| Counter | |
|---|---|
 Roy's Counter in Ultimate. | |
| User | Marth Roy Ike Lucina Chrom |
| Universe | Fire Emblem |
| Article on Fire Emblem Wiki | Counter |
| “ | Block the enemy's attack with the sword. | ” |
| —Brawl's instruction manual | ||
| “ | Prepare for an attack, and strike back if hit. | ” |
| —Smash for 3DS's foldout (Marth) | ||
| “ | Counter an opponent's attack. Power is based on strength of enemy's attack. | ” |
| —Smash for 3DS's foldout (Ike) | ||
Counter (カウンター, Counter) is the down special move for Marth, Roy, Ike, Lucina and Chrom, all of whom are representatives of the Fire Emblem series. It is used as a counterattack to redirect damage and knockback at the attacker when the user is hit. In addition, the move serves as an excellent edgeguarding tool against opponents with predictable recoveries.
Appearances
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Counter is Marth and Roy's down special move in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Marth or Roy will strike a pose with their sword in reverse grip and a small, metallic "chink" sound will be heard. For about a second, any attack other than a grab which the character using Counter is struck by will turn them invincible for the duration of their retaliating swing. If the attack is a projectile (such as Samus' Missile), it will simply be deflected behind them at about a 30° angle. It is worth noting that explosive projectiles can still explode and will still do damage if they are struck when the invincibility ceases.
Marth's countering stance has him face away while holding the Falchion slanted downward in reverse grip, and counterattacks with an outward slash in normal grip (akin to a composite version of his first input neutral attack and dash attack). His Counter starts-up faster and lasts twice as long as Roy's Counter, but deals a flat 7% damage regardless of the attack. Upon a successful counterattack, he might say "そこだ！" ("There!"), "見切った！" ("I've read you!") or "させるものか！" ("I won't let you!").
Roy's counterattack, on the other hand, has him rear down a bit as he holds the Sword of Seals in front, reverse grip for his countering stance, and counterattacks with an inward slash while still holding in reverse grip. His Counter deals x1.5 the original attack's damage and deals more knockback when striking with the full blade, but has slightly slower start-up and lasts for a shorter time, which makes it unable to be used for immediate countering, but is much more damaging compared to Marth's Counter. If the attack is a smash attack, the attacker is knocked back at a 90° angle. Since only damage is countered, and not knockback, some attacks will deal less knockback when countered, such as the forward smash of a Home-Run Bat. This applies to future games' counterattacks. If used in conjunction with Mr. Game & Watch's Oil Panic, it is the most powerful non-charged attack in Melee, delivering an OHKO (if Oil Panic has absorbed the highest possible amount of damage, which is 250% damage and also delivers an OHKO). His quotes are different from Marth's during a successful counterattack, either grunting or saying "いまだ!" ("Now!") or "そこ!" ("There!").
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Marth retains this move as his down special in the transition to Brawl, whereas Ike also has this attack as his down special move.
Marth's Counter has the same animation as in Melee. It has been generally buffed in terms of utility, now reflecting back x1.1 the original attack's damage, with a minimum damage of 8%, as opposed to a flat 7%, and allowing him to deliver a OHKO anyone close to him should he counterattack a strong enough hitbox. It retains its fast startup and long duration, but has lost the ability to deflect projectiles behind him. Curiously, it can be used on any vacuum created by an attack, such as Kirby's Inhale.
Ike's counterattack stance has him holds Ragnell right in front of himself in reverse grip, and he counterattacks with an inward slash while still holding it in reverse grip. Like Roy in Melee, Ike's Counter is not as fast as Marth's (the counterattack frames start 5 frames after Marth's), meaning it cannot be used for immediate countering, but the countering stance lasts for the same duration as Marth and has the same duration of counter frames, which gives it less vulnerability after the counter frames end due to its slightly slower activation. His counterattack has greater range and knockback than Marth, and reflects back x1.2 the original attack's damage, with the minimum damage being 10%. Upon a successful counterattack, he might shout "You're open!" or "Gotcha!". In Japanese, he may say either "あまい!" ("Naive!") or "そこ!" ("There!").
Super Smash Bros. 4
In terms of aesthetic changes, all Counters have received a visual redesign that includes a wave like that of a heart monitor. This also applies to Corrin's, Palutena's, Little Mac's, Shulk's and Mii Swordfighter's respective counterattacks.
Marth's Counter once again has the same animation as in Melee and Brawl. It has been buffed once again, dealing more knockback and now reflecting back x1.2 the original attack's damage. However, it can no longer be activated by vacuum attacks anymore. In the game's release, there existed a bug where, if Marth were to use Counter just after being ledge trumped, he propelled backwards, which mostly would result in being KO'd. This glitch was patched in update 1.0.4. Interestingly enough, instead of using quotes for a successful counterattack, he now uses the generic grunts when he attacks. The reason for this change is unknown. His counterattacking quotes, however, can still be found in the game's Sound Test.
