Marth (SSBM)

This article is about Marth's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For the character in other contexts, see Marth. Also, for information about Marth's clone, see Roy (SSBM).

Marth in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Marth
Universe	Fire Emblem
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	A (5)

“

Marth is a magnificent swordsman. While his swordplay is faster than that of Link, he lacks power, and his quickness is offset by a marginal endurance. (Marth's trophy description)

”

Marth (Japanese: マルス, Marusu) debuted in the first game of the Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light (Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi). Marth was placed in Super Smash Bros. Melee due to heavy requests from Japanese players; as his games had never been released outside of Japan prior to Melee, his character was among the most obscure in the game in other regions. His popularity as a character, alongside Roy, eventually caused Nintendo to begin releasing the Fire Emblem games internationally; the first internationally released game came two years after Melee.

Marth currently ranks 5th place on the tier list in the A tier. This is due to his excellent overall speed, disjointed range, priority, power when tipped attacks are landed (particularly his forward smash and down aerial), juggle/combo ability (including the notorious Ken Combo), and a great edgeguard ability; of the top and high tier characters, Marth also has a rather low learning curve, allowing him to be mastered relatively easily. On the downside, his approach options are limited in comparisons with other top tier characters due to a lack of a projectile; his recovery, while extendible, is also rather predictable and short.

Unlocking

There are three ways to unlock Marth:

• By playing 400 VS. matches.
• By clearing Classic mode with all fourteen starter characters.
• By using all fourteen starter characters as a human player in VS. Mode.

Attributes

Marth generally falls under the character archetype of being fast, with the ability to easily outmanoeuvre most of his opponents; Marth has a very fast dash, a long wavedash and rather good jumping speed, with average falling speed, contributing to a good SHFFL. With a good dash dance and a disjointed hitbox, Marth has good approach options in the game, both in the air and on the ground.

One of Marth's greatest strengths is his range in his normal attacks; Falchion grants Marth a disjointed hitbox that can allow him to safely attack from a distance. Additionally, the tip of Falchion, its sweetspot, is remarkably easy to land with, making Marth stronger when he's farther from his opponent.

In addition to his disjointed range, Marth has almost unparalleled combo ability; despite a slightly below average air speed, with a combination of good jumping prowess, and an average falling speed, as well as quick, low lag, low ranged, easy to sweetspot aerials, Marth has among the best air games in Melee, and a great combo ability. Additionally, Marth's grab game is also good, due to a surpringly good grab range (the best for non-grapple grabs), as well as low knockback throws that can potentially chain throw other characters. In particular by switching directions between throws, his up throw can chain throw most fast fallers and can combo nicely into an up tilt or a Ken combo.

Marth also has plenty of powerful attacks, some of which that are also rather fast, such as his up tilt and Reverse Dolphin Slash. Marth's forward smash is feared due to its high priority, speed, and power, and it can actually "break" through some projectiles found in the game; it also works well when wavesmashed, due to Marth's long wavedash. Marth's down tilt and Shield Breaker act as good edgeguarding options. Most notably, however, is his down air; it acts as a powerful spike in NTSC regions, and an equally powerful meteor smash in PAL regions; it can KO reliably even as low as 40%, and many of Marth's attacks can easily combo into his dair, most notably his forward air as part of the Ken Combo.

Marth's primary flaw is his rather lacklustre recovery. His up special, Dolphin Slash, grants little horizontal distance and decidedly average vertical distance; its ending lag also makes it very easy to punish. Marth's average airspeed also prevents him from moving far after entering a helpless state. However, Marth can mitigate his recovery by using Dancing Blade as to give him some horizontal recovery, though this gives no vertical recovery, and it must be timed well.

Additionally, Marth has a slight weakness of lacking a projectile; while its effect on Marth is debatable, this limits his approach in comparison with other high tiered characters, such as Fox. Marth also has a slightly large target; in NTSC regions, he is also vulnerable to Fox's Waveshine combos.

Moveset

Note that all of Marth's attacks (save his grabs and Counter) have a sweetspot at the tip of his blade. Because of this, the term "tipper" refers to the sweetspotted version of the attack.

