Editing Falco (SSBU)

'''Falco''' ({{ja|ファルコ|Faruko}}, ''Falco'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. Falco is classified as fighter #20.

Mark Lund, Falco's voice actor from ''Star Fox 64 3D'' onward reprises his role with new voice clips, sounding more akin to his appearance in ''Star Fox Zero'' and ''Starlink: Battle for Atlas''. In the Japanese version, Falco is voiced by Kōsuke Takaguchi, reprising his role from ''Star Fox 64 3D'' and ''Star Fox Zero'', replacing Hisao Egawa from ''Star Fox 64'', ''Melee'', ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4''.

With the exception of the third method, Falco must then be defeated on [[Corneria]].

Falco is a lightweight character with the highest [[jump]] in the game, a fast [[initial dash]], tenth fastest [[walking speed]], eleventh highest [[gravity]] and [[falling speed]], twelfth highest [[traction]] and ninth fastest [[air acceleration]]; but in contrast has average [[running]] and below-average [[air speed]]. This makes his movement somewhat polarizing as he has overall sluggish horizontal movement (especially while airborne), but excels in reaching high vertical distance.

Owing to his status as a "talented aerial fighter" with an "amazing jumping ability" and fast falling speed, Falco's greatest strengths lie in his strong combo, juggling, and edgeguarding capabilities; with his aerials being most evident of these traits. Up aerial in particular, is his primary juggling tool, thanks its quick startup, wide hitbox that can hit opponents on landing, and low overall lag and knockback. These traits make it very effective at starting and extending juggles, and as well as being capable of comboing into itself and other aerials. Additionally, it can KO at high percents near the upper blast line. Neutral aerial has a large, lasting hitbox that covers Falco and is a fast multi-hit, making it a good disruptor and combo extender/finisher. It can also drag opponents downward, allowing it to start combos on stage. Forward aerial has decent horizontal range and is also a lasting multi-hit, allowing it to edgeguard and KO reliably. Like his neutral aerial, it can drag opponents downward as well, putting offstage opponents in a very bad spot. Back aerial is one of the strongest aerials of its kind and can reliably KO even from center-stage. Lastly, down aerial, while nowhere near as notorious as its previous iterations, comes out fast and is a lasting hitbox; with its clean hit being a weak meteor smash, giving it the ability to start combos onstage and score early KOs against poor recoveries.  

Although Falco's ground game looks limited, he has a handful of respectable options at his disposal. Up tilt, in particular is Falco's staple in initiating combos thanks to its very quick startup, great coverage, and low ending lag and knockback. It can combo into itself and any of his aerials, and even setup for KO's into back aerial or up aerial at high percents. Down tilt, despite being Falco's most powerful tilt, is also capable of follow-ups into aerials thanks to its sourspots' lower power. Additionally, it covers a good distance in front of himself, allowing him to burst KO grounded opponents or call out low recoveries aiming for the ledge. Forward smash has a wide front hitbox and can kill fairly early if performed near the ledge, while down smash comes out quick and sends at a [[semi-spike]] angle, working as another burst KO option and heavily threatening those with poor recoveries. His other moves, although more situational, still have their uses: neutral attack comes out exceedingly quick and its first two hits can [[lock]], forward tilt can be angled and is relatively fast, allowing it to be used as a decent spacing option, and dash attack has a long duration, enabling it to catch dodges and landings, with its clean hit sending at a favorable angle for juggles and its late hit sending opponents at a much lower angle for edgeguards.  

Complementing Falco's aerials and tilts is his grab game, as overshielding his feared up tilt and aerials provides Falco the opportunity to make use of his highly damaging throws. Up throw is Falco's best throw, as much like up tilt, it is an effective combo starter into any of his aerials at all percents and can perform KO setups or even outright KO with its second hit. Forward throw and down throw, while lacking true combos, can lead into follow-ups lower near the ground at low to mid percents. Finally, back throw's first hit is a semispike that sets up for Falco's strong edgeguarding game, while its second hit can outright KO at high percents near the blast line.  

