Marth (SSBU)

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Marth in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Fire Emblem
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Critical Hit

“	Marth is an exceptional swordfighter with a long reach. He'll do the most damage with attacks using the tip of his sword, so spacing is an important factor.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Marth (マルス, Marth) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially confirmed as playable on June 12th, 2018. Marth is classified as fighter #21.

Marth is now voiced by Yuri Lowenthal in overseas versions of the game while Hikaru Midorikawa continues to voice Marth in the Japanese version of the game, this time with new voice clips.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Marth being the 7th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Yoshi or anyone in his unlock tree, being the second character unlocked after Lucario.
• Have Marth join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Marth must then be defeated on Castle Siege.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Though he received relatively few direct changes compared to other fighters, Marth benefits greatly from the universal changes of Ultimate. His high dash speed in particular complements the ability to cancel dash into any attack, allowing him to bait attacks with fox-trotting, and use his tilts as more effective spacing tools. The reduced landing lag on all aerials also makes them safer for spacing and approaching. The reduction on neutral air's lag in particular allows the first hit to combo into many different things when combined with a fast fall, even his forward smash at high percents. The new limits on the air dodge also greatly enhance his juggling and edgeguarding capabilities, though it also harms his recovery somewhat by granting him less overall protection.

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from SSB4, Marth's model features a more subdued color scheme. Various aspects of his design have been subtly modified, such as his shoulder armor, belt, gloves, and boots. His hair is slightly more unkempt, similar to his appearance in Fire Emblem Heroes.
  • Falchion retains its design from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, but has been modified to better resemble its official artwork.
• Marth is more expressive overall.
• Marth has several new basic animations. His idle, crouch, and sidestep all have new animations, and his jump animations have all been changed as well, resembling (but not identical to) Roy's jumps in Smash 4.
• Marth's sweetspotted moves now use the same heavy sword sound effects as Ike's sword, Ragnell.
• Marth's side taunt has changed. He now only swings his sword once before sheathing it.
• In non-Japanese versions, Marth is now fully dubbed in English. In the Japanese version, Marth has new voice clips for the first time since Melee.
  • His up taunt now has him say, "This is it!" as he points his sword upwards.
  • His side taunt has him say, "I won't lose!"
  • His down taunt now has him say, "Keep your eyes open!", a phrase similar to "みんな、見ていてくれ!", which remains the same in the Japanese version.
• Marth's victory animations are all different.
  • His first one now has him performing a Shield Breaker before posing with Falchion at his right side, as opposed to swinging it above his head first, saying "The day is mine!" in English.
  • The second is completely new. He jumps in the air swinging his sword twice, and then lands with a pose that resembles his Counter animation, saying "I cannot afford to lose." in English. This replaces his old one where he stands with his right arm outstretched before lowering it to his side.
  • The third pose now has him keep hold of the sheathed Falchion, saying "I live to fight again!" in English.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Marth's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 5).
• Marth walks faster (1.5 → 1.575).
• Marth dashes much faster (1.785 → 1.964).
• Marth's air speed is faster (1.02 → 1.071).
• Marth's tipper sweetspots seem to have been increased in size on all of his attacks.

Ground attacks

• Jab's animation has been altered to swing in a more horizontal arc. This appears to lower its vertical range.
  • Jab 1 cannot be connected into tilts or forward smash anymore, even at higher percents.
  • Jab 1 can now Jab Reset.
  • Jab 2 has slightly more start-up (Frame 3 → 4).
• Dash attack has had its animation updated.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (Neutral: frame 12 → 7, Forward: 16 → 10, Back: 17 → 10, Up: 14 → 9, Down: 24 → 14).
• Down aerial's sourspot sends at a more horizontal angle.

Throws/other attacks

• Standing grab has reduced startup.
  • Standing grab and dash grab have increased ending lag.
• Marth has a new forward throw animation, a quick elbow strike to the chest.
• Down throw's animation has been changed slightly, with Marth slamming the opponent onto the ground with a more exaggerated throw.
  • Down throw has altered knockback.

Special Moves

• Shield Breaker
  • Shield Breaker can now be manually angled.
  • Shield Breaker now deals 1.15× its regular damage if it hits an opponent's head.
  • Marth now composes himself after performing Shield Breaker.
• Dancing Blade
  • Dancing Blade is significantly faster. Thus, the hits now transition to the next attack much faster than before and can be buffered, making it harder to escape from.
  • Dancing Blade's neutral inputs have all altered animations, except for the third. The first input is now an outward swing similar to his forward tilt, the second is an inward swing instead of a stab and the final swing no longer has Marth spinning before he slashes the opponent.
  • Dancing Blade's first swing is slower.
  • Dancing Blade’s neutral fourth swing has more ending lag.
• Dolphin Slash now leaves multiple afterimages of Marth during the leap.
• Marth once again vocalizes when connecting a successful Counter. In English, he'll say "My turn!" "Nice try!" or "Predictable!"
  • Counter has slightly more ending lag.
• Critical Hit can no longer be teched.

