Editing Marth

{{forfighter|SSBM=y|SSBB=y|SSB4=y|SSBU=y}}

|image = {{tabber|title1=New Mystery of the Emblem|content1=[[File:NMotE Marth.png|x300px]]|title2=Trading Card Game|content2=[[File:Marth FE3.png|x300px]]}}

|caption = [[File:FireEmblemSymbol.svg|50px|class=invert-dark]]<br>Official artwork of Marth from ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem}}'' and the ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Trading Card Game}}''.

|firstgame = ''[[Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]'' (1990)

|lastappearance = ''{{s|mariowiki|WarioWare: Move It!}}'' (2023, cameo)

|species = {{s|fireemblem|Human}}

|homeworld = {{s|fireemblem|Altea}}

|japanactor = Hikaru Midorikawa (''Ultimate'')

'''Marth''' ({{ja|マルス|Marusu}}, ''Marth''; formerly translated as '''Mars''' prior to ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'') is the main protagonist of four games in the {{uv|Fire Emblem}} series of tactical role-playing games. He debuted in the first and third games, ''[[Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]'' and ''[[Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem]]'', and later reprised his role in the Nintendo DS remakes of these two games. He made his first appearance in the ''{{b|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' series as a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' and has appeared in every proceeding game since. At the time, no ''Fire Emblem'' games had ever been released outside Japan, but his popularity in ''Melee'' (along with that of his counterpart [[Roy]]) is believed to have influenced Nintendo's decision to release almost all subsequent ''Fire Emblem'' games internationally.

Marth was introduced in the first ''Fire Emblem'' game, ''[[Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]'' for the Famicom, which was later remade for Nintendo DS as ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon}}''. While he was absent from the tangentially-related second game in the series, ''{{s|fireemblem|Fire Emblem Gaiden}}'', Marth's role and place in the story of Archanea was later expanded on in the third game, ''[[Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem]]'', released on the Super Famicom in early 1994. ''Mystery of the Emblem'' featured both a remake of the original game and a continuation of that game's story, and the continued story was itself later remade for Nintendo DS as ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow}}''. ''Mystery of the Emblem'' was adapted into a [[fireemblemwiki:Fire Emblem (anime)|direct-to-video anime]], which was released in Japan in 1996. It starred {{s|wikipedia|Hikaru Midorikawa}} as the voice of Marth, and he would reprise the role in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''. The anime was dubbed in English and released in the U.S. in 1998, and it starred {{s|wikipedia|Spike Spencer}} as the voice of Marth. Marth's name is translated as "Mars" in the anime's English release; it is an alternate reading of his Japanese name.

Marth is the prince of {{s|fireemblem|Altea}}, one of the Seven Kingdoms of the continent of {{iw|fireemblemwiki|Archanea|continent}}. He is descended from the family of a legendary hero, {{s|fireemblem|Anri}}, who once used the "blade of light", [[List of swords#Falchion|Falchion]]<!--In Fire Emblem, it has always been "Falchion", not "THE Falchion"-->, to defeat the sinister dragon-emperor {{s|fireemblem|Medeus}}. Marth is characterized as a courageous, good-natured, and honorable man. He takes his royal responsibilities to his people very seriously, always putting their needs first, no matter how troubled he is by developments in his own personal life. As a leader, he not only cares deeply about his friends and comrades but believes that he could not have achieved anything himself without their support. Later appearances tend to emphasize Marth's determination to save as many people as possible and ensure that none of his comrades die, even in seemingly hopeless situations.

In Marth's first adventure, told in ''Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light'' and its remakes, Medeus has been revived by the sorcerer {{s|fireemblem|Gharnef}} and has conquered almost all of Archanea, and by the time that the games begin Marth has spent two years in exile in the remote island kingdom of {{s|fireemblem|Talys}} with his future wife, Princess {{s|fireemblem|Caeda}}. The games follow his quest in the {{s|fireemblem|War of Shadows}}, in which he forms a coalition with Princess {{s|fireemblem|Nyna}} of the [[fireemblemwiki:Archanea (nation)|Holy Kingdom of Archanea]] and Prince {{s|fireemblem|Hardin}} of {{s|fireemblem|Aurelis}} to fight back against Medeus and his dragon empire, {{s|fireemblem|Dolhr}}, and gain the power to fight Gharnef so that he can retrieve Falchion and rescue his abducted sister, {{s|fireemblem|Elice}}.

