Bones0
Smash Legend
Before reading this guide, it is suggested that you be familiar with all of the techniques in the Advanced How To Play series. If you have any specific tech skill questions that are not addressed below, simply post your question here instead of creating a separate thread. Thanks, and enjoy.
Outline:
LASERS
- [SHL] Short Hop Laser
- Reverse Laser
- [LHDL] Ledge Hop Double Laser
- [FHTL] Full Hop Triple Laser
- [FHDL] Full Hop Double Laser / [DJDL] Double Jump Double Laser
- Isai Drop Laser
SHINE
- [JC] Jump Cancelling
- Aerials into Shines
- Shines into Aerials
- Waveshining
- Shine Grab
- Shine Turn Around
- Multishines
- Ledge Shines/Shine Hogs
RECOVERY
- Shortening the Phantasm (Side-B)
- Sweet Spotting with Fire Bird (Up-B)
FAQs
- "Why do I keep getting stuck in my Shine?"
- "Should I use X, Y, or Up to jump?"
[SHL] Short Hop Laser
- Lasers have a lot of lag when fired on the ground, but when shot in the air they auto-cancel upon landing, meaning you will virtually always want to be airborne before firing one. The fastest way to do that, of course, is to SHFF. You can alter the timing of both your laser and your fast fall in order to change what height the laser is sent at. Low lasers can be used to hit certain crouching opponents (such as Kirby, Jiggs, G&W), while high lasers can stop SHFFLing opponents in their tracks.
Reverse Laser
- Like all Neutral B moves, if you are airborne you can fire a laser in the opposite direction you are facing. To do so, simply press left or right before shooting. Make sure to let the control stick reset to the neutral position before pressing B. It is not uncommon for people to accidently Phantasm off the side because they were still holding left or right when they pressed B to laser. Most commonly, reverse lasers are used to retreat from an opponent while making it difficult for them to follow you.
[LHDL] Ledge Hop Double Laser
- Similar to how you can ledge hop attacks, you can also ledge hop lasers. By dropping down below the ledge then jumping and lasering, you can send two lasers just above the ledge. The key to performing this is to laser as soon as possible after jumping. There are a myriad of different height combinations that you can attain, such as shooting the first laser high and the second low, or both at the same height.
- The few button choices you have for LHDLs are Y, X, and Up on the control stick. I would consider Y the best option since it is closer to B than X, and you don’t have to worry about hitting A by accident. Clawing can make X and Y both much easier because you will have control of your jump, laser, and DI at all times. Up is also effective, but it may be harder at first due to accidentally Up-Bing, and because you are already using the control stick, it may be harder to make sure you land on the stage.
[FHTL] Full Hop Triple Laser
- To cover a large area with a lot of lasers, you can quickly shoot three lasers in one full hop. This is most commonly seen during edge guards where the player is trying to increase his odds of messing up their opponent’s recovery.
[FHDL] Full Hop Double Laser / [DJDL] Double Jump Double Laser
- With the proper timing of your fast fall after the first laser, you can shoot one laser high and one laser low more quickly than doing a FHTL. This more useful against opponents on the stage because you are vulnerable for less time before the ground-level laser, and it can give you a quicker jump on any airborne opponents you hit with the high laser. If you double jump instead of full hop, you can create many more different height variations, so if your high laser would normally miss, they may hit with a double jump.
Isai Drop Laser
- A guide on Isai Dropping can be seen HERE. Using this technique, you can land on a platform with a laser, then immediately drop through with another laser. The result is a very fast barrage of lasers where if one hits, the second will also usually hit because most characters falling speeds will lead to them falling from the first laser into the second.
[JC] Jump Cancelling
- Like Fox’s, Falco’s Shine can be JCed out of, which greatly increases its utility. JCing a shine is simply jumping after the shine to completely negate any lag. Being able to JC shines means any other moves that can also be JCed can be used directly out of shines. This includes WDs, grabs, and up smashes.
Aerials into Shines
- After you land an aerial and L-cancel, using a shine immediately can help to prevent your opponent from shield grabbing you or using other OoS options. Additionally, because you can JC shines, you can flow easily from shines into additional aerials.
