Robin (SSB4)
| Robin in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| Universe | Fire Emblem |
| Availability | Starter |
| Final Smash | Pair Up |
| Tier | D (37) |
| “ | Robin Brings the Thunder! | ” |
| —Introduction Tagline | ||
Robin (ルフレ, Reflet) is a playable newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was confirmed during a live stream, alongside Captain Falcon and Lucina, on the official Super Smash Bros. website on July 14th, 2014. Like in his home game Fire Emblem Awakening, players can select either male and female versions of Robin, similarly to Wii Fit Trainer, Villager, and Corrin. In the English version, David Vincent, who is male Robin's first voice option in Awakening, reprises his role, while Lauren Landa voices female Robin in place of Michelle Ruff from Awakening. In the Japanese version, both Yoshimasa Hosoya and Miyuki Sawashiro reprise their roles as the voice actors for the male Robin and the female Robin, respectively.
Robin is ranked 37th out of 55 on the tier list, placing him in the D tier and tied with Samus. Robin's tomes give him a strong zoning game: Thunder is a versatile projectile due to having varying effects at each level of charge, Arcfire is a strong tool for area denial and combo initiation, Elwind provides a highly damaging neutral infinite and is capable at edgeguarding due to being a strong meteor smash at point blank range, and Nosferatu is self-healing grab. Robin also boasts high damage-racking capabilities and KO power due to the strength of his Levin Sword, as well as his depleted tomes and broken Levin Swords, provided the player can track them correctly.
Robin is primarily held back by his poor mobility, due to having the slowest dashing speed (when discounting customizable characters such as Mii Fighters) and below average airspeed, alongside a very poor defensive game, due to a lackluster grab, poor landing options, a lack of notable combo breaking options, and very low disjointed range in comparison to other swordsmen. Robin's durability system can also negatively impact him, as the loss of any of his tomes strongly impairs his ordinarily strong zoning game and can even impair his recovery, and the loss of his Levin Sword removes almost all of Robin's KO options.
As a result, Robin requires players to play with extreme precision, as to avoid wasting any uses of his weapons, as well as know how to play around the opponent when any of his weapons are broken. While Robin has previously seen use in numerous tournaments, primarily due to Nairo and Salem formerly maining him after the game's release, Robin's high learning curve and technical playstyle has given him limited tournament presence in the years following Smash 4's release. There are, however, a few notable smashers who main him, such as Dath and Mr.II, who defeated top-level players such as Larry Lurr and Nairo, respectively.
Attributes
Robin has a much different playstyle compared to his fellow Fire Emblem characters. Wielding both tomes and swords, he can keep opponents at a distance with his magic while punishing them with his Bronze and Levin Swords. However, his tomes and swords adhere to a unique durability system. When this is coupled with his dashing speed being the slowest in the game, a poor grab range with excessive ending lag, and a lack of melee range and movement speed that his fellow swordsmen have, Robin thus functions best like in his home game Fire Emblem Awakening: a Tactician whose optimal playstyle involves thoughtful and tactful pressuring and zoning with his tomes while capitalizing on his opponent's mistakes with powerful magic or sword attacks.
Robin's tomes provide a myriad of spacing, pressuring, and additional damaging capabilities. Both his Thunder and Fire tomes have capabilities for disrupting opponents, racking up damage, and opening up windows to chain attacks together. Thunder and the slightly stronger Elthunder peppers at mid-range or shorter, while Arcthunder travels for longer and has trapping capabilities for pressure, combos and set-ups, and Thoron pierces through opponents and deals considerable knockback. Arcfire produces a trapping, multiple hitting pillar of flame that is instrumental for approaching or disrupting approaches, pressuring, and chaining together attacks. In addition to his Fire tome, Robin's neutral attack involves his Wind tome: the former tome generates a singular explosion of fire magic that deals strong diagonal knockback, while the latter tome generates a neutral infinite consisting of wind magic that deals high damage and concludes with a blast of wind magic that deals strong vertical knockback. Elwind provides respectable vertical recovery and its first hit can be used to punish aerial and post-recovery opponents by spiking them at point-blank with the first hit. Lastly, Nosferatu is a self-healing move which heals Robin, especially if cast from behind and while having a higher damage percentage than his opponent, while it also cannot be shielded due to functioning like a grab. However, it is tricky to use, as the opponent must be at almost point-blank range to land it, although Arcthunder's trapping ability can help Robin land it easier.
Aside from his tomes, Robin's Levin Sword is a potent weapon in its own right. It is a powerful, fairly long-ranged, and electrically-charged sword that functions as a terrific offensive tool due to its excellent pressure capabilities, its impressive combo potential and its high KO power. Robin whips this out for his smash and directional aerial attacks when a smash input is inputted. It can be swung eight times before it breaks. Despite being vastly inferior to the Levin Sword in regards to KO potential, the Bronze Sword has combo potential due to its weaker knockback. His neutral aerial covers both his front and back successively, which can be useful for spacing in the air. His down tilt can keep away grounded opponents in front of him.
