This article is about Robin's appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4. For the character in other contexts, see Robin.
Robin
in Super Smash Bros. 4
Robin
FireEmblemSymbol.svg
Universe Fire Emblem
Availability Starter
Final Smash Pair Up
Robin's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Robin Brings the Thunder!
—Introduction Tagline

Robin (ルフレ, Reflet) is a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4. Robin was confirmed during a live stream, alongside Captain Falcon and Lucina, on the official Super Smash Bros. website on July 14, 2014. As with Wii Fit Trainer and Villager, both male and female variants of Robin appear in SSB4, just like how players could select a gender for the character in Fire Emblem: Awakening.

The male English and Japanese voice actors, David Vincent and Yoshimasa Hosoya, reprise their roles as the male Robin from Fire Emblem: Awakening as does the Japanese voice actor Miyuki Sawashiro for the female Robin. Instead of Michelle Ruff, Lauren Landa is now the female English voice actor for the female Robin.

Attributes

Whereas other fighters from the Fire Emblem series excel at keeping opponents at a distance with fast, disjointed hitboxes (Marth and Lucina) or overpowering opponents with sheer brute force (Roy and Ike), Robin isn't as viable at either, but he instead possesses multiple projectiles and powerful punishing moves which makes Robin play unlike any other Fire Emblem fighter to date. However, his unique mechanic, durability, requires Robin to keep track of the amount of times he has used his most useful attacks in order to stay viable in battle.

As he possesses the slowest dashing speed, lacks the melee range that his counterparts have and also has one of the slowest and shortest grabs, Robin is not designed to rush in and fight; rather, he performs optimally by zoning opponents out with his tomes and punishing their mistakes with his unique standard attacks. Robin himself is a fighter with many punish attacks in general, as all his specials and standard attacks have properties that can give him an advantage over some situation.

His best punishing tool is the Levin Sword, a powerful sword with high knockback scaling that can KO around 110%-- his attacks hit as hard as Little Mac both in the air and the ground while he still has his Levin Sword, and one mistake can be all it takes for an opponent to be punished significantly. That doesn't mean his weaker Bronze Sword isn't good, either-- it has a high-ranged and powerful jab, while his Bronze Sword aerials are good for comboing once Robin gets an opponent in the air and are great for gimping, meaning Robin isn't too helpless at close range. Two of his other specials are punish tools too: Elwind is a long-distance recovery that has the ability to spike below Robin point-blank in the air, allowing him to punish bad recoveries extremely safely, while Nosferatu is a high risk, high reward healing grab that can tip the scales of battle if Robin lands it if he is at KO percentage, since it rewards Robin by healing him more from behind and at high percents.

Robin's other special moves each have unique properties and great utility to boot, which lets him control space and stop approaches: Thunder's versatility and unique properties as it charges lets him zone out opponents at any distance, while Arcfire disrupts approaches and can initiate combos. These two projectiles allow Robin to disrupt approaches quite well, and because they open up windows for Robin to attack, they can be imperative for Robin to land attacks on quick opponents, especially with the Levin Sword, which deals enough damage to compensate for being knocked around if the opponent gives too much pressure. Even his used tomes or Levin Sword can be used as long ranged finishers, as they can be thrown at high speed once depleted for high knockback.

However, Robin is not without flaws in his moveset. The biggest flaw is his Bronze Sword: it suffers from the worst disjointed reach any weapon has seen in the series, on par with Meta Knight's Galaxia, although this is worsened as Robin's hurtbox is significantly larger than Meta Knight's. This means Robin has to approach dangerously close to opponents if he is to land any Bronze Sword attacks, making him vulnerable to long-reaching attacks (especially weapon fighters such as Shulk). To further burden him, most of Robin's attacks have awkwardly positioned hitboxes, such as his up tilt which can only hit aerial foes reliably, and his smash attacks have significant ending lag. Although the Levin Sword remedies this, its limited uses prevents Robin from actively using it, and because all of Robin's tilts can only use the Bronze Sword, this makes his grounded game the worst reaching of any weapon-based fighter. He also has a grab that is among the most lackluster in the entire cast (short-ranged and laggy, with the slowest pummel in the game) that is risky to use in itself, making melee combat generally unfavorable.

