Non falco main asking: How is he in this game?

[KACHOW!!!]

Did they ruin him? To me, from previous iterations of the game and Project M, it feels like he's lost a lot of oomph. Mostly, i think, because he doesn't fall as fast as he should (yeah, they wanted everyone to be able to live seemingly forever in smash 4, but falling slower is more of a hinderance than a boon for fox and falco, i feel). But I'd like to hear what the falco mains have to say. Also, let me know if your new to falco and or fox in this game, or if you've used him a lot in previous games.

 

[Legend Vermillion]

There are a lot of opinions. I think he is bad and deserves a buff and dont try to play him like Melee or Brawl Falco or you will get injuered during the process xD

 

[Captain Rage Quit 69]

I'd say Falco will peak at mid-tier in his current form. He has a solid ground game that relies on mindgames and very good spacing, but when it comes down to it he isn't quite as fast, quite as safe, and does not have the best recovery in comparison to others like Diddy, Rosa, or Fox.

I'd say he could use at least a buff to his lasers to reduce endlag and give his side-b invincibility frames for the duration of the animation. As well, a faster transition from jab2 to jab3 and fixing his usmash (jab and usmash have an issue where opponents can escape the attack before the next hit) go a long way to helping Falco stand on his own.

EDIT: I should mention that I haven't ever played Falco or any spacie except P:M Wolf before SSB4, so I'm approaching him on his own merits rather than comparing him to his previous incarnations. From what I understand, playing him like before is a lost cause, and if you're a Falco main you'll have to make very serious adjustments to master the bird again.

 

[FatSlapper]

He was my favorite in brawl, but that was ages ago...

He is tricky to use, and his laser takes some getting used to. I find it kinda hard to grab with him sometimes too.

He does have some things going for him, his air game is growing on me, his shine is way awesome, his taunts are boss, but the lag on his fair and dair can seem very awkward, he can be ko'd easily, and his recovery isn't so great I think. But not a bad character at all.

 

[AlexAnthonyD]

Falco is not as dominant as he was in the previous two titles, however he is still incredibly fun to use. His skillsets are still incredibly high, they have just shifted. Moves that were useless in brawl, his fair, are now very good. While moves that used to be incredible, dair for example have been nerfed quite a bit. His bair is still incredible and uair is similar but with no landing lag seems to be an incredible move to use in the air or on the ground.

As others have said you can't use him like you used him in melee or brawl, no short hop lasers, but still he gets other added benefits such as being able to use his side b recovery, as well as his up b recovery before touching a ledge/ground, where in previous iterations it was one or the other.

He is different, but with time we will discovery enough techniques so he will be a good match up vs much of the cast.

 

[Leg]

Falco is certainly worst than his past iterations.

I wouldn't bother picking him up unless you're willing to devote all your time to him. He's a bit slower than the "better" characters (Shiek, Zamus, probably Diddy) and doesn't have an "easy" way to kill things, as he did in Brawl and Melee. His tilts are fair. His specials just the same or less so. Most of the match you'll be throwing out Bairs and Fairs for kills/gimps. His fall speed (while nothing like Melee/PM Falco's) is rather high in comparison to the rest of the cast, which also compliments his aerial game.

Pretty much, if you liked Brawl Wolf, Falco's your man.

 

[GreatDave]

Unfortunately, Falco has lost much. I've been using him since Melee, there he was a top tier. In this way, I've been able to see every difference. So bad he was one of the best ones...and now he's just an "average" fighter. But I love him and he's still my main, and he'll always be.
The truth is, you must really focus on him to master him. I think he's still the best (or at least one of the best) in air, and he's great to keep your enemy at distance, increasing his damage with the blaster and escaping with Side B. Anyway, he lacks in moves that can knock out the opponent, except of course for his smash moves...so, when I increased my enemy's damage, I always find myself in the situation of not being able to KO him/her. The only hope are the smash moves, and I must wait for my enemy's mistake...

But I keep using and using him

 

[NotAnAdmin]

Yeah, this is probably the worst Falco compared to the rest, but he still shows promise, as the meta continues to develop I hope to at least see him at a mid level once we find out more techs, learn the last little bits of how this game works, and become consistent with doing the safer options and knowing where and when to use certain moves.

 

[Tino]

Well, he's definitely not the same Falco as he was in Melee and Brawl as he has lost a lot that made him a dominant fighter, but even after all that he can still deliver.

 

[GreatDave]

I should get used to Bair, it seems to have KO power at high percentages...small hops and Fair/Bair could be a good strategy.

 

[LightLV]

I should get used to Bair, it seems to have KO power at high percentages...small hops and Fair/Bair could be a good strategy.

You very much should. It also does very decent shield damage, and is in fact safe on block at the correct range, which isn't super strict.

Shorthop Fair however is a terrible idea unless your opponent is aerial, it's a guaranteed punish on block.

Overall, empty shorthopping in general is a great mindgame to use with Falco, since he has so many good options out of it: Laser, reflector, phantasm, Bair, Nair, empty land to throw. None of these can be dealt with in the same way by the enemy, which means this is great for baiting a punish.

