Fire Emblem (universe)

Fire Emblem (universe)
Developer(s)	Nintendo Intelligent Systems Koei Tecmo DeNA
Publisher(s)	Nintendo Koei Tecmo
Designer(s)	Shouzou Kaga
Genre(s)	Tactical role-playing
Console/platform of origin	Famicom
First installment	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light (1990)
Latest installment	Fire Emblem Engage (2023)
Article on Fire Emblem Wiki	Fire Emblem (universe)

The Fire Emblem universe (ファイアーエムブレム, Fire Emblem) refers to the Super Smash Bros. series' collection of characters, stages, and properties hailing from Nintendo and Intelligent Systems's franchise of fantasy tactical role-playing games. This long-running franchise, which is considered by many as the quintessential Japanese strategy RPG series, consists of seventeen core installments (including three remakes) and four spinoffs, each of which features an expansive cast of playable characters and, more often than not, a self-contained story. Six of these core installments, most of which were released prior to 2003, have to date never been officially released outside of Japan.

Characters from the Fire Emblem series first appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series in 2001's Super Smash Bros. Melee, with the debut of Marth and Roy from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and The Binding Blade, respectively. Their appearances in Melee are frequently credited with sparking global interest in the Fire Emblem series and beginning the international distribution of the series. Since then, six more Fire Emblem characters have also become playable in Super Smash Bros.: Ike from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, Chrom, Lucina and Robin from Awakening, Corrin from Fates, and Byleth from Three Houses.

Franchise description

The Fire Emblem series combines strategy with a medieval fantasy setting and Japanese RPG elements. It was the second original game series from Intelligent Systems after the Nintendo Wars series, and the first game's concept was decided on after the completion of Famicom Wars. Creator Shouzou Kaga felt that RPGs had strong stories but limited protagonists, while strategy games had a lot of characters but a weak story. The first Fire Emblem game sought to combine the two to create a gameplay experience even non-gamers could enjoy with characters that could be taken seriously. The game became Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, and it was released for the Famicom in Japan in 1990.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light revolved around Marth and his growing army in Archanea. Although initial sales were low and early reviews criticized the game for its unimpressive graphics and "hard to understand" gameplay, sales started to pick up and reception became more positive after half a year. A follow-up game for the Famicom titled Fire Emblem Gaiden was released in Japan in 1992, and it told two parallel stories with a different cast of characters in Valentia. 1994 saw the release of Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, a game that includes a shortened remake of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and an original story acting as its sequel. A direct-to-video anime based on Mystery of the Emblem was released in Japan in 1996 and the U.S. in 1998; it was the first piece of Fire Emblem media officially available in English.

A fourth Fire Emblem installment titled Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War was released for the Super Famicom in 1996, and it included a "love system" that let players marry units together to bear powerful offspring. The following year, a Nintendo 64 game that would become Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade was revealed and Fire Emblem: Archanea Saga was released via the Japan-only Satellaview. While the Nintendo 64 game was still stuck in development, an interquel to Genealogy of the Holy War titled Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 was released in 1999 via the Super Famicom's Nintendo Power service. Kaga left Intelligent Systems after its completion to start his own studio and a similar series to Fire Emblem on the PlayStation, a move which would lead to legal battles between him and Nintendo.

The game that became The Binding Blade moved from the Nintendo 64 to the Game Boy Advance, and this new version was revealed at Space World 2000. Super Smash Bros. Melee started development around the same time, and there were plans to include Marth from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Mystery of the Emblem alongside the upcoming game's protagonist. The Space World 2001 demo of The Binding Blade featured its protagonist, now named Roy, with a design resembling how he would appear in Melee. Melee wound up coming out four months before The Binding Blade in Japan.

Nintendo of America kept Marth and Roy in non-Japanese versions of Melee after the two tested positively with Western players. This was done despite none of the Fire Emblem games being officially available in English; Nintendo did not think SRPGs would be popular outside Japan. The Western success of Advance Wars changed this perception, and it was a driving force behind Nintendo's decision to localize and release nearly every subsequent Fire Emblem game worldwide. This began with the 2003 Game Boy Advance prequel to The Binding Blade, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (originally released outside Japan as just "Fire Emblem"), which was specifically structured with introducing the series' gameplay to an unfamiliar international audience in mind. Subsequently, the mid-2000s saw a steady stream of new Fire Emblem games, including one more Game Boy Advance game, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, in early 2005. Late 2005 saw Intelligent Systems' biggest undertaking for the franchise to that date: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, for the Nintendo GameCube, was intended as a return to the ambitious scope of the Super Famicom years. Path of Radiance received a direct sequel on the Wii, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, in 2007.

The commercial underperformance of Radiant Dawn had major repercussions on both Intelligent Systems and the Fire Emblem franchise, which took on a "rebooted" development team whose first projects were two remakes of Marth's games for the Nintendo DS: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon in 2009, and New Mystery of the Emblem in 2010. New Mystery of the Emblem became the only game since The Binding Blade to not be released outside of Japan, and franchise sales continued to decline enough that when the time came to develop a thirteenth Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem Awakening, the team was informed that it would be the last game in the franchise if it did not perform well. To combat this, as well as achieve a wider audience in the East and the West, many systems and mechanics from past games were curated into this next entry, including the Support system, marriage, children, a player avatar, and the return of Casual Mode.

Contrary to expectations however, Awakening was released to widespread critical and commercial success, selling nearly 250,000 copies within its first week and over a million copies worldwide, revitalizing interest in the franchise as a whole. Subsequent games rode the wave of success that Awakening started, with 2015's Fire Emblem Fates for Nintendo 3DS. This game sought to further the groundwork laid down by Awakening by telling three completely different stories depending on which path the player chose: one designed for beginners, one for veterans, and a third acting as a middle ground. The commercial success of Fates resulted in Nintendo declaring the Fire Emblem series one of its "major IPs". The final core installment released for the Nintendo 3DS was 2017's Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden that threw out many mechanics of the previous 3DS games while adding some of its own. The most recent core entry is 2019's Fire Emblem: Three Houses for Nintendo Switch, which returned the series to home consoles for the first time in over a decade, returned to a more mature fantasy setting, refined the branching storyline structure of Fates, and carried forth the gameplay innovations introduced in Shadows of Valentia. It is currently the best-selling game in the entire franchise, outselling the previous record-holders, Awakening and Fates, in a single year. Throughout this era, the franchise has been under the direction of two key creative leads: Kouhei Maeda, the director of Awakening, Fates, and the mobile spinoff Fire Emblem Heroes, who has spoken about desiring to broaden the series' appeal; and Toshiyuki Kusakihara, the director of Shadows of Valentia and Three Houses, whose games emphasize world-building and story. To commemorate the series' 30th anniversary, the original Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light would be officially localized and released outside of Japan in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch.

The post-Awakening boom has also seen an expansion of the series into spinoffs that feature crossovers between characters from multiple mainline games. The first was a crossover with Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei megafranchise, Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE for Wii U, announced in early 2013 and released in 2015 in Japan and 2016 globally. An enhanced port for the Nintendo Switch, subtitled Encore, was released worldwide in 2020. Fire Emblem characters also cameoed in smaller games like Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., Project X Zone 2, and Dragalia Lost. 2017 saw the release of two different spinoff games. The first of which is the aforementioned free-to-play mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes, which grossed over $2.9 million in its first day and has remained Nintendo's most lucrative mobile effort throughout its lifespan. The second is the hack-and-slash action game Fire Emblem Warriors that, like The Legend of Zelda's Hyrule Warriors, is also a spinoff of Koei Tecmo's Warriors series; Koei Tecmo would later co-develop Three Houses with Intelligent Systems. Fire Emblem also had a successful trading card game between 2015 and 2020, Fire Emblem Cipher, having previously had one in the early 2000s.

