MrEh refused to post summaries in the stickied matchups threads and I personally feel there are some matchup ratios that are plain wrong. So in order to develop our knowledge further, both for newcomers and veterans alike (seeing how to fight someone helps a lot better than knowing if we're at a disadvantage or not, which is 75% of the time lol), I decided to create this thread.
The end goal of this thread will be to have information like this post: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=7556169#post7556169 for every character (that matters). Okay, a bit shorter
There is no order for this, as knowledge often doesn't come when you want it to.
Falco
Your main tools in this matchup will be your jab and follow-ups, and depending on the stage, your aerial klaw.
Bowser has a very nice chaingrab on Falco that can end in death, even at low %s. You can release chaingrab him from both ground and air release. I recommend pummeling once for every 20-25% he has and then wait for him to release. This way, you will react faster to his release, this is safer than mashing pummel to force a ground release chaingrab. If your reaction speed is above average feel free to pummel as often as you can.
However, a Falco that knows his stuff will very rarely be grabbed by a Bowser, so do not rely on the chaingrab to win the match for you. This means don't pick stages like Final Destination or Halberd, they will hurt you more than benefit you.
To end a chaingrab with a killing move, chaingrab Falco to the edge of the stage then follow up with an offstage FAir -> edgehog or suicide Klaw. The Falco may survive the FAir -> edgehog attempt if he DI's upward, this needs to be tested. You can kill Falco from a grab release at ~100% with DTilt, less depending on how close to the edge you are. The most effective way to do this is, while mashing A to pummel, slowly tilt the control stick down.
If you're behind in lives and the Falco DI's the offstage FAir correctly, consider Dthrow'ing off the ledge and using firebreath. He will take massive damage by DI'ing through the fire, so he may attempt to drop below the stage and firebird to the ledge. This is only possible if Bowser is far enough from the ledge. Try to edge-hug if you see him drop out of the fire, testing should be done to see if Bowser can get there in time. Edge-hug by dashing off the stage and doing a quick quarter circle motion towards the stage.
Do not approach Falco until 40%. This will protect you from a chaingrab to the ledge -> DAir spike or Gatling combo (explained below), which will easily put you in the 50's%. During the initial part of the stock bait the opponent to fall into aerial klaws by klaw hopping around on the available platforms. If no platforms are available or if they do not suffice to keep you away from Falco's lasers, start your power-sheilding walk approach, explained below. In this phase it's ok to get hit by lasers if it means you won't get chaingrabbed.
The spike is techable, by the way. Tech the spike by Smash DI'ing into the stage and pressing shield at the right time. An easier way to survive the spike at early percentages is by saving your double jump and double jumping into fortress right after the spike. It is possible that you can be edge-hogged when attempting this.
Later in your stock, approach Falco by walking and power-sheilding or klaw hopping on platforms. Jump into a grounded shield if you are very far from Falco, as Bowser's walk is really slow. Capable Falcos will be Short Hop Double Laser'ing (SHDL for short), which allows them to follow up their second laser with almost non-existant landing lag. Adapt your sheild tapping to the rythym of his lasers.
Once you get close enough, several things may occur. The Falco may attempt to illusion through you and start SHDL'ing on the other side of the stage, he might try to use his reflector on you, or he might try to combo you. Only the first two options outrange your Jab, so space wisely. For the illusion option, shield it and quickly estimate if you can punish the ending animation with FTilt. Make this estimation based on where he started the illusion, not on where he lands, as that would be too late. If the Falco is too far, attempt to dash->fortress or klaw before he gets into the SHDL rythym again. If he tries to shine you (this means use the reflector), shield it (at this range don't just tap the shield button, hold it for a bit) and punish with FTilt or a Dash grab.
If he sees you're holding your shield at Shine range, he may try to dash grab you. Counter with an jump canceled UpB Out of Shield (hereon referred to as UpB OoS). This also applies if he tries to combo you.
If he makes a wrong move or tries to laser you that close, drop your shield and Jab him. Depending on how close he is, try to follow-up your first Jab with either a Klaw or a FTilt.
