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Gameplay modes

From Fire Emblem Wiki, your source on Fire Emblem information. By fans, for fans.

Across the Fire Emblem series, there are a number of alternate modes of gameplay. While the most common are difficulty modes, allowing an adjustable challenge for players, other games feature their own types of modes varying the general flow of gameplay or the story, to either the benefit or detriment of the player.

Difficulty modes

Main article: Difficulty

The first game to feature different formal modes of difficulty was Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. Since then, almost every game has featured at least two different difficulty modes, chosen by the player at the beginning of a new game. Between games, there is considerable variation in the difficulty of seemingly the same levels. Each difficulty level can change many aspects of gameplay, such as enemy stats, enemy equipment and skills, the number of enemies present, reinforcement timing, artificial intelligence, and much more.

Paragon Mode

Main article: Paragon
This gameplay mode appears only in Thracia 776.

In Thracia 776, Paragon Mode (Japanese: エリートモード Elite Mode) is a secret gameplay mode, unlocked by inputting a button combination at the "New Game" menu. In this mode, every playable character has the Paragon skill applied to them, doubling their experience gain; characters who already have Paragon in normal gameplay or are currently wielding the Paragon Sword have the effect doubled, gaining quadruple the experience.

Fire Emblem Gaiden has an identical mode which comprises its Easy mode.

Eliwood's, Hector's, and Lyn's tales

Selecting the gameplay mode in Fire Emblem.
These gameplay modes appear only in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade is divided into three "tales", each focused around one of the three Lords. Lyn's tale (Prologue to Chapter 10) and Eliwood's tale (Chapter 11E to Final) comprise the initial "main story"; on an initial playthrough, the player plays through both of them back-to-back. Upon completion of the game for the first time, the player gains the option to choose either game mode upon starting a new game, as well as the option to choose Hector's tale (Chapter 11H to Final). Hector's tale is a retelling of Eliwood's tale from the perspective of Hector; it differs in that it features six unique chapters (Another Journey, Talons Alight, A Glimpse in Time, Crazed Beast, The Berserker, and The Value of Life), two unique recruitable characters (Farina and Karla), a number of potential ending variations based on gameplay performance, minor rewrites introducing new subplots and sequences, and a generally higher difficulty.

Additionally, all three tales have a matching Hard Mode, with "Hector Hard Mode" being the most difficult mode in The Blazing Blade; "Lyn Hard Mode" and "Eliwood Hard Mode" are unlocked upon completing the game once, while "Hector Hard Mode" is unlocked by completing "Hector Normal Mode" once.

Each tale is associated with one save file color, regardless of difficulty setting. Lyn's tale saves are colored teal, Eliwood's tale files are a bright blue, while Hector's tale uses a darker steel-blue.

World map

Main article: World map

While many Fire Emblem series games use the world map simply for narration, several games have an explorable world map where the player characters may move to and from locations chosen by the player.

Creature Campaign

Main article: Creature Campaign
This gameplay mode appears only in The Sacred Stones.

In Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, after completing the Final Chapter, the player may choose to continue the save file in Creature Campaign mode. It is an endless post-game mode where the player can fight in skirmishes, accumulate experience, and seek higher records in the Tower of Valni and Lagdou Ruins. By meeting certain criteria in the Tower and Ruins, the player is rewarded with various important characters and antagonists from the main story to use as playable units.

Random and Fixed Modes

Main articles: Growth rate and Growth point
These gameplay modes appear only in Path of Radiance and Engage.
When characters increase in level, their stat are improved randomly.
— Random Mode help text
When characters increase in level, their stat improvement is based on that unit's strengths.
— Fixed Mode help text

Upon completing Path of Radiance for the first time, the player receives the option to choose between Random Mode and Fixed Mode upon starting a new game. These modes are concerned with variances in the statistical growth of playable units. Random Mode is merely the standard way growth rates work throughout the series, whereas Fixed Mode implements a new system revolving around growth points. Using the growth rates of characters as their base growth point values, further growth points in stats are accumulated through defeating enemies and vary depending on the weapons and items equipped by the unit, and higher growth points in stats result in greater increases in the stats in question.

