Piece o' Cake! A Guide to Falco (FIRST DRAFT FINISHED! GUIDE 1.0)

[Papapaint]

Alright, I've been playing Falco pretty heavily since the game's release, and I haven't seen a guide on these boards. This guide is IN PROGRESS. I'm actually sitting in class right now, and nowhere near my wii, so I can't give damage/hitbox analysis yet. When I get home, I'll draw that information up.

PIECE O'CAKE!--A GUIDE TO WINNING WITH FALCO

Table of Contents:
1. Why Falco?
2. Strengths/weaknesses.
3. Moveset.
4. Strategies or How to Own.
5. The shine.
6. Matchup analysis.
7. Closing/significant videos.

1. Why Falco?

Falco was godly in melee. To be honest, not a whole lot has changed in that regard. Though Falco has previously played second fiddle to Fox, he's now back, luigified, and better than ever. It's as though he could hear all the naysayers shouting "Falco shouldn't be in smash! He's a CLONE!" "A clone?" he'd reply. "Personally, I prefer the air."

Reasons to play Falco:
1. You like winning.
2. You like spiking people.
3. You like strong characters.
4. You like spiking people.
5. You like fast characters.
6. You like spiking people.
7. You like characters with powerful long, short, and medium range attacks.
8. You like spiking people.

Reasons not to play Falco:
1. You enjoy losing.
2. You like keeping your opponent alive.
3. You enjoy being hit.

2. Strengths and Weaknesses.

Strengths:
1. Still fast.
2. Still strong.
3. Absurdly good projectile.
4. The shine.
5. Great tech chase game.
6. Great spikes.
7. Insane horizontal recovery.
8. Combo-riffic.
9. Spamming and Camping ensures victory against all but the most patient, intelligent opponents.

Weaknesses:
1. Seems to die easily. I need to check on his weight, but he dies kinda low.
2. Aside from spikes, only a couple real kill moves.
3. Easily gimpable vertical recovery.

Overall, Falco is an extremely powerful character with few exploitable weaknesses.

3. Moveset

Ground Attacks

Jab (4%)
Falco leans forward to smack the opponent with his left wing. Very fast, low knockback, and surprisingly large range. Also important to note that this does move him a very slight amount in the direction of the attack.

Jab, part Duex (2%)
A followup to the first jab. Falco backhands 'em with his left wing. Also moves Falco forward a bit.

Homo-esque Ballerina Attack of Laughable Doom (1% per hit)
Followup to the second jab. Surprisingly effective. Many opponents will be caught in this slightly homosexual spinny-attack thing. Falco hovers above the ground and spins wildly, continually backhanding his opponent. Hi-ya!

Dash-Kick (6%)
His dash attack. A fantastic combo starter at lower percentages. Not really a valid K.O. move until around 200%. You should have killed them by then...

Forward Tilt (9%)
Not bad. Not good, not bad. Solid damage, but low knockback. Decent range. There are better moves, but this isn't bad for "GTF offa me!" Falco kicks out with his right leg (Is this guy a lefty or a righty anyway?) Fantastic recovery time though.

Up Tilt (5%-9%)
A two-hit uptilt. It's possible to connect only the second hit, or both hits, but it is not possible to only connect the first hit, as it brings them in and sets up the second hit. Very fast, and his hand actually sweeps all the way around him... so while it technically has small range on each side, it still hits on each side (think Marth's u-tilt). Good combo move, and good way to get beneath them.

Down Tilt (9%)
Falco brings his tail around to pop the opponent up in the air. No longer a truly usable kill move, but a decent combo starter at lower percents. Good range, and low lag.

Smash Attacks

Forward Smash (10%-21%)
Great freakin kill move. Unbelievable. Falco lunges forward and chops with his wings like Grand Chef Morimoto. The most starting lag of all his moves (not counting firebird), and it's not much of an obstacle. This sucker has range. However, the farther out they are, the less damage they take. Uncharged, if you hit them up close, it's 15%, as opposed to 10% if you're a little farther out. It can K.O. at fairly low percentages as well. Good move. Sick range. Moves you forward a bit.

