- 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 (マルス, 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 gained popularity quickly, however, because he is easily mastered by inexperienced players. He was placed in Super Smash Bros. Melee by popular demand.
Marth currently ranks 5th place on the tier list due to his excellent overall speed, disjointed range, priority, power when tipped attacks are landed (particularly his f-smash and d-air), juggle/combo ability (including the notorious Ken Combo), edge-guard ability, metagame, and match-ups. On the downside, he lacks a projectile (although his f-smash can break most projectiles, and his high mobility can usually compensate), and he has an easily edge-guarded recovery (although several characters also have this problem).
Unlocking
There are three ways to unlock him:
- 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.
Attributes
Marth relies mostly on edge-guarding for KOs. Almost all of Marth's attacks have a sweetspot at the tip of the blade that increases damage and knockback if it connects, while his attacks are weaker if the stem of the blade connects instead. Marth is also known for being able to combo both fast-fallers and floaty characters. He even has a long wavedash, a great SHFFL, and a great dashdance. If sweetspotted, Marth's down aerial is a fast, powerful spike (meteor smash in PAL editions instead), although it does have lots of ending and landing lag, which means it is easily punishable if missed or not L-canceled. Marth also has the longest non-tether grab in the game, which gives him a chain grab on the space animals. Although Marth does lack a projectile, he can break most projectiles using his side smash, but this does not work on Blaster, Boomerang (Marth can only return the Boomerang harmlessly), Fire Breath, or Needle Storm.
Marth's biggest weakness is his recovery. Although Dolphin Slash travels far vertically, it travels marginally horizontally. However, Marth can use the first hit of Dancing Blade to add horizontal boost for recovery. When Marth is in a helpless state after using Dolphin Slash, he has very slow lateral movement. Dolphin Slash also has a large amount of landing lag, which opponents can often capatilize on.
Overall, Marth is easily an extremely dangerous opponent for virtually every character, and only has a few weaknesses that are quickly overcome when mastered.
Moveset
Ground Attacks
Normal
- Neutral Attack - Swings upward, back and forth, with the first hit resembling his up-tilt. Can be chained continuously. If Marth is wearing a Bunny Hood, this attack can be chained twice as fast.
- Dash Attack - A quick upward diagonal slash with medium lag with extremely high priority. 10% base, 13% tip
- Strong Side - A fast forward sword swipe, much like the dash attack with less lag and a higher angle.
- Strong Up - Swings his sword in a large arc above his head, front to back. Non-tipped is a good KO move. Looks like the first hit of his neutral attack, though aims a bit higher. 9% base. 12% tip
- Strong Down - A quick crouching sword poke. Good for ground edge guard because it semi-spikes and usually it makes the opponent waste their mid-air jump while Marth can then edge guard. It can also be used to Pseudo Crawl. 9% base. 10% tip
Smash
- Side Smash - Rotates body counter-clockwise with a strong arc-like swing from his head to the ground, similar to the animation of his neutral special. Very fast and long ranged. The tip is on top knockback.
- Up Smash - A powerful upward thrust.
- Down Smash - Sweeps his sword on the ground toward the front then toward the back.
Other
- Ledge Attack - Flips onto ledge with a quick downward diagonal slash from left to right. 6% base. 8% tip.
- 100% Ledge Attack - Quick, low, horizontal slash with medium lag. Less range than normal ledge attack. 10% base and tip.
- Floor Attack(From back) - Quick stab to the left followed by horizontal slash to the right. 6% base and tip.
- Floor Attack(From stomach) - Sweeps the tip of his sword on the ground front to back. Less range than floor attack from back. 6% base and tip.
Aerial Attacks
- Neutral Aerial - Two horizontal slashes around himself. Both hits connect easily, can follow up into each other, like a Ken Combo
- Forward Aerial - Forward vertical slash (up to down).
- Back Aerial - Bottom to top sword slash behind him.
- Up Aerial - A forward to back upward sword slash. Hit from close is as powerful as the tip but from medium distance is still weak.
- Down Aerial - A forward to back downward sword slash. A great spike when tipped.
Grabs & Throws
- Pummel - repeatedly knees opponent 2% damage.
- Forward Throw - Grabs and pushes forward, tripping with the leg. 4% damage.
- Down Throw - Hooks arm and drags to the floor sending the opponent backward. Set ups tipper forward smash at low percentages. 5% damage.
- Back Throw - Pulls and extends leg simultaneously. 4% damage.
- Up Throw - Powerful upward throw with one arm, though does not kill until damages higher than 150%. 4% damage.
Special Moves
| Marth's Special Moves | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melee | Brawl | 3DS/Wii U | Ultimate | |
| Standard Special | Shield Breaker | |||
| Side Special | Dancing Blade | |||
| Up Special | Dolphin Slash | |||
| Down Special | Counter | |||
| Final Smash | — | Critical Hit | ||
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.
Techniques
Dancing Blade Meteor
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 toward 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 meteor smash.
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.
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.
Ken Combo
Probably the most famous Marth combo of all is the Ken Combo. To do it you do a bunch of Fairs (make sure you hit them at close range or else your opponent will go up so you can't combo anymore) and then once your character is near the edge or trying to recover, you do a Dair (Spike in regular versions and meteor smash in PAL), (make sure you hit with the tip or else it won't spike or meteor smash)) and then your opponent will be knocked downward and lose a life.
Matchups
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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 to look at 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 "It's there!" and "Like I'd 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 "I've won this time."
- "今日も生き延びることが出来た。" "Kyou mo ikinobiru koto ga dekita," which translates to "I was able to survive."
- "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
Costume Gallery
Trivia
- Marth is the only hidden character to have a clone.
- Marth and Roy are the only characters in Melee that speak Japanese even when English is turned on.
- Marth and Roy both use their swords for every attack except their pummels and throws.
- Marth and Roy are the only playable characters in Melee that don't have a stage representing their universe, though hacked data shows that one was planned.
- Marth, Captain Falcon, and Jigglypuff are currently the only high tier characters in Melee who do not have a projectile.
- Marth, Roy, and Peach are the only characters in Melee with a special move that can counter.
External Links
| ||||||||
 Fire Emblem universe
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Marth (Melee · Brawl · 3DS/Wii U · Ultimate) Roy (Melee · 3DS/Wii U · Ultimate) Ike (Brawl · 3DS/Wii U · Ultimate) Robin (3DS/Wii U · Ultimate) Lucina (3DS/Wii U · Ultimate) Corrin (3DS/Wii U · Ultimate) Chrom (Ultimate) Byleth (Ultimate) | |
| Side Characters | Assist Trophies | Lyn · Black Knight · Tiki |
| Mii Fighter Costumes | Chrom · Black Knight | |
| Background characters | Claude von Riegan · Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd · Edelgard von Hresvelg · Rhea | |
| Others | Anna · Sothis | |
| Stages | Castle Siege · Arena Ferox · Coliseum · Garreg Mach Monastery | |
| Item | Killing Edge | |
| Music | List of Music (Fire Emblem series) | |
| Collectibles | Trophies | Melee Trophies · Brawl Trophies · 3DS Trophies · 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 · Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem | |