Falco (SSBM)

Falco in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Universe	Star Fox
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in SSB4 in Ultimate
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	S (4) (North America) S (3) (Europe)

Falco (ファルコ, Falco) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He is a clone of Fox, with many of the same moves. However, some of his moves have different properties, making their playstyles somewhat different.

Falco is voiced by Hisao Egawa in-game and in Japanese Star Fox Smash Taunt and Adventure Mode scenes, reprising his role from Star Fox 64. He is voiced by Ben Cullum in the English Smash Taunt and Adventure scenes.

Falco is currently ranked 4th out of 26 on the Melee tier list (three spots below Fox), his best placement in the series. Falco has perhaps the most versatile combo game in Melee, as he possesses many combo starters and great options to extend them, most notably a frame 1 launcher in his Shine and a frame 5 down aerial that spikes. These tools allow him to easily chain together highly damaging strings that are hard to DI out of, including (but not limited to) his famous pillar combos, as well as chaining Shines together for early KOs off the top. He also possesses very effective edgeguarding options, such as his aforementioned down air. Falco also possesses one of the best neutral game options and projectiles among the entire cast with his Blaster, as it allows him to control neutral, rack up damage with ease, and even start combos. The aforementioned Shine additionally boasts extensive versatility outside of combos. Its instantaneous hitbox and intangibility make it a great combo breaker and out-of-shield option, while its ability to be jump-canceled allows Falco to perform a Shine in rapid succession, exerting unrelenting shield pressure.

Falco however is not flawless; he suffers from being light, yet having a very high falling speed and low horizontal air speed. Additionally, his primary recovery moves, Falco Phantasm and Fire Bird, both travel a relatively short, linear distance. These flaws make him vulnerable to both combos and KOs, while also being easy to gimp. Compared to his fellow spacie, Falco's horizontal movement options aren't very good, having merely average run speed, a slower jump squat, and relatively short wavedash and dashdance distances. He additionally has a comparatively unideal grab game, as the unpredictable knockback from the lasers in his throws give him few reliable throw follow-ups. This can also limit his options to land KOs at high percents particularly on floaty characters.

Regardless of these flaws, Falco's strengths greatly outweigh his weaknesses. Thanks to the likes of Bombsoldier, PPMD, Mang0, and many others, he has loads of top-level representatives, excellent results, and amazing matchups, being favored to win against nearly the entire cast.

How to unlock

Falco must be defeated in battle before he can be unlocked. There are two ways the player can encounter Falco:

• One way is to complete 100-Man Melee. If the player fails to defeat Falco, they can re-fight him by completing 100-Man Melee again.
• Another way is to play 300 VS. matches to completion. If the player fails to defeat Falco, they can re-fight him by playing another VS. match to completion. If this method is used, fighters with lower VS. match quotas must be unlocked before Falco can be fought.

When being fought, Falco will appear on Battlefield, with the music from Corneria playing.

Attributes

Due to being a clone of Fox, he possess a similar archetype: he possesses good agility to quickly overwhelm the opponent as well as a slew of effective finishers both on the ground and in the air. Contrary to what Falco's in-game trophy says, he does not sacrifice offensive power at all to gain increased jumping prowess; in fact, Falco seems to have gained even more options for KOs, attacks, and combos at a variety of percentages over Fox. Falco's attributes include high traction (giving Falco a somewhat short but quick wavedash), the highest falling speed in the game, and low air speed without momentum from his dash accounted for.

Falco's primary strength is his raw ability to KO without compromising too much speed or combo ability; many of Falco's KOing moves are very fast yet powerful with relatively low startup and ending lag. Falco's sliding forward smash covers a good distance, KOs easily at 90% and makes for a good edgeguard option. Falco's down smash is a powerful semi-spike that is also useful for edgeguarding. Falco's down tilt can KO some characters at as low as 90%; although it is a short ranged attack, it also comes out quickly. Falco's aerial KOing options are also highly varied; Falco's neutral and back aerial attacks are fast with high knockback and duration, and his down aerial is among the most feared attacks in the game; with no sourspot (in the NTSC version), high speed, spike properties, and a long duration, Falco can quickly and efficiently KO almost any character at low percentages if used correctly. A grounded down aerial can easily combo into a forward smash for yet another deadly KO option.

