Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu

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Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu
Developer(s)	Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shouzou Kaga Gunpei Yokoi
Series	Fire Emblem
Platform(s)	Super Famicom, Virtual Console
Release date(s)	JP 1996-05-14
Genre(s)	Tactical RPG
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	32-megabit cartridge

Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu (ファイアーエムブレム　聖戦の系譜^?, informally translated as Fire Emblem: Genealogy of Holy-War^[1]) is a Japanese Super Famicom tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It was released on May 14, 1996 in Japan. It is the fourth title in the Fire Emblem series, the second Fire Emblem title for the Super Famicom and was the last game produced by Gunpei Yokoi. The game has widely received recognition outside Japan through imports or console emulation. It is widely considered the greatest FIre Emblem game and one of the greatest rpg's ever. It was unofficially translated into English through emulation. It was released on the Japanese Virtual Console service on January 30, 2007, at the price of 900 Wii points.^[2]

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Story 2.1 Plot 2.2 Setting 3 Development 3.1 Non-Japanese versions 4 References 5 Pertinent details 6 External links

Gameplay

Seisen no Keifu, like all the other Fire Emblem games, is a turn-based tactical role-playing game. The player controls a small army of characters as they travel across the land, fighting enemies and liberating castles. For basic gameplay information, see the gameplay basics. There is no limit on how many player characters can be deployed; this is balanced by the player receiving fewer controllable units than in other games in the series.

At the start of each chapter, the player has a castle in their possession that must not be conquered by the enemy. In allied castles, characters can shop, store items, repair damaged items, and fight in the arena. Each individual character in this game has his or her own money; the only units who can give money to others are thieves and units who are in love. Characters cannot trade weapons and items. The only way to "give" something to another character is to sell the item at a pawn shop and have another character buy it. By visiting repair shops, money can be spent to restore a used weapon before it breaks. In the starting castle, the player can also promote characters to a more powerful class when they reach level 20. Rather than being reverted to level 1, the character will remain at his/her current level. There are only seven arena opponents to fight for each character per chapter, as opposed to infinite opponents in other Fire Emblem games. The arena opponents are predetermined for each chapter and are always the same. Characters do not die when they have lost an arena battle; instead, they remain alive at 1 hit point.

The majority of gameplay takes place on the battlefield. Seisen no Keifu is the first installment of the Fire Emblem series to implement the weapon triangle, a rock-paper-scissors-like system. In the weapon triangle, swords beat axes, axes beat lances, and lances beat swords. There is also a similar trinity of magic: fire beats wind, wind beats thunder and thunder beats fire. There are also Darkness and Light magic which beat all three of those, and are neutral against each other. Higher character level and statistics can still overcome a weapon triangle disadvantage. Among the features of the battlefield are differing terrains, which give defensive bonuses, gates which can only be opened by triggering a plot event, and villages, which can be attacked and destroyed by bandit enemies. Enemies can only destroy a portion of a village each turn; however, the more the player allows an enemy to tear down a village, the less gold will be rewarded for rescuing it. As opposed to other Fire Emblem games where capturing the enemy's castle ends the chapter, Seisen no Keifu features several enemy castles per chapter, all of which must be captured to proceed.

Seisen no Keifu is the first installment of the Fire Emblem series to assign special skills to individual characters. Characters may also gain skills by belonging to a certain character class. Personal Skills may be activated by command on the field, activated automatically under certain conditions, or activated by chance. If characters in the first half of the game fall in love, they will pass on their individual skills to their children in the second half of Seisen no Keifu. A similar skill system is also used in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

Seisen no Keifu introduces a romance-based game mechanic to the series. The characters in the first half of the game can fall in love after accumulating a certain amount of "Lover points". Characters will build Lover points automatically, but they will gain more if the player ends the turn with both characters adjacent to one another, and certain pairs have unique conversations at set points in the game, which give a large amount of Lover points. When two characters are paired, and if the mother survives the first half, the two parents will pass their weapons and personal skills on to their children, who are the majority of playable characters in the second half of the game. Weapons will only be inherited if the child can use it in their first class, unless it is a Holy Weapon, which is always inherited. The parents also pass on their Holy Blood and their stat growths, giving the player some manner of control over their units' growth rates. If some of the female player characters in the first half die or do not fall in love, substitute player characters appear in their children's place. The children can also fall in love. Characters in love in either generation may activate random critical hits when they stand next to their lover.

Story

Plot

Hundreds of years prior to the game's present, the Dark Lord Loputosu conquered the continent. Hundreds of thousands were massacred and sacrificed to the Dark God. However, the gods descended and blessed the Twelve Crusaders, who defeated the Lopt Empire. The Twelve Crusaders subsequently established seven dukedoms in Grandbell and five regional kingdoms.

