Marth (Super Smash Bros. Melee)


 * This article is about Marth's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For other uses, see Marth. Also, for information about Marth's clone, see Roy (SSBM).

Marth (, Marusu) debuted in the first game of the Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light (Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi). Marth, like Roy, was a relatively obscure character because the games he was in were never distributed outside of Japan. He was placed in Super Smash Bros. Melee by popular demand. Marth currently ranks 2nd place on the tier list. Incredible combos, counter, dancing blade, incredible match-ups, dash-dance, wavedash, SHFFL, excellent edgeguard, long range in all attacks, however, he lacks a projectile and good recovery.

There are three ways to unlock him: The last two methods are very easy compared to the first one.
 * By playing 400 vs. matches.
 * By clearing Classic mode with all fourteen starter characters.
 * By using all fourteen starter characters as a human player in VS. Mode.

Overview
Marth is known for his comboing, grab-game, good match-ups, highest priority in the game, excellent wavedash (fourth longest), and edgeguarding abilities, as well as his powerful Side Smash, known to be the best side smash in the game. He also has a disjointed hitbox, which allows him to attack characters from a good range while not being able to be easily hit. His forward aerial is used in advanced play because of its ability to combo. Chaining his fairs to any of his other aerial attacks, such as his spike, is an especially dangerous combo. For a prime example of Marth's comboing ability, watch videos of Ken Hoang, AKA Sephirothken, the highest ranked player in America(world champion), which is considered to be the most competitive country for Melee.

All of Marth's attacks have a sweet spot at the tip of his blade, except up-smash and neutral B (up-smashes is just below the tip), including his down aerial, which spikes only when Marth hits with the tip of his sword. Marth's forward smash is extremely powerful when tipped.

Pros

 * Excellent range due to a disjointed hitbox (his sword)
 * Fast running speed
 * Very high priority attacks
 * Very good combos against both fastfallers and floaties
 * Long wavedash
 * One of the best Spikes in the game (D-air)
 * Excellent at edgeguarding
 * Great dashdance
 * Great SHFFL
 * The tipped forward smash has incredible knockback, has fast start-up and he has combos into it.
 * 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)
 * Practically all of his attacks and grabs combo into each other.
 * Arguably the best edgeguarder in the game; able to kill most characters from 0% by a throw off the stage followed by a falling f-air.
 * Has some of the best match-ups against other high-tier characters.
 * Great juggler. Can string many u-tilts on certain chars (especially if they waste their jump)
 * Side smash is ideal for breaking most projectiles

Cons

 * Relies mostly on edgeguard kills
 * Lag after Up B recovery is large and is often taken advantage of
 * Slowly moves horizontally after using the Up B
 * No Projectile
 * Low strength on stem of the blade
 * In PAL his dair is not a true spike (can be canceled)

Weight
According to the character weight list, Marth is the 16th heaviest character in the game. In the PAL version, he is still the 16th heaviest character. However, he lost some weight and is now tied with Roy, Mewtwo, and Young Link. This means that he is no longer capable of being waveshined infinitely.

Dancing Blade Spike
When using Marth's B-Over attack (the Dancing Blade), after the initial B-over, you can do up to 3 more swings in one sequence with Marth’s sword. There are multiple combinations of this attack, after the initial B-over to start the attack; you can use B-up, B-over, or B-down. The third swing in the sequence is a very useful spike if B-down is pressed. It can be used to get kills at low percentages, by knocking your opponent off the ledge; make sure Marth is close to the edge, or on the edge as your opponent makes his way back towards the ledge you should start the B-over sequence. Time it so by the time your opponent is right back at the ledge, you should be on the third swing, press b-down for the spike.

Reverse Dolphin Slash
By starting Marth's up-B attack, Dolphin Slash, and immediately pressing the opposite direction to which you are currently facing, Marth will begin the first frame of his attack but change directions to finish the attack as if you were facing the other way. This variation has significantly increased knockback, but must be done at close range. The reason for this is that when Marth does his Dolphin Slash, he holds his sword behind him for a second. Given that Marth's attack are more powerful at the tip of the sword, as well as earlier into the Dolphin Slash, turning around at the start allows him to hit when the conditions are the best. This technique is also commonly performed out of a shield, by jump-canceling. Ken uses this technique a lot as a finisher.

