| Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art featuring the three main protagonists. From left to right: Eliwood, Lyn, and Hector. | |
| Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
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| Series | Fire Emblem |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Tactical role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade,[a] also known simply as Fire Emblem, is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. It is the seventh installment in the Fire Emblem series,[b] the second to be released for the platform after Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, and the first to be localized for international audiences. It was released in Japan and North America in 2003, and in Europe and Australia in 2004.
The game is a prequel to The Binding Blade, set on the fictional continent of Elibe. It tells the story of Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector, three young lords who band together on a journey to find Eliwood's missing father Elbert while thwarting a larger conspiracy threatening the stability of Elibe. The gameplay, which draws from earlier Fire Emblem entries, features tactical combat between armies on a grid-based map. Characters are assigned different character classes that affect abilities and are subjected to permanent death if defeated in battle.
Development began in 2002 as a companion title to The Binding Blade, but it was prolonged from its initial seven-month window as new features were added. While the Fire Emblem series remained exclusive to Japan due to concerns about its difficulty, the success of Advance Wars and popular demand following the inclusion of Fire Emblem characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee prompted the game's localization. The game was released to commercial success and international critical acclaim, establishing the Fire Emblem series in the West. Its overseas success caused all subsequent games (except for Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem) to be released outside of Japan.
- ^ ファイアーエムブレムキャラクターズ 封印の剣＆烈火の剣 (in Japanese). Shueisha. 2004. ISBN 4-08-782076-9.
- ^ Fire Emblem Museum - Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken - Art Gallery (in Japanese). Nintendo. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NinOfficialwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ ファイアーエムブレムワールド 【FIRE EMBLEM WORLD】 - Series (in Japanese). Fire Emblem World. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
- ^ 社長が訊く『ファイアーエムブレム 新・紋章の謎 ～光と影の英雄～』 (in Japanese). Nintendo. 2010. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
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