Ike (SSB4)

Ike in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Fire Emblem
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Great Aether

Ike (アイク, Ike) returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was announced on May 23rd, 2014, in a Director's Room Miiverse post, which was the same day that Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones was released in North America back in 2005.

Ike is once again voiced by Michihiko Hagi in the Japanese version, and by Jason Adkins in non-Japanese versions, using the same voice clips from Brawl.

Changes from Brawl

Ike has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. While he retains his raw power, most of his attacks have been weakened. To further compound this, his attacks now have shorter range. He also lost his effective jab cancel and thus, an effective way to rack up damage. However, the significant buffs to his mobility on the ground and in the air compensate for the aforementioned nerfs and now enable him additional follow-up options from his throws and aerials. His tilts and most of his air attacks are faster, making them more reliable to rack up damage and some of his smash attacks have increased knockback. Other buffs he received were an improved combo game and stronger throws.

Ike is one of the more potent edge-guarders in the game, with Eruption and his forward aerial being good options against predictable recoveries and the introduction of edge-stealing allows him to effectively use his fast and strong back aerial to get early KOs. The additional landing lag for air dodging allows Ike to threaten and punish bad decisions with his strong attacks. As a heavy character, he also benefits from the rage mechanic, increasing his already strong knockback even further and allowing him to survive many attacks with proper DI even at high percentages.

Beginning with the 1.0.4 update, Ike was further buffed due to all of his standard non-smash ground attacks (except for up tilt and dash attack) and his forward, down and back air attacks being improved. Additionally, his down tilt received better followup utility despite its reduced range, and his forward and down air attacks had their hitboxes enlarged. With the 1.0.8 update, Ike was even further buffed and many of his attacks have reduced lag and improved hitbox placements. His buffed aerials improve his combo game even further and dash attack has been significantly buffed and delivers now high knockback.

Overall, it seems Ike has been buffed since his appearance in Brawl, especially as balance patches continued to buff him in many areas with almost no nerfs to compensate. He became weaker and his range, power, and all but one of his special moves (Counter) have been nerfed. But overall Ike has a significantly improved combo game, less start-up, ending and landing lag on most of his attacks, while he also benefits from the general changes in SSB4. Also, Ike's recovery options have been significantly improved. His weight, air speed, double jump height, Quick Draw distance and start-up have been improved and allow him to survive longer than he was able to in Brawl. Unfortunately, Ike suffers from a lack of representation in the Tournament scene.

Aesthetics

• Rather than using his design from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance as was the case in Brawl, his design is now based on his appearance in Path of Radiance's sequel, Radiant Dawn.
• Moves that involve the use of flames have changed to be a blue color, which match his Japanese title as the "Hero of the Blue Flames".

Attributes

• Ike is slightly heavier (from 105 in Brawl to 107 in SSB4).
• Ike walks slightly slower (from 0.88 in Brawl to 0.869 in SSB4).
• Ike dashes faster (from 1.371 in Brawl to 1.5 in SSB4).
• Ike has improved air speed (from 0.9212 in Brawl to 1.08 in SSB4).
• Double jump has greater vertical height.
• The majority of Ike's attacks have less reach because of reduced hitbox sizes and altered placements.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack combo is faster.
• Jab 1 hits on frame 4 instead on frame 3.
• The initial hits of neutral attack deal 5% less damage overall and have fewer interruptibility frames, taking away his effective jab cancel and as a result of the damage reduction, it has lost all of its KO power.
• Dash attack deals 3% more damage and is stronger at the tip, and does 1% damage at the base.
• Forward tilt has reduced start-up and less cool down.
• Forward tilt deals 2.5% less damage and slightly lower knockback.
• Up tilt has reduced start-up and deals 2% more damage.
• Up tilt has a less active hitbox.
• Down tilt is significantly faster with less cool down.
• Down tilt deals 6% less damage and can no longer meteor smash opponents, knocking upwards or horizontally depending upon hit.
• Forward smash has a slightly more active hitbox, increasing its reliability against aerial opponents.
• Forward smash is weaker, though it is still one of the strongest forward smashes in the game, (going from 2nd strongest forward smash in Brawl to 5th strongest forward smash in SSB4).
• Down smash deals 1% more damage and is stronger.
• Down smash has a less active hitbox.
• Up smash is slightly stronger.

Aerial attacks

• Almost all aerials have less landing lag.
• Neutral aerial has reduced start-up and less ending lag in the air. This allows him to successfully recover, if the player accidently pressed A, while being pushed off the stage.
• Neutral aerial has a sourspot at the end dealing 6% damage.
• Forward aerial has reduced start-up and can now auto-cancel in a short hop.
• Forward aerial deals 1% less damage.
• Up aerial has reduced start-up.
• Up aerial deals 3% less damage.
• Down aerial deals 1% less damage, has an added sour-spot and has lost its lingering hitbox.

