Collection essentials #520: Fire Emblem (GBA)

The Fire Emblem series, which basically invented the “strategy RPG” genre as we know it, had been kept exclusive to Japan for the first six entries, spanning over a decade. What prompted Nintendo to finally give it a shot in the rest of the world? Well, there’s probably two main contributing factors. One was the presence of two Fire Emblem characters in the second Super Smash Bros. game, which dramatically increased awareness of the series’ existence in the Western world and sparked curiosity. Another was the success of Advance Wars in the West, made by the same developer, Intelligent Systems. While Advance Wars lacks RPGs elements, it proved that there was an appetite for strategic turn-based gameplay.

And so, the seventh Fire Emblem game in 2003 would be the first to be officially translated to English. The game’s Japanese release had a subtitle, “Rekka no Ken”, translating to “The Blazing Blade”, but they decided to simply go with “Fire Emblem” for the English title. This may have been a bit confusing, as this is not in any way a remake of the original game which featured one of the characters seen in Super Smash Bros. Fans often refer to this game as “Blazing Blade” or “Fire Emblem 7” to make it clear which one they’re talking about.

FE7 is a little weird because it was clearly designed from the start as a game catered to Western gamers who were totally new to the series, but at the same time it is a direct prequel to FE6 which was only released in Japan. (An English localization of FE6 might have happened, but with FE8 being a thing and the GBA not really being relevant after that, Nintendo likely felt it didn’t make enough sense) The catering I’m mainly referring to is that, rather than having an optional tutorial viewable in the menu, a significant number of chapters to start this game comprise what is basically a very long and slow introduction of the game’s mechanics in a way that no other game in the series does.

This game features not one, not two, but three different main protagonists. They are Lyn, Eliwood and Hector, all hailing from different regions on the continent of Elibe, and they team up to try and thwart the plans of the evil and mysterious bunch known as the Black Fang. The narrative tries to implement the player as somewhat of a silent protagonist, since at the start of the game the player is asked to name a fourth main character who represents the tactician of the group. It’s not a bad idea, but honestly the game’s efforts at making a stand-in tactician representing the player isn’t executed very well here. The unnamed tactician has zero dialogue, doesn’t provide any contribution to gameplay itself, and has no real relevance to the story, and their inclusion just feels hollow. However, Fire Emblem would do a much better job with this concept in future titles down the road, and this was the first installment to try out this idea. 

Our three main characters each have their own campaign. This wasn’t a new idea for a game like this, but it is a cool idea nonetheless. However, FE7 implements it a little differently than you might expect. You can’t select any one of the three to start with. You are required to play Lyn’s campaign first, which is actually the extended tutorial I was referring to earlier. Upon completing it, you’ll unlock Eliwood’s campaign, which is the real meat of the game. And once you clear Eliwood’s, then you unlock Hector’s. But Hector’s campaign isn’t super different, as it’s basically the same events as Eliwood’s campaign from Hector’s perspective, and since the two are together for most of the story anyway, it mostly comes out feeling like a retread with some small differences for hardcore fans that I want to play the game multiple times.

FE7 largely recycles the same graphics and gameplay from FE6. I consider this a good thing, since it was a solid foundation to build on. That’s not to say FE7 doesn’t make any changes, because it does, and some are less obvious than others. One good thing is the method by which you can access your bulk item storage mid-battle, which in the previous game required you to deploy a very weak and otherwise-useless unit in battle. Thieves can now promote like every other normal character class, meaning they won’t be horribly weak in the late portion of the game. Other changes include generally improving how accurate units’ attacks are (which I think is generally considered a good change) and reducing how powerful “super effective” damage effects are (which I think fans generally don’t like). And aside from mechanical differences, the actual level design is quite a bit different in this game, too. Maps are generally smaller, and there are a wider variety of objectives to clear each chapter now. In FE6, every mission required you to “seize” a certain square on the map controlled by the enemy (think of it as their base). FE7 has chapters like that, but also some with alternate objectives such as defeating all enemy units or simply surviving for a certain number of turns.

I remember when FE7 first came out, as I was made aware of it through Nintendo Power magazine which I was subscribed to at the time. It was pretty exciting to get a Fire Emblem game in English! However, being a 13-year-old, I wasn’t able to get every game that interested me upon release, and so Fire Emblem got put on the back burner. I wound up trying out the next Fire Emblem game when that one was new as my first foray into the series (which I’ll be posting about next). When I quickly started having a blast, I knew I had to play this one too, and soon, so I picked it up and played it shortly thereafter. 

FE7 represents the old school Fire Emblem formula which I’m very fond of, and it’s generally very well-made. It’s not quite my favorite though. One criticism I have is that Lyn’s campaign as an extended tutorial isn’t that well-implemented, in my opinion. It’s okay if you’ve never played a Fire Emblem game before, but if you have like me, it can quickly feel like a slog. But on top of that, what sucks about it is that nothing you do in it has any consequences for what happens in Eliwood’s story, which basically starts with a clean slate. Also, because of the game’s multiple campaign system, all of the campaigns are pretty short by Fire Emblem standards. Part of the fun of Fire Emblem to me is building up an army of units over time, and with a shorter campaign that feels a little less rewarding in my opinion. 

While FE7 isn’t my top favorite in the series, it’s still a terrific example of quality old school Fire Emblem, and is the game I’d recommend to newcomers who haven’t played one with the “classic” gameplay formula before. Nowadays, if you subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, you can play it for free as part of the GBA library. It’s highly recommended if you have any curiosity about strategy RPGs, or if you’re a fan of the genre and somehow haven’t tried it yet. The original release is without a doubt a treasured essential in my collection.