Fire Emblem (ファイアーエムブレム, Faiā Emuburemu) is a popular strategy/role-playing video game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd. (specifically Shouzou Kaga), the makers of Advance Wars, and published by Nintendo Co., Ltd.. The Fire Emblem games are known to be the first of their genre, the strategic role-playing game, with a very strong emphasis on western forms of medieval folklore.
The series currently spans ten games, and has graced the Famicom, Super Famicom, Game Boy Advance, GameCube and Wii. The most recent title in the series was first released in Japan on February 22, 2007. A North American release is expected to follow at an undisclosed date in 2007.
International release
Since its inception in 1990, the Fire Emblem series was formerly confined to Japan. In 2001, Nintendo released Super Smash Bros. Melee, a fighting game starring characters from games produced throughout the company's history. The Japanese release of the game contained two characters from the Fire Emblem series; Marth, the original protagonist in the series, starred in Fire Emblem: Ankoku no Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, and Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo, and Roy starred in the then-unreleased sixth game, Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi. According to Nintendo's official Japanese website, Marth was put in Super Smash Bros. Melee upon the request of Japanese gamers. Marth's design and playability earned him extra attention while the game underwent debug testing in North America, and it was by the decision of Nintendo of America that he was included in the North American version. Roy had been included in Japan to promote the upcoming release of Fūin no Tsurugi, and was likewise included in the North American version. It was due in part to Marth and Roy's popularity from their appearance in SSBM that Nintendo eventually decided to localize and market Fire Emblem games for North American and European release.
Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, the seventh title in the series, became the first to see an international release in 2003. Released outside of Japan simply as Fire Emblem, the game was designed specifically with newcomers to the series in mind, and the first ten chapters were structured in a manner that eased newcomers into the gameplay. All Fire Emblem titles produced since have also seen international release.
Gameplay
Basics
Fire Emblem is a series of turn-based strategy games that involve moving units through a map grid in order to defeat the opposition and eventually complete a mission objective, such as seizing a base, surviving for a number of turns, or defeating a boss. The combat system bases itself on a rock-paper-scissors method of fighting, as each weapon type has both an advantage and a disadvantage against other types. From Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu to the most recent game Fire Emblem: Akatsuki no Megami, the weapon triangle has been lance beats sword, sword beats axe, and axe beats lance. Bows are unaffected by the triangle and can do higher amounts of damage against flying units, but this is offset by the bow-wielder's inability to counter-attack direct melee strikes.
A similar triangle for magic, that varies from game to game, has also existed. The basic triangles of magic are light beats dark, dark beats anima, and anima beats light. In other games, fire beats wind, wind beats thunder and thunder beats fire. Magic is also unique in that magical attacks can be used from either a distance or in melee range.
Units and relationships
Unlike Advance Wars and other tactical RPGs such as Final Fantasy Tactics, player-generated units are absent. Instead, Fire Emblem utilizes a distinct cast of characters, each belonging to one of many character classes. Unlike most strategy games, each unit has a personality and past of its own. Money is used to buy better weapons and various items, and using units in battle will allow them to gain experience points; a character's level will increase upon gaining one hundred experience points. Leveling party members up can be a challenge, as many newly recruited units arrive with inferior levels and statistics, but because the amount of experience earned from defeating an enemy is determined by the level discrepancy between the battling units, a characters at lower levels earn more experience than more experienced characters when defeating enemies of comparable level.
Depending on the mechanics of the particular game, characters may change classes upon reaching a certain level, or through the use of a special item that will force a unit's promotion. Characters that change class receive a one-time statistics upgrade that is higher than the average leveling upgrade and additional abilities that are standards of the higher-tier classes. For instance, a cavalier in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance will change classes automatically after earning enough experience to advance to level 21, becoming a level 1 paladin, will become capable of moving greaters distances in a single turn, and will become able to wield two kinds of weapons.
Typically, the size of the player's character roster is very small at the beginning of each game, but as progress is made, other units may join the player's party through story events or through actions taken. The latter games in the series typically contain playable rosters between thirty and fifty characters deep.
