Falco Lombardi

"Personally, I prefer the air!"

- Falco Lombardi

Falco Lombardi is Fox McCloud's right hand man, and second in command of Star Fox. He, like Fox, is from the Star Fox series. He has a very mysterious past, as he prefers not to mention it. What is known is that Falco used to be in a gang, but bailed out to join the Star Fox team. Falco leaves the Star Fox team on occasion. However, he always appears again to help his old buddy out. He is the best pilot on the team and is rivals with Fox because of his flying skills. He has a very laid back attitude and is smart mouthed. Despite this, nothing gets in the way of Falco and Fox's friendship.

Club Nintendo
Falco made a brief appearance in the Club Nintendo comic "Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit". He is watching the Olympics together with Fox McCloud and Peppy Hare.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Falco is a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He is, however, unlockable, and is unlocked by beating 100-Man Melee, and then beating Falco. His moves are exactly the same as Fox's, except that his Blaster has more of a forceful effect, and isn't rapid-fire, and his Reflector attack blasts people upwards instead of sideways.

Falco also appears in Stage 6 of Adventure Mode. In this, he, Slippy and Peppy will appear in their Arwings in the second half of the battle. They will proceed to shoot the player and Fox. Additionally, if Falco is unlocked, he will sometimes replace Fox in the second battle, forcing Fox into the Arwing.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Falco returns in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with a different moveset this time around. His Special Moves have also taken a slight change. To unlock him, the player has to play 50 brawls, complete 100-Man Brawl (much like how the player unlocks him in Melee), or get him to join the player's team in The Subspace Emissary. His voice actors in Super Smash Bros. Melee are Hisao Egawa, during battle, and Ben Cullum during the Stage 6 cutscene or Smash Taunt. Ben Cullum also voiced Falco in Star Fox Adventures.

In both games, his initial jump is the best of all characters.

Role in the Subspace Emissary
In the Subspace Emissary, he appears after Bowser shoots Diddy Kong (and uses him and some Shadow Bugs to create False Diddy Kong) and almost shoots Fox. Falco comes in with Arwing and jumps out with his guns to shoot and destroy Bowser's Dark Cannon (causing Bowser to retreat) and sees False Diddy Kong, Fox revives Diddy Kong and they all fight the evil clone. After defeat, Falco attempts to leave but Diddy Kong tries tells him Donkey Kong has been kidnappd and turned into a trophy. Falco however ignores him, so Diddy Kong grabs Falco and drags him, just how he did with Fox when he ignored Diddy Kong. After Falco understands, he jumps inside his Arwing so they can follow Donkey Kong. Falco drops Diddy Kong off on the plane Donkey Kong is on, and he (with Captain Olimar and Captain Falcon) rescues Donkey Kong. Falco flies by in his Arwing giving a thumbs up at Diddy Kong.

After this, he wasn't seen again until the battle at the Battleship Halberd Bridge, where he joins Fox, Princess Peach, Sheik, Lucario, and Solid Snake in defeating Duon. Once all of the teams unite, they enter Subspace, where they are defeated by Tabuu, with Falco being among the victims. King Dedede, however, comes to his aid with the help of Luigi and Ness, who were revived by Dedede's badges and are helping him revive most of the others. The newly revived Falco then heads with the others to stop Tabuu at the Great Maze once and for all.

Blaster
Blaster is the standard special move used by Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, and Wolf O'Donnell in the Super Smash Bros. series. Once used, Fox or Falco will bring out their Blaster, and shoot the opponent. Unlike Fox's Blaster however, Falco's lacks rapid-fire. However, it can make opponents flinch during the process. The move returns in Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the same effects. Falco's lasers are blue, unlike Fox's, whose are red. Additionally, in Brawl, the laser from Falco's blaster travels longer than Fox's.

Falco Phantasm
Falco Phantasm is one of Falco's special moves in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is executed by tilting the Control Stick to the side, then pressing the B Button. Falco will proceed to race across the screen at light speed, damaging any player that Falco runs into. Although the attack is not that powerful, it is the perfect move for getting through large amounts of enemies. However, using this attack near an edge is dangerous, considering that he will just run off the edge. A similar move is Fox's Fox Illusion attack. Although Falco Phantasm strikes more quickly, it covers less distance. This move can be canceled to fool opponents though, and it's also usable as a recovery move if Falco is above a ledge.

On a side note, when this move is used in mid-air, it acts as a Meteor Smash if it hits anyone.

Fire Bird
Fire Bird is one of Falco's moves in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is basically the same as Fire Fox, except that it is a bit stronger and has less reach. It is used by pressing Up + B. Falco will then hold in one spot, with fire surrounding him, and once charged enough, the player must hold the direction they want Falco to move. He will fly in that direction, until the attack wears out. It can be used as a helpful third jump. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the move can deal repeated damage when used.

Reflector
Reflector is a move used by Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, and Wolf O'Donnell in the Super Smash Bros. series. It is done by pressing down on the Control Stick, and pressing B at the same time. Once done, Fox or Falco will use a deflector shield, which can last for a limited time. It is only useful once the attack starts, and will not do anything if it is kept out too long. Reflector can be used to deflect projectile weapons back at the opponent, or it can be used to hurt the foe head on. In order to do that, the player must be very close to the opponent, and then activate the attack. This will send the foe flying slightly in one direction, but it doesn't have enough power for an instant KO. It is more efficient when Fox or Falco jump over the opponent, and activate it upon landing.

In Melee, Falco's Reflector works exactly like Fox's, except for that the move sends foes flying upwards when activated near them. In Brawl however, he'll kick his Reflector at opponents.

Final Smash: Landmaster
Landmaster is the Final Smash of Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, and Wolf O'Donnell in the game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Next to the Arwing, the Landmaster Tank is the most powerful weapon the Star Fox team has in the Star Fox series. When one of them collects the Smash Ball, the Landmaster Tank will appear, and they will hop inside it. Opposing players can jump on top of it, but this can be a bad move, as they can roll them off the tank. The jump button allows the Landmaster Tank to hover, tilting the control stick downwards causes it to roll around once, which can get players off the tank, and damage them severely, and the attack button fires the very powerful cannon, which can cause massive damage to players hit, possibly an instant KO. If a player is standing on the cannon while it is being blasted, the player will be blasted also. The tank is indestructible, but it is very difficult to turn the tank around; the player must flick the controller stick, to turn it, which is actually rather slow.

Falco's Landmaster packs less power than Fox's Landmaster, but it can stay airborne for a longer time period. This can be useful when sending foes off-screen for a KO.

On a side note, Falco has never used the Landmaster in the Star Fox series, at least canonically.

Quotes

 * "Mission complete!" - Super Smash Bros. Melee
 * "Piece of cake." - Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 * "Hands off my prey." - SSBB
 * "Don't try me." - SSBB
 * "You aren't worth the trouble." - SSBB''
 * "Had enough already?!" - SSBB
 * "You're off your game, Fox." -SSBB

Trivia

 * Falco's last name was named after Paul J. Lombardi by Shigeru Miyamoto in thanks of the work he did on Super Mario Bros.
 * Falco appeared in Nintendo Monopoly, where he took the place of Vermont Avenue. He costs $100.
 * In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Falco is the only opponent about which none of Snake's team members give information to him. Instead, Snake is contacted by Falco and Fox's fellow wingman, Slippy Toad, who hacked the channel.
 * He, along with Zero Suit Samus and Peach (to some extent) are the only characters that speak during all of their taunts.
 * Falco is the only character who will definitely destroy a Dark Cannon, regardless of which princess was saved at the Midair Stadium.