Fire Emblem (video game)

For the first game that started the "Fire Emblem" series in 1990, see Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.
Fire Emblem

North American cover art featuring the main protagonists
Developer(s) Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Director(s) Taeko Kaneda
Kentarou Nishimura
Producer(s) Toru Narihiro
Takehiro Izushi
Programmer(s) Makoto Katayama
Artist(s) Sachiko Wada
Ryo Hirata
Daisuke Izuka
Eiji Kaneda (uncredited)
Writer(s) Ken Yokoyama
Kouhei Maeda
Composer(s) Yuka Tsujiyoko
Saki Haruyama
Series Fire Emblem
Platform(s) Game Boy Advance
Release date(s)
  • JP: April 25, 2003
  • NA: November 3, 2003
  • AUS: February 20, 2004
  • EU: July 16, 2004
Genre(s) Tactical role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Fire Emblem, known in Japan as Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken,[lower-alpha 1] is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. It is the seventh entry in the Fire Emblem series,[lower-alpha 2] the second to be released for the platform after Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, and the first to be localized for the West. It released in Japan and North America in 2003, and in 2004 in Europe and Australia.

The game is a prequel to The Binding Blade, telling the story of Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector, three young lordlings of the Lycian lineage who journey to find Eliwood's father and later thwart a larger conspiracy threatening the stability of Elibe. The gameplay, which draws from earlier Fire Emblem entries, features tactical combat between armies on a grid-based map, with characters being assigned different character classes that affect abilities and being subjected to permanent death if defeated in battle.

Development began in 2002 as a companion title to The Binding Blade, but development was prolonged from its initial seven-month window as new features were added. While the Fire Emblem series had remained exclusive to Japan due to concerns about its difficulty, the success of Advance Wars and popular demand following the release of Fire Emblem characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee prompted the game's localization. The game released to positive sales and international critical acclaim, establishing the Fire Emblem series in the West. Its overseas success fueled the development of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance for the GameCube home console.

Gameplay

Screenshot of a battle in Fire Emblem, showing two characters on the combat screen.

Fire Emblem is a tactical role-playing game where players take the role of story protagonists Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector as they navigate story-driven missions across the fictional continent of Elibe. The player takes the role of an unseen tactician directing the player army.[4] The single-player campaign is divided into chapters which generally begin with story elements presented through the use of scenes animated with still images of the main characters, then followed by a battle with an enemy; after each battle, the player is given the opportunity to save their progress.[5] In-game currency is gained either through battles in the game's Link Arena or through other means, rather than from defeating units. Currency can be used to buy new items and weapons at merchants in between battles and at specific locations within maps. Items can also be exchanged between units during battles.[4][6]

Battles in the story take place on maps divided into a square-based grid. Battle actions are governed by a turn-based system where each unit on both sides is given their chance to move and act.[4][5] During gameplay, weather and terrain effects appear such as fog of war or elements of the environment that can be manipulated to one side's advantage, affecting the progress of battle.[5][7] Units are split between player, enemy and allied NPC units. Each unit's movement range and attack range is displayed when selected. The player must clear a map to advance the story: the objectives for clearing a level can vary from defeating all enemies to capturing strongholds or rescuing NPCs. When engaging a unit, the scene transitions into a battle between the player and enemy unit, with battle animation playing out. When hit with an attack, a character loses health points (HP). For player characters, HP can be restored with items or by units with healing magic; it can also be regained by visiting forts and towns, or using a special spell that replenishes health based on damage dealt to an enemy.[4][5]

Each unit is governed by a character class system, with their class affecting what weapons they can use. After each action in battle gains experience points (EXP). Upon reaching 100 EXP, a unit levels up and its statistics such as attack power and defense are randomly raised. while health is raised automatically. Upon reaching Level 10, and using a special item, a unit's class can be upgraded to a more powerful version with access to new items and weapons.[4][5][7] If a unit is defeated in battle, they are subject to permanent death, being removed from all future encounters and the overall storyline with a few exceptions for story-related characters. If characters crucial to the storyline like Lyn, Eliwood or Hector fall, the game ends and the player must restart the level.[5][8]