The second story in ''Mystery of the Emblem'' begins three years after the first game's events and follows Marth as he is confronted by Hardin, now the Emperor of Archanea and corrupted by Gharnef. After Hardin conquers Altea and declares Marth a traitor, Marth and his allies embark on a journey through Archanea's northern wilderness and follow the legendary path once taken by Anri, where he learns the true history of the dragons and their role in shaping the history of Archanea. Marth is given the task of repairing the titular {{iw|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem|Archanean item}} shield to restore its ability to seal away the [[fireemblemwiki:Earth Dragon|earth dragons]], a malevolent species of a dragon to which Medeus belongs. The game ends with Marth defeating Medeus for the final time, uniting all seven of Archanea's kingdoms into one with himself as its king, and his marriage to Caeda. Later generations would remember him as the legendary "Hero-King".

In his starring games, Marth has given the unique {{s|fireemblem|lord}} [[fireemblemwiki:Class|character class]]: as the commander of his army, it is necessary for him to [[fireemblemwiki:Objectives#Seize|seize castles and thrones]] held by enemy armies to complete chapters and progress in his quest, but if he is defeated in battle, the game is over and the player must restart from their last save point. He is also the only unit who is able to visit villages to receive the items, money, or new recruits that they offer. In battle, he plays as a jack-of-all-trades who lacks the greater statistical advantages of other classes, but has a unique advantage in his relatively powerful exclusive weapons, including {{s|fireemblemwiki|rapier}}s (lightweight and effective against both heavy armor and cavalry) and Falchion (effective against dragons and cannot be broken, among various other abilities in specific games).

 

Outside of his own games, Marth is also a minor part of the backstory of ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: Awakening}}'', and two of its protagonists, [[Chrom]] and [[Lucina]], are his distant descendants. He has made frequent appearances as an optional bonus character, unrelated to the main story, in many ''Fire Emblem'' games from ''Awakening'' onward; he is available in ''Awakening'' via SpotPass and DLC, ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Fates}}'' via [[amiibo]] as a recruitable unit, and ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia}}'' via amiibo as an illusory unit. He features prominently in ''Fire Emblem'' crossover media, including the video games ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Heroes}},'' and ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Warriors}}'' as one of their many playable characters, and the series' two trading card games. Most recently, ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Engage}}'' features Marth as one of the game's numerous Emblems, ethereal clones of protagonists from various other ''Fire Emblem'' games who dwell within special rings.

Neither Marth nor any ''Fire Emblem'' content appears in the original game. However, according to an interview from ''{{S|fireemblem|The Making of Fire Emblem – 25th Anniversary Development Secrets, Awakening and Fates}}'', [[Masahiro Sakurai]] wanted to include Marth as a playable character in that game but was unable to do so due to time constraints.<ref name="socgfe">[http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/12/13/sakurai-fe25/ Source Gaming: "Sakurai Interview: Fire Emblem 25th Anniversary"]</ref>

 

In an official poll held on ''[[Smabura-Ken]]'' (the game's official Japanese website) regarding characters for a potential sequel to the first game, Marth placed 11th with 21 votes.<ref>https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostResult2.html</ref>

Marth makes his ''Smash'' debut as an [[unlockable character]] in ''Melee''. His design is loosely based on his appearance from ''Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem'', except his hair, cape, and shoes being a darker blue, along with his shoulder pads having silver rims instead of yellow. He can be unlocked in one of the three ways: using all fourteen starter characters at least once each in Vs. Mode matches, beat or fail Classic mode with all fourteen starter characters on any difficulty, or play 400 Vs. mode matches. In each of these cases, Marth must be battled one-on-one to be unlocked.

 

''Fire Emblem'' games were Japan-exclusive when ''Melee'' was being developed, and the developers' decision to add Marth to ''Melee'' was made knowing he could be cut from its non-Japanese versions.<ref name="smken">[https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/1204/index.html "海外版では外す覚悟でマルスを作っていたのですが、キャラを立てた結果、海外のかたにも絶賛され、結果日本と全く同じ仕様で搭載されています。（ゆえにマルスは日本語のままです）" - Smabura-ken]</ref> He was ultimately kept in all versions after positive reception from their non-Japanese partners;<ref name="smken"/> this even extended to his Japanese dialogue. Marth is one of two characters in ''Melee'' that only speak Japanese in every version, with the other being fellow ''Fire Emblem'' fighter [[Roy]].

