Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, also known simply as Fire Emblem, is a 2003 tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the seventh installment in the Fire Emblem series, the second to be released for the platform after Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, and the first to be localized for international audiences. It was released in Japan and North America in 2003, and in Europe and Australia in 2004.
The game is a prequel to The Binding Blade, set on the fictional continent of Elibe. It tells the story of Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector, three young lords who band together on a journey to find Eliwood's missing father Elbert while thwarting 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. Characters are assigned different character classes that affect abilities and are subjected to permanent death if defeated in battle.
Development began in 2002 as a companion title to The Binding Blade, but it was prolonged from its initial seven-month window as new features were added. While the Fire Emblem series remained exclusive to Japan due to concerns about its difficulty, the success of Advance Wars and popular demand following the inclusion of Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee prompted the game's localization. The game was released to international critical acclaim and commercial success. Critics praised the game for its graphics, gameplay, characters and story, and it established the Fire Emblem series in Western markets; its overseas success caused all subsequent games to be released outside of Japan.
Gameplay
Fire Emblem is a tactical role-playing game in which 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 on the role of a mostly-unseen tactician directing their army. 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. In-game currency is gained either through battles in the game's various arenas or through other means, rather than from defeating units. Currency can be used to buy new items and weapons at merchants at specific locations within maps. Items can also be exchanged between units before and during battles.Battles in the main plotline occur on maps organized into square grids. Battle actions are governed by a turn-based system in which every unit on both sides is allotted a chance to move and act. During gameplay, weather and terrain effects appear, such as fog of war or other environmental elements that can be manipulated to any side's advantage, affecting the progress of battle. Units are split among player, enemy and allied non-player character factions. Each unit's movement, range and attack range is displayed when selected. The player must clear a map or achieve specified conditions to advance the campaign: these objectives vary between defeating all enemies, defending positions for some time, capturing strongholds, or rescuing/defending NPCs. When engaging a targeted unit with the player's selected unit, the battle map scene transitions into an aiding transaction or direct combat between the player's current unit and their target, depending on whether that target is friend/ally or foe, respectively, with animations playing out appropriately. When hit with an attack, a character loses health points. For player characters, HP can be restored with items or by units with healing magic; it can also be regained by standing in forts, gates or castles, or using a special spell that replenishes health based on damage dealt to an enemy.
Each unit is governed by a character class system that determines their types of actions, and what weapons and tools they can use. A unit will gain experience points after each action in combat. Units level up upon reaching 100 EXP and their attributes, such as attack power and defense, are randomly improved, while their weapon ranks naturally increase when using associated weapon types. 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. If a unit is defeated in battle, they are subject to permanent death, thus removed from all future encounters and the overall storyline. If the main characters or others of critical importance should fall, then the game ends and the player must restart their current level.
Weapon strengths and weaknesses are governed by the series' Weapons Triangle 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 in-game, governs how different types of spells react; elemental magic is strong against light, light against dark and dark against elemental. The strength of weapon types assigned to a particular unit is raised through usage, with its rank ranging from E to S, with S being the greatest possible affinity with a promoted character. Characters also have a Support system, where talking in battle strengthens two characters' relationship, and consequently provides stat boosts. The greater the Support rank, which ranges from "C" to "A", the better the boost.
Outside of the main campaign, players can battle against the game's artificial intelligence in the Link Arena: after building a team, the player fights a battle against their own units controlled by the game AI. Fire Emblem also features a Link Arena multiplayer 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 campaign. During battle, each player takes turns to attack with one character unit. Weapons are selected automatically for each battle. Victory is determined by either surviving for a period of time or accumulating the most points.
Synopsis
The events of Fire Emblem take place on the fictional continent of Elibe, 20 years before the events of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. In ancient times, dragons lived in peace with humans, but were later banished in a devastating war: the Scouring. Throughout the game, the player travels through the countries of Sacae, a land of nomads and tribes; Lycia, an alliance of marquisates including Pherae and Ostia; and Bern, a militaristic kingdom ruled by a single ruler.The player assumes the role of a tactician discovered by Lyn, a Sacean girl whose tribe and parents were killed by bandits. Lyn learns from a pair of knights named Sain and Kent that she is actually Lady Lyndis, and her mother was the estranged daughter of the Marquess of Caelin, Hausen, who seeks to reconcile with his daughter's family. She begins a journey to Caelin to reunite with her grandfather, obtaining the sacred sword Mani Katti soon after, but comes under attack from Hausen's avaricious younger brother Lundgren, who wants to kill both her and Hausen to seize power in Caelin. During her quest, Lyn protects Nils, a traveling bard, from the guild of assassins known as the Black Fang, while his sister Ninian is rescued by Lord Eliwood, son of Marquess Elbert of Pherae. Finally defeating Lundgren, Lyn reunites with her grandfather.
One year later, Elbert disappears, prompting Eliwood and his friend Lord Hector, younger brother of Marquess Uther of Ostia, to investigate. The pair discover that the Black Fang has incited Marquess Darin of Laus to rebel against Lycia, and Elbert was captured when he refused to cooperate. After rescuing Lyn from Darin's troops, the three pursue him to the Dread Isle. There, they reunite with Ninian and Nils and learn that the Black Fang is being manipulated by Nergal, a dark sorcerer who seeks to provoke all-out war in Elibe, providing him with an enormous amount of "quintessence", or life-force, from fallen warriors. By forcing the siblings to open the Dragon's Gate, he can summon dragons to Elibe. The party kills Darin, but Elbert dies delivering a grave wound to Nergal. The party returns to Ostia to report recent events to Uther, who directs them to the western desert of Nabata. There, they meet Archsage Athos, who sends them to Bern to find the Shrine of Seals. In Bern, the heroes save Prince Zephiel from an assassination attempt orchestrated by his jealous father, King Desmond. Out of gratitude, the queen of Bern gives them directions to the Shrine of Seals. At the Shrine, the party meets the ancient hero Bramimond, who unseals the Blazing Blade Durandal and the Thunder Axe Armads so they can oppose Nergal. However, Nergal returns and captures Ninian. The heroes collect the legendary weapons, but Nergal tricks Eliwood into killing Ninian, who, along with Nils, is revealed to be a half-dragon. The group returns to Ostia, where Hector learns that Uther has died of an illness. The party and Athos return to the Dread Isle and defeat Nergal, who summons three dragons with the last of his strength. Bramimond arrives and resurrects Ninian, who banishes two of the dragons; the heroes slay the last dragon in battle.
In the aftermath, Athos expends the last of his energy and predicts a future conflict originating in Bern before dying; Bramimond also passes, having used the last of his power to resurrect Ninian. Nils returns through the Dragon's Gate and seals it, while Ninian follows him, or, if she has fallen in love with Eliwood, chooses to remain in Elibe as his wife despite a far shorter lifespan. Eliwood becomes marquess of Pherae, while Hector inherits his brother's title as marquess of Ostia, and Lyn abdicates her claim over Caelin and returns to Sacae. Fifteen years later, Eliwood and Hector reunite, introduce their respective children Roy and Lilina to each other, and discuss the recent assassination of Desmond. Meanwhile, the embittered Zephiel is confronted by a robed man who accuses him of awakening a demon dragon, a prelude to the events of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.