Falco (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Falco's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Falco Lombardi.

Falco (ファルコ, Faruko) is a character appearing in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He reprises his role in Super Smash Bros. Melee, although his moveset has been somewhat altered. Hailing from the Star Fox universe, Falco serves as one of the mercenaries captained by Fox McCloud. Falco is an unlockable character, given to the player by winning 50 matches, defeating 100 Man Brawl, or having Falco join the party in The Subspace Emissary. In the first two cases, the player must defeat Falco after meeting the required criteria to unlock him. Falco clocks in at a very high 5th position in the tier list. Many smashers feel his "decloning" may have saved him from being downgraded like Fox.

Attributes
Falco is gifted with a diverse moveset featuring quick attacks, strong finishers, and a useful projectile. Many of his non-smash ground attacks and all of his aerial attacks have very minimal start-up lag, allowing him to rack up damage on his opponent. His neutral A combo is especially notable here as it has Falco (after two jab attacks) spin his wings as long as the attack button is held, quickly racking up damage on the opponent. In addition to his standard attacks, two of Falco's special moves are good for racking up damage and preventing opponents from approaching. His neutral special, the blaster, repeatedly shoots lasers that cause between 2% and 4% each and flinch the opponent. These are some of the only projectiles to travel the entire length of the stage without being controlled by the player. His down special functions in much the same way as his blaster, except in a much smaller range. Falco kicks his reflector forward, knocking back opponents in front of him and/or reflecting any projectiles that are approaching Falco. Another useful move for racking up damage and comboing is his down throw, which can chain-throw or combo into a variety of attacks.

For finishing moves, Falco can use his forward and up smashes to good effect. His up smash has purely vertical knockback if it hits during the upswing of his kick. The forward smash has even more knockback (this time diagonally up and forward), at the expense of some noticeable start-up and ending lag. Falco also is armed with a strong spike from his down aerial that can kill at damages as low as 40%.

Falco's biggest problem area is his recovery. His lateral recovery, using Falco Phantasm, is decent, but his vertical recovery with Fire Bird has poor range and a large amount of lag. His fall speed isn't as high as it was in Melee, bit it still clocks in towards the top.

Normal

 * Neutral attack - Falco does a jab, another jab, and then tilts diagonally and spins, arms out quickly. This move can trap an opponent if they're in a corner. Good for racking up damage. If this is used on a character that is in the metal status it will constantly spin them around, as Mario's Cape does, but a lot faster
 * Dash attack - Identical to his dash attack in Melee (he jumps slightly off the ground while running and performs a kick). Vertical knockback allows it to set up combos, and it can be dash canceled into his Up smash. Average knockback.
 * Strong Down - Tail swipe. Identical to his attack from Melee, except a bit weaker. Vertical knockback and minimal lag allow it to set up combos. Medium knockback.
 * Strong Side - Kicks his leg out, like his forward tilt from Melee. Can be directed up or down with the control stick. Little knockback, but high speed.
 * Strong Up - Swings both of his wings above his head. Hits twice. Useful for starting aerial combos, performing ceiling combos, and attacking through platforms. Little knockback.

Smash

 * Side Smash - Falco swings his wings in an overhead powerful swipe, slashing anyone who is caught in it. Best smash for killing enemies. If hit on the tip, it does very little knockback, but if arms hit opponent, there is high knockback. It's the strongest side smash out of all 3 Star Fox characters.
 * Down Smash - Split kick. Less range than his Melee down smash. Has primarily horizontal knockback, but its minimal range and relative weakness limit its kill potential. Although it has minimal knockback, at higher percentage its large horizontal knockback is key in fights against horizontal-recovery challenged opponents. As well, it hits both sides, perfect for multiple enemies.
 * Up Smash - Flip kick, like his Melee up smash. While slower and weaker than Fox's, this move can be used to cancel his dash attack for a swift combo. The knockback is entirely dependent on where it hits; stronger in the front, exceedingly low in the rear. High knockback.