Up Smash (12%-19%)
Also a great freakin kill move. Falco does a flippy-kick thingy and sends the light *******s out with a bang. Killer, amazing knockback. Low damage, but low lag as well. Good way to end a combo, and also a great way to end a dash... It hits all around Falco, but the most damage/knockback is dealt right in front at the start. Damage decreases by roughly 2% after that, with knockback deteriorating through the whole move (such that hitting them with the end will still do 12%, but won't send them far at all). Great range as well.

Down Smash (15%-21%)
Falco strains his groin and does the splits to hit his opponents. A "Get the **** offa me" move. Not good, not bad. Limited range limits its usefulness, but it's still reasonably fast. There's almost always a better move in this situation though. Can KO at higher percents, but definitely not a real kill move, per se. Worth using occasionally to spice things up.

Aerials

Neutral Air (2%-12%)
Falco does his slightly homosexual twirly attack in the air. Good damage, mediocre knockback. Not a kill move, and not a good combo move... decent approach though. The first hit does 3%, the second hit does 3%, the third does 2%, and the final does 4%. It's possible to hit with only one of any of those hits. The range isn't the best, but it's not the worst. Use sparingly as an approach.

Forward Air (2%-9%)
Homosexual twirly attack gone sideways. Falco spins around like a lunatic again, with 5 individual hits. The last one has mediocre knockback... but again, not a kill move. O.k. approach move. Good combo move.

Back Air (7%-13%)
Falco sticks out his right leg. Good damage, good knockback. It's actually a short Sex Kick; the initial hit has awesome knockback and does 13%, but the leg stays out and will do 7% and moderate knockback with good priority. Good kill or combo move, as well as a decent approach.

Up Air (11%)
Falco does a backflip in the air. Good vertical kill move, but still tricky to properly land. OK priority, near lagless, and very fast. Strong in terms of damage and knockback, but a small hitbox. Use carefully.

Down Air (8%-13%)
God's gift to Falco players. Falco spins, legs pointed down. This thing is still an absurdly good spike. It took me a little while to figure it out, but here's how it works. There are essentially two areas of damage. One is the tip of his feet/legs. When you hit with this, it'll do 8% and send them a decent distance horizontally. The other is almost like jigg's rest--when your calves are touching them, this move becomes a 13% spike with crazy good knockback.

What does this mean? It just means that we can't do the melee spike anymore, where you could start your D-air 20 minutes before your opponent showed up and still spike them. You have to make sure you time it properly now so you only hit them up close--it's not as hard as it sounds. Go into training and practice a bit. This is also a decent approach move.

Throws

Grab Attack (2%)
Falco knees his opponent in the face for 2%. Use this to rack up a couple extra points before throwing.

Up Throw (8%)
Throws his opponent up for 2%, then shoots them three times. However, there are only two more individual hits--one for 4% and one for 2%. In teams, someone could theoretically stop you from getting off those two shots. At low percents, jump immediately after the throw and do an F-air to rack up a bit more damage. At higher percents, has no combo potential.

Down Throw (9%)
Probably one of his best throws. Throws his opponent down and shoots them three times, the first for 4, the second for 3, the last for 2. Under 50% for most characters, you can Down Throw to Shine instantly for another 6 damage. It also get them the f*ck away from you, so bonus points there. At higher percents, very easy for you to chase with another attack. Falco's tech chase game is one of the best in Brawl, so use it here.

Also, this move can chaingrab. I'll test this out, and post a comprehensive list of who can and can not be CG'd, and at what percentages.

Forward Throw (7%)
Meh. He punches them forward for 7%. Not a lot of combo ability or tech chasing available here.

Back Throw (8%)
Pretty good for getting opponents off the stage at high percents. He throws for 2%, then shoots them 3 times at 2% each. Again, not a lot to say about this one. Stick with D-throw unless you're on the edge.

