Ike (PM)

Ike is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. Since Ike's first appearance in the series is as a fighter in Brawl, his general speed has been significantly increased to fit the mechanics of Project M. In particular, Ike has improved combo-starting abilities, such as a more versatile Quick Draw, a less laggy back aerial, and a quicker up aerial.

Ike ranks 25th out of 41 on the official tier list, at the top of the C tier, a marginal drop from his position as 23rd out of 38 on the Brawl tier list. On the Project+, he is ranked 14th in the A tier, a significant improvement over his placement in either Brawl or Project M.

Attributes
As a swordsman, Ike has many long distance attacks with disjointed hitboxes. As a result of this advantageous attribute, he can carefully space between his opponents, while simultaneously dealing high knockback and damage. Ike is a heavyweight (being the heaviest swordsman, not including, who only uses his sword for his down taunt that he can attack with) with, as a result of his buffed mobility, a decent dash speed, an average air speed, and an average falling speed. Ike's attacks are among the most powerful in the game, especially his ground attacks, with many dealing immense knockback that can reliably KO around mid percentages, especially when sweetspotted, located at the middle of the sword's blade. His Eruption is an effective edgeguarder functioning similarly to 's Flare Blade, as it inflicts high vertical knockback when charged at any stage, OHKOing when fully charged and repelling the opponent at a semi-spike angle at a fast speed.

Ike's recovery has been buffed from Brawl, as his Aether goes a bit further horizontally. Quick Draw has been improved as well. The move charges faster, can be cancelled, and even OHKOs if fully charged. The changes to these two moves give Ike several recovery options he did not have previously.

Ike's greatest strength, however, is his jab attack. Arguably the best move in his arsenal, it possesses great reach, is fast, deals high damage, and can be jab canceled for quick setups. While the jab's power was nerfed from Brawl, it remains one of the most powerful jabs and is especially vital in Ike's metagame.

Ike's aerial game is above average. As with his ground attacks, his aerial arsenal consists of powerful attacks that possess great KO potential, even when not sweetspotted. Ike is capable of juggling characters, especially floaty characters (ie, , and ), with his up air. His back and forward aerials are effective horizontal finishers against light characters. Ike's down aerial, when sweetspotted, is a powerful spike that is capable of effectively KOing opponents around mid-high percentages, even when grounded. Even when not sweetspotted, the move is still a meteor smash, provided that Ike lands the clean hitbox, making it a strong finisher with decent utility regardless.

Ike's primary flaw lies in his very laggy attacks, especially his ground attacks. While these attacks are powerful, their slow speeds and long start and end lag render Ike vulnerable to many combo setups and punishes. His tall height is also considered a drawback, as it makes his hurtbox quite large and thus making him easy to hit and combo, which is compounded by his heavy weight. Additionally, while Ike has above average options for horizontal and vertical recovery, he lacks any diagonal means of getting back onto stages. Besides that, his existing recovery moves are arguably predictable and can easily be gimped.

Changes from Brawl to PM
Ike has been significantly buffed from the transition from Brawl to Project M. His ground speed has been increased and many of his attacks have decreased startup and ending lag greatly increasing his overall speed and making his attacks far less punishable. All of his aerials have greatly decreased ending lag and they can now all auto-cancel in a short hop which when combined with the introduction of L-canceling greatly improves their safety. The hilt of his sword is now stronger on all of his attacks giving his attacks more strength when used at close range.

Ike has also seen some nerfs. The most significant nerf he received was to his spacing ability. The tip of his sword is now weaker than the rest of his sword making many of his attacks weaker when spaced. This forces him to approach in order for him to effectively use his attacks which leaves him more vulnerable. Asides from this, his general KO potential has been decreased especially outside of the hilt of his sword and his jab is noticeably weaker and has less jab canceling potential (although it is still one of his best tools). Lastly, his aerials no longer have transcendent priority making it easier for his opponents to challenge his aerials.

Overall, Ike's weaknesses are far less detrimental than they used to be and he is overall a more effective character as a result.

Moveset
Up to date as of version 3.6.

Notable tech
Labbing Discord Tech Post

Most historically significant players
Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the PMRank 2019, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Project M during 2019.

See also: Category:Ike players (PM)
 * - Ranked 1st on the Ontario Project M Power Rankings. Placed 7th at Frozen Phoenix 2017.
 * - The second best Ike player in the world; placed 2nd at We Tech Those 2; ranked 11th on PMRank 2018.
 * - Formerly ranked 1st on the Colorado Project M Power Rankings. Placed 4th at Nemesis.
 * -Placed 9th at Smash 'N' Splash 2. Ranked 5th on the Michigan Project M Power Rankings.
 * - Placed 1st at The Big House 2, double eliminating, and placed 9th at Smash 'N' Splash 3 over 4 years later. Currently one of the best players in Illinois.
 * (#8) - The best Ike in the world.
 * - Placed 5th at Frozen Phoenix 2017. Ranked 0th on the Alberta Project M Power Rankings.

Project M
Ike received a set of alternate costumes in 3.5. They are based on the armor worn by from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.

The recolors of the Hector costume reference other characters in the Fire Emblem games who, like Hector, are heavily armored. Each of these characters is related to either Ike or Hector.
 * Red (Hector): Based on, Ike's rival in his games.
 * Green (Hector): Loosely based on, Hector's elder brother.
 * Black (Hector): Based on the Black Knight, the sinister alter ego of Zelgius.

In all of its color schemes, the Hector costume also changes Ike's sword into its counterpart,. In both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, Alondite is the weapon of choice of Zelgius/the Black Knight.

Project+
In Project+, Ike received another new set of alternate costumes based on his father, Greil, the default color being almost an exact match. It has recolors loosely inspired by characters in the Tellius series.




 * Red (Greil): Inspired by Titania from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
 * Green (Greil): Inspired by Shinon from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
 * Purple (Greil): Inspired by Zihark's appearance in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
 * Z-Secret Costume: A Lord Ike recolor that somewhat resembles Ike's promotion in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
 * R-Secret Costume: Ike Climber (from PMDT's 2014 April Fools video).

Trivia

 * Alongside and, Ike is one of the three characters whose down aerial is able to both meteor smash and spike.