Differences with fast falling: the Samus on the left uses the technique, while the Samus on the right does not.

A fast fall (急降下, Nosedive) is the act of falling more quickly than usual in mid-air. It is performed by tapping down on the control stick while falling, as long as the character is not tumbling. The character will continue to fast fall until landing on a platform, sustaining knockback, or jumping. Gravity is ignored once a fast fall is begun; the character's downward velocity is simply set to their fast falling speed without accelerating. Fast falling is a technique commonly used to speed up a character's game, especially after a short hop. It is a part of SHFFLing in Melee, an advanced technique.

Stall-then-fall aerials have an effect similar to fast falling, though the move is an attack, and most of the time cannot be stopped or slowed.

If the player taps down on the control stick while hanging from a ledge, their character will begin to fast fall right after letting go of it, whereas if simply tilted down or in the opposite direction of the ledge, they will merely let go of it. This also works with down specials, except for ones that slow down falling or gain height, such as Fox's Reflector or Luigi's Luigi Cyclone.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee^[1], characters with normal double jumps are able to fast fall twice after double jumping. Characters with delayed double jumps, such as Peach, Yoshi, Ness and Mewtwo, characters with multiple double jumps such as Jigglypuff and Kirby, as well as Ice Climbers for whatever reason are unable to perform a double fast fall.

In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. 4^[2], the character will flash and a white star will appear at their torso when fast falling (in Smash 4, the stars can appear in several places, but all are still located near the fast-falling character's midsection). In Super Smash Bros. Melee, a "whoosh" sound will be heard when fast falling, but there is no visual indicator, making it harder to pick up on, especially with other surrounding sound effects. There is no indicator in Super Smash Bros. Brawl whatsoever. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, fast falling is indicated by a small flashing blue-purplish star appearing next to the character for a brief moment, similar to Smash 4.

In Smash 4 and Ultimate, characters can cancel a fast fall by using an aerial attack. This will set their falling speed to the normal maximum.

Super Smash Bros.

JPN

Rank	Character	Regular Falling Speed	Fast Falling Speed	Speed Increase
1	Link	64	102	59.38%
2	Captain Falcon	60	100	66.7%
N/A	Giant Donkey Kong	72	100	38.89%
3	Fox	60	96	60.0%
4	Donkey Kong	56	89	58.9%
5	Ness	55	88.25	60.45%
6	Yoshi	55	88	60.0%
7	Pikachu	52	83	59.6%
8	Kirby	48	76	58.3%
9	Mario	44	70	59.09%
N/A	Metal Mario	100	70	-30%
10	Luigi	42	67.5	60.7%
11	Samus	42	67	59.5%
12	Jigglypuff	38	60.5	59.21%

NA

Rank	Character	Regular Falling Speed	Fast Falling Speed	Speed Increase
1	Link	64	102	59.38%
2	Captain Falcon	66	100	51.5%
N/A	Giant Donkey Kong	72	100	38.89%
3	Fox	60	96	60.0%
4	Donkey Kong	56	89	58.9%
5	Ness	55	88.25	60.45%
6	Yoshi	58	88	51.72%
7	Pikachu	52	83	59.6%
8	Kirby	48	76	58.3%
9	Mario	44	70	59.09%
N/A	Metal Mario	100	70	-30%
10	Luigi	42	67.5	60.7%
11	Samus	42	67	59.5%
12	Jigglypuff	38	60.5	59.21%

EUR/AUS

Rank	Character	Regular Falling Speed	Fast Falling Speed	Speed Increase
1	Link	64	110	71.72%
2	Captain Falcon	66	100	51.5%
N/A	Giant Donkey Kong	72	100	38.89%
3	Fox	60	96	60.0%
4	Donkey Kong	56	89	58.9%
5	Ness	55	88.25	60.45%
6	Yoshi	58	88	51.72%
7	Pikachu	52	83	59.6%
8	Kirby	48	76	58.3%
9	Mario	44	70	59.09%
N/A	Metal Mario	100	70	-60%
10	Luigi	42	67.5	60.7%
11	Samus	42	67	59.5%
12	Jigglypuff	38	60.5	59.21%

Notes

• Oddly enough, Metal Mario's fast falling speed (70) is lower than his regular falling speed (100). This means that he would actually slow down by fastfalling.

