shine spiking puts your opponent in a very tough spot and you in total control, since you either kill them, edgehog them to their death, or make it back to the ledge before them and in time to edgeguard. Shine spiking devastates nearly every character save Yoshi, Mewtwo, Kirby, Jigglypuff, and at times Pichu and Pikachu, who may be able to Quick Attack far enough to reach the stage again. Shine spiking is absolutely essential for a high-level Fox; you didn't expect to KO everyone using the old-fashioned build-up-percentage-and-smack-away method, did you? e. Setting Up For a Combo The shine is a simply amazing tool for setting up your combos. Since you can jump-cancel it and therefore do anything else that involves jumping out of it (such as wavedashing or triangle-jumping), it serves two roles at close-range: to lower your opponent's defenses and stun them just long enough for you to wavedash into a combo. Note that you must wavedash out of the shine, not triangle-jump, if you hope to follow it with a combo; triangle jumping will not get you anywhere near close enough to your opponent. With your opponent temporarily zapped by the shine, what can you possibly do to follow up? Oftentimes, it depends on the traction of the character. If you have just shined a Luigi, you will not be able to reach him in time to follow up, no matter how fast at wavedashing you are. For lower-traction characters, think of the shine as a way to push them away from you and give yourself some time to breathe or whip out your Blaster for long-range abuse. On the other hand, you can have all sorts of fun with the higher-traction characters. Toy around with short-hopping out of the shine and into forward aerials or even aerial up A's. Triangle-jumping out of the shine is relatively useless since it doesn't carry you as far as wavedashing would, and that effectively defeats the purpose of comboing out of the shine. Once you have mastered wavedashing out of the shine, or waveshining, you will have opened up an entire new world of comboing opportunities with Fox. The shine and wavedash work extremely well together. The shine, with its 1-frame come-out time, stuns the foe long enough for you to follow up with something. That something is jump-canceling the shine into a wavedash toward your opponent, making it look like you are gliding on top of your foe. It looks very cool, but looks are definitely not the reason for doing this. With the shine, you have disabled your foe for less than a second, enough time for you to execute an attack at the end of your wavedash. At this point, numerous options exist for how you can toy around with your hapless foe. If you are well-versed in button timing and coordination (and what high-level Fox isn't?), you can fox-trot (or run) out of your wavedash and into a dash grab or standing dash grab, which obviously will lead into an up-throw and any number of juggling moves. The aerial up-A may require you to short-hop at middle percentages after the up-throw in order to connect, and at lower percentages, you may need to throw in a few up-tilts or an up-smash for that added damage. Another option after waveshining is Fox's down-tilt, the Fox Tail. This is a perfect follow-up if you spot that you don't quite have enough horizontal distance from your wavedash to connect with a Jab or grab. The Fox Tail comes out quickly and pops your foe into the air, ready for juggling. You can take it from there. You can also Jab after waveshining; this has the added advantage of being extremely quick and stunning the foe just long enough for you to segue into your Straight and Rapid Kicks (ending with a grab at lower percentages) or up-smash (at higher percentages). More options exist for ways to combo out of the waveshine, and as a Fox player you should be able to improvise combos out of nowhere based on your foe's DI and percentage. f. Countering Shield Grabbing This is a gigantic plus for the shine. Shield grabbing is an easy yet very effective technique, and every player can do it if they know of it. Again, due to the shine's crazy come-out, you can intercept an arm just as it appears from underneath its protective shield and zap the body to which it belongs, a very useful tactic to say the least. This has the advantage of not only stopping the shield grab but also allowing you to waveshine into a combo. Try to follow most of your L-canceled aerial attacks with a jump-canceled shine in order to counteract shield grabbing. It makes life so much more difficult for your opponent and a lot easier for you. If you are adept at shining shield grabs, it will not surprise you that you will rarely if ever be grabbed within the course of a match (remember to rotate out if you are grabbed, though!). g. Edgeguarding Fox's shine also has the ability to edgeguard in a capacity similar to shine spiking. Since it has no start-up time at all and can clash-cancel virtually any move, you can activate the shine as soon as Fox has a frame to spare. To edgeguard with the shine, simply position yourself on the very edge of the level and activate the shine whenever your opponent nears the ledge (you may need to jump and immediately cancel your jump with a mid-air shine in order to intercept your opponent's trajectory). Once you have shined your foe from the ledge, you have a few options on how to proceed. You can continue to edgeguard with the shine or any other applicable move until your foe falls, or you can short-hop fast-fall (or regular jump and fast-fall) off the edge and finish him or her off with a lethal shine spike. Characters