The Art of Falco

[Ambient_Horizon]

Hey there I'm a Snake mainer looking for some solutions to some problems Ive been having playing Falco. I was playing a group of really good people today and I figured today would be a great day to hone my Falco since I use him as my main secondary for Snake. I play well with him but I'm having a few issues that are preventing me from bringing out the best of Falco. First off, a lot of people complained because I play my Falco like I play my Snake: defensively and patient. I don't necessarily Blaster spam but I'm more of an opportunist with him. Is this a viable way to play Falco or is it better to take a more aggresive stance. I guess the reason for this is because I have trouble getting killing blows on people. His smashes are kind of slow so even when I do that perfect spot-dodge against another persons Smash attack I still cant get it off. I find myself using D-tilt- F-tilt and the F-Smash most for killing blows. When I chase after people in the air and I'm not trying to dair them I have issues killing anyone with Bair because its sweetspot is so small. Anyway I am just looking for pointers as to what I can do to make my game a little better with Falco. Thanks in advance.

 

[XxBlackxX]

Well first of all, falco can be played pretty defensively, but he can also be aggressive and good at punishing. I think you need to realize this: defensive=/= a bad thing, laser spam =/= a bad thing unless you're using grounded lasers. i think playing as falco gets best results when you react to your playstyle based on what your opponent is. if your opponnent is campy, go ahead and out-camp him. if your opponent is playing aggressively, play defense until he makes a mistake, then punish. What's great about falco is that he is very versatile.

ok now for specific things:
learn bair, seriously, if you want to be good with falco, bair is one of his most important moves. also learn to rar it.
learn his ATs, most importantly gatling combo, iap, shdl, shl, boost smash, chaingrab (not really an At, it's really simple lol).
usmash is the only reliable smash. fsmash is kinda laggy and dsmash has short range, both are good but situational. be careful not to get punished using those moves.
nair>fair in almost all situations
don't use dtilt to kill, it's range pretty much sucks
ftilt is great for spacing, not to kill.
silent laser-> boost smash is good for killing, so is offstage bairs, mindgamed fsmashes, and dairs (when spiked)
jabs are pretty good and will clank with some strong moves

more advanced things:
to be less predictable, learn phantasm canceling. it's pretty tricky but worth learning definitely.
SHFF aerials are great, but be careful over-using shff dair, if you dont sweetspot and DI back, you will get shield grabbed.

anyways, i know i used a lot of teminalogy you may not know, just post back or PM if you need clarifications or need to know how to do something.

 

[Denzi]

Lasers are important. They can laserlock your opponent, silent lasers combo (not just into boost smash), SHDL can pin your opponent in a spot in the air as well as making it difficult for them to approach. Also, don't try for the CG, jut take it when you get it (and be sure you know who can be CG'd and who can't). Finally, don't use the Firebird unless you absolutely have to. It pretty much sucks.

 

[ftl]

It is perfectly fine to play Falco as a campy little b*tch. Falco can play that way. Take your opportunities to be aggressive when you get them, of course, but if there's half a stage between you and your opponent, spam away.

Falco can be hard to kill with until you learn laser->upsmash. Also, the bair is a good killing move, you *have* to learn to sweetspot it when you need the kill, and keep it fresh around then. If killing is your problem, those two things will help, a lot.

Fsmash can be situationally useful, but only if you predict your opponent well. Don't rely on it. Also, dtilt isn't that good. There are almost always better options.

 

[8AngeL8]

Cheap is just the scrub term for efficiency. If playing defensively works for the matchup, go for it.

That said, Falco works pretty well for all styles. He can play an amazing defensive game, he can be very reactive, or he can be all out offensive.

I think it's really important to not stick to just one style, but mix it up so you never become predictable. Falco is powerful, but fragile. Once your opponent can predict you, it's game over.

