Since Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade — or just Fire Emblem as it was known in the West — made its way to the West on the Game Boy Advance thanks to the popularity of Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the series has filled a cutthroat, tactical RPG void on almost every Nintendo console since – all the way up to the stellar Fire Emblem: Three Houses on the Switch.
Known for wide casts of colourful characters, challenging maps, permadeath, dozens of classes, and more recently matchmaking, the plots of political intrigue often get left out of the Fire Emblem discussion. A shame, because the writers over at Intelligent Systems have put together more than a few decent yarns over the series' 30-year+ history. As such, we expect this month’s Fire Emblem: Engage to have a great story as well, despite much of the conversation being focused on the protagonist’s toothpaste hair.
We’ve gone ahead and ranked all the Fire Emblem game stories (including remakes) released outside of Japan from worst to best below, keeping in mind how well the plot integrates into the gameplay. Be aware that spoilers abound...
9. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (DS)
The original Fire Emblem (in both its DS remake form and limited-time localised Switch version of the Famicom original, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light) bottoms out this list not because it’s bad, but because it’s by far the most straightforward – and a little rote – narrative due to its age.
Long ago, the Shadow Dragon Medeus was defeated by a legendary hero wielding the Falchion, the Blade of Light. A century later, Evil Dragon Bro is resurrected, once again invades, and it’s up to the descendant of said legendary hero – Marth – to take care of Medeus once again.
Shadow Dragon’s story remains primarily foundational and fairly forgettable, especially because it lacks support conversations to provide depth and context.
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8. Fire Emblem Fates (3DS)
The setup for Fates might be the most intriguing the series has ever had, but in most facets of its execution, it dropped the Vulnerary. Fates is split into three games dependent on protagonist Corrin’s choice early on: Birthright, Conquest, and Revelations.
This setup had a major problem despite having a well-written ensemble. If you didn’t buy all three games – a tall ask – you lacked some fairly necessary attachment and context to the characters you were fighting against. While Birthright suffers less from this, Conquest stretches believability to justify Corrin’s quest to – SPOILERS! – invade her native country in order to seat her adoptive father on a magical throne to reveal him as a corrupt puppet of the evil dragon god Anankos. Yes, it’s a bit convoluted. Furthermore, Revelations undermines the tension of the initial setup by — MORE SPOILERS! — bringing everyone together to defeat the Big Bad Dragon God for a happy ending.
This is without mentioning how the — WHY ARE YOU STILL READING IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!? — children-from-the-future mechanic from Awakening was shoe-horned in with little regard for plot.
(We're done flagging spoilers now, okay?)
7. Fire Emblem (GBA)
We love The Blazing Blade for introducing us to the series back in 2003. The tutorial missions starring Lyn, one of our favourite protagonists, as she reclaims the throne of Caelin served as a perfect introduction.
After that, the story of Eliwood and Hector definitely has its ups and downs – the death of Eliwood’s father and Hector’s brother both hit us in the feels, and the Big Bad Nergal certainly poses an intriguing threat. However, of all the early Fire Emblem games, The Blazing Blade comes off as overly lengthy; the arcs of three protagonists and quite the convoluted backstories lose some of their strength when all crammed into one story.
6. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (GBA)
The Sacred Stones separates siblings Ephraim and Eirika into two campaigns after their kingdom of Renais is sacked by a former ally hell-bent on unleashing – you guessed it – an evil demon upon the land by destroying the Sacred Stone of each neighbouring kingdom.
After the introductory chapters, you can choose either Ephraim or Eirika’s stories to follow, having to restart the game to experience the other sibling’s narrative. Playing through either story reveals some neat little beats after clearing the other, but between the two, Ephraim’s mission of resistance stands out as a solid tale in Fire Emblem lore with high stakes. Eirika’s falls a little flat as she bounces between enlisting the help of other nations.
Prince Lyon, being one the primary villains and childhood friend of Ephraim and Eirika, also brought a lot of personal weight to a story of warring kingdoms and demon kings, making him one of the more memorable antagonists.
5. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS)
A 3DS remake of the second instalment in the overall series, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia also follows the dual stories of Alm and Celica rather than a single protagonist.
