—Roy's declaration to Zephiel before their epic battle in Chapter 22: The Neverending Dream
Roy is a playable character and the main protagonist of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. He is the son of Eliwood, the main character of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. Roy is the leader of three armies: the Pherae party; later the Lycia army after it's previous leader pass on; and eventually he assumes the command of the army of Etruria.
Roy's mother could be either Lyndis, Ninian, Fiora, or another unmentioned woman, depending on who Eliwood gained supports with in The Blazing Blade or if he had any supports at all. He makes a brief cameo in the ending of The Blazing Blade.
His first game appearance was in the Nintendo-brawler Super Smash Bros. Melee, prior to the release of his own game, The Binding Blade. The appearance of Roy and Marth sparked a greater level of Western interest in the Fire Emblem series, and was partly responsible for Nintendo's decision to release the games internationally, beginning with The Blazing Blade.
Profile
The Blazing Blade
At the end of The Blazing Blade, if playing Eliwood's route, Eliwood asks Mark, whom he met during his story, to name his firstborn child. That child, Roy, appears briefly at the end of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade in an epilogue that takes place fifteen years after the events of the game. During Eliwood's visit to Castle Ostia, Roy accompanies his father and meets Hector and his daughter Lilina for the first time. The two quickly run off to play as their fathers discuss the unrest occurring in Bern by Zephiel.
Roy's mother passed on at some point of his childhood. During his upbringing, he was wet-nursed by the Pheraen lady in waiting Rebecca, and was raised with her son Wolt, his milk brother. He is eventually sent to study in the capital of Ostia with Lilina. Cecilia becomes his instructor, specifically honing his skills with the sword as he has little aptitude for magic.
The Binding Blade
Roy draws the Binding Blade before being promoted to a Great Lord.
Roy is only fifteen years old when he is chosen to fight in front of his troops of Pherae, during the time in which his father Eliwood that was seriously ill. He is called back home because the land was being attacked by bandits. He manages to stop the looters, rescuing his father and Lilina, who was then visiting Pherae. He becomes the leader of the Lycian army after the unfortunate death of Hector of Ostia, their previous leader, and the imprisonment of his daughter Lilina. Those events unfolds as a result of Bern conquering the neighboring nations of Sacae and Ilia, and had turned its sights to the Lycian League. Following the Lycian code, each province is obligated to send their armies into battle against those who would attack the nation-states. Marcus and Merlinus, veterans of war, are important figures that guide Roy during his journey and from whose he seeks counseling.
He marches to Araphen, to meet the mercenaries Dieck, Shanna, Lot and Wade, hired by his father Eliwood, to fight along Roy against Bern. However, he meets the servant Elen, who introduces him to the princess of Bern and sister of King Zephiel, Guinivere, who had escaped from her land in the hopes of negotiating a treaty with Lycian nobility. Roy quickly agrees to her proposal to search for a peaceful means to end Bern’s aggression, and it is this encounter, along with his tardy arrival at Araphen to a dying Lord Hector, eventually leads him on a journey across Elibe to save the continent from another war between dragons and humans.
After Hector's death in Chapter 3, Roy is bound by oath to protect the Ostian lord's daughter, his friend Lilina. Upon knowing that she was was being held captive in her own castle, he marches to Ostia to rescue her. On the way to Ostia, he tries to find a stay in the lands of Thria, and tries to appal the marquess Orun for a place to rest. They are welcomed as guests in the castle by the treacherous soldier Wagner, who had assassinated the true marquess and planned to kidnap Guinevere. Roy discovers the plan, but fails to succesfully exit. They are attacked by Wagner, and during the battle he frees some prisoners of the castle, including the sacaen Sue, who shared the same common enemies and joins the group to liberate her land and seeking revenge from being unfairly imprisoned.
Arriving the capital of Lycia, Roy fights the Ostian knights Leygance and Devias, who had seized control of Ostia. If Lilina surives the battle, she then leads Roy to a secret cave where they obtain one of the Divine Weapons: Durandal, the Blazing Sword.
His campaign will force him to put Lycia under Etrurian protection, deal with rebellion across the continent, recruit comrades, search for seven of the eight legendary weapons of Elibe, and eventually draw the Binding Blade. The blade is found after the other legendary weapons start glowing and pointing in the direction of the Shrine of Seals. Roy draws the sword, triggering his promotion. In the final four chapters, he duels and defeats the errant King Zephiel, who is wielding the Eckesachs, slays Jahn, and finally vanquishes the demon dragon Idunn. Depending on the various supports and actions taken throughout the game, several different endings can occur. All of them generally result in the recovery of Idunn's soul, Roy's return to Pherae, the formation of the Kingdom of Lycia, and an era of peace.
Personality
Roy is bookish boy that is eager learn and suddenly has to fill the role of a leader of the army. He is very collected and formal, as a result of being forced in the position of general . However, despite acting confident in front of his army, inwardly, he often doubts his competence as a leader and soldier. In private he is noted to be more relaxed and even somewhat clumsy, he is known to "dance with two left feet." A competent leader and warrior, Roy is an upstanding, thoughtful, and idealistic young man. While he would prefer to avoid bloodshed, he maintains a strong resolve to see peace return to Elibe.
