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Robin (SSB4)

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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 14th, 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 Miyuki Sawashiro for female Robin. Lauren Landa replaces both Michelle Ruff and Wendee Lee as female Robin's English voice.

Attributes

Robin plays a bit differently than his fellow Fire Emblem characters. Wielding both tomes and swords, he can keep foes at a distance with his magic while spacing and punish with his swords. This and his unique weapon durability mechanic requires players to play thoughtfully and tactfully. As such, Robin is obviously not a character designed for rushing in or mindlessly attacking. He possesses the slowest running speed in the game, has horrible grab range with highly punishable endlag, and lacks the melee range his fellow swordsmen have. Robin is played most optimally by pressuring and keeping foes at bay with his tomes, while capitalizing on his opponent's mistakes with powerful magic or sword attacks.

His best punishing tool is the Levin Sword, which is a powerful, longer-ranged, and electrically-charged blade with high KO and chaining potential. Robin whips this out for his smash and directional aerial attacks when a smash input is inputted. It can be swung eight times before it breaks. In the air, Robin may punish aerial and post-recovery opponents by spiking them point-blank with the first shot of Elwind, his up special. Nosferatu is a risky yet rewarding life-draining grab attack that heals Robin while damaging his victim. It heals Robin more if cast from behind, and while having a higher damage percentage than his opponent. His down throw is an especially potent punishing tool, capable of setting up devastating follow ups and KOs.

Robin's tomes give him spacing and pressuring capabilities. Thunder and Elthunder can pepper at foes at a distance, while Arcthunder can set up combos and KOs, and Thoron can punish and finish them off. Arcfire is instrumental in disrupting approaches and applying pressure, as well as chaining together attacks. These two projectiles allow Robin to disrupt approaches, and because they open up windows for Robin to attack, they can be imperative for Robin to land attacks on quick opponents. His jab interrupts close approaches, proceeding into either a punishing rapid wind jab or a singular fire explosion. The former racks up damage all the way to the high-knockback finishing slash, and the latter three-step jab ends in a stronger, high-knockback fiery blast. The weaker Bronze Sword combos due to low knockback, and his neutral air can be used for spacing. His down tilt keeps away nearby grounded foes. Even his depleted tomes or Levin Swords work as long-range, high-knockback throwable projectiles.

However, as previously stated, Robin suffers from numerous weaknesses, such as being the slowest runner in the game. Furthermore, he lacks defensive options and has troubling brushing off foes, especially those who directly below him, making him susceptible to rush-downs and juggles. His tilts have underwhelming range, making it difficult for Robin to fight at midrange outside of the use of tomes. Many of his moves, specifically his smash attacks and special attacks, have significant ending lag, which leaves him wide open for punishment if they miss. Lastly, Robin's durability mechanic limits his offensive options when either the Levin Sword or tomes are exhausted.

Overall, Robin is a tactically-based fighter whose varied spacing and damage-accumulating options must be used wisely and opportunely. However, his abysmal mobility and poor defense leaves him vulnerable to pressure and combos. With this, Robin players must keep his durability mechanic in mind, think and react quickly, and take precise offensive action for success in battle.

Moveset

Robin's tilts solely use the Bronze Sword, while his smash attacks use the Levin Sword (provided it is not broken). All his aerials except neutral aerial can use either sword—if Robin tilts a direction in midair, he'll use the Bronze Sword, but if Robin taps a direction like a smash attack in the air, he will use the Levin Sword. After using the Levin Sword for any attack, Robin will continue to use it for all directional aerial attacks until it breaks or if he uses an attack that resets his equipped sword to the Bronze Sword. The attacks that switch to the Bronze Sword are his neutral attack, tilts, neutral aerial, dash attack, floor attacks, and edge attack.

Compared to his Bronze Sword, Robin's Levin Sword deals significantly more damage and knockback, with KO potential. 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 effectively due to 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, depending on whether the A button is held or mashed. 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. Its fast startup, deceptively high range and damage/KO potential make it a go-to option on the ground.
3%
5% (Arcfire finisher)
1% (Elwind loop), 2% (Elwind finisher)
Forward tilt   7.5% A sword slash angled downwards in a crescent shape. A quick spacing tool, but has poor reach, and low knockback.
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. Long start up and significant lag after use makes it unwieldy.
Forward smash   Bronze: 9.6%
Levin: 16% (clean), 5% (late)
A decent ranged sword stab 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 generates brief sparks on both sides of Robin, which can hit opponents even after he starts getting up. This property does not happen with the Bronze Sword, meaning this move can only hit on both sides with the Levin Sword. Bronze Sword KOs around 150% while 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 decent 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. Auto cancels if used after a short hop.
Forward aerial   Bronze: 7.5%
Levin: 12.5% (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. A reliable spacing tool that deals a lot of damage. 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 due to it's massive range and KO potential. 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. The long recovery frames and high landing lag makes this move unreliable.
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.
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 (especially near the edge). Deals the most damage.
Up throw   8% Sends the foe straight up. Better damage and KO potential, but noticeably less follow-up ability than the down throw.
Down throw   6% Slams foe down, bouncing them vertically. Somewhat fixed knockback similar to Robin's up throw, perfect for follow-ups at any percentage.
Floor attack (front)   7% Swipes forward with the Bronze Sword, then back.
Floor attack (back)   7% Swipes backwards with the Bronze Sword, then forwards.
Floor attack (trip)   5% Slashes with the Bronze Sword behind himself, then forwards.
Edge attack   7% Climbs up and pokes the opponent with the Bronze Sword.
Neutral special Default Thunder 4.5% (Thunder), 10.5% (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. The single most important move in Robin's arsenal.
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 drain their life force. 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) Summons Chrom via warp magic, and has him slash any opponents in his way. The foes are then flung into the air, followed by Chrom and Robin relentlessly attacking them with the Falchion as well as lightning and fire spells, respectively. After the two are finished, Chrom shouts, "We're not done yet!" and joins Robin for a final simultaneous strike that smashes the victims to the ground, where the recoil sends 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 weapons break if they are used too often, with differing weapons having a different number of uses. As an added visual indicator for durability, weapons with two-thirds of their uses depleted flicker.