Specials

Neutral B (3%, 2%, 3%, 2%, 2%, 2%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 2%, 1%, 2%, 1%, 1%, 1%)

His blaster. Useful. there's a big lag time between shots on the ground, but it's small enough that you can really aggravate someone and force them to attack you through the air. On the ground, the animation has him pull out his blaster, "aim" it, then fire. One the gun "cools," he can fire again.

In the AIR, however, it cools twice as fast. It's insane. Too good. TO SHDL, DO NOT SHORT HOP AND THEN SPAM JUMP. Just before he reaches the apex of his jump is the time to start. If you do this properly, he should be able to hit any character with the second laser.

Side B (7%, 6%, 6%, 5%, 5%, 4%, 4%, 3%, 4%, 3%)

The Falco Phantasm. Can still spike! It's also fast enough and strong enough to be an attack now as well. If you space it properly, you can actually lead into combos with this. Illusion-Uptilt is fantastic. It can still be cancelled by tapping B rapidly, but it's harder to do now.

This move has fantastic horizontal recovery. Probably his best method of recovery.

Down B (6%, 6%, 4%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 4%)

The Shine.

For a full "shine" analysis, check out Fluke's Shine Thread HERE: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=145900

Awesome, in-depth look at the shine.

Up B (2-24%)

The Fire Bird. Has the interesting property this time around of multiple hits. There's a short startup time in which you're helpless, but after that, anyone touching you is gonna get burnt for about 2%. That little burn hit can occur up to 3 times before the actual move starts. After the move starts, there are 8 more hits. The first two are 3 damage each, and the next 6 are 2 damage each. None of them have enough knockback for this to be a reasonably good offensive move. Decent recovery, but not great.

As you can see, Falco's approach options are limited, but his long-distance game is amazing.

4. How to Own

Falco has three incredibly solid strategies that I've found, and using them interchangably makes him one the toughest and most aggravating ******* to play against.

1. Codename: Being a Campy Little B*tch
The only character who can camp more than Falco is Pit. Camping is kind of a lame strategy, sure, but when you're playing with money on the line, lame strategies stop being lame--if they work well. Luckily, Falco's camping game is incredible. His Laser not only rocks with his SHDL, but also simply spamming it on the ground forces your opponent to approach in the air. When they approach, you have SEVERAL options.

1. Shield, then grab.
2. Powershield to a tilt or smash.
3. Shine OOS.

2. Personally, I prefer the air.
Falco does indeed prefer the air--but his ground game is one of the best. His greatest strength in this game lies in his ability to tech chase. One wrong move, no matter where you are on the map, and Falco can and will punish you for it. They roll towards you? F-Smash, U-Smash, Grab, D-tilt. They roll away from you? Chase with SC Grab or Dash Attack, or a Hyphen Smash. They Tech in place? Hit 'em with your shine. They're across the map? Blaster. They're above you? Aerial game. They don't tech at all? Do whatever the hell you want. Seriously, no other character has the tech chase game Falco has. He's speedy enough to punish any move. As Gimpy would say... "It's too good!"

3. Approach Without Caution
Odd title, eh? Well, basically it comes down to this. Falco is really really hard to shield grab. Almost all of his aerials will go right through someone's shield, putting you safely behind them. His D-smash will push them back too far to effectively grab you. His Over-B becomes a usable approach; if they shield, you pass right through them. If they don't, they're in the air... and we all know how good Falco's air game is. Don't be afraid to approach. One of Falco's greatest strengths is his intimidation. Remember in Melee how scary it was to watch a Falco bouncing around the stage like a psychotic emu on meth, shining everything and spiking it? Falco can still be that scary.

5. The Shine

Uses:
-Reflecting Projectiles
-“Good for containing (stopping) an enemies attack” (From Smash Dojo)
-Catching people off guard (Especially Aggro players)
-Quick Spacing (When caught in a difficult position)
-Edgeguarding (if they do not quite sweetspot the edge), not exactly the best.
-Tripping people (Evil, but once they are down, you can punish almost anything they try to do. The picture at the start shows Link tripping)

-Shorthop + Shine Usuage?