 

[Ambient_Horizon]

Silent Lasers? SHFF aerials? I know most of the ATs on Falco but not those ones. I suppose I can always look around the forums but I havent found those anywhere. I have a pretty good understanding on who/when I can CG as I practiced it a lot. And I know enough to not go for it simply because you're asking to get punished by turning into a grab-*****. Since Snake is my main, learning the Boost Smash wasn't difficult at all. I'm working on the Bair but its a little tricky. I guess I use Dair a lot because its was way better in Melee and Falco was a character I didnt play a lot in either game. I guess my last question revolves around aerial combat too. For aerial fights, if I dont want to use up my Bair's killing potential whats a good alternative. Nair, Fair?

Thank you guys for your replies I plan on going back to that place I was training yesterday and beating some folks with my Falco..after I train a little bit.

 

[Blad01]

I though this was a video on Falco like "The Art Of Link" by Izaw...

:'(

Well, i'm preparing a guide on Falco, i hope the newcomers won't need these sort of threads anymore ^^ (And if someone want to help me... ).

 

[KosukeKGA]

Here's the true art of Falco:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q9fL2kMHYk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND8B-hiNIZ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWwafwfVDdk

 

[Tommy_G]

Here's the true art of Falco:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q9fL2kMHYk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND8B-hiNIZ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWwafwfVDdk

Leave plx. We don't need 'mele-elists' ruining our momentum.

Blad01, I can help.

 

[XxBlackxX]

Silent Lasers? SHFF aerials? I know most of the ATs on Falco but not those ones. I suppose I can always look around the forums but I havent found those anywhere. I have a pretty good understanding on who/when I can CG as I practiced it a lot. And I know enough to not go for it simply because you're asking to get punished by turning into a grab-*****. Since Snake is my main, learning the Boost Smash wasn't difficult at all. I'm working on the Bair but its a little tricky. I guess I use Dair a lot because its was way better in Melee and Falco was a character I didnt play a lot in either game. I guess my last question revolves around aerial combat too. For aerial fights, if I dont want to use up my Bair's killing potential whats a good alternative. Nair, Fair?

Thank you guys for your replies I plan on going back to that place I was training yesterday and beating some folks with my Falco..after I train a little bit.

a SHFF means Short Hop Fast Fall. when you short hop, then tilt the stick down to ff and then aerial. for aerial combat, don't use fair unless you are off the stage and looking to gimp. and even then, bair and dair are better options. basically, don't fair, ever (at least for now) because your other moves are better and you should practice them first. use nairs instead of fairs, and rar->bair a lot even onstage, you don't HAVE to save it for just killing.

silent laser is when you fire a laser after a sh and it comes out right before you hit the ground. it can combo into a lot of things, most popularly the silent laser->boost smash (a very good KO move btw).

 

[Ambient_Horizon]

Okay I am starting to get the hang of some of the newer stuff. If you don't mind can I PM you in case I have anymore questions. I did a lot of reading yesterday though so I'm good on knowing what the ATs are and some of the other stuff you told me about black. Thanks again to you and everyone else who helped out.

 

[M15t3R E]

Aggressive Falcos are very fun to watch, like SK92 and Sethlon.

 

[XxBlackxX]

Okay I am starting to get the hang of some of the newer stuff. If you don't mind can I PM you in case I have anymore questions. I did a lot of reading yesterday though so I'm good on knowing what the ATs are and some of the other stuff you told me about black. Thanks again to you and everyone else who helped out.

sure thing x]

 

[Mith_]

I though this was a video on Falco like "The Art Of Link" by Izaw...

:'(

Well, i'm preparing a guide on Falco, i hope the newcomers won't need these sort of threads anymore ^^ (And if someone want to help me... ).

Gahhh, I wish I could help, what would you need me to do though?

 

[XxBlackxX]

I though this was a video on Falco like "The Art Of Link" by Izaw...

:'(

Well, i'm preparing a guide on Falco, i hope the newcomers won't need these sort of threads anymore ^^ (And if someone want to help me... ).

hm...i wanna help too...well i think alot of the stuff i said in this thread is very helpful, but it needs to be more organized and made easier to read lol. anyways if you make the guide i would like to contribute xD