Falco (Super Smash Bros. Melee)

This article is about Falco's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For other uses, see Falco Lombardi. Also, for information about the fighter of whom Falco is a clone, see Fox (SSBM).

Falco
Universe	Star Fox
Also appears in	Super Smash Bros. Melee Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	S (2)

Falco is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee who is currently 2nd in the tier list due to good ability to combo, and having arguably the best projectile in the game. Top Falco players are notorious for their high levels of technical ability.

How to unlock

• Beat the 100-Man Melee mode with any character.
• Play 300 vs. matches.

Attributes

Falco's play style is said to be very similar to Fox's in Super Smash Bros. He is also known to have the second fastest normal falling speed and the fastest fast falling speed. This means he has resistance to juggling, is hard to hit in the air, and can perform SHFFLs well. On the downside, his recovery is shortened, and he is vulnerable to combos and chaingrabs that work on Fast fallers. However, he can chaingrab floaties.

Falco's excellent short hop makes him very good at combos and short hop lasers. His short hop lasers prevent most characters from approaching and can increase pressure on the opponent. His Reflector not only reflects projectiles, but can also be used for combo opportunities like pillaring. Falco also has the highest initial jump, the ability to wall jump, and a very effective Down Aerial spike. He also has the odd property of having a higher top walking speed than running speed.

Like Fox, Falco is lightweight and has a very poor recovery. Not only does he have the aforementioned fast-falling problem, but also the slowest air speed, along with Fox. Falco's Up Special Move, Fire Bird is very easy to edgeguard, due to its large start-up lag and linear nature. Additionally, it also lacks the flinching effect during the charge-up time and recovery distance of Fox's. His Side Special Move, Falco Phantasm, is difficult to shorten consistently, but is faster at recovering than Fox's Fox Illusion.

Moveset

Ground moves

Normal

• Neutral Attack - Two quick jabs, which can easily L-cancel into each other, both doing ~4% damage each, and then a series of fast kicks. Each kick does 1% damage.
• Forward Tilt - Quickly kicks his foot out. Pretty fast, impressive range for its speed. 9% damage.
• Down Tilt - Swipes his tail in front of him with somewhat short range. However, it is unusually powerful in both damage and knockback. 13% damage.
• Up Tilt - Flips his leg behind him. Short range, but incredible combo ability, very fast, and a great killer at higher damage. 9% damage.
• Dash Attack - Leaps and sticks out his foot. Damage depends on how late the foe is hit. 6-9% damage.

Smash attacks

• Forward Smash - Flips his body and kicks in front of him. Good knockback for a Forward Smash, kill percentage depends on trajectory and sweetspot; KOs midstage at around 130% if tipped, much lower if sweetspotted. 17% uncharged, 23% fully charged. 14% and 19% respectively if hit late. Much stronger than Fox's.
• Up Smash - Flips his whole body in a 360° spin from his standing point, feet extended, and lands. Falco's version is notably weaker than Fox's, but it is a better juggler. 14% uncharged, 19% fully charged.
• Down Smash - Does a quick split. An excellent killer, very good for setting up edgeguards, or simply spacing. 16% uncharged, 19% fully charged.

Other attacks

• Ledge Attack - Throws himself onto the stage with both feet sticking out. 8% damage.
• 100% Ledge Attack - Slowly gets up and kicks in front. 8% damage.
• Floor Attack - Gets up and kicks on his left, then right. 6% damage.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral Aerial - Does a simple Sex Kick. Great knockback when it first comes out, and the move comes out quickly, usually out of a short hop. 12%, then 9% afterwards.
• Forward Aerial - Four kicks in front. Due to the number of kicks, this move has a high duration, and it's very unlikely that all hits will connect; Falco players usually have a short time to react with another jump or recovery. A surprising 27% damage if all hits connect.
• Back Aerial - Kicks behind him. Sex kick. Good for KO-ing, and a great edgeguarder. 15% damage then 9% afterwards.
• Up Aerial - His tail hits first, then his leg follows with a kick. A two-hit move, first hit does 6%, then 9% for a total of 15% damage.
• Down Aerial - Falco spins around in place at a downwards angle. Unlike Fox's, Falco's version strongly spikes the foe. This makes it much better at edgeguarding and KO-ing in general. However, it should be used carefully when fastfalling. 13% damage.

Grabs & Throws

• Pummel - Knees foe. 2-3% per pummel.
• Forward Throw - Punches foe forward. Not many comboing follow-ups outside of Aerial Attacks near the edge. 7% damage
• Up Throw - Tosses the foe upwards, which causes 3% damage, and fires 4 very quick shots doing 1% each. Excellent air combo set-up, most particularly Up Aerial.
• Back Throw - Tosses foe behind, for 3% damage, and fires four quick laser, 1% each. It is possible to tech-chase an opponent, depending on the opponent's DI. Not the most useful throw outside of edgeguard set-ups.
• Down Throw - Picks foe up and slams them to the floor, then zaps them 4 times. Only does 4% damage, though an Up Tilt counter-attack on a predicted foe's reaction is possible. Very useful for tech chasing.

Special Moves

Falco's Special Moves
	Melee	Brawl	3DS/Wii U	Ultimate
Standard Special	Blaster
Side Special	Falco Phantasm
Up Special	Fire Bird
Down Special	Reflector
Final Smash	—	Landmaster		Team Star Fox

Taunt

• Falco scoffs while spinning into a pose. In the Japanese version, he speaks one of two phrases - one of which is "俺の獲物に手を出すな!" (Ore no emono ni te o dasuna!), which translates into the somewhat infamous "Hands off my prey!" (heard in English in Brawl). The other is "逃がすかよ!" (Nigasu ka yo!), which translates "Like I'd let you go!"

