Marth (SSBB)

This article is about Marth's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Marth.

Marth
Marth
Universe	Fire Emblem
Appears in	SSBM SSBB
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	High (7)

Marth (マルス, Marusu) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Marth appears in the game's opening video, standing back to back with Meta Knight. It is uncertain whether Marth has improved since Super Smash Bros. Melee (in which he was considered the fourth best character on the tier list, and is 3rd best on Brawl's list excluding newcomers), as he has one of the most powerful Final Smashes in the game and his Counter improved, but his standard attack combo is slower, his standard special is harder to hit with, and the range of his sword and grabs is shorter. He is 7th best on the Brawl Tiers, currently at the top of High tier. This currently makes him the only character in the history of a Smash Bros. game to remain in the High Tier for two games running, similar to Falco's status in the Top tier.

How to Unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play 10 matches in Brawl, then defeat Marth
• Finish Classic mode on any difficulty, then defeat Marth
• Get Marth to join your party in The Subspace Emissary

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Quick running speed and has one of the best walking speeds in the game.
• Most attacks have little starting lag.
• Down aerial is a powerful Spike and can intercept well (yet difficult to land)
• Can perform Vertical Space
• Attacks that hit at the furthest range (tippers) deal the most damage and knockback.
• Has the fastest counter in the game.
• Fully charged Shield Breaker gives a bit of horizontal recovery midair.
• Dancing Blade is a combo in itself and is great for mindgames.
• Can Wavebounce.
• Good grab range, useful for a Pivot Grab.
• Can Juggle well.
• One of the best edgeguarders in the game.
• Dolphin Slash is quick and useful for attacking.
• Has a large variety of combos that can be used in the air or ground.
• Excellent range on tilts and smashes due to a disjointed hitbox (his sword).
• Very high priority attacks.
• Counter is good for mindgames.
• Can string many U-tilts on certain characters (especially if they waste their jump).
• Shield Breaker can be used to mix in approaches and consumes a lot of the opponent's shield if it comes in contact with the shield.
• Can perform the Ken combo (F-air to D-air), though it's extremely difficult to perform.
• Weak-throws allow combo and/or KO opportunities (ex. down-throw to side-smash)
• All of his aerial are very versatile, combo well, and are powerful, giving Marth one of the best sets of aerials in Brawl.
• Marth's neutral air is great when SHFF'd and its duration counters air dodging, thus making it easy to combo with his other aerials.
• Can Chain grab heavyweights with front and down throw.
• Has a semi-infinte Chain grab on Lucas and Ness
• Can escape most, if not all Chain grabs with Dolphin Slash.
• Certain moves are very easy to tip, such as Uair and Dtilt.

Cons:

• Light for a character his size.
• Lacks a projectile.
• Very weak throws. (In terms of damage)
• Attacks are weaker without tippers (which are hard to pull off).
• Linear Recovery on Dolphin Slash
• Dair has massive landing lag.
• Marth lacks safe kill moves. All of his Smashes are unsafe when blocked, and the same goes for his Up Tilt. However, against larger characters such as King Dedede, Marth's Neutral Aerial can act as a kill move, and is safe on block if spaced properly.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

• Shorter sword.
• Shield Breaker is now a stab (straight angle, not an easier-to-hit-with vertical slash like in Melee) and charges faster.
• Tip of the blade isn't quite as easy to hit with anymore.
• Standard attack combo is slower.
• Grabs are considerably shorter.
• Dashing attack always knocks the opponent forward instead of occasional backwards.
• Counter deals 1.1x damage back with a minimum of 8%.
• Dancing Blade is faster and it is now easier to connect all four attacks in the combo.
• Dolphin Slash goes a bit more horizontal now.
• Speed is slightly slower, but not by much.
• Up Smash has hitboxes to the sides that "launch" the enemy into the main hitbox.
• Uair is easier to tip
• Fsmash is more powerful when tipped and less powerful non-tipped

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

• Neutral Attack - Swings back and forth. Can be performed multiple times. 4% base. 6% tipped
• Dash Attack - A quick upward diagonal slash with a medium amount of lag. 10% damage. Tipped 13%
• Strong Side - Much like the dash attack without as much lag. 9% damage. Tipped 12%
• Strong Up - Swings his sword in a large arc above his head. 9% damage. Tipped 12%
• Strong Down - A crouching sword poke. 9% damage. Tipped 10%

Smash

• Side Smash - A strong arc-like swing from his head to the ground. 14% damage base, 19%-20% damage tip.
• Up Smash - A powerful thrust upwards. 18% damage tip, 22% damage when done right next to the opponent
• Down Smash - Sweeps his sword on the ground on both sides of himself. 14% damage base, 18% damage tip.

Other

• Ledge Attack -
• 100% Ledge Attack -
• Floor Attack -

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Aerial - Two horizontal slashes around himself. 14% damage. Tipped 18%
• Forward Aerial - Forward vertical slash (up to down). 10% damage base, 13% damage tip
• Back Aerial - Bottom to top sword slash behind him. Causes him to turn around after use. 11% damage base, 14% damage tip.
• Up Aerial - A forward to back upward sword slash. 14% damage.
• Down Aerial - A forward to back downward sword slash. When it's tipper spaced, it spikes. 12% standard, 14% damage tipped.

