Marth (SSBU)

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. Like all veterans, he was officially confirmed as playable on June 12th, 2018. Marth is classified as fighter #21.

This is the first time in the Super Smash Bros. series where Marth is not left voiced in Japanese in all regions. Yuri Lowenthal, Marth's English voice actor from Code Name S.T.E.A.M., Fire Emblem Fates, Fire Emblem Heroes, and Fire Emblem Warriors, reprises his role 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 2nd 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.

Attributes

Marth is considered to be emblematic of swordfighters; his playstyle revolves around spacing utilizing his unique signature tipper mechanic to deal high damage and knockback at a distance from his opponent. He has his remaining present attributes; he is in the middleground of lightweight and middleweight, boasting high overall mobility, notably sporting the fastest walking speed in the game (tied with his Echo Fighter, Lucina), a fast dashing speed, average air speed, above-average air acceleration, moderate falling speed, and low gravity.

Marth's playstyle revolves around effective spacing, as in all of his other playable appearances, due to his aforementioned tipper mechanic; his sword attacks do the most damage and knockback near the tip of the sword. His frame data is overall above-average, with many attacks having low startup and wide range all-around, allowing him to space efficiently. Because of this, Marth aims to fight a step away from danger, without leaving himself too open to punishment.

Marth maintains above-average KO potential in addition to his speed and maneuverability, with his sweetspotted attacks boasting impressive damage and knockback. His forward tilt is one of his most reliable tools when grounded, possessing good range and a sweetspot that is both easy to hit with, especially above Marth. It is good for closing out stocks as it can KO as early as 95% near the edge while remaining relatively safe. His down tilt sets up a tech chase situation starting at 60%, and his up tilt covers a relatively wide area around Marth himself. His aerials also possess high damage and knockback when sweetspotted, combined with his aerial maneuverability, grant him a respectable air game. When tippered, his forward smash can KO before 50% next to the ledge while uncharged, making it one of the most deceptively powerful forward smashes in the game. The meteor smash of his down aerial, while requiring exact timing, can not only gimp recoveries, but also bounce opponents off the ground in such a way that it can immediately chain into tippered grounded attacks such as forward smash at medium percentages and up smash at higher percentages. His tipper mechanic benefits greatly from stages with low platforms such as Battlefield, allowing Marth to tipper with much more ease against opponents using forward tilt, up tilt, and especially his forward smash by covering said platforms with mostly the tipper areas of said attacks. Higher platforms follow a similar pattern except with his aerials, most notably up aerial. If Marth himself is standing on a low platform, he can combo the first hit of neutral attack, which pulls his opponent inward and downward, into a falling down aerial, though this requires some set up and his opponent to be airborne.

While Marth's tipper is the most optimal, the larger hitboxes of his sourspots provide benefits as well; they allow him to effectively combo into attacks one after another at a wider range of percentages. Most commonly, a sourspotted up tilt sets up into aerial-based juggles if it connects late. His neutral aerial's first hit also acts as an effective combo starter and extender when sourspotted and autocanceled, requiring Marth to start the move as he's about to land. He also benefits from being one of the few characters in the game who can outright KO through playing his neutral and spacing game; essentially, while Marth's neutral reward is not as rewarding or damaging as other characters, Marth has the ability to win neutral exchanges with relative ease and safety, as well as having consistent set-ups and follow-ups.

Marth's advantage state as a whole is somewhat strong. His combination of good speed and range give him reasonable juggling capabilities, as he can easily dash to where a falling opponent might land and catch them with his wide attacks, especially his up tilt and up aerial. His disjointed hitboxes also allow him to challenge opponent's falling attacks safely, and his tipper only further complements this. Because of this, Marth has an easy time keeping opponents in the air and racking up damage with his up tilt and powerful up aerial. These traits also grant him strong edgeguarding abilities, as his wide aerials can cover enemy movement well, and his tipper can outright KO offstage opponents thanks to their power. Moreover, his general floatiness also allows him to recover back to the stage after edgeguarding attempts fairly safely.

Marth's special moveset provides interesting options as well; his neutral special, Shield Breaker, deals very high shield damage, even when uncharged, and is useful for covering rolls and landings. Dancing Blade is a four-hit combo that can be used to punish sidesteps and rolls, as well as effectively rack up damage. It can serve as an effective KOing option at higher percents, but if the final neutral hit successfully tippers, it can KO as early as 70% close to ledge with no rage. In a more advanced application of the move, the first hit of Dancing Blade by itself can be used to extend combos if used in the air, and chains particularly well into the first hit of neutral aerial. Dolphin Slash has quick startup, provides slight intangibility during its startup frames, is relatively strong when it first comes out, and has high knockback scaling. These attributes make it an excellent out-of-shield option and combo breaker. It is also Marth's primary method of recovery, as its speed can make it difficult to intercept, and it can stage spike reckless edgeguarders. Lastly, Counter provides him with the capability to reverse attacks with 1.2× the damage, KOing if the attack was strong enough; it can also be used against opponents with easily predictable recoveries.

