Thanks to Fire Emblem Awakening, the West has been experiencing a renaissance in the franchise for almost a decade. It didn’t always use to be this way. Fire Emblem began as an NES game in 1990, but for Japan only. The West wouldn’t get a taste until 2003, when the seventh entry hit the GBA.
Known as Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade in Japan, it was simply called Fire Emblem here as to not confuse anyone. It’s then easy to understand that there are a lot of forgotten and or undiscovered games in the series since it was exclusive to Japan for so long. Even the ones that did come over here might have been outshined by something else. Let’s take a look back at the Fire Emblem titles from the, SNES, DS, GameCube, Wii, and more.
6 Fire Emblem Gaiden
Fire Emblem Gaiden was a 1992 release for the NES. It was a Japan only release that refreshed the series by adding in towns as well as dungeons. As the second game in the series it was a huge departure but only for this one game. The closest equivalent would be Fire Emblem: Three Houses but even that isn’t an exact replica.
While there was an English fan patch made for the NES game, the West would not get an official release until 2017. This was a remake for the 3DS which was retitled as Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. It reviewed well and updated the original nicely. The trouble was this was just a couple months after the Switch’s launch. A lot of 3DS games got passed up because players moved onto the Switch without looking back.
5 Fire Emblem: Mystery Of The Emblem
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem was part remake, part sequel. It was a 1994 release for the SNES in Japan only. The first part of the game was a remake of the original while the second half was a continuation. This, and its predecessor, are where Marth comes from. Many Western fans are more familiar with him as a Super Smash Bros. character.
The remakes aren’t done yet because the full game was reworked again for the DS in 2010. That game was called Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem. Many Western fans think that Fire Emblem Awakening was the first in the series to have a casual mode. However, this DS game had it first. While both this version and the SNES never version never made outside of Japan officially, there are fan patches for both.
4 Fire Emblem: Genealogy Of The Holy War
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War was a 1996 release for the SNES. Unlike a lot of the Fire Emblem games on the list, this was the only version of the game made. There isn’t even a full fan patch for it yet but there is a Beta. It can be played but it is a work in progress.
For classic SNES RPGs like this, it’s only a matter of time. Nintendo could even greenlight a remake before fans can even finish the project which would be a plus. The game itself adds nothing crazy new to the series in terms of mechanics. That might be why it has been lost to time.
3 Fire Emblem: Thracia 776
Nintendo experimented a lot more with video game releases in Japan. For example, they released an add-on to the SNES called the Satellaview. This ensured a way for gamers to download games onto their console much like the eShop today. It was a concept ahead of its time and even saw the release of many remakes and or sequels in a lot of Nintendo exclusive series including Fire Emblem.
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 was not a Satellaview release though. It was released onto kiosks known as Nintendo Power, which should not be confused with the North American magazine. Gamers would buy flash cartridges, plug them into these kiosks, and then download the game from there. This was in 1999 originally, but Nintendo also put out an official release a year later.
That’s a crazy late release for the SNES considering by 2000 the N64 was out and the GameCube was coming in 2001. There is a fan patch for this game but be warned. Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 is notoriously one of the hardest games in the series.
2 Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade was a 2002 release for the Game Boy Advance in 2002. It’s the first game that introduced Roy into the series. Like Marth, most Western gamers knew him as a Super Smash Bros. character. That was in Super Smash Bros. Melee in 2001.
Unlike Marth though Westerns fans actually got to play one of Roy’s games. The seventh entry in the series, also for the GBA, released in North America as just Fire Emblem. It was a prequel to The Binding Blade. Why that was chosen and not The Blinding Blade is a mystery although fans can still enjoy it via a fan patch.
1 Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance
Even though the series started on consoles via the NES, it quickly became known more as a portable series. That might be why after the three GBA games, the console follow-ups weren’t as well remembered. The first was Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance which was a 2005 GameCube game. This starred Ike as the main hero.
The other was Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. That was a 2007 release for the Wii and it was a direct sequel. Both games are hard to track down physical copies of without paying a fortune. That’s because even though they got official releases, not many copies were printed. They are both good games that might have just been released at the wrong time and or wrong platform.