Marth

Marth
Species	Human
First appearance	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (1990, Fire Emblem series) Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, Mario-related media)
Latest appearance	Dragalia Lost (Ver 1.7.1) (2019) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, Mario-related media)
Latest portrayal	Yuri Lowenthal (English, 2015-present) Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese, 1996-present)

“I live to fight again!”

—Marth, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Marth is the main protagonist of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and its sequel, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. He is the prince of Altea and the wielder of the legendary Falchion. He is one of the playable characters from the Fire Emblem series to appear in the Super Smash Bros. series, along with Roy, Ike, Robin, Lucina, Corrin, Chrom, and Byleth.

History

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. fighter Marth
Game appearances
Super Smash Bros. Melee (unlockable) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (unlockable) Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (unlockable)
Special moves
Neutral:  Shield Breaker Side:  Dancing Blade Up:  Dolphin Slash Down:  Counter Final Smash:  Critical Hit
Battle entrance
Enters the stage via warp magic.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Marth in Super Smash Bros. Melee

Template:Main-external Marth first appears in the Super Smash Bros. series in Super Smash Bros. Melee as an unlockable character. His design in this title is based upon the one used in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. While Marth was a heavily-requested character in Japan, he and his series were unknown to Western audiences before Super Smash Bros. Melee. As such, he and Roy were originally planned to be Japan-exclusive characters, but were included in international versions due to insistence from Nintendo of America, helping to introduce Fire Emblem to the West. Marth can be unlocked by playing as every default character in a Melee match, clearing or failing Classic with all of the default characters, or by playing 400 Melee matches, and then defeating Marth when he challenges the player. Reflecting the series' Japan-only status at the time, Marth keeps his Japanese voice clips in all versions of the game; Marth is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa, reprising his role from the Japanese release of the Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem OVA.

Marth's design in this game is based upon his appearance in the game Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. Marth is a fast, average power character of below-average weight. However, all of his attacks are stronger when hitting opponents closer to the tip of his sword. His standard special is Shield Breaker, a slash that can be charged to be more powerful that can also instantly break an opponent's shield when charged fully. His side special is Dancing Blade, a series of sword slashes that can be altered depending on the direction inputted on the control stick. His up special is Dolphin Slash, an upward slash that has Marth leaping into the air. Finally, his down special is Counter, in which Marth delivers a counterattack when hit.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Marth's artwork, from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Marth also appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, alongside fellow Fire Emblem character Ike. He is unlocked by either playing 10 Brawl matches, clearing Classic Mode on any difficulty, or by meeting him in The Subspace Emissary. For the first two methods, he will be fought afterwards, and must be defeated to be unlocked.

Although Marth's moveset is unchanged, his Shield Breaker has been changed to a move in which he thrusts his sword. He is also given a Final Smash: Critical Hit, a single powerful hit that deals fatal knockback to whoever it hits. In addition, the sweetspot on his sword has been made smaller, and his grab has a shorter range.

The Subspace Emissary

Marth's snapshot in The Subspace Emissary

Marth is seen standing over a castle, looking down at the desert, and sees a Subspace Bomb exploding in the distance and creating a large hole in space that remains in the middle of the desert. Marth takes out his sword and runs over to it to inspect it, while defeating some Primids along the way. As he finally approaches the Subspace Bomb-made hole, Meta Knight comes out of the sky and attacks Marth, thinking that he is an enemy. The two fight, until they are abruptly beset by a horde of Primids.

The swordsmen begin cutting Primids in half, swiftly realizing that they are fighting for the same causing, and eventually end up back-to-back as they continue to fight off the Primid horde. As they eventually charge and begin beating back the swarm of Primids, Ike happens upon the scene and manages to stop the Ancient Minister from dropping another Subspace Bomb. The trio of warriors then pursue him until he manages to get away.

Later, Marth and the others discover a strange tank in the middle of The Wilds. After a bit of hesitation, Marth follows the others towards the tank, which then reveals itself to be Galleom. After Galleom's initial defeat, it tries to get away, but ends up falling into The Ruined Hall. It eventually emerges carrying Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer into the sky while the Subspace Bomb in its body counts down to detonation. Lucas manages to free himself and the Pokémon Trainer from Galleom's grasp, and they are rescued from their fall by Meta Knight, tagging along with Marth's team for the duration.

Marth and his companions eventually arrive at the foot of the Glacial Peak, where they find Meta Knight's ship, the Halberd, attacking the Great Fox. Meta Knight leaves Marth's team to scale the mountain in an attempt to board the Halberd. After a while, the Ice Climbers fall to where Marth and his team are, and are faced with more Primids until the group of Mario, Link, Yoshi, Kirby, and Pit intervene.