Version differences

PAL

• Link fast fall (102 → 110)

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Rank	Character	Regular Falling Speed	Fast Falling Speed	Speed Increase
1-2	Falco	3.1	3.5	12.9%
	Captain Falcon	2.9		20.7%
3	Fox	2.8	3.4	21.4%
4-5	Link	2.13	3	40.8%
	Sheik
6	Donkey Kong	2.4	2.96	23.3%
7	Yoshi	1.93	2.93	51.8%
8	Roy	2.4	2.9	20.8%
9	Pikachu	1.9	2.7	42.1%
10	Ganondorf	2	2.6	30.0%
11-12	Marth	2.2	2.5	13.6%
	Pichu	1.9		31.6%
13	Bowser	1.9	2.4	26.3%
14-18	Mario	1.7	2.3	35.3%
	Dr. Mario
	Mr. Game & Watch
	Mewtwo	1.5		53.3%
	Samus	1.4		64.3%
19-20	Young Link	2.13	2.2	3.3%
	Ness	1.83		20.2%
21-24	Luigi	1.6	2	25.0%
	Kirby
	Ice Climbers
	Peach	1.5		33.3%
25	Zelda	1.4	1.85	32.1%
26	Jigglypuff	1.3	1.6	23.1%

Notes

• Giga Bowser and the Fighting Wire Frames have fast falling speeds that equal their regular falling speeds. Because of this, fast falling with them does not have any effect except for slightly increasing how fast they reach their regular falling speed.
• Young Link's unusually low speed change is not only the lowest in Melee, but also the entire series. It is the only change lower than 10%, other than Wolf in Brawl.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Rank	Character	Regular Falling Speed	Fast Falling Speed	Speed Increase
N/A	Giga Bowser	2.5	3.5	40.0%
N/A	Wario-Man	2.2	3.08	40.0%
1	King Dedede	1.95	2.73	40.0%
2	Link	1.6	2.666	66.625%
3	Captain Falcon	1.837	2.5718	40.0%
4	Fox	1.831	2.5634	40.0%
5	Snake	1.73	2.422	40.0%
6	Falco	1.708	2.3912	40.0%
7	Pikachu	1.5	2.379	58.6%
8-9	Ganondorf	1.65	2.31	40.0%
	Ike
10-11	Donkey Kong	1.58	2.212	40.0%
	Sheik
12-13	Marth	1.5	2.1	40.0%
	Squirtle	1.3		61.5%
14-15	Diddy Kong	1.43	2.002	40.0%
	Zero Suit Samus
16	Sonic	1.45	2	37.9%
17	Pit	1.42	1.988	40.0%
18	Wario	1.4	1.96	40.0%
19-20	Bowser	1.39	1.946	40.0%
	Meta Knight
21	Lucas	1.37	1.918	40.0%
22-24	Wolf	1.8	1.9	5.556%
	Toon Link	1.28		48.4375%
	Kirby	1.2		58.3%
25-26	Ivysaur	1.35	1.89	40.0%
	Charizard
27	Ness	1.31	1.834	40.0%
28	Olimar	1.3	1.82	40.0%
29	Yoshi	1.29	1.806	40.0%
30	Mario	1.28	1.792	40.0%
31	Mr. Game & Watch	1.24	1.736	40.0%
32	Luigi	1.22	1.708	40.0%
33-35	Lucario	1.2	1.68	40.0%
	Ice Climbers
	R.O.B.
36	Zelda	1.13	1.582	40.0%
37	Samus	1.07	1.498	40.0%
38	Peach	1.05	1.47	40.0%
39	Jigglypuff	0.98	1.372	40.0%

Notes

• Most characters in Brawl have a 40% speed increase ratio. The only characters not to have this are Wolf, Sonic, Toon Link, Kirby, Pikachu, Squirtle, and Link.