Falco's approach is also highly effective; with a very versatile projectile in his Blaster, Falco can perform the short hop laser technique, either as a pressure option or as a way to approach. Performing this technique close to opponents almost guarantees free grabs, smashes, or ways to start shine combos. Coupled with low-lag aerials, a short short hop and a high falling speed, Falco has among the best SHFFLs in the game, giving him an incredible aerial approach. On the ground, many of Falco's attacks, while short-ranged, pack good power and relatively low ending lag; despite a short wavedash and an average dashing speed, Falco can still use these two to his advantage, with them being integral to his superb combo ability.

Falco sacrifices a bit of his clone's speed for power, but still excels at performing devastating combos. Many of Falco's approach options also make for great combo starters as well. The core of Falco's combo ability lies in his good SHFFLs and ability to waveshine. Falco's primary form of comboing comes in the form of his pillar combo, which is notorious for wearing shields down quickly. Pillaring, in its most basic form, is simply chaining the upward vertical knockback of Falco's shine into the spiking hitboxes of his down aerial. To keep his moves fresh, Falco can combo into his other moves, most notably his down and up tilts, wavesmashes, his up throw, and his back and neutral aerials. Falco's down tilt and up throw are viable substitutes for his shine, while his up tilt racks up damage and segues directly into more shines. His smashes also rack up damage quickly but also make excellent KO options after enough beatings from the pillars have been dealt. Jump-canceled shines combo directly into back aerials and neutral aerials. Should the opponent DI close the ground, Falco can chase his opponents with multiple waveshines, depending on the direction. Falco can alternatively wear down shields by weaving back and forth with waveshining.

Additionally, Falco's grab and throw game is decent. Falco's grab range is better than Fox's and above-average (tenth longest in the game), and his throws have multiple options; his down throw can potentially combo into a down tilt or start a shine combo, his up throw can start up aerial combos, and his forward and back throws can start edgeguards. However, although he can chain throw floaty characters with his forward throw, he lacks a reliable chain throw, his throws have poor damage output, and his down throw can be teched, leaving him vulnerable. Furthermore, unlike Fox's up throw, which can reliably set up into aerials at certain percents, Falco has a harder time securing follow-ups from his up-throw. This is because the lasers Falco shoots during his up throw animation have hitstun; and therefore, they can be SDI'd by the opponent.

Falco's properties, however, also compose some of his weaknesses. As with Fox, Falco is light (the 6th lightest character in the game), and is therefore able to be KO'd through the side blast lines without too much difficulty, despite Falco being difficult to KO through the ceiling because of said falling speed. Additionally, despite his high jumps and ability to wall jump, Falco's recovery is among the worst in the game; due to a low air speed and a high falling speed, Falco cannot maneuver effectively off-stage. His up special move, Fire Bird, is also short and easy to gimp; due to its linear nature, attacks such as Marth's Counter, Link's Spin Attack, and Mario's Cape can easily knock Falco away from the ledge when using the moves. Additionally, due to its inability to harm attackers while it charges like Fox's, Falco is more vulnerable to any attack while using the move, particularly meteor smashes or spikes; with correct timing, opponents with reliable spikes, such as Marth or even another Falco, can easily gimp his recovery. As such, Falco is primarily reliant on his side special, Falco Phantasm to recover; however, even that notably travels a bit less distance than Fox's, and it still suffers from the linear problems of Fire Bird. To his merit, however, Falco can angle his Fire Bird in many different directions, and he can additionally shorten his Falco Phantasm to avoid going on stage and into the edge, mixing up his recovery options and leaving the opponent guessing. Falco also possesses fast options out of a wall tech. Additionally, Falco Phantasm has slightly shorter startup lag than Fox's, which can be useful when mixing up the opponent.

Falco's high falling speed also makes him a target for chain throws, especially from characters such as Marth and Peach, though it also gives him the 3rd highest vertical endurance among Melee characters, despite being tied for being the 5th lightest character in the game (only Captain Falcon and Donkey Kong, two much heavier characters by comparison, surpass him in this regard). Falco, along with Fox, has the dubious distinction of having an entire combo named for KOing him easily simply due to his high falling speed (Jigglypuff's "space animal slayer").

Overall, Falco can be considered to be a slower, but stronger and more combo-heavy version of Fox; while his overall speed is above average among the other characters in the game, his attack speed remains very fast and he can easily land very damaging combos in a short amount of time, sometimes even leading to KOing the other player if they cannot DI correctly. Combined with relatively safe approaches against nearly every character in the game, it is possible to make defending against Falco difficult, even at top-level play. Falco has many tools for offense and defense, so players should use his arsenal accordingly to gain the upper hand.