Robin's durability mechanic also prevents him from being at optimal fighter at all times: his Levin Sword and all tomes exhaust after a number of uses. Without the Levin Sword, he has as much trouble KOing with his attacks as Little Mac's aerials, and they suffer from the terrible reach of the Bronze Sword. In the case of his tomes, exhausting them leaves him unable to control space for as long as 10 seconds, and that flaw is multiplied for his recovery, which can also be exhausted by excessively using it either for his jab or being knocked off the stage too much. Hence, Robin's successful use revolves around carefully managing his unique durability mechanic as, when overused, Robin either can no longer perform them (in the case of special attacks) or can only perform weaker variants (in the case of smash attacks and aerial attacks).

Overall, Robin is a character with many talents but also a relatively high learning curve, and rewards players who understand his unique character and attack properties. Staying true to his Fire Emblem origins, Robin is played as a tactician: a skillful Robin player must learn to use his tomes and Levin Sword efficiently, otherwise he will no longer have the zoning ability or KO power after excessive use.

Moveset

Robin's tilts solely use the Bronze Sword while his smash attacks use the Levin Sword (provided it is not broken; Robin uses the Bronze Sword if so). All his aerials can use either sword-- If Robin tilts a direction in midair, his aerials will use his Bronze Sword, but if Robin taps a direction like a smash attack in the air, he will use the Levin Sword for all aerial attacks until either landing or using his neutral aerial (which resets his equipped sword to the Bronze Sword).

Robin's Levin Sword deals more damage and immensely powerful knockback compared to his Bronze Sword, and all his Levin Sword attacks have KO potential, similar to Little Mac's grounded attacks. It also deals electric damage, has higher reach, freeze frames, and a lingering hitbox, dealing less damage if hit late. Conversely, Robin's Bronze Sword has less reach, deals much weaker knockback and damage, while only hitting on one frame with less freeze frames. As an upside, the Bronze Sword combos much better because of its weak stats.