If Robin depletes all of the uses of a weapon, he will drop it, and will temporarily be unable to use it for any associated attacks. In the case of tome-based attacks, Robin will perform the animation, but won't produce any hitboxes. For his Levin Sword, all such attacks will instead use his Bronze Sword, which cannot break, but also has poorer range, damage output, and knockback than his Levin Sword, and also lacks the Levin Sword's lingering 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 throws them away behind him. They 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 his jab combo finisher that uses fire use 1 durability each and can be used six times total before the tome breaks. The tome will break after six total uses of the fire tome due to the two attacks drawing from the same pool of durability. 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.

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 will be 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 altogether.

Update History

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 1.0.4

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

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.6

  • Buff The wind repeating hits of jab do less knockback and thus link to each other better.
  • Buff Forward tilt's "Deadspot" has been partially fixed.
  • Change Tomes don't disappear when landing on platforms.
  • Bug fix A glitch where female Robin's Levin Sword wouldn't flash indicating that it was about to break has been fixed.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.8

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

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.0

  • Buff Down throw has reduced knockback, making it better for follow-ups and it ends at frame 37 from frame 43
  • Buff Up throw does slightly more damage: 8% → 9%.
  • Buff Bronze and Levin Sword forward aerial deals slightly more damage going from: 6/11 → 7/12 respectively.
  • Buff Levin Sword up smash has increased hitbox sizes: 3.2 → 4.3
  • Buff Thunder and Elthunder deal slightly more damage going from: 3/9 → 4/10 respectively.
  • Buff Speed Elthunder and Elthunder+ deals slightly more damage going from: 5%/11% → 5.8%/12.7% respectively.
  • Buff All of variations of Thunder, Elthunder and Arcthunder all have reduced ending lag by 3 and 10 respectively.

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.

Victory Poses

  • Crosses arms with weapons in hand, then spins clockwise and swings the Levin Sword. Male Robin says "I'm always three steps ahead", and female Robin says "A good tactician has nothing to fear."
  • Holds the Thunder tome in left hand and spreads out right arm. Male Robin says "The key to victory lies within", while female Robin says "Ha! Checkmate."
    • If Lucina is present after a match, male Robin sometimes says "Lucina, I hope I didn't hurt you."
  • Robin and Chrom face the screen while back to back, posing with their weapons. Male Robin says "It seems our fates are joined", while female Robin says "I've got your back."
    • If Lucina is present after a match, female Robin sometimes says "How can you protect Chrom if you can't protect yourself?"
    • If Robin's Final Smash has been used during the match, Chrom will sometimes say "My strength is yours!" instead of Robin saying anything.

In Competitive Play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character Custom sets available
Robin's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Robin 2111 3111 2311 3311 1311
2132 3132 1132 3113 3131

Notable players

Reveal trailer

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Alternate costumes

Robin Palette (SSB4).png
Robin's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. RobinHeadFemaleSSB4-U.png RobinHeadGreenSSB4-U.png RobinHeadRedSSB4-U.png RobinHeadBlueSSB4-U.png RobinHeadOrangeSSB4-U.png RobinHeadWhiteSSB4-U.png RobinHeadPinkSSB4-U.png

Trophies

Robin
Ntsc Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 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.
Ntsc Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 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.
Pal 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.
3DS: Fire Emblem: Awakening (02/2013)
Robin (Alt.)
Ntsc 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.
Pal 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.
3DS: Fire Emblem: Awakening (02/2013)
Pair Up
Ntsc 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!
Pal 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.Source: Tumblr
Part of the MediaWiki software. For use in {{ImageCaption}}Part of the MediaWiki software. For use in {{ImageCaption}}
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 is wielding two.
  • Both his Bronze and Levin Swords are considerably shorter than their Fire Emblem counterparts.
  • Robin is the first playable Fire Emblem character in the game to 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 character to have access to projectiles and a rapid jab.
  • When Robin is KO'd, he or she may yell respective defeat quotes from Fire Emblem: Awakening: male Robin can say "Reckless fool...!" while female Robin can yell "I was careless!".
  • Male Robin says, "Let's tip the scales," for his up taunt. However, female Robin says, "Time to tip the scales," which is what either could exclaim preceding a Critical Hit in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
  • Robin's poster on the official site is illustrated by Yusuke Kozaki, the art director of Fire Emblem Awakening.
  • Robin is the only character on the site to have their official art incorporate both the female and male versions together.
  • The day that Robin was revealed (July 14, 2014) is one day before the remake of Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem was released in Japan for the DS in 2010, and is also two days prior to Fire Emblem's release in Europe for the GBA in 2003.
  • 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.