Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, also called Fire Emblem, is a 2003 tactical role-playing game created by Intelligent Systems and released by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the seventh game in the Fire Emblem series, the second to be made for this platform after Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, and the first to be released for audiences outside Japan. The game came out in Japan and North America in 2003, and in Europe and Australia in 2004.
The game is a prequel to The Binding Blade and takes place on the fictional continent of Elibe. It follows the story of Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector, three young leaders who join forces to find Eliwood’s missing father, Elbert, while stopping a larger plan that threatens the peace of Elibe. The gameplay uses a grid-based map for tactical battles between armies. Characters have different class roles that influence their abilities, and if a character is defeated in battle, they are permanently lost.
Development started in 2002 as a companion game to The Binding Blade but took longer than the original seven-month plan because new features were added. Although the Fire Emblem series was only available in Japan before due to concerns about its difficulty, the popularity of Advance Wars and the inclusion of characters Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee led to the game being released internationally. The game received praise from critics and was commercially successful. It was admired for its graphics, gameplay, characters, and story, and it helped the Fire Emblem series become popular in Western countries. Its success outside Japan caused all future games, except Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, to be released globally.
Gameplay
Fire Emblem is a game where players control characters like Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector as they complete missions on the fictional continent of Elibe. The player acts as a tactician, directing an army from the background. The game’s story is divided into chapters that begin with animated scenes showing the main characters, followed by battles with enemies. After each battle, players can save their progress. In-game money is earned through battles or other activities, not by defeating enemy units. This money is used to buy weapons and items from merchants located on maps. Items can also be shared between units before and during battles.
Battles take place on grid maps where each unit moves and acts in turns. Weather and terrain, such as fog or other environmental effects, can influence the outcome of battles. Units are grouped into player, enemy, or allied factions. When a unit is selected, its movement and attack range are shown. To advance in the story, players must complete objectives like defeating enemies, defending positions, capturing strongholds, or rescuing characters. If a unit attacks a target, the game shows either a combat scene or an interaction, depending on whether the target is an ally or enemy. When attacked, characters lose health points (HP). Player characters can regain HP using items, healing magic, or by standing in forts, castles, or gates. A special spell can also restore health based on damage dealt to enemies.
Each unit has a class that determines the actions it can perform and the weapons it can use. Units earn experience points (EXP) after each action in battle. When a unit reaches 100 EXP, it levels up, and its abilities like attack power and defense are randomly improved. Using specific weapons increases a unit’s weapon rank, which ranges from E (lowest) to S (highest). Units can improve their class by reaching Level 10 and using a special item, gaining access to new weapons. If a unit is defeated in battle, it is permanently removed from the game, except for a few main characters at specific points. If a main character or critical character is defeated, the game ends, and the player must restart the level.
The game uses a Weapons Triangle system: axes are strong against lances, lances against swords, and swords against axes. Bows are effective against airborne enemies. A similar system, called the Magic Trinity, determines how spells interact: elemental magic beats light magic, light magic beats dark magic, and dark magic beats elemental magic. Weapon ranks improve with use, and characters can strengthen their relationships through a Support system, which boosts their stats. Relationship levels range from C (lowest) to A (highest).
Outside the main story, players can fight AI-controlled units in the Link Arena. They can also play multiplayer with up to four players using characters saved from the main campaign. Players choose up to five characters, equip them, and take turns attacking. Weapons are automatically selected for each battle. Victory is achieved by surviving for a set time or earning 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 peacefully with humans, but they were later driven away during a terrible war called the Scouring. Throughout the game, the player travels through the countries of Sacae, a land of nomads and tribes; Lycia, a group of regions ruled by leaders such as Pherae and Ostia; and Bern, a kingdom focused on military strength and ruled by one leader.
The player takes the role of a tactician found by Lyn, a girl from Sacae whose tribe and family were killed by bandits. Lyn learns from two knights, Sain and Kent, that she is actually Lady Lyndis, the daughter of the estranged daughter of the Marquess of Caelin, Hausen, who wants to reconcile with his family. She begins a journey to Caelin to reunite with her grandfather and later receives the sacred sword Mani Katti. However, she is attacked by Hausen’s greedy younger brother, Lundgren, who wants to kill her and Hausen to take control of Caelin. During her journey, Lyn protects Nils, a traveling bard, from the Black Fang, a group of assassins. Meanwhile, Nils’ sister, Ninian, is rescued by Lord Eliwood, the son of Marquess Elbert of Pherae. Lyn defeats Lundgren and reunites with her grandfather.