Considering his special moveset, Falco's specials can provide unique benefits. [[Blaster]] is his primary ranged option, with it being an effective disruptor due to its fast projectile and greatly reduced ending lag. Its shots can be used to pressure, provoke or halt approaches, snipe double jumps, or even outright gimp poor recoveries. [[Falco Phantasm]] has Falco dash very quickly, making it great for horizontal recovery. Its grounded version can start combos at low to mid percents and even set up KOs with back aerial at high percents, while its aerial version can meteor smash careless edgeguarders. [[Fire Bird]] is his main recovery option and grants respectable distance in any chosen direction. It can also work as a niche damage option due to having damaging hitboxes throughout and can deal well over 30% if all hits connect. Lastly, [[Reflector]] activates on frame 1, making reacting against quick projectiles less of a liability for Falco; it also has a hitbox which activates slightly later that serves as a decent poking tool.

In spite of Falco's well-balanced strengths, he has numerous weaknesses. His most prominent flaws are his survivability and his inconsistency. Despite being a lightweight, Falco is vulnerable to combos due to his fast falling speed and lack of escape options. Although Falco's recovery grants respectable distance, it is very linear. Falco Phantasm no longer passes shields, making it far easier to corner him from his recovery. Without his double jump, Falco is in great danger offstage due to the nerfs to air dodging and how Fire Bird is still slow and predictable.  

Regarding his moveset, Falco has several moves that do not function properly and can even work against him. Up tilt has a sourspot near the end of its first hit with set knockback, making it unsafe on hit. Up smash, despite having fast startup and high vertical reach, has large blindspots that only allow medium-sized or larger characters that are only directly next to and in front of Falco to be hit, leaving him extremely vulnerable from behind and against small or crouching opponents (even if they're directly in front of Falco). Additionally, plaguing him since ''Smash 4'', both up tilt and up smash are prone to failing to properly connect against aerial opponents. Despite its looks, neutral aerial has difficulty hitting opponents from behind, and due to changes in the game's engine, the move's looping hits are more prone to failing to connect than it was in the previous installment. While Blaster and Reflector have reduced lag, the former is still unsafe on hit even from a distance, while the latter still has a misleadingly small hitbox and its removed trip chance ironically makes it even more unsafe on hit overall than in ''Smash 4''. Most notoriously, however, are Falco's back and up throws. Due to changes in the game's physics, the laser from both throws are even more prone to being DI'd than before, allowing opponents to survive in excess of what would've been a KO.  

These aforementioned problems compound Falco's other more defined weakness of struggling to secure a KO. Like fellow representatives {{SSBU|Fox}} and {{SSBU|Wolf}}, Falco's strongest moves are also his slowest in terms of startup and/or endlag, requiring careful execution to avoid heavy punishment. Lastly, Falco's damage output and range have been nerfed from ''Smash 4''. This is especially noteworthy due to most of the cast receiving various buffs not limited to these aspects and the prominence of swordfighters and zoners in ''Ultimate''.

Overall, Falco has the tools that let him defensively pressure his opponent, then effectively capitalize on their errors with his strong combo and edgeguarding capabilities. However, he can struggle keeping up with faster opponents and as well as against those who have large disjoints. Although he can score early KOs through a well-executed edgeguard or hard read, Falco must be careful not to let opponents take advantage of his own weaknesses to avoid being combo'd and KO'd early himself.

Likely owing to his low-tier placement in ''SSB4'', Falco has received a mix of buffs of nerfs in the transition to ''Ultimate'', being greatly buffed overall.

Falco's buffs mainly address his weakened tools that affected his previous transition from ''Brawl'' to ''SSB4'', notably to his notoriously nerfed {{b|Blaster|Falco}} and [[down aerial]]: Blaster has faster startup, fires at a faster rate while grounded, and has much lower ending lag, drastically improving one of his staple moves and making it less punishable. Additionally, down aerial is much faster (now being half as fast as in ''Brawl'') and has regained its ability to [[autocancel]] from a short hop. These changes allow both to function as tools for approaching or walling once again, instead of being limited to only [[edgeguarding]] and hard reads. Many of his other moves have been made more usable as well: his [[neutral attack]]'s first two hits can [[lock]], and its infinite portion connects more consistently. [[Down tilt]], [[forward smash]] and [[up smash]] deal more damage, while [[forward tilt]] and [[up tilt]] have reduced ending lag (greatly improving their spacing and combo potential, respectively), and [[forward aerial]] starts faster. Falco's grounded movement is noticeably faster, and the universal 3-frame jumpsquat and reduction to [[landing lag]] improve his strong aerial game, allowing him to easily juggle aerial foes while leaving him less vulnerable when landing; this also makes his short hop combos more effective. Finally, the nerfs to air dodging further compliment his aerial game, allowing him to once again abuse his edgeguarding capabilities. As a result, Falco's [[neutral game]] is more consistent, improving on one of his biggest weaknesses from ''SSB4''.

