Editing Marth (SSBM)

{{Disambig2|Marth's appearance in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''|the character in other contexts|Marth}}

|name = Marth

|image = [[File:Marth SSBM.jpg]]

|game = SSBM

|ssbgame1 = SSBB

|tier = S

|ranking = 2

'''Marth''' ({{ja|マルス|Marusu}}, ''Marth'') is an [[unlockable]] [[newcomer]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''. Marth had been frequently requested by Japanese players, and the development team added him to ''Melee'' knowing he could be cut from its non-Japanese versions.<ref name="smken">[https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/1204/index.html "海外版では外す覚悟でマルスを作っていたのですが、キャラを立てた結果、海外のかたにも絶賛され、結果日本と全く同じ仕様で搭載されています。（ゆえにマルスは日本語のままです）" - Smabura-ken]</ref> He was ultimately kept in all versions after positive reception from their non-Japanese partners,<ref name="smken"/> and his popularity alongside fellow ''Fire Emblem'' fighter {{SSBM|Roy}} is cited as a reason Nintendo began releasing ''Fire Emblem'' games internationally.

Marth is one of two characters that only speak Japanese in every regional version of ''Melee'', with the other being Roy. He is voiced by {{s|wikipedia|Hikaru Midorikawa}}, who previously voiced him in [[fireemblemwiki:Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (anime)|the 1996 animated adaptation of ''Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem'']].

Marth currently ranks 2nd on the ''Melee'' [[tier list]], placing him in the S tier and is currently his best placement in the series. Marth has many powerful tools at his disposal, including fast overall [[startup]] in his attacks, long and [[disjointed]] [[range]], large amounts of additional power at the [[Sweet spot (hitbox)|tip]] of his blade, very potent [[juggling]] and [[combo]] ability, the longest non-disjointed [[grab]] range, and great [[edgeguarding]] capabilities. Marth also has a multitude of good movement options to approach and pressure with; his [[dash-dance]] and [[wavedash]] are among the longest in the game, as well as being able to dash away from shield grabs without getting punished, complementing his already-impressive range extremely well. Marth also has two very powerful options to KO his opponents and finish combos: his down aerial (a very potent spike when sweetspotted, and the closer to the notorious [[Ken Combo]]) and his forward smash when tippered.

 

On the downside, his ability to punish [[approach]]es is somewhat limited in comparison to other top-tier characters due to his lack of a projectile and the short hitbox duration of his moves. Marth also has lackluster defensive properties; his weight makes him very easy to combo while not providing sufficient knockback resistance to survive heavy hits at kill-percent, and his [[out of shield]] game is notoriously poor despite his attacks' fast startups. His [[recovery]] is also problematic; while it is extendable with his side special and can end with a fast up special that covers decent distance, it is also rather predictable. However, Marth's main weakness is the fact that most of his moves have considerable endlag and are thus very punishable if whiffed. As such, Marth is very susceptible to momentum shifts; a punished move puts Marth in a defensive position where he has few options to retake the advantage.

 

Despite his low technical learning curve, many consider Marth to be one of the most difficult characters to play at high levels due to the intricate [[spacing]] ability required of top-level players to overcome his aforementioned flaws. Regardless of these flaws, Marth has excellent matchups against many characters.

Marth must be defeated in battle before he can be unlocked. There are two ways the player can encounter Marth:

*One way is to use all fourteen starter characters in VS. Mode, {{SSBM|Classic Mode}}, {{SSBM|Adventure Mode}}, or All-Star Mode. The single-player modes do not have to be completed, and losing in them is a guaranteed way to encounter him without having to encounter other characters. If the player fails to defeat Marth, they can re-fight him by playing any character in any of these modes again. If VS. Mode is played and {{SSBM|Mewtwo}}'s unique encounter requirement is met, then Mewtwo must be unlocked before Marth can appear.

*Another way is to play 400 VS. matches to completion. If the player fails to defeat Marth, they can re-fight him by playing another VS. match to completion. If this method is used, fighters with lower VS. match quotas must be unlocked before Marth can be fought. Additionally, using this method when {{SSBM|Mewtwo}}'s unique encounter requirement is met will cause Marth to appear in place of Mewtwo.

Upon completing this, Marth will be fought on the [[Fountain of Dreams]] stage, with the track "Fire Emblem" playing.

Marth's primary flaw is his inconsistency in closing out stocks. Many of his quick, safe moves greatly lack in KO power, and while his more powerful options are strong enough to KO at virtually any percent, they are extremely difficult to land. Many of them (including his tipped smash attacks and Dolphin Slash) are highly committal and unsafe to use in the [[neutral game]], and there is no guarantee that he will connect with the correct hitbox in a neutral situation, even if they land. This forces Marth to secure KOs at early percents, usually through edgeguarding or combo setups that specifically ensure he connects with his KO option of choice. However, if Marth racks up too much damage, he will no longer have access to these setups as the opponent will be sent too far away by his combo starters to follow up on. Marth will then often be relegated to poking at the opponent with singular, weak hits to slowly accumulate damage, unable to KO them except through committal reads.

Another problem for Marth is his lack of defensive options. His average weight not only leaves him vulnerable to powerful attacks, it is also being enough to be vulnerable to combos such as Fox's [[waveshine]] combos in NTSC regions. More significantly, while Marth's attacks are very fast in terms of startup, they travel in predictable, low-duration arcs and have high ending lag, exemplified through attacks such as his down aerial. This leads to Marth having a terrible [[out of shield]] game due to the low duration and high ending lag of his moves, while also leaving him open to punishment. Marth also demands significant knowledge of spacing with his aerials in order to properly combo. For most of his attacks, the sweetspot hitboxes have the lowest priority, so they only hit if none of the weaker hitboxes connect on that frame. In many cases, a specific hitbox is needed to extend the punish.

Overall, Marth's long reach, excellent combos, and powerful finishers result in him being a very potent character in the current metagame. A Marth player must be wary of his weaknesses and spacing, but due to his low technical learning curve, Marth is an effective character to pick up and play.

Like some other characters, Marth received some changes in the [[PAL]] version of ''Melee'', which slightly [[nerf]]ed him overall, as he lost the ability to reliably KO and edgeguard with his down aerial. In addition, he is also lighter and his air speed is lower; hindering his endurance and making him even easier to edgeguard. However, because other top-tier characters, such as {{SSBM|Fox}} and {{SSBM|Sheik}}, were also noticeably nerfed, Marth has an easier time fighting against them, improving his matchup spread overall. As such, he is considered to be better relative to most of the top-tier cast in PAL than in NTSC.

'''NTSC 1.01'''

*{{bugfix|Fixed the [[Whispy blink glitch]].}}

*{{nerf|Marth's [[weight]] has been decreased (87 → 85).}}

**{{buff|However, this change also makes him immune to {{SSBM|Fox}}'s [[waveshine]] combos as he is now light enough to be knocked down by Fox's shine.}}

*{{nerf|Down aerial's sweetspot's angle has been altered (290° → 270°) allowing it to be [[meteor cancel]]led. This significantly hinders its reliability.}}

[[File:MarthAerialAttacksSSBM.png|thumb|Marth's aerial attacks]]

''For a gallery of Marth's hitboxes, see [[Marth (SSBM)/Hitboxes|here]].''<br/>

|neutraldesc=Slashes the Falchion twice in front of himself. Useful for both offensive and defensive [[spacing]], especially when used with wavedashing due to the move's non-committal nature with regards to movement. The first hit of jab is highly useful for [[edgeguarding]] linear recoveries, while the second hit can be used to cover many unorthodox recovery options when combined with the first jab (such as a shortened [[Fox Illusion]] or [[Falco Phantasm]]). If Marth is wearing a [[Bunny Hood]], he performs both jabs at twice the speed.

|utiltdmg=Clean: 9% (blade), 12% (tip), 8% (body)<br/>Late: 10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)

|utiltdesc=Swings his sword in a large arc above his head, with a large hitbox that can peg opponents behind him. This move has many varied uses; most notably, it can interrupt hasty attacks and juggle and trap opponents in conjunction with a forward smash, a neutral aerial, or an up aerial on top of platforms. It can also set up aerial combos. At high percentages, it is an effective KO move, KOing reliably at 130% and above when tippered.

