Marth

"I am a prince before I am a son or brother."

- Marth after liberating his home in Chapter 17 of Shadow Dragon.

Marth (Mars in the anime) is a character from the Fire Emblem series of video games. He is the central protagonist and Lord-class character of the original game, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, and its sequel Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, as well as their respective remakes.

Although Marth's Fire Emblem titles were released only in Japan at the time, he has acquired more widespread international attention through his appearance in the Nintendo brawler, Super Smash Bros. Melee. 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 Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the seventh title in the series. Due to his various appearances in Fire Emblem and his presence in Super Smash Bros and other crossovers, Marth is often looked at as the face of the series.

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon
Some time after his father, Cornelius, had departed with Falchion to challenge the forces of Dolhr, whose leader, Medeus had resurrected and rebuilt the empire, Marth remained behind in Altea with his mother and elder sister Elice, committing himself to his studies; with much of the Altean army out to war under Cornelius, the defence of Altea was maintained by a garrison of Gra. After Gra betrayed Altea in the middle of battle, with the King of Gra, Jiol, killing Cornelius, the garrison at Altea did the same, seizing the castle for Dolhr. While Elice stayed behind to buy Marth time, he fled the castle guided by Malledus, with a few Altean knights accompany him.

On their way out, Cain returned from the battlefields of Gra to report Cornelius' death and joins Marth's group, with Marth rescuing Gordin who was captured and gagged by Gra's forces. Gra's King Jiol then arrives with a wave of reinforcements, closing in on Marth's group. To ensure the escape of Marth and the others, Frey offered himself as a decoy, dressing as the prince and fleeing to the south, luring Jiol and the reinforcements away. Draug then arrived, having prepared a ship to facilitate the group's escape from Altea, and from there Marth reluctantly fled for the island nation of Talys, swearing he would one day return to free his homeland and seek vengeance upon Gra and Grust.

Following Altea's fall, Marth and his retinue lived in exile in Talys for the next two years, hosted in the island's eastern fortress by King Mostyn. When the pirates of Galder descended upon Talys to raid it, called into action by the arrival of his childhood friend, Caeda, Marth's forces departed the fort to combat the invasion; upon its fall, on the advice of Mostyn, Marth's retinue left Talys to commence its goal to rebel against the domination of Dolhr.

The group's first destination was Aurelis, where during their liberation of the country from Macedonian occupation, Marth swiftly befriended commander Hardin, Aurelis' prince, and Princess Nyna of Archanea — the most prominent kingdom — who gives him her country's national treasure, the Shield of Seals, symbolising his fate as the world's chosen champion against Dolhr. From there, Marth led the army to reclaim Archanea, then proceeded on to Gra in an effort to find Falchion, said by Cain to have been taken by the country from his father's corpse. Gra fell, yet Falchion was nowhere to be found, leading Marth to reluctantly decide to detour to Khadein, on Malledus's theory that it had come into Gharnef's possession, instead of pressing on to liberate Altea.

The trip to Khadein proved fruitless, as Falchion and Gharnef were nowhere to be found, and Marth turned his sights on liberating Altea. Upon Altea's fall, Marth learned of his mother's death at the hands of Morzas and that Elice had been taken hostage by Gharnef. Despite his grief at this news, and despite Nyna and Malledus suggesting he take a break, he nonetheless greeted the people of Altea, joyful at their freedom.

From there, Marth led his army in the conquest of Grust and Macedon, before being sent by Gotoh to Thabes in order to confront Gharnef. With Gharnef's death at the hands of a member of Marth's army wielding Starlight, Marth recovered Falchion and, at the top of the tower, reunited with Elice, who had been imprisoned by Gharnef for the purpose of using the Aum staff. In the closing days of the war, Marth turned his focus toward Dolhr Keep, where Medeus himself lay in wait. Engaging him in battle, wielding Falchion, Marth struck down Medeus as Anri had a century before.

At the end of the war, spurred by Nyna's urging, Marth finally confessed to Caeda his longtime affections for her, proposing to her.

Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem
Following the end of the event known as the War of Shadows, Marth devoted himself to the reconstruction of Altea and Caeda became his fiancee, with the two soon to be married. This is interrupted, however, by a missive from Hardin, now the Emperor of Archanea, who requests that Marth lead the Altean army to subjugate a rebellion in Grust, a command Marth could not disobey due to Archanea maintaining Suzerainty over other countries, including Altea. Leaving Cain in charge of Altea's defense, Marth took some old and newer knights with him to address the Grustian crisis.

In Grust, he meets with Lang, the general of the Archanean occupying force in the region, whose malicious attitude disgusted Marth; Lang revealed the alleged rebellion was being led by Lorenz, a former ally of Marth's, which raised Marth's suspicions about the situation. Marth soon learned that Lorenz was trying to protect the Grustian heirs, Yuliya and Jubelo, from the Empire and that the uprising was in response to the harsh Archanean domination of the region, being general Lang's doing. Lorenz died from wounds sustained in an earlier battle, after entrusting the prince and princess to Marth and warning him of Hardin's change into a tyrant.

However, despite Marth's protests, Lang arrived and took the two heirs into his custody(as defiance would result in a war with Archanea), then commanded Marth to travel to Macedon and address another rebellion there, in which a military coup had taken Marth's former ally, Princess Minerva, prisoner. Marth's army successfully subdued the coup with the aid of Catria and Palla, but failed to find Minerva as she had already been taken away by her brother, Michalis. During this battle, Marth met Julian and learned of the mysterious disappearance of Minerva's sister Maria, and of the cleric Lena. He also encountered Linde, a mage of Archanea, who entrusted Marth with the Fire Emblem again on Nyna's orders, although she remained unaware of why Nyna did so, realizing that something terrible was coming.

