Marth (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

''This article is about Marth's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Marth.''

Marth Lowell (マルス, Marusu) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Marth appears in the game's opening video, standing back to back with Meta Knight. He appears to have been improved since Super Smash Bros. Melee (where he was already considered one of the best characters), being given one of, if not the most powerful Final Smash in the game and having his Counter improved, among other things.

How to Unlock
Complete one of the following:
 * Play 10 matches in Brawl, then defeat Marth
 * Finish Classic mode on any difficulty, then defeat Marth
 * Get Marth to join your party in The Subspace Emissary

Pros:

 * Fairly quick running speed
 * One of the fastest walking speeds
 * Most attacks come out quickly
 * Good damage on most attacks
 * Down aerial is a powerful spike (yet difficult to land) can intercept well
 * Attacks that hit at the furthest range (tippers) deal the most damage and knockback
 * Forward smash is long ranged and has great knockback
 * Has the fastest counter in the game
 * Fully charged Shield Breaker gives a bit of horizontal recovery midair
 * Side B is a combo in itself.
 * Can Wavebounce.
 * Good grab range, useful for a Pivot Grab
 * Can do 2 Fairs, Fair Uair or even a Fair and a Bair in one Short Hop, one of the 4 characters that can (the others being Lucario, ROB, or Luigi.(with Fair)
 * Can Juggle well
 * Arguably the best edgeguarder in the game; able to kill most characters from 0% by a throw off the stage followed by a falling fair.
 * Up B is quick and useful for attacking
 * Can combo fast on ground or in the air (Practically all of his attacks and grabs combo into each other.)
 * Excellent range due to a disjointed hitbox [his sword]
 * Very high priority attacks
 * Counter is good for mindgames.
 * Very good combos against both fastfallers and floaties
 * All his tilts are useful and have long range
 * Has the best non-extended grab in the game
 * Has a chaingrab on space animals (Fox and Falco)
 * Can string many utilts on certain chars (especially if they waste their jump)

Cons:

 * Rather big target
 * Fairly light for a character his size.
 * Attacks that are not tippers have much worse damage and knockback.
 * Weak knockback on throws
 * Lacks a projectile

Ground Attacks
Normal Smash
 * Dash A - A quick upward diagonal slash with a medium amount of lag.
 * Down Tilt - A crouching sword poke.
 * Forward Tilt - Much like the dash attck without as much lag.
 * Up Tilt - Swings his sword in a large arc above his head.
 * Forward Smash - A strong arc-like swing from his head to the ground.
 * Down Smash - Sweeps his sword on the ground on both sides of himself.
 * Up Smash - A powerful thrust upwards.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - Two horizontal slashes around himself.
 * Forward Aerial - Forward vertical slash (up to down).
 * Up Aerial - A forward to back upward sword slash.
 * Down Aerial - A forward to back downward sword slash. At times it spikes.
 * Back Aerial - Bottom to top sword slash behind him. Causes him to turn around after use.

Grabs and Throws

 * Forward Throw: Grabs and pushes forward, tripping with the leg.
 * Down Throw: Hooks arm and drags to the floor.
 * Back Throw: Pulls and extends leg simultaneously.
 * Up Throw: Powerful upward throw with one arm.

Trophy Info
''The prince of Altea, in whose veins the blood of heroes runs. He and a small group of stalwarts fought to free Altea after it was invaded by the kingdom of Doluna and the dark dragon, Medeus. With his divine sword, Falchion, he fought and defeated Medeus. However, Altea was then invaded by King Hardin of Akaneia and eventually destroyed.''


 * Fire Emblem (1990)

Stickers
Like most swordsmen, Marth should focus on large [Weapon] and [Slash] damage boosts, any remaining space should be used for [Specials: Direct].

Exclusive Stickers
The following stickers can only be used by Marth or Ike:
 * Ninian: [Arm, Leg] Attack + 6
 * Lilina: [Leg] Attack + 5
 * Mist: [Slash] Attack + 8
 * Deke: [Slash] Attack + 9
 * Eirika: [Slash] Attack +17
 * Ike (Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn): [Slash] Attack +27
 * Rutoga: [Slash] Resistance +12
 * Ashnard: [Slash] Resistance +34
 * Shiida: [Specials: Direct] Attack + 7
 * Greil: [Throwing] Attack +14
 * Marth: [Weapon] Attack +19
 * Micaiah: [Weapon] Attack +21
 * Ike:(Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance) [Weapon] Attack +23
 * Eliwood: Flame Resistance +33

Tips & Strategies

 * Dolphin Slash is a good killer at high percentages, but is very situational. A good way to set up for it is hit the first move of the Dancing Blade, wait a little, then get a tipper with the Dolphin Slash
 * A good way to get a KO is to repeatedly attack them in midair after jumping off the stage and edgehog them with your recovery.
 * Marth's Dair Spike is difficult to land in this game. When in midair, use a footstool jump and immediately use the Dair. This will space them enough to hit them with the tipper.
 * Marth's Dancing Blade can still aid his recovery, but unlike the last game, you can only do it once per jump. At almost the peak of Marth's first or second jump, perform the first slash of Dancing Blade, then Marth will get higher.
 * With the addition of wavebounceing, facing the opposite direction of the stage, Marth can maximize his recovery.
 * Marth has no projectile, however, by countering a strong projectile onto your opponent, such as Snake's C4 or any other explosive, you can get a KO.
 * Use his counter wisely. Don't spam it, but when you know a strong attack is coming use it.
 * The legendary technique, Short Hop Double-Fairing, is still in the game, so you will want to use it to stack damage. It is also an excellent move to start or continue a low-air juggle.