One year later, Elbert disappears, prompting Eliwood and his friend Lord Hector, the younger brother of Marquess Uther of Ostia, to investigate. They discover that the Black Fang has caused Marquess Darin of Laus to rebel against Lycia, and Elbert was captured when he refused to cooperate. After rescuing Lyn from Darin’s forces, the group pursues Darin to the Dread Isle, where they reunite with Ninian and Nils. They learn that the Black Fang is controlled by Nergal, a dark sorcerer who wants to start a war in Elibe by using the life-force of fallen warriors. Nergal plans to open the Dragon’s Gate to summon dragons to Elibe. The group defeats Darin, but Elbert dies after seriously injuring Nergal. They return to Ostia to report to Uther, who sends them to the western desert of Nabata, where they meet Archsage Athos. Athos directs them to Bern to find the Shrine of Seals.
In Bern, the heroes save Prince Zephiel from an assassination attempt by his jealous father, King Desmond. In return, the queen of Bern gives them directions to the Shrine of Seals. At the shrine, they meet Bramimond, an ancient hero who releases the weapons Blazing Blade Durandal and Thunder Axe Armads to help them fight Nergal. However, Nergal captures Ninian and tricks Eliwood into killing her. Nils and Ninian are revealed to be half-dragons. The group returns to Ostia, where Hector learns that Uther has died. They return to the Dread Isle and defeat Nergal, who summons three dragons before dying. Bramimond resurrects Ninian, who banishes two of the dragons, and the heroes kill the last dragon.
After the battle, Athos uses his final energy to predict a future conflict in Bern before dying. Bramimond also dies after using his last strength to save Ninian. Nils returns through the Dragon’s Gate and seals it, while Ninian follows him or stays in Elibe with Eliwood if she loves him. Eliwood becomes the Marquess of Pherae, Hector inherits the title of Marquess of Ostia, and Lyn gives up her claim to Caelin and returns to Sacae. Fifteen years later, Eliwood and Hector meet, introduce their children Roy and Lilina, and discuss the assassination of Desmond. Meanwhile, Zephiel is confronted by a man named Jahn, who accuses him of awakening a demon dragon, setting up the events of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
Development
Fire Emblem, known in Japan as Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, was created by Intelligent Systems, the company responsible for the series. Toru Narihiro and Takehiro Izushi from Intelligent Systems were the producers. Hitoshi Yamagami from Nintendo supervised the project, with Taeko Kaneda and Kentarou Nishimura as directors. Ken Yokoyama and Kouhei Maeda wrote the script. Sachiko Wada designed the characters and later did the same job for Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. Ryo Hirata, who had previously worked for Production I.G, also contributed to the project and later worked on The Sacred Stones. Eiji Kaneda, who worked on The Binding Blade, did illustration work without being credited. Daisuke Izuka created the background graphics, including those for the Fire Dragons. Yuka Tsujiyoko composed the music for the game, a role she had held for every Fire Emblem game since the series began. This was her final work as a composer for the series, and she was assisted by Saki Haruyama.
Development of Fire Emblem started in 2002, after the release of The Binding Blade. The game was intended to be a companion to The Binding Blade, with an initial development time of seven months. The story follows three main characters: Lyn’s story introduces players to the gameplay, Eliwood’s story is the main plot, and Hector’s story offers an alternate view of the plot with more challenging gameplay. Like The Binding Blade, the name "Fire Emblem" refers to a family crest. The gameplay was originally the same as The Binding Blade but changed over time. These changes included adding a new character, the unseen strategist, to expand the player’s role in the story, and adding tutorial stages to help new players learn the game. Because of these changes, development took longer than expected, lasting over a year. The tutorial was added to help players who found the game too difficult, making Fire Emblem a major series for Nintendo. In Japan, players could unlock extra items and music by using "Monthly Nintendo" demo kiosks. In North America, players could unlock these items by connecting the game to the Mario Kart: Double Dash Bonus Disc using a GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable.
Release
Fire Emblem was first announced in early 2003. It was the second game in the Fire Emblem series developed for the Game Boy Advance. It also worked with the newly released Game Boy Advance SP, an improved version of the GBA. The game was released on April 25, 2003. Before 2017, the game’s Japanese subtitle was translated as The Sword of Flame. In 2017, Nintendo officially translated the subtitle as The Blazing Blade. The game was later released on the Virtual Console for Wii U on May 14, 2014, and on the Nintendo Switch as part of the Nintendo Classics service on June 23, 2023.
