Falco (SSB4): Difference between revisions

|ranking = 47

'''Falco''' ({{ja|ファルコ|Faruko}}, ''Falco'') returns as a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. Falco was officially confirmed on October 3rd, 2014, alongside {{SSB4|Ness}} and {{SSB4|Wario}}, coinciding with the North American and European release of {{for3ds}}. As in ''[[Melee]]'' and ''[[Brawl]]'',  {{s|wikipedia|Hisao Egawa}} reprises his role in the Japanese version with his re-recorded voice clips of the game. Mark Lund, his voice actor from Star Fox 64 3D, now voices him in the English version, replacing Dex Manley from Brawl.

Falco ranks 47th out of 55 on the [[tier list]], an extreme drop from ''Brawl'' where he was ranked 7th out of 38, and an enormous drop from his ''Melee'' position where he was ranked 4th out of 26, making this his worst placement in the series by far. The majority of Falco's moves have high speed and very favourable angles, granting him a strong combo game and [[juggling]] capabilities. These are further aided by his good grab game and strong jumps, with the latter remaining the highest in the game. His moves that lack speed or reach are also packed with power, giving his moves surprisingly high KO power; for example, his back aerial can reliably KO below 130%. He also boasts an effective grab game and out of shield game, with all of his throws possessing great utility and/or KO power, while the speed of his moves allows him to easily punish opponents out of shield.

However, Falco's [[neutral game]] has been drastically weakened, with several of the moves that made him a threat at all ranges being nerfed: his two staple moves, {{b|Blaster|Falco}} and down aerial, now being much slower, and both are also incapable of [[autocancelling]] in a [[short hop]], eliminating Falco's ability to safely [[approach]]; changes to his back aerial by lowering its duration and reach also make it less effective at [[spacing]]. These weakened tools amplify the issue of Falco's low horizontal mobility, making it very difficult to keep up with opponents or force an approach. Finally, even though Falco benefits from the changes to [[hitstun cancelling]] as they make down throw much better for combos, it can no longer lead into the [[Gatling Combo]] or rack up damage on its own. In fact, the changes to game mechanics have hindered Falco overall, as the removal of [[DACUS]], the Gatling Combo, and [[chain grab]]bing hurt his damage racking capabilities overall, while the introduction of rage makes him more susceptible to KOs, due to his light weight. His recovery, despite being long distanced and buffed overall, is still slow, predictable, and easily intercepted, making Falco vulnerable to [[gimp]]s.  

Falco is a [[Weight|light]] character with polarized movement. He has the strongest [[jump]]ing ability, a fast [[walking speed]], fast [[falling speed]] and high [[air acceleration]], but a rather slow [[dashing speed]], below average [[air speed]] and very high [[gravity]]. These stats give Falco slow horizontal movement, but proficient vertical movement. They also give him good vertical survivability for a character of his weight.

Overall, like {{SSB4|Kirby}} and {{SSB4|Luigi}}, Falco runs hot and cold. Despite having excellent combo potential and KO power, his slow ground mobility, poor range and significantly nerfed neutral game make it very difficult to put his newfound abilities to use. Mainly due to his poor neutral game, Falco's weaknesses outweigh his strengths, resulting in poor tournament representation and similar results, with very few dedicated mains such as {{Sm|Armando}} and {{Sm|Keitaro}}.

However, the nerfs Falco received created new weaknesses that were harsh enough to severely cripple his neutral game. The removal of DACUS (and subsequently the Gatling Combo) prevents his newly buffed up smash from being used as an approach option or a combo finisher. The removal of chain grabbing is a double-edged sword for Falco. While he is no longer adversely affected by it, his ability to easily rack up large amounts of damage with his down throw is no longer present. His down throw was also directly nerfed as it deals less damage and has higher knockback, hindering its combo potential. Down aerial, a staple in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'', has been drastically slowed down having immensely increased startup lag and no longer [[auto-cancelling]] in a short hop. These changes hinder down aerial so much to the point where it is now useless outside of [[edgeguarding]] and even then, down aerial has reduced knockback. Falco Phantasm has increased startup lag, travels more slowly and its hitbox no longer lasts for its entire duration moving forwards greatly hindering its use on stage and it can no longer be shortened hindering its mixup potential. Finally, his Blaster, formerly one of the most reliable tools for approaching and pressuring, is slower and incapable of autocancelling. These changes make Falco much less of a threat in the neutral game, as it is now considerably harder for him to put his high power to good use.  

