Ike: Difference between revisions

|homeworld = {{s|fireemblemwiki|Gallia}} (birthplace)<br>{{s|fireemblemwiki|Crimea}} (surrogate home)

Even before his ''Super Smash Bros.'' appearances, Ike was one of the most popular characters in the entire ''Fire Emblem'' series, especially outside of Japan. In 2017, he was voted the single most popular male character in the inaugural {{s|fireemblemwiki|Choose Your Legends}} popularity poll for ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Heroes}}'' (surpassed only by the top placers of the female bracket, [[Lyn]] and [[Lucina]]; if votes for multiple incarnations of the same character had been tallied together, as they were in later years, Ike would have placed 1st overall). ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Awakening}}'' features him as a bonus character, albeit unrelated to the main story, via SpotPass and DLC. ''Awakening'' also features the character {{s|fireemblemwiki|Priam}}, a distant descendant of Ike who bears both a striking resemblance to him and a heavily aged Ragnell. Later appearances include ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.}}'', ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Fates}}'' and ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia}}'', all via [[amiibo]]. Ike also makes frequent appearances in the smartphone game ''Fire Emblem Heroes'' and the ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Cipher}}'' card game. Finally, Ike is set to appear in ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Engage}}'' as one of the game's numerous "Emblems" (protagonists from various other ''Fire Emblem'' games).

Thanks to the considerable size of his blessed sword, {{s|fireemblemwiki|Ragnell}}, the majority of Ike's attacks are among the longest ranged and most powerful in the game.<ref name=Dojo/> As a trade-off, however, most of his attacks are notorious for being among the slowest in the game in regard to both start-up and ending lag.<ref>[https://www.wired.com/2008/02/sakurai-talks-a/ Sakurai Talks About ''Smash Bros.'' Character Roster]</ref> Ike also possesses [[Aether]] as his up special move, which grants him [[armor]] at its beginning when he and Ragnell are separated and prior to his leap.<ref name=Dojo/> Unlike his fellow ''Fire Emblem'' fighter {{SSBB|Marth}}, Ike's moveset features a number of unarmed strikes (specifically punches, kicks, and a headbutt) alongside sword swings. On a related note, his [[neutral attack]] can [[jab cancel]] easily and reliably into various combos, or even KO outright.

In addition to his extremely laggy attacks, Ike also possesses a poor recovery. Despite his appearance, Ike is also a heavyweight, which hinders his mobility and renders him very susceptible to combos. Lastly, Ike lacks a projectile to compliment Ragnell's range; by extension, this leaves him susceptible to camping because of his aforementioned mobility issues. Although Ike's weaknesses have resulted in him attaining a small playerbase, he has nevertheless managed to achieve respectable tournament results. As a result, Ike is ranked 23rd out of 38 on the current [[tier list]]; this places him in the D tier, and posits him as a mid-tier character.

Ultimately, Ike's buffs have somewhat improved his viability since ''Brawl'' and especially ''SSB4''{{'}}s early days. Although Ike currently has a small playerbase like in ''Brawl'', players such as {{Sm|Ryo}} have demonstrated that he remains a formidable character as long as his strengths are utilized to the fullest and his easily exploitable weaknesses are circumvented. To reflect this, his playerbase has achieved decent results at both regional and national level of tournament play, much like in ''Brawl''. As a result, Ike is ranked 40th out of 58 on the current tier list; this places him in the E tier, and posits him as a mid-tier character.

Ike returns as a playable character in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''. Unlike his previous appearances, Ike is now an [[unlockable character]], his ''Path of Radiance'' and ''Radiant Dawn'' designs are both available for selection,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L93H7YC-83o Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - E3 2018 - Nintendo Switch]</ref> and Greg Chun has become his English voice actor since succeeding Jason Adkins as of ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Heroes}}''. Both designs have unique voice clips, with some different phrases and the ''Radiant Dawn'' design having a deeper, gruffer tone than the ''Path of Radiance'' design.

Ike's moveset has been subtly reworked to better resemble his ''Fire Emblem'' appearances, in which several of his moves are slightly faster in exchange for a slight loss in power. Overall, Ike has been buffed; the most notable improvements consist of his new up aerial sporting much greater range, [[Eruption]] generating additional fiery pillars when sufficiently charged, [[Aether]]'s [[transcendent priority]] and much higher knockback making it into a risky yet rewarding KO option (especially from out of shield), and his neutral aerial's lower start-up lag, landing lag and damage output collectively making it somewhat infamous as both a neutral game option and combo starter.

Ike's appearance in ''Ultimate'' has generally been considered his most successful appearance in the series to date, thanks to his playerbase achieving arguably his best tournament results relative to his appearances in ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4''.