Shines into Aerials
- Grounded shines into aerials are the core part of Falco’s most devastating combos. Depending on the character and percent, you may have to waveshine before jumping for the aerial (against fast fallers), or you may be able to simply full hop and/or double jump to reach them (against floatier characters).
- If you are airborne, aerials out of shines are usually performed immediately to prevent them from getting out of range. Shine-dair is often used off stage in order to let you survive the lag of the dair. Shine-bair/nair/uair are typically used to KO opponents, and shine-fair is rarely used, but can add damage to opponents who aren’t at kill %. This technique can also be combined with shine turn around in order to change the direction of your attack.
- There are many different variations of control schemes available to shine-aerial properly. Some people JC the shine with up on the control stick and aerial with the C-stick or A button. Others JC the shine with Y or X and aerial with the A button. I personally used to use the Y and A button combination, but I switched to Up and C-stick to prevent accidental wall jumps. Either method will work fine so long as you aren’t along a wall.
Waveshining
- Combining JCing with WDing, you can quickly move out of shines to adjust your spacing. It can be used to follow an opponent’s DI or rolls, as well as to avoid OoS options and much more. You can also just WD in place to JC the shine without moving left or right. A corollary of wavedashing is wavelanding. This can also be used with shines when you are airborne. A common technique is to shine a player on a platform, then to JC the shine and waveland onto the platform. This allows you to use your first jump again when following the opponent’s DI.
Shine Grab
- JCing grabs out of shines can be very useful, and it is very fast so if you do it correctly your opponent will only be able to avoid it by spot dodging.
Shine Turn Around
- By pressing left or right on the control stick during the shine, you can quickly change which direction you are facing. This can be used for changing the direction of an aerial, grabbing opponents slightly behind you, or getting onto the ledge more quickly by waveshining.
Multishines
- Shine has a unique trait of moving Falco slightly downwards. This trait allows Falco to shine on the first airborne frame of his jump and immediately land back on the ground. When you jump, Falco spends 5 frames in the jump squat animation. This means that you are airborne on frame 6. If you shine on frame 6, you will instantly land. If this process is repeated, Falco can keep up an endless string of shining and JCing.
Ledge Shines/Shine Hogs
- When you jump just before running off a ledge, your jump animation will begin, but if you slide off before it finishes you will simply slide off. If you have ever tried to jump out and spike someone and just ended up sliding off while using an aerial and dying, then that may have been what happened. Shine allows you to use this sliding off property to quickly grab the ledge or even use an aerial as you slide off. It is similar to using a waveshine to grab the ledge, but without the air dodge. Simply run or walk towards the ledge, and right before you reach it, do a shine turn around and JC it. If you timed it correctly, during the JC you slid off and grabbed the ledge. To use an aerial, it is the same method, but you must use the aerial just as you slide off, before you grab the ledge.
Shortening the Phantasm (Side-B)
- Falco’s side-B is one of his best tools for recovery. Because it used so commonly, it can be difficult to land without the opponent knowing where you will land, and grabbing the ledge can be hard if they throw out a move. Shortening is the process of pressing B in order to shorten the distance Falco travels in his Phantasm to give you more options and mix-ups. The Phantasm has 4 different distances it can travel, and each one can aid your recovery. Any time your Phantasm barely reaches an edge, you become much more difficult to hit from on the stage. If you are too close to sweet spot, a shorten can allow you to sweet spot in a situation where you would normally have to go all the way into the wall, making it very easy for the opponent to hit you. More specifically, shortening can be very helpful on Battle Field where going your full distance often leads to you sliding under the stage. Even if you are at a height where this can happen, if you shorten you will be able to grab the ledge. On top of all of this, mastering shortening can enable you to do more advanced things such as ledge canceling platforms from different distances.
Sweet Spotting with Fire Bird (Up-B)
- Falco’s Up-B is infamous for being frustratingly short and vulnerable due to having no fire hitbox like Fox’s. This means that using it correctly is simply that much more important. When coming from below, if the stage has a wall below the ledge, you angle your up-B so that you barely grab the ledge. This is an important technique for avoiding certain attacks, and it also helps you to wall tech the attacks you can’t avoid. When you angle downwards to the ledge from above, Falco can grab the ledge immediately. If you are just going through it, make sure you are not holding down, which will prevent you from grabbing the ledge. The last type of sweet spot includes the use of Falco’s ability to grab the ledge from either side at the end of his up-B. Many players get turned around by accident when they Up-B, but often landing on the stage is not a safe option. During the last few frames of your up-B, even after the attacking portion is finished, you can still grab the ledge. Even if you up-B straight up at a height almost equal to the ledge, you can still fast fall back down to the ledge and grab it (just make sure you let go of down from fast falling before you pass the ledge).
