Falco (SSBU)

Falco in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Star Fox
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Team Star Fox
Tier	B+ (35)

Falco (ファルコ, Falco) is a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially revealed on June 12th, 2018 alongside fellow Star Fox fighter Fox and the rest of the returning roster during the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct. Falco is classified as Fighter #20.

Mark Lund reprises his role from Super Smash Bros. 4 with new voice clips, sounding more akin to his appearances in Star Fox Zero and Starlink: Battle for Atlas. In the Japanese version, Falco is now voiced by Kōsuke Takaguchi, reprising his role from Star Fox 64 3D and Star Fox Zero and who also voiced Wolf, replacing Hisao Egawa from Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Smash 4.

Falco is ranked 35th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him in the B+ tier. This is a significant improvement over his low tier placement in SSB4, where he was ranked 46th out of 54 characters. Falco, unlike his fellow Star Fox brethren, is more centered on combos and advantage state, with his aerial combos being formidable and highly damaging. His up tilt is one of the best combo starters in the game, courtesy of him having the highest jump and vertical mobility in the game along with excellent aerial followups. Falco's edgeguarding is also very effective due to his aerials having either long-lasting hitboxes (neutral aerial and forward aerial) or being strong KO tools (back aerial and down aerial). His Blaster helps to force approaches and can aid with some defensive play and Falco Phantasm serves as a solid burst option to surprise opponents. His Reflector is his main anti-zoning tool, which can also help set up niche edgeguards and combos.

Despite these strengths, Falco has some weaknesses. Like Fox and Wolf, his endurance is not the greatest; in Falco's case, he is a lightweight character with the same predictable recovery issues as the other space animals due to Fire Bird and Falco Phantasm's linear angles. While Falco possesses one of the best vertical mobilities in the game, his horizontal mobility is not as formidable, as he lacks the grounded mobility of Fox and the air mobility of Wolf, giving him difficulty approaching and staying in neutral. While his combo game is strong, he lacks strong KO moves, making him reliant on moves such as down tilt, back air, or edgeguarding.

Overall, Falco's drastic improvements has resulted in him seeing significantly better representation in comparison to Smash 4. While the size of his playerbase pales compared to the other Star Fox fighters, Falco still sees solid results from players such as MASA, M0tsunabE, and Tilde.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Falco being the 32nd character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Fox or any character in his unlock tree, being the 4th character unlocked after Peach.
• Have Falco join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Falco must then be defeated on Corneria. In World of Light, he is fought on the Ω form of Lylat Cruise.

Attributes

Falco is a lightweight character with the highest jump in the game, a fast initial dash speed, the 7th highest gravity, the 10th fastest walking speed, the 11th fastest falling speed, the 12th highest traction and the 9th best air acceleration, but in contrast has average dashing speed and the 23rd slowest air speed. This makes his movement somewhat polarizing as he has overall mediocre horizontal movement (especially while airborne), but excels in reaching impressive heights.

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 to 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, potentially leaving offstage opponents in a very vulnerable position. 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 powerful meteor smash, giving it the ability to start combos onstage and score early KOs against poor recoveries.

Although Falco's ground game appears 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, large hitboxes, 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 KO grounded opponents with ease or 2-frame many recoveries. Forward smash has considerable range and respectable KO power, while down smash starts up quickly and sends at a semi-spike angle, working as another quick 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 neutral 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 setting up for potential edgeguards.

Complementing Falco's aerials and tilts is his grab game, as shielding too often provides Falco the opportunity to make use of his highly damaging throws. Up throw is highly useful, 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. Down throw combos into forward aerial at low percents and forward, while lacking true combos, is useful for setting up edgeguards and tech-chases. Finally, back throw's first hit is a semi-spike that sets up for Falco's strong edgeguarding game, while its second hit can outright KO at high percents near the ledge.

Considering his versatile 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 surprisingly low ending lag. Its shots can be used to pressure, provoke or halt approaches, snipe double jumps, or even outright gimp poor recoveries. Falco Phantasm propels Falco a significant distance 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 and even 2-frame low recoveries. Fire Bird is his primary recovery option and grants respectable distance in any chosen direction. Falco can notably use it in conjuction with footstool as an out of shield option; it has damaging hitboxes throughout and can deal up to 40% if all hits connect. Lastly, Reflector activates on frame 1, making reacting to 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 reliable escape options. Although Falco's recovery grants respectable distance, it is very linear. Falco Phantasm no longer passes through shields, making it far easier to corner him and force him offstage as a result. Without his double jump, Falco is in great danger offstage due to the nerfs to air dodging and his two recovery options each being slow and predictable.

Regarding his moveset, Falco has several moves that do not function properly and can even work against him. Up smash, despite having fast startup and high vertical reach, has large blind spots that often miss outright against many grounded opponents, leaving him extremely vulnerable from behind and against small or crouching opponents (even if they're directly in front of Falco). Plaguing him since Smash 4, both up tilt and up smash are prone to failing to properly connect against aerial opponents. Despite its appearance, 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 missing than they were 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 susceptible to DI than before, allowing opponents to survive what otherwise would effortlessly KO.

These aforementioned problems compound Falco's other, more defined weakness of struggling to secure a KO. Like fellow Star Fox fighters Fox and Wolf, Falco's strongest moves are also his slowest in terms of startup and/or endlag, requiring careful execution in order 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 opponents who can outmaneuver or outrange his options. 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.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Falco was previously considered a lackluster character in SSB4, due to the harsh nerfs he received in the previous game as well as gameplay mechanics working adversely towards him. Likely owing to this, Falco has received a mix of buffs and 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 Blaster and down aerial; Blaster has faster startup, now fires at the same rate while grounded as it does in the air, 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 Falco's other moves have been made more usable as well. 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.

