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This article is about Ike's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For other uses, see Ike.
โ€œ Ike's side smash attack is extremely powerful, but it leaves him open, so you'll need to reach your opponent's moves carefully. You can choose between his Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn costumes. โ€
โ€”Description from the Super Smash Blog.

Ike is a veteran fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, first playable in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His return was confirmed at the E3 2018 Conference on June 12th, 2018.

How to Unlock

  • Play VS matches, with Ike being the 14th character unlocked.
  • Clear Classic Mode with Mario or any character in his character tree, with Ike being unlocked after Little Mac.
  • Have Ike join the party in World of Light.

For the first two methods, the player must fight and defeat Ike on the Coliseum stage.

Attributes

To be added.

Strengths

  • Heavyweight status, making him difficult to KO.
  • Disjointed reach, being one of the longest in the game.
  • High damage and knockback on most attacks, allowing him to secure KOs easily.
  • Long-lasting attacks.
  • Excellent aerial game, which is useful for approaching and setting up combos.

Weaknesses

  • High startup and ending lag on attacks, which can be easily punished if whiffed.
  • Poor off-stage endurance, making him easily edgeguarded.
  • Poor recovery, possessing linear recovery options.
  • Has no projectiles.
  • Heavyweight, making him easily susceptible to combos.
  • Surprisingly weak grab game, with none of his throws being able to KO reliably and only his down throw being useful for combos at low percents.

Summary

To be added.

Changes from 3DS/Wii U

Ike was buffed in the transition to Ultimate. The universal changes such as a three-frame jumpsquat and reduced landing lag improve his aerial game to make it useful for approaches. His Neutral Aerial is a more effective more for Ike due to having faster startup and end lag, and he received a new Up Aerial similar to other Fire Emblem characters, making it more effective for juggling due to its high range. Eruption becomes an even more effective ledgetrapping option due to its ability to produce additional flame pillars when charging, increasing its range. Finally, despite the universal decreased effectiveness of grabs, Ike still possesses his powerful down throw, which combos better due to his better jumpsquat.

However, despite these buffs Ike still remains relatively slow on the ground in comparison to other fighters, making his grounded approach somewhat predictable. The buffs that faster sword fighters received also means that Ike is more prone to being juggled and pressured due to his heavyweight status. His Forward Aerial, one of his most notable tools in previous titles, was weakened in terms of utility due to not being able to autocancel out of a short hop and possessing more end lag. Finally, Ike's recovery is still rather poor, if not even more exploitable due to Ragnell no longer clipping through the stage.

Ike's default costume is his Ranger costume from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance used in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, while his alternate costume is his Hero costume from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn costume used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, with his palette swaps being allocated to each costume and Ragnell being a slightly deeper tone while using Ike's Hero costume to signify its age in Radiant Dawn. Ike is now voiced by Greg Chun, who previously voiced him in Fire Emblem Heroes, with Ike's tone being deeper while being in his Hero outfit.

Attributes

  • Runs, walks, and dashes faster
  • Air speed is higher

Ground Attacks

  • Forward Tilt deals more damage and starts and ends faster.
  • Up Tilt has less end lag.
  • Up Smash has a shockwave hitbox in front of Ike
  • Down Smash deals more damage.

Aerial Attacks

  • Aerials have less landing lag.
  • Neutral Aerial has more range and less startup, but deals less damage.
  • Forward Aerial starts faster and has more range, and has a new hitbox behind Ike, but has more end lag, deals less damage, and does not auto-cancel
  • Up Aerial now consists of an inward slash upwards, having a faster startup but less duration.

Grabs and Throws

  • Down Throw leads into combos easier at low percents.

Special Attacks

  • Eruption releases a smaller pillar of fire when half-charged and two additional pillars fully-charged.
  • Quick Draw can no longer be held indefinitely, but charges faster and ends faster.
  • Aether has more super armor frames and less startup and ending lag, but follows the perimeter of the stage instead of clipping it when used to recover, being less safe against opponents on the ledge.
  • Counter incorporates a blue flaming effect, but deals less knockback and has more endlag on both parts of the attack.

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

  • Neutral Attack: a punch followed by a kick, finished with an overhead sword swing.
  • Forward Tilt: Swings outwards with Ragnell, can be angled. Has slow speed, but high range and very high power.
  • Up Tilt: Pushes Ragnell upwards while holding it parallel to the ground, good launching power as an anti-air option.
  • Down Tilt: Sweeps Ragnell across the ground; Ike's quickest tilt attack.
  • Dash Attack: Dashes forward and swings Ragnell upwards; launches further if connecting with the clean hit. Among the strongest, yet slowest dash attacks in the entire game.

Smash Attacks

  • Forward Smash: Slams Ragnell into the ground in front of him. Has high startup and endlag but deals extremely powerful damage and knockback, being one of the strongest forward smashes.
  • Up Smash: Swings Ragnell overhead in an arc; covers high range above Ike and on both sides.
  • Down Smash (Cast Off): Swings Ragnell in front, then quickly behind him; the back hit deals more knockback.

