Falco (SSB4)

Falco in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Star Fox
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Landmaster
Tier	F (47)

Falco (ファルコ, Falco) returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Falco was officially confirmed on October 3rd, 2014, alongside Ness and Wario, coinciding with the North American and European release of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. In Japanese, he is once again voiced by Hisao Egawa via re-recorded voice clips. In English, Mark Lund, his voice actor from Star Fox 64 3D and Star Fox Zero, now voices him, replacing Dex Manley from Brawl.

Falco is currently ranked 47th out of 55 on the tier list, an extreme drop from Brawl where he was ranked 7th out of 38, and a enormous drop from his Melee position where he was ranked 2nd out of 26, making this his worst placement in the series by far. The majority of Falco's moves have high speed and very favorable 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, Blaster 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 canceling 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 grabbing 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 gimps.

Owing to his flaws, especially compared to his Brawl incarnation, Falco has held poor tournament representation and results in competitive play. Although updates to the game have attempted to buff a number of his negative attributes, he still has struggled to make an impact at tournaments at the national level.

How to unlock

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• Play 20 VS Matches.
• Complete Classic Mode without using any continues.

Falco must then be defeated on Corneria.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

• Play 10 VS Matches.
• Clear Classic Mode on any intensity.

Falco must then be defeated on Orbital Gate Assault.

Attributes

Falco is a light character with polarized movement. He has the strongest jumping 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.

Falco's greatest strength is the speed of his moveset. His neutral attack and forward tilt are both exceedingly quick, while up tilt and down tilt can be used to combo into other attacks or even KO at high percentages. His smash attacks are all powerful and have decent reach as well. Down smash is also a semi-spike, making it very good at edgeguarding. His aerial moves are also powerful in their own way. Neutral aerial deals decently high knockback and is very quick, making it an excellent option for disrupting an opponent's moves and a great combo extender/finisher. Forward aerial is powerful and can easily KO offstage, and can be used for gimping by fast-falling during the move then footstool jumping over the opponent, in a similar manner to fellow representative Fox. It also has a strong landing hitbox with disjointed range. Up aerial sends opponents vertically and is a great move for comboing and KOing off the top, thanks to Falco's high jumps. Back aerial is Falco's strongest aerial, as well as his second fastest, making it a great choice in many scenarios. Lastly, down aerial, while significantly nerfed from Brawl, can still be useful for KOing offstage, as it is a meteor smash. All of these moves grant Falco a versatile combo game.

Another advantage Falco possesses is his grab game. His pummel is quick and decently damaging, making it great at racking up damage. Forward throw is decently strong and can set up a dash attack or an edgeguard. Back throw is great for giving Falco some breathing space, since the first hit is a semi-spike, and when combined with the laser's hit, the throw can even KO at high percentages. Up throw sends opponents straight up, and can be used to combo into any aerial or even KO at very high percents. Finally, down throw can combo into dash attack and any aerial at low percentages, or tech-chase if the opponent is past combo percentages, like in Brawl. Coupled with his fast rolls and sidestep, with the former being long-distanced, as well as his aforementioned combo abilities, Falco has an impressive out of shield game.

His special moveset also provides some interesting options. Blaster is Falco's main projectile and, while extremely unsafe at close range, is an invaluable move for pressuring, gimping recoveries (especially those of Ganondorf, Little Mac and Cloud) and halting or even outright preventing approaches. Reflector is, as its name implies, a move capable of reflection, allowing Falco to actively combat camping. It also carries a damaging hitbox that has a high chance of tripping opponents, even at percentages over 400%, allowing for potential tech-chases. Falco Phantasm involves Falco quickly dashing sideways, making it great for horizontal recovery. The aerial version also meteor smashes aerial opponents and has little landing lag, making it useful for gimping recoveries and repositioning, respectively. Lastly, Fire Bird, his primary recovery move, grants him respectable distance in any direction chosen. It also allows Falco to slide across the air, letting him mix up his positioning, and has damaging hitboxes throughout (dealing 31% if all hits connect), making up for its low speed.

However, Falco has numerous weaknesses. His most prominent flaws are his neutral game and recovery. Regarding his neutral game, Falco's horizontal mobility is fairly slow, which limits his movement across the stage. This gives him significant trouble approaching and pressuring opponents, since Blaster, his most reliable tool at doing so, can no longer autocancel. In addition, while Falco's moves are overall very quick startup-wise, many of them are slow endlag-wise, making misused moves heavily susceptible to punishment. When combined with his overall poor reach on his melee attacks and the fact that most of his moves' sweetspots are close to his body, Falco has a below average neutral game, making him have trouble at KOing despite his overall high power. As for his recovery, while his high jumps, Falco Phantasm, wall jump and Fire Bird all give him a very long-distanced recovery, it is extremely predictable due to how linear it is. These four options are also very ineffective on their own, making his recovery fairly easy to gimp. Outside of low percentages, Falco's combo-oriented moves are prone to being DIed, making it harder for him to rack up damage effectively, which is further exacerbated by the removal of chain grabbing, DACUS and the Gatling Combo. Despite being light, Falco is susceptible to combos, due to his fast falling speed and lack of escape options. His survivability is below average at best, mainly because of Falco's low weight, high gravity, and predictable recovery.

