The Fire Emblem series was properly revived with the release of Awakening back in 2013, and it’s only gotten even more popular since then. Which means that it’s time to rank all eight main Fire Emblem games that have been released so far.
Note: This list is only for the Fire Emblem games that have been released in North America up to this point. There’s also a spoiler warning for most of the titles listed here.
10. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (2008)
Shadow Dragon released on the Nintendo DS, but is actually a remake of the very first game that released on the Famicom in 1990. Even with a modern coat of paint and some improvements Shadow Dragon still has some pieces that feel dated, making it more of an experience to see where the series started.
Shadow Dragon focuses on Marth, the prince of Altea, as he tries to retake his kingdom after an allied country betrays them. In traditional Fire Emblem style, you gather a group of comrades with different skills to help you through battle. Where Shadow Dragon shows its age the most though is with the story, as the game is incredibly light on story moments especially compared to some of the later entries.
There are some upgrades added into the game, like the weapon advantage triangle. There isn’t the same kind of array of different units that you see later on, though. The amazing thing about Shadow Dragon, is how incredibly well it holds up for a 20-year-old game, even taking upgrades into consideration. It may not have the depth and complexity of later titles, but Shadow Dragon is great for seeing where the series started.
9. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (2004)
Sacred Stones was the second Fire Emblem game to release in North America on the Game Boy Advance. The biggest addition was the inclusion of a world map that had optional battles along with story ones, letting players level up and train units at will instead of having to prioritize which units to train.
The story went to a new land called Magvel and features twins Ephraim and Eirika as its main characters. The pair has to uncover the truth as to why a neighboring country suddenly invaded their own, and find out some startling secrets about a childhood friend along the way.
Sacred Stones has fewer chapters than the previous game, and is a bit easier. Many missions feature monsters as the opposing army, instead of human units, who have their own stats and ways of fighting. Players now had the ability to pick between two different paths when characters level up and are ready to advance.
Although much of what Sacred Stones added helped diversify the game, not all of it was a wild success. Having the ability to fight random battles lowered the difficulty a degree, and monsters weren’t nearly as effective as facing down human opponents. The story also feels a little more unfocused from the previous game, and although support links are still present, party characters don’t feel nearly as well rounded as before.
Sacred Stones is a great Fire Emblem game that comes close to reaching the heights of its predecessor, but falls slightly short of where the first one landed.
8. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (2007)
Radiant Dawn is a direct follow-up to the hugely successful Path of Radiance on GameCube, and it’s also the longest Fire Emblem for better or worse. Packing in a whopping 42 chapters, this game picks up just a few years after Path of Radiance. Sothe, a minor character from the last game has now become one of two main characters, the other being a magic-user named Micaiah.
The difficulty in Radiant Dawn can be aggravating at times, as there are huge difficulty spikes between levels and it’s easy to get completely overwhelmed.
Interestingly, Radiant Dawn combines two different playable parties. Ike and the Greil Mercenaries return and play a huge role, but they’re largely unseen for the first third of the game. Before that, you spend time as Micaiah and Sothe building an army and drafting characters, until the perspective turns to Ike and company. The following missions are some of the best in the game as Ike and his mercenaries feel like incredible powerhouses, lending a believable amount of growth to the characters in between games.
Radiant Dawn continued the trend from the previous game of having a more fleshed out camp experience. Before battle, you can talk to your units in camp, buy weapons, and distribute experience points as you see fit. It also added an elevation system into combat, where the unit with a higher elevation gets a distinct advantage. Other upgrades add more promotion choices to units, and it introduced the highest-ranking of weapon yet with SS.
Radiant Dawn may not reach as high as Path of Radiance, but it’s an interesting sequel. The difficulty can feel unfair and times and be overwhelming, but there’s plenty of game to dig into here with hours of content.