Other attacks

  • Floor Attack (Front):
  • Floor Attack (Back):
  • Floor Attack (Trip):
  • Ledge Attack:

Aerial Attacks

  • Neutral aerial: Swings Ragnell around him. Ike's most versatile combo tool due to its speed and low endlag.
  • Forward aerial (Rising Swing): Swings Ragnell forward, slow startup but good knockback.
  • Back aerial (Repositioning Slash): Turns and slashes Ragnell behind him; Ike's quickest aerial.
  • Up aerial: An inward slash upwards. High startup but good juggling potential.
  • Down aerial: Swings Ragnell directly below him; if an opponent connects with the clean hit on Ragnell's tip, they will be Meteor Smashed.

Grabs and Throws

  • Grab: Reaches out with his open hand.
  • Pummel: Headbutts the opponent
  • Forward Throw: Kicks the opponent forward. Deals enough knockback to launch opponents offstage.
  • Back Throw: Tosses the opponent behind him and kicks them away. Similar to forward throw but has slightly less end lag.
  • Up Throw: Swings his arms upwards to launch the opponent into the air. Can inconsistently combo into up aerial but lacks realistic KO potential.
  • Down Throw: Slams the opponent into the ground before stomping on them. Good for starting combos, but is surprisingly Ike's strongest throw as well, being able to KO opponents above 185%.

Special Moves

Ike's Special Moves
Brawl 3DS/Wii U Ultimate
Standard Special Eruption
Side Special Quick Draw
Up Special Aether
Down Special Counter
Final Smash Great Aether

Taunts

  • Up Taunt: Holds Ragnell in front of him and charges up while grunting
  • Side Taunt: Holds Ragnell upwards behind him while saying "Prepare yourself."
  • Down Taunt: Plants Ragnell into the ground and crosses his arms.

On-Screen Appearance

  • Warps onto the stage while grunting before taking his stance.

Idle Poses

  • Taps Ragnell on his shoulder twice.
  • Rubs his hand along Ragnell's edge.

Victory Poses

  • Plants Ragnell into the ground and crosses his arms saying, "I submit to no one," (Ranger outfit) or "I must move forward." (Hero outfit)
  • Swings Ragnell twice and rests it on his shoulder saying, "Your skills are remarkable," (Ranger outfit) or "Don't stand in my way." (Hero outfit).
  • Performs Aether while saying, "You'll get no sympathy from me," (Ranger outfit) or "I fight for my friends." (Hero outfit).

In competitive play

At the beginning of the gameโ€™s release, Ike was seen as a significantly improved character from the previous installment, where he was considered a low-mid tier character. At that time, the metagame involved the prominence of disjoints, which benefitted Ike. Thanks to this, Ike developed very strong results, especially from MkLeo. This caused him to have a positive reception, with ZeRo, ESAM, and Mew2King designating him as a high-tier character. However, Ike has been less popular since MkLeo dropped him in favor of other characters. As the metagame progressed, players began to adapt to Ike's gameplan, with his perception worsening due to his over-reliance on slow, predictable aerials (especially forward aerial) which were prone to perfect shielding. Additionally, characters like Cloud and Sonic were progressing their metagame at the same time. Due to most people considering Ike's gameplan too limited and predictable, Ike was commonly considered to be in the mid or upper-mid tier.

When patch 8.0.0 dropped, Ike received numerous buffs and a nerf. His neutral aerial, which was once his best combo starter and his main neutral tool, now has more knockback, allowing for fewer follow-ups, most notably his up aerial for a kill confirm. Although this can be seen as a nerf, it also serves as an indirect buff to allow Ike to rely less on his neutral aerial and instead use more moves and not have one-dimensional, linear gameplay. His Aether became a better out of shield option, and it and his dash attack now have more KO power and kill much earlier. Down tilt has less knockback, giving it more combo potential and allowing it more KO setups at higher percents. Lastly, his forward air has more damage and less ending lag, making it safer to use in the air, especially for edge-guarding. These buffs further improved his perception in the community and Ike is now seen as an upper-mid to high-tier character. Maister, in particular, believes that Ike is one of Mr. Game & Watch's few losing matchups, if not his worst matchup. As a result, this iteration is generally considered to be his best one in Smash yet, achieving arguably the best tournament results relative to his previous incarnations.

In more recent times, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the shift towards online play, and his tournament results have improved in the Wi-Fi meta. Perfect shielding is harder to perform due to input lag, allowing his moves like his aerials and tilts to be safer on shields. This aids players to perform well online, with Yez and Ravenking representing Ike's online scene; as they ranked 14th and 35th in the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6 respectively. Additionally, MkLeo used Ike to win a reverse 3-0 in Grand Finals and a 3-0 reset in Ultimate 32 while facing Maister, allowing him to rank 6th in Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6.

Classic Mode: The Black-Clad Warriors

Ike's opponents are all fighters in black alternate costumes, referencing his rivalry with the Black Knight.