Moveset

The following damage values were calculated without the 1.2× damage multiplier that is active during one-on-one fights.

For aerial attacks, full hop damage values are shown. Hovering over them shows the short hop damage values (aerial attacks performed during a short hop have a 0.85× damage multiplier).

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%. Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%/5%	Slashes Falchion twice in front of himself. The first hit's tipper pulls opponents towards Marth, ensuring that the second hit connects. The first hit's tipper can also jab reset.
			4%/6%
Forward tilt			9%/12%	A fast upward swipe while leaning forward. Has a large arc that is useful for spacing, and deals moderately strong knockback when tippered, KOing middleweights at the edge around 100%, making it a go-to spacing and KO option. Deals much weaker knockback if untippered. The tipper can hit opponents standing on top of platforms.
Up tilt			6% (blade), 5% (body), 9% (tip)	Swings Falchion in a large arc above his head, with a large hitbox that can hit enemies behind him. Can combo into itself or aerials at low percentages and KO at high percents when tippered. Covers platforms very well and is useful for juggling.
Down tilt			7%/10%	A quick crouching sword poke. Marth's fastest tilt, which is useful for creating space. Can follow up into a grab, dash attack, or running Dancing Blade if the move is untippered, and the tipper hitbox deals semi-spike knockback.
Dash attack			10% (blade), 9% (body), 12% (tip)	A quick, running, upward-sweeping diagonal slash. Low knockback, but deals decent knockback if tipped. Has notable ending lag and very low hitlag if untippered, making it rather unsafe against shields. The ability to use the faster and safer forward tilt out of dash makes this move's use rather niche.
Forward smash		Dragon Killer	13%/18%	Rotates his body counterclockwise with a strong overarching one-handed swing from his head to the ground. Moderately fast startup, but high ending lag. Although lackluster when hit with the blade, the tipper of this attack has incredible knockback, being able to KO middleweights at 75% from the stage's center and as low as 37% near the edge.
Up smash		Justice Sword	3% (ground), 13% (blade), 17% (tip)	A quick, upward thrust. The weak grounded hit can knock nearby opponents into the main attack. Good for aerial protection and chasing down landing opponents. If tippered, it deals extremely high knockback, although this is difficult to do unless an opponent falls directly on top of Marth.
Down smash			8%/12% (hit 1), 12%/17% (hit 2)	Sweeps Falchion on the ground toward the front outward then toward the back inward. The back hit has much stronger power, while the front hit is significantly weak unless tippered, where it will do moderate knockback. It also has high ending lag.
Neutral aerial			3.5%/5% (hit 1), 7%/9.5% (hit 2)	Two horizontal slashes around himself via an inward slash followed into a full 360° outward spin. The second hit can hit on both sides of Marth, and can be used to create space by short hopping then fast-falling immediately after using the move in the air. The first hit has very low knockback scaling, which, combined with fast falling and the move's low landing lag, allows it to combo into many of Marth's tilts, and even his forward smash, even up to around 175%. The second hit's tipper has strong knockback, KOing middleweights at the edge around 100%.
Forward aerial			8%/11.5%	Does a descending crescent slash in front of him with great coverage. This is Marth's best tool for air combat, and its reasonably low landing lag and strong tipper make it very safe when spaced properly. Its tipper is also decently strong, KOing middleweights at the edge around 133%.
Back aerial			9%/12.5%	An upward crescent slash behind him in an inward swipe. Has the interesting property of turning Marth around, changing the direction he is facing. Similar use to his forward aerial, although with more knockback and a smaller hitbox. Can be used a few frames before landing to catch opponents with a tipped blow, with correct spacing. Has a rather strong tipper given its speed, KOing middleweights at the edge around 100%.
Up aerial			9.5%/13%	An overhead crescent slash with good coverage, ending in a delayed somersault. Marth's fastest aerial, it is good for juggling at low percents thanks to its large arc, making it a good anti-air as well, but it has weak knockback unless tippered. Due to its angle and low landing lag, it makes a reliable combo starter when hit with the blade, comboing into aerials even around 100%.
Down aerial			12% (blade), 14% (non-meteor tip), 15% (meteor)	A downward, wide crescent slash with large coverage. If the attack connects at the middle of the swinging arc (directly below Marth), it serves as a powerful meteor smash. However, the meteor smash window lasts only one frame (frame 11).
Grab			—	Reaches out with his free hand.
Pummel			1.3%	A knee strike.
Forward throw			4%	An elbow strike with his sword arm.
Back throw			4%	Tosses the opponent over his leg, sending them behind him. Its high base knockback allows him to set up edgeguarding, but it cannot combo or KO reliably.
Up throw			5%	A powerful one-armed upward throw. Marth's strongest throw, which can KO at around 170%.
Down throw			4%	Throws opponent to the ground with one arm, bouncing them upwards. His primary throw for follow-ups due to its low base knockback, allowing him to follow up with an up or back aerial at low percentages. However, it quickly loses combo potential due to its high knockback growth, sending opponents too high after medium percentages.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Spins around gracefully and slashes Falchion in a circle.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Swings Falchion behind, then in front of him before getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Stabs behind him, then slashes in front of himself before getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Backflips onto the stage and slashes.
Neutral special		Shield Breaker	8%/9% (uncharged), 22%/24% (fully charged)	Marth assumes a readying stance and charges Falchion at chest level before powerfully thrusting it forward. This attack deals massive shield damage even when uncharged, and will instantly break shields at full charge, although it can be safely perfect shielded. The aerial version gives Marth a very slight horizontal boost, while a fully charged aerial version will thrust Marth in whatever direction he's facing, giving him a strong horizontal recovery option, albeit with very high startup. Deals very high knockback when tippered, making it a powerful KOing option, especially against dazed opponents. Can be angled up or down, though this does not change the damage or knockback. The attack deals 1.15× regular damage if it hits the opponent's head, though this appears to be out-prioritized by any hitbox striking a non-head hurtbox.
Side special		Dancing Blade	Varies	A sequence of sword slashes with several variations based on directional input. Four slashes total, with each capable of being altered in direction, allowing for eighteen total possible combinations. Standard strikes are trailed red, high strikes are trailed blue, and low strikes are trailed green.
Up special		Dolphin Slash	11% (clean), 7% (late blade), 6% (late body)	Marth performs a high-speed jumping uppercut slash that can be B-reversed. Has a powerful sweetspot and grants very slight intangibility in the first few frames, which can easily cause stage-spikes under the right circumstances. Grants good vertical distance but is rather lacking in horizontal distance. Does not snap to the edge until after its hitbox is gone.
Down special		Counter	1.2× (minimum 8%)	Marth assumes a defensive stance and retaliates against incoming attacks. The power of the counterattack scales with the strength of the attack blocked. Starts up on frame 6 and lasts 22 frames. Ineffective against projectiles and attacks with sufficiently long reach, such as many of Shulk's or Simon's tilts and smash attacks.
Final Smash		Critical Hit	60%	Marth raises Falchion skyward, then lunges in one direction, attacking the first opponent he connects. Immense knockback, enough to one-hit KO any character on any roofless stage. Cannot be teched. Pressing the special button again will cause him to stop mid-dash.

