Chrom
- For fighter info, seeChrom (SSBU).
| Chrom | |
|---|---|
  Official artwork of Chrom fromFire Emblem Warriors. | |
| Universe | Fire Emblem |
| Debut | Fire Emblem Awakening (2012) |
| Smash Bros. appearances | SSB4 Ultimate |
| Most recent non-Smash appearance | Fire Emblem Engage (2023, via DLC) |
| Console/platform of origin | Nintendo 3DS |
| Species | Human (augmented viaNaga'sHoly Blood) |
| Gender | Male |
| Place of origin | Ylisse |
| Designed by | Yusuke Kozaki |
| Englishvoice actor | Matthew Mercer |
| Japanesevoice actor | Tomokazu Sugita |
| Article on Fire Emblem Wiki | Chrom |
Chrom (クロム,Chrom) is a character from theFire Emblem series. As one of the three main characters ofFire Emblem Awakening, Chrom is a distant descendant ofMarth, the father ofLucina, and the best friend ofRobin. Chrom seeks to maintain peace and stability within his kingdom ofYlisse by warding off the forces ofPlegia.
After making cameos inSuper Smash Bros. 4 as atrophy, aMii Costume, duringPalutena's Guidance regarding Robin, and in Robin'sFinal Smash (Pair Up) and right-inputtedvictory pose, Chrom transitioned into a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Origin[edit]
Chrom is a distant descendant of the legendary "Hero-King"Marth. He is a prince ofYlisse, the successor state to the now-ancient kingdom of Archanea, and is the younger brother of its leader, the ExaltEmmeryn. Chrom bears the holy bloodline of Ylisse's rulers, the Exalts, who carry the power of the legendary dragonNaga and her holy gifts to humanity: theFire Emblem and the bladeFalchion. This power is signified by the presence of a distinctiveBrand on their bodies; in Chrom's case, his Brand is located on his right deltoid. In addition to his royal duties, Chrom is the leader of a group of Ylissean soldiers known as theShepherds, who help maintain Ylisse's peace and stability.
In the original timeline ofFire Emblem Awakening, Chrom, his sisterLissa, and his bodyguardFrederick, findingan amnesiac tactician by the roadside who joins the Shepherds. After Ylisse's struggle against the neighboring nation ofPlegia, Chrom becomes the new Exalt of Ylisse, gets married, and becomes the father of a baby girl, who he namesLucina. This timeline goes awry with the death of Chrom and the fall of Ylisse at the hands of the Fell DragonGrima. Now at war alongside a small group of rebels, Lucina travels back in time to undo these events.
Lucina manages to contact Chrom during a conflict againstValm two years after meetingthe mysterious tactician, warning Chrom of the looming threat of Grima who, using the body of Robin's future counterpart, had destroyed the world in her timeline. Chrom, Lucina, and the rest of the Shepherds work together to defeatWalhart of Valm,Validar of the Grima-worshippingGrimleal, and Grima himself. These actions create a new timeline where peace reigns and Chrom leads a long, fulfilling life as Exalt and the Lucina of this timeline has a happy childhood.
Chrom, like mostFire Emblem protagonists, begins in theLord class. His signature weapon isFalchion, inherited by the royal family of Ylisse as descendants of Marth; Chrom also uses Falchion's counterpart, theFire Emblem or Binding Shield. In addition to Lucina, Chrom can also be the father of another child depending on who he marries.
SinceAwakening, Chrom has appeared in a number of other games. He makes an appearance inanAwakening-based mission inFire Emblem Fates, where he meetsCorrin. In the crossover gameProject X Zone 2, he is one of three playable Nintendo characters (alongside Lucina andFiora). Chrom is also prominently featured as a major character in bothTokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE andFire Emblem Warriors, and is one of the many units the player can recruit inFire Emblem Heroes. An emblem clone of Chrom, paired with male Robin, appear inFire Emblem Engage, as part of the game's third DLC.
