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{{ArticleIcons|ssbm=y}}
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{{Disambig2|Marth's appearance in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''|the character in other contexts, see [[Marth]]; for information on Marth's [[clone]]|Roy (SSBM)}}
{{Disambig2|Marth's appearance in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''|the character in other contexts|Marth}}
{{Infobox Character
{{Infobox Character
|name = Marth
|name = Marth
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|tier = S
|tier = S
|tierPAL = S
|tierPAL = S
|ranking = 3
|ranking = 2
|rankingPAL = 2
|rankingPAL = 2
}}
}}
'''Marth''' ({{ja|マルス|Marusu}}, ''Marth'') debuted in the first game of the {{uv|Fire Emblem}} series, ''[[Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]'' (''Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi''). Marth was placed in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' due to heavy requests from Japanese players; as his games had never been released outside of Japan prior to ''Melee'', his character was among the most obscure in the game in other regions. His popularity as a character, alongside {{SSBM|Roy}}, eventually caused Nintendo to begin releasing the ''Fire Emblem'' games internationally; the first internationally released game came two years after ''Melee''.
'''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 voiced in Japanese by {{s|wikipedia|Hikaru Midorikawa}}, who reprises his role from [[fireemblemwiki:Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (anime)|the 1996 animated adaptation of ''Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem'']]; as ''Fire Emblem'' had, at that point, yet to officially make its debut overseas (aside from dubs of the animated adaptation), Marth's Japanese voice is used in all regions.
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 3rd on the ''Melee'' [[tier list]], in the S tier. 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, 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.
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.
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, including six that are nearly unloseable.
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.


==How to unlock==
==How to unlock==
To unlock Marth, players have to use all fourteen starter characters in VS. matches, complete or fail {{SSBM|Classic Mode}} or {{SSBM|Adventure Mode}} with all fourteen starter characters, or play 400 VS. matches.  
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.
Upon completing this, Marth will be fought on the [[Fountain of Dreams]] stage, with the track "Fire Emblem" playing.


==Attributes==
==Attributes==
[[File:MarthGimpTaj.gif|200px|thumb|right|The majority of Marth's moveset, if chained together, can be highly effective at edgeguarding.]]
[[File:MarthGimpTaj.gif|200px|thumb|The majority of Marth's moveset, if chained together, can be highly effective at edgeguarding.]]
Marth falls under the fighter archetype of being mobile, with the ability to easily outmaneuver most of his opponents; Marth has a very fast [[dashing]] speed, a long [[wavedash]] (specifically the fourth longest in the game) and rather good [[jumping]] speed, with above average [[falling speed]], contributing to a good [[SHFFL]]. With a large [[dash-dance]] window and a [[disjointed]] [[hitbox]], Marth has great [[approach]] options in this game, both on the ground and in the air.
Marth falls under the fighter archetype of being mobile, with the ability to easily outmaneuver most of his opponents; Marth has a very fast [[dashing]] speed, a long [[wavedash]] (specifically the fourth longest in the game) and rather good [[jumping]] speed, with above average [[falling speed]], contributing to a good [[SHFFL]]. With a large [[dash-dance]] window and a [[disjointed]] [[hitbox]], Marth has great [[approach]] options in this game, both on the ground and in the air.


Marth's primary strength is his range in his normal attacks; the Falchion grants Marth a very large disjointed hitbox that can allow him to safely attack from a distance. Additionally, the tip of the Falchion, its sweetspot, is remarkably easy to connect, making Marth stronger when he is further from his opponent. In addition to this, Marth's attacks are very quick in terms of startup lag, and his long wavedash and dash-dance allow him to further extend his already long reach. This long hitbox with a far away sweetspot also contributes to Marth's superb combo game.
Marth's primary strength is his range in his normal attacks; the Falchion grants Marth a very large disjointed hitbox that can allow him to safely attack from a distance. Additionally, the tip of the Falchion, its sweetspot, is remarkably easy to connect, making Marth stronger when he is further from his opponent. In addition to this, Marth's attacks are very quick in terms of startup lag, and his long wavedash and dash-dance allow him to further extend his already long reach. This long hitbox with a far away sweetspot also contributes to Marth's superb combo game.


In addition to his disjointed range, Marth has a fantastic [[combo]] and [[juggle]] ability; despite a slightly below average [[air speed]], with a combination of good jumping prowess, and an average falling speed, as well as quick, low lag, high-ranged, easy-to-sweetspot aerials, Marth has among the best air games in ''Melee'', and a great combo ability. Additionally, Marth's [[grab]] game is also good, as mentioned before due to a surprisingly long grab range (the longest of the non-grapple grabs, thanks to it extending far past his hand). His [[throw]]s possess low damage and knockback, allowing him to chain his throws into each other and combo into other attacks. In particular, his up throw can [[chain throw]] most [[fast faller]]s at low to mid percentages, and it can directly segue into an up tilt or an aerial, and can be used for KOing at high percents on a platform due to being the third strongest up throw in the game. Marth's long dash-dance also makes him a superb [[tech-chase]]r.  
In addition to his disjointed range, Marth has a fantastic [[combo]] and [[juggle]] ability; despite a slightly below average [[air speed]], with a combination of good jumping prowess, and an average falling speed, as well as quick, low lag, high-ranged, easy-to-sweetspot aerials, Marth has among the best air games in ''Melee'', and a great combo ability. Additionally, Marth's [[grab]] game is also good, as mentioned before due to a surprisingly long grab range (the longest of the non-grapple grabs, thanks to it extending far past his hand). His [[throw]]s possess low damage and knockback, allowing him to chain his throws into each other and combo into other attacks. In particular, his up throw can [[chain throw]] most [[fast faller]]s at low to mid percentages, and it can directly segue into an up tilt or an aerial, and can be used for KOing at high percents on a platform due to being the third strongest up throw in the game. Marth's long dash-dance also makes him a superb [[tech-chase]]r.


Marth's primary flaw is his lack of kill options. While Marth's tipper mechanic on his [[Marth (SSBM)/Forward smash|forward smash]] can kill at virtually any percent, almost none of the rest his moveset has huge knockback. This forces Marth to rely on killing at early percents (fortunately, this is something Marth is very good at). However, if Marth fails to do so, he suffers from something known by the ''Melee'' community as ''Marth Syndrome''. Commonly used when regarding Marth, ''Marth Syndrome'' is a term used to show Marth's lackluster killing power. As stated before, if Marth fails to kill his opponent early (before ~100%), it may take upwards of another 25-50%, sometimes 75% when regarding ''[[Dream Land (SSB)|Dream Land N64]]'', to kill them.
Marth also has several powerful attacks in his arsenal; some of them are very fast and have high range, such as his up tilt, while others can KO at close ranges, such as the Reverse [[Dolphin Slash]] technique. Marth's forward smash is feared due to its high speed and power when tipped, with the capability to "break" through some [[projectile]]s found in the game thanks to its priority; it also works well when wave-smashed, due to Marth's long wavedash. Marth's down tilt and [[Shield Breaker]] act as good [[edgeguarding]] options, with the former being a [[semi-spike]] and the latter have a large hitbox. Most notable, however, is his {{mvsub|Marth|SSBM|down aerial}}, which acts as a powerful [[spike]] in NTSC regions, and an equally powerful [[meteor smash]] in PAL regions; it can KO reliably even as low as 40%, and many of Marth's attacks can easily combo into his down air, most notably his {{mvsub|Marth|SSBM|forward aerial}} as part of the [[Ken Combo]]. Marth also has access to a grounded meteor in his [[Dancing Blade]]. While its uses for KOing are somewhat situational, it can set up tech-chases well, as well as free [[jab reset]]s.


Another problem for Marth is his lack of defensive options. His weight does not enable him to survive powerful attacks, while also being enough to be vulnerable to combos such as Fox's [[waveshine]] combos in NTSC regions (although he is light enough to not be waveshined in PAL 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 (his down aerial is an example of this, having the quickest startup lag but among the highest ending lag for a spike or meteor smash). 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 being open to punishment. Marth also requires 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. As such, Marth requires significant knowledge of hitbox spacing with his moves due to the non-tipper and tipper hitboxes of Marth's moves having very different knockback values and angles. In many cases, a specific hitbox is needed to extend the punish.  
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.


Luckily, Marth does have ''some'' powerful attacks; some of these attacks are very fast and have high range, such as his up tilt, while others can KO at close ranges, such as the Reverse [[Dolphin Slash]] technique. Marth's forward smash is feared due to its high speed and power when tipped, with the capability to "break" through some [[projectile]]s found in the game thanks to its priority; it also works well when wave-smashed, due to Marth's long wavedash. Marth's down tilt and [[Shield Breaker]] act as good [[edgeguarding]] options, with the former being a [[semi-spike]] and the latter have a large hitbox. Most notable, however, is his {{mvsub|Marth|SSBM|down aerial}}, which acts as a powerful [[spike]] in NTSC regions, and an equally powerful [[meteor smash]] in PAL regions; it can KO reliably even as low as 40%, and many of Marth's attacks can easily combo into his down air, most notably his {{mvsub|Marth|SSBM|forward aerial}} as part of the [[Ken Combo]]. Marth also has access to a grounded meteor in his [[Dancing Blade]]. While its uses for KOing are somewhat situational, it can set up tech-chases well, as well as free [[jab reset]]s.  
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.
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.


===PAL differences===
==Version history==
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, which reflects in his [[PAL tier list]] placement, where he is ranked 2nd instead of his current 3rd place.
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.