Eventually, every character comes together to track down the evil's source in Subspace, discovering that Tabuu is the entity behind the Subspace Army. Everyone, including Marth, gets hit by Tabuu's Off Waves and turned into trophies. However, King Dedede had foreseen this happening, and created timed badges that revive whoever was wearing them. Reviving himself along with Luigi and Ness using the badges, King Dedede heads off with his companions to rescue a majority of the others, Marth included, before settling the score with Tabuu.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U

Marth in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U (no shadow)

Marth's cover art for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Marth is also a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. He is one of the several unlockable characters from Super Smash Bros. Brawl who was made a starting character for these games, with the others being Luigi, Toon Link, Lucario, Sonic, Captain Falcon, Ness (Wii U version only), Ganondorf (Wii U version only), and Jigglypuff (Wii U version only). Marth's appearance has been updated, incorporating elements from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and later games. Aside from this, his moveset is unchanged from the previous game, though most of his sword swinging attacks now feature a trail that glows brighter at the end to make the sweetspot more visible. Another Fire Emblem character, Lucina, shares a similar moveset with Marth.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Template:Main-external Marth returns as an unlockable playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as with all previous characters. Unlike his previous Super Smash Bros. appearances, and for the first time in the series, Marth is fully voiced in English. Yuri Lowenthal voiced Marth in the Nintendo 3DS game Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. and a few of the dubbed Fire Emblem games that followed and reprises his role in Ultimate, providing newly recorded voice clips for the overseas release. His voice actor in the previous games, Hikaru Midorikawa, continues voicing Marth exclusively in the Japanese version of the game, with his voice clips also re-recorded, rather than reusing his voice clips from the previous games. Marth benefits from universal changes: he sports faster mobility, his short hop timing is reduced, his aerials have less landing lag, he can use directional air dodges once again, and he can use any ground attack out of a run and any aerial attack on a ladder.

On a side note, as with several other returning fighters, Marth's (as well as Roy and Ike's) victory theme has been sped up compared to the previous installments.

In the World of Light, Marth is seen when the fighters opposes Galeem for the first time; Marth is the one of fighters who can be unlocked earlier within the mode, alongside Mario, Villager and Sheik. A puppet fighter of Marth, alongside one of Meta Knight, is shown battling Link during Hero's reveal trailer.

Classic Mode route

Marth's Classic Mode route involves him fighting reptilian opponents, representing his final quest to slay an Earth Dragon in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.

A Kingdom of Dragons
Round	Opponent(s)	Rule	Stage	Song
1	Giant Charizard		Castle Siege	Story 5 Meeting
2	Yoshi ×5	Horde Battle	Arena Ferox	Under This Banner
3	Giant King K. Rool		Bridge of Eldin	Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem Medley
4	Mii Gunner ×4, Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter	Horde Battle	Castle Siege	Advance
5	Giant Ridley		Gerudo Valley	Lords-Showdown
6	Corrin (male), Corrin (female)		Coliseum	Lost in Thoughts All Alone
Final	Rathalos			Roar/Rathalos

Special moves

Shield Breaker

Marth's Shield Breaker in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Template:Main-external Shield Breaker is Marth's standard special move, based upon the Rapier's ability to deal extra damage to armored enemies in the Fire Emblem series. By holding the special button, Marth charges up an attack with his sword that deals high damage and, as the name states, is capable of breaking opponents' shields at full charge. In addition, unlike most charge attacks, Marth automatically unleashes the attack when fully charged, rather than saving the attack for later, and can also be automatically performed by releasing the special button at any point during charging.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the Shield Breaker has Marth holding his sword over his shoulders to charge and releasing it as a vertically arcing slash. As of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, however, the attack was changed to a forward thrust, decreasing its range, though it is also faster to charge and execute; the move's power was also decreased for Super Smash Bros. Brawl but was increased again for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Also starting with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Marth can turn around while charging by tilting the control stick in the opposite direction soon after starting to charge the attack, though unlike most moves this does not increase the move's damage output.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, the Shield Breaker's first custom variant is Storm Thrust, which deals less damage than the normal Shield Breaker but creates a gust of wind that blows opponents away, the size of the gust also depending on how much the attack is charged. The second custom variant is Dashing Assault, which like Storm Thrust does not deal as much damage as normal, but Marth charges forward when attacking, allowing him to strike multiple opponents more easily; the distance he moves forward is also determined by how much the attack is charged.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	シールドブレイカー[?] Shīrudo Bureikā	Shield Breaker

