thespymachine
Smash Ace
As seen on The Melee Library - a comprehensive guide to learning and practicing Melee - and initially part of the Community-Generated Trials initiative.
Update - June 27, 2020: Reorganizing and revamping this post in the light of rollback Melee with Slippi.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Many players when starting out with Melee - or any game or activity - can feel either overwhelmed or lost when it comes to how to improve.
The primary goal of this is to provide aspiring and veteran Falcon players an established set of trials they can use to improve and maintain their play.
The philosophy behind this is heavily influenced by my more general guide, Practical Practice.
These trials assume you have, in the very least, an understanding of most advanced techniques in Melee.
For an overview, please refer to Wak's classic and ever useful videos, found at the beginning of this YouTube playlist: Melee Improvement.
If you have any recommendations or critiques, feel free to share.
Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this and it helps you.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Going through this guide:
1) When a character and % are stated, this means a plugged in controller set to that character (unless otherwise noted)
2) "Training Pack" refers to Uncle Punch's Training Pack mod, found here: Project Training Mode.
Attempt each trial
4) Implement what's easiest/quickest for you into your warm-up routine. Add whatever is most difficult into your practice regimen.
5) Remove distractions, take breaks, and, after you're done, go watch a Falcon combo video because this character is awesome and fun.
0. Basics*
1. Stomp Knee
2. Throw to Knee
3. Pop-up Stomp
4. Instant Uair
5. Ledge Aerials
6. Weak Knee to Uair Offstage
7. Aerials onto Stage from Ledge
8. Gentleman
9. Aerial to Knee Followup
10. Dropzone
11. The Peekaboo: Platform Fall-through Aerial
12. Wavelands from Ledge
13. Moonwalk
14. Pivots
15. Shield Stops
16. Marth Grab Combo
17. Upthrow Nair Knee
18. Shield Drop
19. Running Shield Drop
20. Hax Dash
∞. Releasing the Falcon
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
References and thoughts:
Falcon Threads
Hitboxes and Frame Data
2014 Falcon Video Thread
Captain Falcon Index (Posts about match-ups and other general metagame stuff)
Update - June 27, 2020: Reorganizing and revamping this post in the light of rollback Melee with Slippi.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Many players when starting out with Melee - or any game or activity - can feel either overwhelmed or lost when it comes to how to improve.
The primary goal of this is to provide aspiring and veteran Falcon players an established set of trials they can use to improve and maintain their play.
The philosophy behind this is heavily influenced by my more general guide, Practical Practice.
These trials assume you have, in the very least, an understanding of most advanced techniques in Melee.
For an overview, please refer to Wak's classic and ever useful videos, found at the beginning of this YouTube playlist: Melee Improvement.
If you have any recommendations or critiques, feel free to share.
Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this and it helps you.
- Cameron
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Going through this guide:
1) When a character and % are stated, this means a plugged in controller set to that character (unless otherwise noted)
2) "Training Pack" refers to Uncle Punch's Training Pack mod, found here: Project Training Mode.
Attempt each trial
* = trial with a Training Pack addition/option
** = trial that requires the Training Pack
3) Roughly ordered by difficulty, least to most difficult. You'll have an easier or harder time with some of these than other people will. Help those who have difficultly, and ask for help if you need it.4) Implement what's easiest/quickest for you into your warm-up routine. Add whatever is most difficult into your practice regimen.
5) Remove distractions, take breaks, and, after you're done, go watch a Falcon combo video because this character is awesome and fun.
0. Basics*
This section is just a set of things you should be implementing into your warm-up/practice routine already, and require very little explanation.