InSuper Smash Bros. 4[edit]
Chrom appears inLucina andRobin's trailer. In the beginning, he is shown lying on the ground after being incapacitated byCaptain Falcon in battle. Lucina defends him but is almost defeated herself. For the majority of the trailer, he is only seen laying on the ground. However, in the end, still badly hurt, he remarks that he "will get [his] chance another day;" a gameplay video immediately after this scene displays Robin's Final Smash and humorously states that Chrom will get his chance today instead, confirming his involvement as part of the Final Smash. He also appears at the top of Lucina and Robin's "New Challenger" artwork on the official website.
According toMasahiro Sakurai, Chrom was briefly considered as a playable character following the release ofFire Emblem Awakening, but he ultimately cut him off the roster when he saw that Chrom would end up playing too similarly toMarth andIke, and choseRobin instead seeing him as a more unique character.[1] This is referenced inPit'sSmash Taunt for Robin, wherePalutena andViridi deride Chrom for being a "carbon copy" of Ike, irking Chrom by saying so.
Assist role[edit]
In the game, he appears as part of Robin'sFinal Smash,Pair Up. After being summoned by Robin with warp magic, Chrom lunges in Robin's direction. If he successfully connects with an opponent along the way, he'll launch the opponent into the air and repeatedly strike them with his Falchion, while Robin will attack with various tomes. Chrom also appears in one of Robin's victory poses, where the two stand back-to-back and he may comment "My strength is yours!" In female Robin's version of the same victory pose, if she wins against Lucina, she may ask "How can you protect Chrom if you can't protect yourself?"
As a background character[edit]
Chrom also appears as a special guest character duringPit'sconversations withPalutena inPalutena's Temple if Robin is present. Chrom's portraits and Critical Hit cut-in artwork fromAwakening are reused in the aforementioned Smash Taunt and Pair Up, respectively.
As a costume[edit]
Chrom's costume serves as aalternate color scheme forIke. His design is also the basis of adownloadablecostume forMii Swordfighters. Nintendo also released aQR code for those who wish to have the exact Mii used in the costume's advertising.
Trophy[edit]
Chrom appears as a trophy in both versions ofSSB4.
- Chrom
Prince of the Halidom of Ylisse and descendant of the Hero-King Marth. He leads a militia force called the Shepherds that protects Ylisse. Though he can get reckless when training—things end up broken—he can be counted on in the heat of battle. He and Robin combine their skills in Robin's Final Smash.
:Fire Emblem Awakening (02/2013)
The prince of the Halidom of Ylisse and a descendant of the Hero-King Marth. Chrom and his militia, the Shepherds, swear to protect the people of Ylisse. Despite being more than competent in battle, he's rather careless in training and always seems to be breaking things. He and Robin combine their skills in Robin's Final Smash.- :Fire Emblem: Awakening (04/2013)
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
As a playable character[edit]
Chrom makes his debut as a playable fighter inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate after being a background character in the previous game, now branded as anEcho Fighter ofRoy. He was revealed alongsideSimon,Richter,Dark Samus, andKing K. Rool in the August 2018 Smash Direct. Matthew Mercer and Tomokazu Sugita, Chrom's recurring English and Japanese voice actors respectively sinceAwakening, both reprise their roles and confirmed such on Twitter.
Chrom's inclusion was primarily facilitated by popular demand. In aFamitsu interview shortly following the August 2018 Smash Bros. Direct, Masahiro Sakurai revealed that Chrom and fellow Echo FighterDark Samus were highly requested characters, but in different regions of the world; most of the support for Chrom came from Japan while Dark Samus's came from overseas, being North America and Europe.[2]
The primary difference distinguishing Chrom from Roy is that his sword attacks lack a hilt sweetspot, instead dealing consistent damage across the entire blade akin to Lucina's Parallel Falchion; this makes Chrom far more consistent and gives him vastly superior spacing abilities at the cost of partially losing some of Roy's potentially devastating damage output and KOing ability. Chrom's neutral attack, forward tilt and up tilt all have altered animations where Chrom holds his sword in a standard grip; forward tilt in particular has vastly improved range since Chrom moves slightly forward during the move, and the altered animation means that it hits much lower as well, being able to hit ledge-hanging opponents. Additionally, Chrom does not have flame properties on his up smash, down aerial, or any of his special moves, unlike Roy.