Romance and friendship are prevalent themes throughout the Fire Emblem series. Starting from the sixth game, Fuuin no Tsurugi, this characteristic has been further emphasized in the gameplay itself through the use of support conversations. In the GBA Fire Emblem titles, these conversations could be triggered by having specific pairs of characters end their turns standing next to each other. After a specific number of turns have accumulated, the player is given the option to view a support conversation between the two characters. Path of Radiance simplified the approach by requiring characters to be in a certain number of battles together and not necessarily adjacent to one another. Each time a pair of characters engage in a support conversation, their affinity towards each other will increase, giving them statistical bonuses that activate any time the characters are next to each other on the battlefield. If two characters with a mutual romantic attraction, strong friendship, or other form of mutual connection engage in three Supports throughout the game, the result will often affect the game's ending. Depending on the characters involved, such results could include marriage, a deepening of friendship, or a continued pursuit of their continuing relationship.
Death
Fire Emblem characters that run out of hit points and die cannot be brought back to life in game. This also affects recruitable NPC and enemy units. If a player wishes to continue using a character or recruit a unit that has been killed, then the chapter must be restarted from the beginning. In addition, a "Game Over" occurs whenever one of the main characters (Lords) falls, or in other situations depending on a mission's requirements. Only under special circumstances, such as being significantly related to the story, will characters who have fallen in battle not actually die. In extremely rare situations, such as in Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, characters that fall in battle can become playable at a later point in the game. Exceptions aside, there is normally no method for restoring a fallen character's life, such as a particular spell or scroll. When there is one, it rarely occurs and breaks with only one use.
Naming of the series
The "Fire Emblem" to which the games' title refers is a plot device or item that has taken multiple forms throughout the series, changing with the setting. The original Fire Emblem was a shield which allowed the wielder, Marth, to use the Falchion sword. In the remake of the original game in Monshō no Nazo, the Fire Emblem can be used by Marth to open chests and can be upgraded with five orbs to turn it into the Shield of Seals in Book two. In Rekka no Ken and Fūin no Tsurugi, the Fire Emblem is a gemstone required for a ceremony to recognize the heir to the throne of Bern. It is also used to unlock the Sword of Seals. In The Sacred Stones, the Fire Emblem is the Sacred Stone of Grado, which holds the Demon King's spirit, but it is split in two (the other half forms the Dark Stone), and the Fire Emblem is crushed. In Path of Radiance, it was another name for Lehran's Medallion, an artifact containing the imprisoned spirit of an evil god. In Seisen no Keifu, it does not appear, but it is mentioned as the family crest of the Velthomer house by the person succeeding it. But, it was also hinted to be one of the twelve holy weapons in the game.
Games
The following is a list of games released in the series.
- Games predating Rekka no Ken were released only in Japan. Due to this, there are no official English language titles for these games. An official English language title may be given if Nintendo of America elects to localize any of these games to North America.
| Cover | Official Western title | Japanese title | Japanese Title Translation | Platform | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
ファイアーエムブレム 暗黒竜と光の剣 | The Dark Dragon and Sword of Light | Famicom | 1990 | The first Fire Emblem title. | |
| File:Fe2box.jpg | ファイアーエムブレム外伝 | Sidestory | Famicom | 1991 | Side story of the first title. | |
| File:Fe3box.jpg | ファイアーエムブレム 紋章の謎 | Mystery of the Emblem | Super Famicom | 1993 | Enhanced remake of the Dark Dragon and Sword of Light along with sequel. It was adapted into a 2-part OVA series. In the English translated credits it says the show was based on "Fire Emblem: Secret of Crest" instead of "Mystery of the Emblem". | |
|
ファイアーエムブレム 聖戦の系譜 | Genealogy of the Holy War |
Super Famicom | 1996 | The first Fire Emblem title set in a separate universe. Deviates from standard Fire Emblem gameplay mechanisms. | |
|
ファイアーエムブレム トラキア776 | Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 | Super Famicom | Nintendo Power: 1999 Commercial release: 2000 |
A sidestory of Seisen no Keifu. The last commercial release of the Super Famicom. | |
|
ファイアーエムブレム 封印の剣 | Sword of Seals | Game Boy Advance | 2002 | The first Fire Emblem title to appear on a Nintendo handheld. | |
|
Fire Emblem | ファイアーエムブレム 烈火の剣 (Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken) |
Sword of Fire | Game Boy Advance | 2003 | The first Fire Emblem title to be released in the West and the prequel to Sword of Seals. |
|
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) |
The Stones of Saintly and Demonic Light | Game Boy Advance | Japan: 2004 US: 2005 | First title to incorporate several play mechanics not seen since Fire Emblem Gaiden. |
|
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) |
Trail of the Blue Flame | Nintendo Gamecube | 2005 | The first title in the series to be rendered in three-dimensions and to incorporate full motion video. |
| File:Fire Emblem Goddess of the Dawn Japanese Boxart.jpg | (Has yet to be officially titled worldwide) | ファイアーエムブレム 暁の女神 (Fire Emblem: Akatsuki no Megami) |
Goddess of Dawn [1] | Wii | 2007 | The sequel to Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. |
Music
The musical scores for Fire Emblem have been composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko for most of the series' history. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones was scored by Saki Haruyama, Yoshihiko Kitamura, and Yoshito Hirano, under Tsujiyoko's supervision. The first eight games in the series all featured soundtracks composed entirely of instrumental music. However, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance broke from this trend with the end credit theme "Life Returns", a lyrical piece sung in the language of the fictional heron laguz tribe.
There are also recurring tracks in the Fire Emblem series. The most frequently used is the "Fire Emblem Main Theme" which is played at some point during each game. Its use is particularly varied, as it is sometimes used as the title screen theme, while in Path of Radiance, the song isn't heard until the very end of the game, when each character's performance is ranked. Another track that is frequently remixed is a character recruitment theme entitled "Together We Ride," although it is not used in every game. Since Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu, battle themes of previous Fire Emblem games have been remixed as arena battle themes. Similar rearranging appears in other circumstances, as well; for example, the musical score for the trial maps in Path of Radiance was originally the music score for Chapter 10 of Seisen no Keifu.
Other media
- In 1995, an anime OVA (co-produced with KSS) was produced and released; it was closely based on the first three acts of the very first game in the series or more specifically, the remake contained in Monshō no Nazo. See also Fire Emblem (anime).
- Fire Emblem The Best Volume One was a video game music sound-track released on April 25, 1997 by Nintendo corporation (serial# PSCN-5058~9).
Trivia
- A title listed as "AKANEIA" in the debug mode of Super Smash Bros. Melee suggests that an arena based upon Fire Emblem was under development, but no real map data exists and players often end up fighting against Marth and Roy in Hyrule Temple. If Marth is unlocked and all human players hold either L or R while selecting Hyrule Temple, a remixed version of Fire Emblem's main theme and the recruiting theme will play instead of its original music. The song may also play randomly if Marth is unlocked.
- In another Intelligent Systems game, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, there is a minor character in Petalburg that raves about his favorite video games when spoken to. The first game he talks about is Fire Emblem.
- Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo is the only Fire Emblem game to appear in Famitsu's 2006 Top one hundred games list. Famitsu readers voted it the number sixty-eighth game of all time. It was also among the first titles released as a Virtual Console title at the launch of the Japanese region Wii Shop Channel.
- The Nintendo DS game Daigasso! Band-Brothers features the Fire Emblem theme as a song.
- Fire Emblem characters are usually right-handed. One exception is that Sothe from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: The Goddess of Dawn is left-handed, according to the official artwork.[citation needed]
- A red-headed girl named Anna makes appearances in numerous games in the series. Although she isn't an actual member of any Fire Emblem cast, she generally appears in games when the player is about to suspend game data or serves as the tutorial narratress.
See also
References
- ^ Kennedy, Sam (2006-09-14). "Fire Emblem: The Goddess of Dawn (Wii)". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
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