Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade: Difference between revisions

|image=[[File:FEFT Logo.png|200px]]<br>

|released=

'''Game Boy Advance'''<br>{{JP}}March 22, 2002<ref>NeoSeeker: [http://www.neoseeker.com/Games/Products/GBA/fireemblem_gba/ Fire Emblem: The Sword of Seal (Import)]</ref><br>'''Wii U Virtual Console'''<br>{{JP}}September 2, 2015

|rating={{Rating|CERO=A <small>(Virtual Console rerelease)</small>}}

|platforms=

*[[Game Boy Advance]]

'''''Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade''''' (Japanese: {{hover|ファイアーエムブレム　封印の剣|Faiā emuburemu fūin no tsurugi}} ''Fire Emblem: The Sword of Seal'') is a [[Game Boy Advance]] game released in 2002.  It is the sixth installment in the {{FES}}, the first for Game Boy Advance and on a handheld platform, and was the last title to be released only in Japan until {{title|New Mystery of the Emblem}}.  It was this game which sparked international interest in the franchise, caused by the appearance of protagonist [[Roy]] in {{SSBM}}, paving the way for successive titles to be translated and exported to other countries.  It was also the first installment to be made without the involvement of [[Shouzou Kaga]], a prominent figure in the series' creation and the director of every installment through to {{title|Thracia 776}}, who had left [[Intelligent Systems]] after ''Thracia''.

1000 years before the events of this game, the land of [[Elibe]] was the scene of [[The Scouring]], a brutal war between [[human]]s and [[dragon]]s over the control of the land. Late in this war, mankind forged nine powerful dragon-slaying weapons, the [[Legendary Weapons|Divine Weapons]] and the [[Binding Blade (weapon)|Binding Blade]], and gave them to eight powerful fighters who became known as the [[Eight Legends]] to use to finish the war.  However, the sheer power imbued in the weapons tore apart the world's balance and laws of physics when clashed with the dragon's own potent power, a phenomenon later called the [[Ending Winter]]. After the war, fearing the power of the weapons and the possibility of someone using them to cause a catastrophe, the Generals sealed the weapons away in hiding places across the continent, protected by a powerful seal established by one of their number, [[Bramimond]], and once guarded by the lingering spirits of warriors from the war.  Over the thousand years, the weapons remained ([[Fire Emblem (game)|mostly]]) undisturbed, and their power - while still formidable - depleted over time.

''The Binding Blade'' retains the [[constitution]] stat introduced in ''Thracia'', but removes [[action]] and the [[follow-up critical coefficient]].  [[Resistance]] returns to its normal function following its absence in ''Thracia'', and [[movement]] and constitution are no longer connected to [[growth rate]]s.  [[Strength]] and [[Magic (stat)|magic]] are no longer technically separate stats, but rather are the same value handled differently: physical units treat it as strength, while magical units treat it as magic.

[[File:Ss fe06 preliminary dialogue1.jpg|thumb|right|A screenshot of ''[[Fire Emblem 64]]'', a cancelled game whose development led to ''The Binding Blade''.]]

{{main|Fire Emblem 64|Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade pre-release information}}

The development of ''The Binding Blade'' originated with ''Fire Emblem: Priestess of Darkness'' (Japanese: {{hover|ファイアーエムブレム 暗黒の巫女|Faiāemuburemu ankoku no miko}}), an ill-fated title for the Nintendo 64 console which is better known as ''[[Fire Emblem 64]]''. When developmental difficulties arose with this Nintendo 64 title, the project was cancelled and development was moved to a new title for the Game Boy Advance platform, which at first was still known as ''Priestess of Darkness''. However, the planning for the game had to start from the beginning due to the difficulties which led to the initial cancellation, so few traces of the Nintendo 64 original remained in the Game Boy Advance product; the only elements which are confirmed to have carried over without major changes are the characters [[Roy]] and [[Karel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://serenesforest.net/2015/12/09/the-making-of-fire-emblem-64/|title=The Making of Fire Emblem 64|author=VincentASM|site=Serenes Forest|published=2015-12-09|retrieved=2016-01-03}}</ref>