HisFlare Blade is nearly identical in function to Roy's version, although it uses thenormal effect, and it is aesthetically different as well. HisDouble-Edge Dance is nearly identical in function to Lucina's Dancing Blade, due to its lack of a hilt sweetspot, and the finishing hits not using the flame effect. His up special,Soaring Slash, is a unique move that is functionally similar to Ike'sAether; it features Chrom ascending while twirling with his sword in his hand before quickly descending downward, albeit without throwing the sword up first; while the move offers decent vertical distance, the move's near-complete lack of horizontal distance, coupled with it being Chrom's only recovery option, results in Chrom's recovery often being widely regarded as one of the worst in the entire game. HisCounter is nearly identical to Roy's version, but does not use the flame effect, and deals slightly more knockback. Finally, his Final Smash,Awakening Aether, is a unique move, with Chrom dashing forward to catch his opponents rather than standing still. Additionally, Chrom has a unique victory quote if he wins against Lucina; in any of his three victory screens, he may say, "Our bond is stronger than steel."
Prior to version 3.0.0, Chrom shared the standardFire Emblem victory theme with Marth, Roy and Ike, despite fellowAwakening characters Robin and Lucina now having a new victory theme based onFire Emblem Awakening's "Id (Purpose)."
Assist role[edit]
Despite him being a separate playable fighter,Robin continues to summon Chrom in thePair Up Final Smash even if Chrom is already present during the match.[3] This makes the move one of two Final Smashes in the game that involve a non-playable appearance by another playable character, the other beingZero Suit Samus's version ofZero Laser.
Chrom also continues to appear in one of Robin's victory poses as well.
As a costume[edit]
The ChromMii Swordfighter costume also returns as an unlockable outfit after being DLC in the previous installment.
Spirit[edit]
613.Chrom
Gallery[edit]
Chrom's appearance in Robin and Lucina's reveal trailer.
Chrom's cameo in Robin and Lucina'sSSB4poster.
Chrom with male Robin inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Chrom in one of female Robin's victory poses inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Chrom in one of male Robin's victory poses inUltimate.
Chrom as a Mii Swordfighter costume inSSB4.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
 Japanese | クロム,Chrom |
 French | Chrom |
 German | Chrom |
 Spanish | Chrom |
 Italian | Chrom |
 Chinese (Simplified) | 库洛姆,Chrom |
 Chinese (Traditional) | 庫洛武,Chrom |
 Korean | 크롬,Chrom |
 Dutch | Chrom |
 Russian | Кром |
Trivia[edit]
- Chrom's English voice actor, Matthew Mercer, directed, produced, and portrayedGanondorf,Kirby, andMeta Knight in theSuper Smash Bros.-based webseries,There Will Be Brawl.
- Mercer would later provide the voice of Ganondorf inThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
- InSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Chrom's cape does not have animations when he is summoned by Robin in their Final Smash.
- Chrom is the first character to be a fullclone ofanother character who was also formerly a full clone.
- Interestingly, Chrom had been considered to be a clone toa different character, as mentioned byViridi inPalutena's Guidance forSmash for Wii U.
- Chrom's role in Lucina and Robin's reveal trailer forSmash 4 has become memetic among the community, combined in the western fanbase with the presence of Captain Falcon, who is already memetic around the fandom; in the Japanese fanbase, it is instead more commonly combined with the "No, you'll get it today" ("なくはないです。", roughly "Not really") subtitle at the end of trailer. The phrase itself also appears as one of randomly creatednames in bothSmash 4 andUltimate (much like how "NOJOHNS" is in the English version).
- Chrom is one of two playable characters to appear in aFinal Smash before becoming playable, with the other beingPalutena. Unlike Palutena, however, Chrom still retains his Final Smash role in the game he is playable in.
- Chrom is also the first (and so far, only) playable character who is also part of another playable character's moveset in the same game.
- Chrom so far is the only fighter in theSuper Smash Bros. series to have their victory theme be changed via game updates, as inUltimate he previously had the standardFire Emblem victory theme before it was changed to theAwakening victory theme in version 3.0.0.
- Chrom is the onlyFire Emblem fighter to have made a non-playable appearance in the series prior to his debut as a fighter, as he appeared in Robin's Final Smash,Pair Up, inSuper Smash Bros. 4.