**{{buff|The early first hit launches opponents at a lower angle (100° → 106°) and it has higher set knockback (60 → 100), allowing it to connect more reliably into the second hit, as well as making it safer if it fails to lead into the second hit.}}  

**{{buff|Down tilt has an altered animation where rather than spinning around in place with his tail out, Falco steps forward slightly and sweeps his tail in front of him. The hitboxes are also now attached to the tip of Falco's tail rather than the base with both of these changes giving down tilt more range despite the hitboxes being positioned closer to Falco (x offset: 0/6/12 → -4.1/1.9/7.8).}}  

**{{buff|Down tilt deals more knockback (25 (base), 90 (scaling) → (50/35)/(90/88)), improving the furthest and especially the nearest hitboxes' KO potential.}}  

**{{buff|Dash attack deals more knockback (40/30 (base), 90 (scaling) → (80/70)/70).}}  

**{{nerf|Dash attack has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 4-7 (clean)/8-17 (late) → 8-11/12-18), with its total duration subsequently increased (FAF 36 → 40). This considerably hinders dash attack's usage as a burst approach option or as a whiff punishment tool.}}  

**{{nerf|Forward smash has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 16-20 (clean)/21 (late) → 17-19/20). As the move's animation is unchanged, this remove's the clean hit's ability to hit opponents behind Falco.}}  

**{{change|Falco has a new up smash, a sideways-flipping kick that hits with both legs with the following-legged hit re-positioning him forward. It hits twice instead of once.}}  

**{{buff|Up smash has less startup with a longer duration (frames 8-11 (clean)/12-17 (late) → 7-12 (hit 1)/13-20 (hit 2)).}}  

**{{buff|Up smash deals more damage overall (14% → 4% (hit 1)/12% (hit 2)/16% (total)).}}  

**{{nerf|Up smash has more ending lag (FAF 45 → 50).}}  

**{{buff|The loop hits' right arm hitbox is larger (4u → 6u).}}  

**{{buff|The final hit deals considerably more knockback (40 (base), 100 (scaling) → 55/130). This improves its KO potential, while the changes to hitstun canceling and DI allow it to retain its combo potential at lower percents.}}  

***{{nerf|However, this animation is also slightly longer (59 frames → 60).}}

**{{buff|The final hit launches opponents at a lower angle (50° → [[Sakurai angle|361°]]) as well as dealing more damage (3% → 4%) and much more knockback (80 (base), 60 (scaling) → 55/145), greatly improving its KO potential.}}  

**{{nerf|Forward aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 6-33 (loop hits)/34-35 (final) → 10-27/28-29).}}

**{{nerf|Forward aerial has a slightly longer animation (59 frames → 61).}}

**{{change|Back aerial has a new animation, with Falco kicking more horizontally.}}  

**{{buff|Back aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 23 → 15), although it still auto-cancels three frame after the hitboxes are removed.}}  

**{{nerf|Back aerial has smaller hitboxes (4.5u/6u/4u → 4.8u/3.2u (clean), 4u/5u/4u → 3.8u/2.8u (late)), the foot hitbox has been moved closer to Falco (y offset: 4.1 → x offset: 4) and the front has been removed, reducing its range.}}  

***{{nerf|However, its total duration was not fully compensated (FAF 36 → 35), giving it more ending lag.}}  

**{{buff|The foot hitbox is slightly larger (4.8u → 5u).}}  

**{{buff|The lowest hitbox deals drastically higher knockback (30 (base), 20 (scaling) → 35/90), going from an incredibly weak sourspot to now being the move's sweetspot.}}  

**{{nerf|Up aerial deals less damage (11% → 10%).}}  

**{{buff|The removal of [[meteor canceling]] improves down aerial's reliability, although this is partially offset by the move's reduced power.}}  

**{{change|The clean hit now launches grounded opponents vertically (280° → 80°). This improves its KO potential as well as preventing opponents from [[tech]]ing the move at higher percents (considering the changes to meteor smashes), however, this also hinders its followup potential at lower percents.}}  

***{{buff|However, its total duration was not fully compensated (FAF 50 → 52), giving it less ending lag.}}  

**{{buff|[[Back throw]] deals more damage (2% (throw)/2% (lasers)/8% (total) → 6%/3%/9%). The throw's knockback scaling was not fully compensated (80 → 60) while the laser's knockback was not compensated, improving its KO potential (to the point where the move can now KO at realistic percents if the laser connects).}}

**{{buff|[[Up throw]] launches at more vertical angles (107° (throw)/50° (laser) → 94°/90°). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI, this siginificantly improves up throw's combo potential despite the laser coming out sooner than the previous third laser (frame 24 → 20).}}  

**{{nerf|Blaster no longer auto-cancels on landing, greatly hindering its safety as well as greatly hindering Falco's camping potential.}}  

**{{nerf|When Falco lands on the same frame as the laser comes out, the laser will now make a sound effect, making lasers easier to react to in this situation.}}  

**{{nerf|Lasers have a drastically shorter duration (98 frames → 33). When combined with their slower travel speed, this drastically reduces the distance lasers travel, with them now only covering around 3/4ths of Final Destination.}}