Weapon strengths and weaknesses are governed by the series' Weapons Triangle rock-paper-scissors system; axes are strong against lances, lances strong against swords, and swords strong against axes. Bows are independent of the system, being effective against airborne units. A similar system, dubbed the Magic Trinity, governs how different types of spells react; elemental magic is strong against light, light against dark and dark against elemental.[4][5] The strength of weapon types assigned to a particular unit is raised through usage, with its "Support" rank ranging from E to A, with A being the highest possible affinity with a character. Characters also have a Support system, where talking both in battle and outside during rest periods strengthens two characters' relationship, and consequently provides stat boosts. The higher the Support rank, which ranges from "C" to "A", the better the boons.[4]

Outside the main campaign, players can battle against the game's artificial intelligence (AI) in the Link Arena: after building a team and placing a wager, the player fights a battle against their own units controlled by the game AI. Fire Emblem also features a Link Arena multipalyer option in which up to four players can link up and do battle with teams of characters from the single-player save file. Players choose up to five characters and equip them like in the main story. During battle, each player takes turns to attack with one character. Weapons selected automatically for each battle Victory is determined either by surviving a period of time or aggregating the highest number of points.[4][7]

Synopsis

The events of Fire Emblem take place on the fictional continent of Elibe, twenty years before the events of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade: in ancient times, humans and dragons coexisted, but humans turned against and banished the dragons in a conflict called "the Scouring". The player adopts the perspective of a tactician who is found by a girl named Lyn. Lyn discovers that she is the granddaughter of the marquess of Caelin, Hausen. She recruits companions in a quest to prevent Lundgren, her grandfather's brother, from ascending the Caelin throne. Lundgren had wanted to gain power by poisoning the current marquess; he also sent soldiers out to destroy Lyn and any knowledge of her as she is higher in the line of succession. Lyn eventually defeats Lundgren and reunites with her grandfather. The following chapters revolve around Eliwood, Hector and their party, which Lyn eventually joins.

The group are hunting down an antagonistic faction known as the Black Fang, which have prospered due to the creation of monsters called morphs by their leader Nergal. Using the morphs, Nergel is draining people of their lifeforce to gain magical power. The Black Fang engage Eliwood's interest by capturing his father Lord Elbert. The protagonists' ultimate goal is to prevent Nergal from using their companions Ninian's and Nils' quintessence to open the Dragons' Gate, a portal where dragons reside, and thus ignite Elibe in conflict. As Eliwood and the party hunt the Black Fang down, they eliminate crucial figures of the Black Fang, as well as gaining allies. The game ends when Eliwood and the party slay Nergal and the dragon that had been summoned via Nergal's quintessence. Eliwood becomes marquess of Pherae, and Hector inherits his brother's title as marquess of Ostia. A secret ending shows Zephiel, the main antagonist of The Binding Blade, meets and forms an alliance with a dragon in disguise.

Development

Fire Emblem, known in Japan as Rekka no Ken, was produced by series developer Intelligent Systems. It was produced by Toru Narihiro and Takehiro Izushi from Intelligent Systems and Hitoshi Yamagami from Nintendo as supervisor, and directed by Taeko Kaneda and Kentarou Nishimura.[9][10][11] It was written by Ken Yokoyama and Kouhei Maeda.[11] Character designs were done by Sachiko Wada.[12] A second artist on the project was Ryo Hirata, who had previously done illustration work for Production I.G and would go on to work on Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.[13] Eiji Kaneda, who worked on The Binding Blade, also did uncredited illustration work. Background graphics, particularly those for the Fire Dragons, were done by Daisuke Izuka.[11][14] The music was composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko, who had worked on every game since the series' inception, although Rekka no Ken would be her last work on the series as a composer. She was helped by Saki Haruyama.[11][12]