When Klaw hopping against Falco, beware his BAir and his USmash. I recommend fighting against a friend to figure out the best angles of approach and the zones covered by Falco's attacks. Grabbing Falco's outstretched leg with a klaw is very satisfying.
Falco is one of the few characters that has combos in Brawl, here is a list of the ones I know of:
NAir -> UTilt
NAir -> Grab
First Jab -> Shine
First Jab -> Grab
Dash Attack -> USmash (Gatling combo)
DThrow -> DAir
DThrow -> Shine (outperformed by DAir)
DThrow -> U-smash (boost smash)
DThrow -> Gatling Combo
As you can see the combo that has the most initial range is Dash Attack -> USmash. If you're spacing correctly and avoid laggy moves you should rarely be hit by the others.
At the end of your stock, Falco will use 3 methods to attempt to kill you: FSmash, UAir or send you offstage and spike you/intercept your recovery with BAir.
To survive FSmash better, DI upwards and towards the stage. His FSmash has an incredbily huge hitbox, most of which is invisible, so I advise getting used to that. It also reaches behind him.
You should be prepared for UAirs when you're in the air at high percentages. Do not DI into Falco, try to land as far as possible, bomb the ledge if he can't intercept. You can occasionally bait him into attempting to UAir you and hit him with a Bowser Bomb, which halts you in midair. Do not do this often. NAir may or may not beat Falco's UAir, this needs testing.
Your most reliable way to kill Falco will be either by klaw'ing him, UTilting him if he is on a platform or FTilt'ing him off the stage and edge-guard with firebreath/FAir.
Whenever you successfully send Falco off stage below kill %s, firebreath at an angle that covers both the ledge and the possibility of him illusioning through Bowser's head. If Falco allows himself to drift too low below the stage, try to edge-hug him.
Spaced FAirs beats, horizontally, all of Falco's aerials except BAir. Positioning yourself slightly below Falco allows your FAir to bypass his BAir.
Stages to strike/ban: Final Destination, Smashville/ Jungle Japes, Final Destination
Stages to counterpick: Brinstar, Lylat Cruise
Conclusion: Falco controls the match, Bowser relies heavily on platforms and Falco's mistakes to do any damage. Although once he does make a mistake, it can lead to a stock or heavy damage. Advantage to Falco.
The end goal of this thread will be to have information like this post: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=7556169#post7556169 for every character (that matters). Okay, a bit shorter
There is no order for this, as knowledge often doesn't come when you want it to.
Falco
Your main tools in this matchup will be your jab and follow-ups, and depending on the stage, your aerial klaw.
Bowser has a very nice chaingrab on Falco that can end in death, even at low %s. You can release chaingrab him from both ground and air release. I recommend pummeling once for every 20-25% he has and then wait for him to release. This way, you will react faster to his release, this is safer than mashing pummel to force a ground release chaingrab. If your reaction speed is above average feel free to pummel as often as you can.
However, a Falco that knows his stuff will very rarely be grabbed by a Bowser, so do not rely on the chaingrab to win the match for you. This means don't pick stages like Final Destination or Halberd, they will hurt you more than benefit you.
To end a chaingrab with a killing move, chaingrab Falco to the edge of the stage then follow up with an offstage FAir -> edgehog or suicide Klaw. The Falco may survive the FAir -> edgehog attempt if he DI's upward, this needs to be tested. You can kill Falco from a grab release at ~100% with DTilt, less depending on how close to the edge you are. The most effective way to do this is, while mashing A to pummel, slowly tilt the control stick down.
If you're behind in lives and the Falco DI's the offstage FAir correctly, consider Dthrow'ing off the ledge and using firebreath. He will take massive damage by DI'ing through the fire, so he may attempt to drop below the stage and firebird to the ledge. This is only possible if Bowser is far enough from the ledge. Try to edge-hug if you see him drop out of the fire, testing should be done to see if Bowser can get there in time. Edge-hug by dashing off the stage and doing a quick quarter circle motion towards the stage.
Do not approach Falco until 40%. This will protect you from a chaingrab to the ledge -> DAir spike or Gatling combo (explained below), which will easily put you in the 50's%. During the initial part of the stock bait the opponent to fall into aerial klaws by klaw hopping around on the available platforms. If no platforms are available or if they do not suffice to keep you away from Falco's lasers, start your power-sheilding walk approach, explained below. In this phase it's ok to get hit by lasers if it means you won't get chaingrabbed.