*{{nerf|Marth's [[weight]] has been decreased (87 → 85).}}  
'''NTSC 1.01'''
*{{bugfix|Fixed the [[Whispy blink glitch]].}}
 
'''PAL'''
*{{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.}}
**{{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|Marth's [[air speed]] is lower (0.9 → 0.85).}}
*{{nerf|Marth's [[air speed]] is lower (0.9 → 0.85).}}
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==Moveset==
==Moveset==
[[File:MarthAerialAttacksSSBM.png|thumb|Marth's aerial attacks]]
[[File:MarthAerialAttacksSSBM.png|thumb|Marth's aerial attacks]]
[[File:MarthAndYoshiGrabRange.gif|thumb|Marth is notorious for having an unreasonably disjointed grab range even reaching farther than {{SSBM|Yoshi}}’s tongue.]]
''For a gallery of Marth's hitboxes, see [[Marth (SSBM)/Hitboxes|here]].''<br/>
''For a gallery of Marth's hitboxes, see [[Marth (SSBM)/Hitboxes|here]].''<br/>
For simplicity, if, for example, Marth's blade does 4% damage while the tip does 6%, and the attack has no other hitboxes, it is written as 4%/6%.
For simplicity, if, for example, Marth's blade does 4% damage while the tip does 6%, and the attack has no other hitboxes, it is written as 4%/6%.
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|game=SSBM
|game=SSBM
|neutralcount=2
|neutralcount=2
|neutralname=&nbsp;
|neutralname=Slash ({{ja|スラッシュ|Surasshu}}) / Counter Slash ({{ja|コンビネーションスラッシュ|Konbinēshon Surasshu}}, ''Combination Slash'')
|neutral1dmg=4%/6%
|neutral1dmg=4%/6%
|neutral2dmg=4%/6%
|neutral2dmg=4%/6%
|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.
|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.
|ftiltname=&nbsp;
|ftiltname=Sharp Edge ({{ja|ハードエッジ|Hādo Ejji}}, ''Hard Edge'')
|ftiltdmg=9%/13%
|ftiltdmg=9%/13%
|ftiltdesc=A fast upward swipe while leaning forward. Has good horizontal reach.
|ftiltdesc=A fast upward swipe while leaning forward. Has good horizontal reach.
|utiltname=&nbsp;
|utiltname=Anti-Air Slash ({{ja|アンチエアスラッシュ|Anchi Ea Surasshu}})
|utiltdmg=Clean: 9% (blade), 12% (tip), 8% (body)<br/>Late: 10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)
|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.
|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.
|dtiltname=&nbsp;
|dtiltname=Low Stab ({{ja|ロースラスト|Rō Surasuto}}, ''Low Thrust'')
|dtiltdmg=9% (blade), 10% (tip), 8% (body)
|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 the property of having a high amount of [[interruptibility]] frames. Because of this property Marth is unable to shield as quickly as if he were to do anything else such as dashing or performing smash attacks.
|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.
|dashname=&nbsp;
|dashname=Raid Chop ({{ja|レイドチョップ|Reido Choppu}})
|dashdmg=11% (blade), 12% (tip), 9% (body)
|dashdmg=11% (blade), 12% (tip), 9% (body)
|dashdesc=A quick upward sweeping diagonal slash with high range and relatively high damage. Depending on where on the sword it connects, it can either send opponents behind him, in front of him or above him. Very good for setting up combos, but has high ending lag.
|dashdesc=A quick upward sweeping diagonal slash with high range and relatively high damage. Depending on where on the sword it connects, it can either send opponents behind him, in front of him or above him. Very good for setting up combos, but has high ending lag.
|fsmashname=Dragon Killer
|fsmashname=Dragon Killer ({{ja|ドラゴンキラー|Doragon Kirā}})
|fsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|14}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|20}}
|fsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|14}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|20}}
|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.
|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.
|usmashname=Justice Sword
|usmashname=Justice Sword ({{ja|ジャスティスソード|Jasutisu Sōdo}})
|usmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|8}} (sides), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|15}} (blade), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|18}} (tip)
|usmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|8}} (sides), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|15}} (blade), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|18}} (tip)
|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.
|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.
|dsmashname=&nbsp;
|dsmashname=Whirlwind Blade ({{ja|ワールウィンド|Wāruwindo}}, ''Whirlwind'')
|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|11}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|16}} (both sides)
|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|11}}/{{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|16}} (both sides)
|dsmashdesc=Sweeps his sword on the ground towards the front, then towards the back. If tippered, it sends opponents upward with high vertical knockback, [[Star KO]]ing opponents at high percentages, and is the strongest down smash in the game and 3rd most powerful smash attack overall (only behind {{SSBM|Bowser}}'s forward smash and {{SSBM|Pikachu}}'s up smash). If hit at the base, it sends opponents with low horizontal knockback, but it can still KO at high percentages. It is generally not a safe option to use in most situations, as the attack has a fair amount of ending lag and takes longer to fully execute than his other smash attacks (despite having the fastest amount of start-up out of his smash attacks).
|dsmashdesc=Sweeps his sword on the ground towards the front, then towards the back. If tippered, it sends opponents upward with high vertical knockback, [[Star KO]]ing opponents at high percentages, and is the strongest down smash in the game and 3rd most powerful smash attack overall (only behind {{SSBM|Bowser}}'s forward smash and {{SSBM|Pikachu}}'s up smash). If hit at the base, it sends opponents with low horizontal knockback, but it can still KO at high percentages. It is generally not a safe option to use in most situations, as the attack has a fair amount of ending lag and takes longer to fully execute than his other smash attacks (despite having the fastest amount of start-up out of his smash attacks).
|nairname=&nbsp;
|nairname=Double Slash ({{ja|ダブルスラッシュ|Daburu Surasshu}})
|nairdmg=4% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)
|nairdmg=4% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)
|nairdesc=Two horizontal slashes around himself. Both hits connect easily, and can follow up into each other. Oddly enough, both the tipper hitbox and the non-tipper hitbox deal the same damage and knockback; the only difference between the 2 hitboxes is the sound effect.  
|nairdesc=Two horizontal slashes around himself. Both hits connect easily, and can follow up into each other. Oddly enough, both the tipper hitbox and the non-tipper hitbox deal the same damage and knockback; the only difference between the 2 hitboxes is the sound effect.
|fairname=&nbsp;
|fairname=Aerial Swipe ({{ja|フラッグカット|Furaggu Katto}}, ''Flag Cut'')
|fairdmg=10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)
|fairdmg=10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)
|fairdesc=Does a forward vertical slash downwards. It is considered Marth's most versatile aerial as it is his fastest and has the most combo potential. It also has the least ending lag of all his aerials and it is his safest aerial on shield since it deals 7 frames of shield stun and has 7 frames of endlag; Marth can dash-dance away after doing this move on shield. Because of its ability to link into virtually any other of Marth's moves, it is an ideal move to set up edgeguarding. The move however has a very short duration and thus despite its speed, it is unsafe if spammed in neutral.
|fairdesc=Does a forward vertical slash downwards. It is considered Marth's most versatile aerial as it is his fastest and has the most combo potential. It also has the least ending lag of all his aerials and it is his safest aerial on shield since it deals 7 frames of shield stun and has 7 frames of endlag; Marth can dash-dance away after doing this move on shield. Because of its ability to link into virtually any other of Marth's moves, it is an ideal move to set up edgeguarding. The move however has a very short duration and thus despite its speed, it is unsafe if spammed in neutral.
|bairname=About Face
|bairname=About Face ({{ja|アッパースイング|Appā Suingu}}, ''Upper Swing'')
|bairdmg=10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)
|bairdmg=10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)
|bairdesc=Slashes the Falchion from bottom to top behind him in an inward swipe. The attack has the unusual property of turning Marth around when used in the air; in this regard, his back aerial can be used to potentially set up a [[Ken Combo]] or can be used to quickly steal a ledge.
|bairdesc=Slashes the Falchion from bottom to top behind him in an inward swipe. The attack has the unusual property of turning Marth around when used in the air; in this regard, his back aerial can be used to potentially set up a [[Ken Combo]] or can be used to quickly steal a ledge.
|uairname=&nbsp;
|uairname=Luna Slash ({{ja|ルナスラッシュ|Runa Surasshu}})
|uairdmg=10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)
|uairdmg=10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)
|uairdesc=A forward-to-back upward wide sword slash ending in a full delayed somersault. It is not particularly powerful regardless of where on the sword it hits, but conversely it shows no mercy juggling opponents when combined with forward smash, up tilt, and other aerials.  
|uairdesc=A forward-to-back upward wide sword slash ending in a full delayed somersault. It is not particularly powerful regardless of where on the sword it hits, but conversely it shows no mercy juggling opponents when combined with forward smash, up tilt, and other aerials.
|dairname=&nbsp;
|dairname=Half Moon ({{ja|ハーフムーン|Hāfumūn}})
|dairdmg=10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)
|dairdmg=10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)
|dairdesc=A forward-to-back outward sword slash downwards. The attack, when [[sweetspot]]ted, sends opponents flying downward. In [[NTSC]] regions, the attack is a [[spike]], while [[PAL]] regions, it's a [[meteor smash]]. Due to its high ending lag and Marth's lackluster recovery, the attack is of high risk if used offstage at a low altitude. Regardless, the move is extremely useful anywhere else on the stage due to its long horizontal reach making it a great tech chase option (for reading rolls) as well as an out of shield option. This is the primary finish to a Ken Combo.
|dairdesc=A forward-to-back outward sword slash downwards. The attack, when [[sweetspot]]ted, sends opponents flying downward. In [[NTSC]] regions, the attack is a [[spike]], while [[PAL]] regions, it's a [[meteor smash]]. Due to its high ending lag and Marth's lackluster recovery, the attack is of high risk if used offstage at a low altitude. Regardless, the move is extremely useful anywhere else on the stage due to its long horizontal reach making it a great tech chase option (for reading rolls) as well as an out of shield option. This is the primary finish to a Ken Combo.
|grabname=Grab
|grabname=Grab ({{ja|つかみ|Tsukami}})
|grabdesc=Marth grabs the opponent with his free hand. It's the 4th longest grab range overall and the single longest non-tether grab.
|grabdesc=Marth grabs the opponent with his free hand. It's the 4th longest grab range overall and the single longest non-tether grab.
|pummelname=&nbsp;
|pummelname=Knee ({{ja|つかみニーバット|Tsukami Nībatto}}, ''Grab Kneebutt'')
|pummeldmg=3%
|pummeldmg=3%
|pummeldesc=Knees the opponent.
|pummeldesc=Knees the opponent.
|fthrowname=&nbsp;
|fthrowname=Bounce ({{ja|ロールオーバー|Rōru Ōbā}}, ''Roll Over'')
|fthrowdmg=4%
|fthrowdmg=4%
|fthrowdesc=Trips the opponent with his leg as he pushes them forward.
|fthrowdesc=Trips the opponent with his leg as he pushes them forward.
|bthrowname=&nbsp;
|bthrowname=Throw Away ({{ja|レッグフッカー|Reggu Fukkā}}, ''Leg Hooker'')
|bthrowdmg=4%
|bthrowdmg=4%
|bthrowdesc=Pulls opponents behind him and extends his leg simultaneously.
|bthrowdesc=Pulls opponents behind him and extends his leg simultaneously.
|uthrowname=&nbsp;
|uthrowname=Emblem Toss ({{ja|キャスティング|Kyasutingu}}, ''Casting'')
|uthrowdmg=4%
|uthrowdmg=4%
|uthrowdesc=A powerful upward throw with one arm. Can chain throw fast fallers at low percentages, and is the third strongest up throw in the game.
|uthrowdesc=A powerful upward throw with one arm. Can chain throw fast fallers at low percentages, and is the third strongest up throw in the game.
|dthrowname=&nbsp;
|dthrowname=Slam ({{ja|グラブドロップ|Gurabu Doroppu}}, ''Grab Drop'')
|dthrowdmg=5%
|dthrowdmg=5%
|dthrowdesc=Slams the opponent to the ground, sending them behind him. Can set up a tippered forward smash at low percentages.
|dthrowdesc=Slams the opponent to the ground, sending them behind him. Can set up a tippered forward smash at low percentages.
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|ssname=Dancing Blade
|ssname=Dancing Blade
|ssdmg=Varies
|ssdmg=Varies
|ssdesc=A sequence of Falchion slashes with several variations based on [[control stick]] inputs. All variations have transcendent priority. Upward slashes are trailed blue, standard slashes are trailed red, and downward slashes are trailed green.
|ssdesc=A sequence of Falchion slashes with several variations based on [[control stick]] inputs. All variations have transcendent priority. For the first attack, Marth glows red; the second, green; the third, blue; and for the last one, red again.
|usname=Dolphin Slash
|usname=Dolphin Slash
|usdmg=10% (startup blade & body), 13% (startup tip), 7% (leap blade & tip), 6% (leap body)
|usdmg=10% (startup blade & body), 13% (startup tip), 7% (leap blade & tip), 6% (leap body)
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|dsname=Counter
|dsname=Counter
|dsdmg=7%
|dsdmg=7%
|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)!''")
|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)!''")
}}
}}


