Well, since I just recently got the Japaneses version of Brawl, and have been playing around with Ike quite a lot (he's the man), I thought I'd post my thoughts, concerns, and general opinion of Ike's play style in the smash forums.
So far, Ike is an excellent character to play with. He's slow, but not prohibitively slow, even without the ability to L-Cancel any aerials in Brawl. He's insanely strong...I've killed characters with every single move he has except his Up+b and counter (His jab can seriously kill at 150%+). And Ike is by no means devoid of any quick moves, his back air and side+b are very quick. His range is excellent, and his priority is also extremely good, especially when coupled with his long sword range. So far I've been mostly playing against Meta Knight, Zero Suit Samus, Falcon, Lucario(sp?), and the very occasional Fox/Dedede.
Against these characters Ike actually holds his own pretty well, and is seeming to do very well against Meta Knight because of his longer range and pure destructive power.
Meta Knight will combo me and what not but...Ike kills him hard. I don't want to get too much into character match ups because there is much to be learned yet from them for me, so I will try to update as I learn more about specific matchups. Now for Ike's moves.
Ground Moves
Neutral+A (hold) - Holding A makes Ike jab repeatedly, has short range and does small amounts of damage. Not useful at all really.
Neutral+A(3 A's) - Pressing A 3 times in a row brings Ike into an amazing jab combo where hit punches, kicks, and then slashes the opponent. All hits are guaranteed once one connects, and its very fast (especially for Ike). This combo looks to be pretty central to Ike's game, as its fast, can disrupt the enemy, and does 14-15% damage when all hits connect. Awesome move, KO possibility at 150+ generally.
Side+A - This move has decent startup, decent lag after its completion, and good knockback/damage. It is situationally useful, because of its lag and can be punished without too much hassle. It can be used as the 3rd swing in the jab combo, although even at low percentages opponents can D.I. away from it (If they aren't paying attention they will get hit). Moderately useful move overall.
Down+A - Not too useful I.M.O., it is very slow and very easily dodged. It doesn't reach below the edge as far as I can tell in terms of edge guarding, but it does spike/meteor people downwards if they hang on the ledge past their invulnerability frames.
Up+A - Awesome tilt, its range is only in front of Ike, has decent speed, some actual possible combo ability at low percentages (sets up for a neutral air usually), and is a very good K.O. move. Good tilt overall, probably Ike's best tilt.
Side Smash - Wow. This smash is slow as hell but dear god if it hits someone, they feel it. Its a KO move at 50%+ generally, but it has an extremely slow windup time and good lag after it. I don't generally use this much because of its horrible lag, but if you can catch someone off guard with it or get lucky, they are pretty much dead. Be prepared for punishment though.
Up Smash - Great smash, also slow like all of Ike's moves, but its useful because of the ability to dash into up smashes in Brawl. I wouldn't spam this smash at all because of its speed issue, but if someone is coming from above or on a ledge above you, it definitely makes sense to use this move. Very good K.O. ability and range. (If you can hit someone on the ground who is shielding it generally pushes them far back and so far I haven't been punished for using this smash, but I'm not sure if that will always happen yet).
Down Smash - Ike's quickest smash, it covers good ground below Ike, and does decent damage/knockback. I haven't been able to use this smash much yet, I'll report more on it when I can more fully determine its usefulness.
Aerials
Neutral Air - Good god, his neutral air is amazing. It covers from in front of Ike to behind him, and it has good speed considering it's Ike here. Not only that, the true beauty of the neutral air is that upon landing before completion (i.e. short hop fast falling (which is good for Ike)), there is almost zero lag from the nair, and its almost impossible to stop a jab combo after a nair. Spam this for distancing and awesome.
Forward Air - Good overall aerial, although I wouldn't necessarily approach with this over a nair, because it has sizable lag when landing, leading to punishment. Its forward range is very impressive, and it has good K.O. ability. Definitely a good aerial to use. Don't spam it.