Classic Mode: A Kingdom of Dragons

Marth fights dragon, dragon-themed, and reptilian opponents on various medieval-themed stages. The Mii Fighters sport dragon-themed costumes.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music
1	Giant Charizard	Castle Siege	Story 5 Meeting
2	5 Yoshis	Arena Ferox	Under This Banner
3	Giant King K. Rool	Bridge of Eldin	Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem Medley
4	4 Mii Gunners, 1 Mii Brawler, 1 Mii Swordfighter	Castle Siege	Advance
5	Giant Ridley	Gerudo Valley	Lords-Showdown
6	Male and female Corrin	Coliseum	Lost in Thoughts All Alone
Bonus Stage
Final	Rathalos	?	Roar/Rathalos

Note: When fighting Charizard, its Pokémon Trainer is absent.

Role in World of Light

Marth was among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, Marth took notice of the massive number of Master Hands, telling the other fighters that they would "need to take down about ten [Master Hands each]." He was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. He was vaporized offscreen and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the other fighters (excluding Kirby).

During the mode itself, Marth can be unlocked early on shortly after rescuing Mario, where the player arrives at a crossroads and has the choice to rescue him, Sheik, or Villager. If one of the others is rescued first, Marth's path will be blocked by a force field created by Master Hand, which will disappear upon defeating a boss or can be circumvented by looping back to the other side.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Artwork of all playable Fire Emblem characters and Assist Trophies, as posted on the official Japanese Fire Emblem Heroes Twitter account.

• 

  Screenshot of all playable Fire Emblem characters on Arena Ferox, as posted on the official Japanese Fire Emblem Twitter account.

• 

  Marth's fighter card.

• 

  Marth countering on the Great Plateau Tower.

• 

  Performing Shield Breaker on Coliseum.

• 

  Taunting in his white costume on Mario Galaxy.

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  Dodging Ridley's Plasma Breath on 3D Land.

• 

  Taunting on Skyworld.

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  Idling with Lyn on The Great Cave Offensive.

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  With Toon Link, Pit and a giant Jigglypuff on The Great Cave Offensive.

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  Marth and Lucina taunting on Castle Siege.

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  Marth getting hit by R.O.B.'s down smash on Tomodachi Life.

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  Marth, Link and Shulk advancing towards Rathalos on Coliseum.

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  Idling on Great Bay Ω.

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  Idling on Skyworld.

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  With Kirby, Mario, Link, Inkling, Pit, Ridley and Villager on Battlefield.

• 

  With all playable Fire Emblem veterans on Coliseum.

Character Showcase Video

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Trivia

• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the first Smash Bros. game where Marth points Falchion upwards rather than downwards in his official artwork.
• The images of Marth facing Ridley and Rathalos, as well as Marth's classic mode battle sequence, are likely a reference to the common trend of Fire Emblem games ending with a boss battle against a dragon, specifically Marth’s battle with Medeus.