Robin Amiibo Battle quotes (HUGE SPOILERS TO SEVERAL PLOT POINTS)

[Onestep]

So if you have the Robin Amiibo, you can get a battle with him to unlock him as a playable character. While he has limited conversation abilities, he does have very interesting conversations with some of the 'clone' characters. Namely, the ones that are actually the children characters from Awakening who crossed worlds.

Odin/Owain

Odin: It can't be, you are...
Robin: Eh...? Do you know me...?
Odin: No... Those clothes, I remember them a little... But, what's with this feeling... Who exactly are you...?
Robin: Apologies. My memory is fuzzy, so... I can't remember you. But if we fight, I may learn something. Well then, don't hold back and come at me!
Odin: .........

Raswald/Inigo

Raswald: ...........
Robin: ...? What's wrong? Aren't you going to fight?
Raswald: No, I'll fight. But as for whether I'm a match for you... Honestly, I have no confidence.
Robin: You sure are timid. Although you seem so strong. Even so, perhaps this is strategy? Making your opponents let their guard down is basics after all.
Raswald: I guess you're right... I don't mind if you think of it like that. ........ It's okay... It's just a resemblance. This isn't ther person I'm thinking of. Still, it takes me back... I wonder if I'm mistaken.

Luna/Severa

Luna: Erm... You there! Let me see your face!
Robin: W-what's with you, all of a sudden...!?
Luna: Staaaaaare.
Robin: Eeh?
Luna: Hmmm... I see. You're just a stranger that looks like him. I got so nervous, how silly of me... If you're a different person, then don't wear such confusing clothes!
Robin: W-what's with you... Is this a trap to confuse me...!?
Luna: Don't misunderstand, okay!? There's no way I'd use such a cliched trap!! If you're a different person, I won't go easy on you. The me right now, will be able to defeat you...!

Interesting stuff. All the children are somewhat nervous about fighting him (and who wouldn't be?) but go for it in the end once they realise he isn't 'their' Robin. It also seems that, at least in the Fates timeline, male Robin was canon. If the amiibo thing can be taken as canon that is, which is somewhat in the air.

After that, Robin just chills in the castle, occasionally mentioning stuff, much of which is throwbacks to Awakening gameplay mechanics.

[Blue Sun]

Robin is a Grandmaster and a human vessel for Grima who more or less saved the entire world and won virtually every single war. Who would want to go against them?

[Taka-kun]

Seeing how overpowered Robin was in his game, how viable he is in Smash Bros. (at least in the hands of skilled players) and how all of them respect Robin in one way or another, it feels like a fitting legacy Robin left behind.

Anybody have footage of fighting Robin though? I imagine it can be hard if people don't have the ultra-rare Robin amiibo...

[SageOfAnys]

*sigh* looks like male Robin is canon. Why didn't they give us an option to make Robin female? And was a gender ever confirmed canon for any other MU before?

Still, it's nice to see the way the kids react to Robin. The way they get all scared first thinking they're going to fight their dear friend and ally is kinda sweet because it shows the bond and influence that Robin probably had with all of them.

[Onestep]

*sigh* looks like male Robin is canon. Why didn't they give us an option to make Robin female? And was a gender ever confirmed canon for any other MU before?

Still, it's nice to see the way the kids react to Robin. The way they get all scared first thinking they're going to fight their dear friend and ally is kinda sweet because it shows the bond and influence that Robin probably had with all of them.

Originally, Robin was portrayed very equally. Both male and female Robin got their screentime.

But as IS started putting Robin out into third party stuff, that wasn't really an option. There needed to be a 'default' Robin for Smash, and they chose the male one, possibly because he was more popular or more used overall. After that, they released a Robin amiibo. Since male Robin was the defaul Robin for Smash and thus more well known, he got the amiibo. Which meant he got into Code:Steam. He gets the cameos. He gets to reappear in Fates. Net result is, he becomes more well known and his place as 'the' Robin becomes more well-enforced, leading to him being more likely to be used in further products.

[Pretty_Handsome]

Great, now we just need Robin x Lissa as canon so that a certain Endgame may be appeased.