Despite his strengths, Marth has some notable weaknesses. The most severe of these is his extreme reliance on tippers and spacing ability, which gives him a subpar up-close game at higher percents, and makes it more difficult for Marth to KO and threaten faster/smaller characters, such as Pichu, Olimar and Fox. On the other end of the spectrum, larger characters like Bowser or King K. Rool, while easy to hit, can also cause attacks to sourspot more often due to Marth's blade hitboxes taking priority over the tipper hitting such big targets. The low shieldstun and hitstun generated by non-tippered moves make it possible for opponents to act out quicker than he can, causing Marth to struggle against shields if his aerials are improperly spaced, and Shield Breaker is highly punishable if predicted. His tipper mechanic can equally disadvantage him when attempting to KO, as his attacks do not generate much knockback if not spaced properly, making his KO potential very inconsistent without proper spacing (most notably with forward smash, forward tilt and aerials). Lastly, his edgeguarding ability, though strong, is flawed, both due to the need for tippers and the moderately high ending lag on his aerials. As a result, Marth is reliant on being in a certain distance for his moves to be safe while retaining the neutral, and to KO effectively without setups. Additionally, unlike in past iterations, Marth can have a fairly difficult time consistently landing his tipper sweetspots to begin with as a result of the faster engine and alterations to his hitboxes, which is harmful for him due to his heavy reliance on spacing, even when compared to other swordfighters in the game.

Compounding the difficulty Marth experiences trying to land his tipper, the increased knockback granted by tippered attacks can actually conflict with moves possessing multiple hits, causing them to fail to correctly sweetspot or even connect on all hits unless at very specific percentages and ranges. These include his neutral attack, neutral aerial, and most notoriously Dancing Blade; Due to the changes to Dancing Blade, it is much harder for an opponent to fall or DI out of the sequence but it is also harder for Marth specifically to land more than one tipper in any one use of the move. Should he tipper any earlier hits of these aforementioned attacks, it's highly likely that the opponent will be knocked too far away for the later ones to even connect. This means that Marth must initiate each of those moves from the sourspotted areas in order for them to function correctly, and properly time the strikes of Dancing Blade to tipper the finishers.

Marth's weak throws tie into his polarized KO power. Except for up throw, they have low knockback scaling, preventing them from KOing at realistic percents, while up throw can only KO starting at 170%, if Marth has no rage. His other throws are somewhat lackluster; aside from having a fairly fast pummel, Marth's throws deal low damage and have high base knockback, making them poor for combos and damage-racking outside of down throw leading into an aerial until high percents. However, it should be noted that the high base knockback of his throws allow Marth to take advantage of his good edgeguarding capability, especially at the edge.

As a solely sword-based character, Marth's neutral also suffers from a lack of a projectile, and he can struggle against projectile-heavy characters and playstyles. This ties in with his vulnerability once he loses the neutral; despite having below average weight and only average falling speed, Marth is susceptible to combos, and his tall hurtbox provides an easy target. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable combo-breaker, but as it leaves him helpless, it can inadvertently put him in an even worse position. Also, while Counter can be used defensively, it leaves Marth extremely vulnerable to punishment should it whiff. Marth also has little defense against juggling, as his aerials are ineffective at relieving such pressure; though his attacks have quick startup, many of them come with high ending lag, and also suffer from short hitbox durations.

Marth himself is somewhat vulnerable to edgeguarding, though he has options for mix-ups with his recovery. Dolphin Slash is his only reliable vertical recovery option, and while it is still a threat to edgeguarders due to its speed and high stage spike ability, its path is linear and its distance fixed, making it fairly predictable. Additionally since this move grants little horizontal distance, Marth is vulnerable to semi-spikes. While Shield Breaker can aid his horizontal recovery, it covers little distance without charging. Marth is also heavily reliant on his double jump for mix-ups in his recovery, and is in significant danger if offstage without it.