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| Fourth Hit (Down) || 3% (hit 1-4), 5% (hit 5) || Does a flurry of lower stabs. The last hit launches opponents away.
| Fourth Hit (Down) || 3% (hit 1-4), 5% (hit 5) || Does a flurry of lower stabs. The last hit launches opponents away.
|}
|}
===Stats===
'''NTSC'''
{{Attributes
|cast = 26
|weight = 87
|rweight = 16
|dash = 1.5
|rdash = 10-13
|run = 1.8
|rrun = 3-5
|walk = 1.6
|rwalk = 1-2
|trac = 0.06
|rtrac = 15-23
|airfric = 0.005
|rairfric = 21-26
|air = 0.9
|rair = 12-14
|baseaccel = 0.02
|rbaseaccel = 2-23
|addaccel = 0.03
|raddaccel = 13-19
|gravity = 0.085
|rgravity = 19
|fall = 2.2
|rfall = 6
|ff = 2.5
|rff = 11-12
|jumpsquat = 4
|rjumpsquat = 8-15
|jumpheight = 35.09
|rjumpheight = 7
|shorthop = 13.995
|rshorthop = 12
|djump = 25.188
|rdjump = 15
}}
'''PAL'''
{{Attributes
|cast = 26
|weight = 85
|rweight = 16-19
|dash = 1.5
|rdash = 10-13
|run = 1.8
|rrun = 3-5
|walk = 1.6
|rwalk = 1-2
|trac = 0.06
|rtrac = 15-23
|airfric = 0.005
|rairfric = 21-26
|air = 0.85
|rair = 15-17
|baseaccel = 0.02
|rbaseaccel = 2-23
|addaccel = 0.03
|raddaccel = 13-19
|gravity = 0.085
|rgravity = 19
|fall = 2.2
|rfall = 6
|ff = 2.5
|rff = 11-12
|jumpsquat = 4
|rjumpsquat = 8-15
|jumpheight = 35.09
|rjumpheight = 7
|shorthop = 13.995
|rshorthop = 12
|djump = 25.188
|rdjump = 15
}}
{| class=wikitable
|+Jump Frame Data
! Jump
! Air time
! FF input window for Earliest FF
! Air time for Earliest FF
|-
| Full Hop || 59 || 28-31 || 45
|-
| Full Hop (instant aerial) || 57 || 27-30 || 43
|-
| Short Hop || 38 || 17-20 || 26
|-
| Short Hop (instant fair/bair) || 36 || 16-19 || 24
|-
| Short Hop (instant upair) || 38 || 16-20 || 25
|-
| Short Hop (instant dair) || 37 || 16-19 || 25
|-
| Short Hop (instant nair) || 37 || 16-19 || 24
|}
===[[Announcer]] call===
[[File: Marth Announcer SSBM.wav]]


===[[Taunt]]===
===[[Taunt]]===
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==In [[competitive play]]==
==In [[competitive play]]==
===[[Character matchups (SSBM)|Matchups]]===
===Most historically significant players===
{{SSBMMatchupTable|marth=yes}}
<!--This character has a fifteen player limit for this section. Before adding and/or removing a player, read these guidelines: https://www.ssbwiki.com/SmashWiki:Notability#%22Most_historically_significant_players%22_guidelines -->
According to the most recent matchup chart in 2010, Marth is [[soft counter]]ed by two characters, has four even matchups, soft counters three characters, [[counter (matchup)|counter]]s ten, and [[hard counter]]s six.
<!--If you are planning to add a player you consider to be notable, please provide tournament results in some shape or form in the edit summary (be it a link to a results thread or bracket of placing high in a tournament of other notable players or a video of them beating a notable player). Winning tournaments without notable players present is generally not enough to warrant a spot.-->


Due to Marth's very favorable attributes for forcing openings, such as his quick down tilt and long dash dance, Marth has the advantage against characters who lack strong tools of their own to combat him in the [[neutral game]]. Characters such as {{SSBM|Mario}}, {{SSBM|Zelda}}, and many other low-tiered characters do not have the means to match his speed and range near the ground, and at high levels of play, are unable to get many openings outside of poor matchup knowledge or poor execution from the Marth player. Marth also has very strong punishes against the majority of the cast, and can cover the vast majority of edgeguarding situations in the game with the proper execution. Characters with linear recoveries, such as {{SSBM|Luigi}}, can thus struggle once sent off-stage against Marth.
''See also: [[:Category:Marth players (SSBM)]]''


However, Marth is the perfect combo weight for several characters to exploit. Marth may win the neutral game against these characters, such as {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, and {{SSBM|Sheik}}, but once they find an opening, they can punish Marth much harder than he can in return, and in some cases, even KO him outright. Thus, these matchups are close to even or slightly disadvantageous for Marth due to how carefully he must play. On the other hand, Marth finds himself in a roughly reversed situation against {{SSBM|Fox}} and {{SSBM|Falco}}, two of the only characters who can dictate the pace of neutral against him; while he has an easier combo game on them, they hold a significant advantage in neutral with their superior speed and strong projectile, respectively, keeping their matchups close to even.
*{{Sm|Azen|USA}} - Top old-school Marth player from MD/VA. Considered one of the best on the East Coast in the pre-''Brawl'' era. Won {{Trn|MLG Atlanta 2004}}, {{Trn|Tournament Go 6}}, and {{Trn|MLG New York Playoffs 2006}}.
====Current metagame====
*{{Sm|KDJ|USA}} - One of the best players from 2006-2008; triple-mained with Fox and Sheik before retiring. Won {{Trn|MLG Long Island 2007}} using Marth to beat {{Sm|ChuDat}}, and placed 2nd at {{Trn|Cataclysm 3}} and 17th at {{Trn|Apex 2012}} using Marth as a secondary. He focused on Marth more in the latter half of his career, beating players such as {{Sm|La Luna}} before retiring from competition in 2016.
Advancements in Marth's punish game have brought his matchups against Sheik and Jigglypuff closer to even. At the highest level, the Sheik matchup is considered even, although not easy to play for Marth, while the Jigglypuff matchup is slightly disadvantageous at worst for him. Marth is now considered by many to be a soft counter to {{SSBM|Falco}} (and sometimes even {{SSBM|Fox}}), as the risk-reward in that matchup is considered to be against Falco due to how easily he can be dismantled after a single mistake. Paradoxically, Marth's weakest performances at the top level have recently been against two of the mid-tiers that he has long been considered to beat: {{SSBM|Pikachu}} and {{SSBM|Yoshi}}. While Marth theoretically still wins against Pikachu, {{Sm|Axe}}'s knowledge in the matchup has led him to be highly successful against Marth players, exploiting Pikachu's tricky recovery and ability to push Marth horizontally away from the stage, where he struggles to recover from. Yoshi's character strengths actually seem to work very well against Marth, causing many to think that the matchup is even at best for Marth; Yoshi cannot be comboed easily due to his weight and floatiness, and cannot be edgeguarded easily due to his double jump armor, taking away key advantages that Marth has against other characters.
*{{Sm|Ken|USA}} - Referred to as the "King of Smash". Considered the first person to have a dominant presence in the ''Melee'' scene, and as such, was the undisputed best smasher from 2003 to 2006. He was the first Marth player to win a major, namely {{Trn|Tournament Go 4}}, and continued to win multiple MLG tournaments and {{Trn|EVO World 2007}}. He popularised and named the [[Ken combo]].
*{{Sm|KoDoRiN|USA}} - One of the best Marth players in the world, currently second best behind Zain. He made his breakout during the COVID-19 pandemic through online tournaments, and continued improving at offline tournaments with placements such as 3rd at {{Trn|Mainstage 2021}}, also taking multiple wins over {{Sm|Cody Schwab}} and {{Sm|Hungrybox}}. He cracked top 10 on the [[MPGR Summer 2022]] rankings, being the 10th best player on the list.
*{{Sm|La Luna|USA}} - A Marth player with competitive history dating back from 2011, becoming one of the best Marth players in the world in the late 2010s. Considered a top 30 player around this time, and ranked 19th during the [[SSBMRank 2017]] season, with placements of 3rd at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2017}} and 7th at {{Trn|EVO 2017}}, beating players such as {{Sm|Leffen}} and {{Sm|ChuDat}}. He was banned from tournaments in 2020 due to controversies relating to previous behaviors at tournaments.
*{{Sm|Mew2King|USA}} - One of the [[Five Gods]]. Widely considered to be one of the best Marth players of all time. Known for his very precise punish game with the character and contributed largely to the advancement of his metagame, along with {{Sm|PPMD}}. He won many populated tournaments throughout the history of ''Melee'' primarily using Marth, including {{Trn|MELEE-FC Diamond}}, {{Trn|Shine 2016}}, and {{Trn|Smash Summit 6}}.
*{{Sm|PewPewU|USA}} - The best Marth player in California and one of the best in the world before retiring. He is one of the best solo Marth players of all time, being the first Marth player to be ranked top 10 on an SSBMRank/MPGR ranking, doing so in [[Summer 2015 SSBMRank]]. He placed top 8 at multiple supermajors such as 4th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2018}}, 5th at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, and 7th at {{Trn|EVO 2016}}. Throughout the 2010s, he remained a top 20 player and was considered the best solo Marth player in the modern era before Zain's rise in the scene. He was also well known for his proficiency in doubles with static partner {{Sm|SFAT}}, becoming one of the best doubles teams in ''Melee'' history.
*{{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}}.
*{{Sm|Taj|USA}} - Although better known for his {{SSBM|Mewtwo}} play, Taj was one of the best Marth players in the world during the post-''Brawl'' era, and frequently relied more on Marth in later stages of the bracket. Notably defeated {{Sm|Mang0}} and {{Sm|PPMD}} at {{Trn|GENESIS 2}}, where he placed 3rd, and placed 5th at {{Trn|MELEE-FC Diamond}} and 13th at {{Trn|EVO 2013}} with primarily Marth. He is also known for his great performances in the Marth ditto, beating top players such as {{Sm|PewPewU}}.
*{{Sm|Zain|USA}} - The best Marth player in the world. He is the first solo Marth player to dominate tournaments since Ken, winning supermajors such as {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}, {{Trn|GENESIS 8}}, and {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2023}}. He was the number 1 player in the world during [[SSBMRank 2022]], making him the first non-God to be given the title.