Lang's next order to Marth was to recapture Yuliya and Jubelo, who had been freed from captivity in his castle by Ogma and were on the run; Marth, however, opposes to follow Lang's orders any further, and his defiance is taken as an act of war by Lang, who fled upon being challenged by Jagen. Marth's army moved to rescue Ogma and the children, adopting them into his army along with a mysterious masked knight known only to him as Sirius.

Though he seeks to get Hardin's support in removing the corrupt general, Caeda arrives breathless after they rescued the two royal heirs, surprising Marth that Hardin decided to support Lang and declared him a traitor as she informs Altea was attacked by the imperial army, with Gra and Aurelis ambushing them, with the Altean forces there wiped out and the castle fallen, with only she escaping as Elice remained behind to hold them off. It was then understood that everything was a setup in order for Marth to leave with his elite soldiers so that Altea would be defenseless.

In a bid to end the Archanean abuse of the Grustians, Marth led an attack on Olbern Keep, Lang's domain and the Archanean hold on Grust. After Lang is killed, Marth found Wendell imprisoned in the fortress, who told him of his quest to collect the lost pieces of the Starsphere to prevent the world from falling into ruin.

On Wendell's advice, Marth travelled to the Fane of Raman in a bid to find some of the shards, and though the residing thieves were driven away, they found the temple ransacked and most of the items stolen away, which Jagen commented would infuriate even Naga. Their next destination was Chiasmir, seeking to cross the bridge to avoid pursuit, only to find Hardin himself arriving with his forces, who approached Marth and announced his intent to crack down on all possible dissent against him. Learning that they cannot even harm Hardin because of mysterious power he possessed, Marth had no choice but to escape Chiasmir by sea, taking a ship north to Khadein.

As Marth resolves to find a way to pierce the dark protection his army had observed surrounded Hardin, he learns that Khadein mages were mounting an offense on them, forcing the Altean army to fight back and break into the sactuary, with Archanea's pursuit close at their rear. During the battle he and Wendell found his friend Merric fighting his former classmate Elrean, who in a jealous fit toward Merric had seized control of Khadein and directed its army to attack Marth and Merric; he was also approached by Minerva, who had been tasked by Michalis with joining up with Marth to fight Hardin.

Soon managing to succeed in defeating them and Wendell managing to convince Elrean to stop fighting, Marth was contacted through magic by Gotoh, who told him of Hardin's fall to the Darksphere and requested he travel to the Ice Dragon Temple in the north in order to collect the Lightsphere, the only means of piercing the Darksphere's protection and saving Hardin.

Now making their way through Anri's Way to meet Gotoh, a path once traversed by Anri himself a century prior He travels the route through the Marmotord desert, the Flame Barrel graveyard and the frozen wastelands of the north, fighting degenerated wild dragons, collecting the Starsphere's shards and eventually being guided by Xane, who tells him the true history of Archanea, the manaketes and the creation of Falchion and Fire Emblem. Upon reaching the Ice Dragon Temple, Gotoh uses the twelve shards to reconstitute the Starsphere, giving both it and the Lightsphere to Marth to use against Hardin. He also allowed Marth to wake Tiki and take her with him on his journey, on the condition that Marth collected all five of the Emblem's spheres to restore its true power and allow Tiki to survive.

Gotoh sent Marth's army back to Altea with his warp magic, and Marth once again fought to free Altea from Archanean conquest. At the battle's end, Gotoh contacted him again to warn him of Gharnef's return, and that Gharnef was responsible for abducting Elice, Maria and Lena for reasons unknown, and that he likely sought to abduct Nyna next. Marth resolved to lead a march on the Archanean capital itself, to stop Hardin and get to Nyna before Gharnef abducted her; unbeknownst to him, Nyna had already been given away to Gharnef by Hardin himself.

Entering Gra, they battle the forces of Archanea and Gra, though Gra's soldiers had lost their will to fight. After defeating Archanea's forces and sparing the soldiers of Gra, thus earning Sheena and Samson's trust, Marth discusses his plans to try and reach Hardin faster, as their battles were only buying Hardin more time. He is then suggested that they avoid the route where Archanea's forces are concentrated by going through Adria Pass, for despite being perilous and having the chance of an ambush, it was the fastest course of action, to which Marth accepted, considering the fact they had traveled in Anri's Way prior.

Having gotten through Adria Pass and acquired the Lifesphere from Hardin's older brother, they then learn that a coup d'etat broke out and quickly put down in the palace and the prisoners were being quickly executed by the day, making Marth's forces rush the pace.

Now in the capital of Archanea, they battle the imperial army and then made their way into the palace for the final stand against Hardin. Marth defeats Hardin, and as he died his mind returned to him and he begged Marth to save Nyna and stop Gharnef. Having collected the final sphere from Hardin, all the orbs were gathered and the Fire Emblem was completed and restored as the Shield of Seals. Marth was then approached by the four missing clerics, the but the Shield's power dispelled the magic surrounding the four and revealed them to have been Gharnef's priests that had an illusion cast over them to deceive Marth. Gotoh then arrived, and realizing that Gharnef was attempting to revive Medeus once more, they continue their battle by trying to locate Medeus and Gharnef.