 

[GreatDave]

Thanks for the advices, LightLV. I've no difficulties in using shorthop, but I should get used to it...I principally use the normal, full hop.
Can D-air damage seriously a shield? If it can, great. If we've so many chances to attack in different ways using shorthopping, it can be an excellent mindgame. Can F-air damage seriously a shield too?
Another question: if I use the blaster (laser) on shorthopping, what's the difference compared to ground laser?

 

[BltzZ]

Thanks for the advices, LightLV. I've no difficulties in using shorthop, but I should get used to it...I principally use the normal, full hop.
Can D-air damage seriously a shield? If it can, great. If we've so many chances to attack in different ways using shorthopping, it can be an excellent mindgame. Can F-air damage seriously a shield too?
Another question: if I use the blaster (laser) on shorthopping, what's the difference compared to ground laser?

Dair does damage the shield but it's too risky with that landing animation. Not to mention if it gets predictable people can just power shield it. Not even after much conditioning

 

[Sol0ke]

Dair is a move that is now very situational (probably the one move that should get buffed)

 

[Beach]

He's pretty eh to be honest. He's different and has little in the way of tools and approaches. He needs some changes and buffs as of now.

 

[LightLV]

Thanks for the advices, LightLV. I've no difficulties in using shorthop, but I should get used to it...I principally use the normal, full hop.
Can D-air damage seriously a shield? If it can, great. If we've so many chances to attack in different ways using shorthopping, it can be an excellent mindgame. Can F-air damage seriously a shield too?
Another question: if I use the blaster (laser) on shorthopping, what's the difference compared to ground laser?

Everything deals shield damage, but Bair's impact on a shield is most noticable, and like I mentioned it can also be safe on block. Shield damage on this game is mostly pointless since if you're hitting a shield you're likely about to be punished for it. Bair is really the only move Falco has that exerts shield pressure, so there isnt much to capitalize off it except making people fear blocking it in clutch situations. But you should never be using aerials if your opponent is blocking anyway, it's suicide. Even Bair can be punished on block if your spacing is bad, the other 3 are easy punishes, and D-Air is the worst of them all, the lag on that move is so bad i wouldn't be surprised if you could get punished on hit...

Air lasers fire a bit faster, but generally the best use I get out of it is positioning. I wouldn't recommend fishing for hits with Falco's aerials when he has Laser and Reflector to harass with.

As a personal rule of thumb, i will never fire off more than 2 laser shots at a time, unless my opponent is floating back, or set on trying to foolishly win a projectile war with me. The biggest strength in his laser isn't so much the damage, but it ability to force the enemy to approach.

 

[ChikoLad]

He's worse, but still good. But radically different.

I feel I have to play really patiently with him this time, as opposed to rushdown like before. His tilts are very strong, so an on-point Falco is something to fear.

 

[GreatDave]

Thanks LighLV and sonicbrawler.
It's truth, the blaster is really important...not for the damage, but because it forces the opponent to get near.
Once upon a time, Falco was a really aggressive fighter, but now he's better to bait and escape. Anyway, He'll always be my first main...I feel he can be great.

 

[LightLV]

Despite the change to his neutral game, i feel like he's still a very aggressive character, he just no longer has aggressive special moves. I feel like this is much better suited to this game though, because defensive options are so powerful now.

He's not quite a zoner, but he can shut down (or contest) other zoners with his laser stun. For those he can't, he's got a long-range deflector. Overall, Falco isn't anywhere close to as good as he was in the previous games, but he feels better suited for smash 4. I really want to see how he does competitively if someone good picks him up.

 

[Killtrox]

As a former Falco main, I really dislike playing as Falco in Sm4sh.

As a current Sheik main (I think she feels very similar to Melee Falco), I dislike playing against Falco. In that specific matchup, it seems like Falco's range is really deceptive. In a situation where I would typically land Sheik's fair, I'll whiff on Falco, and then get caught by his seemingly longer fsmash before I can block or roll.

In similar fashion, Sheik's aerial game is absurdly strong, but I think accuracy is an even higher requirement against Falco. If Sheik's fair misses, it's pretty easy for Falco's fair (which lasts forever) to connect, and his dair, while weaker, has priority over Sheik's uair (from personal experience).

Falco's dair will also destroy Shiek's up+b in its early frames. This can make it risky to recover low (which is usually safe, while Falco's bair can make it risky to recover high.

tl;dr Falco isn't as good in this game but I hate playing against him as Sheik.

 

[EZdelFresco]

He sucks now. I don't even wanna candy coat it. I mean yeah, he can still be used I guess but there's just too many things wrong to make it worthwhile. I hate this for the former Falco mains.

 

[LightLV]

If you're a former falco main, yeah he sucks. Just about as much as Marth or Peach sucks if you mained them in Melee.

That's to say he plays literally nothing like Brawl or Melee Falco, he might as well be a different character. If you're playing him with old falco in mind, you're going to get nowhere with him in this. Just about every strength he had in brawl has been changed or moved around. The only thing that seems to have stayed in some form is his grab game.