Back Air - LOL back air. This thing is insanely fast, has good range behind Ike, and great killing power. Its especially awesome when you shield an attack, then shield jump into back air and WTFpwn someone who isn't freaking Meta Knight(good god he's too short to hit). Great killing move, good range and amazing speed. A must use killing move.
Down Air - Situationally useful aerial, it doesn't last too long, has decent killing power, is a meteor (but seriously don't even try to edgeguard), and can counter some up airs if you are getting juggled. Not a bad aerial, but not a great one either.
Special Moves
B - Ike creates an explosion by smashing his sword into the ground, and this move is generally useful. It's pretty situational, but since it can be used in mid-air and hits above, slightly behind, and in front of Ike, it's good despite it being slow. Also has some invulnerability frames in it.
Side B - Spam this move. Spam it into forever. It's a charging(hold B) dash attack, by the way. Not only is it a good killing move, a good recovery move, its also a great general approach to someone. There is no apparent lag from dashing forward(as long as you don't hit the person's shield), so you can immediately jab, grab, or tilt someone out of it. It can be used in so many different ways, and I primarily use it to mind game recoveries (when I'm high up) and close distance to projectile whores. Awesome Awesome Awesome.
Up B - Great recovery move, especially when side b isn't an option. Ike becomes a tank for many frames, taking damage but not caring. Going off the ledge then using it to get back up onto the stage is also really useful, because it can stun the opponent who is trying to edge guard you. I also got 23% damage on Meta Knight doing this when he was trying to edge guard me. Poor Meta.
Down B - Counter, pretty useless move. Normally I'd like counter, but now in addition to Roy timing, it also has to be pre-emptive, meaning I can't hit counter as I'm getting hit. It has to be slightly before I get hit now. It's stupid, but sometimes useful, just be prepared for punishment.
Ike overall is shaping up to be a monster. He's heavy, hard hitting, and has good ways to approach a variety of characters. I'm not one to call any character into a tier position, but I'd say barring some sort of advanced technique discovery, Ike should be able to be played pretty competitively. Just make sure to use caution, distancing, and smart approaches. Ike is all about making hits connect, 'cause all his hits can kill.
So far, Ike is an excellent character to play with. He's slow, but not prohibitively slow, even without the ability to L-Cancel any aerials in Brawl. He's insanely strong...I've killed characters with every single move he has except his Up+b and counter (His jab can seriously kill at 150%+). And Ike is by no means devoid of any quick moves, his back air and side+b are very quick. His range is excellent, and his priority is also extremely good, especially when coupled with his long sword range. So far I've been mostly playing against Meta Knight, Zero Suit Samus, Falcon, Lucario(sp?), and the very occasional Fox/Dedede.
Against these characters Ike actually holds his own pretty well, and is seeming to do very well against Meta Knight because of his longer range and pure destructive power.
Meta Knight will combo me and what not but...Ike kills him hard. I don't want to get too much into character match ups because there is much to be learned yet from them for me, so I will try to update as I learn more about specific matchups. Now for Ike's moves.
Ground Moves
Neutral+A (hold) - Holding A makes Ike jab repeatedly, has short range and does small amounts of damage. Not useful at all really.
Neutral+A(3 A's) - Pressing A 3 times in a row brings Ike into an amazing jab combo where hit punches, kicks, and then slashes the opponent. All hits are guaranteed once one connects, and its very fast (especially for Ike). This combo looks to be pretty central to Ike's game, as its fast, can disrupt the enemy, and does 14-15% damage when all hits connect. Awesome move, KO possibility at 150+ generally.
Side+A - This move has decent startup, decent lag after its completion, and good knockback/damage. It is situationally useful, because of its lag and can be punished without too much hassle. It can be used as the 3rd swing in the jab combo, although even at low percentages opponents can D.I. away from it (If they aren't paying attention they will get hit). Moderately useful move overall.
Down+A - Not too useful I.M.O., it is very slow and very easily dodged. It doesn't reach below the edge as far as I can tell in terms of edge guarding, but it does spike/meteor people downwards if they hang on the ledge past their invulnerability frames.