Q: "Why do I keep getting stuck in my Shine?"
A: Whenever you hit an opponent, you will have additional frames of hitlag during which you are unable to JC the shine. A shine that isn't stale will result in 4 frames of hit lag. If you often practice techniques that involve JCing your shine, it is important to remember that you will not be able to do them as quickly when you are hitting an opponent because of the added hitlag. The best example is shine turn around bairs. If you try to shine turn around bair without hitting another character, it is extremely easy to do consistently, and you can JC the shine very fast. If you then try to shine turn around bair an opponent, you will find that you often get stuck before the JC because you are jumping during the hitlag. This also happens to players who practice waveshining on their own over and over, and then when they try to waveshine after hitting someone’s shield the hitlag will cause them to get stuck. The only solution to getting stuck is to learn the timing of the hitlag and jump as soon as it ends in order to stay as quick as possible. It is also helpful to use certain practice techniques, such as hitting a CPU in training with a Starman, or hitting a CPU with a high handicap on a low damage ratio.
Q: "Should I use X, Y, or Up to jump?"
A: Many people will tell you it is just personal preference, but I'd be lying if I acted like all buttons were created equal. For most techs, Y is easier to use than X because it is closer to B, and you don't have to worry about accidentally pressing A. However, that doesn't mean if you've gotten into the habit of pressing X since you were a kid that you are doomed to not being able to play Falco. It may just take a little longer for you to get a certain technique down with X compared to someone who is using Y. Any time you are learning a new technique, simply try out all of the different options first and make sure you aren't learning in a way that will handicap yourself down the line. Being open to and able to perform the same action in multiple ways can help you play more efficiently. Using a certain button configuration is much like being left or right handed/footed in sports. Players who are more ambidextrous have more options than players limited to just one dominant hand/foot for every situation.
Outline:
LASERS
- [SHL] Short Hop Laser
- Reverse Laser
- [LHDL] Ledge Hop Double Laser
- [FHTL] Full Hop Triple Laser
- [FHDL] Full Hop Double Laser / [DJDL] Double Jump Double Laser
- Isai Drop Laser
SHINE
- [JC] Jump Cancelling
- Aerials into Shines
- Shines into Aerials
- Waveshining
- Shine Grab
- Shine Turn Around
- Multishines
- Ledge Shines/Shine Hogs
RECOVERY
- Shortening the Phantasm (Side-B)
- Sweet Spotting with Fire Bird (Up-B)
FAQs
- "Why do I keep getting stuck in my Shine?"
- "Should I use X, Y, or Up to jump?"
LASERS
[SHL] Short Hop Laser
- Lasers have a lot of lag when fired on the ground, but when shot in the air they auto-cancel upon landing, meaning you will virtually always want to be airborne before firing one. The fastest way to do that, of course, is to SHFF. You can alter the timing of both your laser and your fast fall in order to change what height the laser is sent at. Low lasers can be used to hit certain crouching opponents (such as Kirby, Jiggs, G&W), while high lasers can stop SHFFLing opponents in their tracks.
Reverse Laser
- Like all Neutral B moves, if you are airborne you can fire a laser in the opposite direction you are facing. To do so, simply press left or right before shooting. Make sure to let the control stick reset to the neutral position before pressing B. It is not uncommon for people to accidently Phantasm off the side because they were still holding left or right when they pressed B to laser. Most commonly, reverse lasers are used to retreat from an opponent while making it difficult for them to follow you.
[LHDL] Ledge Hop Double Laser
- Similar to how you can ledge hop attacks, you can also ledge hop lasers. By dropping down below the ledge then jumping and lasering, you can send two lasers just above the ledge. The key to performing this is to laser as soon as possible after jumping. There are a myriad of different height combinations that you can attain, such as shooting the first laser high and the second low, or both at the same height.