Despite having a somewhat straightforward story akin to Shadow Dragon with some fairly predictable plot twists, the interplay between Alm and Celica as you switch between their respective parties, along with some great support conversations between the cast, gives Echoes some much-needed depth to the ol’ Evil Gods Are Behind The Warring Kingdoms trope. The fact that, as opposed to Sacred Stones, you see both perspectives in a single playthrough helped keep us invested in both characters’ adventures. This version also added a neat little connection to Awakening post-game that we enjoyed.
4. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)
Possibly the least played Fire Emblem game on this list, Radiant Dawn came as a direct sequel to Path of Radiance (which — LIST SPOILERS! — places higher).
It continues its predecessor's poignant story of racial tensions and does a great job of showing the aftermath of the Mad King’s War on the losing kingdom through the new perspectives of Micaiah and Sothe, fighting against an oppressive occupation force. The game then shifts perspectives to the Crimean Royal Knights and once again to Ike’s Greil Mercenaries, before bringing them all together for an epic if somewhat over the top and character-heavy conclusion as all three teams assault an awakened god determined to end all of humanity.
It’s all a bit much but well told with the likeable cast from its prequel bolstered by some memorable new faces.
3. Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)
Awakening marked a shift in the series, emphasising the relationship-building/dating sim aspects more than ever before and wrapping them up in an intriguing plot that saw children from the future coming back to help their parents win an unwinnable war.
Many veteran Fire Emblem fans disliked this change while others loved it. Regardless, Intelligent Systems did a great job integrating the stories of Robin, Chrom, and Lucina in their war against the Fell Dragon Grima. Chrom receives quite a lot of character development as he grows into a father after a brief time skip, and the player character Robin factors into the story as a vessel for the Fell Dragon rather than being a blank slate amnesiac.
Throw in a great cast and their interactions with their children from the future, as localised by the excellent team at 8-4, and you’ve got one of the better Fire Emblem tales.
2. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)
The most recent Fire Emblem game does what Fates could not: it doesn’t pull its punches.
There’s no happy ending for everyone here. Tasked with becoming the professor of one of three houses at the Garreg Moch Monastery as Byleth, the first half of the game is spent getting to know the numerous members of the Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer – all of which have intriguing arcs and backgrounds to uncover over the course of the game. The latter half, in true Fire Emblem fashion, is all about war between these students after a five-year gap. A lot of them die depending on your path, creating some of the most gut-wrenching situations in Fire Emblem history.
Yes, there are some dragon gods kicking about and mysterious origins for Byleth to uncover, but Three Houses' story shines because of how war tears Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, and their respective houses apart.
1. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN)
In our opinion, Path of Radiance has the most fleshed-out and well-paced story of all the Fire Emblem games released in the West.
Ike’s coming-of-age story after his father’s death to the Black Knight – one of the series’ best secondary antagonists – as he tries to return princess Elincia to her throne remains remarkably down-to-earth throughout the lengthy campaign, even with the Mad King Ashnard trying to awaken a dark godlike all Fire Emblem bad guys are wont to do. Racial tensions between the Beoric (humans) and Laguz (animal shapeshifters) also play a pivotal role in the plot and are done with a thought-provoking grace not seen in the other games, making it a crying shame that Path of Radiance and its sequel haven’t yet been remastered for the Switch.
And there are our choices for the best Fire Emblem stories. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Waiting for an official localisation of another game in the series?
Vote for your favourite in the poll below and feel free to discuss in the comments.
Comments 59
Removed - disrespecting others
Just play Xenoblade instead
Path of Radiance being the best is correct. Don't much care for the rest of the list, as I hardly recall any of the narratives.
I was going to ask where Binding Blade was, until I remembered that one never got an official release in the West.
I know that the wider fanbase has become more critical of it over time, but I loved the writing in 3 Houses, even if more for the characters and side interactions than for the main plot.
Awakening’s plot definitely isn’t conventionally “good”, but it’s definitely the plot that I found the most fun.
1. Three Houses
2. Awakening
3. Path of Radiance
4. Fates
5. Shadow of Valentia
6. Radiant Dawn
Rest around the same standard in my opinion and from what I remember.
Love this series.
I came here to make sure Path of Radiance was number 1.
Rekka no Ken should be higher tho.
I personally see Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn (my introduction to the franchise) as one cohesive, overarching storyline. And yes, absolutely it is overdue for a remaster compilation ASAP.