Falco benefits a decent amount from custom moves. Burst Blaster has less range, but is much faster, forcing bad approaches from the opponent much more easily. Falco Phase cannot hit opponents and does not grant any momentum, like in Melee, but Falco cannot be hurt either, and the move is also faster. Distant Fire Bird is slower and has no charging hitbox, like in Melee, but it moves further and has more momentum, considerably improving his recovery. Reflector Void destroys most projectiles instead of reflecting them, but deals more damage on contact, and is the optimal choice against certain characters like Villager or if the opponent lacks projectiles. The other variations of his custom moves are either very situational, or do not have many advantages over the default.

Overall, like Kirby and 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 Armando and Keitaro.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Falco has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. Even though the former are technically of greater quantity than the latter, he is considered to be significantly nerfed overall, due to his neutral game being drastically weakened and the nerfs he received are far more severe than the buffs he received.

Falco's power has been improved significantly, removing his main weakness from Brawl. His down tilt has regained its lost power from Melee and his smash attacks are stronger. His forward aerial is stronger and unaffected by SDI, his up aerial has consistent power and more vertical knockback, and his back aerial while having a shorter duration and less range around him has much more power, to the point of being the eighth strongest overall in the game while also being the fastest in the game. In addition, his grab game has seen some improvements, with up throw having comboing abilities, and back throw now having KO power. His recovery has also been noticeably buffed. While Falco Phantasm can no longer be shortened and its hitbox was noticed nerfed, it no longer puts Falco in helpless state, allowing Fire Bird to be used immediately after, with the latter also granting more distance than before. Due to being slow, both moves also benefit a lot from the removal of edge-hogging.

However, the nerfs Falco received created new weaknesses that were harsh enough to 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-canceling 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 considerably harder for him to put his high power to good use.

Overall, most of Falco's buffs are not highly beneficial while the nerfs he received practically removed some of his previous best tools. The general changes to the mechanics also did not help him as much as some other characters while taking away a few of his key traits. Due to these nerfs, Falco is considered to be one of the characters to get nerfed the most severely in the initial transition from Brawl to Smash 4, alongside Meta Knight, Marth, King Dedede, Jigglypuff and Olimar. His changes overall has resulted in many players having fairly poor opinions about him and he has seen far less success in tournamnets.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in SSB4, Falco's attire is sleeker, and his overall color scheme is more vibrant.
• Falco has received two new alternate costumes.
• Blaster's design has slightly changed.
• Falco now says "Get some!" when he performs his side taunt, instead of "Don't try me."

