After Video 1:
- Immediately noticed that you're rolling too much. You dash dance which is good so try using that combined with wavedashing. Falco has a short wavedash but it still has its uses.
- You need to L-Cancel those aerials but I saw you do one L-Cancel so you're obviously working on it so good job. Keep it up.
- You don't seem to have your next move planned out a lot of the time. You (and your opponent) will have a small exchange and then just pause and stand there. It's like you are trying to figure out your next move at that moment. You need to be doing something. Pausing has its usefulness but you need to be keeping up the pressure most of the time.
- No more approaching with that F-Air on Falco. Try using your lasers along with D-Air and N-Air. However, be careful with it as always diving in every time you laser will lead to you being predictable.
- No more back to back to back side-smashes. That's a kill move, not a combo starter/approach.
- You need to use more of Falco's moveset. Didn't see any jabs, B-Air's, or tilts. Try using those more.
After you get L-Cancelling down, you need to apply some more pressure and add more shine (reflector) to your game. I think you're on the right track though.
After video 2:
- Too many side-B approaches. It's great as a move to catch people off guard but you're using it way too much. Try lasers and SHFFL'd aerials like I mentioned above.
- Not as much pausing between skirmishes this time. I'm wondering if you guys were warming up in that first match.
- You need to give some more thought to how you get up after being knocked down. You either roll left or right. You have more options than that. Try get up attack, just standing up, or laying there for a second and then rolling, standing, or attacking. This will help mitigate the tech chasing problems.
After video 3:
- Just noticed you don't really grab either. Falco's throws don't really combo but the grab is a great option that you should have to help mix up your pressure game. Helps for people who like to shield a lot and just stay in the shield.
- This should come with time but you should take some time outside of matches and practice recovery. You alternate use of Side-B and Up-B which is good. However, you need to alternate how you come back with Up - B. Try going up sometimes and fast falling or creating a shallower angle into the stage to change the time of when you get to the ledge. Always taking the direct route to the edge will get you punished a lot like your opponent did at 2:25.
- Same thing with the edge game. You don't have to full jump out of it every time. Explore and use all of the options at the edge. You can get up, attack, full jump, roll, or let go of the edge. Get creative.
I only watched each video once but I think that's plenty to get you started. Falco's weight still seems a little foreign to you with the way you move which may be a side effect of the new found freedom of L-Cancelling. I'd highly suggest watching tournament level players and polishing up the basics a little more. Apex is coming up soon so there will be a plethora of video to help improve so watch that if you can. Don't just watch videos of Falco either, watch as many as you can.
Hope this helps!
This is some very solid advice. I main both fox/falco in melee, and although their are some subtle differences between PM Falco and Melee Falco, they're still rather identical in terms of how they're played.
I'll try to keep this short and try to provide as much information based on what I saw.
First, I would like to say that your dash dance is decent. Maybe lengthen your strides just a tad when pulling away from your opponent. The purpose of dash dancing is to make them whiff moves to provide you an opening to begin attacking. When this happens, you can either go for a grab, a Nair, or a Dair and begin your combo chains from there. you seemed to be doing it in place, and instead of your opponent whiffing his Fsmash, he hit you with it instead. It's most effectively used when your opponent is beginning to approach you, but you're off to a good start.
Work on short hopping a bit. You're full jumping way too often, and on stages like battlefield, especially against a marth, it's absolutely imperative that you do not get caught above him. The range of his sword, his ability to juggle opponents above him with his Utilt, as well as the possibility of chain grabbing a space animal (trust me, marth can do this like a god) is extremely dangerous to you, and should only be done when absolutely necessary, or to mix up your combo or aerial game when the need arises.
L cancel. L cancel again. L cancel a third time. L Cancel, L Cancel, L Cancel. Every aerial attack with falco should be L Canceled to reduce the landing lag of each move so you can react quicker. There's plenty of videos on YouTube that can provide a tremendous amount of information regarding this technology, and the appropriate times to implement it (Which is all the time). The less amount of frames you spend recovering from a move, the better and faster you will become.
Wavedashing. Can't stress this enough, it needs to happen. It's useful for mind games, useful for quick approaches, and escaping from rather tight situations. It mixes up your ground game and opens up more combo possibilities. It helps you Edge Hog if used off the stage to grab a ledge. It gives you a lag free landing on stage when recovering from the ledge. The uses for this are endless, and when applied appropriately, can make you that much more of a better player. There's TONS of information on this board about this piece of technology, but YouTube will be able to provide a visual representation of how to perform this technique, and when to generally apply it. Your movement options are important, and it's an absolute necessity if you wish to play at an exceptionally high level of play.
Although blade fox covered it, I wish to reiterate it again; Approaching with Side-B is a bad idea. There's tons of punishable lag to this move if it doesn't connect or if blocked, and can lead you to extremely punishing situations, that can, but not always, be fatal in a match. It's mostly used as a recovery move, not as a general attack. Be very careful when using this.
Short Hop Laser more often. This is an important, but not always central (depending on your playstyle) technique in Falco's repertoire. Short Hop, Laser, Fastfall, Rinse and repeat. When done quickly and consistently, it provides excellent pressure on the opponent, Forcing them to move away from the punishment and think about how to approach you. It even allows you to approach targets a tad bit safter. It's a mind game in itself. Either your opponent has to devise a way to get to you and attack you, or they just keep taking damage from lasers. It makes them wonder if you intend on approaching with it, and how they should respond if you do. All just from a little laser gun.
Tilts are also important. Dtilt is good for juggling at medium percents as well as a vertical kill move at high percents. Utilt is great for juggling and spacing out your opponent. Ftilt is a useful edgeguard move (great at stopping fox illusion and falco phantasm if timed correctly) and to flick an approaching enemy away from falco (but be careful doing that, as the move has rather low priority).
You have to work on a combo game as well. Studying professional players is always good at learning how to combo, and what moves work with another in what situations when trying to learn a character. Check out YouTube and watch videos of these players playing falco; DaShizWiz, PC Chris, Dr. PeePee (PPMD), Th0rn, Zhu, and Mango. (Although, Mango's Falco is absolutely insane, so don't study him too much until your game picks up considerably).
Other things that you should check out; SHFFLing, DI, Jump Canceling, Crouch Canceling, CCC... It's probably very beneficial that you just get acquainted with smash terminology, which can only benefit your understanding of the game, and benefit your in game performance as well.
You're at very early developmental levels at this moment, But with enough practice and dedication, your game will improve dramatically within a short month or two after practicing applying all this information, as well as any other information anyone else has to offer. Falco is an exceptionally powerful character, and it will take a long time to effectively master him, but as long as you're dedicated and continue practicing, and challenging yourself against good players, you will continue to improve.
Good luck, and Keep at it!
