Garreg Mach Monastery

Garreg Mach Monastery (, Garreg Mach Monastery) is a downloadable stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from the series. It is based on the pivotal location of the same name and the primary setting of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It was released on January 28th, 2020 as part of Challenger Pack 5.

Stage overview
The stage cycles through four locations. Transitions between each location have a mystical blue platform rocket the fighters upward, showing a view of the landscape, before plummeting back into the next area (showing damage to areas with ceilings). Like other traveling stages, it is possible to miss the platform as it appears and be KO'd at the bottom blast line. All locations of the stage have walk-off blast lines. The stage rotates through the areas in order and starts over after about two and a half minutes.

The first location is the Marketplace; the battle occurs at the bottom of the stairs. Two stalls are present on the far right and left of the playing area, respectively, which can be used as platforms but can also be destroyed by attacks. The Blue Lion House, represented by, , and , will watch the battle from the sidelines; the can also be seen at his post at the top of the stairs.

The second location is the Reception Hall. The tables in the background can be destroyed if a strong enough attack is landed in front of them, like the signs on Suzaku Castle. Chandeliers hang above the fighting area, so high that certain fighters, including, cannot reach them on their own. Like the lighting fixture above Boxing Ring, these can be attacked to drop them on fighters below, dealing damage. The Black Eagle House, represented by, , and , will watch the battle from the sidelines.

The third location is the Bridge. The Bridge is a simple, wide area with walk-off blast lines, comparable to the Bridge of Eldin. The Golden Deer House, represented by, , and , will watch the battle from the sidelines; a can also be seen doing flight drills in the background.

The fourth location is the Cathedral. Two semi-solid platforms float above the far left and right of this area; these will slowly move off-screen shortly before the screen transitions. The Church of Seiros, represented by, , and , will watch the battle from the sidelines.

In battles with more than four players, some of the cameo characters are omitted; only Dimitri, Edelgard, Claude, Flayn, Seteth, and Rhea will appear. Certain cameo characters will also be omitted in spirit battles of Three Houses characters if they are represented by a puppet fighter in said battles; for example, the Seteth spirit battle is set in the Cathedral but only Rhea is present in the background, as Seteth and Flayn are represented by puppet fighters in that battle.

Ω form and Battlefield form
The Ω form and Battlefield form take place in the area where the Bridge normally is. The main platform resembles the floor of the Cathedral in the normal form, but is resized and reshaped to match and, respectively. The three soft platforms of the Battlefield form are the same as the two soft platforms in the Cathedral. The stage also does not cycle through the four areas, and cameos do not appear at all, unlike Mementos, Spiral Mountain and King of Fighters Stadium and like stages. Prior to 8.0.0, the Battlefield and Ω forms of Garreg Mach Monastery had a lower ceiling than, and other Battlefield and Ω forms.

Hazards Off
With Hazards off, the battle remains in the Cathedral for the duration of the match. The two floating platforms will periodically move offscreen before returning.

Origin


The Garreg Mach Monastery serves as the central hub of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. At the start of the game, Byleth is hired to be a professor at the Officer Academy that's located there, and can choose one of the three houses to represent; the house chosen affects the path the game would take in the second half of the game.

The Marketplace is where Byleth can buy or sell weapons and other items for their house to use. The Gatekeeper, a minor non-playable character, stands guard in front of the monastery gates and discusses the game's events with Byleth when spoken to.

The Reception Hall is one of the main rooms of the monastery; students and faculty gather here for events such as the White Heron Cup and the grand ball that follows after.



The bridge serves as a pathway to the cathedral, where priests, students, and faculty gather to pay homage to the goddess of Fódlan. The cathedral is also where Byleth can provide guidance counselling for their allies via a suggestion box to increase support points, have two chosen allies participate in choir practice to increase their proficiency in faith magic, and use their accumulated renown to repair the saints' statues that give army bonuses.

In the Crimson Flower route, Edelgard von Hresvelg has captured the monastery and uses it as the Adrestrian Empire's base of operations by the time Byleth awakens from their five-year coma. In all other routes, it has become a haven for thieves; Byleth must team up with their chosen house leader (or if they chose not to ally with Edelgard in the Black Eagles route) to drive the thieves out and reclaim the monastery as their base of operations.

Update history
 

Tournament Legality
Garreg Mach Monestary is widely banned in tournaments due to the frequently changing layout. The marketplace has shops that, while breakable, can allow for infinites. The reception hall has chandeliers that can promote camping. The bridge has walk-off blast zones similar to Bridge of Eldin. The Cathedral, the only phase available with stage hazards off, also has walk-off blast zones. The Battlefield and Ω forms were also specifically banned for having different blast lines and camera bounds compared to other stages. This was fixed with version 8.0.0 and they are now unbanned.

Trivia

 * The stage is referred within game files with the term "fe_shrine", presumably as an alternative to "monastery" or "cathedral".
 * This is the first downloadable stage in Ultimate from a pre-established universe and that can play base-game music, followed by Small Battlefield, Northern Cave, and Cloud Sea of Alrest.
 * The default My Music settings for this stage are unusual: by default, the Japanese and English versions of Fire Emblem: Three Houses Main Theme are listed first with equal probability, both being the second-most likely song to play. The song with the highest probability, Fódlan Winds, is listed directly below them.
 * This results in Garreg Mach Monastery being the only stage in Ultimate to not have a song set at 100% by default if counting both versions of Fire Emblem: Three Houses Main Theme separately.
 * This is the only stage in the Super Smash Bros. series that can change Star KO availability mid-match, as Star KOs cannot happen in the market and cathedral phases, but can occur anywhere else. Screen KOs are unaffected and can happen anywhere.
 * Each part of the stage has one background character that does not appear in the Fire Emblem: Three Houses DLC Spirit Board (Dedue, Petra, Lorenz and Flayn, respectively), while the other two in their company are featured. However, while Dedue and Flayn do not appear as standalone spirits, they are alluded to in Dimitri and Seteth's spirit battles respectively.
 * Interestingly, some of the background characters share animations similar to that of the background characters on King of Fighters Stadium. This is most notable with Dimitri and Seteth having idle animations similar to King and Tung Fu Rue, respectively.
 * The following Assist Trophies cannot appear on this stage: the Moon, Nightmare, Andross, Kapp'n, Color TV-Game 15, Devil, Flies & Hand and Arcade Bunny. Additionally, Abra and Marshadow cannot be summoned from Poké Balls.