**{{nerf|The longer gap between shots, the slower speed/shorter distance of the lasers and the introduction of the three hit [[lock]] limit, have greatly hindered the laser's locking potential.}}  

**{{buff|Falco now retains some forward momentum after the move ends.}}  

**{{nerf|Falco Phantasm can no longer be shortened, hindering its mix-up potential.}}  

**{{nerf|Falco Phantasm dashes more slowly and covers less distance.}}  

**{{nerf|Falco can no longer reuse Falco Illusion if he is aerial [[grab release]]d out of it.}}

**{{buff|Falco's momentum is no longer completely halted after performing Fire Bird at an upwards 45° angle, making it cover noticeably more distance.}}  

**{{nerf|The hitbox deals less damage (6% → 5%).}}  

**{{nerf|The hitbox has a lower trip chance (40% → 25%).}}  

**{{nerf|The Reflector has a shorter duration (frames 1-51 → 1-32), no longer lasting the entire animation.}}  

*{{buff|Falco's [[air speed]] increased|0.893|0.93.}}

*{{buff|Falco's [[air acceleration]] increased|0.07|0.09.}}

*{{buff|Neutral attack improved. It keeps opponents in place more reliably for all of its hits and its hitboxes' sizes increased.}}

*{{buff|Neutral aerial improved. It keeps opponents in place more reliably for all of its hits, its hitboxes' sizes increased, and it always launches in the direction Falco faces.}}

*{{nerf|Neutral aerial deals 1% less damage|12%|11%.}}

*{{buff|Forward aerial deals 1% more damage if all aerial hits connect|5%|6%.}}

*{{buff|Forward aerial's start-up and landing lag decreased: 12 frames → 10 (start-up), 32 frames → 25 (landing).}}

*{{buff|Forward aerial overall lag decreased|58 frames|50, giving it follow-up potential.}}

*{{nerf|Forward aerial's landing hit deals 2% less damage|5%|3%.}}

*{{buff|Up aerial's start-up decreased|10 frames|7.}}

*{{buff|Up aerial's hitbox sizes increased and deal more vertical knockback.}}

*{{change|Up aerial's sourspot removed, leaving it with a single hitbox that deals 1% less damage than its previous sweetspot|11%|10%. This makes its utility much more consistent at the cost of an extra powerful hitbox.}}

*{{buff|Sweetspotted down aerial's duration increased by 1 frame.}}

*{{buff|Sourspotted down aerial's hitboxes' sizes increased.}}

*{{change|Sweetspotted down aerial no longer [[meteor smash]]es grounded opponents. Instead, it now launches opponents at a slightly diagonal trajectory. This makes it incapable of being [[tech]]ed at the cost of removing its follow-up potential at high percentages.}}

 

'''Technical changelist 1.0.8'''

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

|-

|Jab 1 hitboxes 0 and 2 switched|| ||

|Jab 1 angle (hitboxes 0-1)||80°||68°/77°

|Jab 1 size (hitboxes 0-1)||2/3||2.5/3.2

|-

|Jab 1 Z-offset (hitbox 0)||0||-0.5

|-

|-

|-

|Jab 2 Z-offset (hitbox 2)||0||-0.5

|-

|Transition from Jab 2 to Jab 3||frame 10||frame 9

|-

|Rapid jab loop hitbox sizes||2/3||2.7/3.2

|Neutral air (hit 2) damage||3%||2%

|-

|Neutral air's final hit now forces front-facing knockback || ||

|-

|Animation speed 1.33× for frames 0-37 || ||

|-

|Looping hits refresh time||6||4

|-

|Number of looping hits||3||5

|-

|Forward air landing damage||5%||3%

|Forward air base knockback||30||50

|Up air damage||11%||10%

|Up air angle||68°/68°/80°||65°/75°/85°

|Up air base knockback || 27/27/30 || 35/35/35

|Up air knockback scaling || 100/100/20 || 90/90/90

|-

|Up air hitbox 0 size||4.8||5

|-

| Animation speed 1.5× for frames 0-8 || ||

|-

|Up air startup||10 frames||7 frames

|Down air sweetspot produces a different hitbox with a nonmeteor angle on grounded opponents || 285° || 80°

|-

|Down air sourspot hitbox size||5||5.3

|}

|bairdesc=A back kick. It is notorious for being one of the fastest and strongest back aerials in the game; the clean hit comes out at frame 4 and possesses incredibly high knockback scaling that even exceeds moves such as {{SSB4|Ness}}'s back throw. When including its ability to autocancel from a [[short hop fast fall]], it is a powerful KOing option and combo breaker, capable of KOing at 130% from the center of [[Final Destination]]. However, its other qualities have been heavily toned down since ''Brawl'', with its range and duration being considerably shorter.

