Veteran: Ike

People ran around screaming, townhouses burned, and lighting cracked against the sky. Above, dragons spewed out flames onto the crops and burnt trees to the ground. Everyone was in a panic and not even the town’s watch could keep the peace. A blue-haired warrior rode up and looked at the burning castle. Around the castle, dragons were spiraling around it; sending bursts of flame into the castle windows. Everything was in turmoil and surely nothing was last alive. Ike reared his horse up and lifted up his sword into the sky. From it, a bright flicker of light went forth and shone in the darkness. The dragons stopped attacking the castle and concentrated on Ike. They charged forth, bearing their flame onto Ike. He slashed it away and struck each Dragon down. One by one they fell from the sky onto the ground. Ike, looking at the collapsed dragons, bowed his head and then looked up to the sky. Where the dragons were circling, a mechanical floating isle.

Ike from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Name: Ike

Universe: Fire Emblem

Debut: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005)

Element Alignment: Fire

Affinity: Good

Reasons for Fighting: Comrades

Ike is the leader of the mercenary group, the Greil Mercenaries. His father was the original leader of the group. After the death of his father, Ike takes leadership of the mercenaries and strikes a professional relationship with Princess Elincia. She is forced to enlist their aid in order to secure her proper place on the Crimea Throne. Ike cares of his friends and comrades and wields his blade not just for himself but for all those he loves and holds dear.

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Changes from SSBB to SSB4

Ike was a very powerful swordsman with very slowly and predictable attacks. For this reason, I propose a vast amount of changes to Ike in SSB4. This may be the most amount of changes from a SSBB character to SSB4. Firstly, I propose a new move to replace the Counter attack to separate him from Marth. I added the Shockwave ability which can push opponents and attacks away. Secondly, Ike’s Eruption attack has prolonged Super Armor from when the attack starts charging. Ike’s neutral aerial has lesser lag to prevent suicides.

Thirdly, I propose his Side B Special Move, Quick Draw, to bypass uncharged weak projectiles. While it will incur damage, Ike does not flinch from being attacked by these projectiles. Examples include uncharged Pit’s Palutena’s Bow, Link’s uncharged Sacred Bow, Samus’s uncharged Power Shot, and the beginning frames of Bowser’s Fire Breathe. However, anything stronger will cancel Ike’s Quick Draw and send him into a helpless state. I did this so Ike can fair better with projectile camping. In addition, Ike can know jump after Quick Draw and will not go into a helpless falling state thus allowing for a better recovery move.

Lastly, I would suggest to slightly increase the height Ike’s second jump. Ike didn’t have a very good second jump and his Aether recovery move is not the best. Hence I why I suggest increasing his second jump.

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Ike’s Special B Move Set

• Neutral B – Eruption
• Side B – Quick Draw
• Up B – Aether
• Down B – Shockwave

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Final Trio

• Final Smash: Great Aether
• Final Melee: Fire Wave
• Final Brawl: Earth Fissure

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New Move Descriptions

Shockwave is Ike’s new Down B move. Instead of Counter, Ike lowers his sword and grips it with two hands and then yells. A powerful energy-based blast comes from Ike. It can be charged by Eruption and Quick Draw. The longer the player holds down B, the longer the blast radius is. If B is quickly pressed, it does a small “pop” around Ike with a little knock back and low damage. A fully charged Shockwave can hit an opponent to is slightly out of Ike’s longest striking range. Doing this attack can also stop Ike in mid-air if he is knock backed. However, this is dependent on his damage percentage and momentum. As well, his aerial animation is much different then his grounded animation (Ike throws his arms back while in mid-air). The attack does 3-15% damage on the ground while in the air it does 2-13% damage. It has the highest knock back and KO potential when fully charged. As well, if Shockwave is done in mid-air while the opponent is underneath Ike, it will result in a powerful Meteor Smash.

Great Aether is Ike’s Final Smash. It has the same properties as in SSBB.