Development of Rekka no Ken began in 2002 after the release of The Binding Blade. Intended as a companion title built upon the foundation of The Binding Blade, development time was initially estimated at seven months.[15] The storyline was built around three main characters, as the central character Eliwood was fairly weak and fitted the concept of an "easy" mode, with the other two characters providing both a steeper gameplay challenge and altered story segments.[9] As with The Binding Blade, the titular "Fire Emblem" is represented as a family crest.[16] The gameplay, initially identical to The Binding Blade, underwent multiple changes including expansions on the role of the player in the storyline through the unseen strategist character, and the added tutorial stages that helped introduced the mechanics to new players.[9][10][15] It was also the first entry in the Fire Emblem series to introduce multiplayer functionality.[17] Due to the multiple extra features, development overran substantially, ultimately lasting over a year.[15] The tutorial was included as the series was proving off-putting to new players due to its steep difficulty, part of a move to make Fire Emblem a major series for Nintendo.[10]

Release

Rekka no Ken was first announced in early 2003. It was the second Fire Emblem title to have been developed for the Game Boy Advance (GBA).[18] Rekka no Ken was released on April 25, 2003.[19] It was also compatible with the newly released Game Boy Advance SP, an upgraded version of the GBA.[20] The game was later released on the Virtual Console for Wii U on May 14, 2014.[21] Its Japanese title has been translated in associated media as "The Sword of Flame".[1][22]

Localization

The concept of localizing a Fire Emblem game in the West had been around for some time, but the combined elements of extensive use of text and a view that tactical RPGs would meet with low sales overseas had kept the series exclusive to Japan since its inception.[23][24][25] Another major factor was the appearance of Roy from The Binding Blade and Marth from the first Fire Emblem in the 2001 fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee.[26] The director of Melee Masahiro Sakurai had wanted to include Marth since the original Super Smash Bros., and included him as part of a push for more sword-wielding characters. Roy became included to act as a close for Marth. There were difficulties including both Marth and Roy as the Fire Emblem series had not seen an overseas release at that point. Sakurai, with support from Nintendo of America, managed to keep both Marth and Roy in the game.[12] The growing base of tactical role-playing games including Advance Wars, in addition to the interest garnered by the appearance of Roy and Marth Melee, meant that Nintendo were more willing to bring Fire Emblem overseas.[23][24][25] Speaking in a later interview, localization producer Tim O'Leary said that localizing the title was more difficult than its successor The Sacred Stones, but was smaller in scale than Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.[27]

A Western release was first hinted at in mid 2003, when it was listed on a leaked release list from Nintendo of America.[28] It was first shown at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo, along with a playable demo.[29] For its Western release, the subtitle was removed, with it simply being dubbed "Fire Emblem".[23] The game released in North America on November 3, 2003;[30] in Australia on February 20, 2004;[31] and in Europe on July 16.[32] It was later re-released on Virtual Console for Wii U on August 21, 2014 in Europe;[33] and in North America on December 4 of that year.[34]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic88/100 (31 reviews)[35]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer9/10[5]
Famitsu34/40[36]
GamePro4.5/5[37]
GameSpot8.9/10[7]
GameSpy[6]
IGN9.5/10[8]
PALGN9/10[38]

Japanese magazine Famitsu praised the characters and felt it was a suitable addition to the Fire Emblem series,[36] while Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell praised the storyline as being similar to better examples within the Japanese role-playing genre and its near-seamless integration with gameplay mechanics.[5] GamePro reviewer Star Dingo called the narrative "a complex (but not convoluted) classic fantasy yarn",[37] while GameSpot's Bethany Massimilla called the story standard while praising the writing and character development.[7] Christian Nutt of GameSpy praised the writing as highly enjoyable for both the Japanese and Western releases,[6] and IGN's Craig Harris particularly noted the game's superiority to Advance Wars through its portrayal of characters despite some minor complaints about characters that remained alive for story reasons despite falling in battle.[8] PALGN reviewer Andrew Burns commented that the story gained a serious edge once Lyn's opening story arc was completed.[38]

Speaking about the gameplay, Famitsu was slightly mixed about some aspects; one critic praised the added tutorial for allowing new players to be eased in the series gameplay, while another compared the tutorial to a nagging mother and said it and the unseen Tactician representing the player might grate with series fans.[36] Bramwell praised the integration of RPG elements and tactical gameplay, in addition to finding the permanent death of characters a suitable fit for the game's world.[5] Dingo was positive about the level design and controls, but warned that it was quite short and lacking when compared to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.[37] Massimilla found the gameplay both accessible and challenging as she made her way through the game,[7] while Nutt was skeptical about the permanent death system and critical of the in-game economy despite generally enjoying the experience.[6] Harris again compared it to Advance Wars, but said that Fire Emblem had enough unique elements to make it its own product, and generally praised the title's accomplishments.[8] Burns, who had experience of earlier Fire Emblem titles, praised the game as a worthy entry in the series and a good entry for the West to experience.[38]