Marth is one of the game's most effective fighters, currently ranking 2nd on the ''Melee'' [[tier list]]. His strengths include the long [[reach]] and fast [[startup]] of his sword attacks, the excellent damage and [[knockback]] the [[sweetspot]] on the tip of his blade deals, his moderately fast dash, long grab, useful floaty [[wavedash]], excellent [[edgeguarding]] capabilities, easy and efficient combos, and great [[SHFFL]], with his drawbacks being his lack of a projectile, high [[endlag]] on his moves and a laggy up special. Marth's "[[clone]]", {{SSBM|Roy}}, has attacks that are almost identical in animation, and many "Marth vs. Roy" debates ensued in the years following ''Melee''{{'}}s release, but professional analysis places Marth in a higher tier than Roy because he lacks Marth's subtle but vital advantages.

As with the other playable characters in ''Melee'', Marth has three trophies which are obtained by defeating the single-player modes - a normal trophy from {{SSBM|Classic Mode}} and two "Smash" trophies from [[Adventure Mode|Adventure]] and [[All-Star Mode]]s respectively.

|name=Marth

|desc=The betrayed prince of the Kingdom of Altea, the blood of the hero Anri flows in Marth's veins. He was forced into exile when the kingdom of Dolua invaded Altea. Then, wielding his divine sword Falchion, he led a revolt and defeated the dark dragon Medeus. Afterwards, Altea was annihilated by King Hardin of Akanea.

|gamelist={{Trophy games|game1=Fire Emblem|release1=Japan Only}}

{{Trophy

|name=Marth

|image=Marth Trophy (Smash).png

|desc=Marth is a magnificent swordsman. While his swordplay is faster than that of Link, he lacks power, and his quickness is offset by a marginal endurance. His Shield Breaker gains power the longer it's held. The Dancing Blade combination uses both the Control Stick and the B Button to produce a series of up to four attacks.

 

|image=Marth Trophy (Smash 2).png

|mode=All Star

|desc=The tip of Marth's blade causes the most damage, so you should try to create adequate distance between you and your enemy to gracefully strike with that point. Marth's Dolphin Slash is fast and powerful, but it leaves him vulnerable upon landing. Marth uses Counter to block a foe's attack and deal a return strike. If you're fighting a Counter-happy Marth, grab him.

Marth returns as an unlockable playable character. His appearance is still based on his design from ''Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem'', and he is the only character that only speaks Japanese in every version. Marth's voice actor from ''Melee'' mentioned in his "Target Lockon!!" column in Dengeki Playstation Vol. 414 that he was not actually called back to record new lines for ''Brawl''.<ref name="denps">Dengeki Playstation Vol. 414 (March 28, 2008) page 117: "Target Lockon!!" ({{ja|ターゲット・ロックオン!!}})</ref> Marth has a superior reach to most characters in the game and relies on the length of his sword to effectively zone against his opponents. While his changes are mixed, he was somewhat nerfed from ''Melee'' like many other higher-tier characters. He is currently in the A- tier according to the official SBR tier list.

|image=Marth - Brawl Trophy.png

|desc-ntsc=The prince of Altea, in whose veins the blood of heroes runs. He and a small group of stalwarts fought to free Altea after it was invaded by the kingdom of Doluna and the dark dragon, Medeus. With his divine sword, Falchion, he fought and defeated Medeus. However, Altea was then invaded by King Hardin of Akaneia and eventually destroyed.

|desc-pal=The Prince of Altea, in whose veins the blood of heroes runs. He and a small group of stalwarts fought to free Altea after it was invaded by the kingdom of Doluna and the dark dragon, Medeus. With his divine sword, Falchion, he fought and defeated Medeus. However, Altea was then invaded by King Hardin of Akaneia and eventually destroyed.

|gamelist={{Trophy games|console1=NES|game1=[[fireemblemwiki:Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light|Fire Emblem]]|release1=Japan Only}}

{{clrl}}

! Fighter(s)

| {{StickerHead|Marth|Ike}}

Marth returns as a playable character in ''Super Smash Bros. 4''. Marth is now a starter character, as opposed to being an unlockable character as he was in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl''. He has been visually updated to closely match his design from ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow}}'', although Falchion retains its design from the original ''Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem''. He is one of five characters that only speak Japanese in every version; the others are [[Takamaru]], the [[Prince of Sablé]], Roy, and {{SSB4|Cloud}}.