Overall, Marth's strengths are outweighed by his weaknesses. While he has high overall mobility, long and disjointed range, and above-average frame data, his close-range game is not ideal due to the relatively high ending lag on his moves, and his sourspotted moves dealing a low amount of knockback. Additionally, Marth can have a very difficult time consistently landing his sweetspots, which is harmful due to his heavy reliance on spacing. Marth has received lackluster results and representation in the early metagame of Ultimate, implying that he is a competitively unviable character unlike his fellow Fire Emblem representatives (except for Robin and Corrin) Roy, Ike, Lucina, and Chrom, who have greater results.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Marth has been a high ranking character in all of his appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series, with Melee ranking him as the 3rd best in the game (behind Falco and Fox), Brawl ranking him as 5th out of 38 on the tier list, and although Smash 4 initially heavily nerfed Marth as a character, his ineptitude led to significant buffs from game updates, allowing him to enter the top 10 once again. Possibly as a result of this, Marth has received a mixture of buffs and nerfs, but has been predominantly nerfed overall, this time with no flaw-addressing buffs from game updates. Some of the gameplay changes have benefited Marth; his high dash speed complements the ability to dash cancel 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 his aerials also make them safer for spacing and approaching, while also enhancing their combo ability. The new limits on the air dodge also greatly enhance his juggling and edgeguarding capabilities, as they provide less leeway for opponents to recover against his wide aerials. Additionally, Dancing Blade has been sped up greatly, making its hits link into each other much more consistently.

In the transition, however, Marth received a handful of noteworthy nerfs. His jab, previously an excellent combo starter and neutral tool, has been altered as with most jabs so that it can only follow up into the second hit from the first, completely removing its powerful jab cancel from Smash 4 that was vital to Marth's gameplan. His already linear recovery is made less safe by the limits on air dodging as well as the reduction in edge sweet spot size, worsening his endurance. His specials received some small nerfs, with Dolphin Slash and Counter being slightly more punishable than before, and Dancing Blade dealing less damage. His sourspotted attacks (most notably forward smash) and tipper forward aerial deal less knockback. Furthermore, the faster engine makes landing tippers much more difficult and the lack of quick, safe, and reliable grounded microspacing options such as perfect pivoting only magnifies his spacing troubles, indirectly encouraging the use of Marth's three derivatives, Roy, Lucina, and Chrom, over him. In an example highlighting Ultimate's fast pace fostering more aggressive playstyles, Marth's iteration in the game performs the worst of all of his playable appearances, in stark contrast to his parallel Roy, whose iteration in Ultimate is accepted as being the best of all of his.

Overall, the benefits Marth gains from the engine are largely outweighed by the nerfs he received, as Marth has a considerably harder time landing his powerful tipper sweetspots, while his already weak and largely ineffective sourspots were only nerfed. The spacing nerfs he received were extremely detrimental as he relies on spacing the most out of any sword fighter to be used at his best. In addition, the knockback nerfs he received have made it very difficult for him to consistently KO his opponents and get stable results. He is very difficult to use properly as a result and it can be argued that he is one of the most unforgiving characters to use in Ultimate in any level of play, without yielding enough results that properly compensate his flaws. As a result of his nerfs, Marth has hardly achieved any results in Ultimate's early metagame, and his aforementioned counterparts have all done significantly better than him, due to being significantly more consistent and being much better at close-quarters combat than he is; in particular, both MkLeo and Mr E, his two strongest players from SSB4, also dropped him in favor of his more consistent Echo Fighter. Marth is generally agreed to be inferior to all three of his derivatives by top-level players, with Lucina being generally regarded as vastly superior to Marth overall on top of her being considered as the best swordfighter in the game.

Due to Lucina's dominance and Marth's almost non-existent results, he is almost viewed as an "irrelevant" character with many top players ranking him noticeably lower than Lucina on their tier list; often ranking him as a high or even mid tier character whilst Lucina is within the top 10 or 15 placements of most professionals' tierlists. While Marth may have the potential to garner respectable results in a tournament setting, his irrelevancy and poor representation in the competitive scene, even comparable to a bottom-tier character, is most likely the result of his would-be players simply opting to play as Roy, Chrom, and primarily Lucina over him. Much like Meta Knight and Villager, Marth's tools that helped him do fairly well in tournaments have been either removed or made worse. Komorikiri who used Marth in Smash 4 as a secondary went as far as claiming that he's one of the worst characters in the game whilst Salem is the complete opposite, claiming that Marth is underrated and that he is on par if not better than Lucina which would make him one of the best characters in the game. Despite dropping the character, MkLeo has acknowledged Marth's strengths over Lucina and even Roy still being significant enough to keep him from falling too far behind them.