However, Falco has received noticeable nerfs as well, which worsen some of his weakest traits, including his [[recovery]]. Though he does possess the highest jump in the game, Falco has had his already poor recovery nerfed as [[Falco Phantasm]] now travels slightly less distance and stops on shield, making it even easier to intercept and more punishable. Meanwhile, Falco's other recovery option in [[Fire Bird]] is also still extremely linear and easy to exploit. Furthermore, the nerfs to air dodges make both of his recovery options even more linear and exploitable than before. Additionally, while many of his combo-centric moves were made more effective through reduced lag, they have also been weakened (forward tilt, up tilt, [[up aerial]]), requiring him to deal more hits to acquire damage. This ties in with Falco's KO ability, which has also been toned down: moves such as forward aerial and [[back throw]] do less knockback, while his strongest attacks have higher startup lag (down tilt, [[down smash]], and most notably [[back aerial]]), making it even harder for him to close a stock. Moves such as neutral attack and forward smash no longer move him forward as much, reducing their range, while up smash's hitbox was altered to such an extent that it will completely miss against grounded opponents unless they are right in front of Falco. Finally, {{b|Reflector|Falco}} no longer has a bonus chance to [[trip]] opponents, removing its utility for followups and worsening its overall safety. As a result, while Falco may have more effective combos and spacing abilities than before, many of his weaknesses are even more defined.

Overall, Falco is considered to be much better than his appearance in ''SSB4'', since his key strengths are more threatening than before, and his neutral game has seen noticeable improvements. Although his player base is still rather small, he has still achieved very good results thanks to many players such as {{Sm|Larry Lurr}}, {{Sm|Kofi}}, {{Sm|PiXL}}, and {{Sm|Juice}}. Several top players also think highly of Falco, as they believe that he has the tools to be a viable threat in the metagame. This, however, is debatable.  

|neutralname= 

|neutraldesc=Performs two knife handed strikes before spinning his whole body to perform a series of knife hand strikes, with a final downward ax kick that sends the opponent away. The first two jabs can [[lock]]. The first hit starts on frame 2, making it one of the fastest neutral attacks in the game. At mid percents, it can be followed up with [[Blaster (Falco)|Blaster]] to lock opponents who miss a tech. As Falco's neutral attack will only transition into an infinite and has high ending lag if canceled on the second hit, it can be punishable on shield. Regardless, its speed makes it a reliable close-range interceptor.

|ftiltname= 

|ftiltdesc=A roundhouse kick that can be angled both up and down. The angled versions send Falco's leg at very strong angles, being capable of missing medium-sized characters like {{SSBU|Mario}} if aimed up, but being able to hit any grounded character when aimed down. It is fast (frame 6) and has a rather low ending lag (19 frames), but will not cause tumbling until around 70%, making more suited for creating space at lower percents. At higher percents, it can set up a tech-chase situation.

|utiltname= 

|utiltdmg=3.5% (hit 1), 2.7% (hit 1 sourspot), 4% (hit 2)  

|utiltdesc=Swings his wings up in the air, one after the other. Very fast (frame 5) with wide hitboxes that can hit prone opponents in front, and medium-sized characters from behind. One of Falco's best combo initiators due to its speed, low ending lag, and low knockback, allowing him to follow up with his capable aerial moves. It can combo into itself or neutral aerial at low percents, most aerials at mid percents, and even up aerial at around 110% as a KO setup. Hit 1 has a sourspot near the end of its hitbox duration that deals 2.7% and has [[set knockback]] with no followups.

|dtiltname=Tail Cutter

|dtiltdesc=Crouches on the floor and swipes with his tail feathers. A very strong down-tilt with high damage and knockback, though it is rather slow (frame 10). Deals more damage and knockback the closer the opponent is to Falco, with the sweetspot being capable of KOing Mario at around 128%, and the sourspots being able to start aerial combos.

|dashname= 

|dashdmg=9% (clean), 6% (late)

|dashdesc=A flying kick. It has decent knockback and is a useful approach option due to its speed (frame 8) and the distance Falco moves. The clean hit sends at a diagonal trajectory, while the late hit sends at a [[semi-spike]] angle. However, it is punishable on shield and cannot KO until extremely high percentages.