  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   3% Robin starts with an upward slash, followed by a downward slash. The move can then proceed to a third finishing hit or into a rapid combo. The first is a fiery high-knockback explosion which can KO around 170%; it costs 1 durability from Arcfire and cannot be used if Arcfire is expended. The second is a barrage of wind blades that hits multiple times and ends with a high-knockback wind slash, which draws from Elwind's durability; it uses up 1 durability every 2 seconds for a maximum potential of 18 seconds. If both tomes are depleted, Robin will only be able to use the first two sword slashes.
3%
5%
1% (loop), 2% (last)
Forward tilt   7.5% A sword slash angled downwards in a crescent shape. Good for spacing, but poor KO potential.
Up tilt   6% An upward sword slash. Primarily an anti-air as it has almost no hitboxes at the side of Robin, and also isn't particularly powerful knockback-wise, but can knock opponents into the air where Robin can start combos.
Down tilt   6% A very quick downward slash, with quick recovery time. Robin's fastest tilt, though lacking in range and knockback. Knocks enemies away.
Dash attack   10% (clean), 6% (late) A short sword stab close to Robin's body. Makes Robin dash forward on startup, and deals good knockback, able to KO at high percentages. Punishable on shield.
Forward smash   Bronze: 9.6%
Levin: 16% (clean), 5% (late)
A halfway sword slash in front of Robin, a viable close range punish but suffering from long endlag. The Levin Sword version KOs around 100%, while the Bronze Sword KOs around 175%.
Up smash   Bronze: 9%
Levin: 15% (clean sword), 10% (clean body), 5% (late)
An upward thrust with mainly vertical knockback. Opponents directly beside Robin can be hit by the move as well. Without Levin Sword, it has poor knockback and horizontal reach. With Levin Sword, the move can KO around 110%.
Down smash   Bronze: 8%
Levin: 15% (clean), 12% (mid), 8% (late)
An overhead slash which ends with Robin slamming his sword onto the ground while crouching. With the Levin Sword, the slam creates short-term sparks on both sides of Robin, which can hit opponents even after he starts getting up. This property does not work with the Bronze Sword, meaning this move can only hit on both sides with the Levin Sword. Without Levin Sword, KOs around 150%, and with Levin Sword, KOs around 110%. Robin's most reliable punish move on the ground due to its length, but suffers from ending lag.
Neutral aerial   7% (hits 1-2) A fast slash in front, then behind Robin. The backwards slash can hit opponents if Robin fast falls from a short hop behind them. Has next to no KO potential, but a great spacing option. If Robin uses this move while equipped with the Levin Sword, he will equip the Bronze Sword again, making this his only aerial with this property.
Forward aerial   Bronze: 6.6%
Levin: 11% (clean), 5% (late)
Robin winds up and then does a swooping forward slash. Because of its arc, it can catch grounded opponents while in the air. With the Bronze sword, it has very poor KO potential, but the knockback makes it easy to combo with. The Levin Sword can hit when Robin finishes the move. With Levin Sword, the move can KO around 140%.
Back aerial   Bronze: 9%
Levin: 15% (clean), 5% (late)
Robin leans back for a quick backwards stab. Fast, but somewhat narrow hitbox which can make landing it awkward. If the Levin Sword version does land, this is Robin's strongest aerial attack, KOing as early as 100% (although his up air can KO earlier high in the air). The Levin Sword version can hit a few frames after the move ends, which can surprise opponents.
Up aerial   Bronze: 7.8%
Levin: 13% (clean), 5% (late)
An upwards slash with a large arc swing in a similar fashion to Marth's up air. With the Bronze Sword, it is a great juggling tool due to its low knockback and large arc, and with the Levin Sword it is Robin's most effective aerial which lands extremely easily due to the Levin Sword's lingering hitbox and the move's large range. Can hit at the end of the move when Robin's sword is still. KOs around 155%; with Levin Sword, KOs around 110%.
Down aerial   Bronze: 7.2%
Levin: 10% (early), 12% (clean), 5% (late)
A quick downward one-handed slash that also hits slightly in front of Robin. The sweetspot in the middle of the Levin Sword can meteor smash while it is swung down, while the Bronze Sword cannot meteor at all. Like all Robin's aerials, the move has a lingering hitbox if the Levin Sword is used. High landing lag.
Grab   A short-ranged magical grab with long ending lag and terrible reach on par with Ganondorf's. Due to its lag, it is easily punishable, and gives Robin one of the worst reaching shield grabs in the game; this can be remedied somewhat with a pivot grab, although it still suffers from endlag.