All things considered, Marth is still one of the most difficult matchups for many of the characters in ''Melee'', with not many characters having the tools to properly deal with him at the highest level of play.
===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.


===Notable players===
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.
<!--If you are planning to add a player you consider to be notable, please provide tournament results in some shape or form in the edit summary (be it a link to a results thread or bracket of placing high in a tournament of other notable players or a video of them beating a notable player). Winning tournaments without notable players present is generally not enough to warrant a spot.-->


''Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the [[2019 MPGR]], which recognizes the official top 100 players in the world in [[Super Smash Bros. Melee]].''
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.


====Active====
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.
*{{Sm|100 Grand|USA}} - A Marth player from Minnesota. Placed 25th at {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 5}} and 33rd at {{Trn|The Big House 9}}. Has wins on {{Sm|Zamu}}, {{Sm|Forrest}}, and {{Sm|Panda}}.
*{{Sm|Arc|USA}} - The best Marth player in Texas; known as a prime innovator of Marth tech and matchup knowledge.
*{{Sm|Colbol|USA}} (#54) - One of the strongest players in Florida; dual mains with Fox.
*{{Sm|Forrest|USA}} (#68) - The best solo-Marth player in Florida. Placed 13th at {{Trn|The Big House 9}} and 33rd at {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}. Has wins over {{Sm|n0ne}}, {{Sm|moky}}, and {{Sm|Colbol}}. Well-known for his combo videos.
*{{Sm|Free Palestine|USA}} (#72) - A Sheik player with a strong Marth secondary. Placed 3rd at {{Trn|We Need Some Space 2}}, 9th at {{Trn|Show Me Your Moves 20}}, and 25th at {{Trn|The Big House 9}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Zamu}} and {{Sm|Slox}}.
*{{Sm|Iceman|USA}} - The best Marth in Washington.
*{{Sm|Jakenshaken|USA}} (#45) - One of the best Marth players in the world. Placed 25th at {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 5}}, 9th at {{Trn|Full Bloom 5}}, and 5th at {{Trn|Fight Pitt 9}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Lucky}}, {{Sm|MikeHaze}}, and {{Sm|Jerry}}.
*{{Sm|Kalvar|USA}} (#62) - The best Marth player in New England. Placed 5th at {{Trn|DreamHack Atlanta}} and {{Trn|Fight Pitt 9}} and 25th at {{Trn|The Big House 9}} and {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Lucky}}, {{Sm|Colbol}}, and {{Sm|Hax}}.
*{{Sm|KoDoRiN|USA}} (#70) - The best Marth player in SoCal. Placed 4th at {{Trn|GENESIS: BLACK}}, 17th at {{Trn|Saving Mr. Lombardi 2}}, and 33rd at {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Ginger}}, {{Sm|MikeHaze}}, and {{Sm|Nut}}.
*{{Sm|Mahie|France}} - The best player in France.
*{{Sm|Medz|USA}} (#32) - Co-mains Marth and Fox. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|Smash Factor 8}}, 7th at {{Trn|The Kid, the Goat, and the Mang0}}, and 9th at {{Trn|Saving Mr. Lomabardi}}. Has wins on {{Sm|KJH}} and {{Sm|Lucky}}.
*{{Sm|Mew2King|USA}} (#10) - One of the [[Five Gods]]. Widely considered to be one of the best Marth players of all time. Has contributed largely to the advancement of his metagame, along with {{Sm|PPMD}}.
*{{Sm|Nintendude|USA}} (#81) - A former Ice Climber player turned Marth main. Placed 13th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}}, 25th at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, and 33rd at {{Trn|The Big House 9}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Jakenshaken}}, {{Sm|Ka-Master}}, and {{Sm|Boyd}}.
*{{Sm|PewPewU|USA}} (#24) - The best Marth player in California. Widely known for his proficiency in doubles with static partner {{Sm|SFAT}}.
*{{Sm|Reeve|USA}} - The best player in Kentucky.
*{{Sm|Rishi|USA}} (#40) - One of the best Marth players in the world. Placed 13th at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}} and 17th at {{Trn|The Big House 9}} and {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}}. Has wins over {{Sm|moky}}, {{Sm|Westballz}}, and {{Sm|HugS}}.
*{{Sm|Shroomed|USA}} (#30) - Primarily mains Sheik, but has a strong Marth that sees the most use on certain stages or character counterpicks.
*{{Sm|Spud|New Zealand}} (#38) - The best player in Australia/New Zealand. Placed 1st at {{Trn|Battle Arena Melbourne 11}}, 2nd at {{Trn|Phantom 2019}}, and 33rd at {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Professor Pro}}, {{Sm|SFAT}}, and {{Sm|S2J}}.
*{{Sm|Stango|USA}} (#47) - One of the best Marth players in the world. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|Fight Pitt 9}} and 7th at {{Trn|The Script 2}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Boyd}}, {{Sm|Lucky}}, and {{Sm|Gahtzu}}.
*{{Sm|Tai|USA}} (#66) - One of the best players in Arizona; known for his creative combos and movement. Placed 9th at {{Trn|GENESIS: BLACK}}, 13th at {{Trn|Mainstage}}, and 25th at {{Trn|The Big House 9}}. Has wins on {{Sm|ARMY}}, {{Sm|HugS}}, and {{Sm|Morsecode762}}.
*{{Sm|Umarth|USA}} (#87) - A Marth player from NorCal. Placed 33rd at {{Trn|Mainstage}} and {{Trn|Shine 2019}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Rishi}}, {{Sm|La Luna}}, and {{Sm|Squid}}.
*{{Sm|Zain|USA}} (#6) - The best active Marth player in the world with wins over {{Sm|Mang0}}, {{Sm|Hungrybox}}, {{Sm|Plup}}, and {{Sm|Leffen}}. Won {{Trn|GENESIS 7}} and {{Trn|Shine 2018}}.


====Inactive====
PPMD's pickup of Marth as a dual main was especially notable, as he found that his playstyle was uniquely suited to taking on {{Sm|Armada}}'s {{SSBM|Peach}} and other floaty characters, which other Marth mains had significantly struggled against in recent years. Despite not all of his encounters going his way, the fact that PPMD, who had just developed this Marth recently, was already doing so well in matchups traditionally considered difficult for Marth showed that the character had tons of room to grow past what the metagame had established. Going into 2013 and beyond, Marth would gradually return to prominence. PewPewU would take a set against {{Sm|Hungrybox}} at [[Apex 2015]], demonstrating that [[pivot]] tipper forward smashes allowed Marth to consistently KO Jigglypuff off of a throw. PPMD won [[Apex 2015]] relying mostly on Marth in the final bracket stages, showing that Marth can still win supermajors despite the greater matchup knowledge against him. Mew2King would finally return to playing more Marth in bracket, eventually opting to even use Marth against Armada's Peach himself, and outright forcing Armada off Peach in [[Smash Summit 6]], which he resoundingly won.
*{{Sm|Azen|USA}} - Top old-school Marth player from MD/VA. Considered one of the best on the East Coast in the pre-''Brawl'' era.
*{{Sm|Bob$|USA}} - Former Dr. Mario main who used Marth to great success later in his career before retiring.
*{{Sm|Dart!|USA}} - Marth solo main from the Midwest, renowned for his prowess in the {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}} matchup.
*{{Sm|DruggedFox|USA}} - Used to have a strong Marth secondary for the Fox/Falco matchup on [[Final Destination]].
*{{Sm|Fiction|USA}} - One of the strongest players in Southern California; dual mains with Fox. Semi-inactive due to a hand injury.
*{{Sm|I.B|Canada}} - Was considered the best Marth in Canada.
*{{Sm|KDJ|USA}} - Triple-mained with Fox and Sheik before retiring. Considered one of the strongest ''Melee'' players in the pre-''Brawl'' era.
*{{Sm|Ken|USA}} - Ranked player in SoCal. Commonly referred to as the "King of Smash" and undisputed best smasher from 2003 to 2006. Invented and named the Ken combo.
*{{Sm|La Luna|USA}} (#53) - One of the best Marth players in the world. Placed 25th at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, 17th at {{Trn|Pound 2019}}, and 17th at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2019}}. Has wins over {{Sm|HugS}}, {{Sm|moky}}, and {{Sm|Colbol}}.
*{{Sm|PPMD|USA}} - One of the [[Five Gods]]. Considered the best Marth in the neutral game and against floaty characters, and among the two greatest Marth players, alongside {{Sm|Mew2King}}. Currently inactive due to health reasons.
*{{Sm|Rudolph|Japan}} - Was the #2 ranked player in Japan and best Marth in the country. Co-mains with Fox.
*{{Sm|Taj|USA}} - Dual mained with {{SSBM|Mewtwo}}. Currently semi-retired.
*{{Sm|ZoSo|USA}} - Formerly the best Marth in New England. Is currently semi-retired and hasn't been ranked in New England since late 2018.
*{{Sm|reaper|Germany}} - Was the best Marth player in Europe.
*{{Sm|Mangosaur|USA}} - One of the best Isabelle and Captain Falcon players out there decided as a joke to play Marth yet kept with him and since has become one of his best characters.