As a series of tactical role-playing games set in pseudo-medieval, sword-and-sorcery fantasy settings, the many Fire Emblem games share a variety of distinctive series trademarks; there is less emphasis on complex field effects and unique class ability sets and more of an emphasis on effectively positioning stronger and weaker units relative to each other so that they have the best chances to survive waves of weaker enemy units thrown at them. Leveling up from experience points tends to award incremental statistical boosts based on chance, and units are often able to reliably kill certain types of enemy units one at a time depending on the types and properties of the multiple weapons they can equip (weapons that often interact in rock-paper-scissors relationships and have their own durability meters).

Units that fight near each other are often granted the opportunity to deepen their emotional bonds, which sometimes bloom into romantic relationships and affect their personal endings at the end of the main story. What is easily the most oft-noted convention in the series (and by extension most Nintendo properties) is "permanent death", colloquially known as "permadeath"; when one of the player's units has fallen in battle, that character is gone for the rest of the game, never to return, which can potentially have serious effects on the story itself (and in some cases, the player's capacity to finish the game). Starting with the twelfth entry, the series began to offer an alternative "Casual Mode" that breaks away from this norm, so that characters do not permanently die from falling in battle and are allowed to fight again in future battles.

Fire Emblem narratives are often broad sweeping epics, filled with particularly high amounts of character interaction in later games, that typically focus on a young warrior and noble finding his place in a self-contained continent where countries and nations engage in war and competitions of political intrigue. This main character, often assigned the "Lord" class in-game, gathers literally dozens of distinctive characters into a growing, personalized "army" that fights alongside him in skirmishes during his journeys across the continent. Not unlike Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem games are frequently set in brand-new worlds that have no continuity relation to the worlds of other games in the series, and stars a cast of characters that are near-entirely unique to themselves; only a handful of Fire Emblem games are direct sequels or prequels to other Fire Emblem games. Generally, however, they are all united by common themes and elements, most frequently the existence of an important plot device dubbed the "Fire Emblem", which differs in form and relevance between each continuity.

Below is a summary of the sixteen mainline Fire Emblem games, sorted by their primary setting (and by extension, the continuity to which they belong, with the relationships between each noted).

• Archanea: The original Fire Emblem setting has been the subject of three games, spanning thousands of years. A core theme of all of these games is the relationship between humanity and dragons (the latter usually in the form of the shapeshifting humanoid race known as manaketes), and of a cycle of abuse between the two races revolving around two artifacts created by the dragon god Naga, Falchion, a sword with which humanity defends itself against dragons; and the titular Fire Emblem, a shield with the power to seal away the dangerous earth dragon clan.
  • Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (1990) / Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (2008) tell the story of the War of Shadows, in which Medeus, a manakete emperor from a century ago, is resurrected by the embittered sorcerer Gharnef and launches a successful war of conquest against the Seven Kingdoms of humanity. Prince Marth of Altea, having initially lost his kingdom and most of his family to Medeus's Dolhrian Empire and its allies, forms an alliance with fellow fallen royalty and nobility from across the continent—including key allies Princess Nyna of Archanea and Prince Hardin of Aurelis—and wages a war to free their countries from Dolhr's control and defeat Dolhr's allied powers. Meanwhile, Gharnef's former mentor Gotoh recruits Marth to collect a series of artifacts that are needed to pierce Gharnef's powerful magic and defeat him, so that Marth can both recover Falchion to use against Medeus and rescue his abducted sister, Elice. The 2008 remake, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, adds a new prologue that depicts Marth's escape from the fall of Altea.
  • Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (1994, Japan only) / Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem (2010, Japan only) is a direct sequel to Shadow Dragon, set three years later, that tells the story of the War of Heroes. Hardin has married Nyna and reformed Archanea into an empire, but has been corrupted by Gharnef into a bloodthirsty tyrant who aims to conquer and destroy. After refusing to serve Hardin's plans and subjugate other countries, Marth fights a war against his former friend and ally, while learning the true nature of the bloody history of humanity and manaketes from Gotoh's disciples and working to reconstruct the true form of the Fire Emblem to prevent the apocalyptic release of the earth dragons. Mystery of the Emblem also includes an abridged remake of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, while the remake, New Mystery of the Emblem, adds a new plotline about a band of assassins who serve Gharnef.
  • Fire Emblem: Archanea Saga (1997, Japan only) is a series of short prequel stories that were broadcasted on the Satellaview satellite radio peripheral for the Super Famicom, starring various allies and enemies of Marth. Remakes of these stories were also included in New Mystery of the Emblem.
  • Fire Emblem Awakening (2012) is set two thousand years after the previous three adventures, in an age where the land of Archanea is now known as Ylisse. It stars Prince Chrom of the Halidom of Ylisse, a distant descendant of Marth, who leads a peacekeeping force known as the Shepherds in a border war against Plegia (a country that worships the Fell Dragon Grima, who once nearly destroyed the world until another ancestor of Chrom's stopped him with Falchion and the Fire Emblem). Chrom meets the amnesiac tactician Robin, and the two form a coalition to stop Plegia's aggression. Behind this war, however, is a scheme by the Plegian Grimleal cult to resurrect Grima, and the two come into contact with this scheme when they meet Lucina, Chrom's time-traveling daughter from a future where the Grimleal succeeded and humanity was on the brink of extinction. The three and their allies work together to once again reconstruct the Fire Emblem and use its power to prevent Grima's resurrection, while Robin comes face to face with their critical role in the Grimleal's scheme.

• Valentia: This setting is located in the same universe as the Archanea games, located to the near west of the Archanean continent. The continent is the domain of two kingdoms in bitter conflict, Zofia and Rigel, founded by sibling gods Mila and Duma as a test of their philosophies about humanity. There is no "Fire Emblem" item associated with Valentia.
  • Fire Emblem Gaiden (1991, Japan only) / Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (2017) is set between Shadow Dragon and Mystery of the Emblem; while it features some characters from those games, they otherwise constitute a standalone story. The story focuses on two heroes: Alm, a Zofian farm boy who is recruited into a war to resist a coup of Zofia that was orchestrated by Rigel; and Celica, a princess raised in hiding by priests, who embarks on a quest to investigate the disappearance of Mila and the ensuing famine that now threatens life in Zofia. These two childhood friends, disagreeing with each other on their tactics and philosophies, embark on separate journeys that ultimately culminate in the same place: in a struggle to stop both Rigel and the Duma-worshiping state cult which has plans for the two heroes, and on a separate plan to break the hold of the gods on the fate of the Valentians. The remake, Shadows of Valentia, significantly expands on the original plot and ties it into themes and concepts from both Mystery of the Emblem and Awakening.
  • Fire Emblem Awakening also visits the Valentia setting, now known as Valm, in its second arc. Chrom, Robin, and their allies learn of the threat of the Valmese Empire and its conquest of Valm, and how it now threatens to conquer Ylisse, and travel there to protect their own continent.