Up+A - Awesome tilt, its range is only in front of Ike, has decent speed, some actual possible combo ability at low percentages (sets up for a neutral air usually), and is a very good K.O. move. Good tilt overall, probably Ike's best tilt.
Side Smash - Wow. This smash is slow as hell but dear god if it hits someone, they feel it. Its a KO move at 50%+ generally, but it has an extremely slow windup time and good lag after it. I don't generally use this much because of its horrible lag, but if you can catch someone off guard with it or get lucky, they are pretty much dead. Be prepared for punishment though.
Up Smash - Great smash, also slow like all of Ike's moves, but its useful because of the ability to dash into up smashes in Brawl. I wouldn't spam this smash at all because of its speed issue, but if someone is coming from above or on a ledge above you, it definitely makes sense to use this move. Very good K.O. ability and range. (If you can hit someone on the ground who is shielding it generally pushes them far back and so far I haven't been punished for using this smash, but I'm not sure if that will always happen yet).
Down Smash - Ike's quickest smash, it covers good ground below Ike, and does decent damage/knockback. I haven't been able to use this smash much yet, I'll report more on it when I can more fully determine its usefulness.
Aerials
Neutral Air - Good god, his neutral air is amazing. It covers from in front of Ike to behind him, and it has good speed considering it's Ike here. Not only that, the true beauty of the neutral air is that upon landing before completion (i.e. short hop fast falling (which is good for Ike)), there is almost zero lag from the nair, and its almost impossible to stop a jab combo after a nair. Spam this for distancing and awesome.
Forward Air - Good overall aerial, although I wouldn't necessarily approach with this over a nair, because it has sizable lag when landing, leading to punishment. Its forward range is very impressive, and it has good K.O. ability. Definitely a good aerial to use. Don't spam it.
Back Air - LOL back air. This thing is insanely fast, has good range behind Ike, and great killing power. Its especially awesome when you shield an attack, then shield jump into back air and WTFpwn someone who isn't freaking Meta Knight(good god he's too short to hit). Great killing move, good range and amazing speed. A must use killing move.
Down Air - Situationally useful aerial, it doesn't last too long, has decent killing power, is a meteor (but seriously don't even try to edgeguard), and can counter some up airs if you are getting juggled. Not a bad aerial, but not a great one either.
Special Moves
B - Ike creates an explosion by smashing his sword into the ground, and this move is generally useful. It's pretty situational, but since it can be used in mid-air and hits above, slightly behind, and in front of Ike, it's good despite it being slow. Also has some invulnerability frames in it.
Side B - Spam this move. Spam it into forever. It's a charging(hold B) dash attack, by the way. Not only is it a good killing move, a good recovery move, its also a great general approach to someone. There is no apparent lag from dashing forward(as long as you don't hit the person's shield), so you can immediately jab, grab, or tilt someone out of it. It can be used in so many different ways, and I primarily use it to mind game recoveries (when I'm high up) and close distance to projectile whores. Awesome Awesome Awesome.
Up B - Great recovery move, especially when side b isn't an option. Ike becomes a tank for many frames, taking damage but not caring. Going off the ledge then using it to get back up onto the stage is also really useful, because it can stun the opponent who is trying to edge guard you. I also got 23% damage on Meta Knight doing this when he was trying to edge guard me. Poor Meta.
Down B - Counter, pretty useless move. Normally I'd like counter, but now in addition to Roy timing, it also has to be pre-emptive, meaning I can't hit counter as I'm getting hit. It has to be slightly before I get hit now. It's stupid, but sometimes useful, just be prepared for punishment.
Ike overall is shaping up to be a monster. He's heavy, hard hitting, and has good ways to approach a variety of characters. I'm not one to call any character into a tier position, but I'd say barring some sort of advanced technique discovery, Ike should be able to be played pretty competitively. Just make sure to use caution, distancing, and smart approaches. Ike is all about making hits connect, 'cause all his hits can kill.
