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Roy (Fire Emblem)

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Roy
Fire Emblemcharacter
Official artwork of Roy as he appears inFire Emblem: The Binding Blade
First appearanceSuper Smash Bros. Melee(2001)
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade(2002)
Designed byEiji Kaneda[1]
Voiced byEN:Ray Chase[2]
JP:Jun Fukuyama[2]

Royis a fictional character from Nintendo and Intelligent Systems'Fire Emblemvideo gameseries, who first appeared in the 2001crossoverfighting gameSuper Smash Bros. Meleeas a representative character from theFire Emblemseries, along with Marth. He is thelead characterofFire Emblem: The Binding Blade;within the story, he is the son of Eliwood and heir presumptive of Pherae, who eventually becomes a major military leader. The inclusion of Roy and Marth inMeleeis cited as one of the reasons Nintendo started localizing the series for international distribution.[3]Roy continues to make recurring appearances in subsequentFire Emblemmedia, such as a manga series and spinoff video games. Roy received negative reception for his appearance inThe Binding Blade,with critics noting his poor gameplay attributes. His inclusion inSuper Smash Bros.was also criticized due to his similarity to otherFire Emblemcharacters also included, as well as his similarity to them in terms of gameplay.

Appearances

[edit]

Roy is the lead character ofFire Emblem: The Binding Blade.[4]The story begins when King Zephiel, ruler of the kingdom of Bern, conquers Ilia and Sacae and sets his sights on Lycia. In a small region called Pherae, Roy, the son of Pherae's ruling marquess Eliwood, is forced to return home when Bern begins its invasion. As Eliwood is unable to battle due to illness, Roy is assigned command of Lycia's army and eventually assumes command of the army of Etruria. The next installment afterThe Binding Blade,Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade,is a prequel featuring a younger Eliwood as one of its protagonists. Roy appears during the game's epilogue, where Eliwood reunites with his comrade Hector and their respective children are introduced to each other. Roy is available as a playable character inFire Emblem Awakeningas DLC.[5]Roy also appears inFire Emblem Heroes.[6]InNorth AmericanFire Emblemcharacter popularity polls running up to the release ofFire Emblem Heroes,Roy was ranked the second favorite male character behind Ike.[7]He later appears as an Emblem character inFire Emblem Engage.[8]

Roy's first video game appearance was in 2001'sSuper Smash Bros. Melee,where his gameplay was based onMarth's, anotherFire Emblemcharacter featured in the game. He is more powerful and slower than Marth.[9]He was later reintroduced into the series asdownloadable content(DLC) forSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DSandWii Uafter being absent fromSuper Smash Bros. Brawl.[10][11]His inclusion in theWii UandNintendo 3DSentries was reportedly leaked, alongsideRyu.[11]He also appears as part of the base roster in the series' 2018 entry,Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.To promote his appearance inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U,anamiibofigure of Roy was featured as an exclusive release atGameStop.[12]In 2019,plushiesdepicting Roy and otherFire Emblemcharacters were released.[13]

Roy appears in theFire Emblem: The Champion's Blademanga,which was first published prior to the release ofThe Binding Bladeand takes place concurrently with the events of the game.[14]

Concept and design

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Roy was created for the cancelledNintendo 64entry in theFire Emblemseries, which had a long development cycle. He was originally named Ike, and was one of only two characters kept when what becameBinding Bladerestarted development in 2000.[15]Roy's character was designed to be free-spirited and emphatic to appeal to younger players and a wider audience, in contrast to earlier titles.[16]The renamed Roy was first revealed atNintendo Space World2001, where a demo ofBinding Bladewas being shown.[17]Both his design and personality went through multiple revisions through development.[citation needed]At 15, Roy is the youngestFire Emblemprotagonist.[18]

DespiteBinding Bladeintending to be released first, delays caused his game to release afterSuper Smash Bros. Melee,which featured Roy as a playable character.[19]When developingSuper Smash Bros. Melee,Masahiro Sakuraiwanted to include more characters who could cross blades withLinkfromThe Legend of Zeldadue to his personal preference for sword-fighting characters and campaigned for Roy's inclusion.[20]He was added as a character based on fellowFire EmblemprotagonistMarth.Sakurai explained that he viewed Roy as an energetic and internally strong character compared to Marth, leading him to designing Roy's sword to do more damage at the base as opposed to Marth's, where more damage was done at the tip. He remarked that, despite his initial impression of Roy from a description of the character, he found that he was nothing like that after playingBinding Blade,exclaiming that his characterization of Roy was not due to a misunderstanding of his character.[19]