He then heads to Dolhr where Gharnef lurks. En route he visited a village and encountered a severely wounded Michalis, who gave Starlight to Marth for use against Gharnef once more. In the Dragon's Table, Marth's army fought Gharnef once more and killed him, allowing Marth to finally reclaim Falchion from him, and so the group makes their way to the final room where Medeus was. However, when they finally reach the next chamber, they find out that Elice, Nyna, Maria, and Lena were all hypnotized and surrounding Medeus to be consumed for his complete revival, along with him being guarded by Earth Dragons. Jagen realizes that if they cannot free them from Medeus' control, then they would have no choice but to kill them to get to Medeus, which horrifies Marth, declaring that there has to be another way.

Determined to rescue the clerics, Marth had some of his allies work to awaken them while the Shield of Seals emits a power that forces the Earth Dragons to retreat. Through the efforts of Merric, Sirius, Minerva, and Julian, the princesses were all freed from Medeus' control and thus clearing the way for him to kill Medeus with the Falchion for the second and final time.

Afterwards, as most of Archanea's noble houses were left in ruins, almost all of its surviving rulers ceded sovereignty over their territories to Marth himself, and so Marth united the continent as the United Kingdom of Archanea, serving as its first king while crowned as the fifth king of Altea with Caeda as his wife, and spends his time rebuilding Archanea with her in Pales, the capital of Archanea. Under Marth's reign, the continent experienced a golden era of peace and its wounds began to heal.

Awakening
Two thousand years later in the era of Fire Emblem Awakening, Marth's tale has passed into legend and he is revered as the "Hero-King" and a legendary ruler. The royal house of the Halidom of Ylisse, one of several post-unified Archanean nations, are his descendants and continue to wield both Falchion and the Shield of Seals, which they now call the Fire Emblem. When Marth's descendant Lucina travelled back in time to try and prevent the resurrection of the fell dragon Grima, she cloaked her true identity as Chrom's daughter by adopting the name of Marth as her own.

Personality
Marth is a kindhearted yet incredibly idealistic leader and has subtle pacifist morals. Said morals are a result of him experiencing loss directly, as his sister has been kidnapped twice and parents killed. His idealism takes a toll on him, however, as he melancholically visits the graves of those whom have been killed as seen in New Mystery of the Emblem.

He has been shown to be overly trusting at times as he has been betrayed and almost killed by two comrades. Regardless, his faith in his people do have its benefits, as recruitment of an assortment of people from different backgrounds directly contributed to his success in both wars.

While Marth shares a passionate bond with Caeda, they tend to quarrel due to both having a similar fear about each other's well being, and wanting to protect one another.

Marth has also been shown to be extremely humble as reflected in his supports, to the point he gets somewhat uncomfortable with the praise he gets from his descendants. In addition, Marth often seeks consistent reassurance in his decisions, of which can be seen as both a flaw and a strength, as while it may hinder him at times, once determined, he becomes a beacon of inspiration for others.

Growth Rates

 * 90%
 * 50%
 * 40%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * 0%
 * }

Base Stats

 * -|Book 1=


 * -|Book 2=

Growth Rates

 * 90%
 * 50%
 * 40%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 20%
 * 3%
 * }

Growth Rates

 * 80%
 * 50%
 * 6%
 * 40%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 20%
 * 2%
 * }

Growth Rates

 * 90%
 * 60%
 * 0%
 * 65%
 * 65%
 * 80%
 * 30%
 * 5%
 * }

Overall
In Mystery of the Emblem and its remake, Marth starts with quite average bases, and as he will be used as a convoy and is the only character that can visit villages, he shouldn't see too much combat. If trained, he will usually have high HP, speed and luck, but will end up with below average defensive stats. He will often do a lot of damage due to his rapier, which will be useful early-game, and could be useful late-game due to his decent offensive stats. Levelling him up should be easy, however, he has more important things to do then to kill enemies, and there are better units who can easily fill his place in combat. His biggest drawback is his lack of promotion, this takes out a needed one time boost to all of his stats. Marth has received a significant boost in New Mystery of the Emblem, with slightly higher bases, making him more useable throughout the game. The Shield of Seals also give him an additional +2 points to all stats (If he has maxed out any of them, these bonuses will also stack), this allows him to be a more functional late-game unit.

Base Stats

 * -|DLC=


 * -|SpotPass (Prince Marth)=


 * Stats may differ depending on difficulty. Equipment is not obtained after recruitment.
 * -|SpotPass (King Marth)=


 * Stats may differ depending on difficulty. Equipment is not obtained after recruitment.
 * -|Enemy=

Growth Rates
For the Aptitude skill, add +20% to all growth rates
 * Prince Marth (SpotPass & DLC)


 * 60%
 * 65%
 * 40%
 * 55%
 * 55%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 60%
 * 60%
 * 55%
 * 50%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 65%
 * 65%
 * 40%
 * 55%
 * 55%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 65%
 * 65%
 * 40%
 * 55%
 * 55%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 70%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 50%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 70%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 50%
 * 45%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 70%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 50%
 * 45%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 60%
 * 65%
 * 40%
 * 60%
 * 60%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 60%
 * 65%
 * 40%
 * 60%
 * 60%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 65%
 * 65%
 * 40%
 * 60%
 * 55%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 65%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 55%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 70%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 50%
 * 55%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 65%
 * 60%
 * 40%
 * 65%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 65%
 * 60%
 * 40%
 * 65%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 70%
 * 65%
 * 40%
 * 60%
 * 55%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 55%
 * 60%
 * 45%
 * 60%
 * 60%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 60%
 * 65%
 * 40%
 * 65%
 * 60%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 55%
 * 55%
 * 55%
 * 60%
 * 55%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 65%
 * 75%
 * 40%
 * 50%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 65%
 * 70%
 * 40%
 * 55%
 * 55%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 55%
 * 45%
 * 60%
 * 55%
 * 55%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 70%
 * 50%
 * 55%
 * 50%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 65%
 * 45%
 * 60%
 * 50%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 70%
 * 60%
 * 55%
 * 50%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 55%
 * 50%
 * 55%
 * 50%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * }


 * 65%
 * 60%
 * 55%
 * 45%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 60%
 * 65%
 * 50%
 * 55%
 * 55%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 25%
 * }

Max Stat Modifiers

 * +1
 * +1
 * 0
 * 0
 * +3
 * -1
 * -1
 * }

Growth Rates

 * 60%
 * 40%
 * 5%
 * 70%
 * 65%
 * 85%
 * 40%
 * 25%
 * }

Max Stat Modifiers

 * -1
 * 0
 * +1
 * +1
 * +1
 * 0
 * -1
 * }


 * As Lodestar

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
An illusory likeness of Marth can be summoned through the connection of a Marth Amiibo with Mila's Turnwheel.

Description

 * Altean Prince
 * Prince of Altea who fights for his homeland and deeply values his friends. Appears in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.

As a Playable Unit
Rarity:

As an Enemy
Chapter 1-1 - Mystery Trial

Difficulty:

Chapter 1-5 - Prince of Mystery

Difficulty:

Special
This unit has no specials.

Overall
Marth boasts a respectable stat-spread that's balanced across the board, though that leaves him struggling to stand out in a particular role, especially since he shares Falchion with several other characters that have more specialized stat spreads. Offensively, he is outshined by Lucina and Masked Marth as powerful offensive Falchion wielders. In comparison to Chrom and Alm, Chrom outshines him in attack and defense, while Alm was largely considered the worst Falchion user. Marth can fill a red sword brawler role while still being able to duel dragons effectively thanks to his mixed bulk and remarkable speed. Overall, he was not particularly impressive, and there was little reason to use him over Lucina, or the highly-accessible Masked Marth.

After Falchion refinements, Marth's role on the team received a massive, unique overhaul. Refined Falchion allowed Marth to give +2 to Atk/Spd/Def/Res to all allies within 2 spaces of him. The spectrum drive buff is massive, and it elevated Marth into a superior supportive role rather than competing with more dominant offensive heroes. There is little competition for a supportive role on the team, and Marth with refined Falchion is by and large the best choice thanks to his spectrum drive passive.

In terms of IV preferences, Marth's balanced stat spread makes it difficult to dump a certain stat. Resistance is his weakest stat, and can be the safest bane option. Marth's defense is on the higher side, only losing to Chrom by 2 points at neutral. A boon in Defense can make him a decent physical tank. His great speed stat makes him deceptively difficult to kill.

A boon in attack pushes Marth's offensive spread to 34/34 in atk/spd, which is really strong, and he can fill the role of a budget Lucina thanks to his accessiblity at 4-star rarity, while she is locked at 5-star, making it difficult and expensive to fine-tune her IV's. Overall, Marth prefers boons in attack and speed to make him a better brawler-type hero, while a boon in Defense or HP helps him be a better tank. Resistance is his weakest stat, and improving it with a boon is a wasted investment.

Skill Inheritance Options
Marth's well-rounded spread allows him to fill multiple roles. Though his Res stat is lacking, his spd makes up for it, making him a decent Distant Counter candidate. With Distant Defense 3 seal and neutral res he reaches 29 res and 35 def in the enemy phase. In addition to his spd that prevents followups, he is more than capable of tanking long-ranged attacks and baiting fragile mages, archers, or thieves to kill on the counter-attack. Steady Breath is one of the best skills in the game, and it would not be wasted on Marth. His powerful defense stat allows him to reach 36 defense on the enemy phase (calculating DEF boon and Steady breath bonus), it synergizes great with Aether which allows him to restore HP and effectively finish off enemy units. Once again, his spd stat has to be emphasized as not being able to double him makes him very difficult to kill, allowing him to exploit the Aether HP restoration to great degrees. Finally, the most budget A-slot passive option for him is Fury. It synergizes exceptionally well with Falchion's Renewal ability as well as giving him a great boost to all his stats. With an offensive boon, Marth can reach up to 40 spd, allowing him to safely duel powerhouse red swords like Ayra and Mia, whose greatest strength is their stellar spd stat.

B-slot options for Marth vary, and it shapes the role you want Marth to play more importantly than anything. Quick Riposte synergizes with Distant Counter, making him an exclusive enemy-phase bait unit. He has the bulk to punish mages with QR, especially fast ones that can force Marth to attack once, like Celica. Swordbreaker is a great option for Marth as well, giving him an easier time dueling red swords. If he is going for an offensive spread, Swordbreaker is a very popular option. In addition, when up against another swordbreaker unit, both skills cancel out each other and the basic rule of doubling is in effect (that is, if one hero has 5 more spd than the other, they attack twice). This is a matchup that strongly favours Marth. Renewal can also be a good option that synergizes with Falchion's renewal effect to give Marth a supportive combat medic role that all Falchion users qualify for but Marth does better than most thanks to his support-oriented refine.

