Roy (PM)

Roy is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. After being cut from Brawl, he returns with significant buffs. In Project M, he is one of two characters that were not originally playable in Brawl, the other being ; in Project+, he is one of three, with being the third. Roy was the first clone engine character announced for Project M, being a clone of as he was in Melee. 
Jun Fukuyama's protrayal of Roy from Super Smash Bros. Melee was repurposed for Roy's appearance in Project M onwards. 
Roy ranks 29th out of 41 on the official tier list, in the C tier. This is only a slight improvement in terms of tier ranking—in Melee, he is placed 21st out of 26, in the D tier—but balance in Project M is generally considered to be much better than in Melee, and Roy is far more viable and has significantly improved tournament results compared to his Melee version.
==Attributes==
Roy maintains the same archetype from Melee, being a nimble fighter with relatively strong and fast attacks, an uncommon combination for a lightweight. He retains many of his attributes from Melee, including a fast dash, a fast falling speed (the same as the significantly heavier ), and an average air speed. As a swordsman, Roy's Binding Blade gives his attacks disjointed hitboxes, allowing him to carefully space between him and his opponents. Many of his attacks were heavily buffed in his transition from Melee, becoming stronger, faster, better for comboing, easier to land due to increased reach, and better for finishing. Roy's greatest change, however, is his drastically improved aerial game (which was arguably the worst in Melee). For instance, his sweetspotted down aerial is much stronger and now a spike as opposed to a meteor smash, and his back aerial is a powerful finisher due to its significantly increased knockback.
One of the biggest flaws Roy had in Melee was his inability to combo due to his difficult-to-land attacks. As a result of their poor hitbox placements, it was very easy for Roy to land his sourspots, which caused low hitstun. This has been well addressed in Project M, as his attacks are comparably easier to land and sweetspot as a result of their increased range. Because of this, they offer more hitstun than they did in Melee. Roy's improved aerial game greatly benefits his comboing game, as he can now link multiple forward aerials consecutively and rack up damage more easily than before, and his up aerial has been strengthened, not enough to make it a reliable kill move, but enough to make it more efficient at juggling. In addition, Roy also has a very good approach due to having one of the best SHFFLs in the game due to his fast falling speed, moderately high gravity, and low short hop, coupled with his relatively low traction, giving him an above-average wavedash length.
Roy's grab game is formidable. His up throw is the 9th strongest (10th if 's is counted as two due to his purple and blue Pikmin being stronger) and has great chain grabbing potential against fast fallers. Additionally, Roy can force his opponent over to the edge and execute a good edgeguarding strategy by grabbing them, forward or down throwing them, and finishing them off with either his Flare Blade or side smash.
However, Roy is not without his flaws. He retains his disjointed hitboxes' primary flaw from Melee: the poor hitbox placements, as the tipper hitboxes of most attacks (neutral aerial and up smash are a few exceptions), retain their roles as the sourspots of his attacks, meaning that Roy is still forced to come up close to his opponents in order to be most efficient. However, because they are easier to land as a result of their increased range, this flaw does not adversely affect Roy nearly as much as it did in Melee. Roy's primary flaws, however, are his susceptibility to combos despite his light weight, due to his fast falling speed, which also exacerbates his poor and easily gimped recovery, his other major flaw. On the upside, Roy can aid his recovery by using his side special, the Double-Edge Dance, as the first hit grants him slightly more vertical distance and longer airborne time. Also, his fast falling speed enhances his vertical endurance, making him moderately difficult to KO vertically. Despite this, Roy's vertical endurance is only average relative to the cast (18th overall, which is relatively worse than in Melee) due to being lighter than many other characters. In conclusion, Roy can be considered a rush-down glass cannon like the space animals, because while he possesses devastatingly powerful attacks in his repertoire in addition to an effective combo game, his survivability is below average due to being an easy-to-combo lightweight with a lackluster recovery.
Overall, thanks to the buffs he received, his combo game and overall power have been improved significantly, thus making him be a more formidable fighter than he was before in Melee.