Despite his inexperience, being younger than his father was when he first set out into battle, he quickly grows in his role of a leader, managing to command an ever growing army gaining people's trust wherever he goes. He is perceptive and cunning for his age – he tricks a traitorous Lycian vassal into exposing himself, suspects that the bard Elffin is more than he seems, even though he does not pursue the truth against Elffin's will, and often reacts calmly and tactically to disturbing news.
He is committed to protecting those in need and fighting for his ideals, even if this means fighting against old allies. Yet he demonstrates empathy, understanding that sacrificing people to prevail is a hollow victory. When his knights try to keep him away from the front lines, Roy refuses to, stating that the only way he can understand people and fight for them is to experience their hardships. Valuing friendship and family greatly, mirroring his father, Roy does not particularly care about the social status of others, viewing Wolt in particular as a brother and not a vassal.
But differetly from Eliwood, Roy is noted to not being very good at handling women, being dense and a bit awkward when flirting with girls, while in other situations he shows to be oblivious to their feelings. He never even notes Lilina's fondness for him prior to the start of the game, and unlikely to realize this unless he decides to pursue her. He gets flustered and a bit overwheelmed by Larum's forwardness. He notably becames depressed during the war, furthermore, in Shanna's supports, he admits having trouble keeping himself in good spirits and he seeks her company to have a more cheerful outlook. Sue also notes that he is sad and they both rise each other spirits by connecting with nature, they seek each other and talk about their feelings while cheering up. He heavily relies on his former teacher Cecilia's experience and support. He maintains a close relationship with Cecilia, and looks up to her as a more experienced and his mentor in the battlefield, eventually that have a role reversal, where Roy finds himself as the one to actually teach Cecilia a lesson while missing their professor and student dynamic. As he matures he realizes that he is her equal.
In-Game
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Description: The next heir to Pherae. The protagonist of this story.
Base Stats
| Starting Class | Affinity | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lord |  Fire | ||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Con | Mov |
| 1 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
 Sword - D |  Rapier Vulnerary | ||||||||
Promotion Gains
| Promoted Class | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Great Lord
| ||||||||
| 1 | +4 | +2 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | +2 | +1 |
| Weapon Levels | ||||||||
| Sword +3
| ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | S/M | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80% | 40% | 50% | 40% | 60% | 25% | 30% |
Supports
- See also: Roy/Supports
Overall
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Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
As a unit, Roy starts with low base stats and is swordlocked with 5 movement. This is mitigated by his growths after a few level ups (with his HP and Luck growths being particularly robust). He will not be a viable unit in most playthroughs until his promotion, which grants Roy a large increase to all his stats. Further hindering Roy's viability is the fact that he cannot promote until after Chapter 21 or Chapter 21x, when he receives his forced promotion and legendary weapon, The Binding Blade. Another hindrance is that every chapter has a Seize objective, requiring Roy to capture a gate or throne and limiting his opportunities to fight.
Roy does have exclusive access to the Rapier, which has three times effective damage against Knights and Cavaliers (Troubadours and Nomads are unaffected), giving him utility within the first few chapters where effective weapons against Armored and Mounted units are rare. With some bosses up until Chapter 10 being either a Knight or Cavalier, Roy is able to perform a niche role. Although it must be noted that on Hard, Knights will generally have enough Defense and weapon advantage to offset his effective damage. The Rapier is limited to 25 uses and there are only two in-game (the other must be found inside a chest in Chapter 7).
Roy's combat improves drastically upon obtaining the Binding Blade. The sword has a 18 Mt base, good accuracy, decent crit rate, 1-2 Range, effective damage against Manaketes, and grants +5 Defense and Resistance. The blade is also light enough that any Speed penalty incurred is negligible. It can be used as an item to heal Roy for 30 HP but it is not recommended as the sword is limited to 20 uses.
Fire Emblem Awakening
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hero | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 20 | 64 | 33 | 15 | 36 | 35 | 29 | 27 | 15 | 6 |
| Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | |||||||
 Armsthrift Patience Sol Axebreaker Aegis |  Sword - A Axe - D |  Brave Sword* Roy's Blade* | |||||||
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
An illusory likeness of Roy can be summoned through the connection of a Roy Amiibo with Mila's Turnwheel.
Base Stats
| Starting Class | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lord | ||||||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 1 | 34 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 5 |
| Magic | Skills | Starting Items | ||||||
| - | - |  Binding Blade | ||||||
Fire Emblem Heroes
- Young Lion
- The son of Eliwood, Marquess of Pherae and talented leader of its army. Appears in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
Base Stats
Rarity: | Title | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Lion | |||||
| Group | |||||
 Infantry | |||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
| 1 40 | 18/19/20 37/40/43 | 6/7/8 23/26/29 | 7/8/9 24/27/30 | 4/5/6 19/22/25 | 2/3/4 21/24/27 |
| Skills | Weapon | ||||
 Steel Sword |  Sword | ||||
 | Title | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Lion | |||||
| Group | |||||
| Infantry | |||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
| 1 40 | 18/19/20 38/41/44 | 7/8/9 25/28/31 | 8/9/10 26/29/32 | 4/5/6 20/23/26 | 2/3/4 22/25/28 |
| Skills | Weapon | ||||
Silver Sword Shove | Sword | ||||
Skills
| Type | Name | Prerequisite | Default | Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Iron Sword | - | - | - |
| Steel Sword | - |  | - | |
| Silver Sword | - |  | | |
| Binding Blade | Silver Sword |  | | |
 | Shove | - | | |
| A |  Triangle Adept 1 | - | - | |
 Triangle Adept 2 | Triangle Adept 2 | | ||
 Triangle Adept 3 | Triangle Adept 3 | | ||
| B |  Seal Def 1 | - | | |
 Seal Def 2 | Seal Def 2 | | ||
 Seal Def 3 | Seal Def 3 | |
Overall
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Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Base Set
Roy has rounded stats with some bulk, unlike most other Sword units in the game. His unrefined Binding Blade has a Bracing Stance 1 effect, providing a minimal boost of +2 Defense and Resistance when attacked. Although his build was intended to make him an enemy-phase oriented character, the boosts had a negligible impact on damage and he was unremarkable in the early meta of Heroes.