• 

  Marth's Shield Breaker in Super Smash Bros. Melee

• 

  Marth's Shield Breaker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Dancing Blade

Marth's Dancing Blade in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Template:Main-external Dancing Blade is Marth's side special move. When used, Marth deals a sword slash combo that can be executed by pressing the special move button; the full combo consists of four hits. In addition, certain portions of the attack also differ depending on the direction the player tilts on the control stick; the second hit has an up and forward variation, and the third and fourth have up, down, and forward variants. The third and fourth slashes deal higher knockback and damage, and Marth's down third attack acts as a meteor smash. The move is faster and easier to execute in succession in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Marth's entire body glows a certain color depending on the direction inputted on the analog stick for each part of the attack; in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, however, only the trails of Marth's sword glows.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, the Dancing Blade's first custom variant is Effortless Blade, which does not have the directional inputs for each attack and does not deal as much damage, but the input window between each attack has been increased. The second variant, Heavy Blade, increases the duration of each strike as well as giving each one greater attack and launch power, though this makes it harder to combo.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	マーベラスコンビネーション[?] Māberasu Konbinēshon	Marvelous Combination

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  Marth's Dancing Blade in Super Smash Bros. Melee

• 

  Marth's Dancing Blade in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Dolphin Slash

Marth's Dolphin Slash in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Template:Main-external Dolphin Slash is Marth's up special move. Marth quickly leaps up into the air slashing his sword directly up, damaging any nearby opponents. The attack deals the most damage at the beginning.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, the Dolphin Slash's first custom variant is Crescent Slash, which gives more horizontal distance at the cost of jump height, and deals the most damage at the midpoint of the attack. The second variant, Dolphin Jump, increases the move's jump height, but does not damage opponents.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ドルフィンスラッシュ[?] Dorufin Surasshu	Dolphin Slash

• 

  Marth's Dolphin Slash in Super Smash Bros. Melee

• 

  Marth's Dolphin Slash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Counter

Marth's Counter in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Template:Main-external Counter is the down special move used by Marth as well as Roy, Ike, Lucina, and Chrom. The move is based on the combat of the Fire Emblem series; when one unit attacks another unit, the opposing unit counterattacks afterwards. When used, Marth enters a readied stance and automatically counterattacks whenever attacked, reflecting all damage and knockback back onto the opponent.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, compared to Roy's Counter, Marth's is faster and lasts longer, but only deals a set 7% damage no matter the attack. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, however, Marth's Counter deals 1.1 times the damage of the opponent's attack.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, the first custom variant for Marth's Counter is Easy Counter, which has a longer window for counterattacking but deals less damage. The second variant is Iai Counter (known as Rush Counter in the PAL release), which deals a faster attack that sends the opponent flying behind the player, but does not deal as much damage.

According to Masahiro Sakurai, the counter move was meant to reference the turn-based elements of Marth's home franchise.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	カウンター[?] Kauntā	Counter

• 

  Marth's Counter in Super Smash Bros. Melee

• 

  Marth's Counter in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Final Smash

Critical Hit

Marth's Critical Hit in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Template:Main-external Critical Hit is the Final Smash used by Marth as well as Lucina and Roy, based upon the critical hit mechanic of the Fire Emblem series. After breaking a Smash Ball and activating it, Marth charges directly forward, striking any opponents in his path and dealing high damage and knockback. In most cases, it results in a one-hit KO. A health bar in the style of the Fire Emblem games also appears for each character struck by the attack that completely depletes; in Super Smash Bros. Brawl it is designed after the ones in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, while in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, it is based on the health bars in Fire Emblem Awakening. When used on the ground, Marth charges to the end of the platform on which he is standing. When used in the air in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, however, Marth does not stop charging unless he hits an opponent, meaning that he can fly off the screen, though in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Marth only moves a certain distance forward before the Final Smash automatically ends. In both games, the player can also press either attack button to execute the sword slash at any point while flying forward, ending the attack then.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	必殺の一撃[?] Hissatsu no Ichigeki	Sure-Killing Blow

• 

  Marth's Critical Hit in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• 

  Marth's Critical Hit in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Super Mario Maker

Marth appears as a playable character in Super Mario Maker, as one of the Mystery Suits that are part of Costume Mario. He can be unlocked via amiibo, or as a randomly unlocked costume by clearing 100 Mario Challenge on Normal difficulty or higher. Marth's sprite in this game uses the basic structure of the Small Mario sprite while designed after his Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U appearance and uses sound effects taken from the original Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.