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from SSB4, Marth's model features a more subdued color scheme. His design has once again been updated to better resemble his appearances in more recent Fire Emblem titles, such as Fire Emblem Heroes and Fire Emblem Warriors. The various shades of blue on his hair, outfit, armor pieces, and cape have been adjusted to be more analogous with each other, with a brighter hue for his cape especially. His headpiece, armor, belt, gloves, and boots have been subtly modified, and his hair is slightly more unkempt.
  • Falchion retains its design from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, but has been altered to better resemble its official artwork. Its scabbard is its most significant change, now being near identical to its official artwork compared to its previous grey blue-pattern scabbard from Melee.
• Marth's eighth alternate costume, formerly based on Roy, has been modified to resemble his artwork from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.
• 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 use the same heavy sword sound effects as Ike's sword, Ragnell.
• Marth's side taunt has changed. He only swings his sword once before sheathing it.
• Much like in Melee, Marth has a voice clip when performing his first jump. Due the the changes in the last game, he now vocalizes occasionally.
• In non-Japanese versions, Marth is fully dubbed in English. In the Japanese version, Marth has completely new voice clips for the first time since Melee.
  • His up taunt has him say, "This is it!" in English, as he points his sword upwards. In Japanese, he says "行くぞ！", which means "Let's go!".
  • His side taunt has him say, "I won't lose!" in English. In Japanese, he says "僕は負けない！", which also means "I won't lose!"
  • His down taunt has him say, "Keep your eyes open!", a phrase similar to "みんな、見ていてくれ!" ("Everyone, watch over me!"), which remains the same in the Japanese version.
• Marth's victory animations are all different.
  • His first one 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!" (今回は僕の勝ちだね？, This time victory is mine, isn't it?)
  • 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." (僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ。, I can't afford to lose.) This replaces his old one where he stands with his right arm outstretched before lowering it to his side.
  • The third pose has him keep hold of the sheathed Falchion, saying "I live to fight again!" (今日も生き延びることが出来た。, I was able to survive again today.)

Attributes

• Like all characters, Marth's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
• Marth walks faster (1.5 → 1.575).
• Marth runs significantly faster (1.785 → 1.964).
  • Marth's initial dash is significantly faster (1.5 → 2.255).
• Marth's air speed is faster (1.02 → 1.071).
• Marth's traction is much higher (0.055 → 0.114).
• Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 30).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 5-16), and more ending lag (FAF 31 → 35).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 27 → 26).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-27 → 3-29).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 33 → 53).
• Marth has a new jump animation where he picks up his feet more, allowing him to short hop over certain projectiles.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit transitions into the second hit much faster (frame 18 → 11), allowing it to connect better.
  • Both hits have shorter durations, with the second hit also having more startup (frames 5-7 → 5-6 (hit 1), 3-5 → 4-5 (hit 2)).
  • Both hits have higher hitlag multipliers (0.7×/1.25× → 1.3×/1.7×), giving opponents more time to SDI the first hit and DI the second hit.
  • The first hit has altered angles (78°/65°/90° → 361°/361°/180°/361°) and knockback (55 base/30 scaling → 30 base/15/12/12/12 scaling) to keep opponents close to Marth, akin to other neutral attacks. This allows it to jab lock much like in Smash 4 before update 1.0.8, but most importantly removes all its guaranteed jab cancel setups, which made it one of Marth's most potent punishment tools in Smash 4.
    • This also makes it harder to land the tippers of both hits, as the first hit's tipper is more prone to dragging opponents into the second hit's non-tipper hitboxes due to the change in angle.
  • The first hit has an altered animation where Marth swings in a more horizontal arc, matching its hitboxes better.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's tipper hitbox deals more base knockback (80 → 95), improving its KO potential.
  • The move has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.5×, which combined with the increased shieldstun for ground attacks makes it safer on shield.
  • It has higher hitlag multipliers (0.7×/1.25× → 0.875×/1.25×/1.5625×).
  • It has a different animation, with Marth swinging in a slightly more horizontal arc.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash's non-tipper hitboxes deal less knockback (55 base/80 scaling → 48/75), no longer being able to KO middleweights under 100% at the edge and making the move unsafe at low percents.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's launcher hitbox can no longer hit on the same frame as the sword hitboxes and override their knockback at low percents, making it more consistent.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash launches at a consistent angle (75°/361° (hit 1), 60°/361° (hit 2) → 361°), allowing it to set up edgeguards and KO near edges more effectively.
  • It has one frame more ending lag (FAF 55 → 56).
  • The second hit's non-tipper hitboxes have less base knockback (70/50/50 → 40), hindering its KO potential.
  • The first hit's non-tipper hitboxes have different base knockback in between the previous vertical-launching and horizontal-launching hitboxes (70/50/50 → 60).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have reduced landing lag (12 frames → 7 (neutral), 16 → 10 (forward), 17 → 10 (back), 14 → 8 (up), 24 → 14 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial's first hit has more base knockback (30 → 45/45/35) and altered angles (80°/75°/65°/90° → 75°/80°/90°), allowing it to connect into the second hit while rising, and improving its combo potential on landing combined with its lower landing lag.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has altered hitbox placements (Z offset: 2u/0u/7.7u → 3.5u/0u/7.5u, X offset: 0u → 1u) and are smaller overall (3.5u/3.5u/3.5u → 3u/3.8u/3u), this reduces its range and makes it harder to land the tipper.
  • The tipper hitbox has less knockback scaling (90 → 80), hindering its KO potential.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has altered hitbox placements (2.5u/0u/7.7u → 3.7u/0u/7u (Z-offset), 0u/0u/0u → 0u/2u/0u (X-offset)), this reduces its range and makes it harder to land the tipper.
• Down aerial:
  • The removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes improves down aerial's combo potential onstage, compounded further by its lower landing lag.
  • The meteor smash hitbox is larger (4.3u → 5u).
  • The meteor hitbox has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.3×).