The Weapon Refinery update gave him more utility and better addressed his tendency to be doubled by faster units. Upon refinement, the Binding Blade gains a Bracing Stance 2 effect of +4 Defense and Resistance when attacked, the ability to deal effective damage against Dragons, and a Quick Riposte effect active at 50% or more HP. These three skills make Roy a decent enemy-phase unit and is useful against common Dragon units like Tiki, Myrrh, and Grima Robin. His availability at 3-4 Stars, makes him accessible and easy to integrate.
Roy’s Support Skill, shove is a limited positioning skill which pushes an ally one space forward. Triangle Adept boosts the effect of the Weapon Triangle, making him stronger against Green units but weaker against Blues ones. As the only innate Triangle Adept user to have Rank 3 at 4-Star rarity, he is ideal for skill inheritance. Seal Defense applies a -7 Defense penalty to his opponents after combat.
Counters
Roy can be defeated by tanky Blue units who can shrug off his blows or Blue mages that can tear through his Resistance. Units like Reinhardt and Olwen can defeat him with Dire Thunder. Others such as Linde, Lute, and Delthea handle him just as easily but may take a hit if he runs Distant Counter and they are not within Desperation's HP threshold. Particularly powerful Red mages such as Lilina can also overcome him with the proper skills. While Roy can counter Dragons, Blue Dragons and those equipped with Swordbreaker are troublesome.
Skill Inheritance Options
Roy benefits from enemy-phase oriented builds, Steady Breath/Warding Breath serve as excellent Skill A options while Distant Counter extends his countering range, allowing him to check more unit types. Skill B has a few options such as Wrath, Swordbreaker, Vantage, or Cancel Affinity which create different scenarios for him to exploit against certain teams. Skill C is flexible, Smoke and Hone skills are good choices. Roy also has enough Resistance to use Ploy skills, especially if he has a Boon in it. As for his Support Skill, using a standard positioning skill like Reposition will suffice. His Special Skill is flexible, though most run Ignis/Bonfire thematically or Glacies/Iceberg if his Resistance is higher than his Defense.
- Brave Lion
- The son of Eliwood, Marquess of Pherae. Has immense respect for his father and wields his weapon, Durandal. Appears in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
Base Stats
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯
 | Title | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brave Lion | |||||
| Group | |||||
 Cavalry | |||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
| 1 40 | 15/16/17 34/38/41 | 7/8/9 29/32/35 | 7/8/9 31/34/37 | 6/7/8 23/26/30 | 6/7/8 21/24/27 |
| Skills | Weapon | ||||
Blazing Durandal Night Sky | Sword | ||||
Skills
| Type | Name | Prerequisite | Default | Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Sword | - | - | - |
| Steel Sword | - | - | - | |
| Silver Sword | - | - | - | |
| Blazing Durandal | Silver Sword | | - | |
 | Night Sky | - | | - |
| Astra | Night Sky | - | | |
| Galeforce | Astra | - | | |
| A |  Darting Blow 1 | - | - | |
 Steady Blow 1 | Darting Blow 1 or Armored Blow 1 | - | ||
 Steady Blow 2 | Steady Blow 1 | | ||
| B |  Desperation 1 | - | - | |
 Desperation 2 | Desperation 1 | - | ||
 Desperation 3 | Desperation 2 | |
Overall
|
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Base Set
Brave Roy has an average base stat total and even stat spread. As a Cavalry unit, Brave Roy can take full advantage of Cavalry Hone skills which aid his offensive, player-phase oriented base kit. Nevertheless, Brave Roy's stats give him the flexibility to function in both phases and the player can choose to make him an enemy-phase unit with the proper skill inheritance.
Brave Roy wields his father’s sword Blazing Durandal, a powerful sword with a +3 Attack bonus and an inherent Heavy Blade 3 effect, accelerating his Special cooldown so long as his Attack is higher than his opponent's. With a neutral Attack of 51, there are a handful of units that can nullify this effect. Brave Roy can prevent this by augmenting his Attack through Summoner or Ally Supports and stat-boosting skills.
Brave Roy's Blazing Durandal complements his innate Galeforce, allowing him to quickly charge it so he can dispatch enemies or move away from danger. Steady Blow boosts his Speed and Defense by +4 when initiating combat, allowing him to double more enemies and provide some bulk. Desperation guarantees a follow-up attack so long as his HP is at 75% or less.