|fsmashname= 

|fsmashdesc=Uses both wings to perform a wide knife handed swing in front of himself. Hits on frame 17. Unlike the version in ''SSB4'', Falco does not move forward as much, reducing its range. Regardless, the clean hit is one of Falco's strongest finishers, KOing Mario at 100% from the middle of [[Final Destination]]. The late hit sends at a semi-spike angle and still has respectable KO potential near the ledge, doing so at around 130%.

|usmashname= 

|dsmashname= 

|nairname=Spinning Falco Chop

|nairdesc=Spins his entire body clockwise to perform a series of spinning knife handed strikes. Despite its looks, it has difficulty hitting opponents from behind. Extremely fast startup (frame 3) with low landing lag (9 frames), hitboxes that cover most of his upper body, and good damage output. It is an overall effective move for aerial offense, as it can be used out of a short hop as a walling option, follow up into other moves, catch opponents [[out of shield]], and KO offstage at around 90%. The looping hits use the [[autolink angle]], allowing it to start combos while falling; however, the hits now transition faster, making this difficult to do consistently. Opponents may also fall out of the move if Falco fast-falls. [[Auto-cancel]]s from a full hop fast-fall, though the timing is rather strict.

|fairname= 

|fairdesc=Spins in a drill-like formation, hitting multiple times with his beak. It is relatively fast (frame 7) with a further-reaching hitbox than neutral aerial. The hits use the auto-link angle and therefore connect reliably, and can be used to [[gimp]] recovering opponents while falling; trading hits with forward aerial usually results in the opponent being sent diagonally downwards. The final hit deals decent knockback and can KO at 135% near the edge. This move has a high landing lag (15 frames) and cannot auto-cancel; instead, landing causes a grounded hit in front of Falco with moderate knockback. This makes it safer on shield, and can KO at the edge of the stage from 154%.

|bairname= 

|bairdesc=Faces backward to perform a kick behind himself. Its renowned power from ''SSB4'' has been retained, being one of the strongest back aerials in the game. This makes it Falco's best aerial KO option, doing so on Mario at 85% at the edge of Final Destination. However, its utility has been toned back due to an increase of startup lag, now making its speed rather average (frame 9) and makes it more difficult to hit most characters out of a short hop. Back aerial is also a [[sex kick]], allowing it to wall out opponents while landing. Auto-cancels from a short hop.

|uairname= 

|dairname=Corkscrew Meteor

|dairdesc=A downward corkscrew kick that hits once. Has sex kick properties, with the clean hit dealing a powerful diagonal [[meteor smash]] against aerial opponents. Previously infamous for being heavily nerfed from ''Brawl'' to ''SSB4'', down aerial has been significantly buffed in ''Ultimate'': it now auto-cancels in a short hop and has twice the startup of the iteration in ''Brawl'' (frame 10). As a result, it is an excellent tool in the [[neutral game]], allowing Falco to put out a lasting hitbox with little risk of punishment. It is also a potent [[edgeguarding]] tool due to the meteor smash's sheer speed. On grounded opponents, the move instead launches them directly upward at a slight angle with higher base knockback but much lower knockback scaling, granting it combo potential at a wide variety of percents, including into a second down aerial as a KO combo. However, the move has notably high ending lag, noticeable landing lag (14 frames) and very poor horizontal range. Regardless of these factors, down aerial is once again one of Falco's staple moves.

|grabname= 

|grabdesc=Reaches forward with his right-wing. A fast grab.

|pummelname= 

|pummeldesc=Knees the opponent.

|fthrowname= 

|fthrowdesc=Slams the opponent forward with his right arm. Has no true followups at 0%, though it can followup with dash attack. At around 40%, it causes opponents to tumble, allowing setups such as a lock from neutral attack or Blaster, or tech chases if the opponent rolls. Otherwise, this throw is mostly used to send opponents offstage.

|bthrowname= 

|bthrowdesc=Throws the opponent behind him before firing a Blaster shot towards them. The laser can KO at extremely high percentages near the edge, though opponents can [[DI]] out of it. It is otherwise used to send opponents offstage, like forward throw.

|uthrowname= 

|uthrowdesc=Throws the opponent above him before firing a Blaster shot towards them. An effective aerial combo initiator, as it can combo into aerials from 0% till as high as 120% if the laser connects. At high percents, up aerial can KO an opponent after an up throw. However, opponents can DI away from the laser, much like back throw.  

