The Battlefield Fortress

The Battlefield Fortress (, Battlefield Fortress) is the eighth stage of the Subspace Emissary. It appears as a large castle surrounded by a desert.

Overview
At the beginning of the stage, there is a cutscene which shows two R.O.B.s activating a Subspace Bomb. They hang their heads in sadness as it detonates. From atop the castle, sees the explosion and seems shocked by it. Soon afterwards, an army of Primids approaches the castle. Marth raises Falchion and prepares to defend the castle. After defeating the foes and leaving the castle, Marth stares at the sphere of Subspace caused by the earlier explosion, when appears out of nowhere and attacks Marth. After an evenly matched sword duel, each one sees Primids over their rival's shoulder. They dodge around each other and destroy the Primids with their swords. They turn to face each other, surprised to realize they have a common enemy. After more Primids surround them, they team up to destroy them.

After another level that involves destroying more enemies, Meta Knight and Marth see the Ancient Minister carrying another Subspace Bomb. They both attempt to destroy it, but fail. Suddenly, the yell, "Great Aether!!" is heard, and appears, using his trademark Aether to slice through the Subspace Bomb, destroying it. Marth, Meta Knight, and Ike all then team up to take on more enemies from Subspace. After defeating the enemies, the stage is cleared, and the three swordsmen are added to the player's party. The final cutscene involves the swordsmen chasing after the Ancient Minister, who was able to escape.

After the level is complete, Marth is unlocked for all modes if he hasn’t already been. An entirely different cutscene proceeds in the depths of The Lake Shore, in which is seen timidly confronting a Waddle Dee. When the harmless creature naturally avoids confrontation, Luigi is relieved but shocked by the appearance of another Waddle Dee. But as he prepares to "fight", appears behind him and ambushes him with his mallet; turning him into a trophy. King Dedede then notices and his cargo containing the trophies of / and  approaching, and hides. Using the Luigi trophy as bait, King Dedede is able to steal the cargo and the trophies, much to the chagrin of Wario.

Playable Characters
Playable for the whole level: Playable in every section except the first: Only playable in the last section:
 * (Joins team after level)
 * (Joins team after level)
 * (Joins team after level)

Returning enemies

 * Primid
 * Sword Primid
 * Borboras
 * Flame Jyk
 * Spaak
 * Buckot
 * Greap
 * Poppant
 * Feyesh
 * Fire Primid
 * Towtow

Enemies introduced

 * Armight
 * Roader
 * Scope Primid
 * Autolance
 * Nagagog

Music

 * During the end of the opening cutscene, a small clip of  plays in a differing key.
 * During the first part of the stage where one plays as Marth,  plays.
 * After teaming up with,  plays.
 * After the fight,  plays.
 * After that,  plays.
 * After teaming up with,  plays.
 * After the level: When appears, a variant on   plays.
 * When first appears, the very beginning of  plays.

Trivia

 * Oddly, Ike yells "Great Aether!!" while performing just a normal Aether on the Ancient Minister during the third cutscene.
 * During the beginning cutscene, the timer on the Subspace Bomb skips time when the camera isn't focused on it.
 * In the end cutscene, Wario touches the trophy base when he picks up Luigi's trophy, yet Luigi remains a trophy.

La fortaleza