Attributes

• Falco dashes faster (1.432 → 1.472).
• Falco's air speed is faster (0.893 → 0.93).
• Falco's additional air acceleration is faster (0.07 → 0.09).
• Jump is significantly higher.
• Falco falls faster (1.708 → 1.8). This improves his vertical endurance, but makes him more susceptible to combos.
• Falco's fast falling speed is faster (2.3912 → 2.88), improving his air game and making him less susceptible to juggling.
• Falco's gravity is higher (0.112 → 0.13). This improves his aerial mobility, but hinders his horizontal endurance and air time and makes him more susceptible to combos.
• Soft landing is faster (3 frames → 2).
• Item throw is weaker (1 → 0.94). Additionally, the removal of glide tossing greatly hinders his approach with items.
• The removal of chain grabbing significantly improves Falco's endurance however, it also removes the chain grabs he used to possess.
• Rolls have less ending lag (FAF 32 → 30).
• Rolls have a shorter duration (frames 4-19 → 4-16).
• Air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 2) and ending lag (FAF 50 → 32).
• Air dodge has a shorter duration (frames 4-29 → 2-26).
• Spotdodge has a shorter duration (frames 2-20 → 2-16) and more ending lag (FAF 23 → 26) no longer being one of the fastest spotdodges in the game.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack's infinite has received a finisher, an outward knifehand strike. The weakening of SDI also makes it harder to escape from, despite its SDI multiplier being increased (1× → 1.2×).
  • The first and second hits of neutral attack have a shorter duration (4 → 3 frames) and more ending lag (FAF 17/19 → 23/26). The first hit and infinite also deal less damage (4% → 3% (hit 1), 1% → 0.4 (infinite)).
  • The first and second hit of neutral attack have different angles (80° → 68°/77°/80° (hit 1), 50° → 80°/50°/45° (hit 2)), and no longer use set knockback (hit 1: 5 (set)/100 (scaling) → 35 (base)/30 (scaling); hit 2: 20 (set)/100 (scaling) → 30 (base)/30 (scaling)). This makes them harder to connect into the neutral infinite at high percents, but improves their jab canceling potential (especially the first hit's), despite their higher ending lag.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt's clean first hit has a different angle (100° → 106°) and higher set knockback (60 → 100), allowing it to connect more reliably into the second hit. The changes to hitstun canceling also grant it combo potential starting at mid percents.
  • Up tilt has more startup lag (frame 4 → 5), and the clean first hit no longer affects aerial opponents, while the second hit's farthest hitbox has less reach (6u → 5u).
• Down tilt:
  • 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, which somewhat increases its reach. It also has more base knockback (25 → 50/35), restoring its KO potential from Melee, and the changes to hitstun canceling make it a better combo starter at low to mid percents.
  • Down tilt's middle hitbox deals less damage (12% → 11%).
  • Down tilt's middle and tipper hitboxes have lower knockback scaling (90 → 88), although it is compensated by their increased base knockback.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has increased knockback (40/30 (base)/90 (scaling) → 80/70/70). It also has a new animation where Falco instead kicks while leaning away from his kicking-direction and recovers with a forward lean brake (in a slightly different fashion than Fox's dash attack), somewhat altering his hurtbox position and making him harder to hit.
  • Dash attack has more startup with a shorter duration (frames 4-17 → 8-18), and more ending lag (FAF 36 → 40). Additionally if it connects, it can no longer be cancelled into an up smash (via the Gatling Combo). Altogether, these changes hinder dash attack's utility.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has increased knockback (clean hit: 40 (base)/88 (scaling) → 42 (base)/90/93/96 (scaling), late hit: 10 (base) → 30), improving its KO potential.
  • Forward smash has a shorter duration (frames 17-22 → 17-20), and the late hit has less reach (9u → 6u).
  • Forward smash has increased hitlag (0.5× → 1× (clean hit), 0.3× → 0.5× (late hit)). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.
• Up smash:
  • 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, dealing more total damage (14% → 16%) and having no late hit behind Falco. It also has less startup with a longer duration (frames 8-17 → 7-12/13-20), hits crouching opponents more easily, and grants intangibility on Falco's legs while the hitboxes are active. These changes greatly improve its ability to challenge opponent's defence.
  • Up smash has more ending lag (FAF 44 → 50). The removal of DACUS also immensely hinders its approach potential making it a more difficult to use as a KO option.
  • The second hit of up smash has an altered angle (95° → 80°), and higher knockback values than the previous single hit (20 (base)/98 (scaling) → 31 (base)/104 (scaling)) to compensate for its lower individual damage output (14% → 12%). It also has increased hitlag (1× → 1.3×), making it safer on shield, but easier to DI.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has higher knockback scaling (70 → 78), improving its KO and edgeguarding potential.
  • Sourspotted down smash deals less damage (13% → 12%).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has more reach (5u → 6u (looping hits)/8u (final hit)). The looping hits also have higher set knockback (10 → 22) and use the autolink angle (110° → 367°), which alongside the weakening of SDI allows them to connect much more effectively. Lastly, the final hit has significantly increased knockback (40 (base)/100 (scaling) → 55/130), and always launches opponents in the direction Falco is facing, which alongside the changes to hitstun canceling grants it combo potential.
  • Neutral aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 15).
  • The final hit of neutral aerial has increased hitlag (1x → 2x). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.
  • Neutral aerial now has a slash effect instead of a normal effect.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial's looping hits have set knockback (0 (base)/40 (scaling) → 60 (set)/100 (scaling)), a faster rehit rate (8 → 4), and use a different autolink angle (365° → 366°), which alongside the weakening of SDI allows them to connect much more effectively, despite their SDI multiplier being increased (0.8× → 1×). The final hit also deals more damage (3% → 4%) and knockback (80 (base)/60 (scaling) → 55/145), and launches at a lower angle (50° → 361°), making it a reliable edgeguarding option. Furthermore, the move has less ending lag (FAF 58 → 50), landing lag (33 frames → 25), auto-cancels earlier (frame 49 → 46), and possesses a new landing hitbox with high hitlag, making it harder to punish. These changes drastically improve its utility, and it is no longer one of the worst forward aerials.
  • Forward aerial has more startup with a shorter duration (frames 6-33/34-35 → 10-27/28-29), and the looping hits deal less damage (2% → 1%), reducing its total damage output without the landing hit (11% → 9%). The final hit also has an increased SDI multiplier (0× → 1×) and less reach (8u → 6u).
  • All hits of have increased hitlag (0.7× → 1× (looping hits), 2× → 2.5× (final hit)). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has a new animation, with Falco kicking more horizontally while leaning further away (akin to his dash attack), which narrows his hurtbox somewhat. The clean hit has much higher knockback scaling (103 → 130), improving its KO potential to the point of becoming one of the strongest back aerials in the game. It also auto-cancels earlier (frame 23 → 15), and benefits from the increased shieldstun, now being safe on shield if its autocancel is timed properly.
  • Back aerial has less reach (4.5u/6u/4u → 4.8u/3.2u), and its sourspot in front of Falco has been removed. It also has a shorter duration (frames 4-7 (clean)/8-19 (late) → 4-5/6-11).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less startup (frame 10 → 7) and ending lag (FAF 36 → 34), more reach (4.8u → 5u), and no longer has a sourspot that deals drastically lower knockback (30 (base)/20 (scaling) → 35/90), making it more reliable. It also launches at more vertical angles (68°/80° → 65°/75°/85°), which alongside its lower lag and the changes to hitstun canceling allow it to start combos more effectively.
  • Up aerial deals less damage (11% → 10%) with knockback not fully compensated on its sweetspots (27 (base)/100 (scaling) → 35/90), hindering its KO potential.
  • Up aerial has a shorter initial autocancel window (frames 1-6 → 1-3).
• Down aerial:
  • The removal of meteor canceling improves down aerial's reliability for edgeguarding. Due to its 2× hitlag multiplier, it also benefits heavily from frame cancelling upon landing.
  • Down aerial has an altered animation, resulting in over three times the startup lag (frame 5 → 16), more ending lag (FAF 50 → 52), almost twice the landing lag (12 frames → 23) and a slower auto-cancel (frame 27 → 38). This drastically worsens its utility and prevent it from autocanceling in a short hop. It also has less reach (5.5u → 4.2u (clean hit)/5.3u (late hit)), and lower knockback scaling on its clean hit (100 → 80).
  • Down aerial has shorter initial autocancel window (frames 1-4 → 1-3).
  • The clean hit of down aerial has a different launch angle on grounded opponents (280° → 80°) and aerial opponents (280° → 285°). In the former case, this improves its KO potential, but removes its follow-ups at high percentages and removes its ability to trip opponents at lower percents.
  • The clean hit has increased hitlag (1× → 2×). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.

Throws/other attacks

• Standing and pivot grabs have slower startup (standing: frame 6 → 8, pivot: frame 9 → 11) and ending lag (standing: FAF 30 → 32, pivot: FAF 36 → 38).
• Dash grab has faster startup (frame 11 → 10).
• Excluding forward throw, all throws now consist of one strong Blaster shot instead of three weak shots (four in the case of down throw), which deal more knockback (30 (base)/100 (scaling) → 60/80). This makes back and up throws more reliable for damage racking, especially at high percents. They also benefit from the weakening of DI, as opponents can no longer DI out of the lasers' line of fire as effectively.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw deals more total damage (8% → 9%), and both the throw and laser deal more knockback due to their higher individual damage outputs (2% → 6% (throw)/3% (laser)). Combined with the previous points, this makes it a reliable KO throw at around 150% near the edge.
  • Back throw's angles have been altered (33° (throw)/361° (laser) → 35°/50°). Its throw also has lower knockback scaling (80 → 60), though this is more than compensated by its higher damage output.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw launches at more vertical angles (107° (throw)/361° (laser) → 94°/90°), and deals more knockback due to both the throw and laser's higher individual damage outputs (2% → 4%), despite the former's lower base knockback (70 → 60). Combined with the previous points and the changes to hitstun canceling, this grants it utility as a combo starter from mid to high percents. It also benefits from the new rage mechanic, which makes it a reliable KO throw on stages with platforms.
• Down throw:
  • The changes to hitstun canceling allows down throw to maintain its combo potential at low to mid percents despite its higher knockback now putting opponents into tumble at 0%.
  • Down throw deals less total damage (9% → 5%) due to firing one laser instead of four, despite the throw's higher damage output (1% → 3%). Combined with the removal of chain grabbing, this hinders its damage racking potential. The throw also deals more knockback (45 (base)/130 (scaling) → 60/110), hindering its followup potential especially with the removal of DACUS.
  • Down throw's laser has a different angle (361° → 50°).
• Floor attack:
  • Floor attacks deal more damage (6% → 7%) and shield damage (1 → 8) per hit, with minimally compensated knockback scaling (50 → 48).
  • Floor attacks' angles have been altered (361° → 48°).
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack no longer has set knockback (110 (set)/100 (scaling) → 90 (base)/20 (scaling)).
  • Edge attack deals consistent damage (8% (legs)/6% (body) → 7%).

Special moves

• Blaster:
  • Blaster has a longer delay between consecutive shots (24 frames → 29 (grounded), 16 frames → 24 (aerial)), and can no longer autocancel, removing silent lasers and making the aerial speed increase significantly lower than in Brawl. While it can still be used to lock, laser locking is no longer possible due to its slower speed. Blaster shots also travel a much shorter distance. These changes have removed nearly all of this move's utility in approaching and camping.
  • Blaster has less startup lag (frame 12 → 11 (grounded), frame 10 → 9 (aerial)).
  • The Laser glitch has been removed.
• Falco Phantasm:
  • Falco Phantasm no longer dashes over edges when used on the ground, and has less landing lag when used in the air. It also no longer leaves Falco helpless when used in midair, and gives Falco some forward momentum after the move ends. Lastly, the introduction of ledge trumping allows it to be used for gimping opponents after trumping the edge and the removal of meteor canceling improves its reliability.
  • Falco Phantasm has slightly increased startup lag (frame 17 → 18), and can also no longer be shortened, hindering Falco's recovery mix-up options. The move also dashes more slowly, and the attack has less range, due to the hitbox ending before Falco dashes forward the full distance.
  • Falco Phantasm has an altered animation, with Falco crossing his wings before spreading them outwards.
• Fire Bird:
  • Fire Bird covers much more distance, and has less startup lag (frame 21 → 20). The charging portion's hits also have decreased SDI multipliers (1.5× → 0.8×), which alongside the weakening of SDI makes them harder to escape, although they still do not link very well.
  • Fire Bird no longer gives Falco a slight vertical boost at the end of the move, making it slightly harder to recover if Falco overshoots the ledge from behind.
• Reflector:
  • Reflector has more range (3u → 3.5u) and now boosts the speed of reflected projectiles (1× → 1.3×).
  • Reflector deals less damage (6% → 5%), has a lower trip chance (40% → 25%) and deactivates once Falco grabs the device (after frame 33), shortening the window Falco gets to reflect projectiles and making timing of the move more crucial than in Brawl. Its reflection multiplier has also been decreased (1.5× → 1.2×).
• Landmaster:
  • Landmaster is weaker and has a shorter duration.
  • Landmaster is now light blue, instead of dark blue.

Update history

Falco has been buffed via game updates. In update 1.0.4, his Blaster's firing rate was increased, which slightly improved his neutral game. Update 1.0.8 buffed Falco's punishing game by making his neutral aerial more versatile, as well as increasing the speed of his up and forward aerials. The same update also slightly improved his aerial mobility by increasing his air speed and acceleration. Update 1.1.4 increased his down smash's knockback, while improving his up smash by decreasing its start-up, increasing its knockback, and granting intangibility to its first hit. Lastly, the new shield mechanics also aid some of Falco's moves without harming others. These changes gave Falco more offensive options and improved both his KOing and his previously nerfed damage racking abilities, making him better than he was in the game's initial release. However, since none of them have improved his below average neutral game, Falco still remains at a disadvantage compared to most of the cast.

1.0.4

• Forward aerial's landing hit deals considerably more damage (2% → 5%). Its knockback values were not compensated, drastically improving its KO potential.
• Forward aerial's landing hit extends farther horizontally (z offsets: 11/8 → 12/7), increasing its horizontal range.
• Down aerial has less ending lag (FAF 58 → 52) and landing lag (26 frames → 23).
• Blaster has a more generous repeat window (frames 7-14 → 7-17).
• Grounded Blaster has a shorter delay between shots (34 frames → 29).
• Grounded Blaster has less ending lag (FAF 64 → 59).
• Fixed a glitch in which Reflector Void failed to reflect Timber properly.
• Landmaster's falling hitbox can no longer hit damageable floors.

1.0.8

• Falco's air speed increased: 0.893 → 0.93.
• Falco's air acceleration increased: 0.07 → 0.09.
• Neutral attack improved. It keeps opponents in place more reliably for all of its hits and its hitboxes' sizes increased.
• 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.
• Neutral aerial deals 1% less damage: 12% → 11%.
• Forward aerial deals 1% more damage if all aerial hits connect: 5% → 6%.
• Forward aerial's start-up and landing lag decreased: 12 frames → 10 (start-up), 32 frames → 25 (landing).
• Forward aerial overall lag decreased: 58 frames → 50, giving it follow-up potential.
• Forward aerial's landing hit deals 2% less damage: 5% → 3%.
• Up aerial's start-up decreased: 10 frames → 7.
• Up aerial's hitbox sizes increased and deal more vertical knockback.
• 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.
• Sweetspotted down aerial's duration increased by 1 frame.
• Sourspotted down aerial's hitboxes' sizes increased.
• Sweetspotted down aerial no longer meteor smashes grounded opponents. Instead, it now launches opponents at a slightly diagonal trajectory. This makes it incapable of being teched at the cost of removing its follow-up potential at high percentages.
• Falco Phantasm's start-up increased: frame 18 → 19.

Technical changelist 1.0.8

Change	Old value	New value
Jab 1 hitboxes 0 and 2 switched
Jab 1 base knockback	30	35
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 hitbox 2 angle	50°	45°
Jab 2 hitbox 2 size	2	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 weight-based knockback increased
Neutral air hitbox sizes increased
Neutral air (hit 2) damage	3%	2%
Neutral air hits now auto link
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 replaces sweetspot one frame later	19	20
Down air sourspot hitbox size	5	5.3

1.1.4

• Up smash's first hit has less startup lag with a longer duration (frame 8 → 7-8). The animation was unchanged, giving the move considerably more range below Falco.
• During up smash, Falco now has intangibility on his attacking leg while the hitboxes are active.
• Up smash's first hit has altered knockback (60/80 (base near/far), 25/30 (scaling near/far) → 70/18).
• Up smash's first hit now has weight independent knockback.
• Up smash's Middle hitbox has been moved slightly forwards (x offset: 1.5 → 2).
• Up smash's far hitbox is positioned further away from Falco (x offset: 5 → 7.7 (hit 1 early)/7 (hit 1 late/hit 2)), giving the move more range.
• Up smash's second hit deals more knockback (30 (base), 98 (scaling) → 31/104), improving its KO potential.
• Down smash has higher knockback scaling (76 → 78), slightly improving its KO potential.
• Down Throw Ledge Spike Bug removed.
• Trip invincibility and all trip followups except floor attack have one less frame of invincibility.

