Known differences between Chrom and Roy

[Fell God]

Thread didn't already exist and the Belmonts already have one, so I just kind of went for it. Anyway, title is pretty self explanatory and the list will be expanded upon as we learn more. If I'm wrong just tell me. Also feel free to add to this.

Aesthetics​

• Chrom lacks Roy's fiery effects entirely, this causes his standard special to use a sort of earthy blast with light effects mixed in.
• Chrom does not use Roy's reverse grip on any move, altering many of his animations.
• Chrom's lines are entirely different on account of having a different voice actor (by the way, currently unknown if Ray Chase will voice Roy or his lines will be recycled) and causes him to vocalize and speak quite differently during moves such as his standard special, up special, and Counter.
• Chrom's attack trails are more in line with Lucina's to accentuate his lack of sweetspots.
• Chrom inherits Roy's old dash animation while Roy gains a new one. This greatly resembles his animation for moving before attacking in Fire Emblem: Awakening.

Gameplay​

• Chrom's up special is very different, more in line with Ike's. Also, it's based on a move he performs during the Two Falchions cutscene.
• Chrom lacks Roy's inverse tipper, leading to more consistent but lower potential damage and knockback.
• Chrom's up smash hits three times compared to Roy's five.
• Chrom's standard special move charges to full much faster than Roy's, and he does not unleash it instantly upon reaching full charge. This allows him to continuously rotate while holding down the button.
• Chrom's Final Smash is entirely unique, being based on his animation for Aether from Fire Emblem: Awakening. Fittingly, this move is known as Awakening Aether. (And for a bit of speculation on my part, this leads me to believe his up special is NOT called Aether)

 

[pupNapoleon]

Roy Doesnt scream Aether.
I'm not sure why Chrom does, but he certainly does do this in his trailer, and it is not the same move that IKE uses.

 

[Opossum]

Roy Doesnt scream Aether.
I'm not sure why Chrom does, but he certainly does do this in his trailer, and it is not the same move that IKE uses.

His Final Smash uses his version of Aether from Awakening, a strong strike followed by a charging stab into the opponent that combines the Sol and Luna skills. It's one of Chrom's signature skills alongside Rightful King, as only he and his possible children (Lucina plus potentially one of Morgan, Cynthia, Inigo, Brady, or Kjelle) can use it.

 

[GunBlaze]

Chrom's jab uses Smash 4 Roy's animation, which is appropriate since his sword is longer.

Also, he has a proper grip on F-Tilt, instead of a reverse grip. Placebo tells me it has more range due to this.

 

[Arthur97]

If only his FS healed him too.

 

[Fell God]

Chrom's jab uses Smash 4 Roy's animation, which is appropriate since his sword is longer.

Also, he has a proper grip on F-Tilt, instead of a reverse grip. Placebo tells me it has more range due to this.

His jab is pretty much the same as Smash 4 Roy's, though due to his grip, I think it's very slightly different. Have to agree with you on the latter point though, it definitely appears to have more range, I was just hesitant to jump to conclusions (hope it does though)

 

[Arthur97]

On the matter of range, is the Awakening Falchion longer than the Binding Blade? For that matter, are Chrom and Lucina's the same length or are they different to match their sources?

 

[tskidless]

I think the Falchion is actually slightly shorter personally. I also feel like Chrom will to Roy like how Lucina is to Marth, an easier to use character but worst overall. The lack of a sourspot might also mean that combos / tech chases that were possible with Roy might not be possible for Chrom. We also don't know how his Side Special will work, if it's like Roy's the lack of a sourspot means that it can be gotten out of easier.

 

[Pkjoan]

Neutral B doesn't have fire properties or damages Chrom

 

[Fell God]

On the matter of range, is the Awakening Falchion longer than the Binding Blade? For that matter, are Chrom and Lucina's the same length or are they different to match their sources?

Late reply but I've heard that Lucina's Falchion is shorter than in Awakening, so as to match Marth's, and I'd guess since Roy's sword is about the same length, that Chrom's is likely reduced as well. Hopefully he has some more range though, since he can actually benefit from it unlike Roy.

 

[Arthur97]

Late reply but I've heard that Lucina's Falchion is shorter than in Awakening, so as to match Marth's, and I'd guess since Roy's sword is about the same length, that Chrom's is likely reduced as well. Hopefully he has some more range though, since he can actually benefit from it unlike Roy.

They couldn't have made Falchion bigger as another difference? Or would it actually be just enough to give them the same range?

 

[Fell God]

They couldn't have made Falchion bigger as another difference?

Guess not, so that's out the window for both Chrom and Lucina, and while I'm confident in Chrom being unique enough, I do hope Lucina gets decloned, if even just a little bit, in this one.

 

[Arthur97]

Guess not, so that's out the window for both Chrom and Lucina, and while I'm confident in Chrom being unique enough, I do hope Lucina gets decloned, if even just a little bit, in this one.

