Falco (SSBM)

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

Falco is voiced in all regions of Melee by Hisao Egawa, who reprises his role from Star Fox 64.

Falco is currently ranked 4th on the Melee tier list, being the highest ranked clone character as well as his best placement in the series marginally. Falco has the most versatile combo game in Melee, as he possesses many combo starters and the options to extend them, most notably a frame 1 launcher in his shine and a frame 5 down aerial that spikes powerfully. These tools allow him to easily chain together highly damaging strings that are hard to DI out of. He also possesses very effective edgeguarding options, such as his back air, forward and down smashes, and his aforementioned down air. Falco also has one of the best neutral game options among the entire cast with his, as it allows him to pressure from afar and approach noncommittally.

Falco, however, is not flawless; he suffers from being light yet having extremely high falling speed and low horizontal air speed. These flaws make him extremely vulnerable to chaingrabs and combos, while his low weight makes him among the easiest to KO horizontally. Additionally, his primary recovery moves, Falco Phantasm and Fire Bird, both travel a short distance, leaving him extremely vulnerable to gimping, especially if he loses his double jump, and giving him one of the worst recoveries in the game. Falco also has mediocre movement options, due to his average dash speed, slow jump squat, and relatively short wavedash and dashdance distances. He additionally has one of the worst grab games, as the unpredictable knockback from the lasers in his throws gives him no guaranteed throw follow-ups, which incentivizes his opponents to stay in shield in the neutral game. This also hurts his ability to land KOs at high percents due to his lack of reliable KO confirms, especially on floaty characters. Regardless of these flaws, Falco's strengths greatly overwhelm his weaknesses and he has amazing matchups, possessing positive matchups on nearly the entire cast.

How to unlock
Players can unlock Falco by completing 100-Man Melee with any character within any time limit. Alternatively, players can take part in 300 VS. matches to unlock him.

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

Attributes
Due to being a clone of Fox, he possess a similar archetype: he possesses rather high speed 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, 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, 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 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 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 sidelines without 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 's Counter, 's Spin Attack, and '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, Falco is 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 doesn't travel a significant distance, 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. Additionally, Falco's recovery moves have 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 and, 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 (the 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 only 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 death for 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 in Super Smash Bros.
It has been said that Falco's play-style in Melee is very similar to 's in Super Smash Bros. His special moves are arguably the most obvious. Below is the list of similarities:

Differences from
It is difficult to determine 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 combo ability, particularly against fastfallers, is 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 ground speed and a shorter wavedash. Additionally, his recovery moves, despite possessing more power, travel much 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 and ; Fox hard counters 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 edgeguards to keep the match even.

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 tournament level.

Ground attacks

 * Down tilt:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down tilt:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Up smash:

Aerial attacks

 * Up aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Up aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:

Special moves

 * Blaster:
 * Falco Phantasm:
 * Fire Bird:
 * Reflector:
 * Falco Phantasm:
 * Fire Bird:
 * Reflector:
 * Fire Bird:
 * Reflector:
 * Reflector:
 * Reflector:
 * Reflector:
 * Reflector:

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

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

Stats
NTSC

PAL

Most historically significant players
See also: Category:Falco players (SSBM)


 * - One of the best players in Texas. His victory over #1 ranked player at  is known as one of the biggest upsets in Melee history.
 * - One of the best Falco players in the US, well-known for his combo videos and extremely flashy style of play.
 * - One of the most influential Falcos of all time, known for his match against at the Jack Garden Tournament. He changed the playstyle of top-level Falcos, pioneering the very beginnings of his punish game by discovering pillar combos.
 * - Once known as one of the best Falco players in the United States; formerly ranked 30th on the 2013 SSBM Player Rankings.
 * - Switched to Falco during the COVID-19 pandemic, and achieved rank #14 on the 2022 SSBMRank. Known for his heavily laser-based playstyle.
 * - Formerly the best Falco player in Arizona, and one of the best in the world back in 2007. Pioneered Falco's punish game further, particularly by extending punishes using platforms.
 * - The best player in Michigan and one of the best Falco players in the current metagame. Popularized the “Ginger nair,” which uses Falco’s against spacie up-B’s to prevent opponents from teching against the stage.
 * - One of the best Falco players in the world, famous for upsetting at . Known for her creative combo game and popularizing Falco’s  as a combo extender.
 * - One of the Five Gods; considered the best active Falco player in the world and the greatest Falco player of all time. Duals mains Fox and Falco. Known for his aggressive and read-heavy playstyle, DI mixups, and an unforgiving punish game, especially vs. fastfallers, having a nearly perfect record against in tournament.
 * - Once considered one of the best players in the world while dual maining Falco and Fox; won MLG Las Vegas 2006.
 * - One of the Five Gods, once considered one of the best players in the world, known for his analytical and effective playstyle, based around using lasers to control opponents in the neutral game, as well as his patience and strong punish game vs. floaty characters. His victory at in 2011 was solo Falco’s first supermajor win.
 * - A notable competitor in the MLG era; co-mained with.
 * - During his prime in 2014-2016, was considered a top ten player in the world, just behind the Five Gods. Known for his extremely technical and sometimes over-stylish playstyle.
 * - The recipient of the famous Wombo Combo, Zhu was one of the best Falco players in the post-MLG era, notably defeating at the first.