|dthrowname= 

|dthrowdesc=Lays the opponent on the ground before firing a point-blank Blaster shot. It is an effective combo throw like up throw, though it is more focused on grounded followups. Combos into neutral attack, dash attack, forward tilt, up smash, neutral aerial, forward aerial, Blaster, and [[Falco Phantasm]]. It can also set up for Blaster locks.

|usdesc=Engulfs himself in an aura of [[flame]] before launching himself in a fiery tackle. The trajectory of the move can be chosen before Falco launches himself, with up to 16 angles to choose from. After the move ends, Falco becomes helpless. Compared to [[Fire Fox]], Fire Bird travels less distance, deals multiple hits and has almost no KO potential, though it does a high amount of total damage if every hit lands (does a maximum of 33%, being one of the most damaging up specials in the game). It can, therefore, be used as a niche damage-racking option, though the looping hits sometimes have issues keeping the opponent trapped in the move.

|fsdesc=Upon activation, Falco announces "Showtime!" and targets in front of himself with a green reticle. Three Arwings fly in an unorthodox formation from behind the screen in the area where the reticle is located. Upon hit, both Falco and his victims are sent skywards, and a cinematic begins with Falco and his team flying in a group of Arwings. Falco then announces "Time for a little payback!" (single victim), or "We've got multiple bogeys inbound!" (multiple targets), as all of the members then fire lasers at the trapped opponents, damaging them heavily. Compared to Fox's version, Falco's Arwing flight has a more erratic flight pattern, and the launching hit causes vertical knockback.

Ejects from an upside-down [[Arwing]].

*'''Up taunt''': Kicks his {{b|reflector|move}} around and says "Piece of cake." ({{ja|楽勝だぜ。|Rakushō da ze.}}, ''An easy win.'') before catching it.

*'''Side taunt''': Holds out his hand and slowly raises it, saying "Come on!" ({{ja|かかってきな。|Kakatte ki na.}}, ''Come bring it.'')

*'''Down taunt''': Spins on one foot, then poses with one of his arms/wings before him, stating "Hands off my prey!" ({{ja|俺の獲物に手を出すな！|Ore no emono ni te wo dasu na!}}, ''Get your hands off my prey!'') while doing so.

*Slightly turns to his side.

*Moves his wing in front of his face.

SSBUFalcoIdle1.gif|Falco's first idle pose

SSBUFalcoIdle2.gif|Falco's second idle pose

*'''Left:''' Does a flurry of rapid kicks then poses, saying "Had enough already?" ("{{ja|くたばるのはまだ早ぇぜ。|Kutabaru no wa mada hae~ze.}}", ''Too early to kick the bucket just yet.'').

**If Fox was present in the match, there's a chance he will say "You're off your game, Fox!" ("{{ja|腕が落ちたな、フォックス。|Ude ga ochita na, Fokkusu.}}", ''Your skills have fallen off, Fox.'').

*'''Up:''' Jumps high into the air and poses on the ground, scoffing. His ending pose is reminiscent of his artwork in ''Smash 4'' and his old [[spot dodge]] animation.

==In competitive play==

Before release, many players immediately took notice of Falco's drastic improvements from the previous game. This was thanks to several factors, such as the mechanics of the game being greatly in his favor (examples include the universal change which made every character's jump squat 3 frames as well as the implementation of directional air dodges), the improvements to his already potent combo game which was made even stronger, as well as his improved neutral game due to his improved blaster and speed. In addition, some of Falco's worst matchups in ''Smash 4'' (most notably {{SSBU|Sheik}}, {{SSBU|Bayonetta}}, {{SSBU|Luigi}}, and {{SSBU|Cloud}}) were nerfed and made less problematic for him. Due to this, Falco was greatly anticipated to be one of the strongest characters in ''Ultimate''{{'}}s metagame, with many top professionals stating that he could potentially be a top tier character.

Unfortunately, opinions on Falco quickly dwindled when the game released as the buffs he received were seen to be "overhyped" and not enough to make him as potent as he once was. Not only that, but {{SSBU|Fox}} and {{SSBU|Wolf}} were both agreed to be top tiers and significantly better than Falco, seemingly worsening his value to other players as the belief was one could play a rather similar character with better success. As such, Falco initially had low results through the early stages of ''Ultimate''{{'}}s metagame, with his dedicated players failing to obtain great results with the character. Because of this, the general consensus was that he was either a mid or low tier character, similar to his ''Smash 4'' counterpart's placement.

