Meta SSB4 Falco Matchup Discussion 34 - PAC-MAN - Pizza Cake

[Ffamran]

Welcome to the Pac-Man matchup discussion.

All credit goes to Quas-quas for the original images.​

Here's a link to the main post: SSB4 Falco Matchup Discussion - Main Post. This will be more for general matchup discussions like making a suggestion and such. Or, you could head over to the social thread and ask there: Where We Prefer The Air And The Points Don't Matter!. Or PM me if you really have to, but don't make a habit out of it.

Oh, and if you guys and girls want to play each other to have fun or learn about the MU, check out the NNID and FC sharing thread on the Falco boards: http://smashboards.com/threads/anyone-want-to-exchange-nnids-or-friend-codes.386513/.

There's also the regular NNID and FC sharing threads in the Online discussion if you just want to ask anyone to play.

Notice: Some rules, guidelines, and tips. Some of these are a given since you joined any forum.

1. Be respectful of each other. No insults, no trolling, no flaming, or any of that nonsense.
2. Be aware that some of the discussions can and will be old, so don't call out someone for "wrong" data if that post was referring to say, patch 1.0.3 stuff.
3. Be impartial; learn to see things from other sides. So, don't boast about all the advantages. Notice weaknesses and strengths from both parties.
4. Stay on topic.
5. Have fun.

And here is a frame speed ranking of their regular attacks and grabs - no Specials yet, sorry - to clear up on things since sometimes a move may feel slow, but it's actually fast and vice versa. Plus more information doesn't always hurt. Data from the Complete Hitbox/Frame Data For Every Character thread.

As of patch 1.1.4.

Move Hit Frames||
Jab|2-4, 10-12, 17-21, 22-26, 27-31, 32-36, (infinite), 41-42|4-6, 12-14, 21-24
Dash Attack|8-11 or 12-19|4-10, 11-12, 31-31
Ftilt|6-8|5-7 or 4-6 (angled)
Utilt|5-9, 12-16|7-10
Dtilt|7-9|7-10
Side Smash|17-19 or 20-20|18-20 or 21-28
Up Smash|7-12, 13-20|13-13, 16-18, or 19-26
Down Smash|7-9|18-20 or 21-28
Nair|3-5, 6-9, 14-17, 21-24|3-5 or 6-9 or 10-19
Fair|10-13, 14-17, 18-21, 22-25, 26-27, 28-29|5-8
Bair|4-5 or 6-12|9-11 or 12-16
Uair|7-11|9-16
Dair|16-19 or 20-31|6-7, (2 more hits), 30-31
Grab|8-9|12-14 or 22-24 or 32-39
Dash Grab|10-11|12-14 or 22-24 or 32-39
Pivot Grab|11-12|12-14 or 22-24 or 32-39

 

[gameplayzero]

As sad as it is to say this, don't be afraid to time out against a pacman (some of them will aim for that anyways). A lot of "ok" pacmen I have fought are always the defensive kind that just drop down the hydrant and use it as coverage to get the item, finally get the item they want, hit the hydrant, and then wait to use the item and repeat. Learning how to get comfortable with items in this match up is pretty big. Use this as a guide if you aren't comfortable enough constantly catching and handling projectiles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGiWeq_t9V0

A "key" (not intentional) thing in this match up is that our lasers will make whatever item drop immediately once the laser hits the pacman. Obviously against smart players they will do it in the air or put the hydrant in front of them to protect themselves, but its still noteworthy when you absolutely need to stop the item (possibly at kill percents on the last stock). They probably won't know about that until later, so just save it up. You shouldn't be able to use it more than once.

With our terrible horizontal speed this is pretty much a game of patience since we should have a hard time getting in on pacman (especially with all of the tools he has in his disposal). In this match-up thats actually ok to play patiently since our reflector plays a huge role here. Its a great mind game tool and on top of that it basically helps our problem of trying to approach the pacman. This strategy pretty much infuriates bad defensive pacman players and with that you can set the pace of the match and not have to worry so much about going in. Against good pacman players though it won't ever be that simple, as they'll mix up their options by actually using melee and using their items only for mix ups. Don't spam the reflector on a pacman who has the key ready if you notice the pacman is good. They will bait you out and throw the key right when the reflector goes back to you. The other items seem slow enough to where you will have plenty of time to react when thrown at a distance.

Never try to up air a pacman. That hydrant will punish you every single time. As silly as this sounds you can bait the hydrant and space yourself so you can reflect right back at him (this looks absolutely stupid, but whatever). Overall just play patiently and just play it safe. The biggest thing you need to notice is the skill level of the pacman. That determines whether or not you are going to play really campy or not. Not to say pacman can't be campy, but with our reflector that strategy doesn't seem as viable.

 

[Nu~]

First off, I have a lot of respect for Falco and his mains. Sticking with your main through the nerfs and all the bad comments on your character; it's something to be commended. I don't feel that the character is bad at all. He has a pretty strong ground game and benefits from solid fundamentals.

I used to use Falco for a while, so I'm familiar with how he plays.
You should all bring void reflector and the intangible side B to this matchup. Void reflector makes our hydrant vanish whether it's being thrown at you, or if it's just standing still. It makes our zoning a bit more bearable. Pac-Man and Falco's frame data is similar on the ground, but Falco hits harder.
A good Pac-Man should always have a trampoline out in this matchup. It forces Falco to approach from the air(something he does NOT prefer), or try to shoot lasers over the trampoline for damage (we can use this to weaken the hydrant and launch it at you, or we can block a hit with our Side B and eat it for 2%)

I don't recommend hitting Pac-Man with a laser when he is charging fruit, because this gives us faster access to Z dropping. Our Z drop combos are nasty and can lead to big damage and KO set ups. Falco is the one forced to approach in this matchup, but has to do so carefully. Pac-Man's fruits are used as an extension of his fist rather than something to constantly spam (mega Man's lemons)
He can get very strong follow ups from his fruits if he follows up behind them, so make sure you practice your power shielding. Your Bair comes out faster than our Fair, so I suggest throwing that out if a Pac-Man tries to approach from the air. Falco normally has to play the punish game against an opponent, but it is very hard to punish a Pac-Man that knows what he is doing. With a frame 1 eject button in the form of our trampoline, and a frame 3 combo breaking Nair, it's hard to keep Pac in disadvantage. You are right in not trying to juggle Pac-Man because of his hydrant, but I do suggest to bait it out and then Uair.

With customs, your intangible Side B is valuable because it prevents you from being denied the ledge by Pac-Man's Orange. I'm not sure if I would suggest fast fire bird, only because of how deep Pac-Man goes to gimp his opponents. It will be hard to make it back. Then again, we get the meteor trampoline which is a frame 3 disjointed spike with a large vertical hitbox. In general, it is very difficult for Falco to return to the ledge in this matchup. Even if you do get to the ledge, we have dangerous ledge setups like jab hydrant-> trampoline on the ledge that denies all get up options and punishes you if you try to sit on the ledge. On the flip side, Falco can Fair our power pellet to stop our side B before it begins, and can jump on our trampoline to steal our third jump. You could also try to hit us on the way down while we try to bounce on our trampoline to return to the ledge.

Pac-Man should never try to play a strictly long range game against a good Falco. Falco can just sit back and Void reflector everything we throw at him unless we follow it up. Pac-Man will fight in mid range in this matchup, and force you to chase him over his trampoline.

If you want a ratio, I would say 60:40 in Pac-Man's favor because we zone out Falco pretty good and can gimp him easily, but Falco can deal with long range pressure pretty well and can outbox us on the ground unless we space our attacks correctly.