Counters
Brave Roy can defeat most enemies with ease except for Blue units, particularly bulky ones that can shrug off his high Attack or Blue Mages who can exploit his low Resistance. If he is running a defensive Distant Counter set, he can at least deal significant damage against most Blue mages. If outside of Vantage's HP threshold, Reinhardt, Olwen, Delthea, and Linde are easy counters. Anti-Cavalry weapons such as Ridersbane, Zanbato, Poleaxe, Dusk Uchiwa, Wing Sword, Rhomphaia, Thani, Dawn Suzu, Taguel Fang, Bunny Fang, or Wolftomes deal effective damage against him. Micaiah's Thani is one of Roy’s strongest counters as she has color advantage, magic damage, and effective damage against Cavalry.
Skill Inheritance
Regardless of his build, Brave Roy favors the following skills: Reposition as the standard positioning skill, Draconic Aura or Glimmer as his Special to capitalize on his high Attack (in conjunction with boosts and bonuses from allies), and a Cavalry Support skill since he excels on Cavalry teams.
If run defensively, the Distant Counter and Vantage combo creates a resilient, high damaging wall for foes to overcome (especially when combined with a Quick Riposte seal, granting a follow-up attack against most enemies).
An offensive build should use Swift Sparrow, boosting his Attack (rather than Defense like his default Steady Blow) is preferable for maximizing his Blazing Durandal’s potential. A budget alternative would be Fury, as it provides stat bonuses in both phases but inflicts slight recoil after combat. Swordbreaker will help Brave Roy against the prevailing Speed sword meta.
- Youthful Gifts
- The son of Eliwood, Marquess of Pherae. He decided to visit the festival after receiving an invitation from Lilina. Appears in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
Base Stats
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯
 | Title | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youthful Gifts | |||||
| Group | |||||
| Cavalry | |||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
| 1 40 | 16/17/18 31/34/37 | 8/9/10 32/35/38 | 5/6/7 15/19/22 | 4/5/6 23/27/30 | 5/6/7 27/30/33 |
| Skills | Weapon | ||||
| Gratia+ Reciprocal Aid |  Bow | ||||
Skills
| Type | Name | Prerequisite | Default | Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Bow | - | - | - |
| Steel Bow | - | - | - | |
| Gratia | - | - | - | |
| Gratia+ | Gratia | | - | |
| Reciprocal Aid | - | | - |
| A |  Death Blow 1 | - | - | |
 Death Blow 2 | Death Blow 1 | - | ||
 Death Blow 3 | Death Blow 2 | | ||
| C |  Bow Valor 1 | - | - | |
 Bow Valor 2 | Bow Valor 1 | - | ||
 Bow Valor 3 | Bow Valor 2 | |
Overall
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|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Base Set
Valentine Roy entered Heroes as the second Cavalry archer after Brave Lyn. While more bulky compared to her, he is incredibly slow.
Gratia has the standard effective damage against Fliers but can also neutralize visible bonuses on enemy ranged units during combat, which is useful against Bladetome units who rely on these bonuses. Reciprocal Aid swaps Roy’s HP with an Ally, allowing him to activate certain skills with HP thresholds or save himself. Death Blow boosts his Attack +6 when initiating combat, syncing well with most of his offensive-reliant builds. Bow Valor doubles SP gains for Bow users, making him valuable for training them to gain skills.
Counters
Valentine Roy has enough bulk to survive a few hits but his inadequate Speed allows a vast majority of units to double him. Any unit with at least 27 Speed (only 24 Speed is needed if he has a neutral Speed of 19) is guaranteed to double him regardless of his stat Asset. Most units in these Speed thresholds have high enough Attack stats to negate his bulk. Bulky units can endure his hits and those with Distant Counter like Hector, Fallen Hardin, Zelgius, Valentine Ike, Caineghis, and the Armored Tikis retaliate lethally. Raventome users like the Mage Robins, Sophia, and Lyon have an inherent Weapon Triangle advantage and can exacerbate it with Triangle Adept. As a Cavalry unit, his vulnerability to anti-Cavalry weapons is worsened by his subpar Speed.
Skill Inheritance
His low Speed makes him an ideal Brave Bow user, as the Speed penalty is unimportant since it guarantees a follow-up attack, which complements his default Death Blow skill. Moonbow will charge quickly and partially reduce an enemy's Defense upon activation. Quick Riposte shores up his enemy-phase by giving him a double. Otherwise, he can inherit a Weaponbreaker skill to target specific threats (Swordbreaker is recommended but it is a matter of personal preference). Since he performs optimally on Cavalry teams, a Cavalry Support skill is his best option. A standard positioning skill like Reposition is suggested.
Alternatively, Valentine Roy can become a defensive, range-baiting unit by utilizing his decent bulk. Guard Bow boosts his Defense and Resistance by +6 (to a respectable 33 Defense and 36 Resistance respectively) when attacked by a ranged foe. Maximizing this involves using both the Distant Defense Skill and Seal (giving him 45 Defense and 48 Resistance against ranged units), making him virtually impervious to ranged units. Quick Riposte again gives him the means to double and is a natural fit for this build. He can have a Cavalry Support skill but he has enough Resistance to run a Ploy skill (Defense Ploy is encouraged since the Physical units it affects will likely have comparably lower Resistance).
- Blazing Lion
- The son of the Marquess of Pherae. After overcoming misfortunes, he quells the uprising at Bern and ends the war between humans and dragons.