Once Robin's tomes are depleted and his Levin Sword is broken, they can act as throwable items that deal immense damage, shieldstun and knockback. Properly managing Robin's discarded weapons is crucial for optimal play, as the opportunities they can potentially grant are significant. Outside of his magic and sword attacks, Robin has two useful throws: his back throw is a viable KOing option near the edge, while his down throw is a reliable combo starter.
However, as previously stated, Robin suffers from numerous weaknesses, such as being the slowest runner in the game. Furthermore, he lacks defensive options and has trouble brushing off opponents, especially those who are directly below him, making him susceptible to rush-downs and juggles. His tilts generally have short range, making it difficult for Robin to fight at mid-range outside of the use of tomes. Many of his moves, specifically his smash attacks and special attacks, have significant ending lag, which leaves him wide open for punishment proceeding their execution. Elwind leaves him vulnerable and interceptable after use, and when not properly managed or kept track of, can run out at critical times. Lastly, Robin's durability mechanic limits his offensive options when either the Levin Sword or tomes are exhausted.
Robin benefits little from his custom moves, with his only notable options being the Thunder variants. Thunder+ has highly increased power across all charges, the projectiles have more range, and both Elthunder and Arcthunder use up a very slightly smaller amount of durability. However, it charges slower, and has only half the durability of the original, with Thoron immediately exhausting the tome regardless of how much durability is left. Speed Thunder is, unsurprisingly, faster across all charges, regarding both the projectiles' speed and charging, but the projectiles have less range and noticeably less power. Robin's remaining custom moves have very situational advantages, to the point that they usually fail to compensate for their disadvantages.
Overall, Robin is a tactically-based character with varied spacing, damage-accumulating and KO options that must be used wisely and opportunely. At the same time, his lack of mobile and defensive options leave him vulnerable to pressure and combos. With this, Robin players must keep track of their weapons' durability, intelligently respond to their opponents, and take precise offensive action for success in battle.
Update history
Robin has been noticeably buffed via updates, especially in update 1.1.0 with increased damage outputs, decreased ending lag, and larger hitboxes for certain attacks. The knockback and ending lag on his down throw were also reduced, which consequently improved its combo potential. Update 1.1.3 increased his down aerial's damage output, decreased the lag for his down smash and all of his aerials, and increased the sizes of the hitboxes for a few of his moves, most notably his forward tilt. Robin also benefits from the changes on the shield mechanics in brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1, with the high hitlag on his Levin Sword-based attacks becoming more useful and safer on shield. However, update 1.1.5 slightly nerfed Robin's neutral attack, an extremely important part of his neutral game, by having its base knockback increased. This results in his neutral infinite becoming nearly useless when the opponent properly uses directional influence at low-mid percentages, while his neutral attack's first two hits' ending lag results in it failing to chain into from another neutral attack or a grab. To slightly compensate, Nosferatu comes out 1 frame faster, grabbing at frames 15-16, and has 2 less frames of ending lag when broken out of.
Second hit of jab has been adjusted.
Robin can now grab edges from behind during Elwind and its custom variations.
Fixed a glitch that refreshed Robin's double jump when he used Thoron in the air.- Fixed a footstool glitch allowing an infinite.
- Neutral infinite's knockback decreased and its hits connect together better.
- Forward tilt's "deadspot" has been partially improved.
- Tomes no longer disappear upon landing on platforms.
- Fixed a glitch where female Robin's Levin Sword would not repeatedly flash to indicate that it was about to break.
- Neutral infinite slightly pushes Robin backward upon completion. While this can potentially push him off a stage, the push effect can also enable him to space better.
- Down throw's knockback altered: 80 (base)/55 (growth) → 30/88 and its ending lag decreased: 43 frames → 37, improving its combo potential.
- Up throw deals 1% more damage: 8% → 9%.
- Forward aerial deals 1% more damage: 6.5% (Bronze)/11.5% (Levin) → 7.5%/12.5%.
- Levin Sword-based up smash's hitbox sizes increased: 3.2u → 4.3u.
- Thunder and Elthunder deal 1% more damage: 3.5% (Thunder)/9.5% (Elthunder) → 4.5%/10.5%.
- Speed Elthunder and Elthunder+ deal more damage: 5% → 5.8% (Speed), 11% → 12.7% (Elthunder+).
- All variations of Thunder, Elthunder and Arcthunder have had their ending lag decreased by 3 and 10 frames, respectively.
- Elwind's movement mechanics altered.
- First victory animation slightly changed. The Levin Sword now emits a much more visible trail when Robin swings it.
- Forward tilt's position changed, size increased: 4.0 → 5.0.
- Down smash IASA: Frame 62 → 57
- Neutral air's position changed, hitbox 0 and 1 size increased on both hits: 4.0 → 5.0, hitbox 2 size increased on both hits: 3.0 → 5.0.
- Neutral air landing lag: 20 → 18.
- Forward air (Levin) position tweaked, late hitbox size increased 1.5 → 2.5.
- Forward air landing lag: 20 → 18.
- Back air landing lag: 21 → 19.
- Up air landing lag: 20 → 18.