- The few button choices you have for LHDLs are Y, X, and Up on the control stick. I would consider Y the best option since it is closer to B than X, and you don’t have to worry about hitting A by accident. Clawing can make X and Y both much easier because you will have control of your jump, laser, and DI at all times. Up is also effective, but it may be harder at first due to accidentally Up-Bing, and because you are already using the control stick, it may be harder to make sure you land on the stage.
[FHTL] Full Hop Triple Laser
- To cover a large area with a lot of lasers, you can quickly shoot three lasers in one full hop. This is most commonly seen during edge guards where the player is trying to increase his odds of messing up their opponent’s recovery.
[FHDL] Full Hop Double Laser / [DJDL] Double Jump Double Laser
- With the proper timing of your fast fall after the first laser, you can shoot one laser high and one laser low more quickly than doing a FHTL. This more useful against opponents on the stage because you are vulnerable for less time before the ground-level laser, and it can give you a quicker jump on any airborne opponents you hit with the high laser. If you double jump instead of full hop, you can create many more different height variations, so if your high laser would normally miss, they may hit with a double jump.
Isai Drop Laser
- A guide on Isai Dropping can be seen HERE. Using this technique, you can land on a platform with a laser, then immediately drop through with another laser. The result is a very fast barrage of lasers where if one hits, the second will also usually hit because most characters falling speeds will lead to them falling from the first laser into the second.
SHINE
[JC] Jump Cancelling
- Like Fox’s, Falco’s Shine can be JCed out of, which greatly increases its utility. JCing a shine is simply jumping after the shine to completely negate any lag. Being able to JC shines means any other moves that can also be JCed can be used directly out of shines. This includes WDs, grabs, and up smashes.
Aerials into Shines
- After you land an aerial and L-cancel, using a shine immediately can help to prevent your opponent from shield grabbing you or using other OoS options. Additionally, because you can JC shines, you can flow easily from shines into additional aerials.
Shines into Aerials
- Grounded shines into aerials are the core part of Falco’s most devastating combos. Depending on the character and percent, you may have to waveshine before jumping for the aerial (against fast fallers), or you may be able to simply full hop and/or double jump to reach them (against floatier characters).
- If you are airborne, aerials out of shines are usually performed immediately to prevent them from getting out of range. Shine-dair is often used off stage in order to let you survive the lag of the dair. Shine-bair/nair/uair are typically used to KO opponents, and shine-fair is rarely used, but can add damage to opponents who aren’t at kill %. This technique can also be combined with shine turn around in order to change the direction of your attack.
- There are many different variations of control schemes available to shine-aerial properly. Some people JC the shine with up on the control stick and aerial with the C-stick or A button. Others JC the shine with Y or X and aerial with the A button. I personally used to use the Y and A button combination, but I switched to Up and C-stick to prevent accidental wall jumps. Either method will work fine so long as you aren’t along a wall.
Waveshining
- Combining JCing with WDing, you can quickly move out of shines to adjust your spacing. It can be used to follow an opponent’s DI or rolls, as well as to avoid OoS options and much more. You can also just WD in place to JC the shine without moving left or right. A corollary of wavedashing is wavelanding. This can also be used with shines when you are airborne. A common technique is to shine a player on a platform, then to JC the shine and waveland onto the platform. This allows you to use your first jump again when following the opponent’s DI.
Shine Grab
- JCing grabs out of shines can be very useful, and it is very fast so if you do it correctly your opponent will only be able to avoid it by spot dodging.
Shine Turn Around
- By pressing left or right on the control stick during the shine, you can quickly change which direction you are facing. This can be used for changing the direction of an aerial, grabbing opponents slightly behind you, or getting onto the ledge more quickly by waveshining.
Multishines
- Shine has a unique trait of moving Falco slightly downwards. This trait allows Falco to shine on the first airborne frame of his jump and immediately land back on the ground. When you jump, Falco spends 5 frames in the jump squat animation. This means that you are airborne on frame 6. If you shine on frame 6, you will instantly land. If this process is repeated, Falco can keep up an endless string of shining and JCing.