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • Standing grab has less startup (frame 7 → 6).
  • All grabs have increased ending lag (FAF 30 → 35 (standing), 37 → 43 (dash), 35 → 38 (pivot)).
  • Dash and pivot grab have more startup (frame 8 → 9 (dash), 9 → 10 (pivot)).
• The speed of Marth's throws is no longer weight-dependent. This improves his down throw's combo potential on heavyweights, but reduces it on lightweights.
• All of Marth's throws except up throw trigger a hitlag effect before the release frame, with back throw also having more startup, and thus they release the opponent later (frame 15 → 18 (forward), 8 → 19 (back), 16 → 20 (down)), making them easier to DI.
  • However, back throw's total duration remains unchanged, giving it less ending lag.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
  • It deals more hitlag (4 frames → 14), but has much less startup (frame 6 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 16 → 7).
• Forward throw:
  • Marth has a new forward throw, a quick elbow strike to the opponent's chest.
  • Due to the faster knockback physics, it has lost its combo potential.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw deals more damage (4% → 5%).
  • It has less knockback scaling (120 → 102), KOing slightly later despite its higher damage output.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw deals less damage (5% → 4%), with knockback scaling compensated (50 → 57).
  • The faster knockback physics hinder its combo potential, due to its high base knockback compared to other throws.
  • Its animation has been changed slightly, with Marth slamming the opponent onto the ground with a more exaggerated throw.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Shield Breaker:
  • Shield Breaker can be angled vertically.
  • It deals 1.15× its regular damage if it hits an opponent's head.
  • Fully charged Shield Breaker has slightly more start-up (frame 78 → 79).
  • Marth composes himself after performing the move.
  • The move triggers Special Zoom upon breaking an opponent's shield.
• Dancing Blade:
  • All swings except the first have less startup (frame 9 → 5 (second, neutral), 7 → 4 (second, up), 6 → 4 (third, neutral), 8 → 5 (third, up & down), 13 → 7 (fourth, neutral & down), 11 → 6 (fourth, up)), allowing the move to execute faster and connect all hits more reliably.
  • All swings except the fourth ones have lower hitlag multipliers (1× → 0.5× (first), 0.7× (second & third)), allowing the move to transition faster and making it harder to SDI out of.
  • All swings except the fourth ones deal less knockback (25 base/75 scaling → 25/30 (first), 30/30 → 30/25 (second, neutral), 30 base/70/50/70 scaling → 30/25 (second, up), 40 b/50/35/50 s → 55/30 (third, neutral), 40 b/60/40/60 s → 55/30/30/50 (third, up), 50/28 → 40/30 (third, down)), improving their linking ability at high percents.
  • The first swing has less ending lag (FAF 42 → 40 (grounded), 32 → 30 (aerial)), as does the fourth upward swing (FAF 51 → 45).
  • The first two neutral swings have different angles (78°/92°/20° → 361°/90°/361° (first), 60°/65°/40° → 361° (second)), granting them the ability to lock.
  • The fourth forward swing's tipper has greater knockback overall (60 base/130 scaling → 85/125), improving its KO potential.
  • The fourth downward swing's hits after the first are faster (frame 19, 25, 31, 37 → 10, 13, 16, 19), and the first four hits have less knockback scaling (40 → 20), allowing them to connect better and preventing opponents from jumping out of them at low percents.
    • However, it has much more ending lag in combination with the faster swings (FAF 72 → 75).
  • All swings deal less damage (3%/4% → 2.5%/3% (first & second), 4%/5% → 3%/4% (third, neutral & up), 4.5%/5.5% → 3%/4% (third, down), 5%/7% → 4%/6% (fourth, neutral), 6%/8% → 5%/7% (fourth, up), 6% → 5% (fourth, down, last hit's tipper)).
  • The first swing has more startup (frame 6 → 9).
  • The fourth forward swing's non-tipper hitboxes deal less knockback (60 base/130 scaling → 74/103), hindering their KO potential.
  • The fourth upward swing has more base knockback (60 → 80/85), but drastically less knockback scaling (118 → 40), removing its ability to KO at realistic percents.
  • Dancing Blade's neutral swings all have altered animations, except for the third. The first one is an outward swing similar to his forward tilt, the second is a vertical swing instead of a horizontal one, and the final swing no longer has Marth spinning before he slashes the opponent.
  • The third downward swing has an altered animation, now being a low outward swing instead of a stab.
• Dolphin Slash:
  • Dolphin Slash has more landing lag (20 frames → 24).
  • It leaves multiple afterimages of Marth during the leap.
• Counter:
  • Counter's counterattack has less startup (frame 5 → 4).
  • Counter has more ending lag (counter: FAF 60 → 65, attack: FAF 36 → 41).
  • Marth once again vocalizes when connecting a successful Counter. In English, he'll say "My turn!", "Nice try!" or "Predictable!"; the last of which, in Japanese, is changed to "させない！".
  • If a powerful enough attack is countered, it causes a large yellow flash, and plays the noise from Critical Hit if the counterattack successfully lands.
• Critical Hit:
  • Due to the changes to teching, Critical Hit is almost impossible to tech though at some circumstances such as Shulk's Shield Monado Art can still tech at very low percentage.