This option returned in Fire Emblem Engage. By default, Normal and Hard mode use random growths, while Maddening uses fixed growth. Switching modes can only be done after having beaten the game on that difficulty; e.g. beating Hard does not allow choosing Maddening random growths. In Engage's fixed growths mode, each character has a hidden decimal number for each stat. At level up, the character's growths are added to each stat and they gain 1 point if their hidden stat value passes a new whole number.

Classic and Casual Mode

These gameplay modes appear only in New Mystery of the Emblem and later games.

One of the most well-known caveats of the Fire Emblem series is its use of permanent character deaths. In New Mystery of the Emblem, Casual Mode was introduced, an effort to soften the blow for players new to the series by disabling permanent death for the course of a playthrough. Instead, characters who are defeated in battle merely retreat, and return in the next chapter as if nothing ever happened. Classic Mode is the other option, enabling the standard permanent-death setup of the series. Both of these options are separate from the difficulty modes and are chosen separately, allowing the player to, for example, enable Casual Mode on a Reverse Lunatic playthrough. The Classic/Casual Mode options returned in Awakening, working the same way; Casual Mode is renamed Newcomer Mode in the European English release of the game.

In New Mystery of the Emblem, Awakening, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, and Engage, the defeat of the main characters still gives a game over, while in Fates and Three Houses the main characters retreat like other units.

Phoenix Mode

This gameplay mode appears only in Fates.

Fates introduced Phoenix Mode,[1] a mode wherein fallen characters are resurrected the turn after they are defeated in battle. In this mode characters do not say anything when defeated. Unlike Casual and Classic, Phoenix Mode can only be played in Normal Mode.

Exploration

In some Fire Emblem series games there are segments of gameplay where the player has direct control of the main character and are not under the restrictions of the grid or movement values. Gaiden and Echoes: Shadows of Valentia have these in villages and dungeons, Fates has this when Corrin is managing My Castle, Three Houses has this when Byleth is teaching at Garreg Mach Monastery, and Engage has this when Alear is exploring the Somniel. During these segments the player controls the main character and are able to interact with other characters and other things depending on the game.

Etymology and other languages

Lyn's Tale

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

Lyn's Tale

Japanese

リン編

Lin Chapter

French

Histoire de Lyn

Lyn's Tale

Eliwood's Tale

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

Eliwood's Tale

Japanese

エリウッド編

Eliwod Chapter

French

Histoire d'Eliwood

Eliwood's Tale

Hector's Tale

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

Hector's Tale

Japanese

ヘクトル編

Hector Chapter

French

Histoire d'Hector

Hector's Tale

Classic

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

Classic

Japanese

クラシック

Classic

Spanish

Clásico

Classic

French

Classique

Classic

German

Klassisch

Classic

Italian

Classica

Classic

Dutch

Klassiek

Classic

Korean

클래식

Classic

Simplified Chinese

经典

Classics

Traditional Chinese

經典

Classics

Casual

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

Casual

English
(Europe)

Newcomer

Used only in Awakening; all subsequent games use "Casual" like the NTSC-U version.

Japanese

カジュアル

Casual

Spanish

Novato

Beginner

French

Débutant

Beginner

German

Anfänger

Beginner

Italian

Principiante

Beginner

Dutch

Beginner

Beginner

Korean

캐주얼

Casual

Simplified Chinese

轻松

Relaxed

Traditional Chinese

輕鬆

Relaxed

Phoenix

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

Phoenix

The phoenix is a bird from Greek mythology that is continuously reborn from its own ashes.

Japanese

フェニックス

Phoenix

Spanish

Fénix

Phoenix

French

Phénix

Phoenix

German

Phönix

Phoenix

Italian

Fenice

Phoenix

Dutch

Feniks

Phoenix; used in an unused string in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

Korean

피닉스

Phoenix

Simplified Chinese

不死鸟

Phoenix; used in an unused string in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

Traditional Chinese

不死鳥

Phoenix; used in an unused string in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

Gallery

References

  1. "To begin with, perhaps the biggest news–and the one sure to create heated discussions amongst fans–is the introduction of a brand new mode, Phoenix Mode, where fallen characters are resurrected immediately on the next turn." — VincentASM, Fire Emblem if Famitsu leak: Phoenix Mode, Serenes Forest, Published: 12 May, 2015, Retrieved: 12 May, 2015
Game mechanics
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