Similarities with Fox in Super Smash Bros.

It has been said that Falco's play-style in Melee is very similar to Fox's in Super Smash Bros. His special moves are arguably the most obvious. Below is the list of similarities:

• Both Fox in Smash 64 and Falco in Melee are heavier than Fox in Melee.
• Both blasters are slower and cause hitstun.
• Both Fire Bird and Smash 64 Fire Fox travel less distance and lack a charging hitbox, but can KO vertically at a reasonable percent.
• Fire Bird can KO at the top at a reasonable percent, but does not have a hitbox while it is charging.
• Forward smashes are much stronger (Fox's in Smash 64 is a little stronger than Falco's in Melee).
• Down smashes have more semi-spike ability due to their stronger knockback.
• Down tilts are close in damage (13% and 12%) and both produce decent vertical knockback, both being much stronger than Fox's down tilt in Melee.
• Up aerials are easier to sweetspot, but are weaker.

Differences from Fox

It is difficult to determine with certainty whether Falco is better or worse than Fox, as they are top-tiered clones. Falco is heavier and falls faster than Fox does, aiding in his vertical endurance. Falco's ability to combo, particularly against fastfallers, is deemed superior to Fox's; his shine and down aerial can extend combos in ways that Fox's moves cannot. Additionally, Falco's lasers are quite powerful in neutral because they cause hitstun, allowing them to be used as a powerful disruption and approach tool in the neutral game instead of just a passive maneuver to rack up damage.

However, Falco's ground mobility is inferior to Fox's, as he has slower run speed and a shorter wavedash. Additionally, both of his recovery moves, despite possessing a bit more knockback or damage, travel shorter distances than Fox's; while this does allow for a safer near-stage recovery, it makes it impossible to recover from afar. Fox's shine and down aerial can lead into an up smash, and up throw can lead to almost any aerial. However, since most of Falco's moves are geared towards comboing, he lacks many of these guaranteed setups into his own KO moves. This is especially prevalent against floaty characters, such as Jigglypuff and Peach; Fox can be a counter against them due to the ease in which he can combo them, then KO them vertically, while Falco must rely on his superior neutral game and his edgeguards in order to compete and win.

Overall, Falco's strategy at top-level play differs considerably from Fox's. Falco is more reliant on stage control and punishes; he is more suited to locking the foe down with lasers and damaging, guaranteed combos, and must maintain stage control at all times due to his poor recovery. Fox, on the other hand, is more reliant on edgeguarding and neutral resets due to the launch angle of his shine and his shorter, usually simpler punishes. Thus, while Falco and Fox may be indistinguishable from each other at low-level play, their general playstyles vary drastically at the major tournament level.

Aesthetics

• Falco's taunt, idle pose, sleep, and victory animations are different from Fox's.

Attributes

• Falco is bigger than Fox, giving him more reach on almost all of his moves; however, this also makes him easier to hit.
• Falco has more jump-squat frames than Fox (3 frames → 5 frames); as a result, his jump and SHFFL are slower.
• Falco jumps dramatically higher (31.28 → 51.5) than Fox, going from the 8th lowest out of 26 characters to the highest by far.
  • Falco's shorthop is also higher (10.65 → 11.58) than Fox.
• Falco has a much higher wall jump than Fox.
• Falco walks (1.6 → 1.4) slower than Fox.
• Falco dashes (2.2 → 1.5) significantly slower than Fox.
• Falco has less additional air acceleration than Fox (0.06 → 0.05).
• Falco's wavedash is slightly shorter than Fox's.
• Falco's rolls cover more distance than Fox's.
• Falco is heavier than Fox (75 → 80), allowing him to survive slightly longer, though he is the 6th lightest character in the game.
• Falco falls faster than Fox (2.8 → 3.1). Combined with his heavier weight, it grants Falco much better vertical endurance. However, his faster falling speed makes him more susceptible to combos and chaingrabs and worsens his already poor recovery.
• Falco has much less gravity than Fox (0.23 → 0.17).

