Editing Portal: Fire Emblem

{{Franchise
|image=[[image:Army_of_tow.jpg|200px]]
|name=Fire Emblem
|franchise title=Fire Emblem
|developer=[[Intelligent Systems]]
|games=[[Games in Fire Emblem series|List of all games]]
|debut=''[[Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi]]'' (1990)
|gallery=[http://www.gamehiker.com/gallery/index.php?cat=176 GH Gallery]
|}}

{{dablink|For information regarding helping the Gamehiker Wiki with this franchise, please refer to the [[GHWiki: Project Fire Emblem|Fire Emblem Project Page]].}}

'''Fire Emblem''' is a series of strategy games made by [[Intelligent Systems]]. Gameplay-wise, the series is similar to Intelligent Systems' older strategy series, [[Portal: Famicom Wars|''Famicom Wars'']]. Unlike ''Famicom Wars'', which uses contemporary vehicles and weapons, the ''Fire Emblem'' series takes place in a medieval setting with characters like swordsmen, knights, mages and dragons. Like ''Famicom Wars'', the ''Fire Emblem'' series was initially released only in Japan, until the games finally started being released in America and other countries starting in 2003. One notable difference that the series bears from most turn-based RPGs is that characters who fall in battle will usually die permanently, with a few exceptions throughout the series.

=History=

The series began in 1990 with the release of ''[[Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi]]'' for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]]. It was created as a result of [[Shouzou Kaga]]'s desire to combine the strategic gameplay of the ''[[Portal: Wars|Famicom Wars]]'' series with elements of a roleplaying game. It was followed in 1992 by ''[[Fire Emblem Gaiden]]'', which featured some gameplay changes that were not used in most later games. On the [[Super NES]], the first ''Fire Emblem'' release was ''[[Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo]]'' in 1994, which featured a storyline divided into two 'books'. The first book was a remake of the first ''Fire Emblem'' game, while the second book was a new follow-up storyline again starring Marth. 

Afterwards, the series moved away from the cast of the first three games in favor of a title starring a new cast with the release of ''[[Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu]]'' in 1996. This title introduced a relationship system for the characters, and the second half of the game notably featured the children of the characters from the first half, elements which some later games would reflect. The final ''Fire Emblem'' game for the Super NES was ''[[Fire Emblem: Thracia 776]]'' in 1999. At this point, Intelligent Systems did not feel ready to work on 3-D ''Fire Emblem'' games yet, so the series continued on the [[Game Boy Advance]] rather then the [[Nintendo 64]] or [[Nintendo Gamecube]].

In 2001, the characters [[Marth]] and [[Roy]] appeared as unlockable characters in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' to promote the then-upcoming release of ''[[Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi]]'' for the Game Boy Advance. Although Nintendo considered removing them from the American version due to their not being familiar with American players, it was ultimately decided to let them remain in the game. The appearance of these characters ultimately served to pique interest in the ''Fire Emblem'' series outside of Japan. In the same year, ''[[Advance Wars]]'' was released outside Japan and sold well. 

Those events led to the ''Fire Emblem'' series starting to receive international releases. This started with the seventh ''Fire Emblem'' game, which was simply dubbed ''[[Fire Emblem (game)|Fire Emblem]]'' outside of Japan. The game, which acted as a prequel to the previous game, was designed to drawn in new gamers, with tutorials a lack of permanent character death  within the game's first ten chapters. However, the previous six ''Fire Emblem'' games (including the games featuring the popular Marth and Roy) have yet to be released outside of Japan, outside of some remakes that would later be made for later systems. The next Game Boy Advance release would be ''[[Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones]]'', which incorporated some elements from ''Gaiden'' such as branching promotion paths and a world map which could be used to access other areas. ''Sacred Stones'' would go on to be the only standalone game of the series in terms of continuity, with no other games connected to it.

