Site News
Warning: This wiki contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!

Social media: If you would like, please join our Discord server, and/or follow us on Twitter (X) or Tumblr!

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

From Fire Emblem Wiki, your source on Fire Emblem information. By fans, for fans.
Revision as of 02:19, 15 November 2014 by Moydow (talk | contribs) (Undo revision 59566 by Josue58423 (talk) "eventuate" is a word, and more appropriate here than "happen")
The Binding Blade

FEFT Logo.png

Ba japan fe06.jpg
Japanese logo and box art.

Developer(s)

Intelligent Systems

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Release date(s)

JPMarch 22, 2002[1]

Rating(s)

N/A*

Platform(s)

Game Boy Advance

Predecessor

Fire Emblem: Thracia 776

Successor

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade

On partnered sites

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (Japanese: ファイアーエムブレム 封印の剣 Fire Emblem: The Sword of Seals) is a Game Boy Advance game released in 2002. It is the sixth installment in the Fire Emblem series, the first for Game Boy Advance and on a handheld platform, and was the last title to be released only in Japan until New Mystery of the Emblem. It was this game which sparked international interest in the franchise, caused by the appearance of protagonist Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, 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 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 humans and dragons. 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 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.

The game was followed up by Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, a prequel set twenty years prior, dealing with Roy's father Eliwood in his youth. It helps flesh out Zephiel's history, and sets up and elaborates upon other aspects of the world of Elibe, some only barely touched upon in The Binding Blade.

Plot

Template:Spoiler 1000 years before the events of this game, the land of Elibe was the scene of The Scouring, a brutal war between humans and dragons over the control of the land. Late in this war, mankind forged nine powerful dragon-slaying weapons, the Divine Weapons and the 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 (mostly) undisturbed, and their power - while still formidable - depleted over time.

The fall of the Lycian League

Oppression of The Western Isles

Coup d'etat in Etruria

Retaking Ilia

Liberating Sacae

On Bern's soil

After the Demon Dragon

Gameplay

The Binding Blade is today considered to be the game which codified the general structure and gameplay flow of almost all subsequent Fire Emblem games. Compared to its predecessor, Thracia 776, it is significantly simplified and has dropped numerous features, but also retains some of the stats, mechanics and general concepts introduced by Thracia.

Stat changes

The Binding Blade retains the constitution stat introduced in Thracia, but removes action and the pursuit critical coefficient. Resistance returns to its normal function following its absence in Thracia, and movement and constitution are no longer connected to growth rates. Strength and 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.

Supports

While the support bonus mechanic had existed in a hidden form in prior games, The Binding Blade converted it into its present form, where supports between units are strengthened by their participation in battles alongside each other and are activated by having units talk to each other. It also introduces the affinity system, where each playable unit bears one of seven elemental affinities which dictates what stat boosts they provide to their support partner.

Weapon triangle

The Trinity of Magic is modified from Thracia 776: fire, thunder and wind magic are consolidated into a single magic type, anima magic. In turn, light and dark magic are integrated into the Trinity of Magic properly rather than their former position as being separate from it: anima beats light, light beats dark, and dark beats anima.

Chapters

Main article: List of chapters in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

In an average playthrough, the game is 25 chapters long, not counting any of the sidequests, of which there are six. At two points in the game, the story diverges into two separate alternate routes before later converging to rejoin a single story route, covering a span of six chapters and one sidequest per playthrough. The game features a total of 39 distinct map chapters, including sidequests and the branched routes. Furthermore, the maps of The Binding Blade are widely known for being significantly larger than those of the other Game Boy Advance installments, putting a greater emphasis on the ability to quickly cross the field.

Characters

Main article: List of characters in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

The main story mode of The Binding Blade features 54 playable characters, the largest playable cast of the three Game Boy Advance games and one of the largest of the series as a whole, behind Radiant Dawn and New Mystery of the Emblem. However, on an average playthrough only 51 can be encountered and recruited, as the game's forked routes at two points in the game result in pairs of characters appearing only in one route or the other (Lalum/Elphin, Ekhidna/Bartre, Dayan/Juno). A further eight characters can be unlocked to be used exclusively in the game's Trial Map mode, bringing the total playable cast to 62.

Support Conversations

Main article: List of supports in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

The Binding Blade introduced the support conversation system, an extension of the more rudimentary, behind-the-scenes support systems present in Mystery of the Emblem and Thracia 776. With this system, support bonuses are now obtained by, after characters accumulate the required number of points, having the characters talk to each other, after which their support level increases. This system allowed for a greater level of insight and depth into army members of lesser importance and to their connections and relationships, compared to prior installments where they were by and large left flat and un-fleshed out.

Development

Main article: Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade pre-release information

The Binding Blade was first announced in August 2000 under the title Fire Emblem: Priestess of Darkness (Japanese: ファイアーエムブレム 暗黒の巫女), named in reference to antagonist Idenn; it first appeared in a list of games to be showcased in the following year's Nintendo Space World press event, in which the first footage of the game was demonstrated.[2] By July 2001, the game had been renamed The Binding Blade, its title in the final release.[3] During its development, protagonist Roy was introduced as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee 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, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, became the first internationally-released Fire Emblem game.[4]

Trivia

The title screen in the 2013 revision of The Binding Blade's fan translation.

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 its prequel and Fire Emblem Awakening.[5]

Gallery

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language Name Definition, etymology, and notes
English

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

As of Fire Emblem Awakening and the NTSC English version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
The title refers to the Binding Blade, a powerful weapon obtained by Roy late in the game; this weapon is part of the game's logo.