Description of attack: (Refer to picture at very beginning for a visual)
-Falco grabs out his reflector and kicks it forward (quite fast). It physically hits only when it’s moving outwards. It then starts to return, but on the return, it does not physically hit. It reflects all the time whenever the reflector is out. If no lag-cancelling of the shine is done (if even possible), Falco is unable to move until the shine comes all the way back to him.
-Its true hit box is possibly the centre mini hexagon of the shine (very small), explaining why sometimes it doesn’t hit.
-It does not cover Falco’s back, leave to easy punishment from behind.
-The shine cannot be held out. It goes out and returns.



Properties:
-Short Ranged “Projectile” which acts like a physical attack (Non energy)
-Slight Knockback and stun if hit during the beginning to mid stages of mid flight (Credit to Yoru)
-Trips people when you hit them at the full ranged extent of the attack (Credit: superryan – mentioning the trip. Yoru – How/When it occurs)
-Low damage: Around6%
-Can reflect projectiles:
No Speed Increase of the projectile
Possible Damage Increase
Less obvious “projectiles” the shine can also reflect include the Icy’s Blizzard and Pikachu’s Thunder (Credit: ro0kie42)
-Can hit multiple opponents physically

-Cannot alter the angle it comes out (like Link’s boomerang). It always moves horizontally forward from where you shine and because of this, you can do this during vertical movement to slightly curve its trajectory.
-Can be reflected? (Pit's Side B does not reflect it)
-Cannot be eaten by Wario's Standard B attack- Bite




Combo Potential:
-Jab to Shine (Credit: Jem)
-AAA to Shine when just out of AAA range.

-CPU’s have some uses of Falco’s shine?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC2HytRZbGY
Shine Stun then follow up with jab? (1:48-1:51 of the video). It looks like it needs certain requirements such as hitting them when they as about to jump.

6. Matchup Analysis

This will be updated periodically with specific matchup strategies.

First of all, the most obvious weapon in a matchup is Falco's blaster. If your enemy doesn't have long range projectiles--Wario, Bowser, Charizard, Jigglypuff, Kirby, etc.--then it's time for you to revert to Strategy 1--Codename: Being a Campy Little B*tch. Make them approach you.

When they do have an equally campy projectile--really only another Falco or Pit (Although Wolf, Ivysaur, and D3 have decent projectiles on smaller maps)-- then it's time for you to switch up your game. Revert to Approaching Without Caution.

There are a few bad matchups for Falco though. He's got a tough time against link. On platform stages, swords are incredibly frustrating. Try to counterpick flat stages.

7. Important Videos

Unfortunately, I haven't gone scouring for videos. Until then, here's one of me pwning someone on WiFi. Watch how I tech chase and approach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRAPP6T0zVw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKDBuKpeeUU

1 vs. 1:

Meljin's videos
JD (Falco) vs. Meljin (Fox): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZPktERZ7sA
JD (Falco) vs. Meljin (Ganondorf): http://youtube.com/watch?v=mxfh5MyMdXY
Meljin (Falco) vs. WilloW (Captain Falcon): http://youtube.com/watch?v=86qgmn6pP4s
JD (Falco) vs. WilloW (Pikachu): http://youtube.com/watch?v=WXc_1uePUFc
Meljin (Falco) vs Kululu (Pit): http://youtube.com/watch?v=plH1e2QA8b8
Meljin (Falco) vs. Willow (Pikachu) 1: http://youtube.com/watch?v=vN4msrDQyGs
JD (Falco) vs WilloW (Pikachu) 2: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0PgfBd_lpHQ
Kululu (Falco) vs. Sir hyle (Marth): http://youtube.com/watch?v=SgIgr0elxcc
Meljin (Falco) vs. Riad (Sheik) Online 1: http://youtube.com/watch?v=g8cs0M4Cty4
Meljin (Falco) vs. Riad (Sheik) Online 2: http://youtube.com/watch?v=lmdrhd7ftn0
JD (Falco) vs. Meljin (Marth): http://youtube.com/watch?v=5gIgRui_MeU