|dtiltdmg=9% (blade), 10% (tip), 8% (body)

|dtiltdesc=A quick crouching Falchion poke. As it pokes out and is a [[semi-spike]], it is very useful for edgeguarding, and is also a staple in Marth's neutral game as it can safely be used to interrupt dash-dancing and wavedashing approaches or follow-ups. It may lead into a grab follow-up below 100%. It also has a high number of [[interruptibility]] frames. Because of this property, Marth is unable to shield as quickly as compared to other actions such as dashing or performing smash attacks.

|fsmashdesc=Rotates body counterclockwise with a strong arc-like swing from his head to the ground. Very fast and long ranged. The knockback of the move is strongest on the tipper hitbox of the sword, otherwise being rather weak when untippered.

|usmashdesc=A quick, direct upward thrust. The move has very weak sourspots next to Marth if used on the ground, so it is not a reliable KO move on grounded enemies next to Marth, but it can act as a surprise KO option on enemies directly above him in the air or on platforms. Oddly, the Falchion's tip doesn't have a hitbox at all; the "tipper" hitbox is instead located at the middle of the blade.

|usdesc=A high-speed jumping uppercut slash that can be reversed before frame 6. Has many uses, but is very risky to use due to the large degree of vulnerability Marth receives if the move is whiffed. The move is easily used in the middle of a combo (though DI must be correctly read); it can be used as an alternative (instead of a down air) to finish a Ken Combo. It is also Marth's fastest option to punish rolls (provided he is close enough) as well as his fastest [[out of shield]] option. This attack has transcendent priority.

|dsdesc=Assumes a defensive stance and retaliates against incoming attacks. The damage and knockback of the attack will always be the same, regardless on what attack is being countered. When Marth's Counter is successful he may either say "{{ja|そこだ！|Soko da!}}" ("''There!''"), "{{ja|させるものか！|Saseru mono ka!}}" ("''I won't allow that!''"), or "{{ja|見切った！|Mikitta!}}" ("''I saw through (your attack)!''")

 

 

 

|djump = 25.188

{| class=wikitable

|-

| Full Hop || 59 || 28-31 || 45

|-

| Full Hop (instant aerial) || 57 || 27-30 || 43

|-

| Short Hop || 38 || 17-20 || 26

|-

===[[Announcer]] call===

[[File: Marth Announcer SSBM.wav]]

===[[Taunt]]===

{{Taunt/SSBM|char=Marth|desc=Twirls his sword, then raises it in front of him, saying, "{{ja|みんな、見ていてくれ！|Minna, miteite kure!}}" ("Everyone, please watch me!")}}

===[[Idle pose]]===

{{Idle|desc=Brushes hair out of his face.|image=Marth Idle Pose Melee.gif}}

===[[Crowd cheer]]===

|char=Marth

|desc-us=Marth! Marth! Marth!

|desc-jp=Ma-ru-su!

|pitch-us=Group chant

|pitch-jp=Female}}

===[[Victory pose]]s===

{{Victory/SSBM

|char=Marth}}

==In [[competitive play]]==

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''See also: [[:Category:Marth players (SSBM)]]''

*{{Sm|PPMD|USA}} - One of the [[Five Gods]], co-maining {{SSBM|Falco}} and Marth. Considered one of the best Marth players in terms of neutral game and against floaty characters. One of his most notable feats was winning {{Trn|Apex 2015}}, beating {{Sm|Armada}} in grand finals with Marth, which is considered one of the most notable grand finals sets in ''Melee'' history. He retired from competition due to health-related reasons.

*{{Sm|Rishi|USA}} - One of the best Marth players in the world. He had a breakout into the scene in 2016 and improved over time, peaking in 2018 with 7th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2018}} and {{Trn|Smash Summit 7}}. He became mostly inactive in the post-[[Project Slippi]] era, but has placed 7th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2022}} and 9th at {{Trn|Collision 2023}} with a rank of 42nd on [[SSBMRank 2022]].

*{{Sm|Spud|New Zealand}} - The best player in Australia/New Zealand. Showed dominance in his country, winning events such as {{Trn|Battle Arena Melbourne 11}}, and has made appearances in North America, with 33rd at both {{Trn|GENESIS 7}} and {{Trn|The Big House 10}} with wins over {{Sm|SFAT}} and {{Sm|n0ne}}.