[Wayward Alchemist]

I like how they reference the fact that Robin was customizable, as they recognize him by his clothes, not by his face.

[Keaton the wise]

I see, it was all clear from the very beginning...

Happy to join the forest! :)

Edited June 24, 2015 by Keaton the wise

[Kaede Ryusaki]

Great, now we just need Robin x Lissa as canon so that a certain Endgame may be appeased.

He's in fates to hunt down Owain, the last surviving heir of Cthulhu!

[Folt]

Here's how I think Robin's been portrayed in the games, and how that led to M!Robin's canonification (at least in terms of being the face of the Robins):

Awakening

He/She's the Avatar unit, and is customizable. Due to having all normal classes as reclass, he/she can be anything you want him/her to be.

He/She is clearly a sharp tactician though, and it should be noted that he/she clearly favours thunder magic (starts with Thunder when you properly get to the Prologue Chapter) whenever he/she has to fight in cutscenes (Thoron, to the point that I think the spell is now Robin's signature attack). These are two characteristics that help define Robin as a character (not as an Avatar) before Smash happens.

Super Smash Bros. (This one is long.)

Robin appears in Smash and gets his character expanded upon, to the point where he can no longer be called an Avatar. Only one vestige is left behind, and that is the choice of playing as female Robin instead.

However, even from the start of his reveal, hints are dropped that M!Robin is meant to be the face and the default/main gender of the two: He is majorly featured in the reveal trailer of Robin and Lucina, is the only one who appears on the promotional artwork that Yusuke Kozaki made. Furthermore, while both are featured on Robin's character page, M!Robin stands in front of F!Robin, and the mugshots only use M!Robin's face. F!Robin was confirmed to be an alternate costume at some point before the game's release, and of course Sakurai used male pronouns to refer to Robin.

In the game proper, only M!Robin's face is on the character selection screen, and while F!Robin is only a palette swap away, it means that M!Robin will be seen first all the time on the Wii U version. Robin's main trophy and Final Smash Trophy features the male. And while the alternate trophies feature the female, none of them depict her in her official pose. Furthermore, for the Trophy Collections in the Wii U version, Both of M!Robin's trophies get to be in a group (the Fire Emblem Heroes collection and one of the Final Smash Trophies collections) while F!Robin's trophy is not added to any collection: She's not the Fire Emblem Heroes collection, and not the Female Fighters collection, both groups where it would be natural for her to have a spot.

Also, in things like 3DS Classic, the Master and Crazy Orders, and the All-Star Battle Events (New Challengers 2 and The Ultimate Battle), M!Robin is always used, unless you're using the default color M!Robin. In Robin's own Events, F!Robin is not a choice unless you pick a custom moveset that has F!Robin as the color choice. In Wii U Classic Mode, M!Robin is used for the first three matches while F!Robin is used for the two after that. While F!Robin has the advantage of being able to play with custom moves, M!Robin can also appear as a Rival character, or randomly appear in all five matches as a Giant/Metal opponent.

Character-wise, Robin's favouritism of thunder magic and being a good strategist is integrated into his fighting style: His neutral special lets him use all four basic FE thunder spells, Thoron is basically established as his signature attack through this, and he only uses two spells from the other elements at most. His tomes (and Levin Sword) have durability so he must be careful about using them, lest he sits with nothing. One thing that's clearly made up is that his sword strikes are done in such a way as to imply that Robin is not used to (or skilled at) the art of swordfighting: This is most visibly seen in his dash attack, but there's other moves that showcase it as well.

It's also well implied that his knowledge and magic talent is way better and can somewhat compensate for his weak swordplay: Robin has the Levin Sword, a sword that essentially is the quintessential (or at least is the most reoccuring) magic sword. Note how Robin's use of the Levin Sword not only increases the range and the power of the attacks that utilize it, and how this is a result of the thunder magic within the sword. Also note how some attacks have different properties when the Levin Sword is used (like how the downsmash attack sends out electric shockwaves on the ground). Note how Arcthunder and Arcfire can hold opponents so that Robin can get up to them and smash them away with the Levin Sword. Note how Robin uses a spell (Elwind) to recover instead of a move using the sword. Note how Robin can siphon life off of opponents with Nosferatu to shave off some valuable percents (and thus gives Robin more longevity if Nosferatu hits), and how the attack is a command grab which is an advantage in it's own right. Besides that, the Levin Sword's magic is thunder magic which fits Robin's favouritism for this element.

