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ROY Roy starred in the Super Famicom (a.k.a. "Super Nintendo" in other countries) series entitled "Fire Emblem." Unfortunately, none of the games made it to America, or any other countries as far as I know, but Roy -- and Marth, for that matter -- made an unexpected comeback one- twenty-eight-bit style for the Nintendo Gamecube. In a nutshell, Roy lead Pharae's armies into battle after his father, the son of the lord of Pharae Principailty, became sick. Long story short, our hero started out on the classical grand adventure that fighters so often do when destiny calls. Roy is what Marth is and isn't: Both Marth and Roy make nice, solid blows, and both have the feel of a refined swordsman, but where Marth excels in grace, Roy is a little more of a powerhouse. Roy is a good all-around fighter, and often has the advantage of a longer reach when it comes to close-quarters combat, due to his sword. Since the blade's reach is wider than most other attacks, Roy can cover almost all sides of his person without having to worry too much about where the enemy is coming from. He deals out more damage than most players, too, and can dodge and leap his way through danger if his position is getting a bit too iffy for the player. Moreover, his stature is a wee bit on the short side, a detail that several players overlook. On hilly areas, his height allows Roy to avoid attacks easier. Roy, however, has three primary disadvantages over the average character: The first and most important two, is that he tends to be a bit slow, and appears to have sub-par recovery times, so panicky situations could leave you as a colorful smear on the floor, and we wouldn't want that, now would we? The third thing that one does not notice at first is the fact that Roy cannot defend his backside very well. Like Marth, his attacks generally cover frontal and aerial opponents, so if you know what's good for you, you'll keep Roy out of the fray. But his good points more or less outweigh these petty little details, and in the hands of a player who at least knows what he's doing, Roy can dish out some pretty serious harm. CLASSIFICATION: Swordsman Regular Attacks Roy spins around and swings his sword overhead. This move is quite powerful, easily among the stronger smash attacks in the game, and it can K.O. an opponent even if their damage is in the low eighties. Roy will lash out with his sword in front, then in back. Since this move is so low, it usually hits only enemies on the ground. Also, the second slash (to the back) is slightly weaker, but both have decent K.O. rates. Roy thrusts his sword straight up. It is deceptively strong, because any enemies caught in it will receive up to five hits, with nice flames surrounding the opponent as they sail up into the air. Though the damage is respectable, its chances of knocking out an opponent are only average. Special Attacks Flare Blade: This one's a pleasant surprise to watch for the first time, especially if it's fully charged. Just hold down the B button and Roy will assume a ready stance while charging up. Release, and Roy will bring his sword down in a vertical slash. This move isn't so much damaging as it is impressive; even if it's barely charged at all, the opponent will go flying through the air as long as they have a fairly high damage percentage. Charging this move up all the way will take quite a while (and thus is unfortunately not worth it unless your enemy is a complete idiot), even longer than Marth, but the payoff is spectacular. Instead of a normal slice through the air, Roy will smash his sword into the ground in the same motion, resulting in a huge explosion that almost guarantees an instant K.O. unless the arena is very large. Oddly enough, though, the explosion's range is only slightly higher than the original attack. I wouldn't recommend charging this one up too much, because you're a pretty easy target, especially from behind. Nonetheless, the range is better than average, and makes for a nice finish to any enemy. Double-Edge Dance: The Double-Edge Dance, like Marth's Dancing Blade, causes Roy to lash out with a series of up to four blows with his sword. The result of Roy's attacks are slightly different than Marth's, though. The keys to this attack are the use of the joystick and the B (or A, if you prefer) buttons, and precision timing. Pressing Forward+B only starts the combination; the rest of the combo is up to you. After the initial swing, you can press Up+B, B, or Down+B for each successive swing to employ any of three attacks for each stage in the combination. (Get all that?) For example, you could start with Forward+B, then go on to use B, Down+B, and finally Up+B. Each joystick and button combination produces a different result for each attack, so the only thing I can say to use it efficiently is "practice, practice, practice!" Oh, and one more thing.... Have you even fallen prey to the cry, "I can't use Marth's and Roy's Forward+B attacks!"