- Down air (Levin) early damage increased: 10% → 11%, both hitboxes size increased: 4.0 → 4.5.
- Down air (Levin) late hit damage increased: 5% → 8%.
Down air (Levin) transition from early to middle hitboxes increased: 1 → 2 frames.- Down air (Levin) non-spiking hitbox 1 angle changed: 80° → 70°.
- Down air landing lag: 28 → 26.
- Jab 1 base knockback: 35 → 40
- Jab 2 base knockback: 30/35 → 45
- Nosferatu and Distant Nosferatu have one less frame of startup.
- Nosferatu and Distant Nosferatu set frame duration increased: 1 frames → 2.
- Nosferatu has less lag when broken out of (IASA 40 → 38).
Moveset
- The Bronze Sword has very minimal KO potential due to dealing low damage and significantly low knockback. It also has unimpressive reach, shorter-lasting hits and minimal freeze frames. However, its weak strength enables it to combo effectively. Conversely, the Levin Sword has significantly greater KO potential, due to it dealing significantly more damage and knockback. In addition to dealing electric damage, it has a greater reach than the Bronze Sword, freeze frames and a lingering hitbox, the latter of which deals less damage if it hits late.
- Robin's tilt attacks solely use the Bronze Sword, while his smash attacks use the Levin Sword, provided it is not broken. Aside from his neutral aerial, his other aerial attacks can use either sword—if Robin tilts a direction in midair, he will use the Bronze Sword, but if Robin taps a direction like a smash attack in the air, he will use the Levin Sword. After using the Levin Sword for any attack, Robin will continue to use it for all directional aerial attacks until it breaks or if he uses an attack that resets his equipped sword to the Bronze Sword. The attacks that switch to the Bronze Sword are his neutral attack, tilt attacks, neutral aerial, dash attack, floor attacks, and edge attack.
| Name | Damage | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack | 3% | An upward slash followed by a downward slash. The move can then proceed to a third finishing hit or into a neutral infinite, depending on whether the attack button is held or button mashed. The first is a fiery explosion that deals high knockback and KOs around 170%, although it can be dodged at high percentages with an air dodge or jump; it costs 1 durability point from Arcfire. The second is a barrage of blade-shaped blasts of wind magic that hits multiple times and ends with a blast that deals high knockback which draws from Elwind's durability; it uses up 1 durability point for every 2 seconds for a maximum duration of 18 seconds. If both tomes are depleted, Robin will only be able to use the first two sword slashes. Its fast start-up, deceptively high range and damage/KO potential makes it a go-to option on the ground and the most pivotal part of Robin's neutral game. | ||
| 3% | ||||
| 5% (Arcfire) | ||||
| 1% (Elwind loop), 2% (Elwind last) | ||||
| Forward tilt | 7.5% | An outward turning, downward slash. Its quick speed makes it a decent spacing option, but it has poor reach and low knockback. | ||
| Up tilt | 6% | An inward turning, upward slash. Primarily an anti-air option, as it has almost no hitboxes at the side of Robin, and is not particularly powerful due to its low knockback. However, it can launch opponents into the air to initiate aerial combos. | ||
| Down tilt | 6% | A crouching, outward slash. Though short-ranged and weak, it is Robin's fastest tilt and has very low ending lag, allowing it to be used as an anti-pressure option. | ||
| Dash attack | 10% (clean), 6% (late) | A low-angle thrust. It boosts Robin forward on start-up and, unlike his other Bronze Sword-based attacks, it deals knockback that is strong enough to KO at high percentages. However, its high ending lag after being used makes it unwieldy. | ||
| Forward smash | Bronze: 9.6% Levin: 16% (clean), 5% (late) |
An underhanded outward thrust. A viable close-ranged punishment option, but suffers from long ending lag. This is remedied due to the Levin Sword's lingering hitbox, although this makes it unsafe if shielded. KOs around 175% with the Bronze Sword and around 100% with the Levin Sword. | ||
| Up smash | Bronze: 9% Levin: 15% (clean sword), 10% (clean body), 5% (late) |
An upward thrust. Deals mainly vertical knockback with decent power, but has high ending lag and low range (often missing opponents directly beside him). Without the Levin Sword, it has poor knockback and horizontal reach. The Levin Sword KOs around 110%. | ||
| Down smash | Bronze: 8% Levin: 15% (clean), 12% (mid), 8% (late) |
Kneels and strikes the floor via a slash with his equipped sword. The Levin Sword generates brief sparks on both sides of Robin, which can hit opponents even after he starts getting up, thus warding off punishment attempts on either side of him. When coupled with the its hitbox's duration and late hit's surprisingly good knockback, the sparks also make it Robin's most reliable punish move on the ground. Its fair amount of hitlag also makes very effective against shields. However, like his other smash attacks, it suffers from high ending lag. KOs around 150% with the Bronze Sword and around 110% with the Levin Sword. | ||
| Neutral aerial | 7% (hits 1-2) | An inward forward slash followed by an outward backward slash. The backward slash can hit opponents if Robin fast falls from a short hop behind them. A decent spacing option, though it has low knockback. If Robin uses this move while equipped with the Levin Sword, he will equip the Bronze Sword again, making this his only aerial with this property. Autocancels from a short hop. | ||