As a clone of Marth, Lucina has the exact same Counter he does, the difference being the aesthetics: her countering stance mirrors her battle stance in Fire Emblem: Awakening, which is further referenced in her official artwork and her up taunt (though it instantly shifts to Marth's counter stance before she counters), and the counterattacking slash is in a more upward arc while her legs are not positioned on the ground during the active hitbox window. Before update 1.0.8, she used the generic grunts when he attacks upon a successful counterattack; after said update, she may say either "You're mine!" or "My turn!". In Japanese, she may say either "そこ!" ("There!") or "つきあり!" ("An opening!")
Ike's Counter has the same animation as in Brawl. It now activates slightly faster, now leaving him one frame less vulnerable at startup, and is the counterattack with the second longest counter window, behind Lucario's Double Team and Shulk's Vision when fresh. While he retains his counterattack quotes, one of them ("Gotcha!") have been removed.
Roy's Counter has a different animation: his countering stance is much different, now holding the Binding Blade in reverse grip while pointing it downward while standing upright. It has been buffed in the transition from Melee, gaining more counter frames, increased knockback, and range, but its damage multiplier was reduced to x1.35; this still leaves Roy's Counter with the highest damage multiplier (barring Shulk's Vision with Buster active, which has a x1.82 multiplier). Unlike Marth and Ike, his counterattacking quotes (and grunt) remain intact.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
As an Echo Fighter of Roy, Chrom has the exact same Counter he does, using a similar stance. The key visual difference is that Chrom holds his sword with a normal grip like most of his other moves derived from Roy. Also, Chrom shares Roy's x1.35 damage multiplier.[1]
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
Marth & Lucina
| 1. Counter | 2. Easy Counter | 3. Iai Counter |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| "Prepare for an attack and strike back if hit. The power depends on your enemy's attack." | "Your counter stance lasts longer, but the attack power is lower." | "A successful counter knocks back opponents behind you. Faster but does less damage." |
| 1. Counter | 2. Easy Counter | 3. Iai Counter |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| "Prepare for an attack and strike back if hit. The power depends on your enemy's attack." | "Your counter stance lasts longer, but the attack power is lower." | "A successful counter knocks back opponents behind you. Faster but does less damage." |
- Counter: Default.
- Easy Counter: Expanded hit window, but deals less damage.
- Iai Counter (known as Rush Counter in the PAL version): Is faster, knocks opponents backwards, and has a higher damage multiplier (1.2x → 1.3x) and launch power. However, it has a considerably narrower hit window, lower minimum damage (8% → 6%), and the counter strike has slightly more ending lag.
Ike
| 1. Counter | 2. Paralyzing Counter | 3. Smash Counter |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| "Block and counter an enemy attack. The strength of your strike depends on their attack." | "A counter that paralyzes enemies instead of dealing damage." | "Deliver a slower, more powerful attack when countering." |
- Counter: Default.
- Paralyzing Counter: Paralyzes enemies instead of damaging them.
- Smash Counter: The counterattack is slower, but much more powerful, with a damage multiplier of x1.5. It will result in an OHKO if Ike counters a very strong attack (a hitbox that deals around 30% damage).
Roy
| 1. Counter |
|---|
 |
| "The strength of this counterattack relates to how strong the triggering attack was." |
- Counter: Default.
Like the other DLC characters, Roy has no custom move variations.
Origin
Counter is based on a core element of Fire Emblem gameplay: in all games of the series, when a unit attacks another unit, the targeted unit will perform a counter-attack to strike back at their attacker if they currently have an equipped weapon with a compatible range.[2]
Additionally, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance introduced the identically-named Counter skill, which reflects any damage dealt to the skill's user back at the enemy. The skill does not exist in Marth or Roy's native games, however, and their appearance in Melee predates its introduction. In both of Ike's games the Counter skill can be assigned to him through the use of the Counter scroll item. Through re-classing to the Warrior class, Marth, Roy and Ike can all obtain the Counter skill as bonus units in Fire Emblem Awakening; however, Lucina is unable to obtain Counter under any circumstances, as it is exclusive to male units, and her father, Chrom, cannot pass it down to her either, both because he doesn't have access to the Warrior class and because Aether is the only skill he can pass down to his daughters even if he did.
Gallery
Marth using Counter against Captain Falcon in Melee.
Roy, countering Marth's attack in Melee.
Roy counters Falcon Punch in Melee.
Marth's Counter in Brawl.
Ike's Counter in Brawl.
Marth's Counter in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Marth hitting Ike with his counter.
Ike's Counter in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Ike, about to strike Marth with his counter.
- LucinaCounter.png
Lucina's Counter in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Lucina hitting Robin with her counter.
Roy Countering Pac-Man's Key
Marth's counter in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Trivia
- In SSB4, every character's Counter contains a window of invincibility during the first few frames of activation. As such, they can block a very strong attack (like Critical Hit) without taking damage.
- There exists unused sounds in Ike's voice bank intended for his version of Counter, where he shouts "Take this!" or "You're through!". In the final product, he shouts "You're open!" or "Gotcha!".
- Lucina faced a similar situation prior to update 1.0.8 in SSB4.
- While in SSB4 Marth doesn't talk when his Counter is activated, he can be heard talking while multi-countering in Roy's trailer.
- For Marth, this is his only sword-based move that does not have any sweetspots or sourspots.
- As of Ultimate, this move is on the movesets of the most characters out of all moves in every Smash Bros. game, being in the movesets of five characters.