===Tier placement and history===
All of this culminates into the state of the modern metagame, where {{Sm|Zain}} has risen to prominence as a solo Marth main, blending together all the styles of Marth that came before him to become one of the most dominant players in the game. He has won a significant number of supermajors including [[GENESIS 7]] and [[GENESIS 8]], and boasts a positive record against {{Sm|Hungrybox}}, completely turning the Marth-Jigglypuff matchup on its head with his gameplan in it and consistency in executing pivot tippers. Zain's reign at the top has even led some top players (particularly Fox and Falco players) to begin complaining about how strong Marth is, even sometimes picking up Sheik secondaries to have an easier time with the matchup - the complete opposite of what was said and done in previous eras where Marth's results were more sparse. Reflecting this, the thirteenth tier list released in March of 2021 ranks Marth as the second best character in the game once again, only behind Fox.
Very early in the ''Melee'' [[metagame]], Marth was seen as a character that relied too much on [[rolling]] and [[C-stick]] abuse, traits that led to a negative low-level perception of him despite his then-high-tier placement. Shortly before the third tier list iteration (June 2003), {{Sm|Ken}} won [[Tournament Go|Tournament Go 4]] with Marth, introducing the uses of [[dash-dancing]], [[chain throwing]], and a higher focus on [[spacing]] and [[aerial]] combat, including the creation of the infamous [[Ken Combo]]. Later, Ken incorporated other advanced techniques, such as [[wavedashing]], into Marth's metagame, and showed how powerfully he could punish enemies off small mistakes and reads. Because of this, Ken is credited for largely improving Marth's metagame. Ken, and a handful of other top Marth mains such as {{Sm|Azen}}, are credited for moving Marth up to the top tier for years to come, usually around the second to fourth highest spot on the list. Marth's first drop into the high tier since then was 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 became his highest tier placing in all the tier lists.
 
In the post-''Brawl'' metagame, however, professional opinions of Marth began declining. After {{Sm|Mew2King}}'s absolute dominance with Marth for a short time span around ''Brawl''{{'}}s release, Marth's placement in tournaments began to fall, as newer players learned to exploit his weaknesses, and many Marth mains, including Ken and Azen, became inactive from competitive ''Melee''. Mew2King himself eventually switched to playing primarily {{SSBM|Sheik}}, and up-and-coming Marth players, such as {{Sm|Tai}} and {{Sm|PewPewU}}, frequently struggled to make an impact at tournaments. This led to players questioning Marth's true viability in the metagame, which conicided with a drop to fifth place on the tenth tier list in September of 2010, and a fourth place finish on the eleventh tier list in July of 2013. Upon briefly returning to the scene in 2012, Ken notably claimed that Marth was a mid-tier character who lost in every important top-tier matchup. Mew2King's personal tier list in 2014 also decisively ranked Marth as fifth, claiming that while Marth could punish the entire cast solidly, he got punished too easily in return, leading to losing matchups against Fox, Falco, Sheik, and Jigglypuff on all non-[[Final Destination]] stages.
 
Despite this, new innovations in the modern metagame by the aforementioned PewPewU and {{Sm|PPMD}}, as well as arguments centered around [http://smashboards.com/threads/kadano%E2%80%99s-perfect-marth-class%E2%80%94advanced-frame-data-application.337035/ Marth's frame data], as compiled by various community members such as {{Sm|Kadano}}, have maintained Marth's viability and changed several opinions concerning his tier placement. PPMD's victory at [[Apex 2015]], where he beat several top Fox players using primarily Marth, showed that despite Marth's more apparent weaknesses today, he is still a character who can win large, top-level tournaments. Reflecting this, the twelfth and most recent tier list released in December of 2015 ranks Marth as third, underneath Falco and Fox, respectively.


====PAL viability====
====PAL viability====
Like several other top-tier characters, Marth was nerfed in the PAL version of ''Melee''. His down aerial, a powerful spike in NTSC, had its launch angle changed in PAL, making it an equally powerful meteor smash. As one of Marth's staple moves can now be [[meteor cancel]]ed, impairing his ability to finish off opponents quickly and throwing a wrench in the consistency of the infamous Ken Combo, it may seem as if Marth is worse in PAL overall. However, Marth still retains many other options to KO enemies, and has several other potent (albeit less reliable) options to substitute for down aerial in the aforementioned Ken Combo and other combos, such as his neutral aerial or a reverse [[Dolphin Slash]]. Marth was also made slightly lighter, which slightly impairs his survivability, but allows him to escape several of {{SSBM|Fox}}'s waveshine follow-ups. The most notable option loss for Fox is waveshine to [[grab]], which greatly impairs Fox's ability to rack up damage on Marth by converting from a shine and forces Fox players to use weaker options instead.
Like several other top-tier characters, Marth was nerfed in the PAL version of ''Melee''. His down aerial, a powerful spike in NTSC, had its launch angle changed in PAL, making it an equally powerful meteor smash. As one of Marth's staple moves can now be [[meteor cancel]]ed, impairing his ability to finish off opponents quickly and throwing a wrench in the consistency of the infamous Ken Combo, it may seem as if Marth is worse in PAL overall. However, Marth still retains many other options to KO enemies, and has several other potent (albeit less reliable) options to substitute for down aerial in the aforementioned Ken Combo and other combos, such as his neutral aerial or a reverse [[Dolphin Slash]]. Marth was also made slightly lighter, which slightly impairs his survivability, but allows him to escape several of {{SSBM|Fox}}'s waveshine follow-ups. The most notable option loss for Fox is waveshine to [[grab]], which greatly impairs Fox's ability to rack up damage on Marth by converting from a shine and forces Fox players to use weaker options instead.


Because some other top-tier characters, such as Fox or {{SSBM|Sheik}}, were nerfed more significantly than he was, Marth has a much easier time fighting against them than he does in NTSC versions, as he maintains almost all of the advantages he has against those characters, while losing several of the shortcomings that made those matchups difficult. Aside from the aforementioned loss of several waveshine follow-ups for Fox, Marth also able to edgeguard Fox more efficiently, due to the nerf in [[Fire Fox]]'s recovery distance. Sheik's disadvantages in the neutral game are still prevalent against Marth, as she must still cope with his range. However, Sheik's grab is much less of a punishment threat than it is in NTSC, as its launch angle does not guarantee KO setups (such as forward or up aerials) in PAL. These new advantages, as well as various other changes to Marth's matchups, make Marth arguably stronger relative to the cast than he is in NTSC. This is reflected in the PAL tier list, where Marth is ranked 2nd, a decent improvement over his recent positions in the NTSC list.  
Because some other top-tier characters, such as Fox or {{SSBM|Sheik}}, were nerfed more significantly than he was, Marth has a much easier time fighting against them than he does in NTSC versions, as he maintains almost all of the advantages he has against those characters, while losing several of the shortcomings that made those matchups difficult. Aside from the aforementioned loss of several waveshine follow-ups for Fox, Marth also able to edgeguard Fox more efficiently, due to the nerf in [[Fire Fox]]'s recovery distance. Sheik's disadvantages in the neutral game are still prevalent against Marth, as she must still cope with his range. However, Sheik's grab is much less of a punishment threat than it is in NTSC, as its launch angle does not guarantee KO setups (such as forward or up aerials) in PAL. These new advantages, as well as various other changes to Marth's matchups, make Marth arguably stronger relative to the cast than he is in NTSC. This is reflected in the PAL tier list, where Marth is ranked 2nd, a decent improvement over his recent positions in the NTSC list.


Despite Marth's theoretical superiority in PAL, there exist very few notable Marth mains in PAL regions, with {{Sm|reaper}}, {{Sm|Mahie}} and {{Sm|Salepate}} being the extent of his current representation; both Mahie and Salepate have also struggled to make an impact outside of France. Furthermore, {{Sm|Ice}}, once considered one of Europe's best Marth mains, later chose to exclusively main Fox to improve his standings in tournaments.
Despite Marth's theoretical superiority in PAL, there exist very few notable Marth mains in PAL regions, with {{Sm|reaper}}, {{Sm|Mahie}} and {{Sm|Salepate}} being the extent of his current representation; both Mahie and Salepate have also struggled to make an impact outside of France. Furthermore, {{Sm|Ice}}, once considered one of Europe's best Marth mains, later chose to exclusively main Fox to improve his standings in tournaments.