==Changes from Melee to PM==
Roy has been heavily buffed from Melee to PM and has been reworked to be more of a semi-clone of , rather than a clone, in terms of animations and attack functions. In addition, his buffs have increased his overall KO potential and made him become on par Marth as opposed to weaker.
===Aesthetics===
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===Attributes===
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===Ground Attacks===
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===Aerial Attacks===
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===Grabs and Throws===
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===Special Moves===
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==Changes from PM to P+==
===Aesthetics===
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===Attribute===
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====Ground attacks====
Forward tilt
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Down tilt
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Forward smash
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Down smash
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===Aerial attacks===
Back aerial
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Up aerial
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===Throw===
Down throw
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===Special moves===
Flare Blade
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Double-Edge Dance
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Blazer
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Counter
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==Revisions==
===v3.01===
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===v3.5===
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===v3.6===
Beta
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Full
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==Moveset==
Up to date as of version 3.6.
 	Name 	Damage 	Description
Neutral attack 	 	8% (sweetspot), 6% (sourspot) 	Performs one single horizontal slash with his sword. Deals low damage and low knockback, even at the sweetspot.
Forward tilt 	 	14% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot) 	Performs a forward stab with his sword while taking a step forward. This move is similar to his normal attack animation (like for many rapier-based Lords) in Binding Blade. It has considerable range and power, with low start and end lag. Can be angled up or down.
Up tilt 	 	12% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot) 	Swings his sword in an arc upwards and outwards over his head towards the direction he's facing. Low start and end lag, with decent knockback.
Down tilt 	 	12% (close), 10% (mid), 6% (far) 	Identical to Marth's, Roy crouches and jabs his sword briskly at the enemy's feet. Low start lag with moderate end lag. Has great vertical knockback, which can lead into combos. The range can also prove great during neutral game spacing and edgeguarding.
Dash attack 	 	14% (sweetspot), 10% (sourspot) 	Identical to Marth's, Roy lunges forward and does a quick upward sweeping diagonal slash. Has somewhat moderate startup and ending lag. This move also has decent knockback and can lead into combos or dash dancing.
Forward smash 	 	(sweetspot), (sourspot) 	Identical to Marth's, Roy performs a rotating one-handed slamming sword plunge to the ground. This move has low start with moderate ending lag along with great range, with extreme damage and knockback near the base of the sword. However, near the tip of the sword, the knockback and damage are severely reduced. Roy's original primary finisher like in Melee.
Up smash 	Flame Sword 	(hits 1-4), (hit 5) 	Thrusts his sword skyward as it ignites in flames. This move has low start up, but high ending lag with decent vertical range. This move traps opponents in for great damage, and can link into combos at low percentages. The tip of the sword can spike enemies at the very first frames of the attack, just as long as they don't link to another part of the sword. Causes a flame effect, should it hit.
Down smash 	 	/ (clean sweetspot/sourspot), / (late sweetspot/sourspot) 	A low outward slashing spin around Roy's body. This move has low start up and ending lag, with decent range and knockback. The move's more powerful near the base of the sword, and causes a flame effect if it connects.
Neutral aerial 	 	4% (hit 1), 10% (hit 2) 	A full outward 360° spin four times with his sword extended with both hands. Two attacks may link together for decent damage, with relative knockback. Causes a flame effect if it connects.
Forward aerial 	 	12% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot) 	Identical to Marth's, Roy does a quick swipe forward. Despite the sourspot dealing relatively less damage than that of the sweetspot, it ironically delivers more horizontal knockback, making it the only move whose sourspot is technically stronger than its sweetspot. Often a main combo tool, but can still be punished if used incorrectly.
Back aerial 	 	16% (sweetspot), 11% (sourspot) 	Similar to Ike's back aerial, Roy performs a quick horizontal outward slash behind him. It is a decent tool for edgeguarding and gimping, though it is somewhat more difficult to connect due to the smaller, horizontal hitbox. Like Marth's back aerial, this move turns Roy around.