• Jugdral: This continent is situated in the same world as Archanea and Valentia; the stories set here are set more than a millennium before Marth's stories, but continue numerous threads from them, most notably the story of Naga. The continent of Jugdral was once the site of a Holy War between the 12 Crusaders, a band of legendary warriors who were granted the power of the gods, and the empire of the evil god Loptous; the Crusaders' descendants now rule the land as kings and nobles. In this setting, the "Fire Emblem" is merely the crest of one of the families descended from a Crusader, and is not important to the plot.
  • Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (1996, Japan only) tells the story of the Chalphy family, one of the six noble houses from the superpower Kingdom of Grannvale, across twenty years and two generations. The first generation story tracks Grannvale's transformation from a kingdom to an empire through the eyes of Lord Sigurd of Chalphy, as both he and his country are involved in a series of conflicts and invasions abroad caused by the machinations of the Loptr Church, a religious order that plots the resurrection of Loptous and an end to their life of exile. Sigurd falls victim to a political conspiracy against his family, and the second generation, set seventeen years later, follows his orphaned son, Seliph, in an age where the Grannvale Empire has conquered almost all of Jugdral. Seliph becomes the leader and figurehead of a grand liberation movement, and travels the continent in a race against time to prevent Loptous from resurrecting by possession of the Empire's Prince Julius, the son of Sigurd's killer. In his travels, Seliph explores the history of Jugdral and the true nature of the Crusaders and Loptous.
  • Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 (1999, Japan only) is a loose interquel to Genealogy of the Holy War that stars Prince Leif of Leonster, a cousin of Seliph's, who was a playable character in Genealogy. When two of his childhood friends are abducted by Raydrik, a glory-hungry servant of the Grannvale Empire's colonial rulers of the northern Thracian Peninsula, Leif emerges from hiding and raise a motley coalition of knights, militias, fallen nobles and even criminals from all across the Thracian Peninsula to rescue his friends, liberate the north from both the Empire and the influence of the Loptr Church, and prevent the north from falling into the hands of Leonster's blood enemy, the southern Kingdom of Thracia, all while struggling with his own insecurities and the burden of the immense expectation placed upon him.

• Elibe: The first setting to be set in its own world, with no relation to the Archanea universe, although the story of its first game in particular owes much to the themes of the Archanea games. The stories of Elibe occur in the shadow of the Scouring, a massive genocidal war waged against Elibe's dragon civilization, in which humans rendered dragons all but extinct by humans through the use of nine immensely powerful dragon-slaying weapons. In this setting, the "Fire Emblem" is a gemstone belonging to the powerful human country of Bern that unlocks one of those weapons, the Binding Blade.
  • Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (2002, Japan only) tells the story of a sudden war of conquest waged by King Zephiel of Bern, the most powerful country in Elibe. Roy, a young nobleman from the Lycian territory of Pherae, is entrusted with command of Lycia's armies to defend Bern following illnesses and deaths among the Lycian ruling powers, and leads a campaign to free countries conquered by Bern and fight its political subterfuge in other countries. When Princess Guinivere of Bern defects in order to stop Zephiel, she and Roy work together to uncover the true nature of Zephiel's intentions and how he came to have dragons under his command in his armies, and they seek out the legendary weapons from the Scouring to give them a fighting chance against the power of the dragons.
  • Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (2003; originally released outside Japan as "Fire Emblem") is a prequel set twenty years prior to The Binding Blade, which does not have much to do with its predecessor's story. Roy's father, Eliwood (together with his friends, Hector of Ostia and Lyn of Caelin) embarks on a journey to find his own missing father, Marquess Elbert, and becomes embroiled in a sinister plot by the ancient sorcerer Nergal to gain ultimate power by summoning dragons back to Elibe. They assist a mysterious pair of sibling performers who are hunted by the Black Fang, a league of assassins that does Nergal's bidding, and fight off attempts by the Black Fang to manipulate Lycia and Bern into war.

• Magvel: Another setting totally unrelated to any others, the continent of Magvel was once threatened by the powerful monster known as the Demon King, who was defeated using five artefacts sent by the gods known as the Sacred Stones; Magvel's "Fire Emblem" is one of those stones.
  • Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (2004) tells the story of the War of the Stones, a Magvel-wide conflict that brings an abrupt end to an age of peace when the Grado Empire breaks years of friendship and alliance to invade the Kingdom of Renais. Princess Eirika and Prince Ephraim, the surviving twin royalties of Renais and close friends of Grado's Prince Lyon, embark on separate quests to forge alliances, end Grado's war, and uncover why the war is occurring at all. They soon learn that the destruction of the Sacred Stones, the one thing preventing the return of the Demon King, is part of Grado's agenda, and also face grotesque ancient monsters that are arising and terrorizing the world as a result of Grado's actions.

• Tellius: Another setting that is located in a world of its own, although Awakening did attempt to tie partly into it. The continent of Tellius is inhabited by two races which have long been in bitter conflict with each other: the beorc, an analog to humans; and the laguz, humanoids who can shapeshift into animals. The games set here explore the conflict between the two and the centuries of myth and misinformation surrounding it. In this setting, the "Fire Emblem" is a simple bronze medallion in which a "dark god" who once flooded the entire world except for Tellius is sealed.
  • Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005) tells the story of the Mad King's War, a conflict instigated by the xenophobic Kingdom of Daein and its ruler, Ashnard. When Daein conquers the Kingdom of Crimea, the low-born mercenary Ike and his father's mercenary band are hired by the Crimean princess, Elincia, to help her flee the country. The two work to form an alliance composed of beorc and laguz alike capable of retaking Crimea and stopping Daein, and Ike is thrown into the center of the beorc-laguz conflict. They also come into contact with Ashnard's plan to release the dark god through the chaos of war and reshape the order of society, and with the deeply personal connection between that plan, Ike's family, and recent atrocities committed against the laguz.
  • Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (2007) is set three years later in the aftermath of the Mad King's War, telling several separate stories that converge on each other. In Daein, freedom fighter Micaiah and her Dawn Brigade resist the country's brutal occupation by the Begnion Empire, one of Ike's wartime allies, and become the figurehead of liberation movement that aims to put Ashnard's unknown orphan on the throne. In Crimea, Queen Elincia faces a civil war that tests her mettle as a ruler. Meanwhile, Ike and his mercenaries are hired by an alliance of laguz countries to wage war against Begnion to demand reparations for their recently uncovered role as instigator of the genocide of a laguz country. Almost all of Tellius's nations, including Micaiah's Daein and Elincia's Crimea, are drawn into a massive conflict with each other as part of a scheme to awaken the gods and visit divine punishment upon the world for its long history of bloodshed and discrimination.

• Hoshido, Nohr, and Valla: An unnamed continental setting that is primarily divided into two kingdoms that have long been in conflict with each other: the peaceful, Japan-inspired kingdom of Hoshido, and the harsh, European-themed kingdom of Nohr. The royal families of both bear descent from the god-like First Dragons, which grants them a variety of powers including manipulating terrain. In this setting, the "Fire Emblem" is the Omega Yato, the final form of the holy Yato blade achieved upon resonating with the divine weapons of the Hoshidan and Nohrian royals. While this setting is its own world, a few characters from Awakening do appear via interdimensional travel.
  • Fire Emblem Fates (2015) tells the story of a critical moment in the conflict, when Corrin, who has a claim to the royal families of both Hoshido and Nohr, is thrust into the middle of it. Following a gambit by the tyrannical King Garon of Nohr to use Corrin to unwittingly kill Hoshido's queen, Mikoto, tensions between the two countries flare and Corrin is forced to choose between their two families. The game is split into three stories (two of which were released separately), each of which follows one of Corrin's choices: in Birthright, they side with Hoshido and fights an open war against Garon and their Nohrian family; in Conquest, they align with Nohr with the aim of ending Garon's tyranny from within as they are forced to fight Hoshido; and in Revelation, they side openly with neither and instead aim to fight the true enemy that controls the conflict, the hidden kingdom of Valla, eventually winning the support of allies from both Hoshido and Nohr to do so.