Aerial Drift Practice
- As easy as simply SH nair with full drift, forward and backward
- From a standing position, jump and see how far you can land; put a computer/opponent in that spot to hit them
- Full jump, fade back on the way up, drift forward on the way down
- ^mixing it up: short hop; fade forward then back; directional aerial right after you jump (then try with nair); directional aerial as you land (then try with nair)
L-Cancelling Practice
- Set up a match verse a team of 3 Ice Climbers, all Level 3, Team Attack Off
- Practice movement around and aerial the ICs
- The amount of bodies (and shields) you'll be hitting will force you to be cognizant of your L-Cancel timing - the more bodies, the more potential for longer wait until you hit L/R/Z
Wavedashing
- Facing forward the whole time, across the stage (left and right)
- Facing backward the whole time, across the stage (left and right)
- Back and forth (then when only facing left, then facing right)
- Now, all the above but Out of Shield (don't worry about how you face, as you can't change orientation when in shield)
Dashdancing
- Dashdash while trying to get the full length in the center portion of Yoshi's
- Gradually speed it up until you're to your fastest possible dashdance
- Now mix up distances and timings while staying confined within the center portion
- Do a full dash forward, short dash back, repeat across the stage
- PewPewU covers this nicely in the first 7 minutes of his "How I Train Myself" video
**Powershielding
- Frustrate yourself with the Powershield Training event in the Training Pack
Aerial Drift Practice
- As easy as simply SH nair with full drift, forward and backward
- From a standing position, jump and see how far you can land; put a computer/opponent in that spot to hit them
- Full jump, fade back on the way up, drift forward on the way down
- ^mixing it up: short hop; fade forward then back; directional aerial right after you jump (then try with nair); directional aerial as you land (then try with nair)
L-Cancelling Practice
- Set up a match verse a team of 3 Ice Climbers, all Level 3, Team Attack Off
- Practice movement around and aerial the ICs
- The amount of bodies (and shields) you'll be hitting will force you to be cognizant of your L-Cancel timing - the more bodies, the more potential for longer wait until you hit L/R/Z
Wavedashing
- Facing forward the whole time, across the stage (left and right)
- Facing backward the whole time, across the stage (left and right)
- Back and forth (then when only facing left, then facing right)
- Now, all the above but Out of Shield (don't worry about how you face, as you can't change orientation when in shield)
Dashdancing
- Dashdash while trying to get the full length in the center portion of Yoshi's
- Gradually speed it up until you're to your fastest possible dashdance
- Now mix up distances and timings while staying confined within the center portion
- Do a full dash forward, short dash back, repeat across the stage
- PewPewU covers this nicely in the first 7 minutes of his "How I Train Myself" video
**Powershielding
- Frustrate yourself with the Powershield Training event in the Training Pack
1. Stomp Knee
Ganon @ 80%
http://www.gfycat.com/FatalLightheartedBarbet
Ganon @ 50%
http://www.gfycat.com/ColdEvilHowlermonkey
Fox @ 80%
http://www.gfycat.com/ImpureWetDassie
Fox @ 50%
http://www.gfycat.com/ComfortablePolishedHookersealion
http://www.gfycat.com/FatalLightheartedBarbet
Ganon @ 50%
http://www.gfycat.com/ColdEvilHowlermonkey
Fox @ 80%
http://www.gfycat.com/ImpureWetDassie
Fox @ 50%
http://www.gfycat.com/ComfortablePolishedHookersealion
2. Throw to Knee
Easy: Jigglypuff, 90%, Dthrow-knee
Medium: Ganon, 80%, Upthrow-knee
Tough: Ganon, 95%, Dthrow-knee
Medium: Ganon, 80%, Upthrow-knee
Tough: Ganon, 95%, Dthrow-knee
3. Pop-up Stomp
Easy: Fox - Dair until knockdown, repeat dair so Fox pops up each time, knee at ~90%
Medium: ^ end with reverse knee
After a missed tech, there's a moment before the character can get-up (attack) where Falcon can stomp and pop them up in the air.
[gif shows the pop-up after the ftilt]
Medium: ^ end with reverse knee
After a missed tech, there's a moment before the character can get-up (attack) where Falcon can stomp and pop them up in the air.
[gif shows the pop-up after the ftilt]
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-01-2014/JGl8t5.gif)
4. Instant Uair
Easy: Stand in front of Marth, jump and instantly up-air to hit him
Medium: ^ vs Fox
Impossible?: ^ vs Pichu
Starting off, don't stand right in front of Fox, since the starting hitbox will appear behind the character. Stand at about grab's-length away. Practice that until you can do it standing right in front of Fox, and then you'll be ready for Pichu.
Medium: ^ vs Fox
Impossible?: ^ vs Pichu
Starting off, don't stand right in front of Fox, since the starting hitbox will appear behind the character. Stand at about grab's-length away. Practice that until you can do it standing right in front of Fox, and then you'll be ready for Pichu.
5. Ledge Aerials
Easy: Drop from ledge, instantly bair/uair, up-B to survive.