| Forward aerial | Bronze: 7.5% Levin: 12.5% (clean), 5% (late) |
An upward swipe. Because of its arc, it can catch grounded opponents while in the air. A reliable spacing tool that deals a lot of damage and autocancels from a short hop. It has very poor KO potential with the Bronze Sword, but its knockback makes it easy to combo with, usually into itself, or other aerials. It has a lingering hitbox with the Levin Sword that can deal damage during the move's final frames, with the clean hit from the Levin Sword KOing around 140%. | ||
| Back aerial | Bronze: 9% Levin: 15% (clean), 5% (late) |
A backward thrust. Fast, but has a somewhat narrow hitbox which can make landing it awkward, though it still autocancels from a short hop. It can hit a few frames after ending while using the Levin Sword, which can surprise opponents. It also KOs as early as 100% with the Levin Sword, making it his strongest aerial, although his up aerial with the Levin Sword can KO earlier while high in the air. | ||
| Up aerial | Bronze: 7.8% Levin: 13% (clean), 5% (late) |
An upward overhead slash. It is a great juggling option with the Bronze Sword due to its low knockback and large arc, while it is Robin's most effective aerial with the Levin Sword due to its massive range and KO potential. It has lingering hitboxes with the Levin Sword. It can autocancel from a short hop. KOs around 155% with the Bronze Sword and around 110% with the Levin Sword. | ||
| Down aerial | Bronze: 7% Levin: 11% (clean), 12% (mid, aerial opponent), 10% (mid, grounded opponent), 5% (late) |
A downward slash. It also hits slightly in front of Robin. The sweetspot in the middle of the Levin Sword can meteor smash while it is swung down, while the Bronze Sword cannot meteor smash at all. The move has a lingering hitbox if the Levin Sword is used. The long recovery frames and high landing lag makes this move unreliable, and it is his only aerial that cannot autocancel from a short hop. | ||
| Grab | — | Wraps the opponent in a whirling stream of magic. Despite its animation, its range is below average, unlike Greninja's visually similar grab, which has an above average reach. Has fast start-up like other characters' standing grabs, but has the longest amount of ending lag of all non-tether grabs in the game, making it punishable if missed. The pivot grab has surprising reach, but slightly more ending lag than the standing grab. The dash grab has even more ending lag than the pivot grab and even less reach, giving Robin one of the worst dash grabs in the game, to the point that it is potentially on par with Ganondorf's. | ||
| Pummel | 3% | A small blast of magic. The second slowest pummel in the game, being surpassed only by Mii Swordfighter's pummel. Its slow speed can result in opponents potentially breaking out of Robin's grab at low percentages before he can throw after a single pummel first. However, it becomes safer to use at higher percentages. | ||
| Forward throw | 8% | Magically shoves the opponent forward. Virtually no utility outside of dealing damage, as its incredibly low knockback makes it unable to KO at reasonable percentages, while its high ending lag makes ineffective as a set-up option. | ||
| Back throw | 11% | Turns around and magically tosses the opponent backward. Robin's strongest throw, with very high base knockback and decently high knockback growth, KOing even some heavyweights at around 170% near the edge without rage. It can also be used reliably for throwing the opponent out of his reach to charge Thunder. | ||
| Up throw | 9% | Magically heaves the opponent upward. Like forward throw, it is only suitable for dealing damage due to its problematic knockback, which results in it being unable to KO at reasonable percentages and lacking any potential as a set-up option. | ||
| Down throw | 6% | Magically slams the opponent onto the ground, launching them vertically. Its extremely low base knockback and low ending lag makes it an excellent combo starter at almost any percentage. Its low hitstun until high percentages, however, prevents true combos into moves other than his neutral attack and up tilt. However, at high percentages, Robin can follow up with an up aerial for a safe KO; when performed correctly within the proper percent window, this combo is inescapable for every character except Bowser. This combo is referred to by players as the "Checkmate". | ||
| Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
— | — | ||
| Techs | — | — | ||
| Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
7% | Swipes forward with the Bronze Sword, then backward. | ||
| Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
7% | Swipes backward with the Bronze Sword, then forward. | ||
| Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | Slashes with the Bronze Sword backward, then forward. | ||
| Edge attack Edge getups |
7% | Performs a thrust with the Bronze Sword while climbing up. | ||
| Neutral special | Default | Thunder | 4.5% (Thunder), 10.5% (Elthunder), 3% (Arcthunder hit 1), 1% (Arcthunder loop), 1% (Arcthunder last), 2.6% (Thoron loop) | Robin casts thunder magic from his Thunder tome. It is a chargeable projectile with distinct properties for each charge level: Thunder (a fast, weak, and short-ranged spark) is produced when the move is uncharged, followed by Elthunder (a yellow, stronger ball of lightning with more range) which is cast when briefly charged, then Arcthunder (a red, gradually accelerating and multiple hitting sphere), and finally Thoron (a long-ranged, powerful and electrical energy beam whose range and damage can be extended by holding the special button) when fully charged. Each of them has its uses: Thunder and Elthunder can be used as an anti-pressure option, Arcthunder can be used for briefly trapping opponents for a free follow-up and has some off-stage KO potential, and Thoron has the highest KO potential of all of its versions. |