Ground attacks

• The second hit of Falco's neutral attack has a different angle than Fox's (70° → 50°), knocking opponents out of range of the rapid jab and any other potential followups more easily, while not significantly improving the move's safety.
• Rapid jab launches at a slightly higher angle (78˚ → 80˚). This has no significant effect on gameplay.
• Falco's dash attack deals more damage than Fox's (7%/5% → 9%/6%).
• Dash attack has one hitbox instead of two, with the hitbox size only somewhat increased to compensate (≈3.83u (clean)/≈2.73u (late) → ≈4.3u/≈3.52u), reducing the move's overall range and resulting in the hitboxes no longer fully covering Falco's leg hurtboxes.
• Falco's forward tilt has a slightly longer duration than Fox's (frame 5-8 → frame 5-9).
• Falco's up tilt deals overall less damage (12% (foot grounded)/9% (leg & foot aerial) → 9% (consistent)) and knockback (18 base/140 scaling → 30/120) than Fox's. This makes it unable to KO at realistic percentages, but makes it a much more reliable combo tool.
• Up tilt has noticeably bigger hitboxes (≈5.08u/≈3.12u → ≈5.47u/≈3.9u).
• Down tilt:
  • Falco's down tilt deals more damage (10% → 13%), making it much stronger than Fox's and a viable KO move at high percents.
  • Falco's down tilt has less range than Fox's despite the former's attacks mostly having more range, due to his shorter tail.
  • It launches at a consistent angle, rather than being dependent on the opponent's distance from Falco (70˚/80˚/90˚ → 75˚).
• Forward smash:
  • Falco's forward smash deals more damage (15%/12% → 17%/14%) than Fox's, and overall has more knockback (10 base/105 scaling → 40/90 (clean), 2/100 → 10/105 (late)), making it stronger, and granting the late hit KO potential that Fox's generally lacks.
  • Falco's forward smash has a slightly shorter duration than Fox's (frame 12-22 → frame 12-21).
• Up smash:
  • Falco's up smash has one more intangible frame on his head (frame 1-10 → frame 1-11).
  • Falco's up smash deals less damage (18%/13% → 14%/12%) and knockback (30 base/112 scaling → 25 base/100), making it drastically weaker than Fox's. It also has a shorter duration (frame 7-18 → frame 7-16) and more ending lag.
    • However, its weaker knockback makes it a much better combo move.
  • The clean hit launches at a different angle (80˚ → 95˚).
• Falco's down smash deals more damage (15%/12% → 16%/13%) and has more knockback scaling (65 → 70) than Fox's.
• Down smash also gains more intangibility frames on his legs (frame 6 → frame 1-6).
• Down smash's sourspot launches vertically instead of horizontally (361˚ → 80˚).

Aerial attacks

• The first four hits of Falco's forward aerial deal more damage than Fox (7% (hit 1)/5% (hit 2)/6% (hit 3)/4% (hit 4) → 9%/8%/7%/5%), thus, giving it more damage than Fox's if all hits connect (23% → 29%). It can also autocancel in a full hop due to Falco's higher jumping height.
• Falco's back aerial can autocancel in a short hop.
• Up aerial:
  • The first hit of Falco's up aerial has different knockback properties (134 fixed knockback/120 scaling → 40/30 base/20 scaling), making it overall easier to connect with the second hit than Fox's.
  • The second hit of Falco's up aerial is weaker (40 base/116 scaling → 22/30 base/120/20 scaling) and deals less damage (first hit 5%/second hit 13%: 18% total → 6%/10: 16% total) overall than Fox's, hindering its KO potential.
  • Each hit of Falco's up aerial has different knockback angles (first hit 92°/second hit 85° → 90°/70°/90°).
• Down aerial:
  • Down air only has one strong hit instead of seven weak hits.
    • It has considerably more knockback due to not being set knockback (30 set/100 scaling → 10/20 base/100 scaling), significantly improving its combo and edgeguarding potential.
    • It makes the move much more reliable; not being able to be escaped through SDI.
    • It does not have 2 frame gaps where the move is not active (frames 5-6, 8-9, 11-12, 14-15, 17-18, 20-21, 23-24 → 5-24).
    • It deals less damage than Fox's if all hits connect (19% → 12%/9%).
  • It autocancels slightly earlier (frame 31 → 30).