• Fódlan: Once again located in an entirely separate world of its own, Fódlan is an insular continental region that is dominated by the influence of the Church of Seiros and divided into three countries: the millennium-old Adrestian Empire, the frigid Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and an oligarchy called the Leicester Alliance. Many of the ruling families of the continent possess Crests, birthmarks that are powerful manifestations of holy bloodlines that date back to an ancient conflict between Saint Seiros, founder of the Church, and the bandit king Nemesis and his commanders, the 10 Elites. These same Crests also dictate who among their descendants are able to safely wield their ancient weapons, the Heroes' Relics. The "Fire Emblem" of this setting is the Crest of Flames, a manifestation of the progenitor god's own power.
  • Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019) follows the mercenary Byleth, who hears the voice of a mysterious girl, as they are suddenly pressed into service as a professor at the Church of Seiros's Garreg Mach Monastery. They meet three future leaders of the three countries (Edelgard of Adrestia, Dimitri of Faerghus, and Claude of Leicester) and chooses one of their three class houses to teach in a year that is plagued with incident, death, and disaster caused by a mysterious force that slithers in the dark, while gradually learning the true nature of their own origins and strange powers. The year culminates in the outbreak of total war between the three countries, pitting the classmates against each other. Five years later, Byleth returns from a mysterious disappearance and leads their former students in the war phase, following one of the four story paths depending on the house that they chose to teach, each of which reckons with the morality and aims of each side, and with the history of Fódlan, in a different way.

• Elyos: Set on a new continent, this land was once ravaged by a beast known as the Fell Dragon. To combat this threat, warriors from other realms known as "Emblems" were summoned to defeat and imprison the beast.
  • Fire Emblem Engage (2023) follows a royal named Alear, who bears the bloodline of a race of divine dragons, who comes into contact with a special ring that allows them to summon and harness the power of heroes from across the series such as Marth, Sigurd, and Celica. The "Fire Emblem" in this world is revealed to be the 13th Emblem.

In Super Smash Bros.

While there was no Fire Emblem content in the original Super Smash Bros., according to an interview from the book The Making of Fire Emblem – 25th Anniversary Development Secrets, Awakening and Fates, Masahiro Sakurai wanted to include Marth as a playable character to serve as something of a foil to Link, but was unable to do so due to time constraints.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Fire Emblem is featured in Super Smash Bros. Melee by two playable characters, their respective game trophy sets, appropriate musical and sound selections in the sound test; this stands in contrast to other franchises which additionally have stages, items and more trophies as well. There is evidence that a Fire Emblem stage was planned, however; hidden in the game's debug menu is a stage entitled AKANEIA, named after the fictional continent where Marth's story takes place, but it was apparently never designed or removed completely, as attempting to access it from the debug menu will only crash the game. Additionally, at the time of Melee's release, no Fire Emblem game had been released outside of Japan, making Marth and Roy the first Japan-only characters to appear in the Super Smash Bros. series, both coincidentally as secret characters.

Fighters

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  Marth (Unlockable): The young, noble prince of the kingdom of Altea, Marth is forced to become an exile in the neighboring nation of Talys when the kingdom of Dolhr attacks Altea, killing his father Cornelius, and taking his sister hostage. He embarks on a quest with help of his various allies to find the sacred blade of light known as the Falchion and the Fire Emblem shield, as well as restoring his war-torn kingdom and rescuing his sister. When he does find the two pieces of equipment, he takes the fight to the driving force behind the Dolhr invasion, the evil priest Gharnef and his resurrection of the dark dragon, Medeus. He slays them and rescues both his sister and the continent of Archanea. As a Melee fighter, Marth is widely considered top-tier for his effective blend of speedy and powerful swordsmanship, with an effective "sweetspot" at the tip of his Falchion. He is the fan-favorite character among many top players. His effectiveness as a fighter as well as his decidedly bishounen character design have contributed to his status as one of Melee's most popular characters.
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  Roy (Unlockable): The star of the then-upcoming sixth Fire Emblem game, The Binding Blade, Roy is the son of Eliwood, one of the stars of the game's prequel, living and studying in a kingdom far from his homeland, Pherae. He is an upstanding, idealistic, and ever-curious individual like other Fire Emblem protagonists and is also rather perceptive and cunning for his age. When the militant nation of Bern wages war on the alliance of nations called the League of Lycia, of which Roy's Pherae is a part of and when Eliwood falls ill, he is called in to lead Pherae's armies in his ailing father's stead. He ends up going on a grand journey across the continent of Elibe and learning of the Fire Emblem crest, which is necessary for unlocking the Binding Blade. He goes to obtain the two artifacts and takes the conflict to Bern's King Zephiel to stop his mysterious thirst for world domination, an effort that would eventually avert a catastrophic war between humans and dragons. As a Melee fighter, Roy is a slower clone of Marth, but his forward smash is more powerful at the center of his blade. He is made to be a good character to use against opponents in one-on-one matchups, but he remains lower on the tier list than Marth because he lacks Marth's vital advantages. Even though Roy is considered low-tier by many competitive players, his fanbase is still quite large.

Music

• Fire Emblem: A medley of two Fire Emblem tracks, the first of which is the "character recruitment" music in Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light and Mystery of the Emblem, and after some piano-based music, the second tune is the official Fire Emblem series theme. This is heard as a secondary track on Temple and is often heard accompanying Marth and Roy in the single-player modes. It is Song 33 in the Sound Test.
• Fire Emblem Team Victory: The victory theme for Marth and Roy is the title theme for the original Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, which has since become the main theme of the series and the ending of the victory fanfare resembles the leveling up jingle from aforementioned game. It is Song 48 in the Sound Test.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Perhaps in response to Fire Emblem garnering popularity worldwide, the series continues to be represented in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Marth returns, with newcomer Ike unofficially replacing Roy as the second playable Fire Emblem character, although Roy does make a cameo as a sticker. The Fire Emblem content has been greatly expanded from Melee, now featuring the first fully playable Fire Emblem stage and many new music tracks and collectables that span from the very first game up to the then-most recent installment, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

Fighters

• 
  Marth (Unlockable): The original Fire Emblem lord returns in Brawl, once again as a secret fighter. His design is slightly modified and he has a few new voice clips, though most are reprises from Melee. While his moveset is mostly unchanged, his Shield Breaker has been altered from a slashing maneuver to a stabbing move and also has a faster charge-up time. His Final Smash is the most powerful Final Smash in the game, inflicting 60% damage and OHKOing opponents.
• 
  Ike (Starter): The main character of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and its sequel, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Ike is shown in his Ranger outfit from the beginning of his first game. He comes armed with his two-handed Regalia blade, Ragnell, with which due to his sheer strength he needs only one hand to wield efficiently. His strength is present in his optimal playstyle, as unlike most swordfighters in the Super Smash Bros. series, he focuses less on speed and more on power and a fierce punish game. Ike is able to use his Aether skill as his up special move, which involves him throwing his sword into the air, jumping up and catching it, then bringing the sword crashing down on his opponent. His Final Smash is an enhanced version of Aether.

On the final character select screen (after all characters are unlocked), the Fire Emblem characters occupy the eighth column alongside the EarthBound characters (both of these series were originally Japan-only RPG franchises that later saw at least one entry released in the West).

Stage

• 
  Castle Siege (Starter): Contrary to much speculation when the stage was first shown in trailers, this stage does not represent any specific Fire Emblem game or moment, but rather the series as a whole by a composition of themes and motifs from throughout the series. The stage takes place on top of a castle under attack. As time passes, the roof will collapse and fighters will be able to battle in the castle's interior throne room, which features destructible statues. After yet more time passes, the ground will give way and players will fall into the underground, which consists of a dark cavern filled with lava. After some time in the underground, the locale will reset to the top of the castle again and the cycle begins anew.

Assist Trophy

• Lyn: A major character from Fire Emblem (The Blazing Blade). She charges her blade, then vanishes and reappears while precisely slashing the opponent that is closest to her. Requires a well-timed roll or airdodge to avoid the precise slash.