| Custom 1 | Thunder+ | 5% (Thunder), 11% (Elthunder), 5% (Arcthunder), 1.2%/3.5% (Thoron) | Robin casts more powerful thunder magic. More powerful overall, but charges slower and the tome has less durability. | |
| Custom 2 | Speed Thunder | 2% (Thunder), 5% (Elthunder), 2.5% (Arcthunder), 1%/10% (Thoron) | Robin casts faster thunder magic. Weaker overall, but it is faster and the tome's durability is unchanged. | |
| Side special | Default | Arcfire | 1% (fireball), 1% (pillar), 4% (explosion) | Robin casts fire magic from his Arcfire tome. It creates a tiny fireball that travels diagonally downward from above his head and bursts into a pillar of flame on impact. It is primarily useful for disrupting approaches and capitalizing on the opponent's reaction, while it can also be used for edgeguarding, either by directly attacking the opponent or covering the edge as they attempt to grab it. |
| Custom 1 | Arcfire+ | 2% (fireball), 8%/7% (explosion) | Uses a slower, stronger tome to cast Arcfire. Creates a large single-hit explosion with decent knockback in lieu of the usual flame pillar, and gives the fireball more horizontal reach, but the attack is slower. | |
| Custom 2 | Fire Wall | 7%/4% (pillar) | Creates a larger pillar which sticks around longer and offers mild protection against attacks. The fire is also cast directly in front of Robin, and is sent almost directly downwards in the air. Casting is significantly faster. | |
| Up special | Default | Elwind | 7% (hit 1 clean), 5% (hit 1 late), 5% (hit 2) | Robin casts wind magic twice below himself from his Elwind tome, which propels him into the air. The first hit can meteor smash aerial opponents directly below him, while the late hit can set-up for the second hit, which launches the opponent too far to counterattack Robin. When Elwind is depleted, Robin will have no means of recovery for 6 seconds, which can prove disastrous if he wastes his tome uses. Robin is also left without protection from above when used, making him easy to gimp. |
| Custom 1 | Soaring Elwind | 5% | Alters the lifting power of each gust. The first hit has less recovery potential and deals less damage, but the second hit has much more recovery potential. Each gust takes significantly longer to cast. | |
| Custom 2 | Gliding Elwind | 7% (hit 1 clean), 5% (hit 1 late), 5% (hit 2 clean), 4% (hit 2 late) | Robin casts Elwind at an angle, Robin fires the first gust more sideways, providing more horizontal distance than vertical, while the second gives a much lower amount of vertical height than the standard spell. | |
| Down special | Default | Nosferatu | 0.8% (per hit) | Robin casts Nosferatu on a nearby opponent to drain their health and heal Robin. Inflicts constant damage and cannot be shielded due to acting like a grab. More energy is drained if it is button mashed, performed from behind, and/or Robin has a higher damage percentage than the opponent. Robin will be left helpless if the move ends midair. It can also be used as a sacrificial KO. |
| Custom 1 | Distant Nosferatu | 0.6% (per hit) | Grabs opponents farther away instead of at close range, but deals less damage, heals less and is slower. | |
| Custom 2 | Goetia | 1% (per hit), 19% (max) | Robin casts Goetia, the strongest dark tome in Fire Emblem Awakening. Deals more damage and sucks in opponents, but does not heal Robin and has much slower start-up. | |
| Final Smash | Pair Up | 3%/2% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-14), 14% (hit 15) | Summons Chrom via warp magic to pair up and attack. Chrom slashes the opponent upward into the air and then he and Robin relentlessly attack the opponent, with Chrom repeatedly slashing with Falchion, while Robin casts thunder and fire magic, including Bolganone. After they finish their barrage, they perform a final simultaneous strike that spikes the opponent to the ground, which deals enough recoil to launch them towards the upper blast line. It KOs at 45% and also fully replenishes all of Robin's weapons. | |
Durability system
Robin has a unique mechanic: true to the Fire Emblem series, where items break after being used too many times, Robin's tomes and Levin Sword do the same if they are used too often, with each weapon having a unique durability value. If Robin attempts to use an attack that uses durability-affected weaponry and is interrupted by an attack while attempting to use it, then that will count as one use of the weapon, even if no damaging hitbox is produced. Robin always carries the last weapons he used in his hands, provided they are not depleted. As an additional visual indicator for durability, weapons that have been depleted by two-thirds will flicker. Once a depleted weapon is restored, Robin will perform a unique animation of the weapon appearing in his hands with a flash of light, provided that he is standing completely still; tomes appear in his left hand as he holds it up in the air, while the Levin Sword reappears in his right hand as he flicks it in a manner similar to one of his idle poses.