Tier placement and history
Throughout the Melee tier lists, Falco has always been in the high/top tiers along with and, with his lowest position being fifth place. In the beginning of Melee's metagame, Falco players had not yet discovered his strong combo potential. As such, they relied only on zoning out the opponent with his Blaster in the neutral game, while largely ignoring his punish game. While this defensive style of play was reasonably effective and gave Falco the results he needed to stay in the high tiers, Falco was widely considered to be not only inferior to Fox, but to other top tiers such as Sheik and as well, as those characters' metagames were advancing faster than his.

However, this perception changed drastically after the Jack Garden Tournament, where players worldwide were introduced to and his extremely aggressive interpretation of what was once considered a purely defensive character. Falco players soon realized that their approach to the character was suboptimal, and began implementing many of Bombsoldier's strategies into their own game. In turn, Falco's results began improving dramatically. New Falco mains, most notably, soon began pushing him to levels of play exceeding that of even Bombsoldier's. PC Chris was even able to win some of the most prestigious tournaments at the time, proving that Falco had all the tools to succeed and come out on top at the highest level of play.

With PC Chris retiring soon after Brawl was released in 2008, and with the concurrent rise of and  (who both played Fox, among other characters), Falco saw a dip in popularity for a brief period of time. There was noticeable debate over his position at 2nd on the tier list, and he fell to 4th in a 2008 revision. However, his metagame was revitalized by new world class players, such as, , , and , who all gave Falco results at the top level once again. Falco players continued to place extremely well, and for some time until 2014, even won more large tournaments than Fox players. This led some players at the time, such as Mew2King, to believe that Falco was a better character than Fox, with the argument that Falco succeeds in notable tournaments more consistently than Fox, while Fox's perceived superiority was based more on potential than performance.

However, since then, there have been very few majors, if any, won by a Falco main; Fox players have since taken 1st place in many more majors, even in PAL. This is mainly due to 's hiatus, the rise of Fox mains such as, and more top players electing to pick Fox in high-level tournament matches for his superior matchups against floaty characters. The Falco counterplay metagame has also advanced considerably, as professionals have greatly improved their DI and powershielding skills that make it much harder for Falco players to win the neutral game and combo opponents. As such, Falco is ranked 4th on the thirteenth and current tier list.

PAL viability
Like several other characters who, by coincidence, would years later be known to be top tier, Falco was nerfed in the PAL version of Melee. His powerful down aerial spike now only has the spike hitbox during the first 10 frames of the move, while the weaker hitbox sends opponents on the Sakurai angle instead. This makes timing Falco's down aerial more key to success in tournament play. However, this nerf does not significantly affect him, as most Falco professionals train to hit with the strong hitbox anyway, and the duration of said hitbox is still enough to approach the enemy with it and wear down shields. Thus, Falco's viability in PAL is more or less the same as in NTSC, barring a slightly easier matchup against due to Fox's own nerfs in that version.

In
When unlocked, Falco can appear either in ordinary one-on-one matches, in a team with Fox or, as an ally in team and giant battles, or as a metal opponent in the game's penultimate battle. With the exception of being on a team with Captain Falcon and the metal battle, Falco appears on either Corneria or Venom.

In Adventure Mode
In the game's Adventure Mode, Falco can appear in Part 2 of Stage 6; when unlocked, the player has the possibility of fighting against Falco in the stage, instead of Fox again. However, Falco wears the red Alternate costume (his first alternate costume); instead of default color.

In All-Star Mode
In All-Star Mode, Falco and his allies are fought on Venom.

In Event Matches
Falco appears in the following event matches:


 * Event 23: Slippy's Invention: In this event, the player must fight against Fox and Falco on Venom, in a standard two stock match; however, the two are under the effects of a Cloaking Device during the entire match, though they can still be damaged.
 * Event 32: Target Acquired: As Falco, the player must KO as many times as possible in one minute on Corneria. However, Arwings also fire frequently at the stage, and Falco must KO Jigglypuff more often than the Arwings to win the event.
 * Event 36: Space Travelers: As, the player must defeat five opponents in a row: , , , Captain Falcon, and Falco. In the first three opponents, the fights are done on Fourside; after this, the player is then sent to to fight against the last two.
 * Event 43: Birds of Prey: In this event, the player, as Fox, must fight against a team of Falco and Captain Falcon on the stage Big Blue. Everyone has two lives, but there is also a time limit of two minutes.
 * Event 49: All-Star Match Deluxe: Falco is the second opponent fought in this series of staged battles. The selected character battles him on the Venom stage with a stock of 2 while Falco has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other five characters one-by-one with the overall time and damage:, , , and.

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

Trivia

 * Falco's voice actors, Ben Cullum and Hisao Egawa, are credited in the credits even if he has not been unlocked yet. This is due to his appearance in the intermission of the Corneria stage in Adventure Mode.
 * Falco is the only character who isn't first on his respective tier list that has no disadvantageous matchups.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee is the only game where Falco is not fought on one of his home stages when being unlocked; instead he is fought in.
 * Falco,, , , , , and are the only characters whose portraits on the character select screen match their official artwork.