Due to theFire Emblemseries being only available in Japan, whether they should be included in the English release ofSuper Smash Bros. Meleewas called into question, with Sakurai noting how unusual it was to have characters speak Japanese in English releases at the time. Sakurai stated that there were difficulties getting Marth to remain in the English version, but he pushed hard for his inclusion due to believing he would be fun. He added that there was more dispute over Roy, with Sakurai discussing removal of him with Nintendo of America, though they stated that he would be fun, so he should remain.[19]Their popularity inSuper Smash Bros. Meleeled to Nintendo releasing futureFire Emblemgames outside of Japan.[21]The first of these wasFire Emblem: The Blazing Blade,which has a younger Roy designed by Sachiko Wada.[15]

Roy is voiced in Japanese byJun Fukuyama,three years after Fukuyama's voice acting debut. Sakurai noted that his vocal performance had changed slightly fromSuper Smash Bros. Meleeto his recording session forSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DSandWii U,with him having more difficulty doing higher-pitched sounds.[19]

Reception

[edit]

Roy's appearance inMeleealongsideMarthbrought further exposure to theFire Emblemseries outside of Japan, and was cited as a reason Nintendo began to localize and releaseFire Emblemgames internationally,[3]beginning with the seventh title in the series.[22]Due to popular demand from Japanese fans, Roy was added inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii Uas a DLC character.[23]Chris Carter fromDestructoidwelcomed Nintendo's decision to reintroduce Roy and considered him his "personal favorite", although he found that the character played quite differently inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii Ucompared to his previous iteration inMeleeor to otherFire Emblemcharacters.[24]Lucas M. Thomas fromIGNfelt his moveset inMeleewas too similar to Marth's, preferringIkereplacing him inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl.[25]Roy was criticized alongside otherFire Emblemcharacters in theSuper Smash Bros.series byKotakuwriterCecilia D'AnastasioalongLucina,Marth andChrom,mainly due to D'Anastasio beleving they all fit the same sword fighter archetype.[26]Die Hard Game Fanwriter Aileen Coe stated that, with the release ofFire Emblem: Blazing Sword,fans of Marth and Roy inSuper Smash Bros.were confused by their absence, assuming that the character Eliwood was Roy.[27]

Roy was the subject of criticism for his low strength inBinding Blade,withHardcore Gaming 101writer Kurt Kalata feeling that all of his popularity was fromSuper Smash Bros. Meleedue to his lack of appearances and his comparative weakness to characters likeIke,Hector,andSigurd.[28]Real Soundwriter Kensuke Sakata noted that he had poor growth rates for his stats, including strength and speed, causing him to be used less, especially during the middle of the game where enemies and allies grow more powerful.[29]Mike Moehnke ofRPGamercriticized his weakin-game attributesfor the majority of the game, feeling that this detracted from an otherwise satisfactory gameplay experience.[30]FellowRPGamerwriter Sam Wachter felt that his late promotion in the game was a contributing factor to his issues.[31]Other critics agreed, with Marianne Penn ofTheGamercalling him among the series' weakest and felt that was a contrast to his role in theSuper Smash Bros.series. Despite these gameplay criticisms, Penn felt that Roy is a decent character in terms of personality, and that his popularity is "rightfully warranted" in spite of his glaring flaws.[32]