Pummel   3% Zaps opponent with magic. Slowest pummel in the game.
Forward throw   8% Magically flings opponent forward. Combos into neutral or forward aerial at low percentages.
Back throw   11% Turns around and tosses the foe a fair distance above and behind Robin. Usually throws the foe out of reach for a follow up combo, but has high knockback scaling, being a KO throw at high percentages.
Up throw   8% Sends the foe straight up. Slightly fixed knockback, which allows it to reliably combo into an up aerial even at high percentages. Good damage racker regardless of damage in this way.
Down throw   6% Slams foe down, bouncing them vertically. Somewhat fixed knockback similar to Robin's up throw, perfect for aerial follow-ups at low percents, though it is better in this sense due to its lower knockback.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
  7% Swipes forward with the Bronze Sword, then back.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
  7% Swipes backwards with the Bronze Sword, then forwards.
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
  5% Slashes with the Bronze Sword behind himself, then forwards.
Edge attack
Edge getups
  7% Climbs up and pokes the opponent with the Bronze Sword.
Neutral special Default Thunder 3% (Thunder), 9% (Elthunder), 3% (Arcthunder), 1%/2.6% (Thoron) Robin casts thunder magic from his tome. This attack is a chargable projectile with distinct properties for each charge level: Thunder (a fast, weak, and short-ranged spark) is produced when the move is uncharged. Elthunder (A yellow, stronger blast with more range) is accessed when briefly charged, then followed by Arcthunder (a red, gradually accelerating and multiple-hitting projectile) and finally Thoron (an infinite-ranged powerful beam of lightning) when fully charged. Changes Robin's active tome to Thunder if it isn't already.
Custom 1 Thunder+ 5% (Thunder), 11% (Elthunder), 5% (Arcthunder), 1.2%/3.5% (Thoron) Robin casts stronger lightning magic. More powerful overall, with slower charging and less durability.
Custom 2 Speed Thunder 2% (Thunder), 5% (Elthunder), 2.5% (Arcthunder), 1%/10% (Thoron) Robin casts lightning spells quicker than normal. Faster and weaker overall. Durability is unchanged.
Side special Default Arcfire 2% (shot), 1% (pillar) Robin casts fire magic from his Arcfire tome. It creates a tiny fireball that bursts into a pillar of flame on impact. Changes his active tome to Arcfire if it isn't already.
Custom 1 Arcfire+ 2% (shot), 8%/7% (explosion) Robin uses a stronger tome to cast Arcfire. This spell creates a slow and large explosion in lieu of the usual flame pillar.
Custom 2 Fire Wall 7%/4% (pillar) This variation of Arcfire creates a larger pillar which sticks around longer and offers mild protection against attacks. The fire is also cast directly in front of Robin.
Up special Default Elwind 7% (shot 1 clean), 5% (shot 1 late), 5% (shot 2) Robin casts Elwind below himself twice which propels him into the air. The first wind blade can meteor smash aerial foes directly below him. Changes Robin's active tome to Elwind if it isn't already.
Custom 1 Soaring Elwind 5% (shots 1 and 2) Robin alters the lifting power of each gust. The first one has less recovery potential, but the second has much more.
Custom 2 Gliding Elwind 7% (shot 1 clean), 5% (shot 1 late), 5% (shot 2 clean), 4% (shot 2 late) Casting Elwind at an angle, Robin fires the first gust more sideways, providing more horizontal distance than vertical.
Down special Default Nosferatu 0.8% (per hit) Robin casts Nosferatu on a close opponent to curse them and drain their life energy. Inflicts constant damage and acts a grab, healing Robin as a result. More energy is drained if the player mashes the special button and/or attacks the foe from behind. Changes Robin's active tome to Nosferatu if it isn't already.
Custom 1 Distant Nosferatu 0.6% (per hit) This custom tome grabs opponents further away instead of close up, with less damage and healing.
Custom 2 Goetia 1% (per hit, 19% maximum) Robin casts the strongest dark tome, Goetia, on an unfortunate victim. Does more damage and sucks in opponents, but provides no healing.
Final Smash Pair Up 3%/2% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-14), 14% (hit 15) Summoning Chrom via a warp circle, Robin has him slash any opponents in his way. The foes are then flung into the air, followed by Chrom and Robin, who proceed to relentlessly attack them with the Falchion as well as lightning and fire spells respectively. After the two are finished, Chrom shouts "We're not done yet!" (A reference to one of his Dual Strike quotes) and joins Robin for a final simultaneous strike that smashes the victims to the ground, where the recoil will send them towards the upper blast line.