C-slot options are always flexible, and Marth will be able to exploit any C-skill he's given thanks to his already supportive role with Falchion. Drive buffs stack, so if Marth carries drive spd in his C-slot, for example, he can give +5 spd, and +2 to everything else with Falchion. Ploy skills should be avoided as Marth has neither the HP nor the Res to reliably deploy them. Marth can also carry another drive skill in his seal slot for a similar buff effect that works with Falchion.

His assist options are a bit more open than his other peers. Marth would do well with a positioning skill like Reposition or Draw Back, as do most other heroes, but he also has the potential to make use of Ardent Sacrifice and similar HP-sharing assists thanks to Falchion's passive renewal and his overall role in the team.

His special options are also very flexible. His best option is a defense ignoring skill like Moonbow or Luna, as his mediocre stats across the board make stat-dependent skills like Draconic Aura, Iceberg, or Bonfire unreliable.

Supports

 * Xander
 * Rowan
 * Frederick
 * Ryoma
 * Caeda
 * Tiki
 * Chrom
 * Lyn
 * Celica
 * Minerva
 * Linde
 * Navarre

Fire Emblem OVA
Originally, in the English localization of the original video animation (OVA), Marth was referred to as "Mars", but with the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendo of America officially localized his name as "Marth". However, in  Melee' s debug menu, which was written and programmed by the game's Japanese developer, his name is listed as "Mars". In contrast with the games, he is given the surname 'Lowell' in the anime.

Due to his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee, it has been a misconception by some fans that Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade ' s main character Roy has a tie in with Marth. However, Marth's world, which is typically the setting for the series, and Roy's world, the first to deviate from that standard, are not mentioned to be connected. This confusion stems primarily from the fact that the trophy descriptions for Marth and Roy describe both characters as being from Fire Emblem, but do not name the specific titles each character appeared in. It has been theorized however that the Dragon's Gate may be a wormhole connecting the two, and that the Dragons sent through it during The Scouring became the dragons in the backstory of New Mystery of the Emblem. However, even if this was true, no connection between Marth and Roy would exist even then.

The anime was based on Mystery of the Emblem; production ended after only two episodes were finished. The anime follows the events of the game, recounting Marth's journey to liberate Akanea and kill Medeus.

Super Smash Bros. series
Marth's inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Melee helped spark interest in the Fire Emblem series 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. Nintendo of Japan had originally intended to make him playable only in the game'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.

Much of Marth's play style heavily revolves around a quick and strong close range game and good mobility. However he is one of very few characters who lack any sort of projectile moves or any options to play a ranged game without items. Marth wields the original version of the Falchion in all of his Smash Bros. appearances. The sword has a special property in which striking the opponent with the tip of the Falchion deals more damage than striking the opponent with the blade itself. Due to not appearing in any English games by the time of the release of both Melee and Brawl, Marth spoke Japanese and continues to do so in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, even after the international release of Shadow Dragon.

Super Smash Bros.
While Marth or any Fire Emblem content didn't make an appearance in the original Super Smash Bros., according to an interview from Making of Fire Emblem: 25 Years In Development, series creator Masahiro Sakurai stated that he wanted Marth to appear as a playable character, but was unable to due to time constraints.

Melee
Marth is unlocked in Melee by clearing or failing Classic mode with the 14 starting characters or participating in 400 Vs. matches, or by using each of the 14 starting characters at least once in Vs. matches (not including CPU players). His appearance is designed after his Mystery of the Emblem artwork. As such, his gloves are different and he wears pants for the first time in a game.

Brawl
Marth returns in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an unlockable character. Similar to Melee Marth can be unlocked if the player participates in 10 Vs matches, clears Classic mode once on any difficulty, or by recruiting him in the Subspace Emissary. Marth retains his Melee design but with much more detail and a few tweaks to his moveset (most notably, his Neutral special move, Shield Breaker).

For 3DS and Wii U
"The Hero-King"

- Marth's Aliases on Punch-Out stage.

Marth returns in Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Wii U. Marth's appearance has been changed to be near identical to his design in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, yet Falchion uses the original design. Also, what appears to be the insignia of Naga is embrodered onto his cape. For the first time, Marth is a starter character in both versions.