Music

Original Tracks

• Fire Emblem Theme - An orchestrated version of the Fire Emblem theme incorporating Latin lyrics performed by the same group behind the main theme of Brawl. It is used on the Castle Siege stage.
• With Mila's Divine Protection (Celica Map 1) - Taken and remixed from Fire Emblem Gaiden. It is used on the Castle Siege stage.
• Attack - A medley and remix of two battle themes taken from Fire Emblem (The Blazing Blade), the first game in the series to be localized. It is the theme of the Castle Siege stage.
• Preparing to Advance - A pre-battle scene track remixed from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. It is used on the Castle Siege stage.
• Winning Road - Roy's Hope - A remixed song taken from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. It is used on the Castle Siege stage.
• Shadow Dragon Medley - A remixed medley of various tracks from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light. It is used on the Castle Siege stage.

Returning Track

• Fire Emblem (Melee) - Taken directly from Melee. It is used on the Castle Siege stage. This track also plays during Marth's Classic Mode credits.

Source Tracks

• Ike's Theme - The track "Eternal Bond", taken directly from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. It is used on the Castle Siege stage.
• Against the Dark Knight - The battle theme when facing the Black Knight, taken directly from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. It is used on the Castle Siege stage.
• Crimean Army Sortie - Music played in later maps, taken from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. It is used on the Castle Siege stage.
• Power-Hungry Fool - Oliver's theme, taken from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. It is used on the Castle Siege stage.
• Victory Is Near - The near victory battle map music, taken from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. It is used on the Castle Siege stage. This track also plays during Ike's Classic Mode credits.

Victory Theme

• Victory! Fire Emblem Series - Derived from the main Fire Emblem theme heard in all the games.

Masterpiece

• Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (Japan only)

In Super Smash Bros. 4

The Fire Emblem series had undergone a heavier boost in representation than ever before in the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U games. In total, there are the Brawl veterans with visual updates, a lost veteran returning as downloadable content, and the addition of three newcomers (the most newcomers any universe has in the game), all of them being relatively modern in the franchise's history and one of them being DLC as well. All past Smash Bros. stages from this series, the majority of soundtracks and other collectibles have remained largely intact and were further expanded in the new games.

Fighters

• 
  Marth (Starter): Marth returns and, for the first time, is a starter character. His design derives from his appearance in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem. Overall, Marth was previously considered to be one of the characters to have been the most severely nerfed in the transition to Smash 4 (along with Meta Knight, King Dedede, Falco, and Olimar), though game updates brought useful buffs that significantly increased his effectiveness, while his key strengths from his previous two iterations were retained, albeit to a lesser extent. While he is still nerfed from Brawl overall, the changes to the game's mechanics benefit him (despite receiving some noticeable nerfs from them), and most other returning veterans who were in Brawl's higher tiers saw a similar treatment, which has lead to him being similarly effective relative to the cast, and he is still be considered as a viable character in Smash 4's metagame.
• 
  Roy (DLC): After an absence from Brawl, Roy returns as DLC in Smash 4, making him the third veteran to return from Melee after Dr. Mario and Mewtwo. His design now blends elements from his original appearance in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade and his appearance as an Einherjar in Fire Emblem Awakening. Roy was notably buffed in his transition, now surpassing Marth in overall speed, but has received nerfs as well, especially to the range on the Binding Blade, which overall give him a more distinct play-style than his base character Marth. He also received updated voice clips and many animation changes that further negate his prior status as a clone of Marth, now appearing as a near semi-clone instead.
• 
  Ike (Starter): Ike returns from Brawl as a starter character. His visual design has been updated to match his appearance in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn along with his attacks now having updated sound effects that are still primarily unique to him. Being notably buffed from Brawl, many of his moves have been given greater power, speed, or overall utility, and Ike is no longer one of the slowest characters in the game. His Great Aether, however, was noticeably toned down to compensate for these buffs. His sword attacks that involve fire now have blue flames instead of red, true to Radiant Dawn.
• 
  Lucina (Unlockable): Lucina, Chrom's daughter and a major protagonist from Fire Emblem Awakening, arrives as an unlockable newcomer. She is a clone of Marth, but lacks his sword tipper mechanic (sans down aerial). Thus, every part of her sword deals the same amount of damage, making her overall KO ability much more consistent, if potentially weaker, than Marth's. She is slightly shorter than Marth, giving her a slightly smaller hurtbox than him, but not as much reach on her sword, the Parallel Falchion. She was originally planned to be an alternate swap for Marth, similar to Alph and Olimar.
• 
  Robin (Starter): The player avatar from Fire Emblem Awakening, defaulted as Robin, debuts in the Super Smash Bros. series as a starter newcomer. Robin fights using several different magical Tomes and an electrified Levin Sword, all having a durability system and the potential to break as seen in Fire Emblem Awakening. Thus, Robin's playstyle requires management and proper usage of their limited uses in order to maximize their effects. Players can choose to use either the male or female variants of this character and Chrom makes an appearance in his Final Smash.
• 
  Corrin (DLC): The player avatar and protagonist of Fire Emblem Fates, defaulted as Corrin, makes their Super Smash Bros. series debut as a downloadable newcomer. As with Robin, Corrin has both male and female variants to choose from. Corrin can transform all or parts of their body into a dragon, in conjunction with attacks using the divine blade Omega Yato.

Stages

for Nintendo 3DS

• 
  Arena Ferox (Starter): staged on a gladiatorial combat arena in the Regna Ferox nation from Fire Emblem Awakening. Like Pokémon Stadium, Arena Ferox is a transforming stage with platforms that rise from the ground and an abyss surrounding the central arena. The stone figures from Castle Siege appear as one of the variants. It is one of the possible stages to appear in Level 7 of All-Star Mode as a home stage for Robin, Lucina, and Corrin. Its Ω form is columnar. It was the first piece of Fire Emblem content revealed for SSB4, appearing in the 1st Trailer at E3 2013. It later appears in "By Book, Blade, and Crest of Flame", the reveal trailer for Robin and Lucina. It is the only stage to derive from a specific Fire Emblem game.

for Wii U

• 
  Castle Siege (Starter): a transitionary stage derived from various motifs in the Fire Emblem series. It consists of three phases: the first is staged on the top of the titular castle as it is under attack before transitioning to the castle's interior. The third phase is staged deep underground on a precarious platform, high above a sea of lava. It has received subtle graphical revisions in its transition from Brawl. This stage is large enough to accommodate 8-Player Smash and is one of the possible stages to appear in Level 2 of All-Star Mode as a home stage for Ike and Roy. Its Ω form is columnar.
• 
  Coliseum (Starter): a spacious combat arena derived from various locations in the Fire Emblem series. Like Pokémon Stadium and Arena Ferox, it is a transforming stage with different sets of rising platforms appearing as the battle progresses. Like Wii Fit Studio, there are no abysses on the stage, just walk-off boundaries. It is one of the possible stages to appear in Level 1 of All-Star Mode as a home stage for Robin, Lucina, and Corrin. Its Ω form is columnar.

Items

Assist Trophy

• Lyn: a nomadic lord from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. In Smash, she wields her personal blade Mani Katti. When summoned, she braces herself, vanishes, and slashes the nearest opponent. She does not attack the summoner. Lyn is one of the few Assist Trophies to return from Brawl.

Smash Tour item

• Black Knight (Red): Ike's reoccurring rival from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. The user's smash attacks, on occasion, turn into one-hit KOs.

Mii Costumes

Mii Swordfighter wearing the Chrom Outfit and Wig. This Mii is available for download via QR code.