Durability system

Robin has a mechanic that is unique to him: as a reference to the Fire Emblem series, where items would break after being used too many times, most of Robin's weaponry will break if they are used too often, with differing weapons having a different number of uses. As an added visual indicator for durability, weapons that have depleted two-thirds of their uses will begin flickering.

If Robin depletes all of the uses of a weapon, he will drop it, and will temporarily be unable to use it for any relevant attacks. In the case of tome-based attacks, Robin will perform the animation, but no hitboxes are produced. For his Levin Sword, all such attacks will instead cause him to use his Bronze Sword, which cannot break, but also has poorer range, damage output, and knockback than his Levin Sword, and it also lacks the Levin Sword's electrical hitboxes. Weapons gradually respawn after they have broken, with their respawn times varying on the type of weapon.

When Robin's weapons break, he will throw the item away behind him. They will disappear almost immediately after hitting the ground once, but they can also be picked up and thrown; the Levin Sword deals 15% damage when smash thrown, while his tomes deal 18% damage when smash thrown, and both attacks can potentially act as KO moves due to their high base knockback.

  • Thunder has 20 points of durability, with a custom version of it, Thunder+, having 10 uses instead. Even if the tome has less durability than the spell requires, it can still be performed, though the tome will immediately break afterward. Thunder respawns 10 seconds after breaking.
    • Thunder uses 1 durability in both its regular and Thunder+ variants.
    • Elthunder uses 3 durability in its regular variant and 2.5 durability in its Thunder+ variant.
    • Arcthunder uses 5 durability in its regular variant and 4.5 durability in its Thunder+ variant.
    • Thoron uses 8 durability in its regular variant and 10 durability in its Thunder+ variant.
  • Arcfire and its jab combo finisher involving fire both cost the same durability and can be used six times total before the tome breaks. Since they draw from the same pool of durability, if Robin uses Arcfire 3 times and his jab combo finisher involving fire 3 times as well, the tome will break. Arcfire respawns 10 seconds after breaking.
  • Elwind and his jab combo finisher involving wind also pull from the same pool. Elwind can be used 9 times total before the book expires and respawns 6 seconds after breaking.
  • Nosferatu has 4 uses. It respawns 40 seconds after breaking.
  • Robin's Levin Sword has 8 uses before it breaks. The Levin Sword respawns 6 seconds after breaking.

Furthermore, if Robin attempts to use an attack that uses breakable weaponry and is hit while attempting to use it, then one use of the weapon is depleted, even if no damaging hitbox is produced.

Uses for weapons do not replenish while Robin is using a tome, and the only way to refresh the number of uses on a weapon is to get a new copy of it. Being KOed also recovers all weapons. Robin's Final Smash, Pair Up, recovers all weaponry to their full usage and repairs any broken weaponry if the attack connects. Respawn times are unaffected by custom movesets.

Of further note is that Kirby is affected by durability should he copy Robin; while able to properly charge and store Thunder, Kirby's tome will also break after its 20 points of durability are used up. If this occurs, he will automatically lose the copy ability.

Update History

  1.0.4

  •   Robin can now grab edges from behind during Elwind.
  •   Fixed how using Thoron in the air would refresh Robin's double jump.
  •   Fixed infinite Zero Suit Samus footstool glitch.
  •   The second hit of Robin's jab has been adjusted.

  1.0.6

  •   The wind repeating hits of jab do less knockback and thus link to each other better.
  •   Tomes don't disappear when landing on platforms.

  1.0.8

  •   Elwind variant of Neutral attack slightly pushes Robin backwards on completion, potentially pushing him off the edge of the stage.

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 Ike, Marth, Lucina, and Roy.

In Competitive Play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character Custom sets available
  Robin 2111 3111 2311 3311 1311
2132 3132 1132 3113 3131

Reveal trailer

<youtube>N9ytrX0wweA</youtube>

Alternate costumes

 
               

