Marth (SSBM)

Marth in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Universe	Fire Emblem
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	A (5)

“	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.	”
—Description from Marth's trophy.

Marth (マルス, Marusu) debuted in the first game of the Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons 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 Roy, eventually caused Nintendo to begin releasing the Fire Emblem games internationally; the first internationally released game came two years after Melee.

Marth currently ranks 5th place on the tier list in the A tier. This is due to his excellent overall speed, disjointed range, power when tipped attacks are landed (particularly his forward smash and down aerial), juggle/combo ability (including the notorious Ken Combo), and a great edgeguard ability. Compared to other top-tier characters, Marth does not require an extensive amount of tech skill to be used effectively. However many would consider Marth to be one of the more difficult characters to master due to the intricate spacing ability required of the player to overcome more difficult matchups. On the downside, his approach options are limited in comparisons with other top tier characters due to a lack of a projectile, and his recovery, while extendable with a very fast up special recovery, is also rather predictable and covers poor horizontal distance. Regardless of these flaws, Marth has excellent match-ups against most characters, including six coming close to unloseable.

How to unlock

To unlock Marth, players have to use all fourteen starter characters in VS. matches, complete Classic mode with all fourteen starter characters, or play 400 VS. matches. Upon completing this, Marth will be fought on Fountain of Dreams, with the track "Fire Emblem" playing.

Attributes

The majority of Marth's moveset is highly effective at edgeguarding.

Marth generally falls under the character archetype of being fast, with the ability to easily outmaneuver most of his opponents; Marth has a very fast dash, a long wavedash and rather good jumping speed, with average falling speed, contributing to a good SHFFL. With a good dash dance and a disjointed hitbox, Marth has good approach options in the game, both in the air and on the ground.

One of Marth's greatest strengths is his range in his normal attacks; Falchion grants Marth a disjointed hitbox that can allow him to safely attack from a distance. Additionally, the tip of Falchion, its sweetspot, is remarkably easy to land with, making Marth stronger when he's farther from his opponent. This long hitbox with a far away sweetspot also contributes to Marth's combo game.

In addition to his disjointed range, Marth has almost unparalleled combo 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, due to a surpringly good grab range (the best for non-grapple grabs). 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. Marth's long dash dance also makes him a superb tech chaser.

Marth also has plenty of 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, and it can actually "break" through some projectiles found in the game; it also works well when wavesmashed, due to Marth's long wavedash. Marth's down tilt and Shield Breaker act as good edgeguarding options. Most notably, however, is his down air; it 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 dair, most notably his forward air 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 setup tech chases well as well as free jab resets.

Marth's primary flaw is his rather lackluster recovery. His up special, Dolphin Slash, grants little horizontal distance and decidedly average vertical distance; its ending lag also makes it very easy to punish. Marth's average airspeed also prevents him from moving far after entering a helpless state. However, Marth can mitigate his recovery by using Dancing Blade as to give him some horizontal recovery, though this gives no vertical recovery, and it must be timed well.

Additionally, Marth has a slight weakness of lacking a projectile; while its effect on Marth is debatable, this limits his approach in comparison with other high tiered characters, such as Fox. Marth is a large target for a character of his weight. Additionally, while in NTSC regions he vulnerable to Fox's Waveshine combos, his light weight makes multiple waveshines impossible and limiting Fox's only follow up a Jump Canceled grab. It should be noted however if good horizontal DI is used upon being waveshined, Marth can avoid being combo'd completely.