Changes to gameplay mechanics have been kind to Falco. His 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. The nerfs to air dodging further strengthen 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 also received numerous nerfs, which worsen a few of his worst traits and give him more defined weaknesses. Though he possesses the highest jump in the game, Falco has had his already poor recovery nerfed as Falco Phantasm now travels slightly less distance and no longer passes through shields, making it even easier to intercept and more punishable. Additionally, while many of his combo-centric moves were made more effective through reduced lag, they have also been weakened (forward tilt, up tilt and 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 harder for him to close a stock.

Certain 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. Reflector no longer has a bonus chance to trip opponents, removing its utility for follow-ups and worsening its overall safety. Finally, although the changes to air dodging help Falco more than they hinder him, they make both of his recovery options even more linear and exploitable than before.

In the end, Falco is considered to be much better than his appearance in SSB4, with his key strengths being more threatening than before, and his neutral game has seen noticeable improvements, though at the cost of worse KO ability, recovery and disadvantage. This overall amounts to Falco being a much better character than he was in SSB4.

Aesthetics

• Falco's design is now a combination of his appearance in Star Fox Zero, and his design used in Brawl and SSB4. His flight suit, boots, and headset are from Zero while retaining his weapon designs and head proportions from SSB4. His eyes are now colored green instead of blue, his beak is slightly smaller, and his feathers are also more pronounced. Lastly, the aesthetic used in Ultimate has resulted in Falco's overall color scheme being more vibrant.
• Falco's holster has been redesigned indigo with vegas gold tints, and his headset is now entirely gray. These changes are unique to Ultimate.
• Idle, sidestep, roll, initial and secondary falling animations animations have changed slightly. However, he will revert to his idle animation from Brawl while holding a small item.
• Much like in Melee, Falco once again vocalizes when performing a midair jump.
• Falco now says "Come on!" during his side taunt instead of "Get some!".
• Falco now does a different pose in his jumping in the air victory animation.
• Falco has a new victory pose. He walks up to the camera, shrugs, and says "Sorry! Gotta jet!" while crossing his arms. This line replaces his "You aren't worth the trouble." line from previous games.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Falco's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 6).
• Falco runs faster (1.472 → 1.619).
  • His initial dash is faster (1.9 → 2.035).
• Falco walks slightly faster (1.28 → 1.344).
• Falco's air speed is slightly higher (0.93 → 0.977).
• Falco's traction is significantly higher (0.065 → 0.127).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-16 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-16 → 5-16), and more ending lag (FAF 30 → 35).
• Back roll has a new animation in which Falco jumps backwards after the initial flip. As such it covers even more distance.
• Spot dodge has more startup (frame 2 → 3).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 2-26 → 2-27).
• Air dodge has more ending lag (FAF 32 → 44).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit transitions into the second faster (frame 9 → 5), which transitions into the neutral infinite faster (frame 10 → 7). The second hit's automatic transition into the infinite (by holding the button when it hits) is also faster (frame 18 → 7).
  • The neutral infinite has faster startup (frame 8 → 5), a much shorter gap between hits (5 frames → 2), and deals less hitlag, in addition to keeping opponents on the ground, allowing it to connect much more reliably and making it harder to escape.
  • The neutral infinite's finisher has a new animation: Falco performs a spinning downwards kick instead of a knifehand strike, and backflips upon finishing the attack.
  • Neutral infinite's finisher connects better due to its hitbox change, as it was prone to missing in Smash 4.
  • All hits except the finisher deal less damage (3% → 1.5% (hit 1), 2% → 1.5% (hit 2), 0.4% → 0.3% (infinite)).
  • Falco no longer moves forward when performing each hit of neutral attack, decreasing its range. Additionally, the first two hits have a shorter duration (frames 2-4 → 2 (hit 1), frames 3-5 → 3-4 (hit 2)).
  • The neutral infinite's finisher has one frame more ending lag (FAF 40 → 41).
  • The first and second hits have altered angles (68°/77°/80° (hit 1), 80°/50°/45° (hit 2) → 361°/180° (both)) and knockback (35 (base), 30 (scaling) (hit 1), 30/30 (hit 2) → (25/20)/(30/25/20) (both)) to keep opponents close to Falco, akin to other neutral attacks. This allows them to connect better and jab lock, but hinders their guaranteed jab cancel setups.
  • Neutral infinite has a much larger "wind" particle around Falco while he spins.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 25).
  • It deals less damage (9% → 6%).
  • It has altered knockback (0 (base), 100 (scaling) → 42/60), making it much weaker overall. This makes forward tilt slightly safer at lower percents and allows it to tech-chase at KO percents, but hinders its locking potential and greatly reduces its KO potential to the point it can no longer KO under 300% from center stage.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has much less ending lag (FAF 37 → 30), significantly improving its combo potential.
  • The first active frame is now able to hit aerial opponents.
