Fire Emblem

Fire Emblem
Logo since 2013
Genre(s)	Tactical role-playing
Developer(s)	Intelligent Systems Koei Tecmo (2019)
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Creator(s)	Shouzou Kaga
Composer(s)	Yuka Tsujiyoko
Platform(s)	Family Computer Super Famicom Game Boy Advance GameCube Wii Nintendo DS Nintendo 3DS Wii U Android iOS Nintendo Switch
First release	Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light April 20, 1990
Latest release	Engage January 20, 2023
Spin-offs	Fire Emblem Heroes Fire Emblem Warriors Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE

Fire Emblem^[a] is a Japanese fantasy tactical role-playing game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. First produced and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, the series currently consists of seventeen core entries and five spinoffs.

The core gameplay revolves around discrete battles between the player's team of characters and enemy non-player characters across grid-based maps. The player and enemy each take turns moving their characters across the map and having them perform combat-based actions. The games also feature a story and characters similar to traditional role-playing video games, and occasionally social simulation aspects as well. A notable aspect of gameplay is the permanent death of characters in battle, rendering them unusable upon being defeated, although this aspect of the game can be turned off starting from Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem onwards.

The series' title refers to the "Fire Emblem", a recurring element usually portrayed as a royal weapon or shield representing the power of war and dragons. The development of the first game began as a dōjin project by Shouzou Kaga and three other developers, and its success prompted the development of further games in the series. Kaga headed the development of each entry until the release of Thracia 776, when he left Intelligent Systems. He went on to found his own game studio, Tirnanog, who developed Tear Ring Saga.

The series debuted in the West with the seventh game The Blazing Blade in 2003, under the title Fire Emblem. According to the game's director, this was because of the international success of the similarly turn-based Advance Wars.^[1] The inclusion of Marth and Roy in the 2001 fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee as playable characters is also cited as a reason for the series' international release. Many games in the series sold well, although sales suffered a decline during the late 2000s. This downturn resulted in the series' near-cancellation until the critical and commercial successes of Fire Emblem Awakening (2012) and Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019).

The series has been lauded for its gameplay and is frequently cited as the seminal series in the tactical role-playing genre, codifying various gameplay elements that would come to define the genre. Characters from across the series have been included in crossovers with other video game franchises, including the Super Smash Bros. series.

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