Fire Emblem

Fire Emblem is a Japanese fantasy tactical role-playing game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. First produced and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, the series currently consists of seventeen core entries and five spinoffs. Gameplay revolves around the tactical movement and actions of characters across grid-based battlefields, while having a story and characters similar to traditional role-playing video games.

A notable aspect of gameplay is the permanent death of characters in battle, rendering them unusable upon being defeated. From Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem onwards, players get to choose between "Classic Mode", in which fallen characters remain dead, or "Casual Mode", in which fallen characters are revived after battle. The series' title refers to the "Fire Emblem", a recurring element usually portrayed as a royal weapon or shield representing the power of war and dragons. The development of the first game began as a dōjin project by Shouzou Kaga and three other developers, and its success prompted the development of further games in the series. Kaga headed the development of each entry until the release of Thracia 776, when he left Intelligent Systems. He went on to found his own game studio, Tirnanog, who developed Tear Ring Saga.

The series debuted in the West with the seventh game The Blazing Blade in 2003, under the title Fire Emblem. According to the game's director, this was because of the international success of the similarly turn-based Advance Wars. The inclusion of Marth and Roy in the 2001 fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee as playable characters is also cited as a reason. Many games in the series sold well, although sales suffered a decline during the late 2000s. This resulted in the series' near-cancellation until the unprecedented critical and commercial success of Fire Emblem Awakening (2012). The series has been lauded for its gameplay and is frequently cited as the seminal series in the tactical role-playing genre, codifying various gameplay elements that would come to define the genre. Characters from across the series have been included in crossovers with other video game franchises, including the Super Smash Bros. series.