Throws/other attacks

• Ike's grabs have slightly increased ending lag.
• Dash grab comes out 2 frames faster.
• Pivot grab comes out 2 frames slower.
• All throws deal 1% more damage.
• Forward throw has increased knockback.
• Back throw has increased knockback, no longer allowing Ike to follow up with a dash attack.

Special moves

• An uncharged Eruption deals 1% more damage.
• Eruption deals 2% less damage at the bottom, if fully charged and is overall weaker. An uncharged Eruption has lost its super armor frames.
• Quick Draw has less start-up and no longer leaves Ike in a helpless state for a short amount of time when it hits an opponent, has less landing lag overall, and covers a greater distance.
• Quick Draw deals 3% less damage. It has more base knockback, but it is not enough to compensate the reduced knockback from the damage reduction and its ending lag without hitting anyone is significantly increased, no longer allowing Ike to follow up with an attack immediately after dashing.
• Counter comes out faster.
• Aether deals 5% less damage and has less super armor frames (from frame 18-38 to frame 18-21). It can now only meteor at the start of the descent and can no longer grab edges from behind.
• Aether no longer sends Ike forwards without player input. In Brawl, it would send him a short distance forwards.
• Great Aether's total damage has been lowered from 78% to 60%.

Update history

1.0.4

• Third jab hits on frame 8 instead on 9, making all three hits for his neutral jab connect more reliably.
• Forward tilt has reduced ending lag.
• Down tilt now does 8% damage instead of 7%.
• Down tilt also has slightly reduced ending lag.
• Down tilt now knocks the opponent vertically instead of horizontally, allowing additional follow ups.
• Down tilt has slightly reduced range.
• Down smash has a more horizontal knockback.
• Forward air's animation is much faster overall.
• Forward air's hitboxes are also about 10% larger.
• Down air has a larger hitbox.
• Back air does 14% damage as opposed to 13%.
• Some of the hitboxes in Great Aether are now 24% further away from Ike.

1.0.6

• Aether Drive now behaves normally when in slow motion.
• Counter is stronger.