If Robin fully depletes a weapon, he will throw it away behind him. In the case where Robin is sent flying by knockback immediately after depleting a weapon, he will drop the used weapon on the spot before getting knocked back himself. They disappear almost immediately after hitting the ground once, but they can also be picked up and thrown; the Levin Sword deals 15% when smash thrown, while his tomes deal 18% when smash thrown, making both attacks potent surprise KOing options due to their high base knockback. If Robin does not have the proper tome for corresponding special the move and tries to perform it, Robin will perform the animation but will not produce any hitboxes. For his Levin Sword, all such attacks will instead use his Bronze Sword, which cannot break, but has shorter range, deals considerably less damage and knockback, and also lacks the Levin Sword's lingering electrical hitboxes. Weapons restore gradually after they have been depleted, with their restoration times varying on their type. When Robin scores a KO, it reduces the respawn timer for all currently-regenerating weapons by a small amount. Respawn times are unaffected by custom movesets.
Durability points for weapons do not replenish while Robin is using a tome, and the only way to replenish a weapon is to get a new copy of it. Respawning after being KO'd also replenishes all weapons, as does Pair Up, though only if it is used successfully.
- Thunder has 20 durability points, though its custom variation, Thunder+, has 10 durability points. Even if the tome has less durability than the spell requires, it can still be performed, though the tome will be immediately depleted afterward. Thunder respawns 10 seconds after being depleted, minus 1.5 seconds per KO.
- Thunder uses 1 durability point in both its regular form and Thunder+ variants.
- Elthunder uses 3 durability points in its regular form and 2.5 durability points in its Thunder+ variant.
- Arcthunder uses 5 durability points in its regular form and 4.5 durability points in its Thunder+ variant.
- Thoron uses 8 durability points in its regular form and 10 durability points in its Thunder+ variant.
- If Kirby copies Robin, he will lose the Copy Ability altogether once he depletes his Thunder's 20 durability points.
- Arcfire has 6 durability points. Arcfire and his neutral attack hit 3 use 1 durability point each. Arcfire respawns 10 seconds after being depleted, minus 1 second per KO.
- Elwind has 18 durability points. Elwind uses 2 durability points and his neutral infinite uses 1 durability point for every second. It respawns 6 seconds after being depleted, minus 2 seconds per KO.
- Nosferatu has 4 durability points. It respawns 40 seconds after being depleted, minus 1 second per KO.
- Levin Sword has 8 durability points. It respawns 6 seconds after breaking, minus 3 seconds per KO.
On-screen appearance
- Warps onto the stage using warp magic.
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Taunts
- Up taunt: Points his sword upwards and says, "Let's tip the scales!" (戦局を変える., I'll change the state of war.). Female Robin says, "Time to tip the scales!" (戦局を変えます., I'll change the state of war.)
- Side taunt: Magically suspends his sword and tome above his hands, rotates the sword in place and flips through the tome's pages using magic, and says, "Prepare yourself!" In Japanese, male Robin says 覚悟はいいかい?, (Are you prepared?), while female Robin says 覚悟はいいですか?, (Are you prepared?)
- Down taunt: Magically encircles himself with his sword and tome and says, "You're not ready!" (やってやるさ., Let's do it then.) Female Robin says, "Here I go!" (いきますよ!, Let us go!)
| Up taunt | Side taunt | Down taunt |
|---|---|---|
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Idle poses
- Looks at his active tome.
- Slowly waves his sword in front of himself with a flourish.
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Crowd cheer
| English | Japanese | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheer | ||
| Description | Ro-bin! | Ru-fu-re! |
| Pitch | Group chant | Group chant |
Victory poses
- Crosses arms with weapons in hand, then spins clockwise and swings the Levin Sword. Male Robin says "I'm always three steps ahead." In the Japanese version, he says 常に三手先を考えるんだ. (I always think three steps ahead.) Female Robin says "A good tactician has nothing to fear." In the Japanese version, she says 戦略を練れば、恐るるに足りません., (If you have a strategy, there is nothing to fear.)
- Holds the Thunder tome in left hand and spreads out right arm. Male Robin says "The key to victory lies within." In the Japanese version, he says 勝利の秘策はここにある (The secret to victory is here.) Female Robin says "Ha! Checkmate." In the Japanese version, she says 私の策にはまりましたね! (According to plan!)
- If Lucina is present after a match, male Robin sometimes says "Lucina, I hope I didn't hurt you." In the Japanese version, he says ルキナ、痛くなかったかい? (Lucina, are you hurt?)
- Robin and Chrom face the screen while back to back, posing with their weapons. Male Robin says "It seems our fates are joined." In the Japanese version, he says 僕たちは互いに絆で結ばれているんだ. (We are bonded by mutual ties.) Female Robin says "I've got your back." In the Japanese version, she says 私が、あなたの半身になります. (I'll be your other half.)
- If Lucina is present after a match, female Robin sometimes says "How can you protect Chrom if you can't protect yourself?" In the Japanese version, she says そんなことじゃ、クロムさんを守れませんよ! (You can't protect Chrom like that!)