Role in the Subspace Emissary
Two R.O.B.s are seen activating a Subspace Bomb in a barren battlefield. Marth is seen at the top of a castle watching helplessly as the robots detonate the bomb. He stands and shines his sword, then hundreds of Primids are shown going to the castle. The gameplay starts with him confronting the Primids and descending through the building until he reaches the grounds. A video sequence starts again and he is ambushed by Meta Knight. During the duel (in the same video sequence), they are attacked from behind by the Primids, but they both manage to repel them. Realizing that the other is not an enemy, they join forces to defeat the Primid. After fighting against the Primids, both Meta Knight and Marth aim their attacks at the Ancient Minister, who is carrying another Subspace Bomb. They both miss, but luckily Ike shows up and attacks the Ancient Minister with his trusted Aether move. With the Subspace Bomb destroyed, the trio storm the castle once more.

In the desert, they see a vehicle driving off in the distance. Ike immediately jumps off the cliff to pursue it, followed by Meta Knight. Marth merely scratches the back of his head in disbelief before following them. When they find the vehicle, it transforms into Galleom, and the three fight it. After battling Galleom, it jumps off the cliff and falls through the ground, where it encounters Lucas and Pokémon Trainer. When it gets defeated again, it grabs Lucas and the Trainer, and tries to detonate a Subspace Bomb, but Lucas manages to free them from Galleom, and Meta Knight grabs them as they fall. When the Halberd duels with the Great Fox, Meta Knight leaves the group in order to board the Halberd. After the Ice Climbers are knocked off the mountain by the Halberd, and join Marth's group, Mario's group comes to aid them in fighting off the Primids that were dropped. After the battle, the Halberd (now under Meta Knight's control) and the Falcon Flyer land to pick them up. After an assault on the Subspace Gunship, they enter Subspace and encounter Tabuu, who turns them all into trophies. Fortunately, he, and some of the others, are revived by King Dedede, Luigi, and Ness, while the rest are revived by Kirby, and Marth helps the heroes face Tabuu.

Taunts
Up: Raises his sword in the air, and it shines.

Side: Slashes his sword twice in front of himself, then sheaths it.**

Down: Slashes his sword once, and raises it in front of him saying "Minna, miteite kure" which is Japanese for "Everyone, watch me!", literally "All, continue watching after me!" (same as in Melee).

-**Although taunts generally have no combative value/effect, Marth's side taunt, when used with the correct timing, has been known to knock Bullet Bills (in SSE) off course, causing them to change direction away from Marth. May effect other creatures but has not been fully tested. Luigi's down taunt has a similar effect, and has meteor smash potential.

On-Screen Appearance
He is teleported in with Warp Powder. His pose is different from Ike's.

Victory Pose

 * Turns with pride, spins his sword then clashes it to the ground, while speaking "今回は僕の勝ちだね. " "Konkai wa boku no kachi da ne?" which translates to "This time it's my victory, isn't it?"
 * Sheaths his sword while speaking "今日も生き延びることが出来た. " "Kyou mo ikinobiru koto ga dekita", which translates to "Today I have survived."
 * Stretch out right arm, while saying "僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ. " "Boku wa makeru wake-ni wa ikanainda!" which translates to "There's no way I can lose!"

Wii Remote Noise
A sound like a slash or clashing of blades is heard, then Marth says "Ha!"

Changes from Melee to Brawl

 * Shorter sword
 * Shield Breaker is now a stab (straight angle, not an easier-to-hit-with vertical slash like in Melee) and charges faster
 * Tip of the blade isn't easy to hit with anymore
 * Standard A combo is slower
 * Grabs are considerably shorter
 * Dashing attack always knocks the opponent forward instead of occasional backwards
 * Counter deals 1.1x damage back with a minimum of 7%
 * Side B is faster and easier to get all of the hits
 * Dolphin Slash goes a bit more horizontal now

Info
Marth's Side Special, Dancing Blade, is the largest move-choice Special in the game, involving Marth swinging his sword once, then allowing players to choose between centered or up for the second slash, then down, centered, or up for the third, and then down, centered, or up for the finale. Marth's standard special move, Shield Breaker, is one that can destroy shields (pressing the shield button) and can also negate moves like Mario's cape. Marth's final smash is a single critical hit that is usually a total KO. When the final smash is performed, a life meter appears and drains as the opponents are launched. The life meter uses the same graphics as seen in the Super Famicom (Super NES) game, Fire Emblem: Monsho no Nazo. There is a special characteristic unique to his final smash- as soon as you activate it, Marth will dash to the end of whatever ground/platform he is on, in the direction he is facing. In doing this, he will follow the shape of whatever surface he is on- for example: on Sonic's level, he will follow the curve of the terrain. If he makes contact with a character (or multiple characters in the same spot) at any point in the way of his dash, Marth will strike them with his sword (he will also stop moving here) the life meter will appear, drain, and the enemy/enemies will be KO-ed. If Marth does not come in contact with a character, then he will simply stop at the end of the stage, taking several seconds to recover. If you are in midair when you are using his Final, you will rush to whatever side you are facing. If you make contact with a character, the same effect as above occurs, but if you miss, you will continue to rush off stage and you WILL die (unless of course he hits a wall, but that probably hurts too, huh?). Also you can cancel the attack in air by pressing the B button a few times. This will save you. It is possible to dodge this attack with air dodges, sidesteps, or Uspecials, but it is not possible to counter it or deflect it (via shield, etc.).

Trivia

 * Along with Sonic, Snake and Ness, he is seen in the opening video of Brawl. They're the only four unlockable characters to do so.
 * Marth is the only speaking character to only speak in Japanese in both English and Japanese versions. This is probably because the Fire Emblem game that Marth appeared in hasn't been released in English version yet.