Super Smash Bros. 4

Rank	Character	Regular Falling Speed	Fast Falling Speed	Speed Increase
N/A	Giga Bowser	2.5	4	60%
N/A	Giga Mac	2.2	3.52	60%
1	Fox	2.05	3.28	60%
2	King Dedede	1.95	3.12	60%
N/A	Wario-Man	2.2	3.08	40%
3	Link	1.6	3.04	90%
4	Greninja	1.85	2.96	60%
5	Captain Falcon	1.837	2.9392	60%
6	Roy	1.8	2.9	61.11111%
7-9	Falco	1.8	2.88	60%
	Little Mac
	Mega Man
10	Bayonetta	1.77	2.832	60%
11-12	Sheik	1.75	2.8	60%
	Diddy Kong
13-14	Zero Suit Samus	1.7	2.72	60%
	Mii Brawler	1.7	2.72	60%
15-16	Lucario	1.68	2.688	60%
	Cloud	1.68	2.688	60%
17	Meta Knight	1.66	2.656	60%
18-22	Bowser Jr.	1.65	2.64	60%
	Corrin
	Duck Hunt
	Ganondorf
	Ike
23	Donkey Kong	1.63	2.608	60%
24	Wario	1.61	2.576	60%
25	R.O.B.	1.6	2.56	60%
26	Mii Swordfighter	1.6	2.56	60%
27-28	Marth	1.58	2.528	60%
	Lucina
N/A	Mega Lucario	1.56	2.496	60%
29	Pikachu	1.55	2.48	60%
30-34	Mario	1.5	2.4	60%
	Dr. Mario
	Mewtwo
	Robin
	Shulk
35-36	Pit	1.48	2.368	60%
	Dark Pit
37-38	Sonic	1.45	2.32	60%
	Mii Gunner	1.45	2.32	60%
39-41	Ryu	1.6	2.24	40%
	Charizard	1.4		60%
	Palutena
42	Bowser	1.39	2.224	60%
43	Lucas	1.37	2.192	60%
44-46	Zelda	1.35	2.16	60%
	Olimar
	Pac-Man
47	Villager	1.32	2.112	60%
48	Ness	1.31	2.096	60%
49-50	Wii Fit Trainer	1.3	2.08	60%
	Samus
51	Yoshi	1.29	2.064	60%
52	Toon Link	1.28	2.048	60%
53	Luigi	1.25	2.0	60%
54	Mr. Game & Watch	1.24	1.984	60%
55	Kirby	1.23	1.968	60%
56	Rosalina & Luma	1.2	1.92	60%
57	Peach	1.15	1.84	60%
58	Jigglypuff	0.98	1.568	60%