Grabs and throws

• Falco's grab range is longer than Fox's.
• Forward throw
  • Falco's forward throw can chaingrab more efficiently than Fox's because of his longer grab range.
  • Falco's forward throw animation speed is weight-dependent, being faster against most characters.
  • Falco's forward throw deals marginally more knockback (scaling: 130 → 135). The collateral hit also no longer uses set knockback, and launches at a slightly higher angle against bystanders (55˚ → 60˚).
• The lasers fired by Falco during back and up throw deal hitstun and knockback.
• Falco's up throw has less combo potential due to the lasers' knockback, with a followup often being dependent on the opponent's directional influence.
• Against certain fighters, most notably Fox, the final laser fired by Falco's down throw will override the throw's knockback and deal weak horizontal knockback, preventing them from teching and allowing true followups.

Special moves

• Blaster:
  • Falco's Blaster causes hitstun, allowing for better combo setups and better capability at hindering an opponent's approach. It also fires faster when airborne and the lasers cover much more distance.
  • Falco's Blaster has more startup (frame 12 → 23 (ground), 10 → 13 (air)).
  • Falco's lasers have a larger frame gap between repeated shots than Fox's (10 frames → 24 (ground), 10 frames → 16 (air).)
  • Falco's Blaster animation is different. Whereas Fox holds it straight with both hands, Falco holds it sideways with one wing next to his head.
  • Falco's lasers travel slower, but last much longer and travel further as a result, having effectively infinite range on all legal stages.
• Falco Phantasm:
  • Falco's Falco Phantasm propels Falco sooner (frame 20 → frame 16).
  • Falco Phantasm does not travel as far as Fox Illusion, hindering its recovery potential, but improving its safety near ledges.
  • Grounded Falco Phantasm deals significantly more knockback (68 (base)/40 (scaling) → 74/60). It also launches at a lower angle (80˚ → 65˚).
  • Aerial Falco Phantasm deals more knockback (68 (base)/60 (scaling) → 70/70) and is a meteor smash, launching straight down.
• Fire Bird:
  • Fire Bird's hitbox during the dash deals more damage (14% → 16%) and has much more base knockback (60 → 80) than Fire Fox, granting it considerably increased KO potential.
  • Fire Bird's recovery distance is much shorter, travelling only half the length of Fire Fox. Fire Bird also lacks Fire Fox's charging hitboxes, dealing less damage (25% → 16%) and making edgeguarding Falco much easier, especially with meteor smashes and spikes. These changes drastically reduce its recovery potential.
  • Fire Bird's animation differs slightly from that of Fire Fox; Falco does not spin during the travelling section of the move, whereas Fox does.
• Reflector:
  • Falco's Reflector sends opponents straight vertically, making it extremely useful for on-stage combos that can be hard to escape from, unlike Fox's, which instead semi-spikes the opponent, allowing for neutral resets, edgeguards, and guaranteed KO setups.
  • Falco's Reflector does not have set knockback, but has high base knockback and low knockback growth.
  • Falco's Reflector deals more damage than Fox's (5% → 8%).
  • Falco's Reflector hitbox has less range than Fox's (≈8u → ≈6u).
  • Falco's Reflector has a larger reflection radius.

Version history

Falco received a nerf in the PAL version of Melee, with the late hit no longer spiking, slightly reducing the effectiveness of his most notorious edgeguarding tool. Additionally, he received another indirect nerf with Fox being able to tech out of his down throw due to his reduced weight.

PAL

• Down aerial's late hit no longer spikes opponents, now sending them at the Sakurai angle (290° → 361°). This significantly hinders its edgeguarding and followup potential.

