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, which he prefers not to talk about. What is known about Falco is that he used to be in a gang, but bailed out to join the Star Fox team. Falco leaves the Star Fox team on occasions, and always reappears when needed. He is the best pilot on the team, and due to his flying skills he has a bit of a friendly rivalry with, Fox. 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.

Falco's moves are exactly the same as Fox's, except for that his Blaster has more of a forceful effect, and isn't rapid-fire, and his Reflector attack blasts people upwards instead of sideways. He also has a longer reach, and possesses the most effective spike in the game.

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. He is also one of the two clone characters from Super Smash Bros. Melee to return as playable characters; the other one being Ganondorf.

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 McCloud. 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 to tells him Donkey Kong has been kidnapped and turned into a trophy. Falco however ignores him, so Diddy Kong grabs Falco and drags him, just as 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, Princess Zelda, 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.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Falco returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, with his moveset being largely unchanged from its Super Smash Bros. Brawl incarnation.

In the Nintendo 3DS version, Falco is unlocked by either completing Classic Mode without the use of continues or by playing 20 matches, then defeating Falco in a 1-stock match on the Corneria stage. In the Wii U version, he is unlocked by either completing Classic Mode for the first time or by playing 10 matches, then defeating Falco in a 1-stock match on the Orbital Gate Assault stage.

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. Falco can fire a barrage of lasers from a distance to give the opponent a hard time approaching him. 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 Super Smash Bros. 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 to the side, then pressing the special move 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. If this move ends in mid-air, Falco will be put into a helpless state. However, in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, it does not put him in a helpless state in mid-air and it doesn't run off edges, just like Fox's Fox Illusion.

On a side note, when this move is used in mid-air, it acts as a weak 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 + the special move button. Falco will then hold in one spot, with fire surrounding him, and once charged enough, players 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 deliver multiple weak hits, instead of one strong hit. Falco must be careful when using this move, as he will be vulnerable during the charging (although in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the charge flames can damage opponents). If finished in the air, Falco will be put into a helpless state.

Reflector
Reflector is a move used by Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, and Wolf O'Donnell in the Super Smash Bros. series. It is known informally as a "shine". It is done by pressing down on, and pressing the special move button 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 opponents, or it can be used to hurt foes head on. In order to do that, players 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 Super Smash Bros. Melee, Falco's Reflector works exactly like Fox's, except for that the move sends foes flying upwards with low knockback when activated near them, rather than at a low angle like Fox's does. This means that the move can be used in aerial combos. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl however, he'll kick his Reflector at opponents.

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 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, 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.

Quotes

 * "Mission complete!" - Super Smash Bros. Melee
 * "Hands off my prey." - Super Smash Bros. Melee (Japanese), Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
 * "Piece of cake." - Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
 * "Don't try me." - Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 * "You aren't worth the trouble." - Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
 * "Had enough already?!" - Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
 * "You're off your game, Fox." -Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
 * "Get some!" - Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

Trivia

 * Falco's last name was named after Paul J. Lombardi by Shigeru Miyamoto, in gratitude of the work he did on the Super Mario Bros. film.
 * Falco appeared in the 2006 version of Nintendo Monopoly, where he took the place of Vermont Avenue. He costs $100. In the 2010 version, he was replaced with K.K. Slider from the Animal Crossing series.
 * 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.