Up aerial 	 	12% (sweetspot), 8% (sourspot) 	Swipes his sword upwards, front to back, in a delayed backflip. The sweetspot has been given more knockback so Roy can execute better combos and juggles. However, the sourspot has lower damage and mediocre knockback. Closely identical to Marth's up aerial, but is considerably better at juggling due to the lower knockback, at the cost of being unreliable at KOing.
Down aerial 	 	18% (body), 12% (blade), 9% (tip) 	Identical to Marth's, Roy swipes his sword below via an outward wide slash. This move has been drastically changed from Melee. Though it retains the same start up, its ending and landing lag has been sped up. The middle of the blade is stronger, and its power is in between those of the sourspot and sweetspot. The sweetspot's knockback, positioned between Roy's head and his sword's hilt when the move is executed, has drastically been increased, making it better for edgeguarding. Additionally, it is no longer a meteor smash, but a powerful fiery spike, which means it cannot be meteor canceled, making it an even more dangerous move. However, other than a slight increase in damage, its sourspot has barely been changed.
Grab 	 	— 	
Pummel 	 	3% 	Knees opponent.
Forward throw 	 	5% 	Throws the opponent forward at blinding speed. This throw can link into combos or chain grab at moderate percentages. Can also lead into other attacks, like his forward smash, for example.
Back throw 	 	5% 	Flings the opponent behind him. Unlike his forward throw, this throw cannot link into combos at low percentages as easily. However, it can link into various attacks.
Up throw 	 	5% 	Tosses the opponent upwards with one hand. Great for chaingrabs and combos.
Down throw 	 	6% 	Slams the opponent onto the floor. Has decent knockback and can link into his forward smash.
Floor attack (front)	 	6% 	Sweeps his sword on the ground, front to back.
Floor attack (back) 	 	6% 	Performs a quick stab to the left followed by a horizontal slash to the right.
Floor attack (trip) 	 	5% 	Gets up and does a stab on one side followed by a horizontal slash on the other side.
Edge attack (fast) 	 	8% (sword), 6% (body) 	Fips onto the stage with a quick diagonal slash downwards.
Edge attack (slow) 	 	10% 	Slowly climbs up and performs a quick horizontal slice.
Neutral special 	Flare Blade 	10-45%, 50% (fully charged) 	Similar to Marth's Shield Breaker, Roy holds the Binding Blade over his head before doing a powerful overhead slash, which can cause a flame effect. This move can be charged, with the damage of the attack increasing the longer the special button is held. When fully charged, Roy slams his sword on the ground and produces a powerful explosion that can break shields and deals a ton of damage and knockback, being able to one-hit KO almost any character. However, Roy receives 10% recoil damage in the process.
Side special 	Double-Edge Dance	Varies 	A sequence of sword maneuvers with several variations based on the direction the control stick is held.
Up special 	Blazer 	5%/3% (hit 1 sweetspot/sourspot), 2% (hits 2-6), 4% (hit 7)	Roy soars upwards with his sword engulfed in flames, burning opponents within his reach. Similar to Marth's Dolphin Slash, though noticeably different in that it hits multiple times, is slower, and has significant hang time, giving Roy somewhat of an advantage against impromptu edge-guarding attempts. The move's animation in Project M has been modified as a reference to the Ryuuenjin (Dragon Flame Blade) used by Zero in Mega Man X4 and Capcom's Vs. series of games.
Down special 	Counter 	1.5x damage of countered move (min 1%) 	Roy briefly flashes while entering a defensive stance, allowing him to counterattack within the first few frames of animation with a fiery slash. Opponents that attack Roy will be struck back with 1.5x the damage the attack would have normally dealt. Performing this move slows Roy's descent while airborne.