Medium: Drop from ledge, quick second-jump, bair/uair asap, grab ledge (without using upB)
Easy
Medium
(doesn't connect, but still shows what you should do)
Medium: Drop from ledge, quick second-jump, bair/uair asap, grab ledge (without using upB)
Easy
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-01-2014/ethYVR.gif)
Medium
(doesn't connect, but still shows what you should do)
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-01-2014/qQRG8N.gif)
6. Weak Knee to Uair Offstage
Get any character offstage, hit them with a weak knee then uair immediately, recover
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-01-2014/mFagwM.gif)
7. Aerials onto Stage from Ledge
Easy: Fox near edge - ledge drop, second-jump to stage, Knee/uair Fox
Medium: ^ nair Fox
Tough: ^ Stomp Fox
(reverse) knee
uair (with combo)
Medium: ^ nair Fox
Tough: ^ Stomp Fox
(reverse) knee
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-01-2014/3KXhbB.gif)
uair (with combo)
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-01-2014/kGuhL5.gif)
8. Gentleman
Easy: Gentleman Bowser
Medium: Bowser, ~55% - Gentleman > Knee (The Classy Combo?)
Tough: Fox, 40% - Gentleman > Knee
[I should note that these aren't actual combos, and are meant to help the player act out of the Gentelman faster.]
Medium: Bowser, ~55% - Gentleman > Knee (The Classy Combo?)
Tough: Fox, 40% - Gentleman > Knee
[I should note that these aren't actual combos, and are meant to help the player act out of the Gentelman faster.]
9. Aerial to Knee Followup
Easy: Knee > dash > knee
Medium: Bair > backward dash > knee
Tough: Reverse Knee > backward dash > Knee
Medium: Bair > backward dash > knee
Tough: Reverse Knee > backward dash > Knee
10. Dropzone
Easy: Fox at edge, 50% - Dthrow > Knee, recover
Medium: Fox at edge, 75% - Dthrow - > uair, recover
Medium: Fox at edge, 75% - Dthrow - > uair, recover
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-01-2014/aIUhgC.gif)
11. The Peekaboo: Platform Fall-through Aerial
Easy: On BF, Fox under the top platform, you on top of the platform - jump, fall through, hit Fox with aerial
Medium: Fox under side plat., you under same plat. - jump, fall through plat., uair Fox
Tough: Fox under a side plat., you on top of opposite plat. - dash toward Fox, jump, fall through plat. above Fox, uair Fox (I call this the S2J)
[Peekaboo can be done with uair on BF, PS, DL, sometimes FoD, and on the outer edges of YS's platforms]
Medium:
Medium: Fox under side plat., you under same plat. - jump, fall through plat., uair Fox
Tough: Fox under a side plat., you on top of opposite plat. - dash toward Fox, jump, fall through plat. above Fox, uair Fox (I call this the S2J)
[Peekaboo can be done with uair on BF, PS, DL, sometimes FoD, and on the outer edges of YS's platforms]
Medium:
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/5-29-2014/vouC5V.gif)
12. Wavelands from Ledge
Easy: ledgedrop, second-jump, waveland onto stage
Medium: ^ waveland backward to ledgegrab
Tough: ^ waveland off stage, second-jump, waveland onto/off platform (BF & DL)
Touger: ^waveland off stage, second-jump, [1] waveland across platform (toward the edge you didn't just come from), jump, [2] waveland across top platform in same direction, drop, [3] waveland the side platform (now in the opposite direction), jump, [4] waveland top platform (continuing direction), drop, [5] waveland side platform (changing direction), repeat
(me draw REAL good, lol)
Medium: ^ waveland backward to ledgegrab
Tough: ^ waveland off stage, second-jump, waveland onto/off platform (BF & DL)
Touger: ^waveland off stage, second-jump, [1] waveland across platform (toward the edge you didn't just come from), jump, [2] waveland across top platform in same direction, drop, [3] waveland the side platform (now in the opposite direction), jump, [4] waveland top platform (continuing direction), drop, [5] waveland side platform (changing direction), repeat
![](https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/1526533_10201834403196515_1569170781_n.jpg)
(me draw REAL good, lol)
13. Moonwalk
A video explaining moonwalking
Easy: roll to edge of stage, Moonwalk toward the edge so you grab the edge or fall off backwards [ex. vid]
Medium: waveland from edge, moonwalk toward other edge, jump and grab ledge
Tough: Moonwalk FD from edge to edge
Cool: Moon-dance - moonwalk one direction then moonwalk opposite direction, repeat
[Advisory] Moonwalking isn't necessarily pertinent to Falcon gameplay. It just provides specific positionings and movement deception. Examples include: doing a quick MW at one side of the stage to a short-hop and then grab the opposite ledge (can be quicker than alternatives, while giving you the option of bair for EGs); MW to jumping off-stage to ensure a deep EG with bair; MWing at/away opponent to bait or see opponent's reaction; etc.