Another thing that Robin has in this game that he doesn't in Awakening is Nosferatu, since he can't use dark magic in his base class. However, this is because Sakurai wanted to include certain aspects from Awakening, and either way it just makes Robin more of a mage. His personality is also more smug and confident than in Awakening, though Smash has a tendency to have FE characters be somewhat smug.

Also, note how Chrom was rejected for being just another generic swordsman while Robin as picked instead. That means that Sakurai thinks of Robin as different from the other FE representatives, and Robin's moveset indeed feels like something that would be seen on a mage who happens to use a sword instead of the opposite way. That said, Chrom was given the chance to interact with the Smash fighters anyway as being a part of Robin's Final Smash. Not only does this make Chrom into a super attack, but it also conveniently lets both Chrom and Robin, both who are the potential main protagonist of Awakening, be represented in Smash. Granted, for Chrom; it is as part of another character's moveset, but remember that it's the moveset of the only other potential main hero and that it's as a super attack. And before you say "Lucina", remember that despite her being a playable fighter and not being the main hero of Awakening (though very much the most important protagonist after Chrom and Robin), she was just gonna be an alternate costume for Marth first. It was only after the developers had spare time which they could use to make clone characters that Lucina was separated and became a true rep.

In regards to why M!Robin became the main Robin for Smash, the inclusion of Lucina probably helped: Having a male spellcaster and a female swordfighter (who uses no magic) as a duo is a somewhat rare (and a bit more exotic) thing in JRPGs, especially when both are important protagonists of their own game and a JRPG at that. It also makes them somewhat counterparts of one another. Other than that, Robin being distinctly male and not a child when he has a moveset of a spellcaster is unique for Smash in it's own right given that the others with similiar movesets are usually women or children (or fantastic creatures). It could also be based on the fact that M!Robin was the default choice in Awakening, and the only choice in the Awakening demo.

Afterwards

As the Smash Amiibos are all based on the main trophy poses (which themselves are based on the official character poses), it's only natural that Robin's amiibo only features M!Robin. As a further consequence of this, Codename S.T.E.A.M. has only M!Robin appear when you use the amiibo to add Robin as a character, and his abilities in that game resemble his Smash abilities (and again features Thoron as one of his attacks, and which is also the most powerful spell of the two spells that Robin uses). Yoshi's Woolly World has Yoshi's Robin color be based on M!Robin (since it lacks any reference to F!Robin's twintails... though to be fair, that would be difficult to represent here anyways). Expect this to be the norm for all games where Robin himself makes an appearance.

As a consequence, Robin being male has practically been canonized at this point onwards.

Fire Emblem Fates

Given all of the above, only M!Robin appearing in Fire Emblem: Fates is not really a surprise for me. In Fates, the conversations of Odin, Lazward, and Luna indicate that there's at least two M!Robins in canon (if Luna's battle convo truly has her refer to "their" Robin as a male). Regardless, it is only M!Robin who appears when they use the amiibo, and his stat growths in this game somewhat resemble how Robin would turn out if Smash!Robin's abilities were canon to Fire Emblem, which further solidifies him as his own character, having come a long way from the customizable Avatar from Awakening.

And yes, I know that all of this could probably be told without making walls of text, but whatevs.

[Taka-kun]

Maybe theís Robin is more of a representation of what he is, a manifestation of the tales of the Grandmaster. His ending in Awakening did imply that few knew who he really was though his heroic tales were told far and wide. Maybe this is the Robin of the "stories", not the real Robin. "He" doesn't even have memories of the three children, unlike Lucina.

[NeonZ]

I don't think Luna's line makes a reference to Robin's gender in Japanese. IS is still trying to keep some ambiguity just like how they only reference his outfit looking the same (while Lucina is said to look identical), but, yeah, Smash Bros, and especially the Amiibo, basically guaranteed female Robin is going to be sidelined from now on.