Roy (Fire Emblem)

Roy (Japanese: ロイ, Hepburn: Roi) is a character from Nintendo and Intelligent Systems' Fire Emblem video game series, who first appeared in the 2001 crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee, along with fellow Fire Emblem character Marth. He is the lead character of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, the son of Eliwood and heir presumptive of Pherae who eventually becomes a major military leader. He has also appeared in other Fire Emblem games. The inclusion of Roy and Marth in Melee is cited as one of the reasons Nintendo started localizing the series for international distribution.

Roy was designed by Eiji Kaneda and voiced by Jun Fukuyama in Japanese and by Ray Chase in English. The designers intended Roy to be a free-spirited character who would appeal to younger players, which they felt contrasted with earlier titles' protagonists. His personality differs from his appearance in Melee, where Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai believed that he was an energetic and internally strong character, only to discover that this was not the case after playing the game.

Roy received negative reception for his appearance in The Binding Blade, with critics noting his poor gameplay attributes. His inclusion in Super Smash Bros. was also criticized due to his similarity to other Fire Emblem characters also included, as well as his similarity to them in terms of gameplay.