Marth (Fire Emblem)

Marth (マルス) is a character from Intelligent Systems's Fire Emblem series of video games. He is the central protagonist and Lord-class character of the original game Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, the third game, Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo, and the two remake games Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo: Hikari to Kage no Eiyū.

Although all Marth's Fire Emblem titles were released only in Japan until the release of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, he has acquired more widespread international attention through his recurring appearances in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series of fighting games. The appearance of Marth and Roy sparked a greater level of Western interest in the Fire Emblem series, and it was in part because of this that Nintendo began releasing the games internationally beginning with the seventh title in the series.

Concept and creation
The design of Marth in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon differed from Super Smash Bros. Brawl due to the former's design being introduced to Smash Bros. developer Masahiro Sakurai after his design of Marth was introduced. The Shadow Dragon staff had differing opinions of the design, due to some feeling that the design shouldn't look exactly like he used to, but also feeling that the design should not change much. In the end, they made only minor changes to his design. Marth and Caeda have been friends for a long time and Caeda was ready to admit her feelings for him. Marth and Caeda finally kissed but it is currently unknown of what has happened between them.

Originally, in the English localization of the original video animation, Marth was referred to as "Mars", but it was pronounced "Marce" as opposed to the usual "Marz"; with the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendo of America officially localized his name as "Marth". In Melee's debug menu and internal file names in Shadow Dragon and Shin Monshou no Nazo, written and programmed by the games' Japanese developers, his name is nonetheless listed as "Mars". On the other hand, the "Marth" spelling is used by public Japanese sources, including the Melee website and the Fire Emblem trading card game.

Nintendo of Japan had originally intended to make him playable only in Super Smash Bros. Melee's Japanese release, but when he garnered favorable attention during the game's North American localization, Nintendo of America decided to keep both him and fellow Fire Emblem protagonist Roy in the North American and European versions.

Portrayal
In his recent 3D appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series and in the 1996 anime Marth has been played by Japanese voice actor Hikaru Midorikawa. He was portrayed by Spike Spencer in the ADV Films dub of the anime, but the Western releases of Super Smash Bros. Melee and in Super Smash Bros. Brawl retained Midorikawa's voice as a reflection of his then-lack of appearances in any Western-released games.

Fire Emblem series
Marth debuted with the April 20, 1990, release of the video game Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi in Japan. He is depicted as a heroic prince, sixteen years of age who was forced to flee his home kingdom of Altea after it was attacked. He then assumes the role of hero leading a rebellion to regain control of his kingdom and save his sister Elice. Marth also appears as the main character in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, the remake Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Ken. Under the DS's visual enhancements, his appearance has changed compared to that of the original game. This was the first time for a Fire Emblem game starring Marth to be released outside of Japan.

In Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo, released on January 21, 1994, and in its 2010 remake Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo: Hikari to Kage no Eiyū, Marth reprised his role as the story's protagonist. The first part of the game being a direct remake of the first Fire Emblem game, Marth's role wasn't altered much. In the second part Marth spent his days peacefully in Altea until he discovered a former ally was conquering neighboring kingdoms by force and left to investigate. Over the course of the game Marth sought to restore the Fire Emblem's true power and discover the reason behind his friend's actions.

In Fire Emblem: Awakening, a game set in the far future of his story and starring his distant descendants, Marth is available as both a paid downloadable content character in the "Another Story: Spirit Talisman 1" package, and as two different SpotPass characters: "Prince Marth" and "King Marth", representing his portrayals in Shadow Dragon and Shin Monshou no Nazo respectively. During the course of the game's main story, his descendant Princess Lucina of Iris disguises herself as Marth and, wearing a mask, actively claims to be him.

Super Smash Bros. series
Marth's first major appearance in the Western hemisphere was in the GameCube title Super Smash Bros. Melee. Marth is unlocked if the player fights with the original fourteen characters. He appears on the basis of the official Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo artwork and in-game appearance. His appearance was considered a factor in causing Fire Emblem to go stateside.

Marth is also a playable character in the major 2008 Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl. sporting a more detailed and updated appearance. In the game's story mode, "The Subspace Emissary", he is seen teaming up with Ike, the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Meta Knight of the Kirby series. His final smash is Critical Hit, where he can strike opponents with a blow from his sword for an instant KO (unless blasted into a corner or in an enclosed box). During this attack, a 60 hp health bar is shown, and is quickly depleted, in reference to the battles of the Fire Emblem series.

In both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Marth speaks Japanese rather than English, unlike Ike. This is probably because at the time, the game Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon had never been released in the United States; it was eventually brought stateside on February 16, 2009, nearly a year after Brawl's release.