• Beginning Cinematic: Ike swings out his sword and does a very cool pose with it.

Fire Wave is Ike’s Final Melee. Ike hoists his great sword back, grips it with both hands, and it starts swirling around in flame. It is much like Eruption since Ike then slams his sword into the ground with a massive explosion. However, as Ike hoists his sword behind him, quickly pressing B will allow Ike to charge it resulting in even more damage. In addition, when released at it’s highest damage, the wave will shot out across the ground and then erupt upwards in a column of flame. It is one of the most damaging Final Melee’s in the game. Uncharged, it does 58% Fire Damage but, fully charged, it does upwards to 88-90% Fire Damage. It has a very high knock back and can hit opponents for additional damage at lower percentages.

• Beginning Cinematic: Ike brandishes his sword and engulfs it in flame which begins leaping about everywhere.

Earthen Fissure is Ike’s Final Brawl. Ike swings his sword up and dashes forward. He jumps and slams his sword into the ground and 8 large pieces of rock shoot up into the sky. Ike jumps up and begins batting the pieces of rock into the opponent on the ground. After the final one, Ike falls back down and the opponent is buried in a mound of rock. It does 73-75% Earth damage.

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Proposed Stage – The Castle Gate

Proposed New Taunt

• Left Side – Ike cracks his neck twice and pats it with his palm. He then says “Time to do this!”

Proposed New Palette Swap

Brown Ike

Proposed DLC Costumes

Vanguard Ike

• Perks: 3% Fire Damage Increase, 2% sword damage increase, 5% speed increase, 8% defense decrease, 4% jump decrease, and 7% physical damage decrease.

Black Knight Ike (Minus the helmet)

• Perks: 15% sword damage, 5% physical damage, 10% defense increase, 18% speed decrease, 5% fire element decrease, and 13% jump decrease.

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Current Ike Move Set (taken from the SmashWikia)

Changes made in BOLD

Ground Attacks

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. This move alone gives Ike a great close range game, forcing the opponent to stay away from his jab range. It’s even very difficult to punish even when shielded for characters with poor Out of Shield options and is also great at punishing spot dodges. Excellent when crouch-canceled due to the first two hits having zero knockback and having high amount of hitstun, though it can be SDIed out of it. Comes out on frame three. Its speed makes it a good Out of Shield option as well. 16% total but usually deals about 20 or even 25% when jab canceled.
• Dash Attack – Ike lunges forward with Ragnell with excellent range, but is slow and predictable. Good surprise move at a distance and is a true combo out of the Back Throw to DA percents and it is also guaranteed out of grab releases against characters like Meta Knight. 8%.
• Forward Tilt – A horizontal slash. Has a slow startup but high knockback and large range. Can be angled up or down. Unlike other angle-able moves, this move does not get stronger when angled upward or weaker when angled downward. Strongest f-tilt in the game in terms of knockback. 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 like nearly all of his other moves and it also has a giant sourspot. Reliable killer at about 110%-120% on most characters. It is as powerful as King Dedede’s and Snake’s u-tilt, but slower. 12%.
• Down Tilt – Slashes along the ground. If this hits the opponent while they are off-stage, they are meteor smashed with great power. If Ike hits with the handle, it sends them horizontally with great power. It is by far the strongest tilt meteor and it is one of the better tilt meteors in the game (though that’s not saying much). Can be used after jab canceling near the edge. Decent range, but cripplingly slow. This is the strongest d-tilt. 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 (it has the most ending lag out of all the forward smashes). Superior killing move at relatively low damage, but requires timing to use effectively. Long range and high arc allow for edge and recovery interceptions. It also hits people standing on platform’s above Ike and hits diagonally down on people hanging on the ledge. The power behind the smash is enough to KO an opponent at as low as 30%. The tip is weaker, but still very powerful wherever it connects. Second strongest smash in the game (only King Dedede’s f-smash is stronger, but Ike’s is even stronger at extreme percentages due to slightly higher knockback scaling). 17%-24% tip, 23%-32% non-tip.
• Up Smash – Swings his sword from his feet, over his head, to behind him. Also powerful, long-ranged, and slow (weaker but faster than his forward smash). 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 his down 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 toward the ground on either side. First slash is rather weak (especially when compared to Ike’s other attacks) but the second slash is powerful, and it is Ike’s fastest smash attack on startup, but still possesses his trademark ending lag, and has pitiful range overall compared to his other attacks. 13% damage typically, 16% if hit from behind.