Moveset

• Falco can wall jump.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Performs two knifehand strikes, then tilts diagonally and spins very quickly with his wings spread out before finishing with another knifehand strike. A handy jab cancelling tool due to its quick speed (comes out on frame 2), as it can be followed up by a tilt, down smash or a grab.
			2%
			0.4% (loop), 3% (last)
Forward tilt			9%	A roundhouse kick. It can be angled strongly, but has below average knockback. Can lock opponents.
Up tilt			4% (hit 1), 3% (hit 1, late tip), 5% (hit 2)	Slightly twists around and swings both of his wings upward. The tip of the first hit is a meteor smash, although it is very hard to land consistently in normal gameplay as both attacks connect well with each other. Useful for comboing. It also functions as a fast, though somewhat weak KOing option, dealing enough vertical knockback to KO at around 160%.
Down tilt			12% (near), 11% (mid), 9% (far)	Swipes across the floor with his tail feathers. One of the strongest down tilts in the game, reliably KOing at 120% if sweetspotted. It also has combo potential depending on the knockback it deals.
Dash attack			9% (clean), 6% (late)	A flying kick. The late hit launches the opponent at a lower angle.
Forward smash			15% (clean), 10% (late)	A two-handed overhead slash downwards. Has high knockback and speed, though has slow startup on the flipside. Its sweetspot is at his hands. One of Falco's strongest attacks, KOing at 102%.
Up smash			4% (hit 1), 12% (hit 2)	A sideways-flipping kick that hits twice. Falco's legs have intangibility while the hitboxes are active. KOs at 130% and comes out as a rather fast damage rack-up tool, but has some notable lag.
Down smash			15% (feet), 12% (legs)	A split kick. Comes out quickly and Falco's feet are intangible for a short time before the attack. However, it has below average reach. There is a very small sourspot in the center of his body that deals weak vertical knockback, but the move's ending lag renders it practically unusable for combos. Falco's hurtbox also shrinks down during this attack, allowing him to avoid high-aimed moves if timed properly.
Neutral aerial			3% (hits 1-2), 2% (hit 3), 3% (hit 4)	Spins and swipes repeatedly with his wings, hitting four times. A good combo move, with each hit connecting well with one another. The last hit launches opponents away. As the move's looping hits use the autolink angle, it can be used during a fast fall to gimp recovering opponents.
Forward aerial			1% (loop, 5 hits), 4% (last hit), 3% (landing)	Spins in a horizontal corkscrew to perform a drilling peck. It is similar to Pikachu and Sonic's forward aerials. Can KO around 100% offstage while not being particularly hard to land. It has a landing hit positioned around Falco's head that launches opponents away with decently strong knockback, making this move one of Falco's most reliable KOing options overall. As the move's looping hits use the autolink angle, it can be used during a fast fall to gimp recovering opponents.
Back aerial			13% (clean), 7% (late)	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 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.
Up aerial			10%	A somersault kick. The kick covers above Falco, giving it rather good range. The attack also starts behind him, allowing the early hit to catch opponents while he's landing. Juggles well at low percentages and can KO at higher percents, although its knockback is lacking compared to Fox's. Regardless, Falco's high jumps allow it to be used from very high up near the blast line, where it can KO as early as 115%.
Down aerial			13% (clean), 8% (late)	Briefly pulls his legs upward before performing a downward corkscrew stomp. A decently strong meteor smash on aerial opponents; as a carryover from Melee, it is one of the few meteor smashes that sends opponents diagonally downwards. Due to the clean hit's 2× hitlag multiplier, it benefits significantly from frame cancelling, though this is very situational. The late hit can also lock opponents. However, the move has high startup lag and landing lag, so it is mostly used for reads.
Grab			—	An average grab.
Pummel			2%	Knee strikes the opponent. Decent speed.
Forward throw			4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Launches the opponent forward with a cross.
Back throw			6% (throw), 3% (shot)	Throws the opponent backwards and then shoots them once with his Blaster. Can KO at around 150% near the edge if the opponent is hit by the laser.
Up throw			4% (throw), 4% (shot)	Throws the opponent upwards and then shoots them once with his Blaster. A reliable combo starter until high percentages thanks to Falco's high jumps. It can combo into any aerial (except down aerial) and, with a proper read, lead into a KO with up aerial. The throw itself can KO at high percentages if performed on stages with platforms, although opponents can DI away from it at said percent range.
Down throw			2% (shot), 3% (throw)	Throws the opponent to the ground and shoots them with his Blaster. Like his up throw, it is a very reliable combo starter. It can lead into an up smash or dash attack at low percentages, as well as a neutral, forward or back aerial at medium percentages.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Lunges and kicks backward and forward.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Extends to attack in front and in back.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Spins around while kicking.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	A corkscrew dropkick.
Neutral special	Default	Blaster	3%	Unlike Fox's variant, the shots come out much slower, travel slower, aren’t as long, and don’t go as far, but they flinch opponents and don’t decay in power as they travel. The Blaster fires slightly faster in the air, although this speed increase is negligible. Due to the lasers' low fixed knockback, they can lock opponents at any percent.
	Custom 1	Explosive Blaster	1% (loop, 4 hits), 2% (last)	The Blaster's laser slows down as it travels and explodes right before it stops. It pushes opponents while traveling, but does not deal damage until the laser explodes. Also visually alters the lasers fired from throws. Similar to Zero Suit Samus’ Electromagnetic Net.
	Custom 2	Burst Blaster	2% (near), 1% (far)	Acts similarly to Fox's Blaster in that it fires faster, but has lower power, length, range, and loses its ability to make the opponent flinch. Additionally, it still fires slower than Fox's, though its ending lag is significantly lower. Doesn’t fire quicker in mid-air.
Side special	Default	Falco Phantasm	7% (ground), 6% (airborne opponents when used in air)	Dashes forward at a blinding speed, leaving behind afterimages. Unlike Fox Illusion, Falco Phantasm will launch airborne opponents straight downward on contact, and it has 2 less startup frames. On grounded opponents, it sends them upwards with favorable force to combo into a back aerial.
	Custom 1	Falco Phase	0%	Quicker, and Falco is intangible for the duration of the move, but it cannot hit opponents either. It does not give Falco any momentum.
	Custom 2	Falco Charge	4% (early), 12% (clean), 4% (late)	The dash's range is shorter, but it hits much harder at the beginning of the move.
Up special	Default	Fire Bird	2% (charging loop, 7 hits), 3% (launch hit 1), 2% (launch hits 2-8),	Cloaks himself in flames and before firing himself in any direction, depending on what direction is held. The launch attack hits multiple times. It also travels a shorter distance than Fox's Fire Fox. The first launch hit can knock opppnents away from the rest of the hits.
	Custom 1	Fast Fire Bird	2%	Instantly fires himself in any direction, but at the cost of a shortened distance.
	Custom 2	Distant Fire Bird	8% (first hit), 2% (loop)	The charging time is longer, but Falco travels further. The initial part of the attack launches opponents, while the rest of the attack hits opponents multiple times, dealing weak knockback and having a 1.5× SDI multiplier. The total number of loop hits varies, depending on how long the move is extended by lag, usually by being larger than your target.
Down special	Default	Reflector	5% (Reflector), 1.2× (reflection)	Activates his Reflector and kicks it away from him, reflecting any projectiles and hitting opponents it comes in contact with. It then returns to him as if magnetized. The move can be used as a poking tool that can lock or trip low damaged opponents to start combos.
	Custom 1	Accele-Reflector	2% (Reflector), 1× (reflection)	The Reflector deals less damage, can only reflect while moving forward and does not increase the reflected projectiles' damage output, but doubles the speed of the reflected projectiles. The Accele-Reflector is colored green.
	Custom 2	Reflector Void	9% (Reflector), 0.75× (reflection)	The Reflector deals more damage and destroys absorbable projectiles instead of reflecting them. Non-absorbable projectiles are still reflected, but deal less damage due to its lowered reflection multiplier. Its angle and knockback are almost identical to his Reflector in Melee. The Reflector Void is colored purple.
Final Smash		Landmaster	12%/11%/10%/8% (movement), 10% (roll), 8%/12% (shot)	Calls in a Landmaster. Like Fox's Landmaster, Falco's version can shoot laser blasts and damage opponents while maneuvering around. Unlike Fox's however, it has better aerial mobility at the cost of weaker blasts.