The idea of making Fire Emblem games available in the West existed for some time. However, the use of a lot of text in the games and the belief that tactical role-playing games might not sell well outside Japan kept the series limited to Japan. Another important factor was the inclusion of Roy from The Binding Blade and Marth from the first Fire Emblem in the 2001 fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee. The director of Melee, Masahiro Sakurai, wanted to include Marth since the original Super Smash Bros. and added him to increase the number of sword-wielding characters. Roy was included as a version of Marth and to promote the upcoming release of The Binding Blade in Japan, which happened three months after Melee was released. Including both characters was difficult because Fire Emblem had not been released outside Japan at that time. Sakurai, with help from Nintendo of America, successfully included Marth and Roy in the game. The growing popularity of tactical role-playing games, such as Advance Wars, and the interest in Marth and Roy from Melee made Nintendo more willing to release Fire Emblem in the West. A localization producer, Tim O’Leary, later said that translating this game was more challenging than its successor, The Sacred Stones, but involved less work than Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
A Western release was first suggested in mid-2003 when it appeared on a leaked list from Nintendo of America. It was shown at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo with a playable demo. For its Western release, the subtitle was removed, and the game was called simply Fire Emblem. The game was released in North America on November 3, 2003; in Australia on February 20, 2004; and in Europe on July 16, 2004. It was later re-released on the Virtual Console for Wii U in Europe on August 21, 2014, and in North America on December 4, 2014.
Reception
Fire Emblem received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, a website that collects reviews, Fire Emblem earned a score of 88 out of 100 based on 31 reviews. It was the sixth most highly reviewed Game Boy Advance (GBA) game in 2003.
Japanese magazine Famitsu praised the game’s characters and said it was a good addition to the Fire Emblem series. Eurogamer’s Tom Bramwell noted that the story was similar to other well-known Japanese role-playing games and worked well with the game’s gameplay. GamePro’s Star Dingo called the story “a complex (but not confusing) classic fantasy tale,” while GameSpot’s Bethany Massimilla said the story was standard but praised the writing and character development. Christian Nutt of GameSpy said the writing was enjoyable for both the Japanese and Western versions of the game. IGN’s Craig Harris believed Fire Emblem was better than Advance Wars because of its characters, even though some players had small complaints about characters who stayed alive in the story even after being defeated in battle. Andrew Burns of PALGN said the story became more serious after completing Lyn’s early story arc.
About gameplay, Famitsu had mixed opinions. One critic liked the added tutorial that helped new players learn the game, while another said the tutorial felt annoying, like a nagging parent, and the hidden Tactician character might upset fans of the series. Bramwell praised how the game combined role-playing game elements with tactical gameplay and said the permanent death of characters fit the game’s world. Dingo liked the level design and controls but warned the game was short and less deep compared to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Massimilla found the gameplay both easy to learn and challenging to master. Nutt was unsure about the permanent death system and criticized the in-game economy, even though he generally enjoyed the game. Harris compared Fire Emblem to Advance Wars but said Fire Emblem had enough unique features to stand on its own. Burns, who had played earlier Fire Emblem games, called it a strong addition to the series and a good choice for Western players.
In its first week, Rekka no Ken, the Japanese title of Fire Emblem, reached number 2 on Japanese gaming charts with 93,880 copies sold. The next week, it dropped to number 4, selling an additional 47,550 copies, for a total of 141,430 copies. The following week, it rose to number 3, selling 23,296 more copies. The game continued to sell steadily through July, reaching number 21 on the list of top-selling games for the first half of 2003, with total sales of 223,575 copies. By 2012, Rekka no Ken had sold 272,000 copies in Japan. While exact sales numbers for Western regions are not known, developers said Fire Emblem was a commercial success overseas and led to the creation of Path of Radiance for the GameCube.
Fire Emblem was named “Editor’s Choice” by both IGN and GameSpy. At the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Fire Emblem for “Handheld Game of the Year.” In the same year, the International Game Developers Association honored Fire Emblem for “Excellence in Writing,” along with games like Beyond Good & Evil and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Fire Emblem was also listed among the best Game Boy Advance games in rankings by IGN, GamesRadar, and Game Informer.