In more recent times, however, opinions of Falco began to improve, with players such as {{Sm|Juice}}, {{Sm|Ismon}}, and {{Sm|Kofi}} beginning to obtain great results with the character. Juice in particular, managed to get 13th at {{Trn|Shine 2019}}, 17th at {{Trn|Defend the North 2019}}, and 25th at {{Trn|Glitch 7 - Minus World}}. As a result, many players now have a more positive opinion on Falco, and he is widely considered to be mid or even high tier, although some players such as {{Sm|ESAM}} still believe that Falco struggles a lot and that he is mid-tier at the very best. As of now, Falco's overall viability remains debatable, but it is widely agreed upon that he is much better than his ''Smash 4'' counterpart.  

===Notable players===

<!--If you are planning to add a player you consider to be notable, please provide tournament results in some shape or form in the edit summary (be it a link to a results thread or bracket of placing high in a tournament of other notable players or a video of them beating a notable player). Winning tournaments without notable players present are generally not enough to warrant a spot.-->

''Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the [[Fall 2019 PGRU]], which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in [[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]] from July 13th, 2019 to December 15th, 2019.''

*{{Sm|Jaxter|England}} - The best Falco player in Europe, ranked #1 in the East of England region. Placed 1st at [https://smash.gg/tournament/impact-7/events/ultimate-singles/brackets/640446/1052847 Impact 7], 2nd at {{Trn|Manchester Conquest 5: MiniMo's Mega Adventure}}, and 17th at both {{Trn|Regen 2019}} and {{Trn|Manchester Conquest 3}}. Has a win on {{Sm|Scr7}} and {{Sm|Lucky|p=Germany}}.

*{{Sm|Juice|USA}} - One of the best Falco players in the world. Placed 7th at {{Trn|Smashadelphia 2019}}, 13th at {{Trn|Shine 2019}}, 17th at {{Trn|Glitch 6}}, and 33rd at {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 5}} and {{Trn|Glitch 8 - Missingno}}. He has defeated players such as {{Sm|LeoN}} and {{Sm|LingLing}} using only Falco.

*{{Sm|Kofi|USA}} - One of the best Falco players in the world. Placed 9th at both {{Trn|Overclocked Ultimate}} and {{Trn|Smash at The Paramount}}, 17th at {{Trn|Suplex City Smash}}, and 65th at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}.

*{{Sm|Lazyboredom|USA}} - Placed 3rd at {{Trn|Just Roll With It! 10}} and 9th at {{Trn|Just Roll With It! 11}} with both Falco and {{SSBU|Little Mac}}. Ranked 2nd on the [[North Carolina Power Rankings#Smash Ultimate|North Carolina Ultimate Power Rankings]].

*{{Sm|PiXL|USA}} - Placed 9th at {{Trn|Ascension VI}} and {{Trn|Super Smashed Fest}}, 17th at {{Trn|Crown}}, and 33rd at {{Trn|Low Tier City 7}}.

*{{Sm|Seven|Japan}} - One of the best Falco players in Japan. Placed 25th at {{Trn|EVO 2019}} with wins over {{Sm|Charlie}}, {{Sm|Cyro}}, and {{Sm|Prodigy}}.

*{{Sm|SKIPPER|Netherlands}} - Placed 9th at {{Trn|Heroes of Dutch Comic Con Spring 2019}} and 13th at {{Trn|The Ultimate Performance 2}}.

 

*{{Sm|Larry Lurr|USA}} - One of the best Falco players in the world. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|Super Splat Bros}}, 7th at both {{Trn|Goodwill of Orange County's Charity Invitational}} and {{Trn|The Kid, the Goat, and the Mang0}}, 9th at {{Trn|DreamHack Dallas 2019}}, and 17th at {{Trn|2GG: Prime Saga}}. Has wins over {{Sm|VoiD}}, {{Sm|Charlie}}, {{Sm|Prodigy}}, {{Sm|YB}}, and {{Sm|Lui$}}. While he hasn't officially dropped the character, he now only plays Wolf in recent tournaments.