Special Moveset

 * Neutral Special: Shield Breaker: Marth's standard special move. In Melee, this was performed as an downward-arcing vertical slash. In Brawl, it was changed into Marth's standard thrust move from his battle animations in the Fire Emblem universe. The move can be charged in place and will initiate once the player lets go of the special attack button. The longer the move is charged, it will do more damage and has a higher chance of breaking a shield if the opponent is shielding, leaving them stunned for a short period of time. Unlike most charge moves, Marth's Shield Breaker cannot be stored for later use.
 * Custom Neutral Special 1: Storm Thrust: Marth's thrusting animation gains a small whirlwind in front of him, giving him higher knockback.
 * Custom Neutral Special 2: Assault Dash: Marth gains a lunging property to his thrust.
 * Side Special: Dancing Blade: Marth's side special move. Marth performs a series of different slashes depending on the button input by the player. After performing the standard Side Special input, the player can press the special button while pressing up, down, or forward, up to 4 attacks. With all the different move variations, Marth can perform 18 different versions of the Dancing Blade move. High variations are outlined with blue streaks, middle variations are outlined with red streaks, and low variations are outlined with green streaks.
 * Custom Side Special 1: Easy Combination: Marth's combo is executed much quicker, however it has low damage output and low knockback.
 * Custom Side Special 2: Heavy Combination: Marth's combo is executed much slower but has higher damage and knockback. Due to the higher knockback, all three strikes do not fully combo off of each other.
 * Up Special: Dolphin Slash: Marth's stage recovery move. Marth performs an extremely quick, leaping vertical slash that launches him almost straight up. However it has little horizontal movement making it difficult to recover from the sides of the screen.
 * Custom Up Special 1: Crescent Slash: Marth propels himself with a diagonal trajectory
 * Custom Up Special 2: Dolphin High Jump: Marth propels himself much higher than its base form, however it does not deal any damage.
 * Down Special: Counter: Marth's down special move. Marth takes a defensive stance and his body flashes for a few seconds. If any character attacks him with a non-projectile move up close, Marth will reflect the damage. In Melee Marth's counter will deal at least 1% to a maximum of 7% in reflect damage depending on the strength of the move the Marth is countering. In Brawl, Marth's counter will deal x1.1 of the damage he would have received with a minimum 8% should the counter deal less than 8%. Marth can counter/negate items thrown at him using this move, however projectiles with explosive properties cannot be reflected and will detonate on him if he tries to reflect these.
 * Custom Down Special 1: Easy Counter: Marth's counter starts up faster and lasts longer but deals less counter damage and has low knockback
 * Custom Down Special 2: Iai Counter Marth's counter starts off a bit slower and has a slightly longer recovery period. However, it deals more counter damage and has a much higher knockback. Also, he will take a step forward on the slash, ending the move slightly in front of where he began if he successfully counters a hit.
 * Final Smash: Critical Hit: Critical Hit is an extremely fast and powerful Final Smash. After raising his sword, Marth quickly rushes forward, instantly blowing away all enemies he comes in contact with off screen. A Health Meter appears, which rapidly decreases to zero, though this is purely an aesthetic. Arguably the most powerful Final Smash, not just for the 60% damage if it connects, but for the knockback effect, able to offscreen KO Bowser, the heaviest character in the game, even when he is at 0% from the opposite edge of a medium sized stage. It can also be launched in the air and he will still propel him straight forward. However, Marth risks flying offscreen using this move and self-destructing. The move can be cancelled by pressing the special attack again to stop him from dashing.

Snake's conversation About Marth
A fellow Super Smash Bros. Brawl character, Snake, can call one of his trusted partners for information on any character he fights. This is what is discussed about Marth:

Mei Ling: Snake, have you heard the saying "Politics makes strange bedfellows"?

Snake: Don't tell me that's a Chinese proverb.

Mei Ling: Err, no... It means that when the going gets tough, you might need unexpected partnerships in order to succeed. Marth was a prince whose kingdom was usurped. He didn't even have an army to fight with him. But as he battled his way forward, he found new allies to fight at his side, and in the end, he was able to reunite the war-torn land of Altea.

Snake: So he built his army from the ranks of his defeated enemies.

Mei Ling: Marth did his share of fighting, too. Even when he had an army, he was always alongside his men in the thick of battle. Then he was betrayed by one of his most trusted friends. I can't imagine how that feels...

Snake: ...I can.

Palutena's Guidance
Palutena's Guidance is featured in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and is similar to Snake's Codec in Brawl. Pit holds a special conversation with Palutena and Viridi to comment on one of Pit's opponents, giving him helpful tips about their strengths and weaknesses. This feature is based on the numerous chapter dialogue in Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Pit: Get a load of Mr. Fancy Pants here.

Viridi: Is that jealousy I detect in your voice, Pit?

Pit: Why would I be jealous of Marth?

Viridi: Well, he's a prince, for starters. A handsome prince. And you're just—

Palutena: Anyway, Prince Marth's most dangerous attack comes from the tip of his sword. Avoid his blade at midrange.

Pit: So I should either attack from a distance or get up close and personal.

Palutena: He's got a counter as well, so be on guard when you go hand to hand. If you're attacking from afar, use items to improve your chances.

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is compatible with the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U amiibo of Fire Emblem characters. When scanned, a S.T.E.A.M. version of Marth will appear in game. Marth wields the Falchion which deals heavy damage to single targets near him. He also wields a Rapier to strike weak spots much more easily. Marth's special ability in game is Lodestar which heals a substantial amount of health to his nearby allies. He is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.

Super Mario Maker
Marth appears in Super Mario Maker as a special Mystery Mushroom costume. He is unlocked either by completing a 100-Mario Challenge or scanning a Marth amiibo.

Monster Hunter Generations
A special hunter costume based on Marth has been confirmed for Monster Hunter Generations. Marth's versions of the Falchion and Shield of Seals also appear as a Sword & Shield weapon set.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE
Marth appears late in the game in spirit form. In the game's final battle, Marth lends his strength to Itsuki Aoi and grants him the use of the SP Skill Naga's Blessing, which prevents all damage to the player's party for one turn.

Awakening
Marth appears as an Einherjar, phantom warriors of ancient heroes created by magical cards. Old Hubba summons Prince Marth, alongside Ike and Alm, to help Chrom take care of a group of out of control Einherjar. After Chrom's success, Old Hubba asks for further assistance in the future, since there were still more out of control Einherjar, and, to thank him, sends Prince Marth to join Chrom's party. While talking with Chrom's tactician, Marth mentions one day showing them his homeland, apparently not realizing his true nature. In spite of being referenced as Prince Marth, he shows knowledge of a certain warrior from the War of Heroes and acknowledges his Hero-King title.

Other versions of Marth
An aggressive Prince Marth, who had a different appearance from the first one, as noted by Chrom, is an enemy in later battles in Hubba's Outrealm. Another Prince Marth is a member of the Archanean army fighting in an Outrealm that resembles Grannvale. When he is about to be sealed away, he notices the justice in Chrom's actions. A third Prince Marth appears in an Outrealm that resembles an abandoned fortress in Tellius as a member of the united forces of light under Sigurd.