Outfits

• Chrom Outfit (DLC): this outfit is based on Chrom, one of the protagonists in Fire Emblem Awakening. During the development of SSB4, it was widely speculated that Chrom would be included as a playable newcomer and was even included in the infamous Gematsu leak. Ultimately, Chrom only appears as a component of Robin's Final Smash, but he remains a popular Fire Emblem character. The outfit was released with a corresponding blue wig as downloadable content on July 31, 2015. The Mii wields Falchion. An official Mii based on Chrom's likeness can be downloaded via QR code on the official site.
• Black Knight's Armor (DLC): this outfit is based on the Black Knight, Ike's reoccurring rival. It was released with a corresponding helm as downloadable content on July 31, 2015. The Mii wields Alondite and the armor is based on his appearance in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

Headgear

• Chrom Wig (DLC)
• Black Knight Helm (DLC)

Music

Original Tracks

Arrangements and remixes unique to SSB4.

• Coliseum Series Medley: a medley of arena battle themes from Genealogy of the Holy War and The Binding Blade. It plays on Coliseum.
• Fight 1 (Fire Emblem Gaiden): an arrangement of "Battle 1 (Player Side)" from Fire Emblem Gaiden. It plays on Coliseum. It is featured on Disc 2 of A Smashing Soundtrack.
• Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem Medley: a medley of pieces from Mystery of the Emblem, including "Advance", "Attack", "Defense", and "Fire Emblem Theme". It plays on Coliseum.
• Meeting Theme Series Medley: a medley of recruitment themes from multiple Fire Emblem games. It includes "Meeting Theme" from Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light interlaced with "Comrades" from The Sacred Stones and "Recruitment / Join Us!", the recruitment theme from Genealogy of the Holy War and The Binding Blade. It plays on Coliseum.
• Lost in Thoughts All Alone (DLC): an instrumental remix of "Lost in Thoughts All Alone", the main theme of Fire Emblem Fates. It is bundled with Corrin and cannot be acquired individually. It plays on Smash Run, Castle Siege, and Coliseum. This song was featured in the trailer "Corrin Chooses to Smash!"

Returning Tracks

Arrangements and remixes from previous Smash installments.

• Fire Emblem: an arrangement containing "Meeting Theme" and "Fire Emblem Theme" from Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light. It plays on Arena Ferox and Castle Siege. This song was featured in the trailer "By Book, Blade, and Crest of Flame".
• Fire Emblem Theme: an arrangement of "Fire Emblem Theme" from Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, but it is attributed to the entire series as a reoccurring piece. It includes Latin vocals, similar to the televised Japanese commercial for Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light. They are provided by Oriko Takahashi and Ken Nishikiori. It plays on Castle Siege.
• Shadow Dragon Medley: a medley of pieces from Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, including "Battle Map 2: CP Side's Attack", "Story 2: The Beginning of Each Map", and "Battle Map 1: Player Side's Attack". It plays on Castle Siege.
• With Mila's Divine Protection (Celica Map 1): an arrangement of "Battle Map 3: Battle Map 2-1 (Celica 1)" from Gaiden. It plays on Smash Run and Castle Siege.
• Winning Road - Roy's Hope: an arrangement of "Winning Road" from The Binding Blade. It plays on Castle Siege. The first few bars are included in "Roy seals the deal!"
• Attack (Fire Emblem): an arrangement containing "Strike" and "Rise to the Challenge" from The Blazing Blade. It plays on Castle Siege and was featured in the trailer "Roy seals the deal!"
• Preparing to Advance: an arrangement of "Combat Preparation" from The Sacred Stones. It plays on Castle Siege.

Source Tracks

Compositions and arrangements directly sourced from the Fire Emblem series with no alterations.

• Crimean Army Sortie: "Crimea Attacks" from Path of Radiance. It plays on Castle Siege.
• Against the Dark Knight: "Against the Black Knight" from Path of Radiance. It plays on Castle Siege.
• Power-Hungry Fool: from Path of Radiance. It plays on Castle Siege.
• Victory Is Near: from Path of Radiance. It plays on Castle Siege.
• Ike's Theme: "Eternal Bond" from Radiant Dawn. It plays on Castle Siege.
• Time of Action: from Radiant Dawn. It plays on Castle Siege.
• The Devoted: from Radiant Dawn. It plays on Coliseum.
• Duty (Ablaze): from Fire Emblem Awakening. It plays on Coliseum.
• Conquest (Ablaze): from Awakening. It plays on Coliseum.
• Id (Purpose): an abridged version of "Id (Purpose)" from Awakening. It plays on Arena Ferox and Coliseum. It is featured on Disc 1 of A Smashing Soundtrack.
• Lost in Thoughts All Alone (DLC): the main theme of Fire Emblem Fates. It includes vocals provided by Rena Strober as Azura in English releases and Renka in Japanese releases. It plays on Castle Siege and Coliseum.

Victory Theme

• Victory! Fire Emblem Series: an orchestration of the first few bars of the "Fire Emblem Theme".

Other

"Omen / Main Theme" from Fire Emblem Awakening was used in "By Book, Blade, and Crest of Flame", the reveal trailer for Robin and Lucina. It is not in either of the final games.

Masterpiece

• Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Japan only)

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The series has seen a considerable boost in representation, incorporating elements from the post-Fire Emblem Fates games. This is the first game since Melee where none of the Fire Emblem fighters are unlocked from the start. For the first time, the series has an item represented in the game in the form of the Killing Edge. All past stages and music tracks return plus a score of remixes, as well as the introduction of two new fighters (one an Echo Fighter and one downloadable content), two new Assist Trophies, and Spirits from across the series. Lastly, all of the fighters now speak English in overseas versions.

Fighters

• 21.
  
  Marth (Unlockable): The original Lord and Hero-King from Archanea returns as an unlockable fighter after being a starter in Smash 4. Marth received a few changes, such the ability to angle his Shield Breaker upwards or downwards, his Dancing Blade being much faster, and a new forward throw. Despite these changes, Marth is generally agreed to be inferior to all three of his derivatives by top-level players, with Lucina being generally regarded as vastly superior to Marth overall. Due to Lucina's dominance and Marth's almost non-existent results, he is almost viewed as an "invalidated" character with many top players ranking him noticeably lower than Lucina on their tier list; often ranking him as a mid tier character. Much like Lucario, Meta Knight, and Villager, Marth's tools that helped him do fairly well in tournaments have been either removed or made worse. He is now fully voiced in English by Yuri Lowenthal.
• 25.
  
  Roy (Unlockable): The Young Lion from Elibe returns as an unlockable fighter after being DLC in Smash 4. Roy was infamous for being the lowest-ranked DLC character in Smash 4, due to his poor committal approach, unsafe aerials, and his hilt sweetspot attribute hindering his spacing abilities, which has collectively resulted in his lower-mid tier placement in that game and having very little tournament representation. As a result, Roy has been significantly buffed in his transition to Ultimate. Roy received a few changes Marth has, such as the new forward throw and a faster Double-Edge Dance. In addition, he can now turn around while charging Flare Blade. Overall, Roy is considered to be more viable and much less polarizing than he was in any of his previous playable appearances, due to him now having enough raw power, range, and speed to play aggressively up close. Because of these changes, he leads a sizable playerbase and strong tournament results. He is now fully voiced in English by Ray Chase.
• 32.
  
  Ike (Unlockable): The Radiant Hero of Tellius returns as an unlockable fighter after being a starter in Brawl and Smash 4. Both his Path of Radiance Ranger design and his Radiant Dawn Hero design return, with the ranger design being the default. Both versions are now voiced in English by Greg Chun with their own exclusive voice clips.
• 21^ε.
  