Sales

In its debut week, Rekka no Ken entered Japanese gaming charts at #2 with sales of 93,880 units.[39] The following week it had dropped to #4, selling a further 47,550 and bringing total sales to 141,430 units.[40] The following week it had reached #3 with further sales of 23,296 units.[41] The game continued to steadily into July, reaching #21 in the top 100 best-selling games for that half of 2003 with total sales of 223,575 units.[42] As of 2012, Rekka no Ken has sold 272,000 units in Japan.[43] While no exact sales figure are available for Western territories, developers later stated that Fire Emblem was a commercial success overseas, and prompted the development of Path of Radiance for the GameCube home console.[44]

Accolades

On aggregate site Metacritic, Fire Emblem garnered a score of 88/100 based on 31 reviews. It was the 6th best-reviewed GBA title of 2003.[35] It was also named "Editor's Choice" by both IGN and GameSpy.[6][8] During its 2004 awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences named Fire Emblem "Handheld Game of the Year".[45] In the same year, the International Game Developers Association awarded the game for "Excellence in Writing" alongside titles including Beyond Good & Evil and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.[46] In lists compiled by IGN, GamesRadar and Game Informer, Fire Emblem was ranked among the best games for the GBA.[47][48][49]

Notes

  1. ↑ (Japanese: ファイアーエムブレム 烈火の剣, lit Fire Emblem: The Sword of Flame[1])
  2. ↑ Sources disagree on the exact numbering: it is variously called the 7th,[2] and 8th[3] entry in the series.