  • It deals less damage (4% → 3.5% (hit 1), 3% → 2.7% (hit 1, late tip), 5% → 4% (hit 2)).
    • The second hit's knockback was not compensated, further aiding in combos but reducing its KO potential.
• Down tilt:
  • All of down tilt's hitboxes deal more damage (12%/11%/9% (near/mid/far) → 13%/12%/10.5%) and the mid hits have higher base knockback (35 → 40). This improves the move's KO potential, while keeping its combo potential intact due to Falco's faster jumpsquat.
  • Down tilt launches at a more vertical angle (75˚ → 85˚), allowing it to KO earlier.
  • Down tilt has slightly more startup (frame 7 → 8).
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack deals more damage on both early and late hitboxes (9% (early)/6% (late) → 10.5%/7.5%) along with compensated knockback growth (70 → 63/61), making it KO slightly earlier.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash deals more damage (15% → 16% (clean), 10% → 12% (late)), with its knockback scaling not fully compensated (90/93/96 → 89/91/93), improving its KO potential.
  • It has an altered animation where Falco does not move as far forward, hindering its range.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has a new animation: a 540 kick while facing the camera (if facing left, his back is toward the camera). In terms of execution, it is similar to Captain Falcon's up smash.
  • Up smash's second hit deals more damage (12% → 13%), with only some of its knockback compensated (31 (base), 104 (scaling) → 28/102), improving its KO potential.
  • Its animation change lifts its hitboxes much higher from the ground. This prevents it from hitting behind Falco, and reduces its horizontal reach in front of him, with up tilt's first hit having more range; it also limits his ability to hit shorter, crouching or prone opponents with the move, even if they are directly in front of him. This drastically reduces up smash's utility.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has one extra frame of intangibility (frames 3-7 → 3-8).
  • It has more startup lag (frame 7 → 8).
  • The sourspot's angle has been altered (80° → 361°).
  • Falco's torso faces the camera while performing down smash. He also spreads his palms out towards the camera, with one arm on the ground.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (15 frames → 9 (neutral, up), 25 → 15 (forward), 15 → 13 (back), 23 → 11 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial's third and fourth hits have less startup lag (frame 14 → 10 (hit 3), frame 23 → 17 (hit 4)).
    • However, the move's total duration remains the same, thus increasing its ending lag. This worsens its ability to combo into other attacks without landing.
  • Its reduced landing lag allows it to combo into itself repeatedly near the ground from low to mid percents, drastically improving its damage racking potential.
  • Neutral aerial autocancels earlier (frame 43 → 41).
  • Due to Falco rising faster from his jumps, opponents are more likely to fall out of neutral aerial's looping hits, making it harder to connect.
  • It has a larger "wind" particle around Falco while he spins.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has less startup lag (frame 10 → 7).
    • However, its total duration remains the same, thus slightly increasing its ending lag.
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 46 → 42).
  • The landing hit deals more base knockback (30 → 50), allowing it to KO more reliably near edges.
  • Its hitboxes are smaller (5u (loop)/6u (finisher) → 4u/5u), reducing the move's range.
  • The landing hitbox is smaller (5u → 4u) and further back (Z offset 7-12 → 5-10), reducing its range and shortening its previously very large disjoint.
  • The initial auto-cancel window is shorter (frames 1-5 → 1-4).
  • The last hit has lower knockback scaling (145 → 137).
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has significantly increased startup lag (frame 4 → 9). This makes it harder for him to hit opponents out of a short hop with the move, and it is no longer one of the fastest-starting back aerials in the game.
    • However, its total duration remains the same, thus reducing its ending lag compared to the hitbox, slightly improving its followup potential.
  • It auto-cancels later (frame 15 → 20).
  • It has an altered animation, with one of Falco's arms facing the camera while he looks back over his shoulder. This animation shrinks Falco's hurtbox more, improving its reliability.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial does less damage (10% → 9%), with its knockback adjusted (35 base/90 scaling → 38/95), dealing slightly more knockback at low percents and slightly less at high percents, slightly weakening its KO potential without improving its combo potential.
  • It has an altered animation where Falco's body faces the side of the screen more than in SSB4, matching the hitboxes more closely.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has significantly faster startup (frame 16 → 10), being only twice the startup of Falco's down aerial in Brawl.
    • It also has less ending lag (FAF 51 → 43).
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 38 → 30), restoring its ability to auto-cancel from a short hop. Combined with its faster startup and lower landing lag, this significantly improves its previously situational use, making it more reliable for approaching and contesting opposing attacks.
  • Down aerial's clean hit on grounded opponents has more base knockback, but less knockback scaling (10 (base), 80 (scaling) → 55/50). This allows it to start combos at a wider range of percents, but hinders its KO potential.
  • The clean hit has been moved slightly further along Falco's leg (X offset 3.5 → 4.2, increasing its range below Falco but reducing its internal range.

