Marth

Overview

Marth is the prince of Altea, and the main character of Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi, the first game in the Fire Emblem franchise, as well as its remake/sequel, Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo. He is the first "Lord" class character to be featured in the series and overall one of the most recurring and recognized characters in Fire Emblem.

Although Marth's Fire Emblem titles were released only in Japan, he has acquired more widespread international attention through his recurring appearances in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series. It is in part because of his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee alongside Roy that helped convince Nintendo to localize later entries in the Fire Emblem series, including the DS remake of the original game, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.

History

To date, Marth has appeared in two games from the Fire Emblem series, not including the later DS remakes of each. He is also referenced in Fire Emblem: Awakening, which is set two thousand years after Marth's adventures in the same universe and makes an appearance in the game as DLC.

Anokoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi

Hundreds of years had passed since the dark dragon Medeus was slain in Archanea. However, Medeus is eventually resurrected and he rebuilds his land of Dolhr to invade Archanea once again. Marth, the prince of the nation of Altea is forced into exile in the island nation of Talis when the forces of Dolhr overpower the Alteans. Marth's father Cornelius is killed battling Gharnef, an evil priest and a devout follower of Medeus, and Marth's elder sister Elice is taken hostage.

With the help of the Altean knight Jagen, the Talisian Princess Caeda, and others, Marth embarks on a quest to defeat Medeus, reclaim the kingdom of Altea, and rescue his sister. During his travels, Marth meets Nyna, the princess of Archanea, who gives him the country's national treasure, the Fire Emblem. Marth later recovers the sacred blade Falchion, which was stolen from his father by Gharnef, which he uses to confront Medeus.

Monsho no Nazo

After the defeat of Medeus, Marth spent his days peacefully in Altea. This peace is ended when he hears rumors that his former friend and ally Hardin had begun a military conquest across the continent of Archanea with the help of the Manaketes. When Marth and his men gather at Grust, he discovers that many of his allies had either fled or were murdered by Hardin's forces. Marth then travels to Macedon, where he meets Linda, a mage of Archanea, who had been keeping the Fire Emblem safe from harm. However, he also learns that the shield is missing several gems required for the Fire Emblem to regain its true power. Marth manages to retrieve most of the gems, only to realize that Hardin had conquered Altea in his absence. With his own nation taken from him, Marth leaves to see Gra, a kingdom that had seen a similar fate.

Eventually, Marth defeats Hardin, obtains the last gem, and places it in the shield, restoring it to its full power as the Shield of Seals. He also discovers that Hardin hadn't actually become evil, but was possessed by the evil priest Gharnef himself through the powers of the Dark Orb. With this knowledge, Marth heads to Dolhr in order to confront Gharnef for the final time.

After Gharnef is defeated, all that remains is the reborn Medeus, guarded by Earth Dragons and possessed clerics. The Shield of Seals emits a power that forces the Earth Dragons to retreat, giving Marth's army the opportunity to save the clerics and for Marth to defeat Medeus once and for all with a slash of Falchion. Afterwards, Marth marries Caeda and spends his time rebuilding Archanea.

Awakening

As per Nyna's request, after the Archanean royal family died out, Marth was at some point crowned Archanea's ruler.

Thousands of years later, he goes down in history as the legendary Hero-King. Marth's descendants rule Archanea, now known as Ylisse, as its royal family. His blade Falchion is passed down to Chrom, Ylisse's prince. As a historical figure, Marth is most remembered for his kind and gentle nature.

When the DLC battle Champions of Yore 1 is completed for the first time, a special card called an Einherjar Card is presented to the player. This card contains what is essentially a copy of Marth from his days on the battlefield and can be used to summon him to fight for the player's own army.

Super Smash Brothers

Marth first appeared in the Smash Bros. series in Super Smash Bros. Melee as one of two unlockable characters from the Fire Emblem series; the other being Roy of Fuuin no Tsurugi. Marth is also playable in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and has also been announced as a playable character in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS.

The main play style for most Marth players is to do many short hops with neutral airs with quick fall and l-canceling. This entire sequence can be repeated multiple times very quickly, making it the bread and butter of any competitive Marth player's arsenal. Marth's Directional Influence (DI) and otherwise amazing recovery make him the easiest character to recover with from far smashes. There are many videos which feature Marth's getting smashed at 100%+ and the player using his DI to come back with no problems whatsoever.

Marth's key recovery ability comes from his Forward Air, also known as C-Stick Forward. If launched horizontally a Marth can hold in the opposite direction (towards the level) while slowly using his forward air, this move stops him from falling as fast and he gets a lot of horizontal distance. Marth's recover ability is only matched by Link's hookshot, Peach's float, and Samus' ball and chain.

Other Appearances

• Marth, as many other characters in the series, appears in the games' spinoff trading card game as one of the strongest character cards.
• Marth is the main protagonist of the Fire Emblem anime, which is based on the events depicted in Monsho no Nazo.