Update history

Unlike his three derivatives, Marth has remained the exact same since Ultimate's release, sans a small but important buff to his dash grab that fixed an issue with grabbing some opponents who were shielding. As such, his rankings in tier lists from top professionals have remained very consistent, and he mantains a quiet representation within the metagame.

1.1.0

• The animation for swinging with a battering weapon has been updated.

3.0.0

• Dash grab has more range.

Moveset

• 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 can also jab lock.
			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 some 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 interrupting grounded approaches and creating space. Deals semi-spike knockback, making it useful for edgeguarding. The tipper knocks opponents into a tumble around roughly 60%, with the blade hit starting to do so around roughly 125%, which can force opponents into a tech chase situation.
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. The tipper is capable of 2-framing at the ledge, allowing for incredibly early KOs.
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%. Around 24% with the tipper, or around 40% with the sourspot, it begins to knock opponents into a tumble, which can force a tech chase situation.
Back aerial		About Face	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 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). Can be useful against cross-ups and as an out of shield option as it starts behind Marth and covers a wide area below him.
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, though it does not start KOing middleweights until around 185%.
Down throw			4%	Throws opponent to the ground with one arm, bouncing them upwards. At low to mid percents, its angle and high base knockback allow it to follow up into an up or back aerial depending on DI, or only an up aerial at higher percents. Despite having low knockback scaling, it still loses its combo potential around roughly 80%-90%.
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			9%	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 (see below)	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 (see table below for details and limits of the move).
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. This move is impossible to tech unless using FS Meter or against Shulk's Shield Monado Art at very low percentage. Pressing the special button again will cause him to stop mid-dash.

Dancing Blade

Hit	Damage	Description
First Hit (Neutral)	2.5%/3%	Does an outward slash. Deals very little knockback even at extremely high percents. Can jab lock. The tipper lifts opponents off the ground slightly, making it combo into the second hit more consistently.
Second Hit (Up)	2.5%/3%	An upwards lifting slash. Has greater vertical reach, but shorter horizontal reach than the first hit or the second neutral hit. Lifts opponents slightly off the ground, with the tipper hit pulling them in slightly. At high percents and when at a distance from the opponent, its shorter reach can be used to intentionally miss so that the last two hits can connect properly.
Second Hit (Neutral)	2.5%/3%	Does an inward slash. Has a slightly shorter hitbox than the first hit, which can lead to it sometimes missing if the first hit is landed from too far away. Deals very little knockback, even at extremely high percents. Can jab lock.
Third Hit (Up)	3%/4%	Does an upwards slash while turning clockwise. Launches opponents slightly up and away, leading into the upward finisher's tipper fairly consistently if delayed a bit.
Third Hit (Neutral)	3%/4%	Takes a step forward and does a leaning outward slash. At close range, this can be used to combo into the neutral finisher's tipper by delaying it, though otherwise this hit may push opponents too far away for the fourth hit to connect at all at high percents.
Third Hit (Down)	3%/4%	Leans in and does a horizontal slash low to the ground. Deals less knockback than the other third hits, which can make it useful for connecting with the neutral finisher at higher percents, when the third neutral hit may send too far away.
Fourth Hit (Up)	5%/7%	Twirls counterclockwise and does an upward slash. Launches opponents up, making it useful for starting juggling strings. Has the least ending lag of the three finishers. Fairly low knockback even when tippered. Has greater vertical reach than any other hit of the move.
Fourth Hit (Neutral)	4%/6%	Turns counterclockwise, steps forward, and does very powerful vertical slash downward. This is the strongest finisher in regards to knockback. The tipper by itself will KO middleweights near the edge as low as 71%, but the hit is much weaker when not tippered, only beginning to KO around 155%.
Fourth Hit (Down)	2% (hit 1-4), 4%/5% (hit 5)	Does a flurry of five lower stabs. Deals the most damage of the three finishers, wearing down shields well, and can shield poke low shields. Has the highest ending lag of the three finishers.