Grabs & Throws

• Pummel - repeatedly knees opponent
• Forward Throw - Grabs and pushes forward, tripping with the leg. 4% damage.
• Down Throw - Hooks arm and drags to the floor. 5% damage.
• Back Throw - Pulls and extends leg simultaneously. 4% damage.
• Up Throw - Powerful upward throw with one arm. 4% damage.

Role in the Subspace Emissary

Two R.O.B.s are seen activating a Subspace Bomb in a barren battlefield. Marth is seen at the top of a castle watching helplessly as the robots detonate the bomb. He stands and shines his sword, then hundreds of Primids are shown going to the castle. The gameplay starts with him confronting the Primids and descending through the building until he reaches the grounds. A video sequence starts again and he is ambushed by Meta Knight. During the duel (in the same video sequence), they are attacked from behind by the Primids, but they both manage to repel them. Realizing that the other is not an enemy, they join forces to defeat the Primid. After fighting against the Primids, both Meta Knight and Marth aim their attacks at the Ancient Minister, who is carrying another Subspace Bomb. It would appear that Marth uses his Dolphin Slash, and misses, while Meta Knight simply gets shot in the wing by the Ancient Minister. Luckily Ike shows up and attacks the Ancient Minister with his trusted Aether move. With the Subspace Bomb destroyed, the trio storm the castle once more.

In the desert, they see a vehicle driving off in the distance. Ike immediately jumps off the cliff to pursue it, followed by Meta Knight. Marth merely scratches the back of his head in disbelief before following them. When they find the vehicle, it transforms into Galleom, and the three fight it. After battling Galleom, it jumps off the cliff and falls through the ground, where it encounters Lucas and Pokémon Trainer. When it gets defeated again, it grabs Lucas and the Trainer, and tries to detonate a Subspace Bomb, but Lucas manages to free them from Galleom, and Meta Knight grabs them as they fall. When the Halberd duels with the Great Fox, Meta Knight leaves the group in order to board the Halberd. After the Ice Climbers are knocked off the mountain by the Halberd, and join Marth's group, Mario's group comes to aid them in fighting off the Primids that were dropped. After the battle, the Halberd (now under Meta Knight's control) and the Falcon Flyer land to pick them up. After an assault on the Subspace Gunship, they enter Subspace and encounter Tabuu, who turns them all into trophies. Fortunately, he, and some of the others, are revived by King Dedede, Luigi, and Ness, while the rest are revived by Kirby, and Marth helps the heroes face Tabuu.

Exclusive Stickers

The following stickers can only be used by Marth or Ike:

• Ninian: [Arm, Leg] Attack + 6
• Lilina: [Leg] Attack + 5
• Mist: [Slash] Attack + 8
• Deke: [Slash] Attack + 9
• Eirika: [Slash] Attack +17
• Ike (Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn): [Slash] Attack +27
• Rutoga: [Slash] Resistance +12
• Ashnard: [Slash] Resistance +34
• Shiida: [Specials: Direct] Attack + 7
• Greil: [Throwing] Attack +14
• Marth: [Weapon] Attack +19
• Micaiah: [Weapon] Attack +21
• Ike:(Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance) [Weapon] Attack +23
• Eliwood: Flame Resistance +33

Taunts

Up: Raises his sword in the air, and it shines.

Side: Slashes his sword twice in front of himself, then sheaths it.**

Down: Slashes his sword once, and raises it in front of him saying "みんな、見ていてくれ!" "Minna, miteite kure!" which is Japanese for "Everyone, please look at me!" (same as in Melee).

Trivia

• Along with Sonic, Snake and Ness, he is seen in the opening video of the game. They're the only four unlockable characters to do so.
• Marth is the only speaking character to only speak in Japanese in both English and Japanese versions. This is probably because the Fire Emblem games he appears in haven't been released in English. Although he is set to appear in the first Fire Emblem game remake for Nintendo DS, it is currently unknown whether or not if the remake will be released outside of Japan or not.
• In Low Gravity mode or Tiny mode(Only), Marth can use Dancing Blade to boost up in the air endlessly.
  • To do this, simply jump and use the first hit of Dancing Blade as one normally would to gain a small boost in vertical height. Then wait about less than a second(But don't wait too long though or do it too fast, the player must get the timing correctly) and use Dancing Blade again(Again, this only works first hit of Dancing Blade) to gain another boost.
  • The player can do this as much as they want. This will keep boosting Marth higher and higher vertically as long as the player times the Dancing Blades correctly and do not use it too fast or too slow.
• In Tiny mode with the damage ratio set to 0.5, Marth's upsmash has extraordinary knockback, capable of sending someone at 0% off the screen on Final Destination, though it is nearly impossible to kill someone with it. The attack must not connect with the sword; the opponent must be hit with the hitboxes to either side of Marth.
• Marth's B-air turns him around.
• If Lucario uses his counter move in sub-perfect timing to when Marth charges for his Final Smash, it will cancel both the Final Smash and the counter.
• In polls and the Primas Offical Guide, Marth, Peach, and Snake are considered the strongest characters in the game.
• The appearance and animation for Marth's up tilt and the first hit of his neutral A combo are the same. The only difference in appearance is that his up tilt has a bit more visual range.

External Links

• Marth's Smash DOJO!! page
• The Fire Emblem Wiki article on Marth