What I've seen is not promising. Given how they've handled the new ones (except maybe Richter), do they just think that it's actually accurate to have Lucina that way? They could have also let her and Chrom share a FS since they both had Aether. Maybe just have her start with the sword in front of her face pose.

 

[Rizen]

Are we sure Chrome's not an Ike clone echo fighter? It was hard to tell from the direct.

 

[Opossum]

Are we sure Chrome's not an Ike clone echo fighter? It was hard to tell from the direct.

He's officially listed as a Roy echo. He doesn't have fire and has balanced blade damage, but he's a Roy echo nonetheless. The only major difference is his up special, which is a variation of Ike's Aether. Only instead of throwing his sword upwards first, Chrom does an upward swipe before leaping after the foes with his sword.

 

[Maxoxpower]

He's officially listed as a Roy echo. He doesn't have fire and has balanced blade damage, but he's a Roy echo nonetheless. The only major difference is his up special, which is a variation of Ike's Aether. Only instead of throwing his sword upwards first, Chrom does an upward swipe before leaping after the foes with his sword.

is this an unique animation ?

 

[GunBlaze]

is this an unique animation ?

Marcina Up Tilt into Aether's jump to spin to fall.

 

[Maikou]

Are we sure Chrome's not an Ike clone echo fighter? It was hard to tell from the direct.

He's officially listed as a Roy echo. He doesn't have fire and has balanced blade damage, but he's a Roy echo nonetheless. The only major difference is his up special, which is a variation of Ike's Aether. Only instead of throwing his sword upwards first, Chrom does an upward swipe before leaping after the foes with his sword.

His trailer shows that he has Double-Edge Dance and Roy's jab and neutral aerial. Also, Chrom's up special is NOT ripped from Ike. It is based off of a move Chrom performs in the Two Falchions cutscene in Awakening. It may have been based on one of Ike's attacks, namely a critical hit animation from Path of Radiance, but the fact is that it's a move Chrom performs in canon, not something ripped from Ike just for Smash.

 

[Opossum]

His trailer shows that he has Double-Edge Dance and Roy's jab and neutral aerial. Also, Chrom's up special is NOT ripped from Ike. It is based off of a move Chrom performs in the Two Falchions cutscene in Awakening. It may have been based on one of Ike's attacks, namely a critical hit animation from Path of Radiance, but the fact is that it's a move Chrom performs in canon, not something ripped from Ike just for Smash.

Kind of preaching to the choir here with that one.

 

[PlasmWraith]

I think the Falchion is actually slightly shorter personally. I also feel like Chrom will to Roy like how Lucina is to Marth, an easier to use character but worst overall. The lack of a sourspot might also mean that combos / tech chases that were possible with Roy might not be possible for Chrom. We also don't know how his Side Special will work, if it's like Roy's the lack of a sourspot means that it can be gotten out of easier.

I think Chrom is going to be better than Roy, inverse tipper holds Roy back imo, Marth promotes using the range of his sword while Roy wants to ignore it. Chrom can use the sword's disjoint to his advantage while still getting most of Roy's power, with lower potential kill power but more consistent kill power since he doesn't need to hit so close.

I don't think getting out of dancing blade is going to be an issue with the increased speed either.

 

[FE_SLaDe]

I think Chrom is going to be better than Roy, inverse tipper holds Roy back imo, Marth promotes using the range of his sword while Roy wants to ignore it. Chrom can use the sword's disjoint to his advantage while still getting most of Roy's power, with lower potential kill power but more consistent kill power since he doesn't need to hit so close.

I don't think getting out of dancing blade is going to be an issue with the increased speed either.

Not true. Roy has quite a few benefits from having sour spot hit boxes (namely kill confirms at higher percents) and the only Roy players who think he needs to get close to play neutral aren't very good. The only thing sour spots do to Roy is make his ability nickel and dime the opponent worse which tbh isn't terribly important considering he has that jank factor with F-smash, decent kill power off of tech chases, Nair 1, and other set ups.

What makes Roy bad (err, low-tier, not bad) is his lack of ability to beat out the majority of high-top tier characters in neutral, his fall speed which made him very easy to combo, his bad landing options, and his bad recovery. He just doesn't get rewarded enough off hit or a grab (sweet-spotted or not) to have these weaknesses.

As for Chrom speculating, I can't see a world where he'd be a lot, if any better than Roy when he will share all of these same weaknesses (unless both their aerials start having some real kill power). That being said I think both characters. will be miles better than Roy is in Smash 4 right now due to increased mobility thanks to the new dash mechanics, improved jump squats, ect. Being able to use tilts, jabs, and smash attacks out of a dash will be absolutely huge for both Chrom and Roy. I suppose only time will tell when the game releases.