On-screen appearance

• Warps onto the stage using a warp circle with a twirl and unsheathes his sword.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Holds up his sword, emitting light from the tip while saying "This is it!" (行くぞ！, Let's go!)
• Side taunt: Swings his sword once before resheathing it, saying "I won't lose!" (僕は負けない！, I won't lose!)
• Down taunt: Swings his sword around and says "Keep your eyes open!" (みんな、見ていてくれ！ Everyone, watch over me!)

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  Marth's up taunt.

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  Marth's side taunt.

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  Marth's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Holds his hand to his chest, closes his eyes, and silently takes a breath.
• Brushes his hair out of his face.

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  Marth's first idle pose

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  Marth's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Performs a Shield Breaker, then poses with Falchion at his right side, saying "The day is mine!" ("今回は僕の勝ちだね？", This time victory is mine, isn't it?). His ending pose mirrors his official artwork from Smash 4.
• Up: Sheaths his sword, keeping hold of it, and says "I live to fight again." ("今日も生き延びることが出来た。", I was able to survive again today.).
• Right: Jumps in the air swinging his sword twice, then lands in a pose resembling his Counter animation, saying "I cannot afford to lose!" ("僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ。", I can't afford to lose.).

An orchestral, sped-up cover of several bars of the Fire Emblem Theme, the title theme for the original Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, which has since become the main theme of the series and appeared in every game.

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In competitive play

In stark contrast to pre-release Ultimate, where it was speculated that Marth could for the first time ever be the best character in a Smash game and possibly even broken, Marth has hardly received any results with much of his player-base quickly pocketing or dropping him in favor of other characters (especially Lucina who is widely considered to be much more effective than Marth as a character), and his perception rapidly fell. Due to the severe nerfs he received in the transition, for the first time since the heyday of Smash 4, he has been considered an "irrelevant" character in tournament play. In smaller tournaments, however, Marth can occasionally be seen in bracket.

MkLeo, known for popularizing Marth in Smash 4, has occasionally used Marth in a few tournament sets, notably at 2GG: Prime Saga. However, most pro players agree that while Marth may not be a bad character, there is no reason to play Marth in Ultimate when Lucina’s attributes are widely considered to be more effective and consistent than him.

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Spring 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from February 1st, 2019 to July 7th, 2019.

Active

•  Meteor - The best active Marth player in the world, although he only uses him as a secondary. Placed 3rd at 2GG: Breakthrough 2019 and 5th at BREAKOUT Spring 2019 using Marth as one of his characters.

Inactive

•  MkLeo (#1) - Uses him as a strong secondary or counterpick. Placed 7th at 2GG: Prime Saga.
•  Mr E (#38) - The best Marth player in the world before switching to Lucina. Placed 9th at both NYXL Pop-Up! and Orion 2019, 17th at Let's Make Moves, Glitch 6, and Overclocked Ultimate, and 33rd at GENESIS 6.
•  V115 - The best Marth player in Canada before switching to Lucina. Placed 3rd at Frozen Phoenix 2019 with solo Marth.

Classic Mode: A Kingdom of Dragons

Marth's congratulations screen.