Other

 * Ledge attack - Drop kicks onto the stage whilst holding onto the edge.
 * 100% Ledge attack - Climbs up over the edge and does a forward kick while holding the edge.
 * Floor attack - Kicks in front of and then in back of himself.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - Falco spins in midair diagonally, like Peach's Neutral aerial, except it hits multiple times. Last strike is the most powerful. Hits 5 times. The last one has medium knockback.
 * Forward Aerial - Falco turns horizontally and spins, hitting multiple times with his beak, similar to Pikachu's or Sonic's Forward Air. Knockback on all the hits but the last is fixed, and is minimal regardless of damage. Last strike is the most powerful, providing a large amount of knockback.
 * Back Aerial - Falco sticks his leg out horizontally behind him, similar to his Back Air from the previous game. Although knockback is little, speed and duration make it very useful. Can be followed by a midair-jumped second bair in some situations. Useful for aerial-intercept edge guarding, and can be used effectively with the Reverse Aerial Rush.
 * Up Aerial - Overhead vertical flip kick. Exhibits different knockback properties depending on when and where you hit the foe.
 * Down Aerial - Falco turns diagonally and spins. At the start of his attack, he can execute a spike at his spinning heel.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Falco grabs and punches opponent.
 * Forward Throw - Grabs opponent and punches them forward.
 * Back Throw - Throws opponent backwards and shoots them diagonally with his blaster.
 * Up Throw - Throws opponent upward and shoots his blaster straight up.
 * Down Throw - Throws opponent on the ground and shoots them with his blaster. Can chain grab a number of characters.

Taunts
Up: Kicks his reflector around like a hackey sack, and says "Piece of cake."

Side: Stands on one foot and raises a wing while saying "Don't try me."

Down: Spins once and poses (same as in Melee), and says "Hands off my prey."

Smash Taunt: When fighting as Falco on the Lylat Cruise stage or Corneria stage, quickly tap down on the directional pad once and he will kneel down and seem as though he's trying to communicate with someone through a device, and then stand back up. He will do a Starfox conversation.

Role in The Subspace Emissary
Ejecting from his Arwing, Falco shows up in the nick of time to save Fox from trophy-ization at the hands of Bowser and a Shadowbug clone of Diddy by flip-kicking the Dark Cannon from Bowser's hands and destroying it with dual lasergun fire, forcing Bowser to leave. The Diddy clone begins to absorb more Shadowbugs, becoming gigantic, and after Fox revives the real Diddy, the three fight the giant clone. Falco then turns to leave, but is dragged back by Diddy and reluctantly comes along. A stupefied Fox shrugs his shoulders and walks off after them as he received the same treatment from Diddy earlier.

As Captain Falcon and Captain Olimar look down at the ship carrying Donkey Kong's trophy, Falco's Arwing shows up, ejecting Diddy Kong from the cockpit. Diddy then activates his Rocket Barrel Jet Pack and shoots the ship with his Peanut Popguns. Landing on the ship, he quickly de-trophifies DK, and after DK, Diddy, Captain Falcon, and Olimar defeat the Primids that board the ship, Falco gives Diddy and Donkey Kong a thumbs up as he leaves.

He makes his next appearance in the battle against Duon on the Halberd, where he teams up with Fox, Peach, Sheik, Snake, and Lucario. When it's defeated, Peach revives Game and Watch as Meta Knight takes back control of his ship. He uses his Arwing during the attack on the Subspace Gunship and joins with the heroes throughout the rest of the story.

Trivia

 * Falco is one of the only two clone characters from Melee to return in Brawl along with Ganondorf.
 * Falco is currently the only character to be ranked in the top tier list in both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, making him the only character to remain in the top tier for two games running.
 * In the SSE, when Falco first appears he is shown to use two blasters, but only ever uses one when he is actually played with.
 * In Super Smash Bros. Melee, if you switched the language to Japanese, Falco would say, "Hands off my prey" (in Japanese, of course). In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of his taunts involve him spinning like he did in Melee while saying (in English), "Hands off my prey."
 * Falco holds the world record for Level 2 and Level 3 Target Smash, by completing Level 2 in 3.96 seconds and Level 3 in 7.95 seconds. He also holds the Co-op Target Smash world record for Level 1 with Toon Link (2.83 seconds), and holds the top three records in Level 2 (Co-op) with:
 * Another Falco (3.73 seconds).
 * Pit (4.35 seconds).
 * Fox (4.66 seconds).
 * Falco's down taunt has become a popular internet meme. The popularity of the taunt is mainly due to Falco's new Brooklyn-like accent, making it sound as if he's saying, "Hands off my bread!", and more.