However, with all that said, moonwalking looks really cool.
Easy: roll to edge of stage, Moonwalk toward the edge so you grab the edge or fall off backwards [ex. vid]
Medium: waveland from edge, moonwalk toward other edge, jump and grab ledge
Tough: Moonwalk FD from edge to edge
Cool: Moon-dance - moonwalk one direction then moonwalk opposite direction, repeat
[Advisory] Moonwalking isn't necessarily pertinent to Falcon gameplay. It just provides specific positionings and movement deception. Examples include: doing a quick MW at one side of the stage to a short-hop and then grab the opposite ledge (can be quicker than alternatives, while giving you the option of bair for EGs); MW to jumping off-stage to ensure a deep EG with bair; MWing at/away opponent to bait or see opponent's reaction; etc.
However, with all that said, moonwalking looks really cool.
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/5-29-2014/cL3MBm.gif)
14. Pivots
Easy: Stand in front of Marth, dash behind him, pivot grab
Medium: ^ pivot nair
Tough: ^ pivot fair (vs Fox)
Tougher: Stomp Fox at 45%, pivot fair
Toughest: vs handicapped character - gentleman, dash through character, pivot jab to gentleman, repeat
Medium: ^ pivot nair
Tough: ^ pivot fair (vs Fox)
Tougher: Stomp Fox at 45%, pivot fair
Toughest: vs handicapped character - gentleman, dash through character, pivot jab to gentleman, repeat
![](http://i.imgur.com/zGhs8Ek.gif)
15. Shield Stops
They work with the same idea in mind as pivot aerials - stop momentum - without the added turn-around effect but able to do at anytime during dash or run.
Basically, at any time during your dash/run: press shield, then set the control stick to neutral + press jump. You'll stop and jump in place where you pressed shield.
Easy: Run at any character, shield stop right in front of them, stomp.
Medium: Dash through any character twice, after second time shield stop to bair
S2J does a lot of shield stops, especially against spacies. Watch his matches vs SFAT and Westballz to get a look.
Basically, at any time during your dash/run: press shield, then set the control stick to neutral + press jump. You'll stop and jump in place where you pressed shield.
Easy: Run at any character, shield stop right in front of them, stomp.
Medium: Dash through any character twice, after second time shield stop to bair
S2J does a lot of shield stops, especially against spacies. Watch his matches vs SFAT and Westballz to get a look.
16. Marth Grab Combo
Easy: Lvl. 1 Marth on FD - Dthrow > Dthrow > Upthrow > Uair > Upthrow > Uair > Upthrow > Knee
Tough: ^ start combo with pivot grab, pivot grab out of second dthrow, and reverse knee at end
Tough: ^ start combo with pivot grab, pivot grab out of second dthrow, and reverse knee at end
17. Upthrow Nair Knee
On FD
Easy: Training Mode Ganon, 50% - Upthrow > Nair > Knee
Medium: Ganon, 30-35% - Upthrow > Nair x 3 > Knee
Tough: Link, 25% - Upthrow > Nair x 3 > Knee
Tougher: Y Link, 30% - Upthrow > Nair x 3 > Knee
[Description]
This one is TOUGH overall.
You want to fastfall, but not immediately. The whole string has very strict timing, but it's possible.
Quick, small examples I found:
@4:31
@5:46
It's essentially right as your second hit of nair is coming out or about to hit that you do the fastfall.
Easy: Training Mode Ganon, 50% - Upthrow > Nair > Knee
Medium: Ganon, 30-35% - Upthrow > Nair x 3 > Knee
Tough: Link, 25% - Upthrow > Nair x 3 > Knee
Tougher: Y Link, 30% - Upthrow > Nair x 3 > Knee
[Description]
This one is TOUGH overall.
You want to fastfall, but not immediately. The whole string has very strict timing, but it's possible.
Quick, small examples I found:
@4:31
@5:46
It's essentially right as your second hit of nair is coming out or about to hit that you do the fastfall.