Keitaro's videos
Keitaro (Falco) vs Teh Spamerer (Wolf): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67B6QX6QkLY
Teh Spamerer (Falco) vs Space (Dedede): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VgN1gbQPb8
Eazy (Fox) vs Keitaro (Falco): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pBNGegBWyg
Chimp (Rob) vs Keitaro (Falco): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1uy4917-3U
Keitaro (Falco) vs Eazy (Sheik): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTgzqc9HUkw
Keitaro (Falco) vs Eazy (Falcon): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBaExxbk6Vc
Chen (Fox) vs Keitaro (Falco) 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6SBn7efC4w
Chen (Fox) vs Keitaro (Falco) 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CTPmr7MkG4

Jem's videos
Jem (Falco) vs. Kefka (Marth): http://youtube.com/watch?v=VP2wODtq0VQ
Jem (Falco) vs. Silent Wolf (Marth): http://youtube.com/watch?v=E4Q8zWHmtnA
Jem (Falco) vs. Ronin (Marth): http://youtube.com/watch?v=Udf1lbHermw
Jem (Falco) vs Ka-Master (Luigi) 1: http://youtube.com/watch?v=o-KkP2YA27o
Jem (Falco) vs Ka-Master (Luigi) 2: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xHYyzqQDqu0

Unk0wn71's videos
Light (Falco) vs Forte (DK): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv2kizdkZrk
Light (Snake) vs ADA (Falco): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xW_uwcGO9Y

Other
Falco vs Fox at FD (Excellent use of chaingrab starting at 2:40): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R8Ii...eature=related
Pbody (Falco) vs 24 (Samus): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv-uab6TCr0
Mikail (Falco) vs Resident Waffle (Lucario): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM0NPtfqZr0
Pyro (Falco) vs Omni (Snake): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sphj8...eature=related
Nando (Falco) vs. Justin (Marth): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvtjj9D5-vA
Marcus (Wolf) vs Tony (Falco): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDPlKBfWL0Q
BCL (Falco) vs. Unkown (Diddy Kong): http://youtube.com/watch?v=cB8wT3Ign8s
Falco vs. Mario: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBpBrpf2khI
Falco vs. Wolf at Castle Siege: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJiShaMrOl0
Falco vs. Sonic (CPU battle): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC2HytRZbGY

Team:

Chen (Snake) Dmbrandon (Lucas) vs Keitaro (Falco) Space (Wolf): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Alg6JfesfI

Free For All:

Falco, Lucario, Ike, and Pit (2:55 to 6:50): http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yk9xKVsegWE
Falco, Wolf, Olimar, and Ice Climbers: http://youtube.com/watch?v=WNMw7ahsN1M
Falco, Yoshi, Bowser, and Lucario: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHwxyKdCZYM
Falco, Ike, Yoshi, and Metaknight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQLzDQVaoX0

Character Expose:
Falco (5:28): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X37-wBnWBiU

 

[DreDay24]

nice i am really looking foward to this

 

[impulse346]

nice, thanks for this. I played with him as my second in melee, and after playing a couple rounds with him in brawl, I felt like maining him. XD
this guide can help he a lot thanks again.

 

[Pengie]

You should add that his down throw can be a chain grab on middle and heavyweights.

 

[Papapaint]

You should add that his down throw can be a chain grab on middle and heavyweights.

Thanks, I will.

 

[Fluke]

Haha thanks for adding my thread to yours.

I'm gonna add Dthrow->Shine to combo potential.

So spiking his still one of his main games yeah? So you're saying with enough practice, you can easily sweetspot the dair.

Side B doesn't spike as well either yeah?

 

[Papapaint]

Haha thanks for adding my thread to yours.

I'm gonna add Dthrow->Shine to combo potential.

So spiking his still one of his main games yeah? So you're saying with enough practice, you can easily sweetspot the dair.

Side B doesn't spike as well either yeah?

Side B does not spike as well, but enough to throw people off guard. I'd say it's more effective than a footstool jump, but less effective than his Dair.

Also, the Dair isn't as tricky to sweetspot as people think. Basically, as long as your body is touching theirs--think Jigglypuff's rest--then it's a spike. I know that sounds tough, but with practice, it becomes much easier.