On-screen appearance

• Ejects from an upside-down Arwing.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Kicks his Reflector around like a hacky sack and says "Piece of cake!" (楽勝だぜ。, An easy win.) before catching it.
• Side taunt: Poses by standing on one foot with his wing raised before saying "Get some!" (かかってきな。, Come bring it.)
• Down taunt: Spins once and crosses one wing before saying "Hands off my prey!" (俺の獲物に手を出すな！, Get your hands off my prey!)
• Smash taunt: When fighting as Falco on the Corneria stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS or Lylat Cruise in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, quickly tap down on the directional pad once and he will kneel down and seem as though he is trying to communicate with someone through a device, and then stand back up, at which point a conversation will begin with another character from the Star Fox universe.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Slightly turns to his side.
• Moves his wing in front of his face.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Fal-co!	Fal-co!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A flourished remix directly from Brawl based on the theme that would play at the title screen in Star Fox 64.

• Jumps high into the air and then performs a crouching pose upon descending to the ground.
• Performs a rapid series of kicks and then poses, saying "Had enough already?" (くたばるのはまだ早ぇぜ。, Too early to kick the bucket just yet.)
  • If Fox is present after a match, there is a chance he will instead say "You're off your game, Fox." Or in Japanese: 腕が落ちたな、フォックス。 (Your skills have fallen off, Fox.)
• Crosses arms and looks away, saying "You aren't worth the trouble." In Japanese: 付き合ってらんねぇな。 (Not worth associating with.)

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Falco	1123	1121	1133	1131	3123
	3121	3133	3131	2123	2133

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the PGR 100, which recognizes the official top 100 players in Super Smash Bros. 4 of all time.

•  Anragon - Europe's best Falco player; 3rd place at Neokan Party 3 and 9th at MARS 2016.
•  Armando (#47) - Considered the best Falco in the world, but mostly uses Meta Knight in tournament. 1st place at 2GG: Breakthrough, 7th at 2GGC: Midwest Mayhem Saga, 5th at Switchfest. Ranked 8th on the SoCal Smash 4 Power Rankings. Has a win over 6WX and "2 stocked" Nairo with Falco.
•  Cyro - One of the best Falco players in the world. Placed 17th at 2GG: Breakthrough, 33rd at both 2GGT: Abadango Saga and 2GGC: GENESIS Saga, and 65th at 2GGC: Civil War.
•  Daybreak - Currently ranked 4th on the Michigan Smash 4 Power Rankings. Placed 33rd at Smash 'N' Splash 4, Midwest Mayhem 11 and 17th at Showdown: Battle Royale 3.
•  Keitaro - One of the best Falco players in the world. 25th at KTAR XVII, 2GGT: FOW Saga and Smash Factor 5. Formerly ranked 10th on the New Jersey Smash 4 Power Rankings. Has a win over Mistake.
•  Osiris - The best Falco player in MD/VA region.
•  Quilly - Ranked 5th on the Missouri Power Rankings.

