NWR writes: "Though Fire Emblem has more recently become a staple of Nintendo's American lineup, the series was exclusive to Japan for a total of six titles before making its way to western shores. Shadow Dragon, the latest title in the series is actually a recreation of the Famicom original from Intelligent Systems.
Starring the popular character Marth who was first introduced to the west through Super Smash Bros. Melee, Shadow Dragon follows the story of the young prince who is on a quest to save the kingdom of Archanea. The once defeated evil Shadow Dragon, Medeus has been revived by the sorcerer Gharnef, and together they have attacked and seized Archanea. Marth along with a group of followers fight the tyrannical rule in an attempt to restore the peace that prospered after the initial destruction of Medeus."
BLG writes: "The Fire Emblem games are a storied part of Nintendo’s history. Debuting only in Japan in 1990, it gave the first Nintendo consoles an enjoyable fantasy RPG-strategy experience. With 2003’s Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the series made its debut in North America (Europe and Australia got a 2004 release). Since then, the franchise has been a mainstay on every Nintendo system."
I still own Fire Emblem POF and RD. Those entries are uber pricey now. I wish they would bring back the transforming units from those games. Radiant Dawn was pretty hard too but at least you could save before each turn. Saved me the trouble of having to redo many a map due to unlucky enemy crits. lol
Thracia 776, Heroes and Warriors are all awful. I ignore them when discussing Fire Emblem altogether
Top 5:
1. Awakening
2. Three Houses
3. Blazing Blade
4. Sacred Stones
5. Path of Radiance.
I've played most of the others, but they didn't really hook me.
Stay away from Shadows of Valencia and the DS remakes.
Alex S. from Link-Cable writes: "...as we get ready to embark on the next journey with Fire Emblem: Three Houses we thought it would be a good idea to look back at the games that helped shape the series into what it is today, at least as far as the west is concerned."
There are a lot of animal-people in the Fire Emblem series! These are different races who transform into actual animals in battle, while occasionally maintaining some of these features while in their humanoid forms. Hearing about laguz or taguel can be confusing, especially since these races are not universal and may only be present in a few select entries.