18. Shield Drop
Due to Falcon's not-so-good out-of-shield options, Shield Dropping is becoming an important tool for Falcon mains.
When shielding on a platform, can fall through the platform by tapping down at a slower/shorter input than sidestep.
You can tilt your shield right/left all the way and simply press down like you normally would.
Mess with different speed and input lengths with down to figure out shield drop with a neutral (non-tilted) shield.
Easy: Shield drop through a platform
Medium: With any character next to you on a platfrom, shield drop and uair immediately to hit them.
Tough: With any character below you, shield drop and bair them
Tougher: With any character below you, shield drop and hit them with Knee.
[Against a computer or with a friend you can work on shield dropping with shield pressure, which will be a little different timing.]
When shielding on a platform, can fall through the platform by tapping down at a slower/shorter input than sidestep.
You can tilt your shield right/left all the way and simply press down like you normally would.
Mess with different speed and input lengths with down to figure out shield drop with a neutral (non-tilted) shield.
![](http://www.ssbwiki.com/images/d/dc/Control_stick_angle_overview_%28shield%29.png)
Easy: Shield drop through a platform
Medium: With any character next to you on a platfrom, shield drop and uair immediately to hit them.
Tough: With any character below you, shield drop and bair them
Tougher: With any character below you, shield drop and hit them with Knee.
[Against a computer or with a friend you can work on shield dropping with shield pressure, which will be a little different timing.]
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/5-29-2014/AIFZ7n.gif)
19. Running Shield Drop
You can drop through the platfrom while in your dash. It essentially works like a shield-tilted shield drop:
Dash, while still holding that direction press shield, right as you do the shield input roll the stick from your dash direction to down. Done quick enough and you'll drop through the platform (and the shield may not even show).
Easy: Run shield drop through any platform
Medium: With any character under you, RSD through the platform and hit them with bair/uair/nair/fair
Tough: With any character next to you, RSD through the platform and immediately uair to hit them
Dash, while still holding that direction press shield, right as you do the shield input roll the stick from your dash direction to down. Done quick enough and you'll drop through the platform (and the shield may not even show).
Easy: Run shield drop through any platform
Medium: With any character under you, RSD through the platform and hit them with bair/uair/nair/fair
Tough: With any character next to you, RSD through the platform and immediately uair to hit them
20. Hax Dash
[Have #12 done before attempting this]
Goal: ledgedashstall and keep invincibility
Ver. 1
Ledgedrop, second-jump and go somewhat into the stage, waveland back, fastfall.
To catch ledge again without falling through, either 1) release stick so it set a neutral, or 2) quarter-circle from down to the direction of the stage.
[Hax calls the latter method the "180 degree ledghop waveland"]
Ver. 2
Ledgedrop, second-jump and go hardly over the stage, waveland back, and wait for Falcon to grab ledge.
[He will grab ledge as soon as invincibility runs out]
Easy: Practice #13 then this one without anything testing the invincibility.
Medium: FD - Lvl 7-9 Mr.Game and Watch. Go to ledge and he will try to hit you with dtilt or whatever. Attempt Hax dash
Hard: Go to Brinstar and stay invincible through the lava
Goal: ledgedashstall and keep invincibility
Ver. 1
![](http://www.ssbwiki.com/images/6/66/CF_Ledgedashstall_ff_80ms_2013-10-02_175953.gif)
Ledgedrop, second-jump and go somewhat into the stage, waveland back, fastfall.
To catch ledge again without falling through, either 1) release stick so it set a neutral, or 2) quarter-circle from down to the direction of the stage.
[Hax calls the latter method the "180 degree ledghop waveland"]
Ver. 2
![](http://www.ssbwiki.com/images/4/4a/CF_Ledgedashstall_no_ff_80ms_with_input_display.gif)
Ledgedrop, second-jump and go hardly over the stage, waveland back, and wait for Falcon to grab ledge.
[He will grab ledge as soon as invincibility runs out]
Easy: Practice #13 then this one without anything testing the invincibility.
Medium: FD - Lvl 7-9 Mr.Game and Watch. Go to ledge and he will try to hit you with dtilt or whatever. Attempt Hax dash
Hard: Go to Brinstar and stay invincible through the lava
∞. Releasing the Falcon
Only mastery will allow you to become the Falcon player you're meant to be.
