Eliwood, Hector and Lyn from Fire Emblem (Game Boy Advance), the first Fire Emblem to be released internationally.
Fire Emblem is a popular turn-based tactical RPG video game franchise, developed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo. It is the first of its genre (the tactical role playing game), and it is based on medieval times.
The series currently has 14 games, which cover the Famicom (NES), Super Famicom (SNES), Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS.
International Release
From the first game (released in 1990) to the 6th game (released in 2002), this series was only released in Japan. In 2001, Nintendo released Super Smash Bros. Melee, a fighting game with characters from many different Nintendo games. The Japanese version included Marth and Roy, from previous Japan-only Fire Emblem releases. In North America, the game went through debug testing, and Nintendo of America decided to keep them in the North American version. It was because of their popularity in North America that Nintendo of America decided to localize and market the Fire Emblem franchise to North America and Europe.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl brought back Marth and included Ike as a newcomer. Sadly, Roy did not return, though was once considered through hidden codings on the Brawl Disc. Later in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, the series received further representation with the addition of Robin and Lucina from Fire Emblem: Awakening along with Marth and Ike returning as veterans.
Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, the seventh title in the series, became the first Fire Emblem game outside Japan, though it was simply titled "Fire Emblem". So far, six Fire Emblem games have been released in North America and Europe; Fire Emblem: Awakening is the sixth.
Games
The series currently has 11 original games, 2 enhanced remakes, and 1 Satellaview title.
Games predating Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken were released only in Japan.
| English language titles | Original titles | System release | Original release dates | Virtual Console rereleases dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light | ファイアーエムブレム 暗黒竜と光の剣 (Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi) |
NES | Japan: April 20, 1990 | Japan: October 20, 2009 (Wii Virtual Console) Japan: August 1, 2012 (3DS Virtual Console) |
The first game of the series. |
| Fire Emblem Gaiden | ファイアーエムブレム外伝 (Fire Emblem Gaiden) |
NES | Japan: March 14, 1992 | Japan: November 4, 2009 (Wii Virtual Console) Japan: April 5, 2013 (3DS Virtual Console) |
A side story of the original title, first game to take place on a different continent. Deviates from standard Fire Emblem gameplay mechanisms. |
| Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem | ファイアーエムブレム 紋章の謎 (Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo) |
SNES | Japan: January 21, 1994 | Japan: December 26, 2006 (Wii Virtual Console) |
Enhanced remake and sequel to Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi |
| Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War | ファイアーエムブレム 聖戦の系譜 (Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu) |
SNES | Japan: May 14, 1996 | Japan: January 30, 2007 (Wii Virtual Console) |
First Fire Emblem set in a separate setting. |
| Fire Emblem: Akaneia Saga | ファイアーエムブレム アカネイア戦記編 |
SNES | Japan: September to October 1997 | N/A | Satellaview prequel stories to Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi |
| Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 | ファイアーエムブレム トラキア776 (Fire Emblem: Thracia 776) |
SNES | Japan: September 1, 1999 | Japan: July 15, 2008 (Wii Virtual Console) |
A side story of Seisen no Keifu first released on the Nintendo Power download service and last game available for SNES. |
| Fire Emblem: Binding Blade | ファイアーエムブレム 封印の剣 (Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi) |
Game Boy Advance | Japan: March 29, 2002 | N/A | The first Fire Emblem title to appear on a Nintendo handheld and first unrelated to the Akaneia Series. |
| Fire Emblem (The Blazing Sword) |
ファイアーエムブレム 烈火の剣
(Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken) |
Game Boy Advance | Japan: April 25, 2003 USA: November 3, 2003 PAL: July 16, 2004 |
N/A | A prequel to Binding Blade and the first Fire Emblem title to be released outside of Japan. |
| Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones | ファイアーエムブレム 聖魔の光石 (Fire Emblem: Seima no Kōseki) |
Game Boy Advance | Japan: October 7, 2004 USA: May 23, 2005 PAL: November 4, 2005 |
AU: December 15, 2011 Japan, USA, and EU: December 16, 2011 (3DS Virtual Console - Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program) |
Only Fire Emblem title not related to any other game in the series by setting or story. |
| Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance | ファイアーエムブレム 蒼炎の軌跡 (Fire Emblem: Sōen no Kiseki) |
Nintendo GameCube | Japan: April 20, 2005 USA: October 17, 2005 PAL: November 4, 2005 |
N/A | The first title in the series to be rendered in three-dimensions and to incorporate full motion video and first related to Akaneia since Thracia 776. |
| Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn | ファイアーエムブレム 暁の女神 (Fire Emblem: Akatsuki no Megami) |
Wii | Japan: JP February 22, 2007 USA: November 11, 2007 PAL: March 14, 2008 |
N/A | The sequel to Path of Radiance. |
| Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon | ファイアーエムブレム 新・暗黒竜と光の剣 (Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi) |
Nintendo DS | Japan: August 7, 2008 PAL: December 5, 2008 USA: February 16, 2009 |
N/A | Second enhanced remake of Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi. |
| Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem ~Heroes of Light and Shadow~ | ファイアーエムブレム 新・紋章の謎 〜光と影の英雄〜 (Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo ~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū~) |
Nintendo DS | Japan: July 15, 2010 | N/A | Remake of Mystery of the Emblem Book 2. |
| Fire Emblem: Awakening | ファイアーエムブレム覚醒 (Fire Emblem: Kakusei) |
Nintendo 3DS | Japan: April 19, 2012 USA: February 4, 2013 EU: April 19, 2013 AU: April 20, 2013 |
N/A | First game that supporting units could assist in battle. |
Characters
Unlike most video game series, many of the Fire Emblem games have completely different characters. Although a few Fire Emblem games are prequels and sequels, there are still many characters in this series, which include Marth from Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, to Ike from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Each unit possesses a different background on their life. However, the series is tied together through the presence of the deity Naga (with the exception of the Game Boy Advance titles).
Permanent Death
—Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon in-game guide.
In the Fire Emblem games, when a character's health points reach zero, they will die permanently and be left out of play for the rest of the game. This is a deviation from most traditional RPGs, where characters would reach zero health and be merely incapacitated or can still be revived. This leads players to be mindful of their units and use care in deploying them into battle, keeping back any significantly injured units. If a character other than the primary protagonists (whose deaths result in a game over) who are important to the story have their health points hit zero, they end up receiving a crippling injury that prevents them from ever fighting again instead of dying (an example is Soren from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance). Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon features side chapters (also called Gaiden chapters) that necessitate loss of units. There is a mode in FE12 and FE13, casual mode, that brings characters back to life in the next chapter if they die. This is to ease the difficulty, letting new gamers into the game more easily. Avoiding loss of units is made easier using emulators, since many of them can create "save states" that overrides the save mechanics of many Fire Emblem games. If a character's health points reach zero, players can load save states to recover the data where the character was last alive. In Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, units that are killed in Lyn's story are brought back to life in Eliwood's or Hector's story, although this may be excused due to this game being a prequel. NOTE: Units that are killed come back without the stats that were given to them.