==In single-player modes==
==In 1-P Mode==
===In {{SSBM|Classic Mode}}===
===In {{SSBM|Classic Mode}}===
In Classic Mode, Marth can appear in one-on-one matches, team battles alongside {{SSBM|Link}} and {{SSBM|Zelda}}, and as a metal opponent in the mode's penultimate stage. In his appearances, bar his metal match, Marth appears on [[Great Bay]]. On a team with Zelda, he appears on [[Temple]]. In all such instances, the track "Fire Emblem" plays on the stage, which does not occur in any other mode. Unusually, this does not happen when fighting Marth + Link, during which it will still play the "Great Bay" theme.
In Classic Mode, Marth can appear in one-on-one matches, team battles alongside {{SSBM|Link}} and {{SSBM|Zelda}}, and as a metal opponent in the mode's penultimate stage. In his appearances, bar his metal match, Marth appears on [[Great Bay]]. On a team with Zelda, he appears on [[Temple]]. In all such instances, the track "Fire Emblem" plays on the stage, which does not occur in any other mode. Unusually, this does not happen when fighting Marth + Link, during which it will still play the "Great Bay" theme.
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Marth appears in multiple Event Matches:
Marth appears in multiple Event Matches:
*'''[[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 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.  
*'''[[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.
*'''[[Event 46: Fire Emblem Pride]]''': The player battles and must defeat a team of Marth and Roy in an untimed match in the Hyrule Temple stage, with all three characters receiving 3 stock.
*'''[[Event 46: Fire Emblem Pride]]''': The player battles and must defeat a team of Marth and Roy in an untimed match in the Hyrule Temple stage, with all three characters receiving 3 stock.


===Ending images===
===[[Congratulations_screen#Super_Smash_Bros._Melee|Congratulations Screens]]===
<center>
<gallery>
<gallery>
MarthClassicMode.jpg|Classic Mode.
MarthClassicMode.jpg|Classic Mode
MarthAdventureMode.jpg|Adventure Mode.
MarthAdventureMode.jpg|Adventure Mode
MarthAllStarMode.jpg|All-Star Mode.
MarthAllStarMode.jpg|All-Star Mode
</gallery>
</gallery>
</center>


==Trophies==
==[[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.
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.


:'''Marth'''
{{Trophy/Fighter
:''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.''
|name=Marth
::Fire Emblem <br> Japan Only  
|image=Marth Trophy Melee.png
|mode=Classic
|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}}


:'''Marth''' [<span style="color:#FF0000">SMASH</span>]
{{Trophy/Fighter
:''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.''
|name=Marth
::B: [[Shield Breaker]] <br> Smash B: [[Dancing Blade]]
|image=Marth Trophy (Smash).png
|mode=Adventure
|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
|game=Melee
}}
{{clrl}}


:'''Marth''' [<span style="color:#0000FF">SMASH</span>]
{{Trophy/Fighter
:''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.''
|name=Marth
:: Up & B: [[Dolphin Slash]] <br> Down & B: [[Counter]]
|image=Marth Trophy (Smash 2).png
 
|mode=All Star
<center>
|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.
<gallery>
|gamelist=:Up & B: Dolphin Slash
Marth Trophy Melee.png|Classic
:Down & B: Counter
Marth Trophy (Smash).png|[<span style="color:#FF0000">SMASH</span>]
|game=Melee
Marth Trophy (Smash 2).png|[<span style="color:#0000FF">SMASH</span>]
}}
</gallery>
{{clrl}}
</center>


==[[Alternate costume (SSBM)#Marth|Alternate costumes]]==
==[[Alternate costume (SSBM)#Marth|Alternate costumes]]==
Line 327: Line 414:
<gallery>
<gallery>
SSBM Marth HQ.png|Official artwork of Marth.
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]].
Dolphin Slash SSBM.jpg|Using [[Dolphin Slash]] on {{SSBM|Zelda}} and {{SSBM|Donkey Kong}} on [[Pokémon Stadium]].
SSBMWebsiteMarth5.jpg|Fighting the [[Fighting Wire Frames]] on {{SSBM|Battlefield}}.
Marth'sbmove.jpg|Using [[Shield Breaker]] on {{SSBM|Bowser}} on Onett.
RoyClassicMode.jpg|Posing with {{SSBM|Roy}} on [[Princess Peach's Castle]].
RoyClassicMode.jpg|Posing with {{SSBM|Roy}} on [[Princess Peach's Castle]].
RoyAllStarMode.jpg|[[Dash]]ing towards Roy and {{SSBM|Link}} on [[Temple]].
RoyAllStarMode.jpg|[[Dash]]ing towards Roy and {{SSBM|Link}} on [[Temple]].
Line 334: Line 427:
==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*Marth is the only newcomer and unlockable character to have a clone.
*Marth is the only newcomer and unlockable character to have a clone.
*Marth and {{SSBM|Roy}} are the only characters in ''Melee'' that speak Japanese in all language versions of the game.
*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]].
*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]].
**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]].
*Along with {{SSBM|Roy}}, Marth was originally planned to be a Japan-exclusive character in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', but was kept in all versions on request of an employee at Nintendo of America.{{fact}} Global interest in the ''Fire Emblem'' series began as a result of their success in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''.
*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.
*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.  
*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.
**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.
*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.
*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.
==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://sourcegaming.info/2016/01/21/melee-marth/ Translation of official character page on Source Gaming]
*[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.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/1204/index.html Official character page on the Japanese ''Melee'' website]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiVzSzuuv88 Are You a Marth Player?] by [[Kira]]
*[http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IiVzSzuuv88 Are You a Marth Player?] by [[Kira]]


{{SSBMCharacters}}
{{SSBMCharacters}}

Latest revision as of 21:52, November 9, 2024

This article is about Marth's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For the character in other contexts, see Marth.
Marth
in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Marth SSBM.jpg
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Universe Fire Emblem
Other playable appearances in Brawl
in SSB4
in Ultimate
Availability Unlockable
Tier S (2) (North America)
S (2) (Europe)
Marth (SSBM)

Marth (マルス, 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.[1] He was ultimately kept in all versions after positive reception from their non-Japanese partners,[1] and his popularity alongside fellow Fire Emblem fighter 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 Hikaru Midorikawa, who previously voiced him in 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 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 approaches 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.

How to unlock[edit]

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, Classic Mode, 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 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 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.

Attributes[edit]

The majority of Marth's moveset, if chained together, can be highly effective at edgeguarding.

Marth falls under the fighter archetype of being mobile, with the ability to easily outmaneuver most of his opponents; Marth has a very fast dashing speed, a long wavedash (specifically the fourth longest in the game) and rather good jumping speed, with above average falling speed, contributing to a good SHFFL. With a large dash-dance window and a disjointed hitbox, Marth has great approach options in this game, both on the ground and in the air.

Marth's primary strength is his range in his normal attacks; the Falchion grants Marth a very large disjointed hitbox that can allow him to safely attack from a distance. Additionally, the tip of the Falchion, its sweetspot, is remarkably easy to connect, making Marth stronger when he is further from his opponent. In addition to this, Marth's attacks are very quick in terms of startup lag, and his long wavedash and dash-dance allow him to further extend his already long reach. This long hitbox with a far away sweetspot also contributes to Marth's superb combo game.

In addition to his disjointed range, Marth has a fantastic combo and juggle ability; despite a slightly below average air speed, with a combination of good jumping prowess, and an average falling speed, as well as quick, low lag, high-ranged, easy-to-sweetspot aerials, Marth has among the best air games in Melee, and a great combo ability. Additionally, Marth's grab game is also good, as mentioned before due to a surprisingly long grab range (the longest of the non-grapple grabs, thanks to it extending far past his hand). His throws possess low damage and knockback, allowing him to chain his throws into each other and combo into other attacks. In particular, his up throw can chain throw most fast fallers at low to mid percentages, and it can directly segue into an up tilt or an aerial, and can be used for KOing at high percents on a platform due to being the third strongest up throw in the game. Marth's long dash-dance also makes him a superb tech-chaser.

Marth also has several powerful attacks in his arsenal; some of them are very fast and have high range, such as his up tilt, while others can KO at close ranges, such as the Reverse Dolphin Slash technique. Marth's forward smash is feared due to its high speed and power when tipped, with the capability to "break" through some projectiles found in the game thanks to its priority; it also works well when wave-smashed, due to Marth's long wavedash. Marth's down tilt and Shield Breaker act as good edgeguarding options, with the former being a semi-spike and the latter have a large hitbox. Most notable, however, is his down aerial, which acts as a powerful spike in NTSC regions, and an equally powerful meteor smash in PAL regions; it can KO reliably even as low as 40%, and many of Marth's attacks can easily combo into his down air, most notably his forward aerial as part of the Ken Combo. Marth also has access to a grounded meteor in his Dancing Blade. While its uses for KOing are somewhat situational, it can set up tech-chases well, as well as free jab resets.

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.

Version history[edit]

Like some other characters, Marth received some changes in the PAL version of Melee, which slightly nerfed 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 Fox and 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

PAL

  • Nerf Marth's weight has been decreased (87 → 85).
    • Buff However, this change also makes him immune to Fox's waveshine combos as he is now light enough to be knocked down by Fox's shine.
  • Nerf Marth's air speed is lower (0.9 → 0.85).
  • Nerf Down aerial's sweetspot's angle has been altered (290° → 270°) allowing it to be meteor cancelled. This significantly hinders its reliability.

Moveset[edit]

Marth's aerial attacks
Marth is notorious for having an unreasonably disjointed grab range even reaching farther than Yoshi’s tongue.