Round Opponent Stage Music Notes
1 Template:CharHead and Template:CharHead Fountain of Dreams Template:SSBUMusicLink
2 Template:Head Morton, Template:CharHead, and Template:CharHead Spear Pillar Template:SSBUMusicLink The choice of music references Sonic and the Black Knight; both Sonic and Ike face a foe known as the Black Knight.
3 Template:CharHead Reset Bomb Forest Template:SSBUMusicLink
4 Template:CharHead Umbra Clock Tower Template:SSBUMusicLink
5 Giant Template:CharHead Luigi's Mansion (Battlefield form) Template:SSBUMusicLink
6 Template:CharHead and Template:CharHead Bridge of Eldin Template:SSBUMusicLink
Bonus Stage
Final Master Hand Final Destination Template:SSBUMusicLink (Less than 7.0 intensity)
Template:SSBUMusicLink (Intensity 7.0 or higher)
On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Role in World of Light

Although Ike does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Ike was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He is one of the fighters found in the Mysterious Dimension sub-area, being an obligatory unlock before the next necessary fighter battle, Meta Knight is encountered, and after Greninja has been awakened.

Palette Swaps

Gallery

Trivia

  • Ike's official render resembles his sidestep.
  • Ike's previous victory lines "You'll get no sympathy from me," and "I fight for my friends," return in his victory animation where he perform Aether, which previously only consisted of Ike grunting.
  • Ike is the only character to possess different voice lines for his alternate costume while retaining the same voice actor.
  • Ike is the only character to revert his default design to one he previously used in a Super Smash Bros. title; in this case he reuses his Ranger design used in Brawl as his default costume once more, while retaining his Hero design used in 3DS/Wii U as an alternate costume.

External links

Smash Ultimate logo glow  ยท Fighters
Veterans Bayonetta  ยท Bowser  ยท Bowser Jr.  ยท Captain Falcon  ยท Cloud  ยท Corrin  ยท Dark Pit  ยท Diddy Kong  ยท Donkey Kong  ยท Dr. Mario  ยท Duck Hunt  ยท Falco  ยท Fox  ยท Ganondorf  ยท Greninja  ยท Ice Climbers  ยท Ike  ยท Jigglypuff  ยท King Dedede  ยท Kirby  ยท Link  ยท Little Mac  ยท Lucas  ยท Lucario  ยท Lucina  ยท Luigi  ยท Mario  ยท Marth  ยท Mega Man  ยท Meta Knight  ยท Mewtwo  ยท Mii Fighters (Mii Brawler  ยท Mii Gunner  ยท Mii Swordfighter)  ยท Mr. Game & Watch  ยท Ness  ยท Olimar  ยท Pac-Man  ยท Palutena  ยท Peach  ยท Pichu  ยท Pikachu  ยท Pit  ยท Pokรฉmon Trainer (Charizard  ยท Ivysaur  ยท Squirtle)  ยท R.O.B.  ยท Robin  ยท Rosalina & Luma  ยท Roy  ยท Ryu  ยท Samus  ยท Sheik  ยท Shulk  ยท Snake  ยท Sonic  ยท Toon Link  ยท Villager  ยท Wario  ยท Wii Fit Trainer  ยท Wolf  ยท Yoshi  ยท Young Link  ยท Zelda  ยท Zero Suit Samus
Newcomers Banjo & Kazooie  ยท Byleth  ยท Chrom  ยท Daisy  ยท Dark Samus  ยท Hero  ยท Incineroar  ยท Inkling  ยท Isabelle  ยท Joker  ยท Kazuya  ยท Ken  ยท King K. Rool  ยท Min Min  ยท Piranha Plant  ยท Pyra/Mythra  ยท Richter  ยท Ridley  ยท Sephiroth  ยท Simon  ยท Sora  ยท Steve  ยท Terry
FireEmblemSymbol Fire Emblem universe
Characters Marth (Melee  ยท Brawl  ยท 3DS/Wii U  ยท Ultimate)
Roy (Melee  ยท 3DS/Wii U  ยท Ultimate)
Ike (Brawl  ยท 3DS/Wii U  ยท Ultimate)
Robin (3DS/Wii U  ยท Ultimate)
Lucina (3DS/Wii U  ยท Ultimate)
Corrin (3DS/Wii U  ยท Ultimate)
Chrom (Ultimate)
Byleth (Ultimate)
Side Characters Assist Trophies Lyn  ยท Black Knight  ยท Tiki
Mii Fighter Costumes Chrom  ยท Black Knight
Background characters Claude von Riegan  ยท Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd  ยท Edelgard von Hresvelg  ยท Rhea
Others Anna  ยท Sothis
Stages Castle Siege  ยท Arena Ferox  ยท Coliseum  ยท Garreg Mach Monastery
Item Killing Edge
Music List of Music (Fire Emblem series)
Collectibles Trophies Melee Trophies  ยท Brawl Trophies  ยท 3DS Trophies  ยท Wii U Trophies
Stickers List of Stickers (Fire Emblem series)
Spirits List of spirits (Fire Emblem series)
Masterpieces Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light  ยท Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
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