with already horrendous vertical recovery moves, such as Donkey Kong, Mario, and Doctor Mario, are particularly weak to shine edgeguarding. h. Stopping Horizontal and Upward Movement When Fox activates his shine, it halts him in place and stops all horizontal and upward movement. Stopping your upward movement is useful for mind games to throw off your falling foe's retaliatory attack timing, and remember that you can quickly turn around in the shine to use your back-aerial instead of the forward-aerial (the back-aerial is more powerful) as your response. If you are knocked through the air, activating the shine stops all of your horizontal movement. Oftentimes, this occurs faster than the time it takes for you to wiggle out of your stun and jump. Stopping in the air with the shine does not require you to waste a jump, a surprisingly important ability. There are some circumstances when you are hit away from an enemy by a melee attack that there is a small window of frames when you can activate the shine at a very close proximity to the one who hit you. If you find this moment of time and shine during it, you will stop Fox's movement through the air and can then jump-cancel out of the shine and dash away to a safer place where you can plan your next move. If you shine fast enough, you may catch the attacking opponent with the shine, pushing him or her away in addition to nullifying their attack's knockback. 4. Infinites At long last, here it is, the final section to this guide and the epitome of Fox skill, his infinites. Essentially, one skilled enough in the ways of these infinites could keep them going on forever, but that is highly unlikely and impractical, so for most players they are only infinite to the point where the enemy is destroyed by an up-smash. There are multiple variations of the infinite, but all have the same goal in mind: to continue the infinite until your foe is at a high enough percentage where a timely up-smash or even down- tilt will wipe a stock away. These infinites take very precise button timing and coordination and therefore much practice, but if you can pull them off, you will become a truly ferocious Fox. Remember that most of these require a corner or wall unless otherwise noted, and some may not work on characters with lower traction since they will probably slide too far away for you to wavedash close enough to them. a. Infinite Jump-Canceled Shine (corner or wall required) What it is: Shining your enemy against a wall, then jump-canceling that shine and immediately (and I mean immediately) shining again before the jump animation has ended. This will make it seem like Fox really hasn't left the ground, and you can keep shining and subsequently jump-canceling each one until you deem necessary to wrap things up with a finisher or your fingers fail you. How to do it: First, you must have a wall or corner. Now, you need to shine your opponent and jump-cancel that shine. Then, cancel that jump immediately with another shine, and repeat. Breakdown: This is a very difficult infinite to do, and in virtually every case it will never be infinite because of the insane speed your fingers have to move (remember that even increments of a frame or two spent actually jumping will break the infinite and tell the game to activate your first or second jump). This is the most straightforward infinite to do in terms of controls, but none of the infinites are actually easy to do (if they are to you, you're better than most of us!). If done correctly, this infinite is virtually impossible to escape since the shine sends each character at a set knockback regardless of percentage and you will be hitting your foe too fast for him to DI out of it. b. Infinite Down-Wavedash Shine (corner or wall required) What it is: Shining your enemy against a corner or a wall, then wavedashing down out of that shine and into another shine, which is then down-wavedashed out of, and so on. How to do it: With your foe against a corner or a wall, you shine them, and then quickly wavedash straight down. This will cancel the previous shine and allow you to instantly phase into another one. Breakdown: You do not really need to be proficient at wavedashing to do this infinite, but chances are by now you are. You can simply snap the control stick up and down and that is all the movement out of that that you will need to do this. This infinite is slightly easier to perform than the infinite jump- canceled shine mentioned above (if that is saying anything...), and remember that you can up-smash right out of the shine for when you want to end this infinite. c. Drill Shine (flat stages only) What it is: A very technically precise infinite that can bounce your foe from one end of the stage to the other when coupled with its inverse add-ons below. How to do it: Shuffled (short-hop, fast-fall, L-canceled) Drill Kick, shine, wavedash out of shine towards opponent, and repeat. Breakdown: Possibly the most difficult infinite shine to perform, this one requires proper spacing in addition to all of the timing and button coordination. Remember that this combo will not work on certain characters with lower traction who will slide too far for you to continue the combo. I have heard that it is possible to fast-fall a regular jump during this if you mess up your short-hop, which is entirely possible, but I have never seen it done. To make the Drill Shine infinite, you must invert the process using one of the two methods listed below. d. Inverse Drill Shine, Method 1 (flat stages only) What it is: An inversion of the Drill