Ike (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


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

Ike (, Aiku) is a character appearing in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Revealed in the Smash Bros. DOJO!! on August 1st, 2007, Ike is a newcomer to the franchise. He is the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and also appears in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. His sword from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Ragnell, is a two-handed sword, but he is known to wield it with one hand, showing his incredible strength. Ike is the first, and currently the only, playable Fire Emblem character in the Super Smash Bros. series to speak English (as the remake of the very first Fire Emblem game, starring Marth where he speaks English, was released after Brawl). Additionally, he is the first Fire Emblem character available as a starter character in the Super Smash Bros. series.

Ike is currently ranked 28th on the tier list due to his extremely sluggish moves (giving a result of over-reliance on opponent mistakes to gain kills), very punishable moves that are both unsafe on shields and miss, making him very easy to shut down due their ending lag being very long, and predictable recovery, resulting in poor matchups.

Attributes
Ike is a moderately heavy character with very slow, but very powerful attacks. Most of these possess high damage, high knockback, and good range, giving Ike startling killing potential at low damages. Ike is also one of the best characters to crouch-cancel a jab with, as the move can accrue upwards of 30% on opponents when crouch-cancelling the second hit into another jab (the initial jab can itself be linked easily from a neutral-aerial). Ike works best when playing the range game, best maximized by using his amazing forward-air whenever possible. His f-air has the distinction of having the most horizontal attack range of any normal aerial in the game. Though Ike himself is slow, the attack will surprise opponents when hitting from max range. Using the attack to effectively camp and approach depending on the situation, Ike can pursue follow ups such as more f-airs, his far-reaching dash attack, or an attempt at outwitting the foe into his Quick Draw forward special. However, all three of those moves are very punishable if they miss. At a distance, one can even use Quick Draw to punish on wake-up because of the move's ability to be held indefinitely.

Should Ike have to deal with opponents close in, he can easily use his competent jab to either put the spacing back on or to transfer to a throw, with either the back or forward variants capable of putting the opponent in a vulnerable position should they be at the edge. Though more effective as a kill, Ike's back-air is amazingly fast and can catch opponents off-guard, should the player be in a position to chase or attack in-close. If the close-in war is being waged at the edge, Ike can be an effective edge guarder, having his wide-ranged f-air, his d-tilt spike, his Aether special, and his deadly d-air spike or b-air as options to harass the opponent (as well as the aforementioned jab/throws). Ike is also one of the game's deadliest air-dodge/roll trappers, given his far-reaching forward smash and its tremendous power; it is a useful move so long as Ike is never predictable with it. Up-smash can be also be used in this fashion due to its similarly wide sweeping motion, and is preferable to Ike's down-smash for punishing excessive rolling.

However, Ike definitely has his drawbacks. His dash speed is slow, and he is a large target. His Counter, while useful, is quite slow, requiring some prediction to use effectively (it takes approximately six frames longer than Marth's counter compared to Marth's which takes only four frames for the counter frames to start). On the other hand, Ike's counter frames end six frames later than Marth's (both of their counters last for about 59 frames, 23 of them being counter frames), making him less vulnerable afterwards. His throws do low damage. Ike's recovery is also somewhat predictable, because he has a short double jump and only two main recovery moves (Quick Draw and Aether) which have limited trajectories and cannot both be used in the same recovery. Quick Draw needs to be charged to get far, and is easily blocked by anyone willing to get hit by it before Ike can reach the ledge, making him extremely vulnerable to low-angle attacks and edge guarding. Aether is very predictable but also difficult to guard against, due to the knockback resistance the move grants and the fact that Ike's sword reaches the ledge long before he does. Still, he is vulnerable to edgehogging as it does not grab the ledge until he is descending with the attack. Also, Ike lacks a projectile, and is himself relatively vulnerable to projectile camping. His attacks can generally be avoided/dodged easily because of the massive starting lag of his attacks. Additionally, he is arguably the easiest character in the game to punish a missed move due to the extreme ending lag on his attacks and extreme unsafeness on his moves when shielded. Because he is a large heavyweight with fast falling speed, he is susceptible to Chain grabs and Walls of Pain.

