Roy (SSB4)

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For information on the playable Koopaling, please see Bowser Jr. (SSB4).

Roy in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Fire Emblem
Other playable appearance	in Melee
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Critical Hit

“	Roy Seals the Deal!	”
—Introduction tagline

Roy (ロイ, Roy) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 as the third downloadable character. First leaked through datamining of the 1.0.6 update, Roy would ultimately be revealed and was released alongside Lucas and Ryu on June 14th, 2015.

Roy is once again voiced by Jun Fukuyama, who has provided him with new voice clips, speaking Japanese regardless of the game's region (as with Marth).

Changes from Melee

Roy has been tremendously buffed in his transition to SSB4 from Melee, in which he was considered a low-tier character despite his impressive power. The hitbox placements on many of Roy's attacks (e.g. down air) have been improved and his power and speed have overall been increased. Furthermore, he benefits from the rage mechanic, allowing him to dish out even more knockback. Overall, Roy is now considerably more viable than his Melee incarnation.

Roy additionally received some minor and drastic changes that further distinguish his moveset and animations from Marth's, converting Roy to a near semi-clone status.

Aesthetics

• Roy's design blends elements from his original appearance in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade and his DLC appearance in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
• Roy now has completely unique idle stances as opposed to having a variant of Marth's.
• Roy now has an on-screen appearance.
• In a similar vein to those of Marth and Lucina, Roy's sword trails now indicate the sweetspot with a white arc - in Roy's case, it's near the hilt of the blade.
• Seeming as an aesthetic change to further distance him as just another Marth clone, most of Roy's sword swings look aesthetically "heavier", with him swinging the Sword of Seals backhandedly or with two hands (with his new animations causing them to seem like it takes some effort, even in one of his new victory poses). As a result, Roy's Sword of Seals feels like a heavier Broadsword than Marth/Lucina's "lighter" Falchion, which they swing with less effort.

Attributes

• Many of Roy's attacks, such as his forward smash and his up special move, Blazer, now are performed while holding his sword with a reverse grip, and have slightly different swings compared to Marth as a result.
• Roy walks and dashes faster.
• Roy now stands at Marth's height which gives him slightly more range but makes his hurtbox bigger.
• The majority of Roy's attacks have less reach because of reduced hitbox sizes and altered placements.
• Roy is significantly heavier, now being heavier than Marth rather than lighter.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack is now an upward leaning lift-slice in reverse grip.
• Neutral attack only has one input.
• Forward tilt is significantly more powerful, KO'ing starting at 110%.
• Forward tilt has Roy lean forward for an inward slash via reverse grip.
• Up tilt deals more damage and is much stronger.
• Up tilt now has Roy swinging his sword in a more overhead grip while bringing it to his side instead of behind him, similar to the Project M version. The animation is more vertical than horizontal.
• Down tilt now sends opponents at a semi spike trajectory, making it much better for edgeguarding. It also allows Roy to set up tech-chase.
• Down tilt no longer sends opponents at a vertical trajectory, almost completely removing all its combo potential.
• Dash attack deals 1% more damage and can now KO starting at 150%.
• Dash attack starts up slightly slower than before due to the new animation.
• Dash attack animation involves Roy slashing inward into a braking stop with a reverse grip slash.
• Forward smash has slightly less ending lag.
• Forward smash's animation changed to Roy bringing his sword behind himself, then slashing forward in a reaping two-handed slash from a turn. This animation is shared with the Mii Swordfighter.
• Up smash has a stronger final hit, and the first few hits link together better. It also has slightly less ending lag.
• The first hit of up smash now has no knockback. This removes the attack's ability to spike, but allows the move to link together and deal damage more reliably.
• Up smash also has an explosion occur at the end, oddly similar to the Melee: SD Remix version.
• Down smash's front hit sends foes at a more horizontal trajectory.
• Down smash deals less damage (28% fully charged → 21% fully charged).
• Down smash's back hit deals 2% more damage.
• The properties of Roy's down smash have been reversed, with the back hit being stronger.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial hits on frame 4 instead of frame 7. The second swing hits on frame 13 instead of frame 17. It also has less ending and landing lag.
• Forward aerial hits on frame 9 instead of frame 5 and 7.
• Forward aerial has slightly less ending and landing lag.
• Forward aerial's animation has Roy's legs positioned differently, and swings his blade while leaning forward with his right side more.
• Back aerial has less ending and landing lag.
• Up aerial has slightly less ending and landing lag.
• Neutral, forward and back aerials all deal more damage and are significantly stronger, now being able to KO reliably.
• Roy has a new down aerial, working similar to Ike's where he does a take-down two-handed slash below himself.
• The new down aerial is significantly stronger on both the sweetspot and sourspot, dealing 15% at the base and 10% at the tip (instead of 9% at the base and 6% at the tip). Its sourspot is also much stronger and can KO grounded opponents starting at 160%. It also has extended reach underneath Roy and has a much larger hitbox that is also easier to land. The move also has much less ending lag, and with proper timing, it can also be used out of a forward air to Ken Combo.
• The new down aerial has less diagonal reach and takes a bit longer to start up.