Throws and other attacks

• All grabs have less startup lag (frame 8 → 6 (standing), frame 10 → 9 (dash), frame 11 → 10 (pivot).
• Standing and dash grab have more ending lag (FAF 32 → 35 (standing), 40 → 43 (dash)).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
  • It deals more hitlag (4 frames → 14), but has much less startup (frame 5 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 16 → 7).
• As a consequence of the faster knockback physics, back throw and up throw's lasers stop connecting earlier.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw's release deals less knockback. However, due to the aforementioned change, this fails to make it connect better into the laser, while reducing the move's KO potential.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has increased combo ability due to Falco's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw has an altered animation. Falco lays the opponent on the ground and fires a point-blank Blaster shot without slamming the opponent downwards.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Blaster:
  • Grounded Blaster fires faster (frame 11 → 8) and has significantly lowered ending lag (FAF 59 → 42).
  • Aerial Blaster fires faster (frame 9 → 7) and has drastically lowered ending lag (FAF 50 → 39). As a result, short hop Blaster shots now cause Falco to experience only 6 frames of landing lag.
    • Consecutive aerial Blaster shots fire slower.
  • The grounded version has a shorter delay between consecutive shots (29 frames → 26).
  • The shots travel faster (3.8 → 4.6), but don't last as long (35 frames → 27). Overall they travel a shorter distance (133u → 124.2u).
    • The increased speed makes them better at sniping recovering opponents.
    • However the reduced duration makes them less obstructive when zoning.
  • Blaster has different sound effects when fired and when hitting an opponent.
• Falco Phantasm:
  • Grounded Falco Phantasm has less startup (frame 18 → 13), ending lag (FAF 61 → 50), and a longer hitbox duration (18-24 → 13-22).
  • The grounded version has altered knockback (40 (base), 100 (scaling) → 83/50). Combined with the aforementioned change, and Falco's faster jumpsquat and jump speed, this grants it combo potential from low to mid percents if it hits near the end of the dash.
  • Aerial Falco Phantasm has more active frames (18-24 → 18-27).
  • Aerial Falco Phantasm travels a slightly shorter distance.
  • It no longer travels through shields, making it extremely unsafe if blocked.
• Fire Bird:
  • The charging portion's looping hits launch opponents towards Falco instead of away from him, allowing them to connect much more reliably.
  • The dashing portion's looping hits connect significantly more consistently, due to using a different autolink angle that lifts opponents off the ground, though it is still prone to launching opponents away at very high percents.
  • Fire Bird is able to deal more damage (31% → 33%)
  • Fire Bird cannot carry over as much momentum during the charge (speed modifier: 1.25x → 1x), hindering its recovery potential.
• Reflector:
  • Reflector has less ending lag (FAF 51 → 45), improving its safety both defensively and offensively.
  • It can no longer be reflected.
  • It no longer has a bonus trip chance, removing its followups and safety on hit at close range.
  • It now deals hitlag.
  • Reflector's ending animation has been altered, with Falco standing upright to catch his Reflector while turned slightly.
• Final Smash:
  • Falco has a new Final Smash, Team Star Fox, which involves him leading an Arwing strike in a similar manner to Fox's Final Smash, but with a more erratic and aggressive flight pattern. Unlike Fox's version, Falco's sends opponents almost vertically.
  • Upon activating, Falco yells, "Showtime!" If the Arwings successfully catch their target, Falco yells, "Time for a little payback!", one of Falco's famous quotes from Star Fox 64 with it captioned on screen during the cinematic.
    • If the Final Smash hits multiple opponents, he will yell "We've got multiple bogies inbound!". [4]
  • Team Star Fox can potentially deal more damage than Landmaster (although it could also deal a lot less), and the single hit has increased KO power, making it more consistent.
  • It is much easier to avoid compared to Landmaster, and is overall less versatile.
  • Due to being a cutscene Final Smash, Falco can no longer accidentally self-destruct like he could in the Landmaster.

Update history

Falco has been noticeably buffed via game updates. Curiously, he was left totally unchanged throughout several updates until update 7.0.0, which enlarged his shield as part of a near-universal buff.

Following this, update 8.0.0 granted Falco a number of noteworthy buffs. His infamous up smash became significantly more consistent, thanks to hitbox and knockback adjustments, and its respectable power was increased even further. Neutral aerial, which was also somewhat notable for being inconsistent, was noticeably improved via hitbox adjustments and its last hit being sped up. Down tilt's overall lag was decreased and its angle was adjusted; these changes not only improved both its KO and combo potential, but also reduced its susceptibility to DI. Down aerial also became more useful, as its excessive ending lag and landing lag were both decreased. Lastly, Falco Phantasm was sped up and its hitboxes were improved, which improved its trapping potential and even granted it utility as a set-up option.

Update 13.0.1 buffed Falco one last time. His dash attack deals more damage on both of its hitboxes with compensated knockback, making it KO slightly earlier. And finally, his forward smash now has added hitboxes on frame 17, making it better match the animation and giving it slightly longer hitbox detection.

Overall, Falco fares better than he did at Ultimate's launch, and he is now generally seen a lower high tier character.

7.0.0

• Overall shield size has been increased.

8.0.0

• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has less startup (frame 10 → 8), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 32 → 30).
  • It launches at a more vertical angle (75° → 85°), improving its combo and KO potential.
• Up smash:
  • The first hit has more base knockback on the clean hit (50 → 70), but less on the late hit (50 → 45), allowing it to lead more consistently into the second hit.
  • The second hit has more knockback scaling (102 → 107).
  • The second hit's hitboxes and leg intangibility have a longer duration (frames 13-18 → 13-20).
  • The second hit's foot hitbox is larger (5u → 5.7u), and stretches towards Falco's front during the first two active frames (X offset: 7u → 7u—0u; Y offset: 0u → 0u—5u; Z offset: 0u → 0u—-3u), allowing it to connect more reliably from the first hit.
• Neutral aerial:
  • The last hit comes out faster (frame 19 → 17). As a result, the move also has a reduced total duration (FAF 49 → 47) and autocancels earlier (frame 43 → 41).
  • The last hit has a larger hitbox (6u → 7u) that stretches farther vertically (Y offset: 10u—11u → 7u—11u) and horizontally (Z offset: 6u—1u → 7u—1u), allowing it to connect more reliably from the multi-hits.
• Down aerial has less ending lag (FAF 52 → 44) and landing lag (14 frames → 12).
• Falco Phantasm:
  • The grounded version has faster startup with a longer hitbox duration (frames 18-24 → 13-22). Its total duration is shorter as well (FAF 55 → 50), reducing its ending lag.
  • The aerial version has a longer hitbox duration (frames 18-24 → 18-27).

13.0.1

• Dash attack deals more damage on both early and late hitboxes (9% (early)/6% (late) → 10.5%/7.5%) with compensated knockback growth (70 → 63/61).
• Forward smash's hitboxes have been moved forward on frame 17, moving back again on frame 18. This makes it better match the move's animation and gives it better hit detection.

Moveset

• Falco can wall jump.