Shorthop double fair
Marth also possesses a rare ability to perform two attacks in a single short hop. This is extremely useful in comboing his opponents.

Uses

As stated above, the double fair comes out so fast that often the opponent is stunned for the duration of both hits. Against floaty opponents, several double fairs can be strung together such that you juggle them just above the ground. Against medium - fastfallers, it combos well into forward smash, grabs, uptilt, and other Marth combo moves.

Alternate

Note also that using the same technique for a double fair, you can combo the Fair into an Uair. You'll notice that Brazilian smasher Kizzu makes good use of this technique. It allows for combo opportunities at lower percentages, when the opponent comes too close to hit with another Fair.

How To Do it

Naturally, it takes a bit of technical skill to perform this attack. Short hop as usual, and immediately release a fair. As soon as the animation for the attack ends, immediately input another fair. This might take some practice, but it is not too hard. Some people use the c-stick for the latter attack. Note also that the Z button can be used to attack in the air. As such, it is often helpful to jump with x/y, and immediately fair using Z. This may sometimes result in a jump-cancelled grab, however. Once mastered this is a very useful technique.

Ken Combo
Discovered by Ken Hoang who is widely recognized as the "inventor" of Marth's metagame, the Ken Combo is known for its effectiveness and flashiness. The Ken Combo is performed by stringing together several Short Hop Double Fairs (see above) to get the opponent off the edge and then following up a fair into a jump and then a dair spike. In order to spike, the dair must be sweetspotted. Often, the Fair preceding the Dair is tipped as well (but dair can be meteor canceled in PAL).

Reverse Counter
Oddly enough, Marth's counter attack has a second hit box which is much more powerful than the first. This hitbox is located in the first few pixels behind him and even more behind and above him. The blow is about as powerful as his F-smash (Untippered) and serves as a flashy kill move in FFAs or 2v2s. However, it may only be used when one enemy (or teammate) is attacking from the front while the other approached from behind making the move extremely situational.

Edgeguarding while grabbing the edge
Once familiar with the ledgehop, Marth has many options in keeping the opponent off the stage. His quick-release aerials are often deadly when striking an opponent already off the stage. A good example of this is the Bair edgeguard. Marth hangs on to the edge, drops towards opponent, and hits them with a quick back-air. This simple move is devastating especially to those with predictable recovery: Fox, Falco, CF, Ganondorf, and even other Marths.

Alternatively, a recovering opponent will often try to Up+B past the Marth. At this time a ledgehop Dair is very effective. Marth's dair is a spike, so upon contact, the opponent is usually dead. In some parts of the U.S., this move is called the Nytespike, named after the smasher Nicknyte. Mixing it up with other aerials keeps Marth unpredictable.

In Single-player
Marth does not appear specifically in the game's single-player Adventure mode. He is only featured in some of the Event Matches:
 * Event 40: All-Star Match 4: Marth is the first opponent fought in this series of staged battles. The selected character battles him on the Hyrule: Temple stage with a stock of 2 while Marth has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other four characters one-by-one with the overall time and damage: Luigi, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, and Mr.Game & Watch.
 * Event 41: En Garde!: A one-on-one battle between the player as Marth and the enemy Link on the Hyrule: Temple stage, with the two characters having 2 stock each and unlimited time. Survivor wins.
 * Event 46: Fire Emblem Pride: The player battles and must defeat a team of Marth and Roy in an untimed match in the Hyrule Temple stage, with all three characters receiving 3 stock.

Japanese Translations

 * Marth's taunt in battle is "みんな、見ていてくれ！" "Minna, miteite kure!" which translates to "Everyone, keep watching me!".
 * Marth's counter move is performed while saying "そこだ！" "Soko da!" or "させるものか！" "Saseru mono ka!" which roughly translates to "There it is!" and "Like I would let you.", respectively.
 * Marth's three possible victory statements are:
 * "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?"
 * "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."
 * "僕は負ける訳には行かないんだ. " "Boku wa makeru wake-ni wa ikanai n da!" which translates to "There's no way I can lose!"


 * In the master sound test room (that can be accessed through the debug menu), Marth has an additional phrase players can listen to that he does not say in the game: "レッツダンス！", which is a transcription into Japanese sounds of "Let's Dance!"