Profiles and statistics

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Trophies

Type	Image	Description
Classic		The betrayed prince of the Kingdom of Altea, the blood of the hero Anri flows in Marth's veins. He was forced into exile when the kingdom of Dolua invaded Altea. Then, wielding his divine sword Falchion, he led a revolt and defeated the dark dragon Medeus. Afterwards, Altea was annihilated by King Hardin of Akanea.
Adventure		Marth is a magnificent swordsman. While his swordplay is faster than that of Link, he lacks power, and his quickness if offset by a marginal endurance. His Shield Breaker gains power the longer it's held. The Dancing Blade combination uses both the Control Stick and the B Button to produce a series of up to four attacks.
All-Star		The tip of Marth's blade causes the most damage, so you should try to create adequate distance between you and your enemy to gracefully strike with that point. Marth's dolphin Slash is fast and powerful, but it leaves him vulnerable upon landing. Marth uses Counter to block a foe's attack and deal a return strike. If you're fighting a Counter-happy Marth, grab him.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Trophies

Type	Image	Description
Marth		The prince of Altea, in whose veins the blood of heroes runs. He and a small group of stalwarts fought to free Altea after it was invaded by the kingdom of Doluna and the dark dragon, Medeus. With his divine sword, Falchion, he fought and defeated Medeus. However, Altea was then invaded by King Hardin of Akaneia and eventually destroyed.

Sticker

Image	Game	Effect
	Fire Emblem: Monsho no Nazo	[Weapon] - Attack +19 Usable by: Marth, Ike

Snake's codec

• 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 even imagine how that feels...
• Snake: I can.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U

Trophy information

Name	3DS Image	Wii U Image	Appears in	NTSC-U Description	PAL Description
Marth			Famicom Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Japan) Super Famicom Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (Japan)	The first hero from the Fire Emblem series, Marth is the prince of Altea and descendant of the hero Anri. In Smash Bros., he's known as an exceptional swordfighter, swinging his blade with grace. Striking with the tip will maximize the damage dealt. Teach aggressive foes a lesson with his strong Counter move.	Marth, the prince of Altea, is the hero of the first ever Fire Emblem game and its remake, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. In this game, his graceful sword skills are what set him apart. Strike with the tip of his blade to deal extra damage, and use his Counter skill to defend yourself, no matter which directions you're being attacked from.
Marth (Alt.)			Famicom Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Japan) Super Famicom Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (Japan)	Marth's side special Dancing Blade is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! The tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above and launch nearby foes.	Marth's side special, Dancing Blade, is a four-stage attack. Aim and time your strikes carefully! As usual, the tip of his sword does the most damage. For his up smash, Justice Sword, he thrusts his blade into the air. You can use it to block attacks from above, and even to launch nearby enemies off the ground.

Blue indicates the trophy or description is exclusive to the Wii U version.

Palutena's Guidance

• 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 when you're at midrange.
• Pit: So I should either attack him 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.

amiibo

• The first hero from the Fire Emblem series, Marth is the prince of Altea and descendant of the hero Anri. He’s known as an exceptional swordfighter, swinging his blade with grace. He and a small group of stalwarts fought to free Altea after it was invaded by the kingdom of Doluna and the dark dragon, Medeus.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Super Smash Blog bio

"Marth is an exceptional swordfighter with a long reach. He'll do the most damage with attacks using the tip of his sword, so spacing is an important factor."

Quotes

English

• "Keep your eyes open!"
• "This is it!"
• "I won't lose!"
• "The day is mine!"
• "I live to fight again!"
• "I cannot afford to lose!"
• "My turn!"
• "Predictable!"
• "Nice try!"
• "We'll each need to take down about ten." (Adventure Mode: World of Light)

Audio samples

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - "Minna, miteite kure! (Everyone, watch over me!)" - Marth's signature taunt. (Hikaru Midorikawa, 2018)

File infoMedia:Marth voice sample JP.oga ​

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - "The day is mine!" - Winning a versus match. (Yuri Lowenthal, 2018)

File infoMedia:Marth voice sample EN.oga ​

Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	マルス[?] Marusu	Officially "Marth", but alternatively "Mars". See: Marth's etymology.
Chinese	馬爾斯 (Traditional) 马尔斯 (Simplified)[?] Mǎ'ěrsī	Mars
Korean	마르스[?] Mareuseu	Mars
Russian	Марс[?] Mars	From the Japanese name.
Spanish	Marth[?]	-

Trivia

• Marth is the only character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl whose back is turned at the camera when he faces right and his front faces the camera when he faces left. All other characters do the opposite.
  • This is perhaps in reference to how the player characters are oriented in the first eight games of the Fire Emblem series, with the players on the right side of the screen facing left during the normal fight scenes.