Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade: Difference between revisions

{{Game Infobox

|released=

'''Game Boy Advance'''<br>{{JP}}March 22nd, 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 2nd, 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''.

The game is set in a new and separate world from its predecessors, the continent of [[Elibe]], a land once wracked by a fierce war between [[human]]s and [[dragon]]s.  One thousand years after that conflict, the misanthropic King [[Zephiel]], of the militaristic nation of [[Bern]], has freed the infamous [[Demon Dragon]] and engaged the rest of Elibe in [[Disturbance of Bern|a full-scale war]] with the intent of "freeing" the world from mankind and returning it to its "rightful" dragon owners.  In response, [[Roy]], the young heir of [[Pherae]], leads the forces of [[Lycia]] in combatting Bern in lieu of his ill father, Marquess [[Eliwood]].

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 Generals]] 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.

==Development==

{{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>

===Fan translation===

The original [[fan translation]] of ''The Binding Blade'' was produced by the group DTN Translation Division and saw its first release in 2006; the last stable release was in 2006, in a playable yet unrefined state.  In 2013-2014, a heavily updated and polished version of the patch was produced and released by ''gringe'' of the Serenes Forest forums.  Among the patch's improvements is a total retranslation and rewrite of the game's script, updating the game's graphics and fixing untranslated/poorly translated remnants left by the old translation, and revising terminology to bring the game in line with the English releases of [[Fire Emblem (game)|its prequel]] and {{FE13}}.<ref>gringe. (2014-03-13). "[http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=41095 FE6 Translation Patch Redux v0.95 - Seriously, we did something"]. ''Serenes Forest Forums''. Retrieved 2014-03-25</ref>

File:FEFT Logo.png|Japanese logo of ''The Binding Blade''.

|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.

|jap-mean=Officially romanized as '''Fire Emblem: The Sword of Seal'''.

|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.}}