King Marth, leading the Archanean army, waged an endless war against Seliph, King of Jugdral, in an Outrealm that resembled Grannvale. Convinced that Chrom's party was summoned to help Archanea's troops, King Marth chooses to trust them. With their help, the Archanean army defeats Jugdral's forces. However, Chrom's army soon returns under the guise of summoned troops once again, but this time fighting against the united Archanean and Valentian Army leading to their defeat. However, in the third battle, where Chrom's group finally would be able to seal the Einherjar, King Marth makes an alliance with Jugdral's forces. They considered the troops from outside of that Outrealm a bigger menace to peace. In spite of that, they're all eventually defeated and sealed forever.

Fates
Marth traveled through a world where people fought for the excitation of combat and to better themselves, rather than for conquest. He heard a voice calling for him, suddenly finding himself in a Castle in the Astral Realm. He was helped by the people there and afterwards introduced himself and thanked the lord of the castle before departing curious to see that new world. Later, Marth returns to the castle and shows interest in the lord's abilities, expressing his wish to face and bond with the avatar in combat.

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Marth is illustrated in the trading card game with the following cards:

Uses
Red cards benefit from playing many Low Cost Units, generally 2 or lower, and the Hero King is no exception. His Series 1 SR has a more powerful Rally when compared to other characters' Rally skills, as Marth's continues into the opponent's turn, and as such is a great defensive tool in case your Rallied Units couldn't kill the opposing Main Character. His Series 4 SR, meanwhile, gives the Marth player a choice to add any Cost 2 or lower Unit that successfully Supports him to your hand on your turn, meaning you can potentially gain more Critical Hit/Evade cards that may save you later on. His Starter Deck exclusive allows you to pull enemy Rearguard Units to the Vanguard whenever a Cost 2 or lower Unit is deployed, giving you an easy way to stop your opponent from hiding all their supportive cards - or even their Main Character - behind cannon fodder. While slightly less powerful, his low Cost cards still bring strength to the table as well. His Cost 2 card gains 10 ATK while you have two or more Red Units Deployed, and his sister Elice's card gives him an additional 10 ATK while she's on the Field, meaning it can be very easy to get a low Cost 70 ATK Unit on the Field when playing a Red Deck. His Series 1 HN card is somewhat lackluster in comparison, but has the ability to move one enemy Unit per turn while he is Deployed to the Vanguard in addition to the Double Orb Breaker Hero's Emblem. His Series 4 N card, meanwhile, has the Emblem of Destiny, allowing you to draw a card and then place a card from your hand on top of your deck, meaning you can avoid self-Supports in battle. It also has an ability allowing you to look at one of your Orb cards, letting you know what to take should your Main Character take a hit in battle. As for his Promo cards, both have the Rapier Skill, giving them an extra 10 ATK when attacking an Armored or Mounted Unit. His Cost 2 Promo allows you to move a Cost 2 or lower Enemy Unit when he is Deployed, while his 3/2 Promo allows you to move any Enemy Unit at the cost of 2 Bonds, making him a useful disruption tool. Overall, Marth, like many Red cards, will benefit greatly from a deck using many Low Cost Units, such as Elice or the Cost 1 Maria Card.

Miitomo
Marth appears on a t-shirt called Marth tee as part of the Miitomo x Fire Emblem collaboration event. The artwork featured on the shirt is from Fire Emblem Heroes.

Character Description
Marth is about 14 years old in the prologue added to Shadow Dragon, 16 years old in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and its remakes, and about 19 in Mystery of the Emblem and its remake. He often wears a circlet with a jewel in the center of it. In Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Mystery of the Emblem and their remakes, he has light blue hair, while he has midnight blue hair in the anime and the Super Smash Bros. games. When he first appeared in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Marth wore a light blue tunic, a dark blue cape with matching pauldrons that have a yellow outline, heavily-strapped brown sandals and armbands, a gold belt that held a red oval jewel on the front with a black rope above it, and no pants. He wore the same thing in the retelling of Mystery of the Emblem Book 1, except his footwear was replaced with blue boots, his cape got lengthened with a red lining, and he now has short white sleeves and long white finger-less gloves. In Book 2 of Mystery of the Emblem, he wore a similar outfit consisting of more elaborate royal clothing and a red circular jewel holding his cape over his chest. This time, he once again wore no pants except on the artwork shown in the box and manual, where his gloves were also depicted the same navy blue color.

His appearance in the anime, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl is based on this appearance, with the addition of a heavy breastplate and some other changed details. In the anime, he also casually wore light brown clothing with blue pants. In Shadow Dragon, Marth is given a new design that somewhat resembles his appearance in Mystery of the Emblem, with a bronze pendant rather than a ruby one. He also has boots close to his original sandals, a leather strap with a buckle around his waist rather than a belt, a longer tunic based on the one from the Super Smash Bros. games, and baggier pants. His design in New Mystery of the Emblem adds slightly more regal clothing and replaces the pendant again to resemble Mystery of the Emblem. In the Fire Emblem Awakening DLC, his appearance is a combination of different previous designs, with a leaner physique and more sophisticated noble clothes resembling his pre-remake artwork, and the bronze pendant from Shadow Dragon again used. It is however technically not the real Marth (it is one of many Einherjar cards, which are mirror-image copies of historical personalities). Also in Awakening, Lucina uses a near identical design to this DLC Marth, especially so when wearing her mask. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Marth's character model is a cross between his Super Smash Bros. Brawl and New Mystery of the Emblemdesigns, leaning closer to New Mystery of the Emblem but with his heavier armor more grey than blue. He also has what appears to be the insignia of Naga from Fire Emblem Awakening on his cape, and Falchion bizzarely uses the original NES/SNES design, contrasting his heavily remake inspired look.