At the beginning of the game, the Grandbell Empire is at war with the kingdom of Isaac in response to Rivough barbarians besieging Darna Castle. When bandits from the country of Verdane attack the relatively defenseless Empire, Sigurd of Chalphy arms himself to battle them while rescuing Aideen. In the course of fighting, he gathers many allies, several of whom are descendants of the Twelve Crusaders. While invading Verdane and after running into Isaacians Ayra and Shanan, he meets a mysterious girl named Diadora. She is revealed to be of Narga blood, a long-lost member of the Grandbellian royal family and the descendant of the Crusader with the power to defeat Loputosu. Sigurd and Diadora fall in love and marry. However, scheming Grandbellian dukes, in a bid for the throne, murder the Grandbellian king and prince and frame Sigurd for their deaths. The Archbishop Manfloy of the Lopt Sect, conspiring with Duke Alvis, also kidnaps Diadora and erases her memories. Sigurd, forced to flee into exile to Silesia, returns to Grandbell some time later and defeats the treasonous dukes; however, he is betrayed by Alvis, who has married Diadora and is now the Emperor of Grandbell. Alvis lures Sigurd's army into a trap and decimates them.

The second half of the game resumes seventeen years later in Isaac, where Sigurd and Diadora's son Celice has formed a liberation army against the harsh rule of the Grandbellian Empire. Celice joins up with surviving family members of Sigurd's allies and travels around the continent, freeing countries from Grandbellian rule. His final destination is Grandbell, where he must confront the forces of Emperor Alvis, his son Julius, and the Loput Sect.

Setting

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Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu takes place in the continent of Jugdral (pronounced YOOG-drahl and based on the Norse mythological name Yggdrasil). It is composed of eight kingdoms: the Kingdom of Grandbell, the Kingdom of Verdane, Miletos District, the Manster District, the Kingdom of Thracia, the Lords' Dominion of Agustria, the Kingdom of Silesia, Yied Desert, and the Kingdom of Isaac. They were founded by the 12 crusaders: Baldo, Ulir, Tordo, Fala, Neir, Blagi, Heim, Noba, Dain, Hezul, Sety, and Odo.

• Grandbell was founded by Saint Heim. Its royal family resides in Barhara castle. In addition to Barhara castle, Grandbell has six dukedoms: Chalphy, Jungby, Velthomer, Freege, Dozel, and Edda. This country also has the highest number of descendants of the crusaders, contributing to over half of the crusaders(Heim, Fala, Baldo, Blagi, Tordo, Ulir and Neir). The Fire Emblem does not appear in Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu, but it is mentioned as the family crest of the Velthomer house by the person succeeding it.^[3]

• Verdane is the southwesternmost country in Jugdral. It is Jugdral's land of forests and wildlife. It has absolutely no ties with Grandbell. It is ruled by kings without Holy Crusader heritage. Before Gran 757, when Sandima took over, it was ruled by King Bantou. Jamka, a recruitable archer character in Sigurd's tale, is from Verdane. Edin is taken by Gandolf to Marpha Castle, Verdane, in the Prologue. Princess Ayra of Isaac fled with her nephew Shanan to Verdane to escape the Isaacian-Grandbellian war. She then had no choice but to work as a mercenary for Genoa Castle. Chapter 1 takes place here.

• Miletos is the southernmost country of Jugdral. It is the country where trade routes to Jugdral meet. Chapter 10 takes place here. Chalphy dukedom of Grandbell is located near Miletos.

• Occupying the northern half of the Thracian Peninsula, the Manster District is a confederation of several small holdings to withstand Thracia's invasions. It was founded by holy crusader Noba, the younger sister of Dain. Traditionally, most of the Manster District's military power has come from Lenster's lance knight brigade (Lanzenritter), though the other holdings have separate militaries. The Manster District consists of Melgen, Lenster, Alster, Conote, and Manster. At the onset of the game, the king of Lenster is Prince Cuan's father King Calf.

• Thracia is a mountainous nation occupying the southern half of the Thracian Peninsula, south of the Manster District. It was founded by holy crusader Dain, the older brother of Noba. Because of the region's rocky soil and hilly terrain, food is scarce and the people are often hungry. However, Thracia is the nation that ridable-sized dragons are native to. Thracian knights who ride the dragons are famous as mercenaries throughout Jugdral, and contribute substantially to the country's income. Thracians have tried many times over Jugdral's history to conquer the fertile Manster District in order to provide food for their families, but all of the major assaults have been repelled by Lenster's lance knight brigade, colloquially known as the "Wall of Manster", especially by the Thracians. At the onset of the game, Trabant is king of Thracia.

• Agustria is the home of Eltshan's family. Crusader Hezul helped found Agustria. Agustria is located in the west side of Jugdral and north of Verdane. It is the largest country in Jugdral. Chapters 2 and 3 of the game take place here. Celice was born here between these chapters.

• Silesia is located north of Yied Desert and west of Isaac. It is the home of Levin and Fury. It was founded by Sety the Wind Crusader. It is the coldest country in Jugdral. Throughout Jugdral history, it has often been a neutral country. It has five castles: Silesia, Sailane, Thove, Zaxon, and Lubeck. Chapter 4 and part of Chapter 5 take place here.