Moveset

Falco's aerial attacks

For a gallery of Falco's hitboxes, see here.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Jab (ジャブ) Straight (ストレート) Rapid Kick (ラピッドキック)	4%	Two quick jabs, which can easily be jab canceled into each other or other moves. The second jab moves Falco slightly forward and is followed by a flurry of fast kicks.
			4%
			1% (loop)
Forward tilt		Bird Kick (バードウィップ, Bird Whip)	9%	Sticks his foot out to the side. Fast, and has impressive range for a tilt. Can gimp opponents, though has limited use outside this. This move can be aimed up or down.
Up tilt		Back Kick (フリップキック, Flip Kick)	9%	Flips his leg behind him. Relatively short range, but very fast, and has incredible combo ability, being a great move that can quickly knock opponents into the air and follow up with aerials or a Shine. Considered one of the best up tilts in the game due to said combo ability.
Down tilt		Bird Sweep (テイルカッター, Tail Cutter)	13%	Swipes his tail in front of him. Although it has somewhat short range (shorter behind him than in the front), it has unusually high damage and knockback for a tilt while having a slash sound effect. It knocks opponents straight upwards. It can KO some characters at as low as 90% if fresh. The strongest down tilt in the game along with Mr. Game & Watch.
Dash attack		Jumping Side Kick (ジャンプサイドキック, Jump Side Kick)	9% (clean), 6% (late)	Runs forward and sticks his leg out. Sends opponents upwards. Has some combo utility.
Forward smash		Roundhouse Kick (レッグショット, Leg Shot)	17% (clean), 14% (late)	Performs a hopping tumble-over kick forwards akin to a back-spin kick. Similar to Fox's forward smash, but much stronger, usually KOing at around 90-110%. A good option against an opponent who is trying to get on the stage from ledge, especially if they are above 100% damage. Considered to be one of the best forward smashes in the game, after Marth.
Up smash		Flip Kick (サマーソルトキック, Somersault Kick)	14% (clean), 12% (late)	Does a bicycle kick. It is drastically weaker than Fox's up smash, but is a better juggler. However, there are usually better options available for knocking opponents into the air (like an up tilt or a Shine). It can also hit behind Falco, albeit with significantly lower knockback. Falco's head is intangible during the early part of the animation.
Down smash		Falco Split (グラウンドキック, Ground Kick)	16% (feet), 13% (legs)	Does a quick split. High KO power, and with high knockback and semi-spike properties, it is an excellent edgeguarder, with serviceable range. Both of Falco's legs are intangible whenever he starts up the move, even while he's charging, all the way until the hitboxes come out.
Neutral aerial		Flying Kick (ファルコスキック, Falco Kick)	12% (clean), 9% (late)	A simple sex kick. Has high knockback when it first comes out, and it comes out quickly, good in a SHFFL, and has some edgeguard utility. Not as good as Fox's due to the way Shine works, but still a great move.
Forward aerial		Cyclone Kick (トルネードシャフト, Tornado Shaft)	9% (hit 1), 8% (hit 2), 7% (hit 3), 5% (hit 4), 3% (hit 5)	Kicks forward five times. The move has high duration due to the number of kicks, and it is very difficult to connect all the hits. It also gives Falco quite a short time to react with another jump or recovery. Does incredible damage if all hits connect, much more than Fox's.
Back aerial		Reverse Spin Kick (リバーススピンキック)	15% (clean right leg), 9% (clean left leg, late)	Does a quick no-look kick backwards while recovering in a turn, with sex kick properties. Good KO power, and great for edgeguarding. Has more range than Fox's but riskier to use offstage due to his faster falling speed and worse recovery, still one of the best back aerials in the game. Good out of a Shine at higher percents.
Up aerial		Falco Flip (テイル＆レッグ, Tail & Leg)	6% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)	Whips his tail up and kicks immediately after. Can deal up to 15% damage if both hits connect. Slightly weaker than Fox's up air, and less core to his playstyle, but still a powerful KO move (especially on floaties) and will kill near the top blast zone under 100%.
Down aerial		Air Drill (エアドリル)	12% (clean), 9% (late)	Spins around in place at a downwards angle while extending one foot. An extremely strong spike that can set up and follow out of Shine combos very efficiently and KO characters quickly. However, it can be risky to use offstage, due to Falco's poor vertical recovery. Regardless, it is an excellent combo and KO move, and is among the most feared attacks in the game, with no sourspot, as the spike hitbox lasts the entirety of the move (however, in the PAL version of the game, the second half of the move produces weak horizontal knockback). Widely considered to be the best down air in the game due to its quick speed, spike properties, approaching ability, combo ability, amazing power, and good range. It is easily one of, if not his best move.
Grab		Grab (つかみ)	—	Grabs with his right wing. Falco notably has a slightly better grab range than Fox, despite differing throws.
Pummel		Knee (つかみニーバット, Grab Kneebutt)	3%	Knees opponent.