Ledge Shines/Shine Hogs
- When you jump just before running off a ledge, your jump animation will begin, but if you slide off before it finishes you will simply slide off. If you have ever tried to jump out and spike someone and just ended up sliding off while using an aerial and dying, then that may have been what happened. Shine allows you to use this sliding off property to quickly grab the ledge or even use an aerial as you slide off. It is similar to using a waveshine to grab the ledge, but without the air dodge. Simply run or walk towards the ledge, and right before you reach it, do a shine turn around and JC it. If you timed it correctly, during the JC you slid off and grabbed the ledge. To use an aerial, it is the same method, but you must use the aerial just as you slide off, before you grab the ledge.
RECOVERY
Shortening the Phantasm (Side-B)
- Falco’s side-B is one of his best tools for recovery. Because it used so commonly, it can be difficult to land without the opponent knowing where you will land, and grabbing the ledge can be hard if they throw out a move. Shortening is the process of pressing B in order to shorten the distance Falco travels in his Phantasm to give you more options and mix-ups. The Phantasm has 4 different distances it can travel, and each one can aid your recovery. Any time your Phantasm barely reaches an edge, you become much more difficult to hit from on the stage. If you are too close to sweet spot, a shorten can allow you to sweet spot in a situation where you would normally have to go all the way into the wall, making it very easy for the opponent to hit you. More specifically, shortening can be very helpful on Battle Field where going your full distance often leads to you sliding under the stage. Even if you are at a height where this can happen, if you shorten you will be able to grab the ledge. On top of all of this, mastering shortening can enable you to do more advanced things such as ledge canceling platforms from different distances.
Sweet Spotting with Fire Bird (Up-B)
- Falco’s Up-B is infamous for being frustratingly short and vulnerable due to having no fire hitbox like Fox’s. This means that using it correctly is simply that much more important. When coming from below, if the stage has a wall below the ledge, you angle your up-B so that you barely grab the ledge. This is an important technique for avoiding certain attacks, and it also helps you to wall tech the attacks you can’t avoid. When you angle downwards to the ledge from above, Falco can grab the ledge immediately. If you are just going through it, make sure you are not holding down, which will prevent you from grabbing the ledge. The last type of sweet spot includes the use of Falco’s ability to grab the ledge from either side at the end of his up-B. Many players get turned around by accident when they Up-B, but often landing on the stage is not a safe option. During the last few frames of your up-B, even after the attacking portion is finished, you can still grab the ledge. Even if you up-B straight up at a height almost equal to the ledge, you can still fast fall back down to the ledge and grab it (just make sure you let go of down from fast falling before you pass the ledge).
FAQs
Q: "Why do I keep getting stuck in my Shine?"
A: Whenever you hit an opponent, you will have additional frames of hitlag during which you are unable to JC the shine. A shine that isn't stale will result in 4 frames of hit lag. If you often practice techniques that involve JCing your shine, it is important to remember that you will not be able to do them as quickly when you are hitting an opponent because of the added hitlag. The best example is shine turn around bairs. If you try to shine turn around bair without hitting another character, it is extremely easy to do consistently, and you can JC the shine very fast. If you then try to shine turn around bair an opponent, you will find that you often get stuck before the JC because you are jumping during the hitlag. This also happens to players who practice waveshining on their own over and over, and then when they try to waveshine after hitting someone’s shield the hitlag will cause them to get stuck. The only solution to getting stuck is to learn the timing of the hitlag and jump as soon as it ends in order to stay as quick as possible. It is also helpful to use certain practice techniques, such as hitting a CPU in training with a Starman, or hitting a CPU with a high handicap on a low damage ratio.
Q: "Should I use X, Y, or Up to jump?"
A: Many people will tell you it is just personal preference, but I'd be lying if I acted like all buttons were created equal. For most techs, Y is easier to use than X because it is closer to B, and you don't have to worry about accidentally pressing A. However, that doesn't mean if you've gotten into the habit of pressing X since you were a kid that you are doomed to not being able to play Falco. It may just take a little longer for you to get a certain technique down with X compared to someone who is using Y. Any time you are learning a new technique, simply try out all of the different options first and make sure you aren't learning in a way that will handicap yourself down the line. Being open to and able to perform the same action in multiple ways can help you play more efficiently. Using a certain button configuration is much like being left or right handed/footed in sports. Players who are more ambidextrous have more options than players limited to just one dominant hand/foot for every situation.
Last edited:
