Ike
First Appearance - Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN)

Entrance: Ike uses the Black Knight's warp powder to warp onto the stage. The circular symbol that appears when the Black Knight warps in in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance appears on the stage and then Ike warps in with glitters of gold all around him.

Victory Screen Pose: Ike does a spinning flip and lands in front of the screen with his sword. This is actually just one of his entrances.

Alternate Costume Colors (not all inclusive): Marth's default colors from Super Smash Bros. Melee, burgundy red, green.

Attack Descriptions:

Attack +Attack + Attack: Ike performs a three hit combo with his sword.

Aerial Down + Attack: Similar to Link's aerial Down + Attack -- Ike plants his sword directly below him and puts his entire weight on top of it. And as with Link, when Ike lands on the ground, his sword gets lodged in the ground too.

Up + Smash Attack: Ike swings his sword in a complete 180 degree arc directly above in. Does good damage but has a bit of a slow start up animation and extended recovery time.

Forward + Smash Attack: Ike does a two-handed overhead swing with his sword. As with his other smash attacks, this also has a long start up and recovery time but does big damage. You can really tell how heavy his sword -- Ragnell -- is with this move.

Down + Smash Attack: Ike swings his sword to the front and back. Since it's a smash attack it has a long start up and recovery time, but does more damage to make up for it.

Up + Special: As previously described on the Smash Bros. Dojo site, Ike performs his strongest attack from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance -- Aether. Of course, for this Smash Bros. version of the move, neither of the effects of Sol nor Luna will activate; it's just a similar animation that's used here. For this move, Ike tosses his sword up high in the air directly above him, and then when it reaches the peak of the throw, Ike jumps up, grabs the sword, and then slashes down in a manner similar to Kirby's Up + Special - without a projectile attack following though. Because Ike doesn't jump up with his sword, but rather stays on the ground for a brief period instead, he's completely open to an attack from while the sword is traveling to the peak of the throw; on the other hand, this move is quite an effective way safely punish those directly above. Also, unlike Kirby's Up + Special, Ike doesn't actually move forward with this move, and hence this will not be Ike's main recovery move when knocked far to either side of the screen. That's reserved for his next special.

Forward + Special (can be charged): Ike quickly flashes across a short distance and then delivers an explosive blow that sends his opponents up to the heavens. The longer you charge this move, the heavier the damage you'll deliver and the longer the distance you'll cover (unsure if speed also increases). His flash across the distance is very quick, and because this move is quite powerful, it makes this it the ideal move to surprise a crowd of fighters with in four-player free for all. There are some start up animation here though, as with practically all his other moves, so it doesn't activate immediately with a big element of surprise. This is also Ike's main recovery move when sent off to the side of the screen -- thereby making it one of the most useful among his repertoire of specials.

Neutral Special (can be charged): This move is similar to Marth and Roy's Neutral special in terms of effect and motion, except that Ike slams his sword into the ground below him instead of an arc in front of him. It has an explosive effect and can be charged for increased damage and knock back power. Ike doesn't release this attack as quickly as Marth nor Roy but it's still comes out very quickly. If charged all the way, he also does not incur damage to himself like Roy does but he still create an explosion effect around himself.


Down + Special: Like Marth and Roy, this is also a counter move. Ike flashes blue when this is performed and during this time can counter any and all attacks. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Marth countered with a consistent 7% damage and with varying degrees of knock back power that was thrown at him while Roy dealt 1.5 times the damage of the attack that was thrown at him; however, we're currently unsure as to how it works out with Ike, nor as to how long his counter period lasts.

Final Smash: Ike performs a single 360 spin. If he connects he sends the opponent into the air and then he immediately follows with multiple aerial slashes and then a huge overhead spike with Ragnell that sends his opponent spiraling down. Then he finishes the final smash with a sword plant into the opponent below and sends him flying out of the arena. This Final Smash can hit more than one opponent.

Miscellaneous: His backwards roll isn't a roll, but a back dash a la Mewtwo from Super Smash Bros. Melee. His dodge time is good.

Impressions: Of all the playable characters, I had the most extended playtime with Ike because Marth was my main character in Melee and also because I really enjoyed Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Ike is a heavy-hitter and does big damage with his attacks; consequently, he is quite slow with his attacks, and walks rather slowly too. His smash attacks all have starting animation and more extended recovery time in comparison to other characters, so in single play it's a bit easier to see it coming. Those that like the quickness of Marth from Super Smash Bros. Brawl will be disappointed with Ike's lack of swiftness; however, that is not to say Ike is a bad character at all. Surely it's too soon to judge him from a mere demo, but once I familiarized myself a bit more with his repertoire of attacks I found myself liking him more. Furthermore, he is a killing-machine in hectic four-player free for all. I managed to get a ton of kills in the tourney set up at the E for All Expo and managed to walk out a champion thanks to his immense power.