 

[Bluekirby2]

Thank GOD he doesn't have Roy's inverse tipper, ngl I hated that about Roy.

 

[Izanagi97]

Thank GOD he doesn't have Roy's inverse tipper, ngl I hated that about Roy.

Yeah, I mean sure he's gonna give up the sweetspot's power and horizontal recovery, but in exchange he won't get punished trying to space because he doesn't have to worry about the tip hitting like a pool noodle.

Though for some reason, a certain someone on GameFAQs (you know who you are, I see you on just about every thread on Chrom) seems to think that being a Roy echo (or just echos in general) is a bad thing (then again, all of that person's comments just seem to be ******** for the sake of it)

 

[kendikong]

Chrom's Usmash makes no sense without the fire effect

 

[FE_SLaDe]

Chrom's Usmash makes no sense without the fire effect

Eh, it could be the the Awakened version of Chrom where Falchion upgraded to the Exalted Falchion and the blue aura effects could be divine energy? It's reaching but it's somewhat of an explanation?

 

[ArkhaosZero]

It's hard to say if this is 100% different from Roy as of yet, but Chrom can hold his charge past fully charged with Neutral B, similar to Smash attacks.

In this clip, Chrom is seen charging, but there's an audible "schwing" that likely signals the end of the charge during Diddy's second roll. I think it's reasonable to expect that Chrom's Neutral B is likely a quicker-to-charge variant of Roy's, but minus the OHKO at full.

 

[Arthur97]

So, would quicker to charge be better? Outside of a shield break, how often does anyone land a fully charged flare blade in an actual match with people?

 

[Izanagi97]

So, would quicker to charge be better? Outside of a shield break, how often does anyone land a fully charged flare blade in an actual match with people?

Probably some doubles shenanigans

 

[ArkhaosZero]

So, would quicker to charge be better? Outside of a shield break, how often does anyone land a fully charged flare blade in an actual match with people?

Potentially! Now that you can pivot during charge, it could potentially work as a way to cover ledge options. If the range is good enough, then with good positioning you should be able to cover get up, attack, and roll. The cooldown is almost nonexistant, so you'd be able to at least respond to a jump, and at the least you may be able to condition your opponent to always jump from ledge.

A lot of it will depend on specifics (if it charges quickly, how much damage/knockback it actually does, the range, etc...), but it might actually have some application.

 

[Fell God]

Hasn't been much activity here for a while (in no small part due to there being...nothing new at all) but I would like to bring up the topic of Chrom's version of Flare Blade. First of all, nice catch, I hadn't paid attention to the fact that he can seemingly indefinitely store the charge. I think this means that Roy probably won't get multiple rotations like Chrom, but I'm very interested in what otherwise differentiates the moves. I'll have to go over the doubles footage again (not right now because I can't pay attention nearly well enough to make accurate judgements) but I believe the uncharged or at least low charged Chrom Blade (that's the move's name for now) was displayed, not sure if anyone got hit. However I have noticed one very important thing about Chrom Blade. After a shield break, you can charge it up and keep spinning around as a sign of disrespect before you unleash the move! Imagine all the laughs and maybe salt too.

 

[GunBlaze]

keep spinning around as a sign of disrespect before you unleash the move

Truly the important matters

 

[Fell God]

Alright so I rewatched the match and Chrom didn't land Chrom Blade a single time. Perhaps it was a bit too chaotic a setting for that anyway, but that's why we should have team attack on am I right? Anyway, it inherits the main alteration made to Flare Blade from 4, being that it always creates a blast regardless of charge level (was kinda hoping it was like in Melee where the explosion was only at full charge just to differentiate the two and make it viable outside of punishes) and of course it also retains the very low ending lag. Obviously Chrom's voice differs from Roy's and it seems like he says the same thing each time he uses the move. Not sure if he'll have a different line at full charge since the Chrom player only used the uncharged variants of the move, but like everything else he says, I can't make it out. Sounds a bit like he's saying "dio" but I'm pretty confident that's not it. That's not to say that there isn't one voice line I've finally been able to make sense of. After the stage shifts to Brinstar, Chrom's first use of his up special seemingly has him saying "Out of my way!" before he promptly gets smacked by Ridley's impale. The rest is still currently unintelligible. That is all for now.

Edit: Oh and the OP has been updated to look cleaner, remove incorrect information, and add new discoveries since it was first posted.

 

[GunBlaze]

was kinda hoping it was like in Melee where the explosion was only at full charge just to differentiate the two and make it viable outside of punishes

I've been dying to get Melee Flare Blade hitboxes since Smash 4. In the Direct, Chrom almost had the dream...

 

[Xigger]

Shouldn't the OP be updated to mention his Final Smash?

 

[Fell God]

Shouldn't the OP be updated to mention his Final Smash?

Haha, I always forget something. Thank you for reminding me, I'll add it now.