User:TimothyPrice/Multiple Endings

Corrin making the choice that will determine the ending in Fire Emblem Fates.

The concept of multiple endings is a recurring element in the Fire Emblem series but has multiple different meanings depending on the game.

Types of endings

Character endings

Eirika's and Ephraim's paired ending.

The existence of character epilogues at the end of the game has been in every Fire Emblem game to date. However, multiple possible character endings was introduced in Fire Emblem Gaiden. These different epilogues depend on whether other characters are alive or dead. This system has only returned in the game's remake, Shadows of Valentia.

A new system was introduced with the Fire Emblem games for Game Boy Advance where 2 characters with an "A" ranked support will have a unique character ending during the ending slideshow known as a "paired ending". Not all A supports will lead to a paired ending however and doing an A support for pairings with no unique ending will just lead to the default endings for the characters in question.

In Awakening and Fates, the system was similar to that of the GBA character ending system except for the fact that the 2 units need to develop an S ranked support instead of an A support. The newly introduced A+ supports from Fates will not trigger a paired ending. Paired endings can also be potentially different in Fates and Three Houses depending on the story route the player chooses.

Narrative branches

Some games in the series have multiple possible conclusions to the main storyline. The first game in the series to have a feature like this was The Binding Blade. How these different endings can be achieved depend on the game in question, but include whether or not the player has pursued optional content such as a sidequest, having certain characters dead or alive, or alternate routes that never reconverge and lead to different outcomes.

Appearances

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

During the first chapter of the game, Byleth is given a choice to lead one of 3 Houses of Garreg Mach Monastery's Officers Academy. Choosing any one of the houses will cause the story to drastically to take a drastic turn starting in Chapter 12 leading to 3 standard endings. However if Byleth obtains a C+ support with Edelgard and sees an optional scene after talking to her during Chapter 11, a fourth hidden route can be chosen counting up to 4 endings to the game in whole.