Character Spotlight 8: Holy Greil

This Smasher is a mercenary who fights for his beliefs and friends at the same time. They seem like they're uncaring, but is actually passionate about others.

They're very strong with one heck of a weapon. Swordplay comes very natural to them, and they sure do pack a punch...

Who's that Smasher?

It's Ike!

Prepare yourselves for the powerful Ike and his mighty blade Ragnell! You'll get no sympathy from him on the battlefield, as he fights for his friends like a storm of destruction.

My First Reaction
Ike's reveal left me both confused and upset when I read it on the DOJO. Confused because I've never heard of the guy before. I've never played a Fire Emblem game, and all I heard of it was from Melee's representatives.

As for upset, it was because of one thing:

Ike replaced Roy!

I liked Roy in Melee more then Marth, so I was upset at the replacement. Of course I hated Ike more when I brawled against him.

The guy could take everything I could throw at him and still KO me! I damage him yes, but he just doesn't flinch or overpowers through my attacks.

He just...won't stay down!

It may not help that I'm playing fast characters, like Sonic or Pikachu, and I just run into Ragnell...but now, I'm neutral towards the heavy swordsman. Even leaning on liking him, after I found out that he isn't as hard to play as like I thought.

Through His Series
Compared to Marth and Roy, Ike is the only main character who was not born into royalty in the beginning of the game. His starting class is actually a Ranger in Path of Radiance for GameCube.

But I think he becomes a Lord later on,
if I'm not mistaken...

Ike starts out in leading the Greil Mercenaries inlace of his late father Greil, having been slain by the powerful Black Knight. Ike quests out to protect villages around the land of Crimea, which is different from Marth's Altea and Roy's Pherae. Along the way, he finds the Divine Blade Ragnell, which he uses for his final confrontation between him and the Black Knight.

But Ike's not alone on his journey. He's has his friends within the Mercenary group, and he's under the service of Princess Elincia.

The only people here I've heard of are
Ike, Mist, Soren, and Rolf.

After the main story, Ike went to wander the land under his new title: The Hero of Blue Flames.

In Super Smash Brothers

This sums him up.

Ike is considered a slow character in the game, from his attacks to his movement. Which makes sense, considering he's swinging a two-handed sword with only one hand. Most of his attacks though possess high damage, high knockback, and good range. This gives Ike a scary amount of killing potential at low damage percentages.

Other then that, he's very much like Roy. A Standard Special that makes a fiery explosion, a counter attack, and a more close ranged play when compared to Marth. But he does have a lunging Side Special and his signature Aether, so that's different.

I think he's the only Fire Emblem character to
have a signature move like this.

As a Character
According to his trophy, Ike gives the impression that he's uncaring with his blunt manner, but he's actually a passionate hero. He's kind to others and protective of his friends and family, especially his sister Mist. He's also not prejudiced against certain types of people, such as the animalistic Laguz.

Like defending his cat-like friend Ranulf when
he needed him most.

As a Smasher, Ike is one of the big eaters along with Kirby and Wario, with a love for meat and spicy foods. Some approached him with mixed emotions, since he was the Brawl replacement for their friend Roy. But it wasn't his fault that Roy left when he got in!

And Marth knew that.

Marth and Meta Knight were the first amongst the Smashers to befriend Ike, especially after fighting together in the Emissary. What some people don't realize is that the Fire Emblem swordsman all come from different lands within the same universe, so they don't know each other prior to Smash.

Moving on, Ike's also found companions in Pit, Link, and Samus Aran. He might have an attraction to the huntress as well, but no one's 100% sure on that. He'll also encourage some of the younger Smashers if they're feeling a little down.

Smash Bros 4 Changes?
My only concern for Ike is that I hope his power gets taken down a notch.

You wanna say that again punk?

I understand that he's strong and all, and I'm not saying to make him weak instead; just to tone down on all that raw knockback. In my opinion of course.

Judgement?
Ike may not have been one of my biggest stars on my personal favorites list, but I like his inclusion in Smash nonetheless. Something different and new is never a bad thing...in most cases anyway.

But should the Hero of Blue Flames burn out from the tournament? Or does Ike still have a fighting chance against the others?

If he doesn't get accepted back, I'll be sad, but it won't be for long.

Now the question: Would YOU like to keep Ike in Super Smash Brothers 4? Comment below and share your opinion.

My sword fighting skills were given to me by my father.
If I stay true to them, I cannot lose.

Until next time! :D