For a gallery of Falco's hitboxes, see here.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Wing Chop (ウイングチョップ) / Reverse Chop (リバースチョップ) / Gyro Cutter (ジャイロカッター) / Finish Kick (フィニッシュキック)	1.5%	Performs two knifehanded strikes before spinning his whole body to perform a series of knifehand strikes, ending with a downward axe kick that sends the opponent away. The first two hits 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 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.
			1.5%
			0.3% (loop), 3% (last)
Forward tilt		Bird Whip (バードウィップ)	6%	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 Mario if aimed up, but being able to hit any grounded character when aimed down. It is fast (frame 6) and has rather low ending lag (17 frames), but will not cause tumbling until around 70%, making it more suited for creating space at lower percents. At higher percents, it can set up a tech-chase situation.
Up tilt		Flap Upper (フラップアッパー)	3.5% (hit 1), 2.7% (hit 1 sourspot), 4% (hit 2)	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 staple moves and his best combo initiator 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, most notoriously, a reliable KO confirm into back aerial starting potentially as low as 80%, and even as high as 120%. Hit 1 has a sourspot near the end of its hitbox duration that deals 2.7% and has set knockback with no followups. One of the best up tilts in the game due to its fast startup, low ending lag, combo starting ability, and wide ranged hitboxes.
Down tilt		Tail Cutter (テイルカッター)	13% (near), 12% (mid), 10.5% (far)	Kneels down and swipes his tail feathers across the ground. As of update 8.0.0, it is the 2nd strongest down tilt in the game (right after Mr. Game & Watch's), with the sweetspot (which is on the base of Falco's tail feathers) killing Mario at 122% anywhere on Final Destination without rage. It deals more damage the closer the opponent is to Falco. As mentioned, the sweetspot turns it into a kill move, whereas the sourspots can be used to start aerial combos.
Dash attack		Jump Side Kick (ジャンプサイドキック)	10.5% (clean), 7.5% (late)	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's punishable on shield and can't KO until around 190%.
Forward smash		Wing Edge (ウィングエッジ)	16% (clean), 12% (late)	Uses both wings to perform a wide knifehanded 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 Falco's strongest finisher, killing 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%.
Up smash		Double Somersault Kick (ダブルサマーソルトキック)	4% (hit 1), 13% (hit 2)	Performs a 540 kick while facing towards/away from the camera (the former if he is facing right). Very fast for a smash attack, hitting on frame 7. However, its hitbox has been moved significantly upwards, heavily reducing its utility from SSB4 as it will now completely miss medium-sized opponents touching his back, opponents one character length away from him, and even fully prone opponents directly next to Falco's legs. As a result, it is mostly used to punish landings from above Falco, and can no longer be used as an all-purpose smash attack, Furthermore, up smash is known to occasionally fail in the conversion from the first hit to the second, which weakens it as a finishing move. The second hit KOs Mario at 117%.
Down smash		Ground Kick (グラウンドキック)	15% (feet), 12% (legs)	A split kick. Falco's feet are intangible during the attack. It comes out fast (frame 8) and sends at a semi-spike angle with reasonable knockback, making it effective against fighters with poor horizontal recovery. However, its range is extremely lacking, with both his forward and down tilts outranging it. KOs Mario at 104% from the edge of Final Destination. It has a sourspot on Falco's legs, though this is very hard to land due to the sweetspot out prioritizing it.
Neutral aerial		Spinning Falco Chop (スピニングファルコチョップ)	3% (hit 1), 2% (hit 2-3), 4% (hit 4)	Spins his entire body clockwise to perform a series of four spinning knifehanded 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-cancels from a full hop fast-fall, though the timing is rather strict.
Forward aerial		Beak Drill (ビークドリル)	1% (hits 1-5), 4% (hit 6), 3% (landing hit)	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 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%.
Back aerial		Reverse Spin Kick (リバーススピンキック)	13% (clean), 7% (late)	A back kick. 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.
Up aerial		Reverse Overhead (リバースオーバーヘッド)	9%	A somersault kick from back to the front above himself. Sends at a slightly diagonal trajectory upwards. Hits on frame 7, auto-cancels from a short hop, has low landing lag (9 frames) and possesses a deceptively wide hitbox that can catch opponents if used right before landing. These factors make it an excellent aerial juggling tool, as it can knock opponents into the air for additional followups, including into itself. Due to Falco's impressive jump height, it can act as a KO option at around 130% near the upper blast line. However, it will not hit medium-sized characters during a short hop unless Falco directly touches his foe.
Down aerial		Corkscrew Meteor (メテオスクリュー, Meteor Screw)	13% (clean), 8% (late)	A downwards diagonal 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 very poor horizontal range and low knockback scaling. Regardless of these factors, down aerial is once again one of Falco's staple moves.
Grab		Grab (つかみ)	—	Reaches forward with his right wing.
Pummel		Grab Kneebutt (つかみニーバット)	1.3%	A knee strike. Average power and speed.
Forward throw		Smash Elbow (スマッシュエルボー)	4% (hit), 3% (throw)	Slams the opponent forward with his right arm. Has no true follow-ups at 0%, though it can follow-up 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.
Back throw		Close Range Blaster H (クローズレンジブラスターＨ)	6% (throw), 3% (Blaster shot)	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 easily DI out of it. It is otherwise used to send opponents offstage, much like forward throw.
Up throw		Close Range Blaster V (クローズレンジブラスターＶ)	4% (throw), 4% (Blaster shot)	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.
Down throw		Close Range Blaster Down (クローズレンジブラスターダウン)	2% (throw), 3% (Blaster shot)	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 follow-ups. 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.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Gets up and does a thrust kick behind him with one leg, and then in front of him with the other.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Similar to his frontal floor attack, but he kicks in front of himself first.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Does a sweep kick forward, then backward.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Lifts his entire body onto the stage to attack with a corkscrewing dropkick, before returning onto his feet from a back handspring.
Neutral special		Blaster	3%	Pulls out his Blaster and fires a slim blue laser projectile. Compared to Fox's Blaster, it fires at a much slower rate but causes hitstun and deals electric damage. It is very laggy on the ground, making it very punishable if the opponent is close or at a low percentage. However, it is much more effective in the air, as it can be fired marginally faster while airborne and has significantly lower ending lag, with short hop Blaster shots causing Falco to experience only 6 frames of landing lag. This is one of Falco's main tools with multiple uses, including deterring approaches, gimping offstage opponents, tacking on damage, and locking failed techs.
Side special		Falco Phantasm	7% (grounded), 6% (aerial)	Rears back before launching himself forward in a blue blur of afterimages. The grounded move will stop if Falco reaches a ledge. Compared to Fox Illusion, Falco Phantasm starts up faster and deals less knockback when grounded, but will weakly meteor smash aerial opponents, allowing it to be used for gimps. As the grounded version moves opponents slightly towards Falco, it can be used to initiate combos. It is also an excellent horizontal recovery option, as it does not cause helplessness. However, it can only be used once in midair before landing, will cause Falco to stop in front of a shielding opponent, and has a predictable trajectory. As a result, it is easily punishable if used carelessly. Despite its looks, the hitbox stops short near the end of the move when Falco begins to slow down. After concluding the dash, Falco does a cancellable animation where he fist pumps both his arms towards his sides.
Up special		Fire Bird	2% (charging loop), 3% (tackle startup), 2% (tackle loop)	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 over 40 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.
Down special		Reflector	5% (Reflector), 1.2× reflected projectile	Activates his Reflector and kicks it forward, reflecting any projectiles back towards opponents and doing minimal electric damage to opponents that make contact. It then returns to him as if it was magnetized. It can also be used as a poking tool that can lock floored opponents.
Final Smash		Team Star Fox	3% (trapping hit), 30% (Arwings), 10% (end)	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 opponent), or "We've got multiple bogies inbound!" (multiple opponents), 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.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump height	Double jump height	Empty landing Lag
Value	82	2.035 – Initial dash 1.619 – Run	1.344	0.127	0.01	0.977	0.01 – Base 0.09 – Additional	0.13	1.8 – Base 2.88 – Fast-fall	3	50.51 - Base 17.34 - Short hop	50.51	5

Announcer call

This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here.

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• Russian

On-screen appearance

• Ejects from an upside-down Arwing.

• 

  Falco's on-screen appearance

Taunts

• Up taunt: Kicks his Reflector around like a hacky sack, saying "Piece of cake." (楽勝だぜ。, An easy win.) before catching it.
• Side taunt: Holds out his hand and slowly raises it in a beckoning gesture, saying "Come on!" (かかってきな。, Come bring it.)
• Down taunt: Spins on one foot, then poses with one of his arms/wings before him, saying "Hands off my prey!" (俺の獲物に手を出すな！, Get your hands off my prey!) while doing so.
  • Smash Taunt: Kneels down before contacting Team Star Fox. This can only be done on Star Fox stages and is performed by tapping the down taunt command. Falco will hold a pose for a few seconds, then a conversation will begin. This can only be done once each round and if the player is hit while Falco is holding his pose before the conversation starts, it is canceled.

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  Falco's up taunt.

• 

  Falco's side taunt.

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  Falco's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Turns his torso towards the camera (away from it if he is facing left).
• Similar to the first one, but he flaps his left wing in front of his face after turning.

• 

  Falco's first idle pose.

• 

  Falco's second idle pose.

Crowd cheer

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer
Description	Fal - co!	Fal - co!	Fal - co! *claps 3 times*	Fal - co!	Fal - co!

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description	Fal - co!	Faaaaal - co!	Fal - co! Fal - co!	Fal - co!

Victory poses

• Left: Does a flurry of rapid 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 was present in the match, there's a chance he’ll say "You're off your game, Fox!" ("腕が落ちたな、フォックス。", Your skills have fallen off, Fox.) instead.
• Up: Jumps high into the air while scoffing, then poses on the ground while forcing a laugh. His ending pose is reminiscent of his artwork in Smash 4, as well as his old spot dodging animation.
• Right: Walks up towards the camera, shrugs, and crosses his arms, saying "Sorry! Gotta jet!" ("付き合ってらんねぇな。", Not worth associating with.).

This victory theme is based upon the main theme of Star Fox 64, most specifically the title theme. It is also reminiscent of the music that would play when a mission was completed or accomplished.

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In competitive play

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Falco players (SSBU)

•  Juice - The first notable Falco player who mained him in competitive play, coming to prominence in the second half of 2019 after placing 13th at Shine 2019 defeating Light and 25th at Glitch 7 - Minus World. He was ranked 81st on the OrionRank 2019 as the only Falco player who mained the character instead of using him as a secondary. He went on hiatus in the first few years of the post-pandemic metagame and dropped Falco when he returned in favor of Roy.
•  Larry Lurr - Though he saw some success with Falco in the early metagame, he still primarily Wolf during this time, and did not play more Falco until 2022, where he went on to become one of the best Falco players in North America. He used solo-Falco to win DreamHack Rotterdam 2022, notably outplacing Tilde and defeating Supahsemmie twice, and placed 13th at Get On My Level 2023 and 17th at Battle of BC 5 with primarily Falco.
•  MASA - One of the greatest Falco players of all-time who was the best in 2023. He first came to prominence during the pandemic by placing 5th at the first Kagaribi before becoming the first Falco to top 8 a major, doing so by placing 7th at Seibugeki 8. Since then, he has placed higher at many other events, including 4th at Maesuma TOP 8 and Wave 4 and 5th at Sumabato SP Ultimate and Sumabato SP 52. He was ranked 38th on the LumiRank 2023 as the second Falco player ranked in the top 50.
•  M0tsunabE - One of the best Falco players from Japan, coming to prominence in 2023 with several top 8 finishes at majors despite an overall inconsistent season, having placed 5th at Seibugeki 13 and 7th at both DELTA 4 and UltCore. His consistency improved in the following year and he continued to place well at majors, including placing 7th at Seibugeki 17 and DELTA 9. As such, he became one of the best Falco players in the world that year, and was the only Falco player ranked top 50 on the LumiRank 2024.1, ranking 45th.
•  Tilde - One of the greatest Falco players of all-time who was the best in 2021. He came to prominence in the online metagame before transitioning offline, and eventually became the first Falco player to rank in the top 50 offline, ranking 29th on the OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse. He notably won Riptide 2022, the largest tournament win for a Falco player, and has also performed well at majors such as 3rd at Get On My Level 2023 and 7th at Luminosity Makes BIG Moves 2024, the latter of which is the highest placement from a Falco player at a major.