- Chrom has the same voice actor asYusuke Kitagawa in both Japanese and English, being Tomokazu Sugita and Matthew Mercer, respectively. Coincidentally, both also have blue hair and wield swords as their primary weapon. Likely as a result, Yusuke is represented by Chrom in the former's Spirit battle inUltimate.
- Chrom is currently the onlyFire Emblem character to get anamiibo in theFire Emblem line in addition toSmash.
References[edit]
- ^https://web.archive.org/web/20150307014455/https://www.gonintendo.com/s/233268-sakurai-talks-lucina-s-inclusion-in-smash-bros-wii-u-3ds-why-chrom-didn-t-make-the-cut
- ^https://nintendoeverything.com/sakurai-on-smash-bros-ultimate-newest-fighter-reveals-modes-and-more/
- ^https://twitter.com/24914x/status/1059517507353092096?s=19
| Playable characters | |
|---|---|
| Super Smash Bros. | Captain Falcon ·Donkey Kong ·Fox ·Jigglypuff ·Kirby ·Link ·Luigi ·Mario ·Ness ·Pikachu ·Samus ·Yoshi |
| New inMelee | Bowser ·Dr. Mario ·Falco ·Ganondorf ·Ice Climbers ·Marth ·Mewtwo ·Mr. Game & Watch ·Peach ·Pichu ·Roy ·Sheik ·Young Link ·Zelda |
| New inBrawl | Diddy Kong ·Ike ·King Dedede ·Lucario ·Lucas ·Meta Knight ·Olimar (Pikmin) ·Pit ·Pokémon Trainer (Squirtle ·Ivysaur ·Charizard) ·R.O.B. ·Snake ·Sonic ·Toon Link ·Wario ·Wolf ·Zero Suit Samus |
| New inSmash 4 | (Alph) ·Bayonetta ·Bowser Jr. (Koopalings) ·Cloud ·Corrin ·Dark Pit ·Duck Hunt ·Greninja ·Little Mac ·Lucina ·Mega Man ·Mii Brawler ·Mii Gunner ·Mii Swordfighter ·Pac-Man ·Palutena ·Robin ·Rosalina &Luma ·Ryu ·Shulk ·Villager ·Wii Fit Trainer |
| New inUltimate | Banjo &Kazooie ·Byleth ·Chrom ·Daisy ·Dark Samus ·Hero ·Incineroar ·Inkling ·Isabelle ·Joker ·Kazuya ·Ken ·King K. Rool ·Min Min ·Mythra ·Piranha Plant ·Pyra ·Richter ·Ridley ·Sephiroth ·Simon ·Sora ·Steve (Alex,Zombie,Enderman) ·Terry |
| Character Inspirations forMii FighterCostumes inSuper Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
 Mii Brawler | Akira ·Captain Falcon ·Flying Man ·Heihachi ·Jacky ·King K. Rool ·Knuckles ·Toad |
 Mii Swordfighter | Ashley ·Black Knight ·Chrom ·Dunban ·Gil ·Link ·Lloyd ·Monster Hunter ·Takamaru ·Viridi ·Zero |
 Mii Gunner | Fox ·Geno ·Inkling ·Isabelle ·K.K. Slider ·MegaMan.EXE ·Proto Man ·Samus ·Tails ·X |
| Headgear only | Barbara ·Chain Chomp ·Chocobo ·Daisy ·Inkling Squid ·Luigi ·Majora's Mask ·Mario ·Meta Knight ·Peach ·Red Shell ·Sheik ·Shy Guy ·Spiny ·Super Mushroom ·Waluigi ·Wario ·Zelda |
 Fire Emblem universe | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Marth (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Roy (SSBM ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Ike (SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Lucina (SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Robin (SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Corrin (SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Chrom (SSBU) ·Byleth (SSBU) |
| Assist Trophies | Lyn ·Black Knight ·Tiki |
| Stages | Castle Siege ·Arena Ferox ·Coliseum ·Garreg Mach Monastery |
| Item | Killing Edge |
| Other | Sothis |
| Trophies,Stickers andSpirits | Trophies (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4) ·Stickers ·Spirits |
| Music | Brawl ·SSB4 ·Ultimate |
| Masterpieces | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light ·Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem |
