The Fire Emblem universe (ファイアーエムブレム, Fire Emblem) refers to the Smash Bros. series' collection of characters, stages and properties that hail from Nintendo's and Intelligent System's Fire Emblem series of fantasy tactical role-playing games. The long-running series was primarily a Japan-only series that Nintendo declined to localize abroad until the appearances of two of the series' stars, Marth and Roy, as playable characters in 2001's Super Smash Bros. Melee sparked enough global interest that the series began international distribution. Since then, a more recent protagonist, Ike, has received a similar starring role in Super Smash Bros. Brawl along with the returning Marth. They would eventually be joined by three more heroes from the series' most recent games, Fire Emblem Awakening &