Tier placement and history

Before release, many players immediately took notice of Falco's drastic improvements from the previous game, as the mechanics of the game being greatly in his favor and he received improvements to his combo and neutral games. However, upon release many quickly believed that Falco's buffs seemed "overhyped", and Falco was largely overshadowed by his other fellow Spacies, both of which were considered top tier. Despite this, Falco still found success in the early metagame thanks to players such as Kofi and Juice. As a result Falco's representation in the metagame still remained around average, and he was widely considered a mid-tier character.

In the post-online metagame, although many of Falco's older players either dropped the character or saw worse results, new Falco players began making their marks on the metagame, most notably MASA, M0tsunabE, and Tilde. These players became known for using Falco's powerful combos and KO confirms to secure strong results at majors. Falco's improving results and representation helped gradually improve the community's perception on him, with some players believing the character has the potential to be high-tier. As it stands, Falco is currently ranked 35th on the current tier list.

Classic Mode: Soar Above the Darkness

Falco's congratulations screen.

All of Falco's battles are against "dark" forms of main characters. Referencing how Crazy Hand is the chaotic version of Master Hand, he is encountered instead of Master Hand on lower difficulties.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Dark Samus	Frigate Orpheon	Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
2	Dark Pit	Reset Bomb Forest	Dark Pit's Theme
3	Link and Toon Link	Bridge of Eldin	Dark World (for 3DS / Wii U)	References Dark Link from various Legend of Zelda titles.
4	Lucas	New Pork City	Porky's Theme	References the Masked Man from Mother 3.
5	Captain Falcon	Port Town Aero Dive	Devil's Call in Your Heart	References Blood Falcon.
6	Giant Mr. Game & Watch	Find Mii	Flat Zone	References Mr. Game & Watch's status as a corrupted character in The Subspace Emissary.
Bonus Stage
Final	Crazy Hand	Final Destination	Crazy Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (7.0 or higher intensity)	On intensity 7.0 or higher, Master Hand teams up with Crazy Hand.

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

Role in World of Light

Finding Falco in World of Light

Falco was among the fighters summoned to the cliffside to fight an army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, Falco was present on the cliffside 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 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.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
20		Falco	Attack	7,500	Lylat Cruise (Ω form)	Space Armada

Spirit

Falco's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode as Falco. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Falco has been unlocked. 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. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.

• 

  383. Falco Lombardi

In Spirit Battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
153		Expresso	Donkey Kong Series	•Falco		1,800	Green Hill Zone	•Slippery Stage	•The stage's platforms are very slippery •The enemy has increased move speed •The enemy falls slowly	The Map Page / Bonus Level (Remix)
186		Cucco	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Tiny Falco Team ×5		2,200	Skyloft (hazards off)	•Item: Cucco	•The enemy favors neutral air attacks •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Village of the Blue Maiden
231		Loftwing	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Giant Falco		2,800	Skyloft (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect •The enemy is giant	Ballad of the Goddess (Original)
241		Revali	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Falco (100 HP)		4,400	Skyloft (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect •Stamina battle	Kass's Theme
334		Coo	Kirby Series	•Falco •Kirby		4,100	Dream Land	•Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect •The enemy loves to jump •The enemy falls slowly	Forest/Nature Area
442		Farfetch'd	Pokémon Series	•Falco		1,800	Golden Plains (hazards off)	N/A	•The enemy starts the battle with a Lip's Stick	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Brawl)
478		Skarmory	Pokémon Series	•Metal Falco (120 HP)		2,500	Unova Pokémon League (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy is metal	Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
484		Lugia	Pokémon Series	•Giant Falco		10,000	Pirate Ship	•Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect after a little while •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Lugia) •The enemy is giant	Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
838		Gulliver	Animal Crossing Series	•Falco		4,200	Tortimer Island	•Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect after a little while	Town Hall and Tom Nook's Store - Animal Crossing: Wild World
852		Brewster	Animal Crossing Series	•Falco •Villager •Isabelle		8,800	Luigi's Mansion	•Item Tidal Wave (Food)	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear during the battle •Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while	The Roost - Animal Crossing: Wild World
870		Beat	Mega Man Series	•Falco •Mega Man		3,900	Wily Castle (Ω form)	•Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect •The enemy favors grabs and throws	Mega Man 4 Medley
1,323		Owl	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Falco		3,500	Wuhu Island (Swaying Bridge)	N/A	•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Kyogre) •The enemy falls slowly	Woodlands - The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
1,407		Orville & Wilbur	Animal Crossing Series	•Falco		9,500	Pilotwings	•Item: Cucco	•The enemy has increased attack power •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Plaza / Title Theme - Animal Crossing: City Folk / Animal Crossing: Wild World	Orville (Orange costume) Wilbur (White costume)
1,499		Chozo Soldier	Metroid series	•Falco •Falco ×2		3,900	Brinstar	N/A	•Reinforcements will appear during the battle •The enemy starts the battle with a Killing Edge •The enemy starts the battle with a Back Shield •The enemy starts the battle with a Death's Scythe	Psycho Bits	Red Chozo Soldier (Red costume) Silver Chozo Soldiers (Black costumes)