Trophy Descriptions
In addition to the normal trophy about Marth as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Marth on any difficulty:


 * Marth (Smash Red):
 * Marth is a magnificent swordsman. While his swordplay is faster than that of Link, he lacks power, and his quickness is offset by a marginal endurance. His Shield Breaker gains power the longer it's held. The Dancing Blade combination uses both the Control Stick and the B Button to produce a series of up to four attacks. (B: Shield Breaker, Smash B: Dancing Blade)


 * Marth (Smash Blue):
 * The tip of Marth's blade causes the most damage, so you should try to create adequate distance between you and your enemy to gracefully strike with that point. Marth's Dolphin Slash is fast and powerful, but it leaves him vulnerable upon landing. Marth uses Counter to block a foe's attack and deal a return strike. If you're fighting a Counter-happy Marth, grab him. (Up & B: Dolphin Slash, Down & B: Counter)

Home Run Contest Strategies
Source

Beginner
1. Jump to the right, d-air (land on the Sandbag's left)

2. Face the Sandbag, do four short hop U-airs (hit the Sandbag on the way up)

3. Fully-charged B toward the left wall

4. Grab the bat, dash to the right, no-ping hit

Bull's-eye: 1300+ feet (400+ m.)

Easy
(Strategy created by nismojoe) 1. Grab the bat, dash toward the Sandbag

2. 1 single jump bat drop up+A with L-cancel

3. 1 single jump bat drop down+A with L-cancel

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 twice

5. Forward+B

6. Tipper

Bull's-eye: 2000+ feet (600+ m.)

Medium
1. Grab the bat

2. Up+A(2 hits)

3. 5 single jump bat drop down+A combos with L-cancels and air catches

4. Tipper(154%)

Bull's-eye: 2250+ feet (680+ m.)

Advanced
1. Grab the bat

2. Neutral+A (7%)

3. Two single jump bat drop up+As with air catches, fast falls, and L-cancels

4. Four single jump bat drop down+As with air catches and L-cancels

5. Grab the bat, tipper

Bull's-eye: 2600+ feet (800+ m.)

Hard
(Strategy submitted by Thomeyis)

1. Grab bat, run to bag, double jump bat drop up+A

2. Another double jump bat drop up+A

3. Single jump bat drop down+A

4. Single jump bat drop neutral+A

5. Single jump bat drop down+A

6. Single jump bat drop neutral+A

7. Single jump bat drop down+A

8. Walk forward a bit, catch, tipper

Bull's-eye: 2800+ feet (860+ m.)

Intense
(Strategy submitted by Thomeyis)

1. Grab bat, run to the bag, double jump bat drop up+A

2. Single jump bat drop down+A

3. Single jump bat drop neutral+A

4. Single jump bat drop down+A

5. 3 Single jump bat drop neutral+A

6. Single jump Bat drop down+A

7. Catch the bat, tipper

Bull's-eye: 3000+ feet (920+ m.)

Expert 
(Strategy created by kero) 1. Grab the bat and dash to the bag, double jump and do a bat drop up+A. (29%)

2. Do the following BD's ~ down+A, neutral+A, down+A, neutral+A, down+A ~ all the neutral A BD's move the bag left while the down A BD's move the bag right.

3. Jump to grab the bat and move right gently to the bag, when you get over the bag, do a neutral A BD, moving the bag left. (177%)

4. Catch the bat and jump left over the bag, doing a bat drop down+A to move the bag right. (204%)

5. Walk right to the bat, pick it up, and swing for a tipper.

Bull's-eye: 3150+ feet (960+ m.)

Expert 
(Strategy created by Sakura)

1. Grab the bat

2. 1 bat drop up+A

4. 7 bat drop down+As

5. Forward+B (218%)

6. Grab the bat, tipper

Bull's-eye: 3450+ feet (1060+ m.)

No Bat Drop
1. Grab the bat

2. Jump and immediately Forward+A and it should hit strongly for 13%

3. Wait for the bag to stop moving and then do an air Up+A attack (you shouldn't have landed)

4. L-Cancel, then jump and Down+A the bag. The bag should have gone to the left

5. Face left, jump, throw the bat up over the bag and do an Up+A attack before landing

6. L-Cancel and then jump and do a Down+A attack on the bag, making sure that the bag goes to the left

7. Tipper

Bull's-eye: 1550+ feet (480+ m.)