Final Smash 	Critical Hit 	20% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-41), 20% (hit 42) 	Roy starts his attack similarly to Marth's, where he brings his blade back and charges. However, unlike Marth's version, he unleashes a large column of fire, which is strikingly similar to Entei's Fire Spin attack. Usually a one-hit KO. Like Marth, using it in the air without any intervening terrain will cause Roy to self-destruct (which can be avoided by pressing an attack button). The Final Smash is somewhat cinematic, causing the camera to focus directly on to Roy if he connects the attack.
Double-Edge Dance
Hit 	Damage 	Description
First Hit (Neutral) 	5% (sweetspot), 4% (sourspot) 	Does a downwards slash that deals little knockback; incapable of KOing.
Second Hit (Up) 	6% (sweetspot), 4% (sourspot) 	Does an upwards slash. Has a little more knockback then the first slash, but still cannot KO at high percents.
Second Hit (Neutral)	6% (sweetspot), 4% (sourspot) 	Does horizontal slash forwards. The knockback of this move has been increased from Melee.
Third Hit (Up) 	Clean: 9% (sweeetspot), 7% (sourspot)Late: 6% (sweetspot), 4% (sourspot)	Does a downwards vertical slash. At the beginning of the move, the attack meteor smashes opponents.
Third Hit (Neutral) 	9% (sweetspot), 7% (sourspot) 	Spins once and does an upwards slash. Oddly, compared to Marth's, it has higher base knockback, but lower scaling, making it typically impossible to link together with the fourth hit at low percentages on most characters and weaker at higher percentages; despite this, it is still a powerful finisher.
Third Hit (Down) 	3% (hits 1-3), 4% (hit 4) 	Stabs his sword at the ground, dealing multiple flame damage.
Fourth Hit (Up) 	10% (sweetspot), 8% (sourspot) 	Does a powerful upper slash. Deals flame damage. Closely resembles Marth's upward strike from Brawl.
Fourth Hit (Neutral)	12% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot) 	Spins and swings his sword at the ground. Deals flame damage.
Fourth Hit (Down) 	3% (hits 1-5) 	Holds his sword in a reverse grip and thrusts it downwards, dealing multiple flame damage. Based on 's Gun Flame attack (as well as his Order-Sol self's Fafnir Prototype version) from .
Fourth Hit (Back) 	11% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot) 	Turns around and thrusts his sword forward.
==In competitive play==
===Notable players===
* Connor - Ranked 18th on PMRank 2019.
* - The best Roy player in the world while also playing Marth, Toon Link, and Meta Knight. Ranked 3rd on the PMRank 2023.
* - Formerly ranked #44 on PMRank 2022 and ranked 9th in Washington.
* - Ranked #31 on PMRank 2023 tri-maining Fox, ZSS and Roy.
* - The best active solo Roy player. Ranked #35 on PMRank 2023.
==In Solo Modes==
While Roy cannot appear as a CPU in , he does appear in All-Star Mode in Project+ and later versions of Project M. He is fought in Stage 11 alongside and . In Event Matches, Roy replaces the opponent in Co-Op Event 13: Blades of the Quick and Mighty. He also appears in two brand new event matches, first a new Event 9 called Clash of Swords where the player must defeat and Roy as Ike with one stock each on and in a new Event 40 where the player must defeat , Roy and on the Subspace Stadium stage.
Roy's credits music is Winning Road - Roy's Hope.
===Congratulations Screens===
RoyCongratulationsPM.png|Classic Mode
RoyCongratulationsPM AllStar.png|All-Star Mode
==Role in The Subspace Emissary==
As Roy does not exist within the base game of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he does not play a role within the story but instead automatically unlocked after finishing the main story in Project+. 
Roy isn't available in Subspace in Project M and older versions of Project+ without the use of Debug mode.
==Trophy==
In Project+, Roy's trophy can be obtained by clearing or All-Star Mode with Roy. Roy's trophy replaces Ashnard's trophy from Brawl.
==Alternate costumes==
===Project M===
Roy retains his costumes from Melee, with the addition of two new costumes, although they were touched up to match the more realistic environment of Brawl.
