Marth

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Marth (マルス, Marusu) is a character from the Fire Emblem series of video games. More specifically, he is the central protagonist and Lord-class character of the original game, Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi and the third game, Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo. Although Marth's Fire Emblem titles were released only in Japan, 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 the seventh title in the series.

Appearances

Marth as he appears in the anime

• Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi, released for the Famicom in 1990. (A.K.A "Book I" in Monshō no Nazo)
• Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo, released for the Super Famicom in 1993. (A.K.A "Book II")
• An anime adaptation based on the events on both games. It was produced by K.S.S. in Japan in 1996 and its two episodes were localized by ADV Films in North America. See also: Fire Emblem OVA
• Super Smash Bros. Melee as an unlockable character along with Roy.
• Fire Emblem DS—a Nintendo DS remake of Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi

Character

Marth is the prince of Altea and a direct descendant of Anri, the warrior who slew the dark dragon Medeus, in the Fire Emblem series. Being in the first Fire Emblem game, Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi 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. This has carried over to the anime, in which he is fighting against villains. His father, Cornelius, is the king of Altea, and his elder sister, Ellis, is a princess. He uses the Sword of Light, Falchion as his main weapon in both the Fire Emblem games and Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Role in Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi

Hundreds of years had passed since Medeus was slain in Akanea. Once Medeus is resurrected, he rebuilds his land of Dolua, ready to invade Akanea once again. After an attack from Dolua, Marth is forced into exile in the island nation of Talis. His father, Cornelius, is killed battling Garnef, an evil priest and a devout follower of Medeus, and his elder sister Ellis is taken hostage. With the help of the Altean knight Jeigan, the Talisian Princess Sheeda, and others, Marth embarks on a quest to defeat Medeus, reclaim the kingdom of Altea, and rescue his sister. Marth meets Niena, the princess of Akanea—the most prominent kingdom—who gives him her country's national treasure, the Fire Emblem. Marth later obtains the Falchion sword, which was stolen from his father by Garnef, which he uses to confront Medeus.

Role in Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo

After the defeat of Medeus, Marth spent his days peacefully in Altea. It wasn't until rumours had it that Hardin—a former ally of Marth—had begun to conquer various countries in Akanea with the help of the Mamkutes (Manaketes in the West) that Marth was forced to leave his rule of Altea to investigate. When Marth and his men gathered at Grunia, several of his former allies were fleeing, or some were murdered during the pillages of Hardin. Marth then travelled to Macedonia where he met Linda, a mage of Akanea, who had been keeping the Fire Emblem safe from harm. He discoveres that several gems are needed for the Fire Emblem to regain its true power. Marth retrieves most of the gems, only to realise 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 Garnef himself through the Dark orb. He then heads to Dolua where Garnef lurks. After Garnef is defeated, all that remains is the new 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 Sheeda and spends his time rebuilding Akanea.

Super Smash Bros. Melee and anime

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. 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. Marth is unlocked if the player meets particular requirements in the game. He appears on the basis of the official Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo artwork and in-game appearance.

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, lists his name as "Mars".

Due to his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee, it has been a misconception by some fans that Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi's main character Roy has a tie in with Marth. However, Marth's world and Roy's world are not 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.

Marth was voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa in the Japanese version of the anime and Super Smash Bros. Melee. In the western localization of the anime by ADV Films, he is voiced by Spike Spencer. The anime was based on Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo; production ended after only two episodes were finished. The anime is set in the same universe as the game, and recounts Marth's journey to liberate Akanea and kill Medeus from the video games.

Fire Emblem DS

Marth appears as the main character in Fire Emblem DS, as it is a remake of Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi. Under the DS's visual enhancements, his appearance has changed compared to that of the original game.

See also

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• Fire Emblem (series)
• Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi
• Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo
• Super Smash Bros. Melee
• Fire Emblem DS

References

Template:Fire Emblem characters

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