Smash Taunt: Falco can do a Star Fox conversation that can only be used on Corneria or Venom by quickly tapping Down on the Control pad. This taunt can only be used once per match.

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Differences with Fox

• Falco walks and runs slower than Fox but jumps higher and faster, since he has the highest initial jump in the game.
• Falco is heavier than Fox. Because of this, he will survive longer both horizontally and vertically.
• Falco has slightly slower normal falling speed but slightly faster accelerated falling speed than Fox.
• Falco has a much stronger Forward Smash than Fox, but a much weaker Up Smash.
• Falco has a stronger Forward Tilt and Down Tilt than Fox (it can kill reliably under 150%), but a weaker Up Tilt than Fox.
• Falco's Blaster stuns opponents, unlike Fox's blaster, but is slower. Falco's Blaster is similar to Fox's Blaster from the original. However, Fox could still SHDL/SHDB, unlike Falco, who can input only one laser shot in a single short hop.
• Falco's D-Air does a single hit and spikes powerfully, while Fox's D-Air does about ten hits and spikes extremely weakly.
• Falco's Back Throw doesn't send people as far as Fox's Back Throw, but Falco can chain throw easier.
• Falco's Side Special Move (Falco Phantasm) is quicker, stronger, has a shorter distance, and can Meteor Smash. Fox's Side Special Move (Fox Illusion) is slower, travels farther, is weaker, and doesn't Meteor Smash.
• Falco's Up Special Move (Fire Bird) is much stronger than Fox's (Fire Fox), being capable of reliably KOing under 150%, but its recovery distance is shorter (slightly more than half the distance of Fire Fox). Overall, Falco's Fire Bird is very similar to Fox's Fire Fox from the original.
• Falco's Shine has vertical knockback and can be easier to infinite shine while Fox's has semi-horizontal knockback, can semi-spike, and can be used it to wall shine opponents. Also, Falco's Shine sound is louder than Fox's.
• Falco's U-Air is generally weaker than Fox's, but it has an easier hitbox than (meaning it is a better juggler). Fox's U-Air is generally stronger when sweetspotted.
• Falco's Down Throw is faster, harder to Meteor Smash with, and can be used to chainthrow lightweights, while Fox's is slower, easier to Meteor Smash with, and it can't be used to chainthrow lightweights.

Techniques

SHL/B

SHL/B stands for "Short-Hop Laser/Blaster" and is very disruptive to opponents. In order to do a SHL/B, one must short-hop, fast-fall, and shoot a laser. When fast-falling correctly, there is no lag and the player is free to move about while shooting. A player can send flurries of SHL/Bs while approaching an opponent. This can somewhat substitute Falco's average speed dash, as it is a very fast and effective way to move around due to his fast jump and fall. SHL/B is considered to be the best approach tactic in the game and one of the most annoying moves in the game. It is imperative that Falco players learn to SHL/B since it is Falco's main method of opening up opponents' defenses.

Offense

Falco's D-Air is one of the best Spikes in the game, and can usually kill at around 50%. His Up Tilt can be used to start combos. His Down Tilt can usually kill at high percentages. His F-Smash is fast, comboable into from a Laser, and kills at pretty low percentages. His B-Air is also considered a Sex Kick.

A basic combo of Falco players is grabbing the opponent, throwing them down, immediately shining them and chasing them upward for a spike. This can be done several times to build up damage, forcing the opponent near the edge, and spiking them a final time. This combo is a guaranteed kill around 100% or 110%. It works on nearly every character except other Fox and Falco, and on floaters or lightweights (although with C. Falcon it is imperative to SHL or SHFFL the down aerial).

Like Fox, Falco can Down Throw an opponent at the very edge of a stage which can't normally be passed through, and the lasers from the throw send the opponent down extremely quickly. It is almost impossible to Meteor Cancel it or recover from it at any percent, due to the speed. This tactic will only work if Falco is facing inward when he is on the edge.

Boost Grab

Along with Fox and Sheik, Falco can use a boost for his grab. To do it, perform a dash attack and right after, press the grab button, and Falco will be able to reach out more when he grabs. It can't be jump cancelled. This can be used to increase grab range.

Trophy descriptions

In addition to the normal trophy about Falco as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Falco on any difficulty:

Falco

"Star Fox team pilot, Falco's constant air of casual indifference belies his precise piloting skills. He avoids discussion of what he did before joining the team, but many consider it likely that his past was filled with reckless behavior. He's not much for cooperation, but he does respect those more skilled than he is."

Falco (Smash red)

"Where his leader, Fox, has blinding speed, Falco has his own distinct skills and advantages. He has both a higher jump and a longer reach than Fox, and although his Blaster lacks rapid-fire capabilities, it strikes with shocking force. Unlike Fox Falco can stop enemies in their tracks with his Blaster fire. "

• B: Blaster
• Smash B: Falco Phantasm

Falco (Smash Blue)

"Falco's amazing jumping abilities have many merits, but it's vital to realize that it comes at the cost of some attack power and defensive strength. He falls at a high speed, which disrupts potential attackers, but this also prevents successful recoveries occasionally. Hit an opponent with Reflector, and he or she will fly straight up; this is Falco's quickest attack. "

• Up & B: Fire Bird
• Down & B: Reflector

Falco character trophy

Smash Red

Smash Blue

Costume Gallery

Falco's changeable clothing in SSBM