In 2005, the first ''Fire Emblem'' game for a 3-D console, ''[[Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]'' was released for the Gamecube. It was followed by ''[[Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn]]'' for the [[Nintendo Wii]]. An expanded remake of the original game was also released for the [[Nintendo DS]] as ''[[Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon]]'', which marked the first game starring Marth to be released outside of Japan. Intelligent Systems followed this up in 2010 with a remake of the second book from ''Fire Emblem 3'', ''[[Fire Emblem: Shin Monshou no Nazo: Hikari to Kage no Eiyuu]]''. This game including a new secondary storyline with new characters as well as the characters that had been created for the previous remakes. It also added downloadable content which had original stages well as the ''BS Fire Emblem'' stages. However, likely due to a combination of ''Shadow Dragon'''s poor reception and the DS dying down in favor of the [[Nintendo 3DS]], an international release was passed over for the first time since ''Fire Emblem''.

In 2012, the next game was ''[[Fire Emblem: Awakening]]'' for the [[Nintendo 3DS]], set far into the future of the Arcahneia continuity. This game used a new art style and combined elements from various past games with new ones. Though it had initially been planned as the last game of the series, it became unexpectedly popular, reviving interest in the series and returning it to having international releases.  This was followed by ''[[Fire Emblem: Fates]]'' in 2015/2016 for the 3DS. This installment retained many features from ''Awakening'' while adding some new features such as My Castle and modifications to the weapons triangle. It was divided into three different games: ''Birthright'' and ''Conquest'' were released as two separate physical games, each following a different side of a conflict and having contrasting difficulty levels. The third version, ''Revelation'', was released as downloadable content and followed the true storyline. 

Afterwards, the ''Fire Emblem'' series returned to remaking classic games with the release of ''[[Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]]'' for the 3DS in 2017. This game acted as a remake of the second ''Fire Emblem'' game, ''[[Fire Emblem Gaiden]]'', and it heavily expanded upon the gameplay and storyline of the original.

The next ''Fire Emblem'' game to be made was ''[[Fire Emblem: The Three Houses]]'' in 2019. This game will feature three main characters and  add changes to gameplay such as bringing formation of troops onto the battlefield and including parts where the player can move around freely to talk to characters.

==Spin-Offs/Crossovers==

''Fire Emblem'' characters have been featured throughout the ''[[Portal: Super Smash Bros.|Super Smash Bros.]]'' series starting in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''. As noted above, ''Melee'' featured both [[Marth]] and [[Roy]] as unlockable ''Fire Emblem'' characters, and their popularity was a factor in the ''Fire Emblem'' series being localized. Marth has appeared in all of the installments since, although ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' replaced Roy with [[Ike]]. ''Brawl'' also added more ''Fire Emblem'' content such as a stage, trophies, musical tracks and the presence of [[Lyn]] as an [[Assist Trophy]]. [[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U|The fourth installment]] added more content, primarily relevant to ''Awakening''. This included the presence of [[Lucina]] and [[Robin]] as playable fighters, and the DLC added Roy back as well as [[Corrin]] from ''Fates''. ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' will include all playable characters from the past games (including DLC characters like Corrin) while adding [[Chrom]] to the playable roster.

A crossover game known as ''[[Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem]]'' was released for the [[Nintendo 3DS]] in 2015. This game features characters from various ''Fire Emblem'' titles in the relatively contemporary setting of the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series. The 2015/2016 game ''Project X-Zone 2'' also featured guest appearances by several ''Fire Emblem'' characters. Lucina and Chrom were playable characters, and one mission took place in the world of ''Awakening'', with Tiki making a guest appearance. 

In 2017, ''[[Fire Emblem Warriors]]'' was released for the [[Nintendo Switch]] and [[New Nintendo 3DS]]. Based on the gameplay of Koei Tecmo's ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, this game featured original characters as well as characters from recent ''Fire Emblem'' games fighting enemies in an action game, but with some tactical elements from the ''Fire Emblem'' games still present in the gameplay. 