• Yied Desert is the land of outcasts in Jugdral. It is also the center of the Loput sect. The heat in Yied Desert is dangerous, and the Dark Mages have unusual techniques to distract everyone trying to cross the desert. After the Isaacian-Grandbellian war, Isaac's Balmunk was taken to Yied Shrine. During Chapter 5, Cuan and Ethlin are killed by Trabant when marching across Yied Desert. Part of Chapter 5 and most of Chapter 7 take place here. During Chapter 7, Patty sneaks into Yied Shrine, snatches the Balmunk, and gives it to Shanan.

• The Kingdom of Isaac is the northeasternmost country in Jugdral and was founded by Odo in Gran 648. It is the home of Ayra, Shanan, Lakche, and Skasaher. Grandbell invades Isaac around the beginning of the game. Isaac is known for being the land of Swordmasters. In Isaac, women are treated differently from other countries in Jugdral. Isaac is second to Manster in fertility, having many flowers and bushes and some animals. It has five castles: Isaac, Sophara, Tilnagogue, Ganeishire, and Rivough. At the onset of the game, Grandbell invades Isaac, blaming Isaacian royalty, who is not actually responsible, for the siege on Darna castle in Yied Desert. Mariccle is the king of Isaac. Mariccle dies at the time of Chapter 2 of the game. In the meantime of Chapter 5, after the Isaacian-Grandbellian war, Isaac is taken over by Dozel nobility. With the exception of Rivough Castle, Isaac is the only country in Jugdral that did not participate in child hunts in the days of Alvis's Grandbellian Empire. Chapter 6 takes place here. Celice was raised here. According to Celice, the Isaacians suffered under Dozel nobility rule. The Isaacians detest the Grandbellian Empire for meddling in the affairs of Isaacian royalty and for having extreme political and military power.

Development

Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu was the first Fire Emblem game to be featured in the Fire Emblem Trading Card Game. Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu has the largest sound-track ever composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko, composed of one hundred and fourteen tracks. Some songs from the game were reused in the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem games. Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu deviates from traditional Fire Emblem gameplay in some ways. Norse and Irish mythology are the main contributors to names in Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu. The battle animations in this game inspired those in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu was discussed in Nintendo Power: Volume eighty-seven, published around the time of the game's release.

Non-Japanese versions

Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu was marketed exclusively in Japan during the early thirty-two-bit era, because Nintendo did not localize any games in the Fire Emblem series to North America or Europe until the sixth generation console era, beginning with Fire Emblem (known in Japan as Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken). It is considered the "holy grail" among Japan-only Fire Emblem games.^{[citation needed]}

Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu came out late in the life of the Super Famicom, being released on May 14, 1996. It has received recognition outside Japan since the 128-bit era, when Marth and Roy were introduced to foreign gamers as playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee. The exposure of Marth and Roy to foreign gamers indirectly led the Fire Emblem series as a whole to gain more attention.

Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu has had a significant following in North America and Europe through emulation. In the year 2000, J2E Translations started an unofficial English translation project on the game, although the project was discontinued before a patch was released. [1]. The translation project was dormant until 2003, when it was picked up by the Fire Emblem forums staff.^[4] There are many versions of the fan' translation patch circulating across the Internet. The more recent versions of the patch have the main dialogue fully translated into English, and also the battle and death scripts translated, but the game's ending dialogue remains untranslated along with certain castle conversations. The versions of the patch since July 2006 use the dialogue font used in the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem games.^[5]

Since the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee, being influenced by the appearance of Marth and Roy as playable characters during the sixth generation era, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu has received international recognition and a very positive reception by non-Japanese gamers and has been receiving a growing following in North America and Europe.^[6]

Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu was released to the Japanese Virtual Console service on January 8, 2007, at the price of 900 Wii points. Localization is required to release the game to the western Virtual Console services.

References

Pertinent details

• Monthly Gangan Wing
• Monthly GFantasy

External links

• (Japanese) Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu website websiteat Intelligent Systems of Japan.
• (Japanese) Official Fire Emblem websiteat Nintendo of Japan.
• (Japanese) Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu websiteat Nintendo of Japan.
• (Japanese) VC Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu websiteat Nintendo of Japan.
• (Japanese) Fire Emblem Museum - Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu at Nintendo of Japan.

• Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu at GameFAQs
• GameSpy summary
• Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu at MobyGames
• Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu at SerenesForest.net

v • d • e Fire Emblem series Main series Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi (characters) · Gaiden · Monshō no Nazo (characters) · Seisen no Keifu (characters) · Thracia 776 (characters) · Fūin no Tsurugi (characters) · Fire Emblem (characters) · The Sacred Stones (characters) · Path of Radiance (characters) · Radiant Dawn (characters) · Shadow Dragon (characters) Characters Marth Other games BS Fire Emblem: Akaneia Senki · Tear Ring Saga series