Tier placement and history

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 Ike, Meta Knight, Marth, and 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.

Recently however, Falco has had some noteworthy results as of lately thanks to smashers like Armando and Keitaro. Many smashers have also learned that Falco has some favorable and even matchups against some of the middle and high tier characters like Villager, Mega Man, Toon Link, Olimar and 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.

Trophies

Falco

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.

Ex-gang leader, ace pilot and comrade of Fox, Falco Lombardi might play it cool, but he's burning with passion on the inside. In this game, he excels at jumping and aerial combat, and the way his Reflector move flies forwards can catch foes off guard. Add to that his balanced array of attacks, and it's clear that Falco's a real threat.

: Star Fox (03/1993)

: Star Fox 64 (07/1997)

Falco (Alt.)

Falco's Blaster looks identical to Fox's at first, but actually it's quite different! The beams Falco fires deal more damage and cause the victim to flinch, but at a slower rate of fire. Considering Falco's lineage, it's not all that surprising that he can fire faster while airborne.

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.

: Star Fox (03/1993)

: Star Fox 64 (07/1997)

Landmaster (Falco)

Falco jumps aboard his landmaster for his Final Smash, This powerful combat vehicle sports an explosive cannon and a heavily armored exterior. Falco can blast other fighters or simply drive into them with his tank. This landmaster also flies higher than Fox's, letting Falco give his rivals a pick-me-up...off the stage!

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!

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Landmaster

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Melee: Falco is one of the eight opponents fought in this event. All the opponents debut in Melee and reappeared in Smash 4 as veterans.
• Duck Hunt!: As Duck Hunt, the player must defeat 10 ducks which appear in the stage background. Falco can interfere with the progress with Giant Falco appearing after some time has passed.
• Great Fox Defense: Falco must prevent a group of Mr. Game & Watches from landing on the stage. The Mr. Game & Watches have more stock on higher difficulties.
• Up to Speed: As Sonic, the player must defeat Fox, Falco, and Captain Falcon in a high-speed 1 stock match.

Co-op Events

• Keep 'Em off the Ship!: Fox and Falco team up to prevent a larger wave of Mr. Game & Watches from landing on the stage.
• Sky Pirates: Meta Knight and Dark Pit must team up to defeat Captain Falcon and Falco before the plane returns to the airfield.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
• Visiting Onett: Falco is one of the opponents Ness and Villager must fight against. The opponents are space characters or characters from other planets.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Falco's amiibo.

• 

  Kicking Little Mac with his dash attack.

• 

  Readying his Blaster.

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  Attacking Bowser with Diddy Kong, Fox, and Takamaru.

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  Riding on an Arwing with Captain Falcon, Little Mac, and Fox.

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  Staring down Fox.

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  Attacking Link and Marth.

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  Posing with Pikachu.

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  In his Landmaster attacking Samus.

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  Using Falco Phantasm on Greninja.

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  On Boxing Ring with Captain Falcon, Luigi, and Shulk.

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  Hitting Lucario while wearing a Bunny Hood.

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  Using Falco Phantasm.

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  Slashing Pit with his forward smash.

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  Uses Falco Phantasm on Pit and Yoshi.

• 

  Hitting Charizard.

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  Fires his blaster.

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  Uses Fire Bird on Mario.

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  Firing alongside with Fox.

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  Jabs on Olimar.

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  Forward aerial attack on Mega Man.

• 

  Getup attack.

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  Falco in standby mode.

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  Down smash.

• 

  Poses with Peach.

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  Attacking Toon Link.

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  A pose via his ledge attack.

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  Attacking Greninja.

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  Back aerial attack with Andross.

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  Uses a Drill Arm on Mario and Sonic.

• 

  A taunt.

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  Poses with Captain Falcon.

Trivia

• Falco has three English voice actors between both versions of Super Smash Bros. 4. He has Mark Lund for his battle voice and the Orbital Gate Assault Smash taunts, Dex Manley for the Lylat Cruise Smash taunts, and Ben Cullum for the Corneria Smash taunts. He shares this distinction with Fox.
  • Regardless of the release dates of both Star Fox 64 3D and Super Smash Bros. 4, Falco is still reprised by Hisao Egawa in Japanese as opposed to being voiced by his new Japanese voice actor, Kōsuke Takaguchi (this also occurs with Fox).
• Interestingly, the custom move set for his neutral special, Blaster, will actually influence the throws in which Falco uses it.
• This is Falco's first appearance where he is not unlocked by completing 100-Man Smash. This unlock criteria goes to Wario instead.
• Falco is the last non-DLC character amiibo to be released in the Super Smash Bros. amiibo lineup.
• 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.
• Much like Zelda, this is the only game where Falco reuses his design from a previous game with his Star Fox Command appearance being reused.