The spike is techable, by the way. Tech the spike by Smash DI'ing into the stage and pressing shield at the right time. An easier way to survive the spike at early percentages is by saving your double jump and double jumping into fortress right after the spike. It is possible that you can be edge-hogged when attempting this.
Later in your stock, approach Falco by walking and power-sheilding or klaw hopping on platforms. Jump into a grounded shield if you are very far from Falco, as Bowser's walk is really slow. Capable Falcos will be Short Hop Double Laser'ing (SHDL for short), which allows them to follow up their second laser with almost non-existant landing lag. Adapt your sheild tapping to the rythym of his lasers.
Once you get close enough, several things may occur. The Falco may attempt to illusion through you and start SHDL'ing on the other side of the stage, he might try to use his reflector on you, or he might try to combo you. Only the first two options outrange your Jab, so space wisely. For the illusion option, shield it and quickly estimate if you can punish the ending animation with FTilt. Make this estimation based on where he started the illusion, not on where he lands, as that would be too late. If the Falco is too far, attempt to dash->fortress or klaw before he gets into the SHDL rythym again. If he tries to shine you (this means use the reflector), shield it (at this range don't just tap the shield button, hold it for a bit) and punish with FTilt or a Dash grab.
If he sees you're holding your shield at Shine range, he may try to dash grab you. Counter with an jump canceled UpB Out of Shield (hereon referred to as UpB OoS). This also applies if he tries to combo you.
If he makes a wrong move or tries to laser you that close, drop your shield and Jab him. Depending on how close he is, try to follow-up your first Jab with either a Klaw or a FTilt.
When Klaw hopping against Falco, beware his BAir and his USmash. I recommend fighting against a friend to figure out the best angles of approach and the zones covered by Falco's attacks. Grabbing Falco's outstretched leg with a klaw is very satisfying.
Falco is one of the few characters that has combos in Brawl, here is a list of the ones I know of:
NAir -> UTilt
NAir -> Grab
First Jab -> Shine
First Jab -> Grab
Dash Attack -> USmash (Gatling combo)
DThrow -> DAir
DThrow -> Shine (outperformed by DAir)
DThrow -> U-smash (boost smash)
DThrow -> Gatling Combo
As you can see the combo that has the most initial range is Dash Attack -> USmash. If you're spacing correctly and avoid laggy moves you should rarely be hit by the others.
At the end of your stock, Falco will use 3 methods to attempt to kill you: FSmash, UAir or send you offstage and spike you/intercept your recovery with BAir.
To survive FSmash better, DI upwards and towards the stage. His FSmash has an incredbily huge hitbox, most of which is invisible, so I advise getting used to that. It also reaches behind him.
You should be prepared for UAirs when you're in the air at high percentages. Do not DI into Falco, try to land as far as possible, bomb the ledge if he can't intercept. You can occasionally bait him into attempting to UAir you and hit him with a Bowser Bomb, which halts you in midair. Do not do this often. NAir may or may not beat Falco's UAir, this needs testing.
Your most reliable way to kill Falco will be either by klaw'ing him, UTilting him if he is on a platform or FTilt'ing him off the stage and edge-guard with firebreath/FAir.
Whenever you successfully send Falco off stage below kill %s, firebreath at an angle that covers both the ledge and the possibility of him illusioning through Bowser's head. If Falco allows himself to drift too low below the stage, try to edge-hug him.
Spaced FAirs beats, horizontally, all of Falco's aerials except BAir. Positioning yourself slightly below Falco allows your FAir to bypass his BAir.
Stages to strike/ban: Final Destination, Smashville/ Jungle Japes, Final Destination
Stages to counterpick: Brinstar, Lylat Cruise
Conclusion: Falco controls the match, Bowser relies heavily on platforms and Falco's mistakes to do any damage. Although once he does make a mistake, it can lead to a stock or heavy damage. Advantage to Falco.
.... Ha, I said beat that horse.