For a gallery of Marth's hitboxes, see here.
For simplicity, if, for example, Marth's blade does 4% damage while the tip does 6%, and the attack has no other hitboxes, it is written as 4%/6%.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack Slash (スラッシュ) / Counter Slash (コンビネーションスラッシュ, Combination Slash) 4%/6% 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.
4%/6%
Forward tilt Sharp Edge (ハードエッジ, Hard Edge) 9%/13% A fast upward swipe while leaning forward. Has good horizontal reach.
Up tilt Anti-Air Slash (アンチエアスラッシュ) Clean: 9% (blade), 12% (tip), 8% (body)
Late: 10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body)		 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.
Down tilt Low Stab (ロースラスト, Low Thrust) 9% (blade), 10% (tip), 8% (body) 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.
Dash attack Raid Chop (レイドチョップ) 11% (blade), 12% (tip), 9% (body) A quick upward sweeping diagonal slash with high range and relatively high damage. Depending on where on the sword it connects, it can either send opponents behind him, in front of him or above him. Very good for setting up combos, but has high ending lag.
Forward smash Dragon Killer (ドラゴンキラー) 14%/20% 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.
Up smash Justice Sword (ジャスティスソード) 8% (sides), 15% (blade), 18% (tip) 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.
Down smash Whirlwind Blade (ワールウィンド, Whirlwind) 11%/16% (both sides) Sweeps his sword on the ground towards the front, then towards the back. If tippered, it sends opponents upward with high vertical knockback, Star KOing opponents at high percentages, and is the strongest down smash in the game and 3rd most powerful smash attack overall (only behind Bowser's forward smash and Pikachu's up smash). If hit at the base, it sends opponents with low horizontal knockback, but it can still KO at high percentages. It is generally not a safe option to use in most situations, as the attack has a fair amount of ending lag and takes longer to fully execute than his other smash attacks (despite having the fastest amount of start-up out of his smash attacks).
Neutral aerial Double Slash (ダブルスラッシュ) 4% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2) Two horizontal slashes around himself. Both hits connect easily, and can follow up into each other. Oddly enough, both the tipper hitbox and the non-tipper hitbox deal the same damage and knockback; the only difference between the 2 hitboxes is the sound effect.
Forward aerial Aerial Swipe (フラッグカット, Flag Cut) 10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body) Does a forward vertical slash downwards. It is considered Marth's most versatile aerial as it is his fastest and has the most combo potential. It also has the least ending lag of all his aerials and it is his safest aerial on shield since it deals 7 frames of shield stun and has 7 frames of endlag; Marth can dash-dance away after doing this move on shield. Because of its ability to link into virtually any other of Marth's moves, it is an ideal move to set up edgeguarding. The move however has a very short duration and thus despite its speed, it is unsafe if spammed in neutral.
Back aerial About Face (アッパースイング, Upper Swing) 10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body) Slashes the Falchion from bottom to top behind him in an inward swipe. The attack has the unusual property of turning Marth around when used in the air; in this regard, his back aerial can be used to potentially set up a Ken Combo or can be used to quickly steal a ledge.
Up aerial Luna Slash (ルナスラッシュ) 10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body) A forward-to-back upward wide sword slash ending in a full delayed somersault. It is not particularly powerful regardless of where on the sword it hits, but conversely it shows no mercy juggling opponents when combined with forward smash, up tilt, and other aerials.
Down aerial Half Moon (ハーフムーン) 10% (blade), 13% (tip), 9% (body) A forward-to-back outward sword slash downwards. The attack, when sweetspotted, sends opponents flying downward. In NTSC regions, the attack is a spike, while PAL regions, it's a meteor smash. Due to its high ending lag and Marth's lackluster recovery, the attack is of high risk if used offstage at a low altitude. Regardless, the move is extremely useful anywhere else on the stage due to its long horizontal reach making it a great tech chase option (for reading rolls) as well as an out of shield option. This is the primary finish to a Ken Combo.
Grab Grab (つかみ) — Marth grabs the opponent with his free hand. It's the 4th longest grab range overall and the single longest non-tether grab.
Pummel Knee (つかみニーバット, Grab Kneebutt) 3% Knees the opponent.
Forward throw Bounce (ロールオーバー, Roll Over) 4% Trips the opponent with his leg as he pushes them forward.
Back throw Throw Away (レッグフッカー, Leg Hooker) 4% Pulls opponents behind him and extends his leg simultaneously.
Up throw Emblem Toss (キャスティング, Casting) 4% A powerful upward throw with one arm. Can chain throw fast fallers at low percentages, and is the third strongest up throw in the game.
Down throw Slam (グラブドロップ, Grab Drop) 5% Slams the opponent to the ground, sending them behind him. Can set up a tippered forward smash at low percentages.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge 		— —
Techs — —
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front) 		  6% Sweeps his sword on the ground, front to back.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back) 		  6% A quick stab to the left followed by a horizontal slash to the right.
Edge attack (fast)
Edge getups (fast) 		  8% (sword), 6% (hilt) Flips onto ledge with a quick downward diagonal slash downwards. Hitbox only exists on Marth's right arm arm and his sword, meaning that foes close to the ledge Marth is hanging on can avoid the attack.
Edge attack (slow)
Edge getups (slow) 		  8% (sword), 6% (hilt) Slowly gets up and performs a quick horizontal slice upwards. Just like his quick edge attack, opponents can avoid the attack if they are close to the ledge Marth is currently hanging on.
Neutral special Shield Breaker 7-27%, 28% (fully charged) Marth holds the Falchion over his head before doing a powerful overhead slash in a similar fashion to his forward smash. When the move is fully charged, it will break any shield in one hit, unless the attack is perfect shielded. This attack has transcendent priority.
Side special Dancing Blade Varies A sequence of Falchion slashes with several variations based on control stick inputs. All variations have transcendent priority. For the first attack, Marth glows red; the second, green; the third, blue; and for the last one, red again.
Up special Dolphin Slash 10% (startup blade & body), 13% (startup tip), 7% (leap blade & tip), 6% (leap body) 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.
Down special Counter 7% 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 "そこだ！" ("There!"), "させるものか！" ("I won't allow that!"), or "見切った！" ("I saw through (your attack)!")
Dancing Blade
Hit Damage Description
First Hit (Neutral) 4% Does a vertical slash, has little knockback: incapable of KOing.
Second Hit (Up) 5% Does an upwards slash.
Second Hit (Neutral) 5% Does a stab, has a little more knockback then the first slash, but still not much.
Third Hit (Up) 6% Does a weak vertical slash.
Third Hit (Neutral) 10% Does a fairly powerful horizontal slash. KOs at around 120%.
Third Hit (Down) 10% Stabs at the ground. Decent KO option. Has an unorthodox meteor smash hitbox.
Fourth Hit (Up) 10% Does a very powerful jumping slash. KOs at around 100%.
Fourth Hit (Neutral) 14% Does a very powerful vertical slash. KOs at around 100%
Fourth Hit (Down) 3% (hit 1-4), 5% (hit 5) Does a flurry of lower stabs. The last hit launches opponents away.

Stats[edit]

NTSC

Stats Weight Dash speed Walk speed Traction Air friction Air speed Air acceleration Gravity Falling speed Jumpsquat Jump Height Double jump Height
Value 87 1.5 – Initial dash
1.8 – Run		 1.6 0.06 0.005 0.9 0.02 – Base
0.03 – Additional		 0.085 2.2 – Base
2.5 – Fast-fall		 4 35.09 - Base
13.995 - Short hop		 25.188

PAL

Stats Weight Dash speed Walk speed Traction Air friction Air speed Air acceleration Gravity Falling speed Jumpsquat Jump Height Double jump Height
Value 85 1.5 – Initial dash
1.8 – Run		 1.6 0.06 0.005 0.85 0.02 – Base
0.03 – Additional		 0.085 2.2 – Base
2.5 – Fast-fall		 4 35.09 - Base
13.995 - Short hop		 25.188
Jump Frame Data
Jump Air time FF input window for Earliest FF Air time for Earliest FF
Full Hop 59 28-31 45
Full Hop (instant aerial) 57 27-30 43
Short Hop 38 17-20 26
Short Hop (instant fair/bair) 36 16-19 24
Short Hop (instant upair) 38 16-20 25
Short Hop (instant dair) 37 16-19 25
Short Hop (instant nair) 37 16-19 24

Announcer call[edit]

Taunt[edit]

  • Twirls his sword, then raises it in front of him, saying, "みんな、見ていてくれ！" ("Everyone, please watch me!")
Marth-Taunt-SSBM.gif

Idle pose[edit]

  • Brushes hair out of his face.
Marth Idle Pose Melee.gif

Crowd cheer[edit]

English Japanese
Cheer
Description Marth! Marth! Marth! Ma-ru-su!
Pitch Group chant Female

Victory poses[edit]

A rendition of a portion of the main theme of the Fire Emblem series.
  • Turns with pride, spins the Falchion, then clashes it to the ground and says "僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ!", which translates to: "I cannot afford to lose!"
  • Sheaths his sword and says "今回は僕の勝ちだね?", which translates to: "This time it's my victory, isn't it?"
  • Poses with his sword sheathed and his right arm out and says "今日も生き延びることが出来た。", which translates to: "Today I have survived."
Marth-Victory1-SSBM.gif Marth-Victory2-SSBM.gif Marth-Victory3-SSBM.gif

In competitive play[edit]

Most historically significant players[edit]

See also: Category:Marth players (SSBM)

