Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi

Fire Emblem
Developer	Intelligent Systems
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Game Boy Advance, Wii U Virtual Console
Release Date	Game Boy Advance JP March 29, 2002 Wii U Virtual Console September 2, 2015
Genre	Strategy/RPG
Gallery	GH Gallery

Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi (referred to as Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade within the localized release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl) is a strategic action/fantasy RPG that acts as the sixth game in the Fire Emblem series and the first on a portable system, the Game Boy Advance.

Story

Men and dragons once lived at peace long ago until men started a war with the dragons, known as the Scouring. It ended with the dragons being defeated, with the aid of eight mighty heroes. These eight heroes founded the various regions of Elibe.

Chronologically the game follows the story told in Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. It features Lord Roy, the son of Eliwood and his quest to keep the country of Bern from overrunning the world with the power of the dragons. King Zephiel has destroyed the peace of the last two decades in his quest to bring 'peace' to the continent of Elibe.

Gameplay

As the first portable game, Fuuin no Tsurugi introduces new features to the game. The classes system was reorganized with different roles and abilities, most of which have been consistent through the rest of the Gameboy Advance games. Certain gameplay features from Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 were not used, such as the fatigue meter and the ability to capture units.

Otherwise the game follows a similar formula of the previous games. Characters move on a grid-like map, much like the older Famicom Wars series. Close ranged weapons and magic have their own respective trinity systems based on the basic Rock-Paper-Scissors formula. Because the game auto-saves after every move and characters can die permanently, playing a chapter and keeping every character alive can prove difficult.

Legacy

Before the game was even released, the protagonist Roy was used in Super Smash Bros. Melee. The character proved to be so popular that the next game, Rekka no Ken, would become the first Fire Emblem game to be released internationally.

The next two games, Rekka no Ken and Sacred Stones both used the same gameplay engine, though each added new gameplay elements. This game was also notable as marking the series' transition from home console releases to mostly handheld releases.

Ports/Remakes

• In 2015, it was released for download on the Wii U's eShop as part of the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan.
• In February 2023, it was among the first wave of Game Boy Advance games made available on Nintendo Switch for subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack program, once again in Japan only.

Sequels

The next game was Rekka no Ken in 2003, which was released internationally and localized as simply Fire Emblem. This game acted as a prequel to Fuuin no Tsurugi, set about 20 years earlier, with two of its main characters being Eliwood and Hector, the respective fathers of Roy and Lilina who had appeared in this game.

See Also

• Units in Fire Emblem 6