Base Stats
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯
 | Title | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blazing Lion | |||||
| Group | |||||
| Infantry | |||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
| 1 40 | 16/17/18 35/39/42 | 9/10/11 31/34/37 | 9/10/11 35/38/41 | 7/8/9 29/32/35 | 3/4/5 22/26/29 |
| Skills | Weapon | ||||
| Dragonbind Dragon Gaze | Sword | ||||
Skills
| Type | Name | Prerequisite | Default | Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Sword | - | - | - |
| Steel Sword | - | - | - | |
| Silver Sword | - | - | - | |
| Dragonbind | Silver Sword | | - | |
| Dragon Gaze | - | | - |
| Dragon Fang | Dragon Gaze | - | | |
| A |  Bonus Doubler 1 | - | - | |
 Bonus Doubler 2 | Bonus Doubler 1 | - | ||
 Bonus Doubler 3 | Bonus Doubler 2 | | ||
| B |  Renewal 1 | - | - | |
 Renewal 2 | Renewal 1 | - | ||
 Renewal 3 | Renewal 2 | | ||
| C |  Human Virtue | - | |
Overall
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Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Base Set
Legendary Roy is superior to his standard form. He has no real weakness aside from his average Resistance. While he has a decent mixed bulk, his Attack and Speed are exceptional. His flaws are inconsequential enough to encourage his use and can mitigated by the proper skills or supports.
Dragonbind is faithful to its GBA counterpart, as it is a Dragon-slaying weapon with a Distant Counter effect. Roy is a difficult opponent to handle at any range and is a threat to Dragon units. Human Virtue is his unique Support skill, it grants a +6 Attack and Speed bonus to all adjacent allies and himself at the start of a turn. The only caveat is that this will not apply to Beast or Dragon units, and the personal bonus will not activate if the only ally adjacent to him are those unit types.
He also introduced Bonus Doubler which doubles all bonuses on each stat independently with a corresponding boost during combat. In tandem with Human Virtue, it leads to a minimum +12 Attack and Speed (giving him a combined 62 Attack and 50 Speed at neutral stats). Even unmerged, these stats would rival some of the most powerful merged units. Legendary Roy possesses Dragon Fang which increases his damage by 50% of his Attack (taking Bonus Doubler into account, he can potentially launch a massive 93 Special Attack). Renewal allows him to recover 10 HP every other turn.
Counters
He can still be repelled by bulky Blue units or Blue mages that can tear through his Resistance, even with Bonus Doubler active. His HP and Resistance are low enough to be susceptible to Panic and Ploy skills, both of which nullify his power and turn his bonuses into penalties. Aversa, a common Aether Raids enemy unit, poses a particular threat. He is vulnerable to Brave Lyn as well as Dazzling Staff and Firesweep Bow ranged units, unless he has Null C-Disrupt equipped.
Skill Inheritance
Since he lacks a Support skill, Reposition is a superb choice for unit positioning. Bonfire has a higher percentage of damage added and works well with his Defense. Wrath accelerates his Special’s activation when under a certain HP threshold at the start of a turn while boosting his damage upon activation. Swordbreaker is also an excellent budget option to combat the Speed sword meta.Quotes
The Binding Blade
—Roy, in the Final Chapter
—Roy's default death/Game Over quote
If Lilina is available
- Roy: I'm sorry... I let you all down...
- Lilina: I-I...I'm sorry...
If Guinivere is available
- Roy: I'm sorry... I let you all down...
- Guinivere: Roy...! Live on...
Tutorial Mode
—Cecilia's game over quote
Awakening
—Roy's battle quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 2
—Roy's battle quote versus Vaike in Xenologue 2
—Roy's battle quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 3
—Roy's battle quote versus Vaike in Xenologue 3
—Roy's battle quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 8
—Roy's battle quote versus Robin in Xenologue 8
—Roy's battle quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 9
—Roy's battle quote versus Male Robin in Xenologue 9
—Roy's battle quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 11
—Roy's battle quote versus Male Robin in Xenologue 11
—Roy's battle quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 12
—Roy's death quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 2
—Roy's death quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 3
—Roy's death quote as a NPC, in Xenologue 7
—Roy's death quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 8
—Roy's death quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 9
—Roy's death quote as a NPC, in Xenologue 10
—Roy's death quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 11
—Roy's death quote as an enemy, in Xenologue 12
Heroes
- See Main Aticle: Roy/Heroes Quotes.
—Eliwood's farewell quote to Roy in the Breath of Destiny Tempest Trial
—Roy's statement in the Elibe Grand Conquest
—Roy's declaration in the Carrying the Flame Illusory Dungeon
—Roy's quote in his Legendary Hero Battle
Possible Endings
The Binding Blade
Normal
- Roy - Young Lion (若き獅子)
- "Roy returned home to rebuild the lands in Lycia that were ravaged by the war. He was always popular with the people and was well-remembered long after his tenure as Marquess Pherae."
- With Lilina
- "After returning home, Lilina became the Marquess of Ostia, and shortly after, was wed to Roy. Together, Roy and Lilina united Lycia to create the Kingdom of Lycia, a nation blessed with prosperity and harmony."
- With Shanna
- "Shanna gave up her life as a pegasus knight and went to Pherae with Roy, where they wed. Rebuilding Lycia was never easy, but her energy always encouraged everyone around her."
- With Sue
- "Sue accompanied Roy to Lycia, where they wed. She could never cast away her love for nature, however, and other nobility found her behavior unusual."