In the end, Ike must rely on careful prediction and spacing of the opponent to even land a single attack, much less win the match, but when effectively doing so, smart Ike players can end or mostly obliterate a stock within a matter of seconds. Still, Ike cannot handle many high-level match-ups due to his lack of speedy aerials and too slow speed overall that forces over-reliance on the opponent's mistakes.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack - Punches with his left hand (making him the only sword fighter who uses his fist in one of his moves), then a step-forward kick, then an overhead swing of Ragnell, moving forward with each blow. Quick, strong; excellent when crouch-cancelled due to second hit's minimal knockback. 16% total.
 * Dash Attack - Ike lunges forward with Ragnell with excellent range, but is slow and predictable. Good surprise move at a distance. 8%.
 * Forward Tilt - A horizontal slash. Has a slow startup but high knockback and good range. Can be angled up or down. 15%.
 * Up Tilt - Ike holds his sword out parallel to the ground and raises it to above his head in a bunny hop motion. Deceptive range with a quick, long-lasting hitbox, good for low-percent combos, but punishable if it misses just like nearly all of his other moves. 12%.
 * Down Tilt - Slashes along the ground. If this hits the opponent while they are off-stage, they are meteor smashed with great power. Decent range, but cripplingly slow. 14% close up, 10% closer to the tip.

Smash

 * Side Smash - Overhead swing of his sword to the ground in front of him. Long ranged and very powerful, but very slow and punishable if he misses or it gets shielded. Superior killing move at relatively low damage, but requires timing to use effectively. Long range and high arc allow for edge and recovery interceptions. The power behind the smash is enough to KO an opponent at a damage percent from as low as 30%. The tip is weaker, but still very powerful wherever it connects. 17%-24% tip, 23-32 non-tip.
 * Up Smash - Swings his sword from his feet, over his head, to behind him. Also powerful (weaker than his forward smash though), long-ranged, and slow (less lag than f-smash, though). The attack's speed and its very wide arc allow it to intercept foes air-dodging back to the stage near Ike, or it can be used like a d-smash to punish rolls. 17% damage. Like the side smash, when fully charged, the smash carries enough power to KO an opponent at relatively low damages (60% and beyond). 24% fully charged


 * Down Smash - Slashes towards the ground on either side. Moderately powerful, and his fastest smash attack on startup, though it still possesses Ike's trademark ending lag, the second hit is slow anyways, and it has pitiful range overall compared to his other moves. 13% damage typically, 16% if hit from behind.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral aerial - Ike swings Ragnell in an arc around his body. Low knockback.  The attack is shorter ranged than most of his aerials, but hits around his body. The wide arc allows it to punish dodges, and the move can be auto-canceled. Easy to SD if nothing is below due end lag is just enough long to be unable to recover back if it happens; commonly occurs when Ike is shield-pushed near the edge and the player buffers an attack command for a jab. 9%.
 * Forward aerial - Ike performs an overhead swing with Ragnell down to below him that is reminiscent of his Hero-Class 'Critical' animation in Radiant Dawn. Has the most horizontal range of any normal aerial in the game, but does not possess the high knockback of some of his other aerials. Manageable ending lag given attack range.  Ike's most useful aerial by far. 13%.
 * Back aerial - Ike quickly backwards swing with Ragnell. This is Ike's fastest aerial and performs greatly with the Reverse Aerial Rush since it has high killing potential. However lacks the range of most of Ike's other moves and the hitbox lasts a very short time. 14%.
 * Up aerial - Ike spins Ragnell in a helicopter motion. Great vertical knockback. The attack stays out for a long time and has great priority. Low vertical range limits usefulness, considering Ike's inferior jumping capabilities, though it possesses deceptive horizontal range. 14%.
 * Down aerial - Ike thrusts Ragnell down under him. If the move hits while the blade is swinging down, it will meteor smash the target. Will send foes upwards if hit after swing and blade stays out. Useful for edge-guarding. 16%.

Grabs and Throws

 * Pummel - Headbutts them. 3% damage.
 * Up Throw - Ike throws Ragnell into the ground and uppercuts the target into the air with one hand. 6% damage.
 * Down Throw - Ike throws the target down to the ground and stomps on them, sending them upward. Places low-damaged foes in a perfect position to follow up with an Aether. 6% damage.
 * Back Throw - Ike throws the opponent backwards while kicking them. 6% damage.
 * Forward Throw - Ike throws opponent forwards while kicking them. 6% damage.

Role in The Subspace Emissary
Ike's first appearance is at the Battlefield Fortress, helping out fellow Fire Emblem hero, Marth, and his new partner, Meta Knight, by halting the Ancient Minister's escape with his trusted Aether move, which also destroys the Subspace Bomb (making Ike the only character in Subspace Emissary to successfully disarm a Subspace Bomb). He then teams up with the two swordsmen. Getting Ike to join your party in the SSE results in unlocking the song Ike's theme for use on the stage Castle Siege.

