Falco (Smash Plus)

Falco is a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Plus for the Nintendo Switch Plus. Representing the Starfox universe, he is listed as Fighter #33 in Smash's modified numbering system, and is classified as a lightweight fighter. Falco is hidden at the start of the game, but can be unlocked through random encounters in versus mode or by defeating Classic Mode as Fox.
Falco plays very similarly to Fox, but focuses more on the aerial game as opposed to a ground one. Falco has the highest individual jump height of anyone in the game, and can reach insane vertical heights in the right hands. Combos are his primary source of damage, particularly in the air. Yet despite this, his fast airspeed can make him somewhat hard to control, particularly in inexperienced hands. There is a learning curve with Falco that is not immediately present in Fox's moveset, and some players may have trouble getting the hang of his aerial based combat. His special moves also lack the overall versatility of Fox's, with many of Falco's versions having more power behind them, but sacrificing some speed. Overall Falco is a viable character, provided you learn how to control his movements deliberately. He has two normal jumps and can wall jump.
==Moveset==
===Basic Attacks===
*Neutral Jab- Falco performs two knifehanded strikes before spinning his body repeatedly with several knifehanded strikes, with the final hit launching foes.
*Side Tilt- Falco performs a roundhouse kick that can be slightly angled up or down depending on controller input. The low end version has a chance of tripping foes.
*Up Tilt- Falco swings his wings up in the air, one after another. A good combo initiating move, given its fast frame data and low knockback.
*Down Tilt- Falco ducks down and swipes his tail feathers across the ground in front of him.
*Dash Attack- Falco performs a decent flying kick that moves slower than Fox's but does slightly more damage.
*Grab & Pummel- Falco grabs with his right wing and holds foes with one hand. His pummel is a lifting knee strike to the opponent's chest area.
*Forward Throw- Falco performs a right cross with his wing, slamming his opponent down to the ground.
*Back Throw- Falco tosses the opponent overhead behind him, before taking out his blaster and firing a single shot for additional damage.
*Up Throw- Falco tosses the opponent straight up into the air before firing a secondary blaster shot at them as they fly away.
*Down Throw- Falco slams the opponent down to the ground and then activates his reflector shield, causing them to be tossed away via electrocution. For the brief moment the reflector shield is active, Falco will reflect any projectiles headed his way.
*Neutral Air- Falco spins his entire body clockwise to perform four knifehanded strikes in a spinning formation. A powerful combo that can be used as a good edgeguarding tool.
*Forward Air- Falco spins forward in a drill motion, hitting any opponent in front of him multiple times before launching with the sixth and final hit.
*Back Air- Falco delivers a powerful back kick that remains his best aerial KO option, despite its startup lag.
*Up Air- Falco swings his arms above his head downward in a chopping motion on either side of him. Sweetspots at the apex of the wing tips, but sourspots if the move hits after the wings have fallen to Falco's lateral axis.
*Down Air- Falco performs a downward corckscrew kick that, unlike Fox's, can only hit once, but does decent damage if it lands.
===Smash Attacks===
*Side Smash- Falco steps forward and swings both of his wings downward in a wide knifelike swipe in front of himself. It has a bit of startup lag, but if it connects it does a good amount of damage.
*Up Smash- Falco will flip in place and perform a 540 degree kick that can knock opponents upwards. The first hit combos into the second, meaning that if it misses on the first hit the second hit won't launch nearly as far.
*Down Smash- Falco performs a split kick, with his legs extended out on either side of himself. Falco's legs are intangible during the attack, but the attack lacks overall range.
===Special Moves===
*Neutral Special: Blaster- Falco pulls out his blaster and fires a single shot forward. It doesn't fire nearly as fast as Fox's blaster, but each shot does more damage and causes opponents to flinch, giving it some degree of stopping power. The firing rate is also decent enough to disjoint approaching foes.
*Side Special: Falco Phantasm- Falco will pause for a moment before zooming forward with a quick afterimage dash attack. While Falco doesn't possess a second dash like Fox's Illusion, the Phantasm does slightly more damage and travels slightly further. It also doesn't send you into freefall, making it a more versatile move. It also takes longer to setup.
*Up Special: Fire Bird- Falco charges up an aura of flames around himself and then fires himself in a chosen direction. The move deals multiple hits of damage during the tackle, but it doesn't travel as far as the Fire Fox and it takes slightly longer to begin, making it a less useful tool overall.
*Down Special: Reflector- Falco activates his reflector shielf, kicking it forward slightly and then deactivating it when he catches it. Unlike Fox, Falco can only hold the reflector while it is in the air, making it less useful as a shield (as it can't cover projectiles fired behind Falco). However, the Shield does more knockback and damage if it hits an opponent while activated, making it a decent get away tool.
*Final Smash: Team Starfox- Falco calls in an Arwing to fly in front of him, sending anyone hit by it into a cinematic cutscene, where Falco has all of Team Star Fox blast away at them with their lasers, before Falco fires a Smart Bomb into the mix to send opponents flying as the cinematic ends.
===Miscellaneous===
*Entry Animation- Falco drops out of an Arwing that flies by upside down, landing and assuming a cocky fighting stance.
*Idle Animation 1- Falco stretches his wings out and shakes his head briefly.
*Idle Animation 2- Falco lifts one leg behind himself as if he is stretching it.
*Side Taunt- Falco jumps in place and poses, saying "Showtime!"
*Up Taunt- Falco kicks his reflector around like a hacky sack, saying "Piece of Cake."
*Down Taunt- Falco spins in place on one foot and then poses, replying "Hands off buddy!"
*Victory Animation 1- Falco performs a high jump and then lands withc a cocky pose, scoffing at the opponent.
*Victory Animation 2- Falco kicks his reflector shield around as if he is disinterested, saying "Had Enough Already?"
*Victory Animation 3- Falco shakes his head and crosses his arms, saying, "That was too easy."
==How to Unlock==
Falco can be unlocked in the game any of the following ways:
*Playing Versus matches until he randomly shows up as a "Challenger Approaching" fight. Defeat him to unlock him.
*Defeat Classic Mode with Fox at starting difficulty 3.0 or higher.
*Unlock him in the Finale of World of Light by defeating him.
*Paying 1,000 gold in the Shop, where he can randomly appear (though rarely).
Category:Super Smash Bros. Characters
Category:Super Smash Bros. (series)
Category:Smash Plus Characters