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
238		Zelda (Breath of the Wild)	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Zelda (50 HP) •Link (60 HP) •Inkling (30 HP) •Donkey Kong (60 HP) •Falco (50 HP) •Zero Suit Samus (50 HP)		9,200	Great Plateau Tower	N/A	•Stamina battle •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •Defeat an army of fighters	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	Revali
386		Peppy Hare	Star Fox Series	•Bunny King Dedede •Fox •Falco		8,800	Venom	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Main Theme - Star Fox 64 (Melee)	Falco Lombardi
387		Krystal	Star Fox Series	•Fox •Falco		13,100	Corneria	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Krystal)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Theme from Area 6 / Missile Slipstream	Falco Lombardi
388		ROB 64	Star Fox Series	•R.O.B. (120 HP) •Falco (50 HP) •Fox (50 HP)		3,300	Corneria (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Stamina battle •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Area 6 - Star Fox 64	Falco Lombardi
1,053		Maria Renard	Castlevania Series	•Zelda •Falco •Charizard •Incineroar		3,700	Reset Bomb Forest (hazards off)	N/A	•The enemy starts the battle with a Cucco	Slash	Cardinal
1,130		Donbe & Hikari	Famicom Mukashibanashi Series	•Young Link •Villager •Falco •Diddy Kong •Duck Hunt		3,500	Duck Hunt (hazards off)	N/A	•Defeat an army of fighters	Shin Onigashima Medley	Ohana
1,365		Nakoruru	SAMURAI SHODOWN Series	•Zelda (140 HP) •Tiny Falco (40 HP)		3,800	Yoshi's Island (winter)	•Attack Power ↑ •Item: Swords	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Stamina battle •The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage	Banquet of Nature - SAMURAI SHODOWN	Mamahaha

As an ally

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
395		Leon Powalski	Star Fox Series	•Yoshi •Wolf •Ally: Falco		3,700	Venom (Ω form)	N/A	•You lose if your CPU ally is KO'd	Star Wolf's Theme / Sector Z (for 3DS / Wii U)	Falco Lombardi

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Falco's fighter card.

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  Falco's unlock notice.

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  Falco on Battlefield after catching his Reflector.

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  Firing his Blaster on Pokémon Stadium 2.

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  Performing Falco Phantasm next to Sonic on Prism Tower.

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  Air dodging on The Great Cave Offensive.

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  Attacking Captain Falcon with Falco Phantasm on Lylat Cruise.

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  Performing Fire Bird on the Great Plateau Tower.

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  Falco attacking Dark Pit on Spirit Train.

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  Taunting on Lylat Cruise.

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  Terry using Power Geyser on Link and Villager on King of Fighters Stadium.

Trivia

• Unlike in previous Smash games, where he was confirmed post-release, Falco was the 8th character to be confirmed for Ultimate, and the second outside of the perfect-attendance crew.
• One of the pictures of Falco from his fighter page on the Ultimate website features him using Fire Bird above the Great Plateau Tower. This is a likely homage to Revali, a similar-looking character from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Falco also represents Revali in his Spirit battle.
• A section of Falco's trailer pictures him showing frustration by charging Fire Bird once he notices a roast chicken food item on the ground. This is a recurring joke from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, as Falco's clear movie shows him crouching near the roast chicken food item, as well as Roy's clear movie, where he is seen "turning" into a roast chicken item upon being hit by Flare Blade.
• In Falco's character showcase video, frame-by-frame inspection reveals that the hitbox visualization of Falco's Blaster lasers and Falco Phantasm are visible while Falco fights Cloud. This is likely an error that went unnoticed during editing.
• Falco and Dark Pit are the only clones in World of Light that appear in the opening cutscene. In Falco's case, he appears alongside all the other fighters and later tries to escape from the beam of light.
• Falco's artwork was one of the three that have been updated on the official site, alongside Palutena and Shulk. In his case, he is covered with more feathers, his forehead appears slightly larger, the gaps in his wings were made smaller, and his body and beak have more saturated colors.
• Due to an error on the American official site blog, Falco does not have his own Fighter tag nor the general "Fighter" tag on his blog entry, thus not being listed when sorting the "By Fighter" category. The former also applies to Incineroar.
• The afterimages of Falco's Falco Phantasm still use his model from SSB4 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 Wolf.
• Strangely, the footstool jump sound effect does not play if Falco is on the receiving end, unless it is a phantom footstool.
• Falco, Peach, Zelda, Olimar, Duck Hunt and Dark Pit are the only fighters to appear as allies in spirit battles.
• Falco's Classic Mode route is vaguely similar to Ken's, as both of their routes fight "dark" forms/rivals of main characters as opponents, and both of their routes have the same opponents in some rounds.
  • Falco and 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 uses Falco Phantasm in the air and lands without any action, the move's special landing animation will play but with no sound and landing effects.
• Falco's down taunt in English ("Hands off my prey!") has become notorious in the community, especially since interrupting it at the right time with Falco's down smash (where Falco himself in English makes a grunt that sounds like "Caw!") can make it sound like he is saying "Hands off my cock". None of this applies to his Japanese voice.
• When Falco performs a forward smash with the Home-Run Bat, he grunts during the windup rather than during the swing. This is a carryover from Brawl, where all characters would grunt during the windup. He shares this distinction with Nana.
• In the Sound Test, Falco's special victory quote against Fox is ordered before his generic victory quotes. This is unlike Fox and Wolf, who have their special victory quotes ordered after their generic ones.