  Lucina (Unlockable): The future Princess of Ylisse returns once again as an unlockable character, now branded as Marth's Echo Fighter. As such, she also shares the changes Marth received. She is also now as tall as Marth. Like Marth, Lucina received a mixture of buffs and nerfs, but unlike him, she was buffed overall. Lucina highly benefits from the universal changes in Ultimate, particularly in terms of her tilts and aerials. In addition, the new engine is also a benefit to Lucina's balanced blade, to an extent far greater than Marth's more polarized blade, as the faster pace of the game allows her greater close-combat capabilities to be an advantage in certain situations. Overall, Lucina has been a very high-placing character in Ultimate's early metagame, with impressive results and excellent representation. As such, she is generally considered to be significantly superior to Marth, who has had lackluster results and representation and is also generally regarded as the best swordfighter in the game.
• 56.
  
  Robin (Unlockable): The tactician returns as an unlockable fighter after being a starter in Smash 4. As before, both male and female versions can be selected. One fundamental change is that Robin now does not immediately have the Levin Sword and must wait a short while before it becomes active. Finally, a new meter has been added to more clearly show how much Robin can use the Levin Sword and Tomes, with a separate meter for each.
• 62.
  
  Corrin (Unlockable): The heir of two families returns as an unlockable fighter after being DLC in Smash 4. A handful of moves such as jab, pummel, and Dragon Lunge have been slightly reworked, but Corrin otherwise performs similarly to Smash 4. As before, both male and female versions can be selected.
• 25^ε.
  
  Chrom (Unlockable): The Prince of Ylisse and main protagonist of Fire Emblem Awakening debuts as an unlockable Echo Fighter of Roy. Despite this, he still appears in Robin's Final Smash and victory screens, and does not have the exact same moveset as Roy, instead taking cues from the other Fire Emblem fighters: his sword lacks a sweetspot like Lucina's, his up special is adapted from Ike's, his sword attacks lack fire effects, and his Final Smash, Awakening Aether, is functionally different from Roy's.
• 75.
  
  Byleth (DLC): The Ashen Demon from Fódlan and player character from Fire Emblem: Three Houses debuts as the fifth and final downloadable newcomer of Fighters Pass Vol. 1. In battle, Byleth uses a variety of weapons called the Heroes' Relics. These include his standard sword-whip hybrid, dubbed the Sword of the Creator, Dimitri's lance Areadbhar, Edelgard's axe Aymr, and Claude's bow Failnaught. Byleth's Final Smash, Progenitor God Ruptured Heaven, strikes any nearby opponent with the whip with assistance from the Progenitor Goddess Sothis. Like Robin and Corrin, both male and female variants can be selected with alternate costumes referencing key figures from Three Houses. Byleth was released on January 28th, 2020 along with Garreg Mach Monastery, 11 music tracks, and Spirits from Three Houses, as part of Challenger Pack 5.

Stages

Every Fire Emblem stage from past installments return with one new stage added as DLC.

• 
  
  Castle Siege (Starter): Returning from Brawl as a retro stage with a considerable graphical overhaul.
• 
  
  Arena Ferox (Starter): Returning from Smash 3DS as a retro stage with a major graphical overhaul.
• 
  
  Coliseum (Starter): Returning from Smash Wii U as a retro stage with a minor graphical overhaul.
• 
  Garreg Mach Monastery (DLC): A stage based on the location of the same name from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It cycles through certain locations of the monastery, and some party members and major characters make cameos in the background.

Item

Bold italics denotes an item or Assist Trophy new to the Smash Bros. series.

• Killing Edge: A new battering item, this sword will occasionally glow bright purple. When it does, any successful hits will be extra powerful.

Assist Trophies

• Lyn: Returning functionally unchanged from past games, she performs Quick Draw on a random opponent. Her design has been updated to fit with the rest of the Fire Emblem cast, whose designs tend to draw from more recent Fire Emblem games. Can be damaged and KO'd.
• Tiki: A new Assist Trophy and based on her appearance from Awakening; she uses a Dragonstone to transform into a dragon and breathes fire across a wide area. Can be damaged and KO'd.
• Black Knight: A new Assist Trophy; he moves slowly but can take up a large amount of damage while dealing massive damage with single close-range sword swings. Can be damaged and KO'd.

Mii Costumes

Outfits

• Chrom Outfit
• Black Knight's Armor

Headgear

• Chrom Wig
• Black Knight Helm

Music

Original Tracks

Fire Emblem received twelve new music tracks for Ultimate.

• Under This Banner: An orchestral remix of the player-phase map theme that plays in all chapters but the final chapter of Book 1 of Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.
• Advance: An orchestral remix of the first player-phase theme from Book 2 of Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.
• Edge of Adversity: An extended arrangement of the cutscene theme from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
• Beyond Distant Skies - Roy's Departure: The player-phase map theme of the chapters set in Lycia and Etruria from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
• Prelude (Ablaze): A remix of the player-phase battle theme from the Prologue of Fire Emblem Awakening. The rhythms are heavily inspired from its remix version originating from Fire Emblem Warriors.
• Destiny (Ablaze): A Celtic-themed arrangement of a common player-phase battle theme from Fire Emblem Awakening.
• Id (Purpose): A subtly new arrangement of "Id (Purpose)" from Fire Emblem Awakening.
• Lost in Thoughts All Alone: A new instrumental arrangement of "Lost in Thoughts All Alone" from Fire Emblem Fates with some additional elements from the final map theme, "End of All".
• Fire Emblem Theme (Heroic Origins): A new faster-paced rock remix of the Fire Emblem Theme from Fire Emblem Heroes, originally from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.
• Gear Up For...: A new faster-paced remix of the main menu theme from Fire Emblem Heroes.
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses Main Theme (JP) (DLC): A new Japanese arrangement of "The Edge of Dawn (Seasons of Warfare)" from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, with a short excerpt of the Fire Emblem Theme.
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses Main Theme (DLC): A new English arrangement of "The Edge of Dawn (Seasons of Warfare)" from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, with a short excerpt of the Fire Emblem Theme.

Returning Tracks

Arrangements and remixes from previous Smash games.

• Story 5 Meeting: A medley of "Story 5 - Meeting" and the Fire Emblem Theme from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Returns from Melee, renamed from simply Fire Emblem.
• Fire Emblem Theme: An orchestral remix of the Fire Emblem Theme, with Latin lyrics. Returns from Brawl.
• Shadow Dragon Medley: A medley of themes from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, including "Battle Map 2: CP Side's Attack", "Story 2: The Beginning of Each Map", and "Battle Map 1: Player Side's Attack". Returns from Brawl.
• With Mila's Divine Protection (Celica Map 1): A Latin-style arrangement of Celica's army's player-phase map theme from Fire Emblem Gaiden, and the Fire Emblem Theme from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Returns from Brawl.
• Winning Road - Roy's Hope: An arrangement of the theme that plays if three or less enemies are left on the field in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. Returns from Brawl.
• Attack - Fire Emblem: A rock medley of "Strike" and "Rise to the Challenge" from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. Returns from Brawl.
• Preparing To Advance: An arrangement of "Combat Preparations" from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. Returns from Brawl.
• Lost in Thoughts All Alone (for 3DS / Wii U): A instrumental remix of "Lost in Thoughts All Alone" from Fire Emblem Fates. Returns from Smash 4.
• Coliseum Series Medley: A medley of two arena themes, including "Arena (Match)" from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, and "Arena - Battle" from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. Returns from Smash for Wii U.
• Fight 1 - Fire Emblem Gaiden: A remix of the player phase battle theme from Fire Emblem Gaiden. Returns from Smash for Wii U.
• Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem Medley: A medley of themes from Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, including "Advance", "Attack", "Defense", and the Fire Emblem Theme. Returns from Smash for Wii U.
• Meeting Theme Series Medley: A medley of various recruitment themes from the series, including "Story 5 - Meeting" from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, "Comrades" from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, "Recruitment" from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, and "In the Chapter ~ Joining a Group" from Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. Returns from Smash for Wii U.

Source Tracks

Tracks taken directly from their home games.