===Tier placement and history===

Very early in the ''Melee'' [[metagame]], Marth had a negative low-level perception despite being high-tier, as players generally relied on [[rolling]] and [[C-stick]] abuse to play him. However, this impression would not last very long, as Marth players such as {{Sm|Ken}} and {{Sm|Azen}} would emerge in the scene shortly before the third tier list iteration (June 2003) to show the world how the character was played at a high level. Notably, Ken decisively won [[Tournament Go|Tournament Go 4]] with Marth, introducing the uses of [[dash-dancing]], [[chaingrabbing]], and a higher focus on [[spacing]] and [[aerial]] combat, including the creation of the infamous [[Ken Combo]]. He and Azen would continue incorporating advanced techniques into Marth's metagame, developing the foundation for his precise movement through dash-dancing and [[wavedashing]], and showed how powerfully he could punish enemies off small mistakes and reads.

Because of these contributions to Marth's metagame, Ken's and Azen's continued rivalry and dominance over their respective regions, and Ken's eventual rise to the very top of competitive play as the undisputed King of Smash, Marth moved up to the top tier and solidified his place there for the rest of the Golden Era. He would usually place around the second to fourth highest spot on the list, only being considered merely high-tier again once in the eighth tier list (July 2006), where he dropped to fourth place. However, in the ninth tier list (October 2008), he again moved up to second place, in what would become his highest tier placing in all the tier lists. Despite not ever being placed at the top of the tier list, it could be argued that Marth saw the best results in practice for the majority of this era.

In the post-''Brawl'' metagame, however, Marth's results saw a slight decline from what they were before. After {{Sm|Mew2King}}'s absolute dominance with Marth for a short time span around ''Brawl''{{'}}s release, Marth's tournament performance began to fall, as newer players learned to exploit his weaknesses while the representation he had stopped being as dominant. Ken and Azen faded away from competitive ''Melee'', and Mew2King eventually switched to playing primarily {{SSBM|Sheik}} during this era, reserving Marth for very specific matchups on certain stages. There were certainly up-and-coming Marth players around this time, such as {{Sm|Tai}} and {{Sm|PewPewU}}, accompanied by strong veterans such as {{Sm|Taj}}, who kept Marth's results up. However, they were not as dominant relative to the field as those who came before them. This led to players questioning Marth's true viability in the metagame, which coincided with a drop to fifth place on the tenth tier list in September 2010, and a fourth place finish on the eleventh tier list in July 2013.

 

Marth's playerbase had also seemingly given up on him as a character; these jaded voices about Marth's viability tainted the community's views on him as a whole. Notable examples include Ken himself claiming in 2012 that Marth was now allegedly a mid-tier character who lost in every important top-tier matchup, and Mew2King ranking Marth as 5th in his personal 2014 tier list, claiming that Marth could only ever hope to win on [[Final Destination]] against those characters. However, while some of these top players were complaining, other players were doing serious work in the background to innovate and push the character. Community members such as {{Sm|Kadano}} compiled [http://smashboards.com/threads/kadano%E2%80%99s-perfect-marth-class%E2%80%94advanced-frame-data-application.337035/ Marth's frame data and ways to apply that knowledge], and players such as the aforementioned PewPewU and {{Sm|PPMD}} would put all of this discussion into practice on the biggest stage.

 

 

In All-Star Mode, Marth and his allies are fought on [[Fountain of Dreams]], as Marth was not designated a specific home stage. When fought on the stage, the track "Fire Emblem" plays instead of the standard music.

*'''[[Event 40: All-Star Match 4]]''': Marth is the first opponent fought in this series of staged battles. The selected character battles him on the [[Temple]] stage with a stock of 2 while Marth has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other four characters one-by-one with the overall time and damage: {{SSBM|Luigi}}, {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, {{SSBM|Mewtwo}}, and {{SSBM|Mr. Game & Watch}}.

*'''[[Event 41: En Garde!]]''': A one-on-one battle between the player as Marth and the enemy {{SSBM|Link}} on the Temple stage, with the two characters having 2 stock each and unlimited time.

==[[Trophies]]==

In addition to the normal trophy about Marth as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter that are unlocked by completing the [[Adventure Mode|Adventure]] and [[All-Star]] modes on any difficulty with Marth.

{{Trophy/Fighter

|name=Marth

|image=Marth Trophy Melee.png

|desc=The betrayed prince of the Kingdom of Altea, the blood of the hero Anri flows in Marth's veins. He was forced into exile when the kingdom of Dolua invaded Altea. Then, wielding his divine sword Falchion, he led a revolt and defeated the dark dragon Medeus. Afterwards, Altea was annihilated by King Hardin of Akanea.

|gamelist={{Trophy games|game1=Fire Emblem|release1=Japan Only}}

|game=Melee

}}

{{clrl}}

{{Trophy/Fighter

|name=Marth

|image=Marth Trophy (Smash).png

|desc=Marth is a magnificent swordsman. While his swordplay is faster than that of Link, he lacks power, and his quickness is offset by a marginal endurance. His Shield Breaker gains power the longer it's held. The Dancing Blade combination uses both the Control Stick and the B Button to produce a series of up to four attacks.

|gamelist=:B: Shield Breaker

:Smash B: Dancing Blade

|name=Marth

|image=Marth Trophy (Smash 2).png

|desc=The tip of Marth's blade causes the most damage, so you should try to create adequate distance between you and your enemy to gracefully strike with that point. Marth's Dolphin Slash is fast and powerful, but it leaves him vulnerable upon landing. Marth uses Counter to block a foe's attack and deal a return strike. If you're fighting a Counter-happy Marth, grab him.

|gamelist=:Up & B: Dolphin Slash

:Down & B: Counter

==[[Alternate costume (SSBM)#Marth|Alternate costumes]]==

{|style="margin:1em auto 1em auto;text-align:center"

|colspan=5|[[File:Marth Palette (SSBM).png]]

|{{Head|Marth|g=SSBM|s=25px}}

|{{Head|Marth|g=SSBM|s=25px|cl=Red}}

|{{Head|Marth|g=SSBM|s=25px|cl=Green}}

SSBM Marth HQ.png|Official artwork of Marth.

SSBMWebsiteMarth1.jpg|[[Idle|Idling]] on [[Venom]].

SSBMWebsiteMarth2.jpg|Using aerial [[Dancing Blade]] on [[Onett]].

MarthCounterMelee.jpg|[[Counter]]ing {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}'s [[neutral attack]] on [[Rainbow Cruise]].

SSBMWebsiteMarth5.jpg|Fighting the [[Fighting Wire Frames]] on {{SSBM|Battlefield}}.

Marth'sbmove.jpg|Using [[Shield Breaker]] on {{SSBM|Bowser}} on Onett.

</center>

*Marth is the only newcomer and unlockable character to have a clone.

*Marth and {{SSBM|Roy}} are the only playable characters in ''Melee'' that do not have a stage representing their universe, though hacked data shows that [[AKANEIA|one was planned]].

**As a result of not having a stage, Marth is fought on the [[Fountain of Dreams]] in All-Star Mode and his character unlock battle. In Event Matches, he appears in [[Temple]], and in Classic Mode, he appears on [[Great Bay]].

*All of Marth's aerial attacks when tippered deal the same amount of damage (13% damage); he is the only character in the game to have this trait.

*In the {{SSBM|debug menu}}, Marth is known as "MARS" likely to keep the game close to his Japanese pronunciation.

**Coincidently, this coincides with his name in the Fire Emblem OVA, which was based off of the third game in the series, ''Mystery of the Emblem'', which revolves around Marth's adventures.

*The fan-made term "Marthritis" (derived from the diagnosis {{s|wikipedia|Arthritis}}) references the inability for a Marth player to easily combo into a kill move at high percents.

*In the debug menu of the game, Marth has an additional phrase that goes unused: [https://youtube.com/watch?v=5ym3QWL2bRM "{{ja|レッツダンス！}}" "Rettsu dansu!"], the English phrase "Let's Dance!" approximated phonetically in Japanese.

 

*[https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/1204/index.html Official character page on the Japanese ''Melee'' website] ([[smashwiki:26TP/Marth|Translation]])

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiVzSzuuv88 Are You a Marth Player?] by [[Kira]]

 

[[Category:Marth (SSBM)| ]]

[[Category:Trophies (SSBM)]]

[[es:Marth (SSBM)]]