- If Robin used Pair Up during the match, Chrom will sometimes say "My strength is yours!" In the Japanese version he says お前は俺が守る! (I'll protect you!), the same quote Chrom shouts when a unit pairs up with him in Awakening. Oddly, this clip is unavailable in the Sound Test.
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In competitive play
Official Custom Moveset Project
| Character | Custom sets available | ||||
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 Robin |
2111 | 3111 | 2311 | 3311 | 1311 |
| 2132 | 3132 | 1132 | 3113 | 3131 | |
Notable players
Active
Athena - Placed 7th at 2GG: Breakthrough.- Dath - One of the best Robin players in the world. Placed 4th at Glitch, 17th at CEO 2016, 25th at EVO 2016 and 3rd at Shine 2016.
- Jerm - Placed 33rd at GENESIS 3, 25th at Clutch City Clash and 9th at Aftershock 2016.
- Johan - Ranked 4th on the Oklahoma Power Rankings.
Ke-ya - One of the best Robin players in the world. Placed 9th at Umebura 25, 33rd at Super SmashCon 2017, and 5th at Karisuma 11.
Matsu - Ranked 14th on the United Kingdom Power Rankings.- Skorpio - Placed 7th at Combo Breaker 2016, 2nd at Nexus and 3rd at Midwest Mayhem 7: Mexico Invasion. Has wins over Ozone.
Inactive
- Mr.II - The best Robin player in Japan prior to his hiatus. Placed 33rd at Pound 2016, where he also scored a win against Nairo.
- Nairo - One of the first notable Robin players before switching to Zero Suit Samus. Robin is now one of his secondaries.
Raziek - Considered one of the best Robin players in the world before switching to Cloud. Placed 33rd at The Big House 5 (where he also won a game against ZeRo) and 25th at Get On My Level 2016.- Salem - Placed 7th at SKTAR 4 before switching to Bayonetta.
- SmashG0D - Robin is one of his numerous secondaries.
- Trela - Robin was among numerous characters he used before switching to Ryu.
- Xzax - Placed 1st at Smash or Die 4 before switching to Fox.
Tier placement and history
Opinions on Robin's viability have fluctuated during SSB4's metagame. At first, he would be considered a high-tier character due to his strong projectile and keep away games, as well as high KO power thanks to the Levin Sword and his back throw's immense power. Even so, a small number of players argued against him that his mobility was too slow for him to accomplish a lot, combined with his poor grab game, weak projectiles that took too long to charge and could be cancelled out by pretty much any other projectile, mediocre recovery, and having a limit to how many times he could use many moves before becoming virtually helpless, he was considered a low-tier character, and many smashers would slowly start to drop him in favor of another character (such as Xzax with Mario and Nairo with Zero Suit Samus). Eventually, the latter opinion would slowly start to become more prominent, until game updates notably buffed Robin over the course (particularly 1.1.0 and 1.1.1, which granted Robin better shield pressure and a combo throw). This, combined with slow improvements to his metagame, and decent results from a small number of dedicated smashers such as Dath, Jerm and Mr.II, opinions on Robin would improve slowly, and they would eventually break with the consensus of being a low-tier character after a player managed to beat ZeRo's Sheik (the best SSB4 player in the world using what was considered to be the best character in the game) in a tournament using Robin, with him being ranked at 31st on the first 4BR tier list, assessing him as a mid-tier character.
Despite his results remaining below average, as well as the introduction of Corrin and Bayonetta, Dath would place 3rd at Shine 2016, which was notable enough for Robin to maintain his ranking of 31st on the second tier list. Even so, Robin has lately seen worse results, and was thus ranked 34th on the third tier list, and his lack of a relatively large playerbase in comparison to other mid-tier characters, such as Bowser, has significantly deterred him from rising any further on the tier list, rather dropping to 37th on the fourth and current tier list, sharing the spot with Samus. When coupled with his high learning curve, it is unknown how Robin's tournament representation will fare in the long run, particularly due to his tournament success dropping after summer 2016 to this day.
Reveal trailer
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Trophies
- Robin
This is the male Robin, your avatar in Fire Emblem Awakening. The goal of this adventure doesn't change much because of your gender choice, but Robin's marriage options do. In Smash Bros., Robin brings powerful magic and swordplay to bear. He can exhaust his moves, but they'll be restored over time.
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This is the male Robin, an avatar in Fire Emblem Awakening. The goal of that game doesn't change much because of your gender choice, but Robin's hairstyle options do. In Smash Bros., Robin brings powerful magic and swordplay to bear. He can exhaust his moves, but they'll be restored over time.
When Robin is found at the start of Fire Emblem: Awakening, he (or she!) discovers that, even without his memories, he is a master tactician. In this game, his attacks are powerful, but in true Fire Emblem style, how many times his magic can be used is limited. This also applies to the thunder magic his sword is imbued with.
: Fire Emblem: Awakening (02/2013)
- Robin (Alt.)
- Robin's magic is powerful, but it has limited uses before needing to recharge. Thunder can be charged in stages, will become Thoron at max charge, and gains damage and speed with its charge. Arcfire creates a flame pillar, perfect for dealing with an edge-clinging foe.