Ike's team is later seen in the The Wilds, tracking a tank. The three then chase after it, only to find that it is the Subspace robot, Galleom. Galleom is defeated, but jumps off the cliff and into The Ruined Hall, where Lucas and Pokémon Trainer defeat it once more. Upon its defeat, Galleom grabs the two and attempts suicide with its built in Subspace Bomb. Fortunately, Meta Knight rescues Lucas and Pokémon Trainer, and brings them back to Marth and Ike. Ike is briefly seen at the Glacial Peak level when they see the battle between the Halberd and Great Fox, in which at that point, Meta Knight leaves the party. The Ice Climbers, who have fallen off the mountain, join Ike's group just in time for a large battle with the Subspace Army. Luckily, Mario and Link's team arrive to help out, after which they join up.

Ike's next appearance is at the Entrance to Subspace level, where he can be used. Ike is one of the many to be turned into a trophy by Tabuu's Off Waves. Fortunately, his trophy can be picked up at the first Subspace level. Once he has rejoined the team, he is available for use in the The Great Maze, as well as against Tabuu.

Exclusive stickers
These stickers can only be used by Ike or by a select few including Ike.
 * Ashnard: [Slash] resistance +39
 * Deke: [Slash] attack +9
 * Eirika: [Slash] attack +17
 * Eliwood: [Flame] resistance +31
 * Greil: [Throwing] attack +14
 * Ike (Path of Radiance): [Weapon] attack +23
 * Ike (Radiant Dawn): [Slash] attack +27
 * Lilina: [Leg] attack +5
 * Marth: [Weapon] attack +19
 * Micaiah: [Weapon] attack +21
 * Mist: [Slash] attack +8
 * Ninian: [Arm, Leg] attack +6
 * Rutoga: [Slash] resistance +12
 * Shiida: [Specials: Direct] attack +7

Taunts
Up: Twirls Ragnell a little then holds it out in front of him like his pose from the DOJO!!, and growls while bringing it closer to himself as if charging it. His cape blows in the wind toward the end.

Side: Does his attacking stance from Radiant Dawn, saying "Prepare yourself!"

Down: Thrusts his sword into the ground in disgust, crosses his arms and says "Hmph." Again, wind blows at his cape.

Trivia

 * Ike is one of the few characters to have a brief speaking role in the Subspace Emissary, shouting "Great Aether!" as he attacks the Ancient Minister. Interestingly, he uses a normal Aether to hit the Ancient Minister.
 * The crowd cheer for Ike is "We like Ike!", an unintentional yet memetic reference to former President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower's campaign slogan.
 * While Ike is a slow character in Brawl, he has very good speed stats in the Fire Emblem games he appears in.
 * While Ike is slow in gameplay, in one of the cutscenes in the SSE, he runs at the same pace as both Marth and Meta Knight.
 * Ike's On-Screen Appearance is shown as Warp Magic (Warp Powder in Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn or the warp staff of various games). No warp items are player usable in either game Ike appears in, although warp powder is used by the Black Knight. Marth also uses a Warp to enter the stage, but in all of his appearances he can be transported by another character via warp staff.
 * Though he is commonly depicted in his red cape, blue tunic appearance, Ike actually wears a blue cape and dark green tunic when he is promoted to a Lord in Path of Radiance. That is also the only time that Ike has used Ragnell in the game, meaning that canonically, Ike has never touched Ragnell in his Ranger outfit.
 * Even a level 9 CPU Ike will sometimes not even try to use Aether to recover when the stage is unreachable. This is most likely because the AI thinks one needs to be directly under the edge of a platform in order to successfully recover, though it isn't required to do so at all, as Aether's direction can be altered slightly.
 * Ike is currently the only playable Fire Emblem character in the Smash Bros. series that speaks English.
 * Ike can do the most Damage with one attack. Against Ganondorf, if Ike counters six Soccer Balls (in the exact same place) launched by Ganondorf's Warlock Punch, it can do 999%.
 * Ike's victory themes where he states "I fight for my friends" and "You'll get no sympathy from me" as well as his side taunt "Prepare Yourself" have become popular memes across YouTube and other video sharing websites.
 * "You'll get no sympathy from me" is odd, as Ike is characterized as far from asympathetic.
 * Even when you change Ike's color, his sword is always the same tint.