English
(unofficial)

Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals
Fire Emblem: Sealed Sword

The Japanese phrase "封印の剣" is somewhat open to interpretation, resulting in several variations in translations of the name.

References

  1. NeoSeeker: Fire Emblem: The Sword of Seal (Import)
  2. IGN staff (2001-01-23). "Fire Emblem - Maiden of the Dark". IGN. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
  3. VincentASM. (2013-02-25) "Fire Emblem 64". Serenes Forest. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
  4. Harris, Craig. (2002-03-15). "Fire Emblem Hits Japan Airwaves". IGN. Retrieved 2014-03-25
  5. gringe. (2014-03-13). "FE6 Translation Patch Redux v0.95 - Seriously, we did something". Serenes Forest Forums. Retrieved 2014-03-25

External links

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Playable characters AlenAstolfoBartheBartreBorsCathCeciliaChadClarineDayanDieckDorothyDouglasEchidnaElenElffinFaeFirGarretGeeseGonzalezGwendolynHughIgreneJunoKarelKleinLanceLarumLilinaLotLughMarcusMerlinusMeladyNiimeNoahOgierPercevalRaighRoyRutgerSaulShannaSinSophiaSueTheaTrecWardWoltYoderZelotZeiss
Trial Map characters BrunnyaEliwoodGalleGuinivereHectorMurdockNarcianZephiel
Non-playable characters EliwoodGuinivereHectorMaryMordred
Bosses ArcardoBorsBrakulBrunnyaChanDamasDebiasDoryEinErikFlaerGalleGuerreroHenningIdunnKabulKelKudokaJahnLeganceMaggieMarralMartelMonkeMorganMurdockNarcianNordOatesOrloPeresRaithRandyRoartzRobertsRoseRuudScollanScottSiguneSlaterThorilTickWagnerWindhamZephielZinque
Background characters AthosBariganBramimondDurbanElimineHanonHartmutRoland
Regalia and personal weapons ApocalypseArmadsAureolaBinding BladeDurandalEckesachsForblazeMaltetMulagirRapierStaff of the Saint
Chapters Tutorial • 1: Breath of Destiny • 2: Princess of Bern • 3: Latecomer's Sorrow • 4: Crumbling League • 5: Fire Emblem • 6: Ensnared • 7: The Ostian Revolt • 8: Reunion • 8x: The Blazing Blade • 9: The Misty Isles • 10A: Western Resistance • 11A: The Hero of the West • 10B: Amidst a Struggle • 11B: Flight Toward Freedom • 12: The True Enemy • 12x: The Thunder Axe • 13: Rescue Mission • 14: Arcadia • 14x: The Infernal Truth • 15: The Dragon Child • 16: Storming the Capital • 16x: The Glorious Ascension • 17A: Ocean's Parting • 18A: The Frozen River • 19A: Bitter Cold • 20A: Ilia's Salvation • 20Ax: The Freezing Lance • 17B: The Bishop's Teachings • 18B: The Laws of Sacae • 19B: Battle in Bulgar • 20B: The Silver Wolf • 20Bx: The Bow of Swift Wind • 21: The Binding Blade • 21x: The Elder Revelation • 22: Unattained Dream • 23: The Ghosts of Bern • 24: Legends and LiesF: Beyond Darkness
Trial Maps Valley of DeathRainy IslandSnowy DefensivePirate's ChallengeRoy's Trial
Locations ElibeBern (Dragon TempleShrine of Seals) • Etruria (Aquleia) • IliaLycia (AraphenLausOstiaPheraeThria) • Missur (ArcadiaNabata) • Sacae (BulgarTaras) • Western Isles
Groups, objects and concepts Disturbance of BernEnding WinterFire EmblemGenerals of EtruriaThe ScouringWar Dragons
Lists ChaptersCharactersClasses (Class change) • Hidden treasureItemsScriptsSupportsWeapons
Related topics Elibe DisturbanceHasha no TsurugiName chart • Other games (The Blazing Blade) • Pre-release information (Unused content) • Sound RoomTimeline
Fire Emblem series
Main series Shadow Dragon & the Blade of LightGaidenMystery of the EmblemGenealogy of the Holy WarThracia 776The Binding BladeThe Blazing BladeThe Sacred StonesPath of RadianceRadiant DawnShadow DragonNew Mystery of the EmblemAwakeningFatesEchoes: Shadows of ValentiaThree HousesEngage
Spin-offs Archanea SagaTokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FEHeroesWarriorsWarriors: Three Hopes
Crossover games Super Smash Bros. (MeleeBrawlfor Nintendo 3DS and Wii UUltimate) • Club Nintendo Picross+Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.Project X Zone 2WarioWareDragalia Lost
Unreleased games and prototypes Fire Emblem 64The Blazing Blade pre-release build 0206The Blazing Blade pre-release build 0219The Sacred Stones prototypeFire Emblem Wii
TearRing Saga series Yutona Heroes War ChroniclesBerwick Saga
Vestaria Saga series War of the ScionsThe Sacred Sword of SilvanisterLucca GaidenChronicles of the Norden Civil War
Related titles Mario Kart: Double Dash!! bonus discLINENintendo Badge Arcade
Versions and releases List of version differencesLocalization of the Fire Emblem seriesVirtual Console
Other References in other mediaReferences to other media