? Again, timing is a big factor in this move. If you tap the B button too quickly, Roy -- or Marth, whichever -- will respond only to the first one. Try tapping B after each time Roy FINISHES his attack, not while he's in the process of swinging. With practice, you can learn the timing of each attack and get faster and faster, so you can use this move quickly and effectively. Blazer: This move is great to clear out any annoying opponents that stick close to you. When employing this technique, Roy flies into the air with his sword out, exactly like Marth's Dolphin Slash. The most obvious difference between Marth's attack, though, is that Roy's hits multiple times. You can switch direction as soon as you pull this move off, which is often handy if there's an opponent coming in on you from behind. For example, if you're facing right, press Up+B and immediately pull the joystick to the left to have Roy turn around just before he leaps up. If you press in the direction that Roy is facing, you can also go a bit farther. This move can be used as the triple jump, but since it goes almost completely vertical, you'll have to wait until the last second before using it. Counter: This move is a little difficult to time, but is well worth it. Roy will just adopt a defensive posture and flash purple for a moment. During this time, any physical attack from another character will result in a (surprise, surprise) counter-attack from Roy. This move is especially handy against strong characters like Captain Falcon; Even the Falcon Punch can be countered by this move! The only downside to this move is that it has a terrible recovery time, so Roy can be smacked around to the opponent's content after he lowers his blade. Obviously, unless you're extremely lucky, this move is not good to use in the middle of a brawl. Strategies for Roy Swordsmen -Link -Young Link -Marth -Roy Usually, when fighting against the same type of opponent, it all comes down to which player is more skilled, but Roy is an exception to the rule. Although Roy is generally the slower among the bunch, he actually does pretty well against other swordsmen. His attacks are not very easy to dodge, and if Roy gets in a tight spot he can get away without too much hassle. Bottom line: Just stick close to your enemy, wait for them to make a mistake, then let 'em have it! And if things get too tough you can back off a little and wait with a good, strong attack ready. Speedsters -Fox -Falco -Pikachu -Pichu -Captain Falcon Roy does best at close quarters, so these guys can be a problem. Moving yourself up and dancing just out of their reach is a good idea, because you can strike when they're not expecting it and you can take off if they have the upper hand. Thus, dodging is a must for speedsters. Rolling dodges are especially effective. Just make sure you have an escape route and if you're going to attack, do it quick and get out of the way again. Try to avoid jumping. Close Range -Dr. Mario -Mario -Luigi -Yoshi -Mr. Game & Watch -Ice Climbers Roy does better than average with most close-quarters combatants, because of his long-reaching blade. Straight-on attacking is all good and fine, but if you can master dodge techniques, you'll have these guys in your pocket. When they start busting out with smash attacks, just give them a good whack to get them away and chase after them. Also, don't try your stronger attacks at first -- remember, you're slower than they are, so try chipping at their health first before unleashing your more devastating blows. Long Range -Ness -Samus -Mewtwo Roy doesn't deal with projectiles well from a distance, so if this type starts giving you problems, chase after them and kick the tobacco juice out of them. As long as you stay close, long-range fighters will have difficulty dealing with your more powerful attacks. Lightweights -Kirby -Jigglypuff -Peach -Zelda These guys can be a real pain. Since these characters focus on wearing you down slowly but surely from a safe distance, you might find it a trifle difficult when they start pulling hit-and-run moves. Roy, as is true with most other slow characters, will have to focus on standing still, moving only to leap out of the way, dodge, or chase after the fleeing opponent. These guys are everything you're not (fast, quick to recover, etc.), so try and hit them when you can, and hard. Heavyweights -Donkey Kong -Bowser -Ganondorf Roy is one of the few that can compete with this category easily, since he has enough strength to match them and the agility to maneuver in ways that they can't. Simply counter their slower nature with well- placed blows, and since they tend to cover their behinds worse than you do, take advantage of any time they're not paying attention to you. In no time you can whittle them down enough to smash them to kingdom come!