''See also: [[:Category:Falco professionals (SSB4)]]''

*{{Sm|AC|USA}}<!--Please do not change Armando's flag to Mexico unless you have proof that he is not an official U.S. resident. Flags should always represent the country they currently reside in (with a few exceptions, as ZeRo is currently not an official U.S. resident).--> (#47) - Considered the best Falco player in the world, but mostly uses {{SSB4|Meta Knight}} in tournament. Placed 1st at {{Trn|2GG: Breakthrough}}, 5th at {{Trn|SwitchFest}}, and 7th at {{Trn|2GGC: Midwest Mayhem Saga}}. Ranked 8th on the [[SoCal Smash 4 Power Rankings]] with a a win over {{Sm|6WX}}.

*{{Sm|Anragon|France}} - The best Falco player in Europe. Placed 3rd at [https://smash.gg/tournament/neokan-party-3/events/wii-u-singles/brackets/66958 Neokan Party 3], [http://challonge.com/fr/MARS2016SingleWiiU MARS 2016], and 33rd at {{Trn|Smashdown World}}. Previously ranked 9th on the [[French Power Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Cyro|USA}} - One of the best Falco players in the world. Placed 17th at {{Trn|2GG: Breakthrough}}, 33rd at both {{Trn|2GGT: Abadango Saga}} and {{Trn|2GGC: GENESIS Saga}}, and 65th at {{Trn|2GGC: Civil War}}.  

Falco has been viewed rather poorly ever since ''Smash 4''{{'}}s release. Players took little time to notice the severe nerfs to his [[Blaster]], which was an essential component of Falco's playstyle in his previous iterations and a driving force behind his top-tier placements in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl.'' The nerfs to his down aerial, another signature move of his, further contributed to his weak status, as well as being somewhat slower on the ground than in Brawl. As time went on and Falco saw little representation and almost no notable results to speak of, it became clear that his nerfs were indeed too severe for him to be even a mid-tier character in the eyes of the community. This is in spite of the fact that Falco has received numerous buffs over the game's life span, due to them largely failing to address his ineffective [[neutral game]]. Meanwhile, characters like {{SSB4|Ike}}, {{SSB4|Meta Knight}}, {{SSB4|Marth}}, and {{SSB4|Mewtwo}}, who were all at some point considered similarly below-average, would go on to receive more meaningful buffs, which served to only worsen Falco's position relative to the cast. Falco's nerfs and his ongoing lack of tournament presence would lead him to place at 38th on the first [[tier list]] released by the ''4BR''. He then saw drops to 49th on the second tier list, and again to 50th on the third tier list.

 

Towards the end of the game’s lifespan, however, Falco has earned some noteworthy results as of late thanks to smashers like {{Sm|Armando}}, {{sm|Keitaro}}, and {{Sm|Anragon}}. Many smashers have also learned that Falco has some favorable and even matchups against some of the middle and high tier characters like {{SSB4|Villager}}, {{SSB4|Mega Man}}, {{SSB4|Toon Link}}, {{SSB4|Olimar}} and {{SSB4|Lucas}}. Due to these traits, some players have argued in support of him and believe he is rather underrated, citing his strong [[combo]] game, powerful [[back aerial]], feared down tilt and an effective reflector. Due to the discovery of Falco's niche matchups, he saw a slight improvement to 47th with some smashers still claiming he deserves to be even higher. Regardless, Falco holds the distinction of having the largest tier drop from ''Brawl'' to ''Smash 4'' and regarded to be significantly worse than his previous iterations due to his overwhelming nerfs and terrible matchup spread against the high and top tier characters.

:'''Falco'''

::{{Flag|North America}} ''A talented pilot and part of the Star Fox team, Falco can be a bit rough around the edges. He once led his own galactic gang before joining up with Fox. In Smash Bros., his ability to jump high and deal damage in the air makes him a powerful threat, and his thrown Reflector can catch foes by surprise.''

 

{{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=Star Fox (03/1993)|console2=N64|game2=Star Fox 64 (07/1997)}}

 

 

::{{Flag|Pal}} ''Falco's Blaster looks identical to Fox's at first glance, but they are actually quite different. Most notably, Falco's version causes enemies to flinch, which can be invaluable when warding off approaching foes. It also deals more damage and has a slower fire rate - though its fire rate actually increases when used in mid-air.''

 

 

 

::{{Flag|Pal}} ''With immense firepower and tough armour, the Landmaster makes for a mighty Final Smash. Falco can use this fine combat vehicle to run down and roll into rivals, as well as inundate them with cannon blasts. His Landmaster can hover a bit higher than Fox's making it easier to pick rivals up and give them a nice comfy ride off the stage!''

 

 

==In [[Event Match]]es==

===Solo Events===

===Co-op Events===

*Due to being placed 47th on the current tier list, Falco's tier placement marks the first time a ''Star Fox'' character is in the low tiers.