The Game Boy Advance version of ''Priestess of Darkness'' was first announced in August 2000, when it appeared in a list of games to be showcased in the following year's [[wikipedia:Nintendo Space World|Nintendo Space World]] press event. The first footage of the game was demonstrated at that year's Space World.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ign.com/articles/2001/01/23/fire-emblem-maiden-of-the-dark|title=Fire Emblem - Maiden of the Dark|author=IGN staff|site=IGN|published=2001-01-23|retrieved=2014-07-06}}</ref> By July 2001, the game had been renamed ''The Binding Blade'', its title in the final release.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://serenesforest.net/general/fire-emblem-64/|title=Fire Emblem 64|author=VincentASM|site=Serenes Forest|published=2013-02-25|retrieved=2014-07-06}}</ref> During its development, protagonist [[Roy]] was introduced as a playable character in {{SSBM}} at the request of Intelligent Systems, in order to promote the game's upcoming release.

 

As of mid-March 2002, weeks prior to the game's Japanese release, Nintendo of America had allegedly confirmed their intent to localize and release ''The Binding Blade'' internationally, but these plans never eventuated and instead its prequel, {{FE7}}, became the first internationally-released ''Fire Emblem'' game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/355/355656p1.html|title=Fire Emblem Hits Japan Airwaves|author=Harris, Craig|site=IGN|published=2002-03-15|retrieved=2014-03-25}}</ref>

 

{{main|Staff of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade}}

 

In late March 2019 an unreleased Chinese localization of ''The Binding Blade'' was released by a collector on the internet.<ref>https://serenesforest.net/2019/03/25/binding-blade-chinese-prototype-surfaces-thanks-hidden-palace/</ref> Aside from being translated into Chinese, the game is not known to have undergone any major modifications aside from some new splash screens. The translation modifies the game copyright screen to extend to 2007, implying that the translation was done at around that point. Judging by the added [[wikipedia:iQue|iQue]] splash screen, the translation was done by iQue, a Chinese company involved with [[Nintendo]] that handled the localization of several Nintendo titles for the Chinese-speaking market.

As the Chinese translation's credits remain unmodified from the Japanese release, the individuals behind the game translation itself remain uncredited.

Ss fe06 ch title screen.png|Chinese title screen.

Ss fe06 ch copyright splash screen.png|Splash screen seen on startup.

Ss fe06 ch copyright year splash screen.png|Modified copyright year.

Ss fe06 ch ique splash screen.png|iQue splash screen.

Ss fe06 ch murdock galle dialogue.png|A dialogue scene between [[Murdock]] and [[Galle (The Binding Blade)|Galle]].

Ss fe06 ch inventory.png|[[Sophia]]'s inventory screen.

Ss fe06 ch sound room.png|The game sound room.

|eng-mean=Known by this name in official [[Nintendo]] sources from the {{FE7}} website onward.<br>The title refers to the [[Binding Blade (weapon)|Binding Blade]], a powerful weapon obtained by Roy late in the game; this weapon is part of the game's logo.

|eng-fan-name=• ''Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals''<br>• ''Fire Emblem: Sealed Sword''

|eng-fan-mean=The Japanese phrase "封印の剣" is somewhat open to interpretation, resulting in several variations in translations of the name. The modern ''gringe'' [[fan translation]], however, calls the game "The Binding Blade".

|ital-mean=As above.}}

 

 

 

* ''[http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wiiu/software/vc/pcnj/index.html Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade]'' Wii U Virtual Console website (Japanese)

* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20171124113426/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/fe/fe_museum/huin/map/index.html Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade]'' Fire Emblem Museum section (Japanese, archived by the Wayback Machine)

[[Category:Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade| ]]