Trophies

Robin
    This is the male Robin, your avatar in Fire Emblem Awakening. The goal of this adventure doesn't change much because of your gender choice, but Robin's marriage options do. In Smash Bros., Robin brings powerful magic and swordplay to bear. He can exhaust his moves, but they'll be restored over time.
    This is the male Robin, an avatar in Fire Emblem Awakening. The goal of that game doesn't change much because of your gender choice, but Robin's hairstyle options do. In Smash Bros., Robin brings powerful magic and swordplay to bear. He can exhaust his moves, but they'll be restored over time.
  When Robin is found at the start of Fire Emblem: Awakening, he (or she!) discovers that, even without his memories, he is a master tactician. In this game, his attacks are powerful, but in true Fire Emblem style, how many times his magic can be used is limited. This also applies to the thunder magic his sword is imbued with.
 : Fire Emblem: Awakening (02/2013)
Robin (Alt.)
  Robin's magic is powerful, but it has limited uses before needing to recharge. Thunder can be charged in stages, will become Thoron at max charge, and gains damage and speed with its charge. Arcfire creates a flame pillar, perfect for dealing with an edge-clinging foe.
  Robin's magic is powerful, but in return, its uses are limited. You can charge Thunder in steps, and when it's fully charged, it turns into Thoron, increasing its speed and dealing more damage. Arcfire creates a flame pillar when it hits something. Use it on an opponent who's clinging to an edge to stop them getting back on the stage.
 : Fire Emblem: Awakening (02/2013)
Pair Up
  Like the Pair Up feature in Fire Emblem: Awakening that lets two characters attack a foe at once, Robin's Final Smash calls Chrom, the Prince of Ylisse, to the battlefield. First, Chrom dashes forward and if he lands a hit, Robin joins him for a flawless combination of attacks. It can even catch multiple opponents at once!
  Like the Pair Up feature in Fire Emblem: Awakening, which lets two characters attack a foe at once, Robin's Final Smash calls Chrom, the Prince of Ylisse, to the battlefield. First, Chrom dashes forwards, and if he lands a hit, Robin joins him for a flawless combination of attacks. It can even catch multiple opponents at once!

In Event Matches

Solo Events

Co-op Events

Gallery

Trivia

  
Robin wielding the Levin Sword as an item
alongside the Bronze Sword
  • When Robin's Levin Sword runs out, he can still catch and carry it around as a throwing weapon. While he is still holding it, his next sword can regenerate in his other hand, making it look like he has two.
  • Both his Bronze and Levin Swords are considerably shorter than their Fire Emblem counterparts.
  • Robin's poster on the official site is illustrated by Yusuke Kozaki, the art director of Fire Emblem Awakening.
  • The official art of the Wii Fit Trainer and Villager has only their female and male forms respectively, making Robin the only character on the site to have their official art incorporate both the female and male versions (not counting the Mii Fighters, which are three separate characters).
  • July 14, the day that Robin was revealed, is one day before Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo: Hikari to Kage no Eiyū was released in 2010, and it is two days before Fire Emblem for the GBA was released in 2003.
  • Robin is the first and so far only Fire Emblem representative not to have Counter as a down special move and a neutral special move involving a charged sword strike.
    • Robin is also the first Fire Emblem representative to have access to projectiles and a rapid jab.
  • Robin is the first Fire Emblem representative to not be the Lord character of the game they appear in, with Awakening's Lord being Chrom.
    • However, the player will still receive a Game Over if their Avatar is allowed to be defeated, a trait shared by all Lord characters.
    • Ike himself is also technically the first non-Lord character to appear in Smash Bros, however this is only in terms of the classes he appears as, with Ike himself being the Lord Character of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
  • When Robin is KOed, both genders of the character can potentially yell their respective defeat quotes from Fire Emblem: Awakening: male Robin can say "Reckless fool...!" while female Robin can yell "I was careless!".
  • When male Robin uses his up taunt, he says, "Let's tip the scales." However, female Robin's up taunt, while graphically identical, changes the quote slightly; she says, "Time to tip the scales," which is what Robin originally said as a possible critical hit exclamation in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
  • In the German version of SSB4 Robin's name is "Daraen", like in the French (PAL), Spanish (PAL) and Italian versions. This contradicts the German version of Fire Emblem: Awakening, where the Avatar's default name is "Robin" as it is in English.