Shine meant to send the opponent in the opposite direction (since no stage extends forever), where you can continue the drill shine. The Inverse Drill Shine makes the Drill Shine truly infinite. How to do it: On the wavedash portion of the Drill Shine, instead of wavedashing to the opponent, you wavedash past the opponent, to his or her other side. Now, your shine will push them in the opposite direction where you can continue your drill shine. Breakdown: Make sure to watch your spacing on this variant. You must make it all the way to the other side of your opponent in order for your shine to push them the other way. e. Inverse Drill Shine, Method 2 (flat stages only) What it is: Another inversion of the Drill Shine in which you DI to the other side of the opponent during the Drill Kick portion of the Drill Shine. Your shine when activated will send them in the other direction, ready to be drill shined again. This variant is easier to perform than the first method (if that's saying anything...), and also works on the two normally un-infinitable characters in SSBM, Sheik and Ganondorf, who both slide 10 feet when shined instead of the usual 9-and-below feet. This variant produces 11 feet of movement total (2 feet is added because of the added aerial movement during the DI of the Drill Kick). How to do it: On the Drill Kick portion of the Drill Shine, you must press the control stick to DI yourself during your Drill Kicks to the complete other side of your target. Breakdown: Again, watch your DI trajectory on this one. Remember that you must have enough DI to make it to the complete other side of your target. f. Wall Drill Infinite Shine (corner or wall required) What it is: Trapping your foe in a corner or beside a wall with a series of jump-canceled, fast-fallen or short-hopped shines in rapid succession. How to do it: Obviously, a wall or corner is required. With your opponent in position, you shine and jump-cancel fast-fall (JCFF) or short-hop out of that shine and into another, and so on. Breakdown: You have to be very quick at fast-falling and jump-canceling to pull this one off, as every frame counts, literally. You can either short-hop or fast-fall during this. g. Infinite Forward-Reverse Waveshine (Peach, Link, and Zelda only) What it is: Shining one of these characters, then wavedashing to the other side of them, where you shine them again and wavedash to the other side, and so on. How to do it: This infinite relies on a very quick forward and reverse waveshine, so be quick with that, as it is the only way to perform this. Breakdown: You must perform the dual waveshines extremely quickly in order to catch these characters before their traction pulls them too far away for you to continue any longer. Good luck with keeping your fingers and mind in sync with this one. III. The Casual Fox 1. Fox’s Hidden Taunt Fox’s hidden taunt can only be done on Corneria and Venom, his respective signature stages. The taunt can be done on any section of either level, but you must make sure that you are in a secure location while executing it. If you are hit while Fox is in the starting animation for the taunt, you will not be able to do it. You can only do the hidden taunt once per match. Once you have found a secure location, rapidly press left and right on the directional pad (not the control stick). If you did it correctly, Fox will kneel down, each hand in a fist, his left fist shaking. He will then stand up and salute with his left hand, and Falco, Peppy, and Slippy will appear as if there is communication going on between the Star Fox team. Each team member’s face will appear at the bottom of the screen along with his written dialogue. The advice they give is mostly useless. Peppy will spout off random “advice” related to arwing control at times, or he will inform you among other things that you can jump by pressing X, Y, or up on the control stick. IV. Final Words And that finally concludes this huge guide. During its three months of steady (very steady...or slow) compilation, I found many people who were instrumental to the creation of this guide, and I wish to give proper thanks to them. Mew2King and all those who helped him for finding, recording, and organizing that obscene amount of data for the benefit of the Smash community. The entire "The Physics of Fox" section couldn't exist without you guys! Thanks a lot! FoxsAxis for being the sole inspiration for this guide. Without you and your great interest in Smash and for playing as Fox, I would've had no reason to finally spill out all of this knowledge that has accrued between me and Smashboards. Shmooguy for having the first Fox guide that I have seen on Smashboards. Good job! CJayC and the rest of the staff at GameFAQs for running a wildly successful and popular site. All the members of Smashboards for being so informative in even the tiniest details of the game, and for putting up with me randomly browsing through the forums and threads with my zero posts. You guys were instrumental in clarifying the tiny details about Fox's game that I was unsure of. And obviously, Nintendo and HAL Laboratory for making such a deep, great game that still has us all riveted after three years. If I have forgotten anybody, well... They still get thanks, too, I just can't remember who they are at the moment. Feel free to respond and comment on this guide. Rest assured that I would love to see any comments on this guide since so much work has gone into it. Thanks, everyone, and if you've actually read everything up to this point, take a much-needed break!