EDIT: For an example of the viability of an Over-B spike, check out the second video in the last section (Me vs. Sonic). At the end, I spike him with Over-B.

 

[Fluke]

Actually it's not really sweet spotting? It's just about pressing down air only when you are about to touch them.

I think's it better off linking to my thread about the shine since it will change quite a lot since new discoveries are being made all the time. Or you can be bothered to check my thread every so often and requote it.

Also, on watching the video, I saw that Falco shine vs shine thing... it looks like nothing happened, since you guys didn't attack at same time. Oh well.

HOWEVER I SAW the reflected first blast DO 4dmg!!!!!!!!! That means there IS a dmg increase of reflecting with Falco's shine? (around 2:12, first one hit for 77-81, then 81-84 (had to pause and watch that a lot to make sure it wasn't an imba 7dmg)

 

[Papapaint]

Actually it's not really sweet spotting? It's just about pressing down air only when you are about to touch them.

I think's it better off linking to my thread about the shine since it will change quite a lot since new discoveries are being made all the time. Or you can be bothered to check my thread every so often and requote it.

Also, on watching the video, I saw that Falco shine vs shine thing... it looks like nothing happened, since you guys didn't attack at same time. Oh well.

HOWEVER I SAW the reflected first blast DO 4dmg!!!!!!!!! That means there IS a dmg increase of reflecting with Falco's shine? (around 2:12, first one hit for 77-81, then 81-84 (had to pause and watch that a lot to make sure it wasn't an imba 7dmg)

Yep, there is definitely a damage increase. Good eyes.

I'm going to both link to your thread and have that posted here. I'll try to make sure I update it too.

And there is still technically a "sweet spot," but without AR it's tough to find the exact hitbox. If you're touching them, though, it's pretty guaranteed. I'm thinking the sweet spot is around his calf.

 

[Fluke]

Haha nice ending kill on the second video. It looks like it's a lot harder to get those awesome combos going due to the current lagging wifi -" with anyone" right (eg could of edgehogged killed sonic when he up b'd if you dashed straight for it instantly once sonic went under.


How about dash cancel up smash ("sliding"), have you used it often? It could go in your dash attack tech chasing.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

Falco sure looks less like a clone with those different standard attacks. The smash attacks are still reliable fortunately.

 

[Fox McCl0ud]

I like the new Falco. I am glad he is no longer a Fox clone and now is his own character. This guide is very helpful. THanks!!

 

[Rampage]

"Remember in Melee how scary it was to watch a Falco bouncing around the stage like a psychotic emu on meth, shining everything and spiking it?"

That made me lol

anyways I think this guide is awesome! Real nice work. I look forward for more information

 

[Papapaint]

Haha nice ending kill on the second video. It looks like it's a lot harder to get those awesome combos going due to the current lagging wifi -" with anyone" right (eg could of edgehogged killed sonic when he up b'd if you dashed straight for it instantly once sonic went under.


How about dash cancel up smash ("sliding"), have you used it often? It could go in your dash attack tech chasing.

Yeah, the lag makes some things a little tough.

Also, I've got "hyphen smashing" under that tech section, which I'd heard was the actual name for the dash-cancel upsmash.

 

[RedShadowHero]

I don't know if anyone has brought this up yet, but you can use the b-down reflector immediately at the end of a combo (tap the a button wildly) for more breathing room and follow up.

Also: sorry for using incorrect terminology. Any corrections would be appreciated.

 

[.Sinn]

for his back throw try jumping and shooting some lasers at them, i only played falco a bit in brawl at my friends house since i dont own it, but it seemed to be effective.
Only replying because you said you couldnt rly follow up with anything :\

 

[NeoZ]

Down Throw (9%)
Probably one of his best throws. Throws his opponent down and shoots them three times, the first for 4, the second for 3, the last for 2. Under 50% for most characters, you can Down Throw to Shine instantly for another 6 damage. It also get them the f*ck away from you, so bonus points there. At higher percents, very easy for you to chase with another attack. Falco's tech chase game is one of the best in Brawl, so use it here.