Other attacks

• Ledge attack- Picks himself up and slashes at an upwards angle. Short horizontal range. 8% damage
• 100% ledge attack- Slowly gets up and slashes forward in a similar fashion to his F-Tilt, only faster. 10% damage.
• Floor attack (face-down)- Performs a fast swing on both of his sides. 6% damage.
• Floor attack (face-up)- Swings his sword in an angled arc above him. 6% damage.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral aerial – Ike swings Ragnell in an arc around his body making a low knockback. The attack is shorter ranged than most of his aerials, but covers almost 360°. The wide arc allows it to punish dodges, and the move can be auto-canceled, which makes it excellent for setting up jabs. Easy to SD if no platforms are below due to ending lag being just enough long to be unable to recover; commonly occurs when Ike is shield-pushed near the edge and the player buffers a command for a jab. Ike’s most useful aerial due to combo potential and landing-cancel. 9%. It has little lag and cool down time to fix suicidal moves.
• 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 as much knockback as some of his other aerials, though it can still KO at relatively high percents. Its incredible range also makes it a very good edge guarding move. Manageable ending lag given attack range. One of Ike’s best aerials, along with nair. 13%.
• Back aerial – Ike quickly swings Ragnell behind him. This is Ike’s fastest aerial and performs greatly with RAR, due to its high killing potential. However the hitbox ends quickly and has long aerial ending lag despite the autocanceling frames coming out noticeably earlier. Difficult to land on short grounded opponents because of its strictly horizontal hitbox. A good out of shield option when facing the opposite direction. 14% damage.
• Up aerial – Ike spins Ragnell in a helicopter motion. Great vertical knockback. The attack stays out for a long time and has great priority, starting in the front and ending in the back of Ike. Low vertical range limits its usefulness, considering Ike’s inferior jumping capabilities, though it possesses deceptive horizontal range. It can also hit larger character on the ground. 14%.
• Down aerial – Ike thrusts Ragnell down under him. If the move hits while the blade is swinging down, it powerfully Meteor Smashes the target. It is the second most powerful meteor on airborne opponents and third strongest on grounded opponents (only Ganondorf’s dair meteor is stronger in every situation). Will send foes upwards rather powerfully if hit after the initial swing. Useful for edge-guarding, especially when walked-off without fast falling, which makes using tilt stick with Ike instead of Smash with C Stick very useful. 16% if meteor smashed, 12% otherwise.

Grabs and Throws

• Pummel – Headbutts the opponent with a 3% damage.
• Up Throw – Ike throws Ragnell into the ground and shoots the target into the air with both hands clasped together. 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 (without DI). It can also KO at very high percents. 6% damage.
• Back Throw – Ike throws the opponent backwards while kicking them. This can be immediately followed up by his dash attack, which is a true combo in everyone from about 30 to 100%. It can also set-up a forward throw in walls which is a true combo. 6% damage.
• Forward Throw – Ike throws opponent forwards while kicking them. Can chain grab in walls. 6% damage.

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Taunts

• Up: Swings Ragnell above his head 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.

Stage Entrance

• Appears in magic circle and brandishes his sword.

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My Thoughts

I felt Ike was a pretty good character who suffered from slow movements, poor recovery, and a poor approach hence why I decreased his damage and his speed, increased his dashing speed, increased his jumping ability, altered his Quick Draw ability, and changes his Counter ability to altogether new attack. I feel these changes will distance Ike from Marth and improve his over-all game play.