During the initial release of ''SSB4'', Marth was considerably nerfed, with few noteworthy buffs. These nerfs left him with less mobility and range relative to the cast (though his own range had been improved from Brawl), weakening his neutral game and depriving him of his potent comboing and punishing capabilities from previous games. Because of this, he had previously seen a huge drop in his tier placement. However, he has since received multiple buffs in update patches, with the most notable patch, [[1.1.4]], granting him improvements to his aerial combos and juggling game, as well as granting bigger tipper [[hitbox]]es, and higher damage output on several attacks. As a result, Marth is reasonably better than he was during the initial release of ''SSB4'', and has since seen significantly improved tournament results. Overall, although he's still considered fairly nerfed from ''Brawl'', he ranks highly on the ''SSB4'' tier list, ranking 11th out of 54 characters (tying with {{SSB4|Ryu}}).

{{main|List of SSB4 trophies (Fire Emblem series)}}

|desc-ntsc=The first hero from the Fire Emblem series, Marth is the prince of Altea and descendant of the hero Anri. In Smash Bros., he's known as an exceptional swordfighter, swinging his blade with grace. Striking with the tip will maximize the damage dealt. Teach aggressive foes a lesson with his strong Counter move.

|desc-pal=Marth, the prince of Altea, is the hero of the first ever Fire Emblem game and its remake, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. In this game, his graceful sword skills are what set him apart. Strike with the tip of his blade to deal extra damage, and use his Counter skill to defend yourself, no matter which direction you're being attacked from.

|gamelist-ntsc={{Trophy games|console1=FC|game1=Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light|release1=Japan|console2=SFC|game2=Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem|release2=Japan}}

|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|console1=FC|game1=Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light|release1=1990 (JP)|console2=SFC|game2=Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem|release2=1994 (JP)}}

|name=Marth (Alt.)

|image-3ds=MarthAltTrophy3DS.png

|image-wiiu=MarthAltTrophyWiiU.png

|desc-ntsc=Marth's side special Dancing Blade is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! The tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above and launch nearby foes.

|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|console1=FC|game1=Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light|release1=1990 (JP)|console2=SFC|game2=Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem|release2=1994 (JP)}}

Marth returns as a playable character in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', as with all previous characters. He uses a more detailed version of the ''New Mystery of the Emblem'' design from ''SSB4'', and now has a different hairstyle to match his more recent appearances in titles such as ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem Heroes}}''. Like in ''[[Melee]]'' and ''[[Brawl]]'', Marth is an unlockable character.

 

As Marth was a high or top tier character in all of his previous appearances, he received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from ''Smash 4'' to ''Ultimate'', but was nerfed overall. While he received buffs both directly and from some universal changes, the faster pace of ''Ultimate'' combined with the removal of micro spacing techniques like [[perfect pivot]]ing makes it more difficult to land his tipper sweet spots, which paired with his jab no longer being an effective combo starter, makes his KO ability less consistent. While Marth received buffs in updates that made some of his tippers easier to hit, he still sees little representation in tournaments, with many players considering him outclassed by Lucina. As a result of this, Marth currently ranks 55th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him in the C+ tier.

===Spirit===

SSBU spirit Marth.png|610. '''''Marth'''''

**Counting {{SSBU|Chrom}} as an indirect semi-clone, Marth has the most combined clones and semi-clones of any character at three.

*Marth is the only playable {{uv|Fire Emblem}} character:

**To debut in the 20th century.

**To appear in every ''Super Smash Bros.'' game since the debut of his universe in ''Melee''.

**Created by Shouzou Kaga, who stopped working on ''Fire Emblem'' games in 1999.

*Despite wearing armor, Marth has always been somewhat light since his debut, being tied with Lucina for the lightest [[weight]] among all of the ''Fire Emblem'' fighters.

*Not counting [[Final Smash]] transformations, Marth has the fastest [[walking]] speed in every game: he is tied with [[Fox]] in ''Melee'', and Lucina in ''SSB4'' and ''Ultimate''.