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

|1||{{SSBU|Dark Samus}} {{Head|Dark Samus|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||[[Frigate Orpheon]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Metroid|Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes}}''||

|2||{{SSBU|Dark Pit}} {{Head|Dark Pit|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||[[Reset Bomb Forest]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Kid Icarus|Dark Pit's Theme}}''||

|3||{{SSBU|Link}} {{Head|Link|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}} and {{SSBU|Toon Link}} {{Head|Toon Link|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}}||[[Bridge of Eldin]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Dark World (for 3DS / Wii U)}}''||References Dark Link from various ''Legend of Zelda'' titles.

|4||{{SSBU|Lucas}} {{Head|Lucas|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}||[[New Pork City]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|EarthBound|Porky's Theme}}''||References the Masked Man from ''Mother 3''.

|5||{{SSBU|Captain Falcon}} {{Head|Captain Falcon|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Red}}||[[Port Town Aero Dive]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|F-Zero|Devil's Call in Your Heart}}''||References Blood Falcon.

|6||Giant {{SSBU|Mr. Game & Watch}} {{Head|Mr. Game & Watch|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||[[Find Mii]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Game & Watch|Flat Zone}}''||

|colspan="5"|Bonus Stage

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Falco has ''{{SSBUMusicLink|Star Fox|Main Theme - Star Fox 64 (Brawl)}}'' accompany the credits.

During the opening cutscene, Falco was present when [[Galeem]] unleashed his beams of light. Falco attempted to flee the scene immediately, as he was already seated in his Arwing; however, Galeem destroyed his aircraft and vaporized him, placing him under Galeem's imprisonment along with the rest of the fighters, excluding {{SSBU|Kirby}}.

Falco is unlocked in the space area of the World of Light on the planet resembling Titania, a callback to the Star Fox games where Fox rescues a teammate on the said planet if they were shot down at certain levels. The player must have a [[Slippy Toad]] or ROB 64 spirit to ride the [[Great Fox]] to navigate this sector. Then, the player must defeat the Starship Mario and the Aparoid spirits to access his unlock stage.

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"

! style="width:5%;"|No.

! style="width:5%;"|Image

! Name

! Type

! Power

! Stage

! Music

| 20

| [[File:Falco SSBU.png|center|64x64px]]

| {{SSBU|Falco}}

| [[File:SpiritTypeAttack.png|20px|center|Attack]] <center>{{color|#dc1029|Attack}}</center>

| 7,500

| [[Lylat Cruise]] ([[Ω form]])

| ''{{SSBUMusicLink|Star Fox|Space Armada}}''

{{-}}

Falco's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing [[Classic Mode]]. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Falco in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in ''Ultimate''.

Falco Spirit.png|383. '''''Falco Lombardi'''''

|{{anchor|Expresso}}Expresso

|''Donkey Kong series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeAttack.png|20px|center|Attack]]

|{{anchor|Cucco}}[[Cucco]]

|''The Legend of Zelda series''

|•Tiny {{SSBU|Falco}} Team {{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}} (×5)

|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]

|•Item: [[Cucco]]

|{{anchor|Loftwing}}Loftwing

|''The Legend of Zelda series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]

|{{anchor|Revali}}Revali

|''The Legend of Zelda series''

|•{{SSBU|Falco}} {{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}}

|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]

|{{anchor|Coo}}Coo

|''Kirby series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]

|{{anchor|Farfetch'd}}Farfetch'd

|''Pokémon series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeAttack.png|20px|center|Attack]]

|{{anchor|Skarmory}}Skarmory

|''Pokémon series''

|•Metal {{SSBU|Falco}} {{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}}

|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]

|{{anchor|Lugia}}[[Lugia]]

|''Pokémon series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]

|•Dangerously high winds are in effect after a little while<br>•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls ([[Lugia]])<br>•The enemy is giant

|{{anchor|Gulliver}}Gulliver

|''Animal Crossing series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]

|{{anchor|Brewster}}{{s|nookipedia|Brewster}}

|''Animal Crossing series''

|•{{SSBU|Falco}} {{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}}<br>•{{SSBU|Villager}} (×2) ({{Head|Villager|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Cyan}}{{Head|Villager|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}})<br>•{{SSBU|Isabelle}} {{Head|Isabelle|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Purple}}

|[[File:SpiritTypeNeutral.png|20px|center|Neutral]]

|{{anchor|Beat}}[[Beat]]

|''Mega Man series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]

|{{anchor|Owl}}Owl

|''The Legend of Zelda series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]

|{{anchor|Orville & Wilbur}}Orville & Wilbur

|''Animal Crossing series''

|•{{SSBU|Falco}} (×2) ({{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Orange}}{{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}})

|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]

|{{anchor|Zelda (Breath of the Wild)}}Zelda (Breath of the Wild)

|''The Legend of Zelda series''

|•{{SSBU|Zelda}} {{Head|Zelda|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}}<br>•{{SSBU|Link}} {{Head|Link|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}}<br>•{{SSBU|Inkling}} {{Head|Inkling|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Pink}}<br>•{{SSBU|Donkey Kong}} {{Head|Donkey Kong|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Yellow}}<br>•{{SSBU|Falco}} {{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}}<br>•{{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}} {{Head|Zero Suit Samus|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=ShortsBlue}}

|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]

|{{anchor|Peppy Hare}}[[Peppy Hare]]

|''Star Fox series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeNeutral.png|20px|center|Neutral]]

|{{anchor|Krystal}}[[Krystal]]

|''Star Fox series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeNeutral.png|20px|center|Neutral]]

|•Assist Trophy Enemies ([[Krystal]])

|{{anchor|ROB 64}}[[ROB 64]]

|''Star Fox series''

|•{{SSBU|R.O.B.}} {{Head|R.O.B.|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Yellow}}<br>•{{SSBU|Falco}} {{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}}<br>•{{SSBU|Fox}} {{Head|Fox|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Orange}}

|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]

|{{anchor|Maria Renard}}Maria Renard

|''Castlevania series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]

|{{anchor|Donbe & Hikari}}[https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Donbe Donbe] & [https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Hikari Hikari]

|''Famicom Mukashibanashi series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeNeutral.png|20px|center|Neutral]]

|{{SSBUMusicLink|Nintendo|Shin Onigashima Medley}}

|{{anchor|Nakoruru}}Nakoruru

|''SAMURAI SHODOWN series''

|•{{SSBU|Zelda}} {{Head|Zelda|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Red}}<br>•Tiny {{SSBU|Falco}} {{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Orange}}

|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]

|{{anchor|Leon Powalski}}[[Leon Powalski]]

|''Star Fox series''

|[[File:SpiritTypeAttack.png|20px|center|Attack]]

SSBUWebsiteFalco5.jpg|Attacking {{SSBU|Captain Falcon}} with Falco Phantasm on [[Pokémon Stadium]].

SSBUWebsite21.jpg|Taunting on [[Lylat Cruise]].

=== Character Showcase Video ===

*One of the pictures of Falco from [https://www.smashbros.com/en_US/fighter/20.html his fighter page] on the ''Ultimate'' website features him using [[Fire Bird]] above the [[Great Plateau Tower]]. This is a likely homage to {{s|zeldawiki|Revali}}, a similar looking character from ''{{s|zeldawiki|The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild}}''. Falco also represents Revali in his Spirit battle.

*In Falco's character showcase video, frame-by-frame inspection reveals that the hitbox visualization of Falco's {{b|Blaster|Falco}} lasers and [[Falco Phantasm]] are visible while Falco fights Cloud. [https://i.imgur.com/qsfT2se.jpg][https://i.imgur.com/tJWcR2t.png]. This is likely an error that went unnoticed during editing.

*The afterimages of Falco's [[Falco Phantasm]] still uses his model from ''Smash 4'' rather than his ''Ultimate'' model. This is shared with Fox's [[Fox Illusion]].

*Falco's zipper will sometimes detach from his jacket on certain animations such as hanging on an edge. This also happens with {{SSBU|Wolf}}. <ref>[https://imgur.com/fCU3NvX]</ref>

*Falco, {{SSBU|Peach}}, {{SSBU|Zelda}}, {{SSBU|Olimar}}, {{SSBU|Duck Hunt}}, and {{SSBU|Dark Pit}} are the only fighters to appear as allies in spirit battles.  

*Falco and {{SSBU|Squirtle}} are the last 2 fighters to receive any changes through updates, as of [[7.0.0 (SSBU)|7.0.0]].

**Due to Squirtle itself being part of {{SSBU|Pokemon Trainer}}'s team, Falco is the last solo fighter that has received changes since ''Ultimate''{{'}}s release.

*Falco and {{SSBU|Ken}} are the only two fighters to face [[Crazy Hand]] by himself as their final boss in Classic Mode under Intensity 7.0.

*If Falco performs a smash attack with the Home-Run Bat, he grunts during the windup rather than before the swing. This is a carryover from ''Brawl'', where all character will grunt during the windup animation. This is shared with Nana.