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Nosferatu (リザイア) is Robin's only move that uses a Dark tome. It is Robin's Down Special Move. Nosferatu has a durability value of 4 and respawns after roughly 35 to 40 seconds after breaking, being the longest cooldown of all his tomes.

Overview[]

When used, Robin casts a spiral flame of dark magic from his hand which reaches very small distance in front of himself. The move counts as a special grab, and anyone caught in it will be trapped and take 0.8% darkness damage in multiple hits, up to a maximum of 15% damage if held completely. Any opponent nearby Robin and the victim will also take damage by the flames.

When used in the air, should Robin grab the opponent, Nosferatu will cause both Robin and the opponent to slowly fall down, which can be used as a sacrificial KO. If the opponent reaches the ground before Robin (for example, at the ledge), Robin will continue floating in the air until the move is finished. After that, Robin will enter a helpless state.

Additionally, when Robin grabs an opponent with Nosferatu, he will also be healed each time the opponent receives damage. This heal is based on the difference in damage percentage between Robin and his victim; Robin can heal at least 13% damage if the opponent started with higher damage, and can heal over 40% if Robin has 100% or more damage than the opponent. In addition to all of this, if Robin uses the move from behind the opponent, the damage healed is multiplied by 1.2.

As such, Nosferatu is best used when Robin is at a higher percentage and needs to close the gap between himself and an opponent. It can surprise opponents that are making fast frontal approaches, as well being very useful to punish dodge rolls. It can combo out of Arcthunder, and it can be a good way to rack some extra damage on an opponent near the ledge; but as aforementioned, this shouldn't be done if Robin is the one recovering, or he'll be left helpless and fall to his death. Since Nosferatu has limited amount of uses and higher respawn rate than Robin's other tomes, it should be used sparingly; should Robin requires to heal from Nosferatu, care should be taken to not exhaust the tome supply, as well as leave himself open; wait until the opponent is open and then punish them accordingly.

Robin's Special Moves
3DS/Wii U Ultimate
Standard Special Thunder Magic
Side Special Arcfire
Up Special Elwind
Down Special Nosferatu
Final Smash Pair Up

Custom Variations[]

Distant Nosferatu[]

Distant Nosferatu (ロングレンジリザイア) is one of Robin's Down Special Moves that can be used via customization. It can ensnare opponents from longer distances, but it is less powerful.

Strengths:

  • Can punish rolls and ledge options
  • Combos out of some moves
  • Heals Robin some damage

Weaknesses:

  • Longer start-up
  • More difficult to land

Distant Nosferatu has greater range than the default variation, but it leaves Robin open if it misses. It can be useful for punishing rolls and enemy ledge options, namely ledge get-ups and ledge attacks. The Distant Nosferatu combos out of forward tilt, down tilt, and Arcthunder, but is more difficult to land due to longer starting lag and small area of effect; Robin must be at a specific distance from the opponent for the move to land, and an approaching opponent can be difficult to hit with this move. The move is a command grab, so it can be used on shielding opponents, and it heals Robin some damage which can help to close a damage gap or give Robin a lead.

Goetia[]

Goetia (ゲーティア) is one of Robin's Down Special Moves that can be used via customization. This one has a much larger area of effect, and will also pull opponents towards Robin and inflict more damage. However, it doesn't provide any healing to Robin.

Strengths:

  • Pulls enemies into the attack
  • Is a command grab
  • Larger area of effect
  • Deals more damage

Weaknesses:

  • Does not heal Robin
  • Deceptively small range on pullboxes

Goetia is a down special custom variation for players who want Robin to deal more damage with down special. The move, as mentioned before, does deal more damage, but will not heal Robin at all. It has a larger area of effect than the Nosferatu, even having a vacuum effect on it that pulls nearby opponents into it; the vacuum effect has a deceptively smaller range than what it seems to have though. The move, like Nosferatu, is a command grab, making it useful on shielding opponents.

Robin's Custom Special Moves
Custom 1 Custom 2
Standard Special Thunder Magic+ Speed Thunder
Side Special Arcfire+ Fire Wall
Up Special Soaring Elwind Gliding Elwind
Down Special Distant Nosferatu Goetia

Origin[]

Nosferatu is a recurring special Dark tome from the Fire Emblem series. When a unit casts Nosferatu, the damage and healing ratio is 1:1, meaning the damage dealt will result in the same value for healing. Additionally, Nosferatu tomes have lower accuracy, making it harder to hit enemy troops with it. This is reflected in Smash Bros. as it has limited range and high lag.

Goetia is another Dark tome that was introduced in Fire Emblem: Awakening. It has higher accuracy and is deals much more damage than Nosferatu, however it does not heals the user. 

In Fire Emblem: Awakening, Dark Magic like Nosferatu and Goetia can only be used by Dark Mages and Sorcerers, however Robin appears in Smash Bros. as their starting class, the Tactician, which ordinarily cannot use dark magic. However, if a male Robin marries Aversa, his daughter Morgan gains the skill Shadowgift, which allows her to use Dark Magic tomes in any class. Masahiro Sakurai stated that Robin was given the ability to use Nosferatu as a Tactician in order to "capture certain aspects of the original title".

Trivia[]

  • Nosferatu, alongside Wii Fit Trainer's Sun Salutation (fully charged), are the first abilities in the Super Smash Bros. series that recovers damage and give damage to other characters at the same time.
  • This is one of the few moves that is able to hit behind the opponent without them automatically turning around upon taking damage.
  • In his reveal trailer, Robin attacking Palutena with Nosferatu may be an inside joke because Palutena is the goddess of light and she is being attacked by darkness.
  • "Nosferatu" is a Romanian word usually treated as a synonym for vampire.
  • "Goetia" is derived from the Greek word that means "sorcery".
  • This is the only down special move of a Fire Emblem character that is not is not a counter.
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