Other media
The Fire Emblem anime, based on Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo, is an adaption of the beginning part of the first game's plot, including and following Marth's fleeing of his kingdom. It depicts Marth and his sister fleeing from the castle after his father is killed by the evil priest, Gharnef, followed by Marth in the present residing in Caeda's kingdom of Talis. He faces the shame of his family's defeat, followed by saving his friends and Caeda's city from pirates and then rejoining the war effort. The second episode mostly follows the character Navarre of the same game. The anime ended production after only two episodes were finished.

Fire Emblem Trading Card Game
Marth is featured as a card in both of the final expansion sets for the Fire Emblem Trading Card Game along with other characters from Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo and also as a promotional card.

Character
Marth is the prince of Altea and gathered an army to recapture and restore his home and the rest of the Akaneia continent, and is the warrior who twice slew the dark dragon Medeus. Being in the first Fire Emblem game, Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Ken he is the first Lord (main character) of the Fire Emblem series. Typical of most Fire Emblem "Lords" in successive games, he is a swordsman with a slim build and wears a cape; he shows nobility and justness in both of the Fire Emblem games that he appears in, though he also shows himself to be somewhat single-minded in pursuit of Medeus and Gharnef in Shadow Dragon (the remake of Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Ken, implying that he has a darker and more ruthless side to his character: he also has difficulty in expressing his feelings for Caeda in that game's epilogue (if she survived). This has carried over to the anime, in which he is fighting against villains. His father, Cornelius, was the King of Altea, his elder sister, Elice, is the Princess of Altea, and his future queen, Caeda. Marth wields the Divine Blade of Legends, Falchion, as his main weapon in both the Fire Emblem games and Super Smash Bros. series.

Role in Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi
One hundred years had passed since Medeus was slain in Archanea. Once Medeus was resurrected he rebuilt his land of Dolhr, readying himself for an invasion Archanea once again. After the attack from Dolhr, Marth was forced into exile on the island nation of Talys. His father, Cornelius, was killed battling Gharnef, an evil priest and a devout follower of Medeus; his elder sister Elice was taken hostage. With the help of the Altean knight Jagen, the Talysian Princess Caeda, and others characters, Marth embarks on a quest to: defeat Medeus, reclaim the kingdom of Altea, and rescue his sister. Marth meets Nyna, the princess of Archanea-the most prominent kingdom—who gave him the country's national treasure, the Fire Emblem. Marth later obtains the Falchion sword, which was stolen from his father by Gharnef. He uses it to confront Medeus.

Role in Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo
After the defeat of Medeus, Marth was engaged to Caeda and spent his days peacefully in Altea. It wasn't until rumours had it that Hardin&mdash;a former ally and friend of Marth&mdash;had begun to conquer various countries in Archanea with the help of the Manaketes that Marth was forced to leave his rule of Altea to investigate. When Marth and his men gathered at Grust, several of his former allies were fleeing, or some were murdered during the pillages of Hardin. Marth then travelled to Macedonia where he met Linde, a mage of Archanea, who had been keeping the Fire Emblem safe from harm. He discovers that several gems are needed for the Fire Emblem to regain its true power. Marth retrieves most of the gems, only to realize that Hardin had conquered Altea in his absence. He leaves to see Gra, a kingdom that had seen a similar fate to what happened to Altea.

After reaching his palace, Marth defeats Hardin, obtaining the last gem. The gems are placed on the Fire Emblem, which becomes the Shield of Seals. Marth discovers that Hardin wasn't really evil and was possessed by the evil priest Gharnef himself through the Dark orb. He then heads to Dolhr where Gharnef lurks. After Gharnef is defeated, all that remains is the new reborn Medeus, guarded by Earth Dragons and possessed clerics, including his sister, Elice. 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. Afterward, Marth is declared Emperor of Archanea and is finally married to Caeda.

Reception
Though his role in the Fire Emblem series is mostly unknown to Western gamers, Marth is a very popular character in the Super Smash Bros. series. Marth's inclusion popularized Fire Emblem in the West; it was in part because of his inclusion that Nintendo began releasing the games internationally beginning with the seventh title in the series. Series producer Toru Narihiro attributed an increase in reputation for both Marth and fellow Fire Emblem character Ike to their appearances in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, adding that their reputations grew beyond the staff's expectations.

Pertinent details

 * Gunpei Yokoi (Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Ken and Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo Game producer)
 * Masaki Sano&Kyou Watanabe(Manga Works)
 * Shinichirō Ōta (Drama CD)
 * Shigeru Nakahara (Drama CD)
 * Akira Ishida (Drama CD)
 * Spike Spencer (ADV Films dub)