Keep practicing to become great at:
Mindgames
Epicness
Being Totally Awesome
Keep practicing to become great at:
Mindgames
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-01-2014/bICazB.gif)
Epicness
![](http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-01-2014/u_TKA6.gif)
Being Totally Awesome
![](http://i.imgur.com/9xM0jOh.gif)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
References and thoughts:
A few months ago Scar posted a draft of list of Falcon trials - like in SF - and it sparked JKJ to start the Community-Generated Trials tread, and make a couple of videos: Marth - Falco. I really think a trials list could be good for all players, as a sort of practice regimen but definitely a quick way to find out what you should be able to do with the character.
Here's Scar's draft (from Melee It On Me):
I think this is a GREAT starting list. Provides a great mental and technical foundation to basic Falcon combos.
But I'm sure we can all think of somethings to add to it.
First, I want to reference Hax's "Falcon Compendium"
Second, there's some basic/cool stuff that could be added, like:
Overall, I think we can make a list of 20 trials, with some having multiple difficulty levels/challenges. Eventually, we could make an 'official' list, make it into a video, and would be incorporating all/most of these fundamentals into our training and warmups. Profit, it seems, would be inevitable.
Here's Scar's draft (from Melee It On Me):
- Stomp Knee
Unplugged human controller, Ganon, 80% - Fast stomp knee
Unplugged human controller, Fox, 80% - Dthrow > Knee
Jigglypuff @ 90%
Combo counter 2 - Upthrow > Knee
Ganondorf @ 80%
Combo counter 2 - Dthrow > Knee
Ganondorf @ 95%
Combo counter 2 - Marth Grab Combo
Level 1 Marth on FD
Dthrow > Dthrow > Uthrow > Uair > GRAB BEFORE HE HITS THE GROUND > uthrow > Uair > GRAB BEFORE HE HITS THE GROUND > uthrow > knee - Vs Fox
Dair at 0% until knockdown (should be 1-2 dairs
Dair repeatedly and pop Fox up on each dair until 90+% and finish with a Knee - Bair > dash backwards > knee
- Reverse Knee > dash > knee
- Uthrow > Nair > Knee (4 hit)
Ganon training mode 50% - Uthrow > Nair x4 > Knee
Ganon at 25% - Uthrow > Nair x4 > Knee
Upthrow Link at 15% on FD and nair him 4x into knee - Uthrow > Nair x4 > KneeUpthrow YL at 10%
But I'm sure we can all think of somethings to add to it.
First, I want to reference Hax's "Falcon Compendium"
discrete stuff that i think is either critical to playing falcon at top level right now or will be in the future. will be updated occasionally
instant uair
solves falcon's biggest problem which is the lack of an aerial that comes out instantaneously (while he is rising during his jump) while having decent knockback. good for poking against falco, sheik, marth, peach, falcon, and fox (very difficult to land on fox, though). good for extending combos. good for denying certain aerials (beats spacies nairs if you hit at a very specific angle/frame!)
doublejump nair
your best option for when they miss a tech on a platform and you aren't in position for a stomp (or, you aren't in position to follow up with anything after you stomp them). goes into a knee at mid-high % in this case
also really good to use after a shffl'd nair if they DI/SDI up. doublejump so that you're exactly horizontal to them and nair them again. this is better than uairing them, which most people think is falcon's only option if they're at that height that isn't as close to the ground as falcon's shorthop while still being slightly lower than his fullhop.
pivot grab
the best way to abuse falcon's ridiculously fast foxtrot (the initial burst a character makes upon dashing -- falcon's is the fastest in the game). great for dancing around them when you think they're going to whiff something that only hits in front of them. don't use this against fox or falco because shine is broken and will hit in back of them even when you correctly read that they're trying to hit what's in front of them. similarly, watch out for nairs/other aerials that have hitboxes on the character's back. i.e., pivot grabbing is better vs a sheik that tends to fair when she's suspended in the air rather than one who nairs.