1.0.8

• Jab 1 can transition into jab 2 quicker.
• Jab 3 now properly hits above Ike.
• Forward tilt has reduced start-up (15 frames -> 12-13 frames).
• Forward tilt has now only one hitbox, instead of three (Sweetspot: 14% -> 12.5%. Sourspot: 12% -> 12.5%).
• Up tilt has a longer lasting hitbox.
• Dash attack has less start-up (18 frames -> 14-15 frames).
• Dash attack deals more damage (Sweet spot: 10% -> 14%. Sour spot: 7% ->11 % and 5% -> 9%) and knockback, now being another reliable KO option.
• Neutral air has less landing lag (17 frames -> 14 frames).
• Up air has less landing lag (18 frames -> 15 frames).
• Forward air has improved hitbox placements (Hits better above and below him) and thus less start-up.
• Forward air has less landing lag (19 frames -> 18 frames).
• Down air has less landing lag (26 frames -> 23 frames).
• Quick Draw has less start-up (19 frames -> 16 frames).
• The suction properties of Aether were tweaked in some way.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Ike jabs, kicks, and then executes an overhead slash. The slash has moderate knockback. One of Ike's fastest moves.
			3%
			5%
Forward tilt			12.5% (blade), 12.5% (hilt)	Ike swings Ragnell horizontally. Can be angled. Deals high knockback and a potential KO option, but extremely sluggish.
Up tilt			14% (clean), 10% (late)	An upward slash, which starts from the ground. Has good vertical range and is a very powerful KO option on mid to high percentages. Has some endlag.
Down tilt			8%	A quick low, sweeping slash. Incredibly fast for Ike's slow moveset, making it good for spacing. One of Ike's best combo starters as this move also launches opponents upwards allowing for some combo potential at low to mid percentages.
Dash attack			14% (clean tip), 11% (clean blade), 9% (late)	Ike swings Ragnell upward after charging forward. This attack has some delay before coming out, and Ike speeds up once he swings Ragnell. Deals high knockback and a good finishing option if one does not expect it, but punishable if telegraphed.
Forward smash			19% (early), 22% (clean blade), 17% (clean tip)	Ike preforms a very powerful overhead swing. The move starts with Ike slowly heaving Ragnell over his head before striking with a heavy downwards slash, and it is one of the slowest forward smashes in the game, startup and endlag wise. However, its extremely high base knockback makes it almost guaranteed to take a stock if it lands. A wickedly powerful finishing move if the player telegraphs the opponent, but easily telegraphed too, making this attack easy to dodge.
Up smash			17% (clean), 10% (late)	Ike holds Ragnell on his left, before heaving it in a wide arc over himself, slamming Ragnell to his right. Hits on both sides. Has high knockback similar to his forward smash, although this move is weaker and much faster startup wise, and possesses a huge range which hits both left and right. A reliable KO move against aerial or rolling foes, but the endlag makes it punishable.
Down smash			14% (hit 1), 17% (hit 2 clean), 8% (hit 2 late)	Ike does a stab in front of him, then behind him after a pause. The second hit behind Ike deals more damage and knockback, good for hitting rolling opponents. Ike's fastest and least sluggish smash attack, although somewhat lacking in knockback if the front hit connects. Suffers from punishable endlag like his other smashes.
Neutral aerial			9% (clean), 6% (late)	After a brief pause, Ike swings Ragnell in a circular motion around himself. Large arc range and low endlag makes this one of Ike's better spacing options.
Forward aerial			12%	A powerful, overhead swing downwards. Relatively fast and powerful enough to KO at high percentages, though it has a brief pause like most of Ike's aerials. Long endlag.
Back aerial			14%	Ike lashes out with a backwards slash with lightning fast speed. Narrow hitbox, but extremely fast startup for Ike's sluggish moveset, easily able to surprise opponents while being extremely powerful to boot. Suffers from harsh endlag, however.
Up aerial			11%	Ike swings Ragnell in a helicopter motion above his head. Narrow vertical hitbox, but stays out for some time. Powerful like his other aerials, and also suffers from endlag and a brief startup.
Down aerial			15%	A brief pause, then a hard downwards swing. Meteor Smashes powerfully if hit anywhere but Ragnell's hilt, but narrow hitbox can make it difficult to land. Long endlag.
Grab			—	An average grab.
Pummel			3%	Headbutts opponent.
Forward throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Ike tosses his opponent forward.
Back throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Roundhouse kicks the foe backward.
Up throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Ike throws foe upward. Knockback is not very dependent on damage. Can combo into aether, but lighter characters can DI out of it.
Down throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	After throwing foe on the ground, Ike jumps on victim. At low percentages, this can be followed by Aether and all of his aerials. Ike's strongest throw, but doesn't KO until extremely high percentages (140 - 160%, depending on the character's weight, the stage and Ike's rage).
Floor attack (front)			7%	Ike does a rising spin slash.
Floor attack (back)			7%	Ike swings Ragnell around his body.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Ike does circular swing while getting up.
Edge attack			8%
Neutral special	Default	Eruption	10% (uncharged), 35%/28%/26% (fully charged bottom/middle/top)	Ike charges Ragnell before thrusting it in the ground, creating a pillar of blue fire. If fully charged, Ike receives 10% recoil damage. The uncharged tip of the blade can meteor smash. High vertical range which increases as the move charges. Good for edgeguarding.
	Custom 1	Tempest	1% (uncharged), 8% (ground fully charged), 14% (air fully charged)	Instead of fire, Ike generates a vortex of air around him, generating a windbox that pushes enemies away. Stalls if used in the air which can help recover if used correctly.
	Custom 2	Furious Eruption	7% (uncharged), 27%/20% (ground fully charged bottom/top), 32%/25% (air fully charged bottom/top)	The vertical hitbox of the pillar of fire is larger, especially when charged, but Ike takes 10% recoil damage when charged halfway, and 15% recoil damage when it's fully charged.
Side special	Default	Quick Draw	6% uncharged, 13% charged	Ike charges, and rushes forward upon releasing. If Ike comes into contact with another fighter, he slashes in a similar way to that of the forward tilt. Charge can be held indefinitely. If Ike does not hit, the move has long ending lag. Failing to hit while airborne causes Ike to become helpless.
	Custom 1	Close Combat	4% uncharged and fully charged, 7% fully charged (far)	Ike hits and dashes through fighters rather than slashing the first object he comes in contact with. Deals less damage and damaged fighters are launched upwards. During the dash Ike is given Transcendent Priority.
	Custom 2	Unyielding Blade	7% uncharged, 19% fully charged	Ike has super armor for the duration of the charge and the lunge but both range and the speed are shorter.
Up special	Default	Aether	6% (hit 1 clean), 4% (hit 1 late), 1% (hit 2), 3% (descent), 6% (landing)	Ike throws Ragnell upward, launching nearby fighters in the air. Ragnell spins in place, dealing several hits and trapping foes. Then Ike jumps up and grabs Ragnell, followed by a downward slam. Ike has super armor for most of the move's duration. It offers poor horizontal recovery, but good vertical distance.
	Custom 1	Aether Dive	9% (hit 1 clean), 6% (hit 1 late), 1% (hit 2), 5% (descent), 9% (landing)	Ike can throw his sword much further, but not as high. This moves offers much greater horizontal recovery at the cost of some vertical recovery.
	Custom 2	Aether Wave	6% (hit 1 clean), 4% (hit 1 late), 1% (hit 2), 3% (descent), 10%/8%/6%/4% (landing)	Releases a wave when Ike slams the ground, but the entire attack deals less damage overall. The entire attack animation is also significantly sped up with little trapping potential.
Down special	Default	Counter	1.2x damage of countered attacks, 8% minimum	Ike holds up Ragnell. If Ike is hit shortly after the move begins, he strikes back.
	Custom 1	Paralyzing Counter	1% (base)	Ike's counter stuns the opponent, allowing for a follow up attack. However, it has a narrower hit window.
	Custom 2	Smash Counter	9% (base) Roughly 1.5x damage of countered attacks, 15% minimum	When the Counter is triggered, Ike will perform a counterattack after a delay rather than instantly, but the attack deals more damage and has a larger hitbox.
Final Smash		Great Aether	5% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-14), 5% (hit 15), 4% (hit 16), 10% (hit 17)	Ike performs a fiery uppercut with Ragnell. If he catches anyone, Ike throws his blade into the air along with the opponents, jumps after them, catches Ragnell, and unleashes a devastating combo of slashes and kicks before driving them down to the ground. The impact creates a massive explosion which launches the victims and any bystanders towards the upper blast line.

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, Robin, Lucina, and Roy.

In Competitive Play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Ike	2222	2122	2212	2232	3222
	3122	3212	3232	2111	3111

Alternate costumes

Trophies

Ike

One of the main characters from the Fire Emblem series. Having fought in the Mad King's War, restored the fallen nation of Crimea, and taken on the Begnion Empire, Ike is rightly called a hero. He has the strength to back the title—one good swing of his blade can launch the heaviest of foes.

One of the main characters from the Fire Emblem series. Having fought in the Mad King's War, played a huge part in restoring the fallen nation of Crimea, and taken on the Begnion Emprire, Ike is rightly called a hero. And he has the strength to go with that title. One good swing of his blade can launch even the heaviest of fighters.

: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (10/2005)

: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (11/2007)

Ike (Alt.)

Ike's side smash is a powerful two-handed sword strike. It's one of the best launch attacks in the entire game, though it will leave you wide open when you use it. For Eruption, one of his specials, you stab the ground and unleash a pillar of fire. Charging for too long will hurt Ike, so be careful!

Ike's side smash is a powerful two-handed sword strike. It's one of the best launch attacks in the entire game, so even though it leaves you open, it's a real winner. For Eruption, one of his specials, you stab the ground and unleash a pillar of fire that hits anyone nearby. If you charge it too long, though, you'll hurt yourself, so be careful!

: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (10/2005)

: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (11/2007)

Great Aether

Ike's Aether up special is combined with a relentless barrage of sword blows in this powerful Final Smash. He knocks targets into the air with an upward swing, and then they're stuck there as he strikes over and over. Finally, he slams them down to the ground and launches them. Just make sure that first strike hits!

Ike's Aether up special is combined with a relentless barrage of sword blows in this powerful Final Smash. He knocks his target into the air with an upward swing, and then they're stuck there as he strikes again and again. Finally, he slams them down to the ground and launches them. Just make sure that first strike hits!

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  Classic (3DS)

• IkeAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  Great Aether

Gallery

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  Ike as revealed in the pic of the day.

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  Ike's amiibo.

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  Aether.

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  Using Counter against Little Mac's Straight Lunge.

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  Ike with a female Villager.

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  An idle Ike, wielding Ragnell.

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  Ike battling Samus.

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  Close-up.

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  Alongside fellow Fire Emblem representative Marth.

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  Another idle pose.

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  Aboard the Halberd.

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  In the 3DS version, launching Samus and Sheik.

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  On the Balloon Fight stage, attacked by the fish.

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  Ike using a Rocket Belt on the Find Mii stage.

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  Ike using Eruption at Mario. Oddly, the flames are red, in which in the final game they are blue.

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  Ike with a male Robin.

Trivia

• Ike is the only character representing the Fire Emblem universe in all Super Smash Bros. games that does not have an up smash that is a quick upwards stab, nor a neutral aerial that can hit twice. He is also the only Fire Emblem fighter to use an arm and leg to attack (in his neutral combo), excluding Marth, Lucina's and Roy pummels.
• Prior to the release of the game, Ike's Eruption flames were their Brawl colour of orange before being changed to blue flames upon release, in order to fit his ingame title from his origin game, "Hero of Blue Flames".