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - Swings upward, back and forth, with the first hit resembling his up-tilt. Can be chained continuously. If Marth is wearing a Bunny Hood, this attack can be chained twice as fast.
• Dash attack - A quick upward diagonal slash with medium lag with extremely high priority. Depending if it's tipped or not, it can either send opponents behind him or above him. 10% base, 13% tip
• Forward tilt - A fast forward sword swipe, much like the dash attack with less lag and a higher angle.
• Up tilt - Swings his sword in a large arc above his head, with a large hitbox that can peg opponents behind him. Can trap and combo opponents up to very high percentages if they are above Marth on a platform. Good for setting up a Ken Combo. Looks like the first hit of his neutral attack, though aims a bit higher. It also bears resemblance to his forward tilt. At high percentages, it makes an extremely effective KO move, KOing reliably at 90% and above. 9% base. 12% tip
• Down tilt - A quick crouching sword poke. As it pokes out and is a semi-spike, it makes a very useful edgeguard. 9% base. 10% tip

Smash

• Forward smash - Rotates body counter-clockwise with a strong arc-like swing from his head to the ground, similar to the animation of his neutral special. Very fast and long ranged. The tip is on top knockback.
• Up smash - A powerful upward thrust. While effective on aerial opponents, the move has very weak sourspots next to Marth if used on the ground.
• Down smash - Sweeps his sword on the ground toward the front then toward the back. If tipped it sends opponents upward with high vertical knockback, star KOing opponents at high percentage, and its one of the strongest down smash in the game. If hit at the base, it sends opponents with low horizontal knockback, but it can still KO at high percentage. Despite its power, it is rather laggy.

Other

• Ledge attack - Flips onto ledge with a quick downward diagonal slash from left to right. 6% base. 8% tip.
• 100% ledge attack - Quick, low, horizontal slash with medium lag. Less range than normal ledge attack. 10% base and tip.
• Floor attack (from back) - Quick stab to the left followed by horizontal slash to the right. 6% base and tip.
• Floor attack (from stomach) - Sweeps the tip of his sword on the ground front to back. Less range than floor attack from back. 6% base and tip.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial - Two horizontal slashes around himself. Both hits connect easily, can follow up into each other.
• Forward aerial - Forward vertical slash (up to down). This attack sends opponents upward if tipped.
• Back aerial - Bottom to top sword slash behind him.
• Up aerial - A forward to back upward sword slash. Hit from close is as powerful as the tip but from medium distance is still weak.
• Down aerial - A forward to back downward sword slash. A great spike when tipped.

Grabs & throws

• Pummel - repeatedly knees opponent 2% damage.
• Forward throw - Grabs and pushes forward, tripping with the leg. 4% damage.
• Down throw - Hooks arm and drags to the floor sending the opponent backward. Set ups tipper forward smash at low percentages. 5% damage.
• Back throw - Pulls and extends leg simultaneously. 4% damage.
• Up throw - Powerful upward throw with one arm. Can chain throw fast fallers at low percentages by switching directions between throws, and is the third strongest up throw in the game. 4% damage.

Special moves

Marth's special moves

Neutral special	Shield Breaker
Side special	Dancing Blade
Up special	Dolphin Slash
Down special	Counter
Final Smash	—	Critical Hit

Regional Differences

Marth was slightly altered when included in the PAL versions of the game. While still the 16th heaviest character in the game, Marth lost some weight, making him immune to Fox's Waveshine combos; in the NTSC regions, his weight was just above the threshold to allow him to be waveshined.

Additionally, Marth's down air was converted from a spike to a meteor smash in PAL regions. As a result, his down air can be meteor cancelled; it is still a very reliable finisher, and unusually, it still sends foes at an angle.

Techniques

Dancing Blade Meteor

When using Marth's B-side attack (the Dancing Blade), after the initial B-side, the player can do up to 3 more swings in one sequence with Marth’s sword. There are multiple combinations of this attack, after the initial B-over to start the attack; the player can use B-up, B-over, or B-down. The third swing in the sequence is a very useful spike if B-down is pressed. It can be used to get kills at low percentages, by knocking the opponent off the ledge; make sure Marth is close to the edge, or on the edge as the opponent makes their way back toward the ledge, the player should start the B-over sequence. Time it so by the time the opponent is right back at the ledge, the player should be on the third swing, press b-down for the meteor smash.

Reverse Dolphin Slash

By starting Marth's up special attack, Dolphin Slash, and immediately pressing the opposite direction to which the player is currently facing, Marth will begin the first frame of his attack but change directions to finish the attack as if you were facing the other way. This variation has significantly increased knockback, but must be done at close range. The reason for this is that when Marth does his Dolphin Slash, he holds his sword behind him for a second. Given that Marth's attack are more powerful at the tip of the sword, as well as earlier into the Dolphin Slash, turning around at the start allows him to hit when the conditions are the best. This technique is also commonly performed out of a shield, by jump-canceling.

Reverse Counter

Oddly enough, Marth's counter attack has a second hit box which is much more powerful than the first. This hitbox is located in the first few pixels behind him and even more behind and above him. The blow is about as powerful as his f-smash (untippered) and serves as a flashy kill move in FFAs or 2v2s. However, it may only be used when one enemy (or teammate) is attacking from the front while the other approached from behind making the move extremely situational.

Ken Combo

Marth's most famous combo is the Ken Combo, known for its simplicity, power, and style. To perform the Ken Combo, the player must use multiple aerials or tilts to knock the opponent off or near the edge of the stage; afterwards, the player must use a forward air to set up the combo, then perform a tipped down aerial. As Marth's down air makes a powerful spike in NTSC regions and an equally powerful Meteor Smash in PAL regions, it almost guarantees a KO at as little as 40%. Due to the move's unusual resulting knockback (at an angle, instead of straight down), the combo can even be performed far from the edge, and still result in a KO.

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

In single-player modes

In Classic Mode

In Classic Mode, Marth can appear in one-on-one matches, team battles alongside Link, and as a metal opponent in the mode's penultimate stage. In his appearances, bar his metal match, Marth appears on Great Bay.

In Adventure Mode

Marth makes no appearances in the game's single-player Adventure Mode. Music associated with him, however, can play in the Underground Maze.

In All-Star Mode

In All-Star Mode, Marth's stage is Fountain of Dreams; this also acts as the stage where he is fought when the player must unlock him. In both cases, the song Fire Emblem will play instead of the stage's original music.

In Event Matches

Marth appears in multiple Event Matches:

• Event 40: All-Star Match 4: Marth is the first opponent fought in this series of staged battles. The selected character battles him on the Hyrule: Temple stage with a stock of 2 while Marth has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other four characters one-by-one with the overall time and damage: Luigi, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, and Mr.Game & Watch.
• Event 41: En Garde!: A one-on-one battle between the player as Marth and the enemy Link on the Hyrule: Temple stage, with the two characters having 2 stock each and unlimited time.
• Event 46: Fire Emblem Pride: The player battles and must defeat a team of Marth and Roy in an untimed match in the Hyrule Temple stage, with all three characters receiving 3 stock.

Ending images

• 

  Classic Mode.

• 

  Adventure Mode.

• 

  All-Star Mode.

Japanese translations

• Marth's taunt in battle is "みんな、見ていてくれ！" "Minna, miteite kure!" which translates to "Everyone, look at me!".
• Marth's counter move is performed while saying "そこだ！" "Soko da!" or "させるものか！" "Saseru mono ka!" which roughly translates to "There!" and "I won't let you!" respectively.
• Marth's three possible victory statements are:
  • "今回は僕の勝ちだね。" "Konkai wa boku no kachi da ne?" which translates to "I've won this time."
  • "今日も生き延びることが出来た。" "Kyou mo ikinobiru koto ga dekita," which translates to "I was able to survive."
  • "僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ。" "Boku wa makeru wake-ni wa ikanai n da!" which translates to "There's no way I can lose!"
• In the Debug Menu of the game, Marth has an additional phrase players can listen to that he does not say in the game: "レッツダンス！", which loosely translates to "Let's Dance!"

Trophy descriptions

In addition to the normal trophy about Marth as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Marth on any difficulty:

Marth (Smash Red):

Marth is a magnificent swordsman. While his swordplay is faster than that of Link, he lacks power, and his quickness is offset by a marginal endurance. His Shield Breaker gains power the longer it's held. The Dancing Blade combination uses both the Control Stick and the B Button to produce a series of up to four attacks.

• B: Shield Breaker
• Smash B: Dancing Blade

Marth (Smash Blue):

The tip of Marth's blade causes the most damage, so you should try to create adequate distance between you and your enemy to gracefully strike with that point. Marth's Dolphin Slash is fast and powerful, but it leaves him vulnerable upon landing. Marth uses Counter to block a foe's attack and deal a return strike. If you're fighting a Counter-happy Marth, grab him.

• Up & B: Dolphin Slash
• Down & B: Counter

Costume Gallery

File:Alt-marth.jpg

Marth's alternate costumes in SSBM.

Trivia

• Marth is the only hidden character to have a clone.
• Marth and Roy are the only characters in Melee that speak Japanese even when English is turned on. To date, they are the only two fighters to speak solely in Japanese.
• Marth and Roy are the only playable characters in Melee that don't have a stage representing their universe, though hacked data shows that one was planned.
  • As a result of not having a stage, Marth is fought on Fountain of Dreams in All-Star Mode and his character unlock battle. In Event Matches, he appears in Hyrule: Temple, and in Classic Mode, he appears on Great Bay.
• Marth, Roy, and Peach are the only characters in Melee with a special move that can counter.
• Marth was originally only going to appear in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. Melee, but was kept in all versions on request of an employee at Nintendo of America. American fans became interested in Fire Emblem because of Super Smash Bros. Melee, which helped Fire Emblem to enter the countries where the games in the series had not been released.

External links

• Marth HRC strategies
• Overswarm's Marth Tutorial