Shadow Dragon
"If Elice has news of our father, I pray it's good news..."

- Marth in Prologue I of Shadow Dragon

Death Quotes
"Forgive me...my friends..."

- Marth's death/game over quote in Shadow Dragon

Mystery of the Emblem
"General Lang, I will not follow your orders. We’re going back to our own country."

- Marth standing up to Lang in Chapter 3 of Mystery of the Emblem

Death Quotes
If Caeda is alive (Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem only):
 * Marth: "Forgive me...my friends..."
 * Caeda: "Ah! Marth, don't leave me!"

Fates

 * Marth/Fates Quotes

Heroes

 * Marth/Heroes Quotes

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
"He's busy restoring his country."

Book 1
Altea's prince "He returned to the war-devastated Altea and worked to restore his homeland. Recently he has been making preparations to succeed the throne."

Book 2
Altea’s prince "He became the 5th King of Altea and, as the leader of the unified Kingdom of Archanea, worked tirelessly to restore the devastated nations."

Shadow Dragon
"Marth returned to war-torn Altea and devoted all his energy to restoring the kingdom to its former glory. He was later crowned king."
 * Altean Prince

New Mystery of the Emblem
"Marth was crowned the fifth king of Altea. As the leader of the United Kingdom of Archanea, He worked tirelessly to help rebuild the ruined kingdom."
 * Altean Prince (True Ending)

Altean Prince (Bad Ending)

"Marth ascended as the fifth king of Altea. He worked tirelessly to reconstruct the ruined land, but soon had to fight another war against the revived shadow dragon..."

Etymology
'Marth' is a corruption of 'Mars,' the Roman god of war, by which name he is called in the anime. However, their personalities are not similar, as the god Mars was uncontrollable and violent, whereas Marth's character is more suited to an anime hero or to romanticized perceptions of medieval nobility. The official romanization of 'Marth' comes from the fact that the Japanese language uses the same phonetic to represent "th" and "s" sounds.

Marth is also a surname of French/German origin, derived from St. Martinus.

His last name-exclusive to the anime, "Lowell", means Little Wolf.

Trivia

 * Marth and Sigurd are the only two Fire Emblem Lords that cannot promote in their base games.
 * However, he can promote in Warriors as a Lodestar, which is his base class in Awakening and Fates.
 * While his circlet appears to be his in the games, the anime implies it is a memento given to him by his sister Elice and in the manga it is a gift from Caeda. In Heroes, Marth attests to this, saying it was a gift from someone close to him.
 * Marth has starred in more Fire Emblem games than any other Fire Emblem protagonist.
 * If the player starts Mystery of the Emblem Book 2 with the save created after completing Book 1, Marth will have the Fire Emblem icon near his name and will have the shield on his battle model, despite not actually having Fire Emblem at the moment. If the player starts a new game directly at Book 2, neither will be present until after Chapter 2.
 * Marth is the only Outrealm character in Awakening to not be built from the Avatar creation system, instead being identical to Lucina's disguise, just without the mask.
 * Marth speaks Japanese in all releases of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Brawl, and 3DS/Wii U.
 * Marth's first game appearance with English voice acting is in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.
 * Marth shares his Fates voice actor, Yuri Lowenthal, with Ricken from Awakening, Kiragi from Fates, and one of the Fates male Avatar voices.
 * Marth is the only character that can wield all three versions of Falchion in Awakening. He is also the only SpotPass/DLC character capable of using Prf rank weapons.
 * Marth's Awakening DLC artwork depicts him wielding a Rapier.
 * In Awakening, Marth is the only unit to have access to the Lodestar class.
 * The units that join the fight amongside Prince Marth as a SpotPass character from Shadow Dragon represent some of his allies:
 * 3 Paladins (Cain, Abel, and Jagen)
 * 1 Sniper (Gordin)
 * 1 General (Draug)
 * 1 Falcon Knight (Caeda)
 * 1 War Monk (Wrys)
 * Marth's amiibo Hero Battle team in Fates is also based on some of his allies from Shadow Dragon, albeit at lower levels/ranks than in Awakening:
 * 1 Paladin (Jagen)
 * 2 Paired Up Cavaliers (Cain and Abel)
 * 1 Archer (Gordin)
 * 1 Knight (Draug)
 * 1 Sky Knight (Caeda)
 * Marth is one of the few units whose status screen portrait changes at some point of the game, a trait he shares with Alm, Celica, Ike, Sothe, Volke, Micaiah, Avatar (New Mystery of the Emblem) and Lucina. His change happens between the Prologue and Chapter 1 of Shadow Dragon.
 * The "Choose Your Legends" event of Fire Emblem Heroes revealed that his Shadow Dragon incarnation was 12th place out of 791 with 15,877 votes, while his Mystery of the Emblem incarnation was 33rd place out of 791 with 8,670 votes. This makes him the highest scoring character from both games, with his Shadow Dragon self being the 6th most popular male character overall.
 * Since Marth was 16 years old in 604 during the events of Shadow Dragon (After the Prologue), Marth was born in 588. In Mystery of the Emblem, Marth is 19, and since it's 608,Marth would be turning 20 years old.