Marth fights draconic opponents on various medieval-themed stages. The Mii Fighters sport dragon-themed costumes. As a reference to how Marth fights a dragon as the final boss in his own games, he fights Rathalos, a wyvern, as the boss of his route.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Giant Charizard	Castle Siege	Story 5 Meeting	Charizard's Pokémon Trainer is absent.
2	Yoshi (×5) ()	Arena Ferox	Under This Banner
3	Giant King K. Rool	Bridge of Eldin	Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem Medley
4	Mii Gunner (×4), Mii Brawler , Mii Swordfighter	Castle Siege	Advance	Horde Battle. Mii Fighter costume combinations: Dragon Helmet and Yellow Dragon Armor (Gunner) Devil Horns and Black Dragon Armor (Gunner) Dragon Helmet and Woolly Yoshi Outfit (Brawler) Dragon Helmet and White Dragon Armor (Gunner) Woolly Yoshi Hat and Red Dragon Armor (Gunner) Dragon Helmet and Black Knight Armor (Swordfighter)
5	Giant Ridley	Gerudo Valley	Lords-Showdown
6	Corrin (×2) ()	Coliseum	Lost in Thoughts All Alone
Bonus Stage
Final	Rathalos	Forest Hill	Roar/Rathalos

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Marth has Fire Emblem Theme accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Marth 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.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
21		Marth	Attack	2,500	Final Destination	Final Destination

Spirits

Marth's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Marth in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

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  610. Marth [Classic Mode] Spirit

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
105		Prince Peasley	Mario & Luigi series	•Marth		1,600	3D Land	N/A	•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power	This is Minion Turf!
625		Navarre	Fire Emblem series	•Marth		3,700	Castle Siege (Throne Room)	N/A	•The enemy can unleash powerful critical hits at random •Stamina battle •The enemy's battering items have increased power	Story 5 Meeting
630		Tiki	Fire Emblem series	•Marth		3,700	Spear Pillar	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Tiki)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Fire Emblem Theme (Heroic Origins)
633	File:Camus Spirit.png	Camus	Fire Emblem series	•Marth		9,200	Arena Ferox	•Health Recovery	•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power •The enemy can unleash powerful critical hits at random •The enemy is healed significantly when the enemy's at high damage	Meeting Theme Series Medley
641		Seliph	Fire Emblem series	•Marth •Ike		3,600	Castle Siege	•Defense ↑	•The enemy has increased defense when the enemy's at high damage	Edge of Adversity
1,058	File:Hugh Baldwin.png	Hugh Baldwin	Castlevania series	•Marth		2,000	Find Mii	N/A	•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power •The enemy has increased jump power	Awake
1,173	File:Felix.png	Felix	Golden Sun series	•Marth		3,500	Coliseum	•Item Tidal Wave •Earthquake	•Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage •Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while	Battle Scene / Final Boss - Golden Sun
1,316		Goro Akechi	Persona series	•Marth •Pit		3,800	Fourside (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Left Is Right, Right Is Left	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Left and right controls will suddenly reverse	Rivers in the Desert

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
620		Caeda	Fire Emblem series	•Lucina •Marth		13,500	Temple (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect •The enemy has increased move speed and reduced weight	Story 5 Meeting	Marth

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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

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

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  Marth's fighter card.

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  Marth countering on the Great Plateau Tower.

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  Performing Shield Breaker on Coliseum.

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  Taunting in his white costume on Mario Galaxy.

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  Dodging Ridley's Plasma Breath on 3D Land.

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  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.

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  With all playable Fire Emblem veterans on Coliseum.

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.
• Marth is the only Fire Emblem character who can be unlocked in the Light Realm in World of Light.
  • Roy is also found in The Last Battle imprisoned by Galeem. This makes Marth and Roy the only Fire Emblem characters affiliated with Galeem.
• Marth, Lucina, Young Link, Roy, Chrom and Wolf are the only characters that use their crouching animations from the previous Smash Bros. game when holding a small item (in Chrom's case, he uses Roy's previous crouching animation).
  • This makes Marth, Lucina, and Wolf the only characters to have both updated idle and crouching animations and, but transitions to their previous animations when holding a small item.
• There is a minor oversight with the back hit of Marth's up tilt where the attack will always play the tipper sound effect, regardless of whether the move is sweetspotted or not.
• Marth is part of Yoshi's Classic Mode character unlock tree; both characters' Classic Mode routes are reptile-themed, and share certain characters (Charizard, King K. Rool, Ridley and Rathalos), with Yoshi himself being fought in Marth's route.
  • Although Corrin can transform into a dragon during various actions, the Mii Fighters are Marth's main exception to reptilian opponents, as they only support dragon-themed costumes for his Classic Mode route. Furthermore, King K. Rool has been established as a Kremling (crocodile) and not a dragon, while Bowser, a chimeric monster with draconic traits, is present in Yoshi's route but is absent from Marth's.
• Marth has the most combined clones and semi-clones of any character at three, being Roy, Lucina, and Chrom.
• Marth is the only Fire Emblem representative who does not face Master Hand as his final boss in Classic Mode.
• The name of Marth's back aerial, "About Face," is in reference to his combative background, where it means to turn opposite to the current position being faced in the military.