Forward throw		Elbow Bash (スマッシュエルボー, Smash Elbow)	4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Punches opponent. Can force opponents offstage for edgeguarding, but other than that, it doesn't have many comboing follow-ups. Can chain grab floaty characters at low percentages.
Back throw		Skeet Blaster (クローズレンジブラスターＨ, Close Range Blaster H; H standing for "horizontal")	2% (throw), 2% (shots)	Throws opponent backwards, then fires three shots from his Blaster. Can force opponents offstage for edgeguarding, but other than that, not too useful. It is possible to tech-chase an opponent with this move, depending on their DI.
Up throw		Star Blaster (クローズレンジブラスターＶ, Close Range Blaster V; V standing for "vertical")	2% (throw), 2% (shots)	Tosses opponent upwards, then fires three shots from his Blaster. Excellent for setting up an aerial combo (most particularly an up aerial, back aerial or neutral aerial), but can be DI'd out of at higher percentages.
Down throw		Floor Blaster (クローズレンジブラスターダウン, Close Range Blaster Down)	1% (shots), 1% (throw)	Slams opponent onto the floor, then shoots them four times with his Blaster. If the player can predict the opponent's reaction, an up tilt is possible. This move can also set up a Shine combo. However, the move is relatively easy to tech out of. Like Fox's down throw, it meteor smashes over the ledge if Falco grabs the opponent at the very edge of the platform, however, it is much weaker. This throw, unlike Fox's, has the strange ability to chain throw extremely light characters, such as Pichu and Mr. Game & Watch.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Gets up and kicks on both sides.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Punches forwards, then kicks backwards.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			6% (body), 8% (legs)	Throws himself onto the stage with both feet sticking out.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			6% (body), 8% (legs)	Slowly gets up and kicks in front.
Neutral special		Blaster	3%	Falco fires a laser from his Blaster. It is slower than Fox's, but is more powerful and makes the opponent flinch. For this reason, it is excellent for stopping approaching opponents, and the lag can be canceled if the move is done during a short hop and Falco fastfalls to the ground (referred to as short hop laser). Can also stop opponents when they are offstage and stuff their double jump during an edgeguard. If Falco does a short hop laser close to an opponent, they will be stunned momentarily, allowing Falco to get an easy grab or start an aerial combo with an up tilt or a Shine. This attack has transcendent priority. Considered to either be one of the best or the best projectile in the game and the best neutral special because of its approach and combo ability, as well as strong pressure off stage. Can be used to hit confirm and jab reset.
Side special		Falco Phantasm	7%	Falco dashes forward, leaving an afterimage behind him. It is Falco's quickest and safest horizontal recovery move. If it hits an opponent in midair, it is a somewhat weak meteor smash. If B is very quickly pressed again just after beginning to move, it will be canceled, and Falco will come to a halt, whether grounded or in midair. Falco Phantasm is a few frames faster than Fox Illusion.
Up special		Fire Bird	16%	Falco charges up in flames and blasts off in a linear direction, which can be controlled with the control stick. Most often unreliable as an attack, due to the charge time. Used for a vertical and precisely angled recovery, however, it travels a much shorter distance than Fox's Fire Fox. Unlike Fire Fox, it cannot damage opponents during the start up, leaving Falco slightly more vulnerable to edgeguarding during the charge - with the right timing, it is even possible to meteor smash or spike Falco when he is moving. Can be used out of a Shine.
Down special		Reflector	8% (startup), 1.5x damage for reflected projectiles	Falco's Reflector (informally referred to as the Shine) works just like Fox's, reflecting any projectiles that hit it right back at the opponent who fired them for more damage and knockback. Unlike Fox's Shine, it doesn't send the opponent on a semi-spike trajectory; rather, it knocks them straight upwards. This makes the move very useful for knocking opponents into the air and starting aerial combos, similarly to his up tilt, but much more effectively. Can be jump cancelled, to avoid the ending lag, which can lead to double or multi-shines, as well as pillaring combos with down aerial. This allows Falco to use it repeatedly to wear down shields, continue aerial combos or save a teammate in doubles. Considered to be one of the best moves in the game and the best down special along with Fox, due to its exceptional combo ability along with aerial attacks.

Stats

NTSC

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump height	Double jump height	Empty landing lag
Value	80	1.9 – Initial dash 1.5 – Run	1.4	0.08	0.02	0.83	0.02 – Base 0.05 – Additional	0.17	3.1 – Base 3.5 – Fast fall	5	51.5 - Base 11.58 - Short hop	41.778	4

PAL

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump height	Double jump height	Empty landing lag
Value	80	1.9 – Initial dash 1.5 – Run	1.4	0.08	0.02	0.83	0.02 – Base 0.05 – Additional	0.17	3.1 – Base 3.5 – Fast fall	5	51.5 - Base 11.58 - Short hop	41.778	4