Marth

For fighter info, see Marth (SSBM) and Marth (SSBB).

Marth
Shadow Dragon artwork of Marth.
Universe	Fire Emblem
Debut	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light (1990) Template:Japan
Smash Bros. appearances	Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System (Family Computer)
Gender	Male?
Place of origin	Akaneia
Japanese voice actor	Hikaru Midorikawa

Template:Nihongo is the main playable hero in the first, third and eleventh installments of the Fire Emblem series of tactical role-playing games. Previously well-known primarily in Japan for a game series that was never localized abroad, Marth was included in all language versions of Super Smash Bros. Melee as a playable character, and his popularity in the game (along with that of his similar counterpart Roy) influenced Nintendo's decision to release all subsequent Fire Emblem titles internationally.

Character description

The first game in what would become the long-running tactical role-playing medieval high fantasy series Fire Emblem, released on the Japanese NES (Famicom) and titled Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light (Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi), introduced Marth as the main character. His design was noticeably different from his modern-day incarnation. The second game in the series, Fire Emblem Gaiden, took place on the same fictional world but on a different continent and was only tangentially related to the first and did not feature Marth. The third game however, titled Fire Emblem: Monsho no Nazo ("Secret of the Crest") and released on Super NES (Super Famicom) early in 1994, was both a remake of the original game and a continuation of that game's story. Marth underwent a character redesign to resemble the more "bishounen" prince he is portrayed as in today's modern image of him, and he became the only FE -series main character to feature in a starring role from the start of the game in more than one FE title. In both these games, his in-game unit is the only one that belongs to the Lord character class, and that became tradition with all main starring characters of subsequent FE titles, being units that must be kept alive and start out weak but become very powerful over the course of each game.

In Media

For detailed storyline info, see main articles Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light and Fire Emblem: Monsho no Nazo.

Marth's first appearance in media brought to America was not in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but in the two episodes of an extremely short-lived Fire Emblem anime series that was dubbed by ADV films and released on VHS in 1997. Production stopping after only two episodes. The first episode focuses on Marth and his friend Princess Shiida, in which he and his group must save her city from marauding pirates. The second episode focuses on a deadly and troubled mercenary named Nabarl, who joins a bandit group to be close to a princess named Lena. Marth's group meanwhile, accepts a job to rescue Lena from the bandits, and after a chaotic clash at the bandit's lair ensues and concludes positively. Nabarl is allowed by Shiida to join Marth's group and Nabarl is willing for the sake of seeing what fighting for honorable purposes looks like. Marth's name in this dub version was interpreted as "Mars", which is why many consider it his "proper" name. His Japanese voice actor was Hikaru Midorikawa (who returned to role in both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl) and English voice actor was Spike Spencer.

When Super Smash Bros. Melee was being developed, requested character polls posted by Japanese fans placed Marth as the most popular character, so HAL Laboratory included Marth as a playable character in the fighting game, and also placed the main character from the then-upcoming Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (Fuuin no Tsurugi) game, Roy, as another playable character alongside Marth. Nintendo of America feared that these characters would not have appeal to American gamers and thus would have to be removed, but there was enough stateside approval of Marth and Roy that they were kept. Marth and Roy were introduced along with the Fire Emblem franchise through the U.S. release of Melee, and the result was immensely positive, causing Fire Emblem games from installment seven onwards to be released internationally. Marth and Roy were not given dub voices in the game, retaining their Japanese-language voice samples (with Midorikawa reprising his role as Marth's voice actor). For his bishounen character design and exotic flavoring, coupled with his effectiveness as a fighter, Marth remains one of the most popular characters in Melee.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

As a playable fighter

Main article: Marth (SSBM)

File:Marthmelee.jpg

Marth makes his Smash-series debut as an unlockable character in Melee. He can be unlocked one of three ways: using all fourteen starter characters at least once each in Vs. Mode matches, beating Classic mode with all fourteen starter characters on any difficulty, or playing 400 Vs. mode matches. In each of these cases, after fulfilling the conditions Marth must be battled one-on-one to be unlocked.

Many would instinctively agree that Marth is the game's most effective fighter and best character for use in the competitive meta-game. Pros include the long reach of his sword attacks and the very good damage and knockback specs of the "sweet spot" on the tip of his blade, his moderately fast dash, long grab, usefully floaty wavedash, excellent edgeguarding capabilities, easy and efficient combos, and great SHFFL, with main cons being his lack of a projectile attack and laggy up-B recovery. Marth's clone, Roy, has attacks that are almost identical in appearance, 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.

All of Marth's B and A moves involve him using his sword, the Falchion.

Trophies

By tradition, Marth as a playable character is featured on his personal three trophies. His normal trophy is acquired by beating the Classic mode with Marth on any difficulty, and his Smash Red and Smash Blue trophies are acquired the same way by beating the Adventure and All-Star modes, respectively.

The text of his Classic mode trophy reads:

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.

• Fire Emblem (Japan Only)

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

File:MarthBrawl.jpg

As a playable fighter

Marth returns as an unlockable playable character. Marth has superior range to most characters in the game, and relies on the length of his sword to effectively zone against his opponents. But this time however, it is uncertain as to whether or not he has been nerfed since Melee like a lot of other Higher Tier characters. He is currently resting in the "A Tier" according to the official SBR tier list.

Trophy Description

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.

• Fire Emblem

External Links

• The Fire Emblem Wikia