Update history

1.1.3

• Lucario's fast-falling speed: 2.496 → 2.688

1.1.5

• Samus's fast-falling speed: 2 → 2.08

Notes

• Ryu and Wario-Man are the only characters in SSB4 to have a fast-fall increase lower than 60%, with 40%. Similarly, Roy and Link are the only characters with a higher fast-fall increase, with 61.11111% and 90% respectively.
• Mewtwo, Ganondorf, Marth, Mario, Dr. Mario, Link, and Zelda are the only veteran characters in SSB4 who are able to surpass their fast-falling speed in Melee.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Rank	Character	Regular Falling Speed	Fast Falling Speed	Speed Increase
N/A	Giga Bowser	2.2	3.52	60%
1	Fox	2.1	3.36	60%
2-3	King Dedede	1.95	3.12	60%
	Little Mac
4	Joker	1.63	3.097	90%
5	Mii Brawler	1.92	3.072	60%
6	Link	1.6	3.04	90%
7	Mythra	1.87	2.992	60%
8	Captain Falcon	1.865	2.984	60%
9-11	Greninja	1.85	2.96	60%
	Simon
	Richter
12	Sephiroth	1.84	2.944	60%
13-18	Falco	1.8	2.88	60%
	Young Link
	Roy
	Chrom
	Wolf
	Mega Man
19	Ridley	1.78	2.848	60%
20-21	Bowser	1.77	2.832	60%
	Bayonetta
22-23	Incineroar	1.76	2.816	60%
	Banjo & Kazooie
24-25	Sheik	1.75	2.8	60%
	Diddy Kong
26	Snake	1.73	2.768	60%
27	Piranha Plant	1.95	2.73	40%
28-30	Zero Suit Samus	1.7	2.72	60%
	King K. Rool
	Kazuya
31-32	Lucario	1.68	2.688	60%
	Cloud	1.68	2.688
33	Meta Knight	1.66	2.656	60%
34-39	Ganondorf	1.65	2.64	60%
	Ike
	Sonic
	Bowser Jr.
	Duck Hunt
	Corrin
40	Donkey Kong	1.63	2.608	60%
41	Pyra	1.62	2.592	60%
42	Wario	1.61	2.576	60%
43-44	R.O.B.	1.6	2.56	60%
	Byleth
45-48	Marth	1.58	2.528	60%
	Lucina
	Inkling
	Shulk	1.58	2.528
49	Hero	1.57	2.512	60%
50	Pichu	1.9	2.5	31.579%
51-54	Pikachu	1.55	2.48	60%
	Mewtwo
	Mii Swordfighter
	Palutena
55-56	Charizard	1.52	2.432	60%
	Min Min
57-59	Mario	1.5	2.4	60%
	Dr. Mario
	Robin
60-62	Pit	1.48	2.368	60%
	Dark Pit
	Terry
63	Mii Gunner	1.45	2.32	60%
64	Sora	1.44	2.304	60%
65	Steve	1.42	2.272	60%
66-67	Ryu	1.6	2.24	40%
	Ken
68-69	Ivysaur	1.38	2.208	60%
	Toon Link
70	Lucas	1.37	2.192	60%
71-74	Zelda	1.35	2.16	60%
	Squirtle
	Olimar
	Pac-Man
75-76	Samus	1.33	2.128	60%
	Dark Samus
77-78	Luigi	1.32	2.112	60%
	Villager
79	Ness	1.31	2.096	60%
80-82	Ice Climbers	1.3	2.08	60%
	Wii Fit Trainer
	Isabelle
83	Yoshi	1.29	2.064	60%
84	Mr. Game & Watch	1.24	1.984	60%
85	Kirby	1.23	1.968	60%
86	Rosalina & Luma	1.2	1.92	60%
87-88	Peach	1.19	1.904	60%
	Daisy
89	Jigglypuff	0.98	1.568	60%

Update history

3.1.0

• Mii Brawler's fast-falling speed: 3.072 → 2.72

4.0.0

• Mii Brawler's fast-falling speed: 2.72 → 3.072

Notes

• The majority of characters have a falling speed increase of 60%. Link and Joker are tied for having the highest falling speed increase at 90%. Ryu, Ken and Piranha Plant have a lower increase at 40%, while Pichu has the lowest falling speed increase at 31.579%. Hero and Sephiroth normally have an increase of 60%, but it changes to 33% and 52.83% when under the effects of Acceleratle and Winged Form, respectively.
• Bowser, Luigi, and the Ice Climbers are the only veteran characters in Ultimate who can surpass their fast-falling speeds from Melee this time around, but couldn't do so in the last games they appeared in (which are Smash 4 and Brawl, respectively). However, Luigi is a special case; his fast-falling speed in Smash 4 was identical to his fast-falling speed in Melee.
• Out of every veteran character in Ultimate who can't surpass their fast-falling speed in Melee, Kirby and Jigglypuff are tied for coming the closest; their fast-falling speeds in Ultimate (1.968 and 1.568, respectively) are just 0.032 units off from their fast-falling speeds in Melee (2.0 and 1.6, respectively).
• Ulimate has a fast fall limit of seven that only occurs if a character grabs the ledge seven times but this is normally impossible since the ledge grab limit is six.^[3][4]
  • The exception is with Lucario's Extreme Speed which ignores the ledge grab limit.

References

• Techniques (SSB)
• Techniques (SSBM)
• Techniques (SSBB)
• Techniques (SSB4)
• Techniques (SSBU)
• Game physics
• Character attributes