Moveset

For a gallery of Marth's hitboxes, see here.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		{{{neutralname}}}	4% (base), 6% (tip)	{{{neutraldesc}}}
			4% (base), 6% (tip)
Forward tilt		Sharp Edge	9% (base), 13% (tip)	A fast forward sword swipe, much like the dash attack with less lag and a higher angle.
Up tilt		Anti-Air Slash	8%, 9%, 10%, 12%, or 13% depending on time and position	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 juggle and trap opponents in conjunction with a forward smash, a nair, or an up air, on top of platforms. It can also set up aerial combos. At high percentages, it is an extremely effective KO move, KOing reliably at 130% and above.
Down tilt		Low Stab	8% (base), 9% (middle), 10% (tip)	A quick crouching sword poke. As it pokes out and is a semi-spike, it makes a very useful edgeguard. It is also a staple in Marth's neutral game as it can safely be used to interupt dash dancing and wavedashing approaches. It also often times nets a grab follow up at percents below 100.
Dash attack		Raid Chop	9% (base), 11% (middle), 12% (tip)	A quick upward diagonal slash with medium lag with high range and relatively high damage. Depending if it's tipped or not, it can either send opponents behind him or above him.
Forward smash		Dragon Killer	Template:DamageWhenCharged (base), Template:DamageWhenCharged (tip)	Rotates body counter-clockwise with a strong arc-like swing from his head to the ground, similar to the animation of his neutral special. Very fast and long ranged. The knockback of the move is strongest on the tip of the sword, aptly called the tipper hitbox.
Up smash		Justice Sword	Template:DamageWhenCharged (sides), Template:DamageWhenCharged (sword), Template:DamageWhenCharged (tip)	A powerful upward thrust. While effective on aerial opponents, the move has very weak sourspots next to Marth if used on the ground.
Down smash		Whirlwind Blade	Template:DamageWhenCharged (base), Template:DamageWhenCharged (tip)	Sweeps his sword on the ground toward the front then toward the back. If tipped it sends opponents upward with high vertical knockback, star KOing opponents at high percentage, and its one of the strongest down smash in the game. If hit at the base, it sends opponents with low horizontal knockback, but it can still KO at high percentage. Despite its power, it is rather laggy.
Neutral aerial		Double Slash	4% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2)	Two horizontal slashes around himself. Both hits connect easily, can follow up into each other, with the second having decent knockback if sweetspotted. 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	9% (base), 10% (middle), 13% (tip)	Marth does a forward vertical slash (up to down).
Back aerial		About Face	9% (base), 10% (middle), 13% (tip)	Bottom to top sword slash behind him. 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.
Up aerial		Luna Slash	9% (base), 10% (middle), 13% (tip)	A forward to back upward sword slash. It is not particularly powerful, tippered or non-tippered, but conversely it shows no mercy juggling opponents when combined with forward smash, up tilt, and other aerials.
Down aerial		Half Moon	9% (base), 10% (middle), 13% (tip)	A forward to back downward sword slash. 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 moderate risk if used low offstage. Regardless, the move is extremely useful on or off stage. It's long horizontal reach makes it a great tech chase option (for reading rolls) as well as an out of shield option.
Grab		{{{grabname}}}	—	{{{grabdesc}}}
Pummel		Knee	3%	Knees opponent.
Forward throw		Bounce	4%	Grabs and pushes forward, tripping with the leg.
Back throw		Throw Away	4%	Pulls and extends leg simultaneously.
Up throw		Emblem Toss	4%	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	5%	Hooks arm and drags to the floor sending the opponent backward. Set ups tipper forward smash at low percentages.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Sweeps the tip of his sword on the ground front to back. Less range than floor attack from back.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Quick stab to the left followed by horizontal slash to the right.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			8% (sword), 6% (base)	Flips onto ledge with a quick downward diagonal slash from left to right.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			8% (sword), 6% (base)	Quick, low, horizontal slash with medium lag. Less range than normal ledge attack.
Neutral special		Shield Breaker	7% (uncharged) to 28% (fully charged)	An overhead slash similar to the forward smash, but can be charged for longer with more powerful results.
Side special		Dancing Blade	3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 10%, 12%, or 14% depending on hit	A sequence of sword maneuvers with several variations.
Up special		Dolphin Slash	10% (grounded base), 13% (grounded tip), 7% (aerial sword), 6% (aerial base)	A super-quick jumping slash that can be reversed before frame 6. Dolphin Slash 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 comboed into (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.
Down special		Counter	7%	Blocks and retaliates against incoming attacks.

Taunt

Swings his sword around and declares "Everyone, look at me!" in Japanese (Minna, miteite kure!).

Regional Differences

Marth was slightly altered when included in the PAL versions of the game. While still the 16th heaviest character in the game, Marth lost some weight, making him immune to Fox's Waveshine combos; in the NTSC regions, his weight was just above the threshold to allow him to be waveshined.

Additionally, Marth's down air was converted from a spike to a meteor smash in PAL regions. As a result, his down air can be meteor cancelled; it is still a very reliable finisher, and unusually, it still sends foes at an angle.

In Competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Notable players

See also: Category:Marth professionals

• Azen
• Bob$
• Dr. PeePee
• Ken
• Mew2King
• Tai
• Taj
• PewPewU

In single-player modes

In Classic Mode

In Classic Mode, Marth can appear in one-on-one matches, team battles alongside Link, and as a metal opponent in the mode's penultimate stage. In his appearances, bar his metal match, Marth appears on Great Bay. In all such instances, the track "Fire Emblem" plays on the stage, which does not occur in any other mode.

In Adventure Mode

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

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

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.

Ending images

• 

  Classic Mode.

• 

  Adventure Mode.

• 

  All-Star Mode.

Japanese translations

Marth is considerably more verbose than Roy in the games, speaking in the Results screen, in his taunt, down special move, and he also has one unused soundbite.

• Marth's taunt in battle is "皆、見ていてくれ！" "Minna, miteite kure!" which translates to "Everyone, please watch me!".
• Marth's counter move is performed while saying "そこだ！" "Soko da!" or "させるものか！" "Saseru mono ka!" which roughly translates to "There!" and "I won't let you!" respectively.
• Marth's three possible victory statements are:
  • "今回は僕の勝ちだね。" "Konkai wa boku no kachi da ne?" which translates to "This time, victory is mine, right?"
  • "今日も生き延びることが出来た。" "Kyou mo ikinobiru koto ga dekita", which translates to "Today, too, I managed to survive."
  • "僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ。" "Boku wa makeru wake-ni wa ikanain'da!" which translates to "There's no way I can lose!"
• In the Debug Menu of the game, Marth has an additional phrase players can listen to that he does not say in the game: "レッツダンス！" "Rettsu dansu!", which loosely translates to "Let's Dance!"

Trophy descriptions

In addition to the normal trophy about Marth as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Classic, Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Marth on any difficulty:

Marth (Classic Mode):

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

Marth (Adventure Mode):

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

Marth (All-Star Mode):

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

• 

  Marth [Classic Mode] trophy

• 

  Marth [Smash, Adventure Mode] trophy

• 

  Marth [Smash, All-Star Mode] trophy

Costumes

Marth's alternate costumes in SSBM.

Trivia

• Marth is the only unlockable character to have a clone.
• Marth and Roy are the only characters in Melee that speak Japanese even when English is turned on. To date, they are the only two fighters to speak solely in Japanese.
• Marth and Roy are the only playable characters in Melee that don't 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 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.
• Marth, Roy, and Peach are the only characters in Melee with a special move that can counter.
• Marth was originally only going to appear in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. Melee, but was kept in all versions on request of an employee at Nintendo of America. American fans became interested in Fire Emblem because of Super Smash Bros. Melee, which helped Fire Emblem to enter the countries where the games in the series had not been released.
• Marth and Ice Climbers are the only Melee characters who wear their default costumes when they're on the blue team.