Falco (Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U)

This article is about Falco's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. For other uses, see Falco Lombardi.

Falco
Universe	Star Fox
Also appears in	Melee Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Landmaster
Tier	F (38)
Character Statistics
Number of Jumps	2
Can Wall Jump	Yes
Can Wall Cling	No
Can Crawl	No
Has a Tether	No
Voice Actors
Voiced by (English)	Mark Lund
Voiced by (Japanese)	Hisao Egawa

Falco (ファルコ, Faruko^?) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. He made his series debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee, also as an unlockable character. He is still a semi-clone of Fox, retaining all his moves from Brawl.

He currently ranks 38th on the tier list, following a bit of a nerf from Brawl. He has a strong grab and combo game, great aerials and some good kill moves. On the other hand, the things that made him a previous Top Tier - his chaingrab, his autocancelled lasers and chain-spike - are gone. The nerf in laser makes it harder for him to zone than ever before.

How to Unlock

3DS

Complete the following:

• Complete Classic Mode once without continues.
• Play 20 matches.

After completing either option, you must fight and defeat Falco on Corneria.

Wii U

• Beat Classic Mode once, it doesn't matter if you use continues.
• Play 10 matches.

Afterwards, you must fight and defeat Falco on Orbital Gate Assault.

Attributes

Strengths

• Highest jumping height in the game, followed by Greninja.
• Fast attack and movement speed.
• High combo potential.
• Many attacks have multi-hit properties, increasing his combo potential, as most of these can be ground cancelled, allowing Falco to string attacks together without knocking the opponent away with the final hit.
• Great poking potential with Blaster, which inflicts minimum hitstun.
• Reflector has good range when kicked and has very low startup lag, being very useful as a surprise attack.
  • Reflector can also trip opponents.
• Good horizontal recovery with Falco Phantasm, that can be used twice in mid-air.
• Has three Meteor Smashes: Forward Aerial ("landing" hitbox), Down Aerial (when sweetspotted) and Falco Phantasm (if hits enemies in the air).

Weaknesses

• Unable to rapid-fire projectile; high lag after using it.
• High startup lag for his Down Aerial.
• Cannot reflect projectiles from both sides since he kicks it forward.
• Firebird has very low priority, not being reliable enough to be used offensively.

Summary

Though Falco can still be considered a semi-clone, his moveset differs from Fox, with most animations and properties for his attacks being different. One of the most notable differences is that he's slight taller (thus having a larger hurtbox), jumping higher (to reflect his "bird" nature), running slower and having two powerful Meteor Smashes.

Differences from Brawl

Much like Fox, Falco also received many nerfs with a few buffs, improving his KO capacity and improving his recovery but worsening his camping ability and removing his chaingrab.

Ground Attacks

• The second hit of his Neutral Attack can transition between rapid jabs and a finisher.
• Down tilt is a KO move like in Melee.
• Forward Smash causes has more knockback but hits one frame later.
• Up Smash now has 2 hits.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Aerial traps opponents better between hits. It also now has a windbox that pull opponents into the attack.
• Forward Aerial traps opponents better between hits, and deals more knockback enough to KO at high percentages. It has less ending and landing lag, but 6 more frames of startup lag. Additionally, the move has a landing hitbox no matter how used, even if cancelled in a short hop.
• Back Aerial has a differnet animation, now looking very similar to Wolf's Back Aerial.
• Down Aerial's Meteor Smash is weaker and also has higher lag in all terms (starting, ending and landing). Additionally, Falco now pulls back his leg and then extend both, as if charging the attack. However, it is possible to cancel the landing lag of the move entirely by hitting the opponent with the first frame of his Down Aerial against the ground opponent and then immediately fast falling.

Grabs and Throws

• Down Throw now causes a stronger, more vertical knockback, and no longer can be used for chain grabbing.

Special Attacks

• Blaster no longer cancels when used on midair upon landing. It also has more lag between consecutive shots.
• Falco Phantasm no longer leaves Falco helpless when used in midair. However, he can no longer dash over the edge when used on the ground, but this also avoids accidental suicides.
• Fire Bird now covers more range.
• Reflector has slightly less ending lag.
• Landmaster causes less damage and knockback.

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Jab

◾Jab – Jabs with each arm once, then spins hitting the opponent several times. The combo is finished with a strong back hand. 5% first two hits, 10% damage full combo.

Tilts

◾Up Tilt – Stands on one foot and performs a windmill using both his arms. Can hit twice. 4% first hit, 5% second hit; 9% combined.

◾Down Tilt – Performs a sweep with his tail feathers. This will knock back the opponent. The damage decreases with the distance Falco is to the opponent. 9% max range ~ 12% closest

◾Forward Tilt – Does a kick from the side. Can be tilted. 9%

Smash Attacks

◾Up Smash – Falco performs a double kick upwards. 4% and 12%; 16% combined; 5% and 16%; 21% combined.

◾Forward Smash – Falco performs a cross chop that knocks the opponent sideways. 15-21%.

◾Down Smash – Splits his legs quickly, striking from both sides. 15-21%

Other Attacks

◾Dash Attack – Leaps at the opponent with a kick. This attack knocks up at around a 60º angle. 9%

◾Ledge Attack – Flips over and kicks with both legs across the ground.

◾Get-Up Attack – Stands up and kicks on both sides.

Aerial Attacks

◾Up Aerial – Performs an upward kick. This attack will only land is the opponent is above you. 11%

◾Down Aerial – Falco charges for a short duration, then performs a spinning downward kick with both legs. Is a meteor smash. 13%

◾Neutral Aerial – Spins around, hitting opponents multiple times, up to four. 3% first two chops, 2% third, 4% fourth; 12% when all hits connect

◾Forward Aerial – Attacks with his beak and performs a barrel roll that hits up to 5 times. 1% on the first four hits, 4% on the last; 8% when all hits connect

◾Back Aerial – Throws a kick backwards. 13%

Grabs and Throws

◾Pummel – A quick knee to the stomach. Fairly quick. 2% each hit

◾Forward Throw – Headbutts the enemy forward. 7%

◾Back Throw – Throws the opponent backwards and shoots them once with his blaster. 9%

◾Down Throw – Slams opponent on the ground and shoots once with his blaster. 5%

◾Up Throw – Hurls enemy upwards and shoots them once with his blaster. 8%

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

Falco's Custom Special Moves
	Custom 1	Custom 2
Standard Special	Explosive Blaster	Burst Blaster
Side Special	Falco Phase	Falco Charge
Up Special	Fast Fire Bird	Distant Fire Bird
Down Special	Accele-Reflector	Reflector Void

Taunts

• Side: Falco stand on his right foot, points his left hand forward and slowly raises it. Quote: "Get some."
• Up: Falco takes out his reflector and plays hacky sack with it. Quote: "Piece of cake."
• Down: Falco performs a 360 spin and finishes with a flare of his arms. Quote: "Hands off my prey."

Other features

He and Fox are able to communicate with crew mates on the stage Corneria. By slightly pressing the down taunt, Fox and Falco will kneel down. Then Peppy and Slippy (and depending on who the player is controlling, Fox or Falco) will give the player tips or proceed to have comedic banter.

In competitive play

To be added

Trophy descriptions

Falco

A talented pilot and part of the Star Fox team, Falco can be a bit rough around the edges. He once led his own galactic gang before joining up with Fox. In Smash Bros., his ability to jump high and deal damage in the air makes him a powerful threat, and his thrown Reflector can catch foes by surprise.

• Star Fox (03/1993)
• Star Fox 64 (07/1997)

Falco (Alt.)

Falco's Blaster looks identical to Fox's at first, but actually it's quite different! The beams Falco fires deal more damage and cause the victim to flinch, but at a slower rate of fire. Considering Falco's lineage, it's not all that surprising that he can fire faster while airborne.

• Star Fox (03/1993)
• Star Fox 64 (07/1997)

Landmaster (Falco)

Falco jumps aboard his landmaster for his Final Smash, This powerful combat vehicle sports an explosive cannon and a heavily armored exterior. Falco can blast other fighters or simply drive into them with his tank. This landmaster also flies higher than Fox's, letting Falco give his rivals a pick-me-up...off the stage!

Classic (3DS)

Alt. (3DS)

Classic (Wii U)

Alt. (Wii U)

Landmaster (Falco)

Alternate Costumes

Gallery

Gallery

Falco's Amiibo

Falco as he appears in the Official Website. Note that his image is blurry, since he is a secret character.

Trivia

• Falco's method of being unlocked is different than in other games. While he was unlocked via 100 Man Smash in his previous two appearance, he is unlocked by beating Classic Mode.
• Like Fox, Falco actually has more than one voice actor in this installment. All his new audio is provided by Mark Lund who voiced him in the remake Star Fox 64 3D. However audio provided by his Brawl voice actor Dex Manley for his Smash Taunt in Lylat Cruise is reused.

External Links

Falco's page on the Official Super Smash Bros. website.