Hey, that's my combo!

Dthrow into shine works well to rack up some damage and you can follow it with a SHed phantasm, which due to low lag may lead into more stuff.

But, seriously dthrow into shine works great, and if you cancel the phantasm at the right distance(or just end up next to them) you can follow it up with uptilt or upsmash to take advantage of his aerials.

 

[NJzFinest]

In the AIR, however, it cools twice as fast. It's insane. Too good. TO SHDL, DO NOT SHORT HOP AND THEN SPAM JUMP. Just before he reaches the apex of his jump is the time to start. If you do this properly, he should be able to hit any character with the second laser.

"Props and thanks to NJzFinest for sharing this with the community. His thread about this technique can be found using this link: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=151139

He also has a video of himself doing it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRht1NgMvGQ"

lol, no respect


JK JK, yeah, but, I think you should at least put in a link to my vid to give people a basis of what their lasers should look like.

Good job putting together this guide though; can't wait to see the new things that arise over the following months/years.

 

[Papapaint]

"Props and thanks to NJzFinest for sharing this with the community. His thread about this technique can be found using this link: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=151139

He also has a video of himself doing it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRht1NgMvGQ"

lol, no respect


JK JK, yeah, but, I think you should at least put in a link to my vid to give people a basis of what their lasers should look like.

Good job putting together this guide though; can't wait to see the new things that arise over the following months/years.

Hey man, I'll definitely add that on the next big update (which should be tomorrow!). Sorry for missing that... I actually figured it out myself by accident.

 

[Fluke]

I don't know if anyone has brought this up yet, but you can use the b-down reflector immediately at the end of a combo (tap the a button wildly) for more breathing room and follow up.

Also: sorry for using incorrect terminology. Any corrections would be appreciated.

Reflector or shine or b down, it's up you your preference, but I stick with shine most of the time since it is the quickest to say.

Yeah about the Shine ending combos thing, yeah I had that in my guide (guessing that since I don't have the game yet), but since you mentioned it as well then iIcan be more confident to leave it there in my thread.

 

[master_link12]

really cool thread, I was looking for a guide that could improve my falco (it suxks) actually Im surprised at how fast there are these new techniques appearing.

 

[RedShadowHero]

Reflector or shine or b down, it's up you your preference, but I stick with shine most of the time since it is the quickest to say.

Yeah about the Shine ending combos thing, yeah I had that in my guide (guessing that since I don't have the game yet), but since you mentioned it as well then iIcan be more confident to leave it there in my thread.

Alright then; thanks for the corrections.

And I can confirm that it does work, as I was using it over wifi today.

 

[Andromeda]

Finally a Falco-guide. Thanks man.

 

[Athos]

Is it just me or is Falco a good counter against Pit? I find that Pits love to spam their arrows whenever they can. With falco, all you have to do is throw the reflector and every arrow flies right back at them. It seems like reflecting projectiles is a lot easier than it was in melee since the time of it staying out has been increased. But if Falco just spams down B, Pit has very few approach options.

 

[SgtWikez]

Great guide, looking forward to using some of these techniques. I've been practicing my throws and I'm wondering, has anyone found any reasonable combos for a back throw or forward throw?

 

[Andromeda]

Is it just me or is Falco a good counter against Pit? I find that Pits love to spam their arrows whenever they can. With falco, all you have to do is throw the reflector and every arrow flies right back at them. It seems like reflecting projectiles is a lot easier than it was in melee since the time of it staying out has been increased. But if Falco just spams down B, Pit has very few approach options.

You know it's possible to hold the shine up forever in Melee, right? So blocking projectiles with it in Melee should be easier than in Brawl.

 

[Athos]

You know it's possible to hold the shine up forever in Melee, right? So blocking projectiles with it in Melee should be easier than in Brawl.

That's a valid point. Problem with that is that in Melee if you hold down the reflector you risk getting approached at due to the large lag. But it just seems like Falco's reflector was almost made to reflect Pits Arrows. Even if Pit waits until Falco's reflector returns it still seems to get reflected back at him.


