Introduction
Falco is the quintessential definition of a glass cannon. He dominates the neutral game, boasting insane frame data and by far the best projectile in the game. After landing a hit or even from a disadvantage state, Falco also has the most limitless combo and mix up potential in the game with his unique version of shine and his dAir that help him string together just about any move to rack up percent and potentially land his kills.
There is no exaggeration when it's said that this bird's laser is one of the most obnoxious projectiles in this game, and perhaps all of fighting games. Unlike Fox's laser, his Blaster's laser deals hitstun on connect, meaning that Falco can immediately take control of the match and restrict the opponent's movement in neutral from the very start of a game with his laser. This can continue as strong zoning, or when he is closer he can use it to start his obscene pressure, or even fit it into combos to catch certain options and chain into stronger finishers. This plays into the rest of his moveset, as if the opponent attempts to get around the lasers vertically, he can perform extremely low commitment anti airs as a hard counter that start off his damaging combos.
Falco has a few main weaknesses. First his speed. Compared to his crewmate fox, he is much slower, but he rather makes up for it by controlling his opponent's movement with his gun. Second, his kill confirms. In general, building damage and performing long flashy combos is the easy part. Finishing the job however can necessitate mix ups or creativity. This is a problem only exacerbated by his weak grab combos, resulting in Falco dominating the majority of most matches but having the final result determined by how well the Falco can seal the deal.
One of his recovery moves are a bit of an anomaly, in that the threat it poses means it effectively cannot be rinse repeated without massive risk. His Side-B is just as borderline unreactable as Fox's, but instead sends unprepared opponents straight down, leading to a massive combo onstage and instantly reversing the situation into a kill offstage.
However, he is extremely susceptible to early % kills, dubbed gimps, due to its short length and the inherent issues with his other option in Up-B. When they work, they're amazing recoveries with infinite mix up potential. When they don’t, it can be frustrating.
In summary, Falco is a control focused character who sports the best neutral and flashiest combos of the cast. Just remember that this bird can’t fly.
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