Throws/Other Attacks

• Down throw damage: 6% → 5%
• Floor attack (front & back) damage: 6% → 7%

Special moves

• Flare Blade can now be charged up to a maximum of 45% without causing recoil damage (up from 41% in Melee).
• Flare Blade has a different sound when charging; when fully charged, the sound vanishes before the move's explosion. All stages of the attack now unleash an actual explosion, with higher stages unleashing bigger ones.
• Double-Edge Dance's 4th forward hit is significantly stronger, gaining KO potential starting at 110%.
• The variants of Double-Edge Dance's third hit can no longer KO, but it can easily combos into the 4th hit.
• Double-Edge Dance's final up input now has a brand new animation, where Roy does an upward launching slash in a recovering turn, as opposed to a forward hopping more pronounced version of his forward final input.
• Blazer now has invincibility frames on startup if used from the ground.
• Blazer's final hit is much stronger, now being able to KO at high percentages, and has lasting hitboxes near the peak of the move unlike in Melee.
• Blazer's first hit has much lower set knockback. This allows every hit to connect even better than in Melee at the loss of its ability to OHKO the lightest characters.
• Blazer gains slightly less distance.
• Blazer now carries much more horizontal momentum near its peak, and can be tilted left or right before startup to cover a notable amount of horizontal range, increasing Roy's horizontal recovery.
• Counter is much stronger and can now KO off countered smash attacks starting under 40%. The move's horizontal range is also longer.
• Counter is slightly slower. Its damage multiplier is reduced (1.5x →1.35x).
• Counter has a slightly tweaked animation: Roy holds his hand out for the entirely of the move, and instead counters with an outward swatting one-handed slash.
• Roy now has a Final Smash.

Differences from Marth

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Aesthetics

• He has different walking and running animation.
• Roy's victory poses, idle poses, standing idle, animation on-screen appearance and taunts are different.

Attributes

• Roy's "tipper" is located at the hilt of his Sword of Seals unlike the tip of Marth's Falchion.
• While Roy's new hitbox placement allows players to be a lot less conscientious about spacing in order to inflict optimal damage, it generally makes him more predictable as a result.
• His attacks are mostly stronger and faster than Marth's. However, he has to chase after his opponents to land additional strikes with the exception of his throws.
• Roy has a somewhat lesser reach than Marth.
• Roy is heavier than Marth.

Ground attacks

• Roy's new forward smash animation has more range than Marth's.

Throws/Other Attacks

• All of his throws have significantly weaker base knockback, which gives Roy more follow-up options after a grab than Marth's.

Special moves

• Roy's version of Critical Hit has a different animation in which Roy swing his sword behind him before striking with a fiery blow in the front.
• The swing at the start of Critical Hit is capable of dragging opponents ubicated behind Roy, it also deals 10% extra.
• However, Roy's doesn't slide during his final smash, meaning that his opponents must be close for it to work, it also deals only 35%, down from Marth's and Lucina's 60%, and doesn't have enough knockback to OHKO.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			7.5% (sweetspot), ~4.65% (sourspot)	Roy slashes his sword upwards.
Forward tilt			12.5% (sweetspot), 9% (near), 8% (far)	A swift and powerful overhead slash.
Up tilt			12% (sweetspot), 7% (sourspot)	Roy swings his blade in an arc.
Down tilt			11% (sweetspot), 6.5% (sourspot)	Crouches and pokes forward with his sword. Weaker than Roy's other tilts, but comes out quickly.
Dash attack			13% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	Roy comes to a halt, still bending forward, and swings his blade.
Forward smash			20% (close), 17% (mid), 12% (far)	Roy lunges forward while swinging his sword.
Up smash			1% (first hit), 2% (2nd-4th hits), 17% (final hit)	Roy thrusts his sword skyward as it ignites in flames, forming an explosion on the final hit.
Down smash			15% (front, sweetspot), 17% (back, sweetspot) 10% (front, sourspot), 11% (back, sourspot)	Sweeps his sword low in front and behind him.
Neutral aerial			6%/4% (first hit, sweetspot/sourspot), 8%/5% (second hit, sweetspot/sourspot)	Roy swipes twice with his sword in quick succession, the second hit capable of attacking behind him.
Forward aerial			11%/7% (sweetspot/sourspot)	Roy slashes vertically in front of him.
Back aerial			12%/9% (sweetspot/sourspot)	executes a sword strike from bottom to top, turning Roy around in the process, similar to Marth's back aerial.
Up aerial			9%/6% (sweetspot/sourspot)	Roy swings his blade over him in a similar manner to Marth's up aerial. The weakest of Roy's aerials in terms of dishing out damage.
Down aerial			15%/10% (sweetspot/soutspot)	Roy swings his sword downward. Meteor smashes when connected properly. Closely resembles Ike's down aerial.
Grab			—	Roy bends forward and reaches out.
Pummel			2%	Roy knees the grabbed opponent.
Forward throw			5%	Roy turns around, tossing the opponent in the process.
Back throw			5%	Roy tosses the opponent over his leg, tripping them.
Up throw			6%	Roy elaborately throws the opponent straight up into the air.
Down throw			5%	Roy throws the opponent into the ground with one arm.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Roy gets up, then slashes to either side.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Roy spins his sword along the ground as he gets up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Roy gets up as he swings his sword around himself.
Edge attack Edge getups			8%	Roy flips himself onto the stage, then swings his sword.
Neutral special	Default	Flare Blade	6%-45%, (50% when fully charged)	Roy charges his blade with flames, similar to Ike's Eruption before powerfully slamming it onto the ground and creating an explosion. One-Hit KO's Mario from the center of Final Destination when charged to the max. Deals 10% recoil damage to Roy when unleashing a fully charged strike.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Side special	Default	Double-Edge Dance	?%	Roy unleashes a combo of sword slashes in a fashion identical to Marth and Lucina's Dancing Blade. The type of slashes he performs can be influenced by directional inputs.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Up special	Default	Blazer	?%	Roy performs a jumping uppercut with his sword ablaze. Can be angled horizontally or vertically.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Down special	Default	Counter	?%	Roy holds his sword to block attacks, then strikes back with damage dependent on the attack countered.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Final Smash		Critical Hit	?%	Roy slowly swings his sword in a circle, trapping anyone near him, then hits them with an extremely powerful slash. Unlike Marth and Lucina's Critical Hit, Roy's version isn't a One-Hit KO.

Roy's special moves

Neutral special	Flare Blade
Side special	Double-Edge Dance
Up special	Blazer
Down special	Counter
Final Smash	—	Critical Hit

Taunts

• Roy's up taunt has him triumphantly hold his sword above his head; unlike Marth's taunt, he holds it sideways.
• Roy's side taunt has him posing while holding the Sword of Seals backhanded toward the screen, saying "僕 は 負けない!", which translates to "I won't lose!" This line was one of his victory quotes in Melee.
• Roy's down taunt is his returning taunt from Melee, where he kneels and holds his sword behind him while yelling. The yell is one of his attacking lines when using moves.

On-Screen Appearance

Appears from a spell circle, similar to others from his franchise, albeit crouching. The Sword of Seals is stuck in the ground when he appears, and Roy pulls it out before assuming his idle stance.

Idle Poses

• Pumps his fist.
• Swipes his hand lightly against the Sword of Seals while holding it in front of himself.

Victory Fanfare

This victory theme is a small orchestral cover from the title theme of the first Fire Emblem game, which has since become the main theme of the series. It is shared with Marth, Ike, Robin, and Lucina.

Alternate costumes

Reveal Trailer

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Trophy

Roy

Roy, the main character of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, returns for the first time since Melee! In The Binding Blade, Roy led the troops of Pherae into battle in his ailing father’s stead, and now he brings his speed and talent for short-range combat into this game. His sword, the Sword of Seals, is uniquely powerful at the base of the blade.

Unknown

Roy (Alt)

Flare Blade creates an explosion in front of Roy that can be charged by holding down the button. Take care, though, because at the highest levels of charge, Roy himself will catch fire and take damage! His side special, Double-Edge Dance, changes for each strike after the first depending on whether you hold up or down while attacking.

Flare Blade creates an explosion in front of Roy that can be charged by holding down the button. Take care, though, because at the highest levels of charge, Roy himself will catch fire and take damage! His side special, Double-Edge Dance, changes for each strike after the first depending on whether you hold up or down while attacking.

Critical Hit

For Roy’s Final Smash, he traps enemies in a circular swing of the blade, brings it up behind him, and then, in a blast of fire, brings the blade down for a powerful finisher! The downward attack is powerful on its own but doesn’t have much range, so make sure you’re close enough to hit your enemies with the full combo and really seal their fate!

Unknown

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  Critical Hit (Roy)

Gallery

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  Splash art.

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  Taunting in front of a wall of fire.

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  Critical Hit.

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  Roy and Roy.

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  Flare Blade.

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  All of Roy's alternate color schemes.

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  Performing Double-Edge Dance.

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Trivia

• As with Mewtwo, Roy's official artwork is posed almost identically to his Melee official artwork.
• Roy's introduction makes a reference to the Sword of Seals, aka the Binding Blade.
• The segment of Roy's trailer where he attacks Roy Koopa is a reference to how they are the only characters to share the same name.
  • This is referenced again in one of Roy's pictures on his profile page on the official website.
• InSmash 3DS, Roy (along with Mr. Game & Watch) is one of the only characters not to use a taunt during his pose in Classic Mode once he chooses a path. Instead, he uses one of his idle poses, his fist pump.
• All of Roy's sourspotted attacks make a punch/kick sound effect instead of a slashing sound effect. This is carried over from Melee.