PMDT had confirmed on their Twitter account that Roy would have an alternate costume based off his appearance in Fire Emblem: Awakening in a future version of Project M. While it never made it into the mod officially, it was later released on the Brawl Vault.
							
							
*Default: Based on Roy's design in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, although with a purple cape like in Melee.
*Green: Based on the "other" units in the Fire Emblem games.
*Red: Based on the "enemy" units in the Fire Emblem games.
*Blue: Based on the "player" unit in the Fire Emblem games. This costume was touched up from Melee, now matching his appearance in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
*Gold: Resembles Bors from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
*Black: Resembles Galle from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
*Purple: A costume added in version 3.5. The color scheme makes a reference to his appearance in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
===Project+===
Roy receives an alternate costume based on his appearance in Fire Emblem Awakening, along with recolors.
*Pink: Resembles Marcus from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
*Purple: Resembles Zephiel, the primary antagonist of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
*White: Resembles Zelot from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
*Blue (Awakening): Based on Roy's design in Fire Emblem Awakening.
*Red (Awakening): Based on the "enemy" units in the Fire Emblem games.
*Green (Awakening): Based on the "other" units in the Fire Emblem games.
*Gray (Awakening): Based on Inigo from Fire Emblem Awakening.
*Gold (Awakening): Unknown.
*Black (Awakening): Unknown.
Secret costumes:
 
*Z-Secret Costume: Roy's beta design.
*R-Secret Costume: Based on Roy's design in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
==Reveal trailer==
==Gallery==
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MewtwoPM01.jpg
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==Trivia==
*Like Mewtwo, anything that would normally be exclusive to Roy (namely, trophies, Congratulations video and a codec conversation) reuses that of 's.
**Despite this, he now has his own congratulations screen.
**In addition, when accessing replays in Brawl, Roy shows up as .
**Furthermore, clearing Classic or All-Star Mode with Roy grants the player the Roy trophy in Project+.
*Unlike Mewtwo, Roy does not have a specific Wii Remote select sound; it is nothing more than a generic, metal clanking sound.
*The voice clip from Roy's up taunt comes from one of his victory quotes in Melee.
**By pure coincidence, this voice clip (albiet re-recorded) would go on to be used in one of 's taunts in Smash 4.
*Before Project+ came to be, there were some minor oddities with Roy's voice clips during battle, distinctions shared by fellow clone engine fighter . This is no longer the case, as they now have their own soundback with enhanced voice and sound effects. The following oddities were removed:
**Roy's voice and sound effects were of a significantly lower quality than those featured in Melee, although an unofficial patch proved that this was unnecessary for the official release of Project M.
**Roy's voice could be heard when he entered Metal form.
**Prior to Project M v3.6 Beta, Roy's sound effects replaced Duon's, resulting in atypical behaviour when fighting it. After 3.6, his sound effects were then shared with .
*As of Project +, Roy is still missing his sheathe. The PMDT's reason for this is due to file size and clipping issues; this was before later versions of BrawlBox gained a model optimizer, as importing such objects then would have caused the game to crash.
**As newer versions of BrawlBox now exist, file size and clipping issues are little to non-existent. There also exist unofficial patches for Roy in this scenario, which have no issues on file size whatsoever, and the sheathe clips roughly as much as those of other existing characters on Project M's roster.
*If Roy is under the effects of a Turbo and performs his neutral aerial right after using Blazer on a large character such as , Roy will launch high up into the air. A similar situation applies to Marth.
*Roy is one of the only two characters to have two spikes; the other is . Coincidentally, they share the same falling speed.
*If one were to delete the custom file used for the announcer calls in Project M and select Roy in-game, it reveals to use the clip for . On the Sound Test, Roy's announcer selection call goes where Pokémon Trainer would go.
==External links==
*3.6 Frame Data
*3.02 Frame Data
*P+ Frame Data
*Labbing Discord Tech Post
Category:Roy
Category:Characters (PM)