A free-to-play mobile game called ''[[Fire Emblem Heroes]]'' has been running since February 2017. Players can assemble teams of units to take on various challenges with gameplay similar to the main games. Players collect orbs which can be used to acquire more units or items, with characters from every ''Fire Emblem'' game being represented

=Continuity=

The games in the series do not always appear to share the same continuity, and the series is instead divided into several separate continuities. The continuities are usually identified by the continents they take place on. The following is a list of the continuities, with the games contained in each continuity, listed in the order that they take place chronologically. Discoveries by the fandom of obscure Japanese interviews have indicated that the Jugdral games take place in the same world as Archanea, 1000 years prior to the War of Darkness.  [http://serenesforest.net/general/designer4_2.html]

{| class="wikitable" width=100%
!#!!JP Name!!US Translation!!US Name
|-
!colspan=4|Archanea / Valentia / Jugdral / Ylisse

|-
|IV||''[[Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu|Seisen no Keifu]]''||Genealogy of the Holy War||
|-
|V||''[[Fire Emblem: Thracia 776|Thracia 776]]''||Thracia 776||
|-
|||''[[BS Fire Emblem: Akaneia Senki ]]''||BS Fire Emblem: Record of Akaneian Wars||
|-
|I||''[[Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi|Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi]]''||Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light||
|-
|XI||''[[Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon|Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken]]''||New Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light||''[[Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon]]''
|-
|II||''[[Fire Emblem Gaiden]]''||Fire Emblem Gaiden||
|-
|XV||''[[Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia|Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu-ou]]''||Fire Emblem Echoes: Another Hero-King||''[[Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]]''
|-
|III||''[[Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo|Monshou no Nazo]]''||Mystery of the Emblem||
|-
|XII||''[[Fire Emblem: Shin Monshou no Nazo: Hikari to Kage no Eiyuu|Shin Monshou no Nazo: Hikari to Kage no Eiyuu]]''||New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow||
|-
|XIII||''[[Fire Emblem Awakening|Kakusei]]''||Awakening||''[[Fire Emblem Awakening]]''
|-
|XIV||''[[Fire Emblem Fates|Fire Emblem if]]''||Fire Emblem if||''[[Fire Emblem Fates]]''
|-
!colspan=4|Elibe
|-
|VII||''[[Fire Emblem (game)|Rekka no Ken]]''||Blazing Sword||''[[Fire Emblem (game)|Fire Emblem]]''
|-
|VI||''[[Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi|Fuuin no Tsurugi]]''||The Binding Blade||
|-
!colspan=4|Magvel
|-
|VIII||''[[Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones|Seima no Kouseki]]''||Shining Stones of Holiness and Evil||''[[Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones]]''
|-
!colspan=4|Tellius
|-
|IX||''[[Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance|Souen no Kiseki]]''||Trail of the Blue Flame||''[[Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]''
|-
|X||''[[Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn|Akatsuki no Megami]]''
||The Goddess of Dawn||''[[Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn]]''
|}

=Other Media=

There have been several adaptations of ''Fire Emblem'' in other media, primarily in manga form. There have been three adaptations of ''Ankoku no Ryuu'', starting with one by Masaki Sano and Kyo Watanabe (published in five volumes from 1992-1997), then one by Hirokazu Shimada (published in 1993) and one by Maki Hakoda (published in twelve volumes from 1994-1999). A manga of ''Fire Emblem Gaiden'' was published in 1993 by Masaki Sano and Kyo Watanabe.

An anime adaptation of ''Mystery of the Emblem'' was produced in 1996. It was canceled after just two episodes (which adapted the first two chapters of the game's first book), although a dubbed version was released in America on VHS. That makes this the first ''Fire Emblem'' media to be released in America.

There were also two manga series published for ''Seisen no Keifu'': one by Nattsu Fujimori (published in six volumes from 1997-2001) and one by Mitsuki Oosawa (published in sixteen volumes from 1999-2001), and two for ''Thracia 776'': one by Shinnosuke Hino (released in 2000) and one by Yuuna Takanagi (published in three volumes from 2000-2001). The last manga publication to date was ''Hasha no Tsurugi'', written by Hiroshi Izawa with Koutarou Yamada doing art. It was an alternate take on the story of ''The Binding Blade'' based around new lead character Al. However, [[Roy]] and most of the actual game's cast still appear with important roles, and the manga also includes several references to ''FE7''. The manga-created characters of Al, Gant and Tiena were honored by having special weapons in ''The Binding Blade'' named after them.

=See Also=

*[[Characters in Fire Emblem series]]
*[[Games in Fire Emblem series]]

[[Category: Portals]]