- Robin's magic is powerful, but in return, its uses are limited. You can charge Thunder in steps, and when it's fully charged, it turns into Thoron, increasing its speed and dealing more damage. Arcfire creates a flame pillar when it hits something. Use it on an opponent who's clinging to an edge to stop them getting back on the stage.
- : Fire Emblem: Awakening (02/2013)
- Pair Up
- Like the Pair Up feature in Fire Emblem: Awakening that lets two characters attack a foe at once, Robin's Final Smash calls Chrom, the Prince of Ylisse, to the battlefield. First, Chrom dashes forward and if he lands a hit, Robin joins him for a flawless combination of attacks. It can even catch multiple opponents at once!
- Like the Pair Up feature in Fire Emblem: Awakening, which lets two characters attack a foe at once, Robin's Final Smash calls Chrom, the Prince of Ylisse, to the battlefield. First, Chrom dashes forwards, and if he lands a hit, Robin joins him for a flawless combination of attacks. It can even catch multiple opponents at once!
Classic (3DS)
- RobinAllStarTrophy3DS.png
Alt. (3DS)
Classic (Wii U)
Alt. (Wii U)
In Event Matches
Solo Events
- New Challengers 2: Robin is one of the seven opponents fought in this event alongside Greninja, Palutena, Shulk, Dark Pit, Mega Man, and Pac-Man.
- The Falchion's Seal: Robin must use Pair Up to defeat a giant Charizard.
- The Ultimate Swordsman: Both male and female Robins are opponents that Ike must defeat.
Co-op Events
- A Royal Errand: Robin and Marth must collect 500G from Wario and Bowser.
- Peach in Peril: Female Robin is one of the opponents Bowser and Bowser Jr. must defeat without KOing Peach.
- Scheming Sorcerer: Yoshi and Toon Link must defeat male and female Robin, followed by a giant male Robin and a giant metal female Robin.
- The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
Alternate costumes
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Gallery
Male Robin.
Female Robin.
Artwork of Robin and Lucina from the official site.
Robin's splash art.
Robin's amiibo.
The Pic of the Day shown during Robin's reveal.
Male Robin in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Both versions of Robin on Kalos Pokémon League.
Male Robin fighting Ike.
Using Elwind on Fox and Captain Falcon.
Using Pair Up, his Final Smash, with Chrom appearing to partake in it.
Grabbing Marth.
Female Robin with Lucina.
Alongside Ike and Marth in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
With Link on Tortimer Island.
Female and male Robin, using the Levin Sword and a Thunder tome, respectively.
Female Robin using Arcfire on Captain Falcon.
Female Robin frozen on Mushroom Kingdom U.
Trivia
alongside the Bronze Sword
- When Robin's Levin Sword breaks, he can still catch and carry it around as a throwing weapon. While he is still holding it, he can gain another Levin Sword in his other hand after 6 seconds, making it look like he is wielding two.
- Robin will hold his open hand out as if he were holding a tome even after discarding one. If Thunder is fully charged prior to tossing a different tome, his empty hand will still emit electricity indicating the tome's full charge.
- Robin is the only playable Fire Emblem character in the Super Smash Bros. series without a counterattack. He is also the only Fire Emblem character with a neutral special move that automatically charges, can be stored and canceled.
- Robin is the only playable Fire Emblem character who cannot equip sword or cape equipment.
- When Robin is KO'd, he or she may say respective defeat quotes from Fire Emblem Awakening depending on their gender. Male Robin may mutter "Reckless fool...!" while female Robin may yell "I was careless!"
- The Japanese version has her say "被弾しました！" ("I've been hit!"), in reference to dying in the games.
- In the German version of SSB4 Robin's name is "Daraen", like in the French (PAL), Spanish (PAL) and Italian versions. This contradicts the German version of Fire Emblem Awakening, where the Avatar's default name is "Robin" as it is in English.
- The day that Robin was revealed, July 14th, almost coincided with the release dates of two past Fire Emblem games: Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, Heroes of Light and Shadow was released on July 15th, 2010, while Fire Emblem was released in Europe on July 16th, 2004.
| Fighters in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
| Veterans | Bowser · Captain Falcon · Charizard · Diddy Kong · Donkey Kong · Dr. Mario · Falco · Fox · Ganondorf · Ike · Jigglypuff · King Dedede · Kirby · Link · Lucario · Lucas · Luigi · Mario · Marth · Meta Knight · Mewtwo · Mr. Game & Watch · Ness · Olimar · Peach · Pikachu · Pit · R.O.B. · Roy · Samus · Sheik · Sonic · Toon Link · Wario · Yoshi · Zelda · Zero Suit Samus |
| Newcomers | Bayonetta · Bowser Jr. · Cloud · Corrin · Dark Pit · Duck Hunt · Greninja · Little Mac · Lucina · Mega Man · Mii Fighter (Mii Brawler · Mii Gunner · Mii Swordfighter) · Pac-Man · Palutena · Robin · Rosalina & Luma · Ryu · Shulk · Villager · Wii Fit Trainer |
 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 |