References

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  1. ^"ファイアーエムブレム メモリアルブック アカネイア・クロニクル".April 14, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-04-14.
  2. ^ab"Roy Voices (Fire Emblem)".Behind The Voice Actors.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-10-11.Retrieved2018-10-11.
  3. ^abEast, Thomas (April 13, 2013)."Fire Emblem through the ages (page 6)".Official Nintendo Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon October 10, 2014.RetrievedNovember 25,2023.
  4. ^"Fire Emblem Echoes director would like to remake The Binding Blade – Nintendo Wire".22 May 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 11 October 2018.Retrieved11 October2018.
  5. ^Drake, Audrey (11 February 2013)."Fire Emblem Awakening: Recruiting Roy".Archivedfrom the original on 11 October 2018.Retrieved11 October2018.
  6. ^"Fire Emblem Heroes adds 'Love Abounds' heroes Lilina, Roy, Hector, and Lyn – Gematsu".7 February 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 11 October 2018.Retrieved11 October2018.
  7. ^"Fire Emblem Heroes Fan Favorites Poll Led By Ike, Roy, Lucina, Lyn, and Tharja".USgamer.net.27 January 2017. Archived fromthe originalon 3 August 2018.Retrieved11 October2018.
  8. ^Tu, Trumann (December 11, 2022)."Fire Emblem Engage Shows First Look at Conversations with Ike, Roy, and More".Game Rant.Archivedfrom the original on December 16, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 15,2023.
  9. ^"Smash Moves: Roy".IGN.January 30, 2002.RetrievedAugust 24,2024.
  10. ^"Roy, Ryu, And Lucas Prices Revealed For Super Smash Bros. - Siliconera".14 June 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 18 August 2016.Retrieved11 October2018.
  11. ^abBogos, Steven (April 15, 2015)."Roy, Ryu Data Uncovered in Latest Smash Bros. 4 Update".The Escapist.Archivedfrom the original on August 24, 2024.RetrievedAugust 24,2024.
  12. ^"Roy amiibo pre-orders begin today, exclusively at GameStop".Polygon.21 January 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 11 October 2018.Retrieved11 October2018.
  13. ^"These Fire Emblem Plushies Are Simply Adorable, You Guys".Nintendo Life.May 15, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on July 19, 2021.RetrievedAugust 23,2021.
  14. ^"Nintendo's Fire Emblem Had a Manga Before It Came to America".Screen Rant.18 February 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 24 August 2021.Retrieved24 August2021.
  15. ^abメイキング オブ ファイアーエムブレム khai phát bí lời nói で chuế る25 đầy năm, 覚 tỉnh そしてif (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten. November 28, 2015. ISBN 978-4-19-864056-9.
  16. ^"ファイアーエムブレム〜 phong ấn の kiếm 〜".1101.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-04-06.Retrieved2021-08-23.
  17. ^Nintendo Spaceworld 2001 Official Guide Book.Enterbrain. 2001-08-25. p. 25.
  18. ^"【FE】 “ファイアーエムブレム” シリーズ の nhân vật chính người khí ランキング phát biểu! 1 vị は “アイク” に quyết định 【2021 mới nhất đầu phiếu kết quả 】 ".IT Media.March 13, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2024.RetrievedAugust 24,2024.
  19. ^abcdメイキング オブ ファイアーエムブレム khai phát bí lời nói で chuế る25 đầy năm, 覚 tỉnh そしてif(in Japanese).Tokuma Shoten.November 28, 2015.ISBN978-4-1986-4056-9.
  20. ^"How Super Smash Bros. Melee Introduced Fire Emblem to Western Audiences".Shacknews.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-08-23.Retrieved2021-08-23.
  21. ^"Nintendo Feature: Fire Emblem through the ages – Official Nintendo Magazine".April 13, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-10-10.
  22. ^East, Thomas (April 13, 2013)."Fire Emblem through the ages (page 7)".Official Nintendo Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon October 10, 2014.RetrievedNovember 25,2023.
  23. ^"Why Are There So Many Fire Emblem Characters in Super Smash Bros?".Screen Rant.29 September 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 24 August 2021.Retrieved24 August2021.
  24. ^Carter, Chris (14 June 2015)."Roy's not quite our same boy in the new Super Smash Bros".destructoid.Archivedfrom the original on 25 August 2021.Retrieved25 August2021.
  25. ^Thomas, Lucas (16 November 2007)."Smash It Up! - Veterans Day".IGN.News Corporation.Archived fromthe originalon 2009-05-15.Retrieved20 October2009.
  26. ^D'Anastasio, Cecilia (8 August 2018)."Breaking: Too Many Fire Emblem Characters In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate".Archivedfrom the original on 18 May 2019.Retrieved11 October2018.
  27. ^Coe, Aileen (February 27, 2009)."Review: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (Nintendo DS)".Die Hard Game Fan.Archivedfrom the original on April 16, 2024.RetrievedAugust 24,2024.
  28. ^Kalata, Kurt (January 14, 2015)."Fire Emblem (Misc)".Hardcroe Gaming 101.RetrievedSeptember 11,2024.
  29. ^Sakata, Kensuke (March 29, 2022)."Tráp いづらい nhân vật chính に tay cường いシミュレーション……『ファイアーエムブレム phong ấn の kiếm 』20 đầy năm を cơ に chấn り phản る".Real Sound.Archivedfrom the original on May 10, 2024.RetrievedAugust 24,2024.
  30. ^Moehnke, Mike (January 23, 2012)."Fire Emblem: The Sealed Sword – Staff Retroview".RPGamer. Archived fromthe originalon September 22, 2015.RetrievedNovember 23,2016.
  31. ^Wachter, Sam (March 16, 2023)."The Fire Emblem Series: Where to Start?".RPGamer.Archivedfrom the original on February 22, 2024.RetrievedAugust 24,2024.
  32. ^"Fire Emblem: 5 Best Lords In The Franchise (& 5 Worst)".TheGamer.2020-09-20.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-09-02.Retrieved2020-11-13.
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