• Code Name: F.E.: The theme that plays on the title screen when all four compatible Fire Emblem amiibo are scanned in, sourced from Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., which itself is a remix of the Fire Emblem Theme and "Winning Road - Roy's Hope".
• Lords-A Chance Encounter: The theme that plays when a Fire Emblem character is present in a battle, sourced from Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., which itself is a remix of "Story 2: The Beginning of Each Map" from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.
• Lords-Showdown: The theme that played when all four Fire Emblem characters are in a battle, sourced from Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., which itself is a medley of "Fight 1" from Fire Emblem Gaiden and "Together we Ride" from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, with a snippet of "Dark Emperor Hardin" from Mystery of the Emblem in between.
• March To Deliverance: The player-phase map theme for Alm's army during Act 3, sourced from from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, which itself is an arrangement of "Alm Map 1" from Fire Emblem Gaiden.
• Those Who Challenge Gods: The player-phase battle theme from Act 5 onward, sourced from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, which itself is a remix of the same track from Fire Emblem Gaiden.
• Victory Is Near: The track that plays when certain maps are near completion, sourced from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
• Crimean Army Sortie: "Crimea Attacks", the map theme that plays during Chapters 18-25, sourced from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
• Against The Dark Knight: "Against the Black Knight", the theme that plays when attacking the Black Knight.
• Power-Hungry Fool: A theme that plays during certain cutscenes featuring Oliver, sourced from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
• Eternal Bond: The map theme for several chapters played from the perspective of Ike and the Greil Mercenaries in Part 3, most prominently used in Chapter 4 and the Endgame, sourced from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.
• The Devoted: The player-phase battle theme for all of Ike's Chapters until Chapter 11, sourced from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.
• Time of Action: The battle theme for the Apostle's Army, sourced from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.
• Duty (Ablaze): The player-phase battle theme for the earlier Chapters, sourced from Fire Emblem Awakening.
• Conquest (Ablaze): The player-phase battle theme for skirmishes outside of the main story, sourced from Fire Emblem Awakening.
• Id (Purpose): The theme "Id (Purpose)", a track played throughout the endgame chapter, sourced from Fire Emblem Awakening.
• Lost in Thoughts All Alone (JP): A highly edited Japanese version of the main theme, sourced from Fire Emblem Fates.
• Lost in Thoughts All Alone: A highly edited English version of the main theme, sourced from Fire Emblem Fates.
• Lord of A Dead Empire: The theme that plays during the attack on Rigel Castle, sourced from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
• The Scion's Dance In Purgatory: The theme that plays when attacking Berkut in his final battle in Act 5, sourced from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
• Fódlan Winds (DLC): The map theme up to Chapter 5, sourced from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
• Blue Skies and a Battle (DLC): The map theme for Chapter 7, sourced from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
• Tearing Through Heaven (DLC): The map theme for Chapters 8-10, sourced from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
• Chasing Daybreak (DLC): The map theme for the first few chapters in the second half of the game, sourced from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
• Between Heaven and Earth (DLC): The map theme for Chapter 17 of the Azure Moon and Verdant Wind routes, sourced from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
• Paths That Will Never Cross (DLC): The theme that plays during encounters with former colleagues in the second half of the game, sourced from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
• The Apex of the World (DLC): The theme of the final map of the Crimson Flower and Azure Moon routes, sourced from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
• The Edge of Dawn (Seasons of Warfare) (JP) (DLC): The Japanese version of the main theme, sourced from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
• The Edge of Dawn (Seasons of Warfare) (DLC): The English version of the main theme, sourced from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

Victory Themes

• Victory! Fire Emblem Series: A cover of several bars of the Fire Emblem Theme from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. In Ultimate the tempo is faster and the ending is abridged compared to previous games. Used by Marth, Roy, and Ike (and Chrom prior to Version 3.0.0).
• Victory! Awakening: A short orchestral cover of the beginning of "Id (Purpose)" from Fire Emblem Awakening. Used by Lucina, Robin, and Chrom (from Version 3.0.0 onward).
• Victory! Corrin: A remix of a small excerpt of "Lost in Thoughts All Alone" from Fire Emblem Fates.
• Victory! Byleth (DLC): A short instrumental cover of "The Edge of Dawn (Seasons of Warfare)" from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

Media with elements appearing in the Super Smash Bros. series

The Fire Emblem universe has media represented throughout the Super Smash Bros. series with a total of 20 games and media. The latest game represented in this universe is Fire Emblem: Three Houses, released on July 26, 2019.

Trivia

• To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Fire Emblem franchise, the first installment, Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, was officially localized and released for Nintendo Switch on December 4, 2020. The announcement video begins with two children playing Super Smash Bros. Melee, and afterwards inquiring about Marth's origins to illustrate his lack of familiarity with Western audiences at the time.
• As of version 7.0.0 in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Fire Emblem has the most number of unique victory fanfares in a single universe, with four in total.
• Fire Emblem is one of the four series not to have a home stage for a fighter in the installment it was first included in, the other three being EarthBound, F-Zero, and R.O.B.
  • This was technically the case for Wii Fit and Duck Hunt as well, as neither series received a stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS at launch; however, the Duck Hunt stage would later become DLC for the 3DS version.
• Alongside Mario, Pokémon, and Castlevania, Fire Emblem is one of the four universes to introduce multiple characters in its debut Smash game.
• The Fire Emblem universe has the third-largest amount of playable characters, with eight in total.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the second video game ever to feature all eight Fire Emblem fighters as playable characters, the first being Fire Emblem Heroes.
• Fire Emblem is the only universe in Melee without a stage.
• Fire Emblem is the only universe with more than one downloadable character available in SSB4.
• Fire Emblem is the only universe with more than one Echo Fighter in Ultimate.
• Every playable character from the Fire Emblem series has a chargeable neutral special move.
• Fire Emblem universe characters share the most move names with characters from other universes.
  • Counter, which is the name of Marth, Roy, Ike, Lucina, and Chrom's down specials, is also the name of Palutena's down special.
  • Thunder is the name of Robin's neutral special and Pikachu and Pichu's down special.
  • Flame Sword is the name of Roy's up smash and Mega Man's forward aerial.
• Fire Emblem is the first major universe in Smash Bros. history to feature content from upcoming games prior to their releases, that being Roy before appearing in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. It is also the only universe to have a playable character debut in a Super Smash Bros. installment before appearing in a game of its own universe.
  • It is also one of the six major universes to have featured material from upcoming games, the other five being Mario, Wario, Yoshi, Metal Gear, and Persona.
  • Additionally, while it should be noted that Corrin and Byleth were added as downloadable content after the release of their games, both Fates and Three Houses were released after SSB4 and Ultimate respectively.
  • Fire Emblem and Yoshi are also the only two universes to feature content from more than one upcoming game (in this case, Roy and the English version of Lost in Thoughts All Alone).
• Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy are the only universes to have characters as downloadable content in both SSB4 and Ultimate.
  • Alongside the Xenoblade Chronicles series, they are the only three universes to add multiple DLC characters.
  • Fire Emblem is also the first preexisting universe to have DLC as part of a Fighters Pass in Ultimate.
• Fire Emblem is the third universe with DLC characters to not have corresponding downloadable Mii costumes in Ultimate, following Banjo-Kazooie and Fatal Fury.
• Fire Emblem, Mario, and The Legend of Zelda are tied for having most clone characters of any type, with three each.
• Star Fox, Fire Emblem, Metal Gear, and Kingdom Hearts are the only universes to not feature dubs other than English, in addition to Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest who do not have English dubs, in the Super Smash Bros. series. In this case, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn introduced French, Spanish, German, and Italian dubs in its European localization.

External links

• Fire Emblem Wiki
• Sakurai Interview Article on Source Gaming: Fire Emblem 25th Anniversary Feature