- With Larum
- "Larum accompanied Roy to Pherae where they wed. Many voiced unease about a Lycian marquess marrying a woman of common descent, but in spite of the criticism, they were happy."
- With Cecilia
- "Cecilia accompanied Roy to Pherae where she helped rebuild the battered land. The two eventually wed, and she continued to offer him close support as his wife."
- With Sophia
- "Sophia accompanied Roy to Pherae, where the two married. Despite her quiet nature, her informed decisions assisted greatly in the reconstruction of Lycia."
Non-Canon Appearances
Super Smash Bros. series
Roy's inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Melee marked his very first appearance, which preceded the debut of his own game, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. His inclusion in Smash also sparked interest in the Fire Emblem series in the West and was partly responsible for Nintendo's decision to release 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 Marth in the North American and European versions. Roy speaks Japanese in all of his appearances in Smash due to the Fire Emblem series' exclusivity to Japan prior to Melee; Roy is voiced by Fukuyama Jun.
Melee
Roy is a clone of Marth, sharing a similar moveset focused around speed and mobility. However, there are some key differences such as the Binding Blade having its sweet spot at the base of blade, dealing more damage if an attack connects there. Most of his moves are also slightly stronger and slower as well as sporting fire effects.
Roy is an unlockable character and can be acquired by completing 1P Classic Mode as Marth without using continues or by alternatively playing 900 VS. matches.
Brawl
In the next installment in the series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Roy may have been originally planned to be in the game, but was cut possibly due to time constraints, or other unknown reasons. A package of unfinished programing found within the code of the game labelled "ROY" has been found via hacking. He only appears as a Sticker.
For 3DS and Wii U
—Roy's introduction tagline.
An early leak on June 13, 2015 revealed that Roy was set to return in Super Smash Bros. 4 and was officially announced and released on June 14, 2015 as a DLC character. Roy's return was first hinted via datamining the 1.0.6 patch for the 3DS version which revealed a data file labeled ROY was hidden in it. Like Marth, Roy continues to only speak in Japanese and Jun Fukuyama reprised his role as his voice, re-recording the original Roy audio.
Roy, for the most part, remains largely the same as he was in Melee, having the same sweet spot at the center and hilt of his blade. He received numerous new standard attack moves and different properties to his specials, making him largely different from Marth compared to Lucina. Roy also received a redesign, based on his design as a Great Lord in The Binding Blade. Some of his palette swap are references to other Elibe series characters including Alan, Lance, Marcus, Eliwood, Zephiel, Cecilia, and Bors. Marth also has a palette swap based on Roy's original Melee colors.
Ultimate
Roy in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Roy returns in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Roy is part of the game's unlockable roster. Unlike Lucina, Roy is not considered an Echo Fighter of Marth. He also has his own Echo Fighter, Chrom. Like Marth, Roy now has an English voice actor, previously his prior appearances in the series have him speak Japanese.
Special Moveset
- Normal Special: Flare Blade: Roy lifts the Binding Blade over his head while igniting it and performs a two-handed downward slash that explodes on-impact, similar to his standard attack animation in his game. The move can be charged in place up to 5 seconds and will initiate once the player lets go of the special button, and the move can be freely reversed via the control stick. If the maximum charge time is reached, Roy will automatically unleash the attack, creating a large, fiery explosion in front of him. A fully charged Flare Blade always deals 50% to any enemy that it hits and will result in a OHKO unless on a stage with an impassable roof, or if used against very heavy characters from the opposite end of the stage. It will also inflict 10% (12% in 1v1 matches) recoil damage to Roy, even if he does not connect with anyone. It can also break shields at full charge.
- Side Special: Double-Edge Dance: Roy's side special move. Roy 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 B while pressing up, down, or forward, up to 4 attacks. With all the different move variations, Roy can perform 18 different versions of the Double-Edge Dance move. Upward-angled strikes are outlined with blue streaks, forward-angled variations are outlined with red streaks, and downward-angled variations are outlined with green streaks. Compared to Marth's version of the move, the sweetspots deal more damage and are much easier to land, but cannot KO opponents as early (although the move has impressive KO power regardless).
- Up Special: Blazer: Roy's stage recovery move. Roy leaps while performing an ascending vertical slash that can hit up to 4 times due to the fire effect imbued in his blade. It gains armor during the beginning of the move when used on the ground, allowing Roy to shrug off most attacks. However, it covers little horizontal distance regardless, making it difficult to recover from off the screen. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Roy now executes the attacks with a reverse grip uppercut slash and has more horizontal range, similar to Marth and Lucina's Crescent Slash custom move variation, while retaining the multiple hits. Blazer loses its armor effect as well as nearly half its vertical distance when used in the air, which coupled with his lower jump height and faster falling speed, give him an overall worse and more exploitable recovery than Marth.
- Down Special: Counter: Roy's down special move. Roy takes a defensive stance and his body flashes for a few seconds. If any character attacks him with a non-projectile move up close, Roy will retaliate with a downward strike and deal 1.35x the amount of damage that he would have received, slightly stronger than Marth's, which has a 1.2x multiplier. However, the move has more startup and the counter window is slightly narrower than Marth's as well.