At first I thought that the additions of "hubs" and social bonding would improve upon the static presentation of those two, but honestly Three Houses' monastery was just too spread out and time-consuming to hold my interest (even though I did finish one campaign to the tune of around 150 hours, maxing all of Byleth's classes). It killed the pacing and detracted from the real draw for me, the turn-based battles and the main story. It was a lesson on how you can have too much of a good thing.
It's a shame there isn't more of the older titles on the Switch. The 3DS and Wii U did mostly a good job (shame about Path of Radiance being absent) but those 2 systems are dead in 2 months.
Path of Radiance is definitely the best in the franchise so far.
I'm not sure how anyone could argue that Path of Radiance had a better story than Radiant Dawn. Radiant Dawn takes place almost immediately after the events of Path of Radiance, explaining and expanding upon the previous game's storyline.
Honestly, I didn't really like Three Houses all that much. It felt like they wanted to do too much in one game. Awakening was perfectly balanced in that, and right now still my favorite FE game. Both in story and gameplay.
Genealogy. Thracia’s decent too.
The thing about Three Houses is that there are several potential different stories. I played Golden Deer and felt that was very good, but I am familiar with the other stories, and they don't seem as strong.
I alos chose Golden Wildfire in Three Hopes, but I felt the story was not nearly as good, with Claude doing some very questionable things.
I really hope Nintendo re-releases PoR/RD at some point for those of us who are latecomers to the series. I could emulate them, but I'd prefer to have them on my OLED hybrid console.
I'm curious how the non-localized ones would fit into this list. It's just Mysteries of the Emblem, Geneology, Thracia, and Binding Blade, correct?
No game or even other Fire Emblem has matched the large scale storytelling of the Tellius games for me.
The main reason: the map. Using the map to show where all the armies are, where conflicts are happening, where Ike is and where he is going. Not allowing you to just travel across the entire thing between chapters gave the story a grounded and serious feel.
I want remakes/rereleases of these so bad, they are so hard to find or play.
Problem with Three houses is that the first half of the game takes so long, and your so OP in new game plus, that it's too boring the 2nd time around for people to see the whole story
whoa, pretty much how i'd rank them. wasn't expecting that lol
I'd love a Path of Radiance HD
Selling my copy of Path of Radiance back around 2006 is one of my great gaming regrets alongside not picking up Radiant Dawn when it initially came out... sigh
Would love to see an HD remaster of this pair someday soon.
I’ve played Sacred Stones, Awakening, and Three Houses. Of that trio, my favorite story-wise was Sacred Stones, although Awakening was a close second.
Three Houses was good but I’m glad Engage is going for a more traditional story-progression experience.
Awakening is the best, not even close
Kudos for praising Three Houses' story. Not a mainline FE, but I really enjoyed the story of Three Hopes too.
@Axecon
I’ve played Xenoblade 2 and thought the combat system was awful.
Well I can't contribute much to this subject seeing as I only played and finished Awakening, but it's story was very basic and mediocre with a bunch of throwaway characters that weren't relevant aside from Chrom, Lucina and Robin.
I'm guessing it's that high because of it's popularity.
From my experience people aren't that likely to play the older games and will just prefer to experience the most recent releases.
It has always been impossible for me to get hoocked by any fire emblem story, after a while I just skip every piece of story because it is always too slow
I honestly don't think Three Houses' story is all that & a stick of butter. It's not bad by any means & it's fairly interesting but it's just not nearly as captivating to me as Awakening's was, and in some ways I even found it to be a bit campy (in an eye-roll kinda way for me, less of a charming "campy"). But I might be missing something because the truth is I played one story route, it took nearly 60 hours, and then they expected me to go back and do that two more times to get the full story. I wasn't going to do that. So I read up on the story of the other two.
So I bet my experience was a little tainted as a result. But even then, I'm not a big fan of a single game trying to ask that much time of me to tell the full story. So of the games I've played (I haven't played Path of Radiance), Awakening is by far the most cohesive, engaging, & memorable narrative, in my opinion.
All of this makes me think we need an archival collection, with all the GBA, GC, and Wii games put together.
@Doctor-Moo That would be spectacular. A great way for Nintendo to preserve such wonderful Fire Emblem classics.
@Hero-of-WiiU Nah, the combat is awesome! It is explained terribly but once you get the hang of it, it's something magical
@ElRoberico It irritates me that they’re never included in these sorts of lists given that translations have been around for a while now. You can even buy repro carts. In terms of story, the SNES games are brilliant but Binding Blade is a bit basic in comparison, laying the foundation for the rest of the series.