I think there's still a lot more to know about the reflector and how it can relate to Falco's gameplay. But try reflector spamming against a Pit; you will be amazed at the results.

 

[SN3S]

I think there's still a lot more to know about the reflector and how it can relate to Falco's gameplay. But try reflector spamming against a Pit; you will be amazed at the results.

It does work pretty well. And I'd say you could try to SHDL at them, but the arrow curve hampers that. However, if you get them locked down or get close to them, it's going to hurt for the Pit player

And is it just me, or does the Orange Suit Falco Remind Me of the old Rogue Squadron/Wraith Squadron Games and Books? I couldn't help but shout Star Wars quotes the first few times I played as him.

 

[Fox McCl0ud]

I enjoy annoying my friend with Falco. I just camp at the other end of the stage and watch as he struggles to attack me only to get punished. Good times!!!!

 

[Ged016]

You should add the ledge-hop double laser to the guide. It can still be done and both lasers can hit the target. It can be done by ledge-hopping or just running out of the stage and jumping back in, just like in melee. Also if you time your shine well it can be out forever, meaning you can keep reflecting stuff without interruption because the shine won't be put away.

 

[Ged016]

Oh another thing, you can SH AND FF Falco's D-air, U-air and B-air with absolutely no lag. Problem is that when you actually hit someone the timing for FF changes drastically at least if you hit the shield. I think you can still get shield grabbed, so no shield pressuring :/ But if you hit them you can FF and continue on. :D

 

[Dynomite]

nice work on the guide. falco was alwase one of my top picks comming frmo melee and i like him better in brawl. this didnt really help much if any 1 has played with flaco for about 1 hour but still nice work. apricate taht you took the time to put this all together. and his weight, well its not as bad (falling) but when he does his up b to get back on then thats when he runs into some probs. freekn fatty >.<
i look forward to using him more in the future =]
~thx for the guide!

 

[penguinman]

Great guide, I cant wait till its done!

 

[Papapaint]

Hey guys, sorry it's taken so long. A lot of his a moves have really interesting properties that I'm still testing out. I should be able to sit down and finish it sometime this week.

 

[Chariot]

Good guide, the first video link under "other" links incorrectly. I debate whether the other video versus diddy kong deserves to be linked, also.

Hope to see the results of your playtesting.

 

[Finaite]

I think Falco deserves to be a top tier category character. He's very good imho, although marth sometimes give me a little trouble.. he's still a very well rounded character. Just needs more vertical recovery but really, his horizontal recovery makes up for it, as stated. He's a lot more versatile, meaning he has more power and more .. just he's just falco. That's it, nothing else to it. I love him, honestly. He does good kb with his smash, okay recovery, allthough a little lag if you do forward air with short hop while he stays on the groud.

A good versatile fighter. Maybe not top-tier, but above average tier. For me, he evolved into a more fair but more powerful fighter in Brawl from Melee, and I like it. His Fsmash is awesome.

 

[Timelement]

Great guide, i wasnt even coming close to pulling out all of the potential that this guide sais falco has, i was ****ing it up so bad lol....

Now that i realize my mistakes im going to practice a sinful amount of hours... because i like spiking people

looking forward to more info

 

[Papapaint]

Hey guys,

I haven't analyzed the damage deterioration Falco has, but the guide is FINISHED for its first draft. It will be constantly changing over time, so please help me keep it up-to-date with your own ideas and strategies! I'll actually post requests for information here from time to time, so check back.

Also, if we can find a mod to sticky this...

 

[Pengie]

I actually think that the N-air is a better than you say it is because it has next to no landing lag after a fast fall. You can also N-air them after an Up-tilt for some added damage as well as attack people on the platform above you and I think that you could get an N-air in after a down throw on most characters.

I'd also like to say that the easiest method of spiking people for me is running off of the stage, using your second jump and using the D-air while rising up. It's probably the safest way to spike as well.

Just trying to give my input. Thanks for taking the time to write this, it looks like it will be a lot of help.

 

[NJzFinest]

LOL @ Pit camping better then Falco