  • USA Azen - Top old-school Marth player from MD/VA. Considered one of the best on the East Coast in the pre-Brawl era. Won MLG Atlanta 2004, Tournament Go 6, and MLG New York Playoffs 2006.
  • USA KDJ - One of the best players from 2006-2008; triple-mained with Fox and Sheik before retiring. Won MLG Long Island 2007 using Marth to beat ChuDat, and placed 2nd at Cataclysm 3 and 17th at Apex 2012 using Marth as a secondary. He focused on Marth more in the latter half of his career, beating players such as La Luna before retiring from competition in 2016.
  • USA Ken - Referred to as the "King of Smash". Considered the first person to have a dominant presence in the Melee scene, and as such, was the undisputed best smasher from 2003 to 2006. He was the first Marth player to win a major, namely Tournament Go 4, and continued to win multiple MLG tournaments and EVO World 2007. He popularised and named the Ken combo.
  • USA KoDoRiN - One of the best Marth players in the world, currently second best behind Zain. He made his breakout during the COVID-19 pandemic through online tournaments, and continued improving at offline tournaments with placements such as 3rd at Mainstage 2021, also taking multiple wins over Cody Schwab and Hungrybox. He cracked top 10 on the MPGR Summer 2022 rankings, being the 10th best player on the list.
  • USA La Luna - A Marth player with competitive history dating back from 2011, becoming one of the best Marth players in the world in the late 2010s. Considered a top 30 player around this time, and ranked 19th during the SSBMRank 2017 season, with placements of 3rd at Get On My Level 2017 and 7th at EVO 2017, beating players such as Leffen and ChuDat. He was banned from tournaments in 2020 due to controversies relating to previous behaviors at tournaments.
  • USA Mew2King - One of the Five Gods. Widely considered to be one of the best Marth players of all time. Known for his very precise punish game with the character and contributed largely to the advancement of his metagame, along with PPMD. He won many populated tournaments throughout the history of Melee primarily using Marth, including MELEE-FC Diamond, Shine 2016, and Smash Summit 6.
  • USA PewPewU - The best Marth player in California and one of the best in the world before retiring. He is one of the best solo Marth players of all time, being the first Marth player to be ranked top 10 on an SSBMRank/MPGR ranking, doing so in Summer 2015 SSBMRank. He placed top 8 at multiple supermajors such as 4th at Super Smash Con 2018, 5th at GENESIS 6, and 7th at EVO 2016. Throughout the 2010s, he remained a top 20 player and was considered the best solo Marth player in the modern era before Zain's rise in the scene. He was also well known for his proficiency in doubles with static partner SFAT, becoming one of the best doubles teams in Melee history.
  • USA PPMD - One of the Five Gods, co-maining 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 Apex 2015, beating 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.
  • USA Rishi - 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 Super Smash Con 2018 and Smash Summit 7. He became mostly inactive in the post-Project Slippi era, but has placed 7th at Super Smash Con 2022 and 9th at Collision 2023 with a rank of 42nd on SSBMRank 2022.
  • New Zealand Spud - The best player in Australia/New Zealand. Showed dominance in his country, winning events such as Battle Arena Melbourne 11, and has made appearances in North America, with 33rd at both GENESIS 7 and The Big House 10 with wins over SFAT and n0ne.
  • USA Taj - Although better known for his Mewtwo play, Taj was one of the best Marth players in the world during the post-Brawl era, and frequently relied more on Marth in later stages of the bracket. Notably defeated Mang0 and PPMD at GENESIS 2, where he placed 3rd, and placed 5th at MELEE-FC Diamond and 13th at EVO 2013 with primarily Marth. He is also known for his great performances in the Marth ditto, beating top players such as PewPewU.
  • USA Zain - The best Marth player in the world. He is the first solo Marth player to dominate tournaments since Ken, winning supermajors such as GENESIS 7, GENESIS 8, and Super Smash Con 2023. He was the number 1 player in the world during SSBMRank 2022, making him the first non-God to be given the title.

Tier placement and history[edit]

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 Ken and 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 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 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 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 Tai and PewPewU, accompanied by strong veterans such as 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 Kadano compiled Marth's frame data and ways to apply that knowledge, and players such as the aforementioned PewPewU and PPMD would put all of this discussion into practice on the biggest stage.

PPMD's pickup of Marth as a dual main was especially notable, as he found that his playstyle was uniquely suited to taking on Armada's Peach and other floaty characters, which other Marth mains had significantly struggled against in recent years. Despite not all of his encounters going his way, the fact that PPMD, who had just developed this Marth recently, was already doing so well in matchups traditionally considered difficult for Marth showed that the character had tons of room to grow past what the metagame had established. Going into 2013 and beyond, Marth would gradually return to prominence. PewPewU would take a set against Hungrybox at Apex 2015, demonstrating that pivot tipper forward smashes allowed Marth to consistently KO Jigglypuff off of a throw. PPMD won Apex 2015 relying mostly on Marth in the final bracket stages, showing that Marth can still win supermajors despite the greater matchup knowledge against him. Mew2King would finally return to playing more Marth in bracket, eventually opting to even use Marth against Armada's Peach himself, and outright forcing Armada off Peach in Smash Summit 6, which he resoundingly won.

All of this culminates into the state of the modern metagame, where Zain has risen to prominence as a solo Marth main, blending together all the styles of Marth that came before him to become one of the most dominant players in the game. He has won a significant number of supermajors including GENESIS 7 and GENESIS 8, and boasts a positive record against Hungrybox, completely turning the Marth-Jigglypuff matchup on its head with his gameplan in it and consistency in executing pivot tippers. Zain's reign at the top has even led some top players (particularly Fox and Falco players) to begin complaining about how strong Marth is, even sometimes picking up Sheik secondaries to have an easier time with the matchup - the complete opposite of what was said and done in previous eras where Marth's results were more sparse. Reflecting this, the thirteenth tier list released in March of 2021 ranks Marth as the second best character in the game once again, only behind Fox.

PAL viability[edit]

Like several other top-tier characters, Marth was nerfed in the PAL version of Melee. His down aerial, a powerful spike in NTSC, had its launch angle changed in PAL, making it an equally powerful meteor smash. As one of Marth's staple moves can now be meteor canceled, impairing his ability to finish off opponents quickly and throwing a wrench in the consistency of the infamous Ken Combo, it may seem as if Marth is worse in PAL overall. However, Marth still retains many other options to KO enemies, and has several other potent (albeit less reliable) options to substitute for down aerial in the aforementioned Ken Combo and other combos, such as his neutral aerial or a reverse Dolphin Slash. Marth was also made slightly lighter, which slightly impairs his survivability, but allows him to escape several of Fox's waveshine follow-ups. The most notable option loss for Fox is waveshine to grab, which greatly impairs Fox's ability to rack up damage on Marth by converting from a shine and forces Fox players to use weaker options instead.

Because some other top-tier characters, such as Fox or Sheik, were nerfed more significantly than he was, Marth has a much easier time fighting against them than he does in NTSC versions, as he maintains almost all of the advantages he has against those characters, while losing several of the shortcomings that made those matchups difficult. Aside from the aforementioned loss of several waveshine follow-ups for Fox, Marth also able to edgeguard Fox more efficiently, due to the nerf in Fire Fox's recovery distance. Sheik's disadvantages in the neutral game are still prevalent against Marth, as she must still cope with his range. However, Sheik's grab is much less of a punishment threat than it is in NTSC, as its launch angle does not guarantee KO setups (such as forward or up aerials) in PAL. These new advantages, as well as various other changes to Marth's matchups, make Marth arguably stronger relative to the cast than he is in NTSC. This is reflected in the PAL tier list, where Marth is ranked 2nd, a decent improvement over his recent positions in the NTSC list.

Despite Marth's theoretical superiority in PAL, there exist very few notable Marth mains in PAL regions, with reaper, Mahie and Salepate being the extent of his current representation; both Mahie and Salepate have also struggled to make an impact outside of France. Furthermore, Ice, once considered one of Europe's best Marth mains, later chose to exclusively main Fox to improve his standings in tournaments.

In 1-P Mode[edit]

In Classic Mode[edit]

In Classic Mode, Marth can appear in one-on-one matches, team battles alongside Link and Zelda, and as a metal opponent in the mode's penultimate stage. In his appearances, bar his metal match, Marth appears on Great Bay. On a team with Zelda, he appears on Temple. In all such instances, the track "Fire Emblem" plays on the stage, which does not occur in any other mode. Unusually, this does not happen when fighting Marth + Link, during which it will still play the "Great Bay" theme.

In Adventure Mode[edit]

Marth makes no appearances in the game's single-player Adventure Mode. Music associated with him, however, can play in the Underground Maze.

In All-Star Mode[edit]

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.

In Event Matches[edit]

Marth appears in multiple Event Matches:

  • 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: Luigi, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, and Mr. Game & Watch.
  • Event 41: En Garde!: A one-on-one battle between the player as Marth and the enemy Link on the Temple stage, with the two characters having 2 stock each and unlimited time.
  • Event 46: Fire Emblem Pride: The player battles and must defeat a team of Marth and Roy in an untimed match in the Hyrule Temple stage, with all three characters receiving 3 stock.

Congratulations Screens[edit]

  • Classic Mode

    Classic Mode

  • Adventure Mode

    Adventure Mode

  • All-Star Mode

    All-Star Mode

Trophies[edit]

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 and All-Star modes on any difficulty with Marth.

Classic Mode trophy
Marth
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.
Fire Emblem (Japan Only)
Adventure Mode [Smash] trophy
Marth [Smash]
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.
B: Shield Breaker
Smash B: Dancing Blade
All-Star Mode [Smash] trophy
Marth [Smash]
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.
Up & B: Dolphin Slash
Down & B: Counter

Alternate costumes[edit]

Marth Palette (SSBM).png
Marth (SSBM) Marth (SSBM) Marth (SSBM) Marth (SSBM) Marth (SSBM)

Gallery[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • Marth is the only newcomer and unlockable character to have a clone.
  • Marth and Roy are the only playable characters in Melee that do not have a stage representing their universe, though hacked data shows that 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 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 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: "レッツダンス！" "Rettsu dansu!", the English phrase "Let's Dance!" approximated phonetically in Japanese.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "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

External links[edit]


v • d • e
Fighters in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Veterans Captain Falcon · Donkey Kong · Fox · Jigglypuff · Kirby · Link · Luigi · Mario · Ness · Pikachu · Samus · Yoshi
Newcomers Bowser · Dr. Mario · Falco · Ganondorf · Ice Climbers · Marth · Mewtwo · Mr. Game & Watch · Peach · Pichu · Roy · Young Link · Zelda (Sheik)
v • d • e
Fire Emblem (universe) Fire Emblem universe
Fighters Marth (SSBM · SSBB · SSB4 · SSBU) · Roy (SSBM · SSB4 · SSBU) · Ike (SSBB · SSB4 · SSBU) · Lucina (SSB4 · SSBU) · Robin (SSB4 · SSBU) · Corrin (SSB4 · SSBU) · Chrom (SSBU) · Byleth (SSBU)
Assist Trophies Lyn · Black Knight · Tiki
Stages Castle Siege · Arena Ferox · Coliseum · Garreg Mach Monastery
Item Killing Edge
Other Sothis
Trophies, Stickers and Spirits Trophies (SSBM · SSBB · SSB4) · Stickers · Spirits
Music Brawl · SSB4 · Ultimate
Masterpieces Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light · Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
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