Sacred Stones??
Path of Radiance hands down has the best story even if it sits firmly in the shounen archetype. But, I think that's a good thing! Seeing Ike develop from an unsure if brash young man to a cool collected lord was amazing! Plus it had a very well rounded cast of main characters and recruit-able allies. Haar is amazing! Fight me nerds!
Over the years my disappointment of Radiant Dawn has faded. At the time it's story seemed peek shounen anime meets standard JRPG, but I like how most characters got a chance to shine and you really were unsure who the bad guys were till the ending Part. Plus Haar is still amazing and probably the most broken unit in the game.
Every other FE I think it depends on my mood. But I'd probably put Echoes and Three Houses near the top. Outside of Birthright, Fates story is kinda bad and despite a genuinely good midway twist Awakening kinda drags and goes a little too cookie cutter save the world. The GBA games I think are great as well generally very well told games if not mold breaking. I think our of the three GBA games I'd probably put Rekka at the top of the pile.
On a side note I really hope Genealogy of the Holy War gets either a translation/re-release on Switch Online or a remake like Echoes. It's story blows most of these games out of the water.
100% Path of Radiance. It's not even particularly close. Then the way you can carry save data over for some changes to Radiant Dawn is pretty cool.
I've only played Awakening and Three Houses but I absolutely loved the story in both games. Definitely want to check out the other games at some point especially Path of Radiance when there isn't an obscenely expensive way to play it.
I’ve never been a big fan of repeating gameplay to get the full picture. While Three Houses has attracted a wider audience, I feel like Awakening had a stronger, more concise story, which helped breathe life into the franchise In the west.
Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn should be included together. But yeah, that's the best FE story in my book. It was way ahead of its time, going into politics and race and all kinds of difficult stuff while still being a great fantasy with lots of romance and humor. I still dig it. Maybe those games could get a remaster in a single volume....that will probably never again though.
@Axecon Perhaps you have a point. Seems enjoyed by those that got a hang of it but for me just never clicked
@tsukipon Agreed on both counts. Path of Radiance is my favorite on all fronts but Rekka no Ken's story is near and dear to my heart.
Ike's games are definitely best in the narrative department.
@AtlanteanMan
I personally didn’t focus on that stuff at all and had a blast calling it one of my favorite games ever. I did some support stuff but mostly skipped it. A play through took me around 20 hrs each and I’ve done all but 1. Granted I played on easy but with classic mode on and the final maps still made me think.
@gwilly
Spending that much time on one route isn’t necessary. I managed to beat each in around 20 hrs and while maybe I didn’t grind every single support I feel like I got a full experience.
Path of Radiance, by a long shot. I almost wish I never played that game because it only serves to highlight just how far downhill the main storylines have fallen since then. Don't get me wrong, I still love the FE series and the storylines are generally fine, but the GCN iteration was a step above both in narrative and in the quality of dialogue.
Path of Radiance and Echoes for me. Where does Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE rank? I liked that plot more than Fates definitely, even if it’s cliched.
When I first played Path of Radiance, I absolutely hated it. I played the heck out of sacred stones so coming to a game with so many cool features missing made me upset. Then Radiant Dawn came out and together those games have become my favorites. Awakening is pretty close to them.
Shadow Dragon has a better narrative then Fates. And this is coming from someone who loves Conquest and is currently doing another playthrough (skipping all the atrocious cutscenes of course).
Played all of these and absolutely agree with the top two picks. I did really enjoy Fates: Conquest, but it's hard to separate the overall experience from the story for me. Maybe I loved it because of the gameplay, and not the story.
Three Houses gets my vote. As a narrative title, it may well be my favorite narrative on the Switch. It’s just so intricately done. While it’s a slog to beat any game four times for a complete story, what is there is encouraging enough to do exactly that. On top of that, there’s just so many details and well-written characters. It’s hard not to pick the title.
The Radiant Series and 3DS titles are both nearly as good too though. The series essentially finally clicked with Path of Radiance, in my opinion. The games prior to that were solid SRPGs, of course, and surely classics, but they were not the zenith of a genre as many other Nintendo franchises are. For example, Mario as a platformer, 2D or 3D, or Zelda as an action adventure game. Path of Radiance is arguably where Nintendo mastered the genre and was able to take on titles like Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Tactics, and arguably surpass them. And now, with Three Houses, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems are peerless in the genre. Looking forward to seeing how Engage compares.
I will always love Awakening. It was my first Fire Emblem, and lead me down a path of games that I've come to love. The cast being made up of incredible VAs (especially those from Critical Role), the characters (Lon'Qu, Chrom, Gaius), the classes.
I might just have to do another replay
1. Genealogy of the Holy War.
2. Path of Radiance
3.Echoes:SOV
4.TH
5.Everything else
Path of Radiance has the best story, followed by Radiant Dawn. Three Houses has a bad pacing due character's teleporting around from the monastery. I'm glad they fix this in FE Engage by making the hub area a floating one. I've been missing the sense of progression from games like PoR. I think Engage will combine the best from old and new FE games.
Path of Radiance it's the best Fire Emblem yet.
Unfortunately, Geneology of Holy War is the best contendant but yet we don't have a western release. More Fire Emblem games needs remasters. Please make it happen!
Path of Radiance being first I agree with but the rest of the list is quite messy.
I would have placed Radiant Dawn 2nd and Shadow Dragon doesn't deserve to be last. Three Houses was marred by no one path through the game being completely narratively strong and the lack of a true villain and enemy faction was also an issue. As for Awakening being 3rd, the plot of that game fell apart completely once you crossed over to the other continent!
I couldn't not vote Three Houses between the games I've played considering how much I enjoyed it despite still not playing all routes (and Three Hopes only further fuelled my love for it).
I unfortunately missed the Tellius games and Shadow Dragon ( also haven't played the Japanese exclusives yet)...
I really hope Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn will eventually come to Switch or its successor (I finally got the originals at a reasonable price not too long ago, but it would be more convenient for me to play them on Switch and for many it would be the only option apart from emulation)!
@Cia I recommend checking Three Hopes then if you don't mind it being a Warriors game, its pacing is overall better in that sense considering the hub is technically a moving camp (although it always looks the same) and the presence of a war map.
I can agree with most of this list, at least with games I've played. Shadow Dragon especially; mechanically it's decent, but the plot is barebones and shows its age. My personal winners are Shadows of Valentia (Mostly for Alm and Celica's relationship, but I enjoyed many of the support conversations too) and Awakening (Excellent plot all told, though I may be biased since it was my first FE).
I own Three Houses but unfortunately have yet to play it. As for the Tellius games, those aren't happening unless those get ported. I'm not paying an arm and a leg just to play them. Plenty of other games to play right now without bothering to emulate either.
I really do wish Path of Radiance and Radian Dawn could be remade somehow...the two games play a little different, but they tell an amazing epic together.
I was on 3 and I was like “oh you better not put 3H over PoR…” and you didn’t ♥️
every map in that game has its own emotional weight and ambiguity to it that no other FE game can accomplish, other than it’s sequel, which has other issues.
Seeing this many people calling for a remake of PoR + RD is pretty awesome. That game has been under appreciated for wayyy too long.
3H has the same problems as Fates, good idea terrible execution. Putting it as second is embarrassing. Not that any Fire Emblem story is really all that great in the first place but seriously 3H is bad.
I tried really hard to respect Three Houses. But the story is just too childish. I can't fathom how it can be remotely compared to path of radiance, which in contrast is very mature - and agreeing with the community, the best.
I'd like to give 3H a chance again... but how can I? Does it get less cringey, childish and annoying later on?
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the new relationship and combat mechanics (despite the story missions being too easy after doing the optional missions, which is a game breaker).
@Gaahl I agree about 3H but I don't think FE has bad story usually. You could say some FE games have bland of vanilla story, like Binding sword. The formula for the story is relatively simple, but it does convince you.
The FE series is known for its kingdom conflicts featuring memorable characters - nobles, peasants, soldiers and leaders, with their vices and virtures, and occasionally a mercenary group, all in a believable, well-thought setting with an interesting plot development.
3H takes a sharp turn and transforms all that into a Hogwarts school where "students" are given a pack of soldiers to lead in battle against bandits (???). What is this "monastery" exactly? A school for ppl who want to become generals in the battlefield? Why do they behave like college students? Why does the child of a "mercenary band" leader - who we know nothing about - suddenly become a professor at this school? What is he supposed to teach?
Sorry, but this story is anything but convincing.
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