It's no secret that Falco is in a bit of an odd place in the current Super Smash Bros. Melee scene. Despite having been long-touted as one of the best characters in the game, second only maybe to Fox, Falco is currently a rare sight in the Top 8 at majors. Why is this? Many say that the character's incredible combo game is much easier to avoid fully with the proper SDI, and that in turn, Falco is a super comboable character. Many of the game's top characters can either chain-grab or techchase Falco to death percent from a single grab and enough practice.

So what is the poor Falco main to do? Is 2018 the year we all hang up our wings and switch to Fox to stay competitive? Or will we power through these struggles and reshape how Falco is played, keeping the Bird alive and tournaments hype? Obviously this wouldn't be a full guide if we went with the former option, so let's do the latter! Below are some strategies for practice and mindset that are designed to keep your Falco flying.

1. Practice fighting against floaties

One of the reasons Falco has been so popular as a character is the sheer thrill of using him to combo other fast fallers in the game, such as Fox or Captain Falcon. One shine or dair against characters like these can lead to stylish pillar combos and thrilling spikes into the bottom blast zone. And it is certainly tempting to spend a lot of your practice time against a CPU Fox. After all, you're more likely to encounter Foxes at tournaments and it's important to know how to play against the character; the cool combos are the icing on the cake. But just because it isn't easy or fun to combo floaty characters like Marth, Jigglypuff, or Peach doesn't mean you can ignore your practice regimen against them. Indeed, knowing how to play against these characters is crucial to modern day Falcos staying relevant.

The hardest part about playing against floaties as Falco is the fact that big 0-to-death combos are much harder to get going against them, and thus Falco players need to fall back on a more consistent and evasive play style. This can be frustrating to many players, especially considering many high-tier floaties have excellent grab and combo potential against Falco. But Falco is top-tier for a reason: he has a number of incredible moves to space out floaty aggression and link into stronger finishing moves.

His laser is an excellent example of this. While many find laser camping to be a lame or boring way to play the character, short hopping across the stage firing off Falco's gun allows for great area denial on larger stages and is free damage, even if it doesn't accomplish this last part as well as Fox's laser. And while some players have become adept at powershielding these blasts, varying up your jumping and platform movement can ensure that they can't reflect everything back at you. Laser pressure also impacts your opponent's psyche, as it can be incredibly frustrating to repeatedly be put into hit stun by a Falco that is constantly out of range of most of your attacks.

This will lead to your opponent making the approach, and when this happens, Falco has a ton of options to turn the opponent's aggression into your advantage. Empty hops or wavedashes can be done to avoid your opponent's attack and then immediately follow up. Did your opponent dash attack the space where you were half a second ago? Grabs or short hop dairs can be the start of a damaging sequence. What about a fair or bair that missed its mark? Soft aerials or shines (especially near platforms) can put your opponent in a seriously disadvantaged state, especially at mid-level percents.

This style of fighting floaties isn't without its risks, however. Baiting out aggressive approaches is certainly risky, because spacing your movement wrong can lead to incredibly dangerous situations for Falco, such as getting grabbed or knocked down. As you practice it more and more however, you'll become better at predicting these options in the split seconds before they happen. Succesfully building up damage against floaties can be simple enough, but actually finding the finishing blow may prove more difficult. At high percents your opponent will likely back down and be less aggressive. When this happens, it's time to use the laser as an approaching tool, rather than as a defensive one. Using the hit stun of the lasers to confirm into strong drive-by aerials is a solid way to get the final blow of a stock, as is platform tech chasing, which involves knocking your opponent down on a platform and then either reading or reacting to their get up options.

Playing against floaties is certainly harder and less thrilling than the combo-heavy matchups of fast fallers, but that doesn't mean they need to mean Falco's downfall in 2018. There's more than one way for the bird to fly.

2. Play against expectations

One of the best things you can do to succeed as a Falco player is to learn what your opponents are expecting and then subverting those expectations. Look up guides for fighting against Falco, as many guides as you can, aimed at all the relevant characters in the cast. Figure out what your opponent is looking for when they play you; which moves they're expecting you to throw out, when and where you're going to throw them out, etc. Once you know what they think your Falco will do, try to build uncharacteristic patterns into your play to keep your opponents on their toes. Use options they aren't expecting. For example, it's no secret Falco has limited options with his throws. He can't chaingrab Fox like Fox can chaingrab him, and techchase follow ups are tricky with down throw.

Typically, his forward and back throws are used mostly as tools to get the opponent off-stage, and for a more typical out of shield option, most Falco players will opt instead to shine or jump into an aerial. But if your opponent is doing a lot of unsafe dash attacks, for example, why not throw out the grab every once in a while as a punish? They won't expect it and you can use it to position them to your liking. Do it enough times and you can condition the opponent to play safer, which can lead to more opportunities to play aggressively on your end.

Make sure to never fall into too predictable patterns while you're playing someone. Mixing up your recovery is a good example of this. It's easy to fall into the habit of recovering the same way each time, but it's just as easy for your opponent to notice things like how you will always side-b onto stage whenever possible. Be conscious of your recovery mixups and use them to keep your opponent guessing. And keeping your opponent guessing is going to be the key to winning in Super Smash Bros. Melee. After all, if you keep throwing out the same moves over and over again, your opponent will just learn to DI them perfectly. Avoid this fate that so many Falco players meet by never allowing your opponent to feel like they have a grip on your playstyle or habits.

3. Be patient but relentless

Falco is known as a fast, combo-heavy character. There are any number of crazy combo videos on the internet showing off his ability to take characters from 0% all the way to the blast zone in an instant. This is a big reason why he's so fun to play, but it's important to remember this isn't the only way to play the bird. As discussed above, a patient playstyle is sometimes key to winning certain matchups, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that! Even while playing against a Fox or another Falco though, don't be afraid to take some time in game to figure out what your strategy will be. Are you down a stock or two because you can't seem find that one last big hit against an opponent at high percent? Feel free to find some room to shoot some lazers and dash dance a bit to see how your opponent reacts. Not every moment needs to be you rushing in with a full hop dair; sometimes, playing a counter style to an overly aggro opponent is the way to play.

This ties together with the above tips as well. This is a solid way to play against floaty characters, as it forces space between you and them until the time is right for you to go in. It also keeps the opponent guessing as to what you'll actually end up doing. Anyone who has been playing for a while can be fairly accurate at predicting your movement and attack options, so if you slow the game down for a few seconds to mix up your options, then you'll be forcing them to choose which attack to defend against. The key to all this is to keep at it. It can be disheartening to constantly be shine spiked by a rushdown Fox or daired by a chaingrabbing Marth, but any time you feel like maybe it's worth changing your main to someone else in the cast, try to remember the feeling of your first great pillar combo or your first incredible hard read on a platform tech chase. That satisfaction can be achieved over and over again every time you play. You're only a solid mixup or two away from your next great Falco moment, so don't give up!

Those were a few Falco practice and playstyle tips for the new year. Good luck to all of the Falco players out there in 2018!

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