kneegrabbing
a while ago M2K informed me that if you knee someone's shield as low to the ground as possible, Falcon has +2 frame advantage (with the L-cancel lag factored in). this means that your grab beats theirs if they try to shieldgrab you (which they will do a LOT given how shieldgrabable this looks). i haven't tested this much yet but i definitely will in the future
180 degree ledgehop wavelands/180 degree wavelands onto platforms
most characters safely ledgehop so that they're elevated a bit higher than the stage, then airdodge diagonally down to waveland. because of falcon's ball-shaped 2nd jump, its really easy to get the best waveland possible by airdodging 180 degrees horizontally. same goes for wavelanding onto platforms
spaced nairs/uairs vs crouchcancellers
CC'ing ***** falcon harder than any character because he has no fast moves that also have enough hitstun to give you frame advantage vs the CC'er. unless you hit them with a stomp or knee, they can hit you before you can combo them into anything. grabbing obviously beats CC'ing, but in falcon's case it is extremely obvious that he's going to grab if he dashes up to them because he has no other options to choose from. for these reasons i try to beat CC'ers by poking them with spaced nairs/uairs to make them leave their CC. stomp and knee are usually reacted to and punished in today's metagame which makes falcon's anti-CC game really weak. you shouldn't try to beat someone who's crouching; you should be giving them reasons to leave their crouch
juggling
with falcon you should seek to carry your opponent as [horizontally] far across the stage as you can during a combo. the reason a lot of people end their falcon combos prematurely is because they don't properly give themselves the frame advantage necessary to continue. what i mean is, you should be hitting them with your aerials (usually uairs) as close to the ground as possible as to give yourself as much time as possible to hit them with another aerial. take landing uair -> uair -> knee on a fox at ~60% for example (assume he DI's in because this combo is impossible if he DI's out). after the first uair, you shorthop towards fox as fast as possible to land the second uair. the mistakes lots of falcons make at this point are A. uairing fox before they reach the peak of their jump and/or B. not fastfalling
these are both counterproductive to juggling because:
-if you don't fastfall, you have about 10 frames before falcon reaches the floor. this is far too long and the knee afterwards won't connect
-you cannot fastfall before the peak of your jump
the lesson to be learned is that you must uair during the 2nd half of your jump, and you must fastfall it/go into your next attack as fast as possible. falcon has TIGHT links that you can't otherwise land because of how fast people wiggle out these days. when i uair during combos, you hardly see falcon's legs come out sometimes because of how close to the ground i use them.
fall off the ledge -> bair/uair
falcon can fall off the ledge, bair or uair to edgeguard, then 2nd jump -> up-b and make it back to the ledge. good for edgeguarding people at certain positions below you, but you risk your stock in attempting it
example:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHkT8T-jJjo#t=01m43s
fulljumping -> wavelanding down to immediately stand on platforms
this opens your techchasing options up by a lot; it's a lot better than stomping/uairing a platform in a lot of situations. you can chain so many techchase grabs when you learn to do this to maneuver platforms fast enough. it's not just for regrabbing, either; you can mindgame people into even better stuff after you land on the same platform as them (you'll almost always have a mental advantage going into it because of how much it makes people flinch)
more to come
- Instant Uair would be quite easy to put into the list, and would work great as a foundation to #6 (Marth Grab Combo): Standing right in front of Marth, jump and hit Marth with an up-air (then try on Fox).
- Pivots could be easy to: Stand in front of Marth, dash through him, and pivot grab from behind (could be put as a starter of #6). And the very necessary Pivot Nair: Stand in front of Marth, dash through hims, and pivot nair from behind (character could be changed to Fox, and could change aerial to Knee for further difficulty).
- Wavelands from ledge:
1) ledgedrop, second-jump, and waveland onto stage (toward center stage)
2) ^as above^ but waveland back to the ledge and grab it
3) ^as #2^ but waveland off stage, second-jump, and waveland onto/off platform (useful on BF, Dreamland, and YS, possible on FoD and PS too)
- Aerials from ledge: ledgedrop, second-jump, bair/uair, and grab ledge (without using up-b)
Second, there's some basic/cool stuff that could be added, like:
- Weak Knee to uair offstage for a gimp/KO
- Moonwalking: 1) Moonwalk to ledgegrab 2) ??? 3) Moonwalk all of FD
- Incorporating reverse-Knee in some of the trails, or having some that are completely focused on it
- Gentleman (and additional things like gentleman to knee)
- Drop-zones
Overall, I think we can make a list of 20 trials, with some having multiple difficulty levels/challenges. Eventually, we could make an 'official' list, make it into a video, and would be incorporating all/most of these fundamentals into our training and warmups. Profit, it seems, would be inevitable.
Falcon Threads
Hitboxes and Frame Data
2014 Falcon Video Thread
Captain Falcon Index (Posts about match-ups and other general metagame stuff)
Last edited: