Fire Emblem
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fire Emblem (Japanese: 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 (specifically Shouzou Kaga), the creators of Nintendo Wars/Famicom Wars/Advance Wars, and published by Nintendo. 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.
As of 2006, the series spans nine games, with the first six titles being marketed exclusively in Japan. The seventh title, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, released in 2003, was the first title in the series to see a full international release, and the same goes for later titles. The appearance of Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee partly contributed to the idea of a full international release. A tenth title in the series is currently in development for Nintendo's latest console, the Wii.
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[edit] Gameplay
Like Advance Wars, 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. Beginning with Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu, the triangle system for weapons has been lance beats sword, sword beats axe, and axe beats lance. Bows are unaffected by the triangle, although they deal great damage to all flying units.(Pegasus Knights, Wyvern Riders etc.) 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.
Unlike Advance Wars, the creation of various player-generated units is absent. Instead, Fire Emblem utilizes a distinct cast of characters, each belonging to one of many character classes. Unlike in most strategy games, each unit has a personality and past of his or her 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 100 exp. 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. 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 user's party through story events or through actions taken by the player. 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, often through Support conversations in games starting from Fuuin no Tsurugi—occasional exchanges between certain characters who spend a lot of time adjacent to one another, allowing them to perform better as a result of their affinity. 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 ongoing relationship.
Death is permanent in a Fire Emblem game if progress has been saved afterwards; if the player wants to keep a character who has been killed, he or she will be forced to restart the chapter. Only under special circumstances, such as being significantly related to the story, will characters who have fallen in battle do not actually die, and only on extremely rare occasions, such as in Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, can they actually be used in battle at a later point in the game. Almost uniquely in the strategy and RPG genre, 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 would break with only one use.
A "Game Over" occurs whenever one of the main characters (commonly known as Lords) falls, or in other situations depending on a mission's requirements. If the player kills a recruitable enemy or completes a chapter before an enemy or neutral character can be recruited, he or she may be influenced to retry the chapter or restart the game from scratch in order to recruit the character.
Although the concept of permanent character death is a hallmark of the Fire Emblem series, the mechanic is not without its critics. Some gamers claim that permanent character death makes the games too hard and frustrating, as it is possible to play a single mission for more than an hour, only to lose a character or two just before the end of the mission. It can also be a personal annoyance, as many players become emotionally attached to the array of characters. However, most fans of the series see character death as a legitimate challenge to overcome.
Another challenge in the Fire Emblem series is leveling up your teammates. Many newly recruited units arrive with inferior levels and statistics. The tendency is to keep using higher level allies to fight the enemy. However, since experience point gain is determined by the level discrepancy between fighting units, the rate of growth is slowed when using higher level units. This both steals experience from wanting units and squanders it because of its inefficiency.
[edit] 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 2. 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.
[edit] Games
The following is a list of games released in the series.
- Please note: Games predating Rekka no Ken were released only in Japan, due to this, there are no official English language titles for these games.
| 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 | ||
| ファイアーエムブレム外伝 | Sidestory | Famicom | 1991 | Sidestory of the first title. | |
| 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. Also released a 2-episode anime cartoon. In the 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 Jewels of Light and Darkness | 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. |
| Fire Emblem: The Goddess of Dawn (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. |
[edit] Music score
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 music in the series is quite distinctive, featuring a main theme that has appeared at some point in every game, and the soundtracks in some reflect the western medieval era in which each game is set.
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. This song, or galdr, is the same used by the heron prince and princess Reyson and Leanne to restore life to their burned and desecrated home, Serenes Forest.
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: Genealogy of the Holy War, 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 Genealogy of the Holy War.
[edit] 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 1 was a video game music soundtrack released on April 25, 1997 by Nintendo corporation (serial# PSCN-5058~9).
[edit] Trivia
- Two Fire Emblem characters, Marth and Roy, are secret characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Marth, the original protagonist in the series, starred in Fire Emblem: Ankoku no Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, and Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo. Roy starred in the 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 in North America, and it was by the decision of Nintendo of America that he was included in the North American version. Meanwhile, Roy was included in the North American version of the game as well. It was due in part to Marth and Roy's popularity from their appearance in SSBM that Nintendo eventually decided to localize Fire Emblem games to North America and Europe.
- In addition to the above, a title listed as "AKANEIA" in the debug mode of SSBM 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. As well, if one has Marth 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, but only 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 100 games list. Famitsu readers voted it the no. 68 game of all time.
- The Nintendo DS game Daigasso! Band-Brothers features the Fire Emblem theme as a song.
[edit] See also
- List of character classes
- Table of Fire Emblem characters
- Fan translation
- Nintendo Wars
- Tear Ring Saga
[edit] External links
- Official US Fire Emblem website
- Intelligent Systems' official Fire Emblem website (Japanese)
- Official Trading Card Game website (Japanese)
- The Fire Emblem series at MobyGames
- English Fire Emblem Documentary
| Fire Emblem |
|---|
| Characters |
| Main Characters:Celice | Ike | Marth | Roy | Sigurd |
| Villains: Alvis | Nergal | Zephiel |
| Others:Fire Emblem (GBA) characters | Sacred Stones characters | Path of Radiance characters | Genealogy of the Holy War characters |
| History and geography |
| Akaneia | Jugdral | Elibe | Magvel | Tellius | Serenes Massacre |
| Media |
| Fire Emblem (anime) |
| Other |
| Magic in the Fire Emblem series | List of references in the Fire Emblem series |