- Final Smash: Critical Hit: Unlike Marth and Lucina's rushing version of the move, Roy's version is a close-range, stationary attack. Roy will first slowly swing the Binding Blade backwards. Any characters within two character lengths in front of Roy will receive up to 5% during the start up swing while characters behind him can receive up to 10% and be forced in front of Roy. Roy then slams his blade down, creating a large explosion, hitting any foe within two character lengths of Roy. This move has lower knockback compared to Marth and Lucina's version, requiring at least 50% on a very heavy character to KO them from the opposite side of Final Destination. If the move connects, health bars similar to the style of Awakening appear and quickly deplete to zero. The animation for the move is his actual critical hit animation when he wields the Binding Blade.
Trophy Profile
Melee Info
| Type | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | 
|
The son of the lord of Pherae Prinicpality, Roy was studying in Ostia when the Kingdom of Bern invaded League of Lycia. His father fell ill at this time, so Roy assumed leadership of Pherae's armies. After his fateful meeting with the Princess Guinevere, his destiny became inextricably linked with the fate of the entire continent. |
| Adventure | 
|
While Roy's moves are well balanced, he's a little on the slow side, and doesn't excel at midair combat. His blade, the Binding Blade, gives him excellent reach, and makes his Double-Edge Dance slightly different then Marth's Dancing Blade. When it's fully charged, Roy's destructive Flare Blade delivers an instant KO. |
| All-Star | 
|
Roy's blade is different than Marth's: he does the most damage hitting with the center of his sword. So, a fearless advance into the arms of his foe is Roy's best bet. Blazer is a bit slower than Marth's Dolphin Slash, but it's still a mighty attack that sets anyone it strikes aflame. Roy's attack after using Counter differs slightly from Marth's. |
3DS Info
| Type | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Roy | 
|
Roy, the main character of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade returns for the first time since Melee! In The The Binding Blade, Roy led the troops of Pherae into battle in his ailing father’s stead, and now he brings his speed and talent for short-range combat into this game. |
| Roy (Alt.) | 
|
His sword, the Sword of Seals, is uniquely powerful at the base of the blade. Flare Blade creates an explosion in front of Roy that can be charged by holding down the button. Take care, though, because at the highest levels of charge, Roy himself will catch fire and take damage! His side special, Double-Edge Dance, changes for each strike after the first depending on whether you hold up or down while attacking. |
Wii U Info
| Type | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Roy | 
|
Roy, the main character of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade returns for the first time since Melee! In The The Binding Blade, Roy led the troops of Pherae into battle in his ailing father’s stead, and now he brings his speed and talent for short-range combat into this game. |
| Roy (Alt.) | 
|
His sword, the Sword of Seals, is uniquely powerful at the base of the blade. Flare Blade creates an explosion in front of Roy that can be charged by holding down the button. Take care, though, because at the highest levels of charge, Roy himself will catch fire and take damage! His side special, Double-Edge Dance, changes for each strike after the first depending on whether you hold up or down while attacking. |
| Critical Hit | 
|
For Roy’s Final Smash, he traps enemies in a circular swing of the blade, brings it up behind him, and then, in a blast of fire, brings the blade down for a powerful finisher! The downward attack is powerful on its own but doesn’t have much range, so make sure you’re close enough to hit your enemies with the full combo and really seal their fate! |
Brawl Sticker Info
| Name | Image | Artwork from | Effect in The Subspace Emissary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roy |  |
Fire Emblem: The The Binding Blade | [Slash] - Attack +24 |
Palutena's Guidance
Palutena's Guidance is featured in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, 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 is based on the numerous chapter dialogue in Kid Icarus: Uprising.
- Pit: Look! Marth dyed his hair red!
- Palutena: Actually, that's the Young Lion, Roy.
- Pit: The Young Lion?
- Viridi: He's 15 years old.
- Pit: 15 years old?! Is that even legal?!
- Viridi: It is in Ostia, where Roy spends his days as a noble, being smart, brave, and dependable. I bet he smells like heaven!
- Pit: How am I supposed to compete with a guy like that?
- Palutena: By not getting too close, for one thing. His Binding Blade is extremely powerful at close range.
- Pit: Or maybe instead of fighting, he'd be willing to talk out our differences?
- Palutena: Don't be a baby, Pit. Just keep Roy at a distance and you'll be fine. He's only dangerous if he gets close. But once he gets close, prepare to get mauled.
Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Roy is illustrated in the trading card game with the following cards:
Uses
While not particularly powerful as a unit, Young Lord of Pherae, Roy, is a showing of the Divine Weapons' focus on Support Skills, and the supporting mechanic, often having skills revolving around being supported by certain characters, and even special Support Skills. His Attack Support Skill, Hero Emblem, oftentimes does not appear at the right time, or the attack unit is too weak to utilize it correctly, and his Defense Support Skill, Hope Emblem, is not much better, unless your Champion is not Roy. General of the Lycian League, Roy, his new Field Cost 1 card, is a substantially stronger unit, allowing you to filter out your hand with Will of Fire and Fate Emblem, and also placing any card of your choice from your hand to the top of the deck (this will be referred to as stacking). Certain Champions may wish to run a few copies of this card, if only for Fate Emblem.
Son of Flames, Roy, is a near-mediocre card, like most other Field Cost 2 cards, for forcing you to tap him and flip 1 Bond to place a card on top of your deck from your Retreat that isn't Roy, as his 50 Attack could certainly come more in handy in attacking weaker units with ease. Leader of the Pherae Army, Roy, has a Rear Line enemy movement effect with the interesting condition of being supported by a card with a Support Skill, which wastes an attack that could be done on said unit. Rapier, while useful at times, will oftentimes not see use, as there are little to no viable Beast or Armor units in Cipher.