References

  1. 1 2 ファイアーエムブレムキャラクターズ　封印の剣＆烈火の剣 (in Japanese). Shueisha. 2004. ISBN 4-08-782076-9.
  2. ↑ ファイアーエムブレムワールド 【FIRE EMBLEM WORLD】 - Series (in Japanese). Fire Emblem World. Archived from the original on 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  3. ↑ 社長が訊く『ファイアーエムブレム 新・紋章の謎 ～光と影の英雄～』 (in Japanese). Nintendo. 2010. Archived from the original on 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Fire Emblem European manual" (PDF). Nintendo. 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-12. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bramwell, Tom (2004-07-07). "Fire Emblem Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Nutt, Christian (2003-12-03). "Fire Emblem (GBA) Review". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2005-02-14. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Massimilla, Bethany (2003-11-11). "Fire Emblem Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2016-03-26. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Harris, Craig (2003-11-05). "Fire Emblem Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  9. 1 2 3 『ファイアーエムブレム　烈火の剣』開発者インタビュー (in Japanese). Nintendo Online Magazine. 2003. Archived from the original on 2007-08-28. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  10. 1 2 3 『ファイアーエムブレム』を噛み砕け！ (in Japanese). Hobonichi. 2003-05-09. Archived from the original on 2006-01-05. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Intelligent Systems (2003-11-03). Fire Emblem. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. Scene: Credits.
  12. 1 2 3 メイキング オブ ファイアーエムブレム 開発秘話で綴る25周年、覚醒そしてif (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten. 2015-11-28. ISBN 4-19-864056-4.
  13. ↑ "Interview with Ren Ishimori and Ryo Hirata (2)". Production I.G. Archived from the original on 2012-04-01. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  14. ↑ Izuka, Daisuke (2015-04-14). DaisukeIzuka (okome): 2:31 AM - 14 Apr 2015 (in Japanese). Twitter. Archived from the original on 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  15. 1 2 3 ファイアーエムブレム 烈火の剣. Nintendo Dream (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten (89). 2003-05-21. Info
  16. ↑ "World Guide". 任天堂公式ガイドブック　20th Anniversary 『ファイアーエムブレム大全』が発売中です (in Japanese). Shogakukan. 2010-06-30. ISBN 4-09-106467-1.
  17. ↑ Brown, Mark (2013-04-18). "Pocket Primer: A complete history of Fire Emblem". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  18. ↑ Stone, Cortney (2003). "Yet Another Fire Emblem Game Coming to GBA". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2015-04-04. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  19. ↑ 本日発売『ファイアーエムブレム』で使用できるレアアイテムをゲットしよう！ (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. 2003-04-25. Archived from the original on 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  20. ↑ 任天堂がゲームボーイアドバンスSPの体験会を開催2003年度中には全世界で2,000万台の販売を視野に (in Japanese). Game Watch Impress. 2003-02-05. Archived from the original on 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  21. ↑ バーチャルコンソールWii U - ファイアーエムブレム　烈火の剣. Nintendo. Archived from the original on 2016-04-01. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  22. ↑ Fire Emblem Museum - Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken - Art Gallery (in Japanese). Nintendo. Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  23. 1 2 3 East, Thomas (2013-05-30). "The making of Fire Emblem Awakening". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-06-11. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  24. 1 2 Ashcraft, Brian (2016-05-14). "Fire Emblem devs on bringing the series' west, introducing optional permadeath, Fates' two versions". Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on 2016-05-15. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  25. 1 2 "The Making Of: Advance Wars". Edge. 2010-04-26. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  26. ↑ East, Thomas (2013-04-13). "Fire Emblem through the ages". Official Nintendo Magazine. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2015-07-17. Page
  27. ↑ Casamassina, Matt (2005-09-28). "Fire Emblem Interview and Videos". IGN. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2012-12-26. Retrieved 2015-07-20.
  28. ↑ Long, Andrew (2003). "Nintendo Releases Listing Hints at Fire Emblem Localization". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  29. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (2003-05-16). "Fire Emblem Hands-On". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  30. ↑ Stone, Cortney (2003-11-09). "Official Fire Emblem Website Upgraded". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  31. ↑ Keller, Matt (2004-02-03). "Fire Emblem release details". PALGN. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  32. ↑ "Fire Emblem for Game Boy Advance". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  33. ↑ Sahdev, Ishaan (2014-08-20). "Fire Emblem For GBA Coming To Wii U Virtual Console In Europe Tomorrow". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  34. ↑ Sahdev, Ishaan (2014-12-04). "The First English Fire Emblem Game Is Coming To Wii U Virtual Console Today". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  35. 1 2 "Fire Emblem for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
  36. 1 2 3 ファイアーエムブレム 烈火の剣 (GBA) (in Japanese). Famitsu. Archived from the original on 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  37. 1 2 3 Star Dingo (2003-11-03). "Review: Fire Emblem for Game Boy Advance". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2003-11-10. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  38. 1 2 3 Burns, Andrew (2004-02-28). "Fire Emblem Review". PALGN. Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  39. ↑ Winkler, Chris (2003-05-03). "Weekly Japanese Sales Charts Update". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  40. ↑ Winkler, Chris (2003-05-10). "Weekly Japanese Sales Charts Update". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  41. ↑ Winkler, Chris (2003-05-18). "Weekly Japanese Sales Charts Update". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  42. ↑ Winkler, Chris (2003-07-19). "Final Fantasy X-2 Tops Half-Year Ranking". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  43. ↑ 3DS『ファイアーエムブレム 覚醒』が約25万本を売り上げて販売ランキングトップに (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. 2012-04-27. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  44. ↑ ニンドリドットコム〜ファイアーエムブレム 暁の女神 開発スタッフインタビュー〜. Nintendo Dream. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  45. ↑ Heller, Benjamin (2004-03-06). "The AIAS Presents its Awards". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  46. ↑ Long, Andrew (2004-02-24). "IGDA Nominees Announced". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2015-03-31. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  47. ↑ Harris, Craig (2007-03-16). "Top 25 Game Boy Advance Games of All Time". IGN. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
  48. ↑ "The best GBA games of all time". GamesRadar. 2016-05-31. Archived from the original on 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  49. ↑ Gwaltney, Javy (2016-03-21). "The 10 Best Gameboy Advance Games Of All Time". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
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