Young Lion, Roy, has a typical statline for his Field Cost of 4(3), but has no notable skills, as Banner of the Alliance is generally a more inferior version of Lodestar, Marth's Hero of Light, and Binding Blade will rarely see use, due to either the strength or frequency of Dragon units. Foretold Flame, Roy, however, is a different story altogether. Each of his skills are once per turn each, and flip 1 Bond to do a variety of essential effects: Increase the attack of an allied unit, stacking a card, moving an allied unit, and moving enemy units. Coupled with more powerful Divine Weapons cards like Pious Mage, Nino, and Lovely Duchess, Lilina, and even the assistance of other factions, Roy's power is not to be trifled with.
Inheritor of the Sealed Flame, Roy, while notable for being in a faction that requires very little Bond-flipping to get good healing, continues to suffer from the syndrome of requiring 3 Bonds flipped and a copy of Roy, both of which are terrifyingly hard conditions to achieve together. His effect of stacking a card may prove to be efficient in ensuring attacks land, but he is nonetheless a rather standard and rather useless finisher.
Manga
Roy is the protagonist of Hasha no Tsurugi manga, that adapts the Binding Blade Games.
Etymology
The name "Roy" has been linked to both the Gaelic "ruadh" ("red", commonly used as a nickname for someone with red hair) and the Old French "roi" (meaning "king", which can also be written "roy" in Old French), both of which pertain to Roy in some way. Roy's name could come from an abbreviation of "Elroy" continuing the family prefix "El."
Trivia
- Roy is one of two characters (the other being Karel) that was originally conceived for the cancelled Nintendo 64 title Fire Emblem: Ankoku no Miko that carried over into the rebooted development of what would eventually become The Binding Blade. In the process, Roy's design was altered and his original name Ike was changed.
- Roy is the only Fire Emblem character to be playable in Super Smash Bros. Melee before his game was released (by four months). He is also the only character in the Smash Bros. series who made his first debut in Smash Bros. instead of his own franchise.
- Roy is also the only returning Fire Emblem representative to not appear in the Smash Bros. game succeeding the game he debuted in.
- Roy is also the first Fire Emblem character to be added to a Super Smash Bros. roster post-release as downloadable content. He was released as DLC for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U on June 14, 2015, alongside another returnee, Lucas from the Mother series, and newcomer Ryu from Street Fighter.
- He shares his name with another fighter on the roster, Roy Koopa.
- Roy only speaks Japanese in his appearances in Melee and Smash 4, alongside Marth.
- Roy is the only Fire Emblem character to appear in the Super Smash Bros. series without a core Fire Emblem title he starred in (The Binding Blade) officially localized.
- Roy has been in a number of popularity contests and statistics based on player favoritism:
- On the official Japanese website for Nintendo, Roy won 1st place in the character popularity poll for Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. The male-female vote ratio was 2:1. The voter comments mainly focus on his heroic personality, kindness, strength, nobility, and composure.
- In a Japanese video game news website, Roy won 1st place in the character popularity poll for Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. The male-female vote ratio was 4:1.
- Roy came in 2nd place for males in the Fire Emblem Heroes: Choose Your Legends popularity poll. He had 28,982 votes.
- Roy (Brave Lion) placed 52nd with 3,007 votes and Roy (Young Lion) placed 88th with 1,658 votes in the Fire Emblem Heroes: A Hero Rises unit poll. He had a total of 4,665 votes.
- Roy (Brave Lion) placed 105th with 3,201 votes, Roy (Youthful Gifts) placed 114th with 2,900 votes, and Roy (Young Lion) placed 117th with 2,752 votes in the Fire Emblem Heroes: Find & Vote Heroes unit poll. He had a total of 8,853 votes.
- The Choose Your Legends versions of Roy and Lyn placed 3rd among the most popular Ally Support pairings in Heroes.
- The Choose Your Legends version of Roy placed 5th among the most popular Summoner Support pairings in Heroes.
- Roy (Young Lion) placed 3rd among the most popular Combat Manuals in Heroes with 92,207 created.
- In Heroes, his Choose Your Legends version's fourth select quote: "Roy's our boy!" references a popular community meme and Super Smash Bros. chant.
- Roy's first appearance with an English voice actor is in Fire Emblem Heroes, in which he is voiced by Ray Chase.
- Roy can be 1/4th Manakete if Ninian is his mother because she is half-Ice Dragon.
- Roy can be Lilina's cousin if Eliwood is married to Fiora and Hector is married to either Florina or Farina, since Fiora, Florina, and Farina are sisters.
- Roy is the only primary protagonist in the entire series whose father is still alive at the end of his game (unless one counts Lucina, though in her timeline her father does die and her status as a primary protagonist is debatable).
- Roy's allies in his SpotPass battle in Fire Emblem Awakening represent some of his allies in The Binding Blade:
- 3 Paladins (Alen, Lance, and Marcus)
- 1 Sniper (Wolt)
- 1 General (Bors)
- 1 Hero (Dieck)
- 1 Falcon Knight (Shanna)
- And 2 Warriors (Lot and Wade)
- Roy shares his Japanese voice actor, Jun Fukuyama, with Innes.
Gallery
- See main article: Roy/Gallery.