For over 30 years, the Fire Emblem series started out as a unique tactical JRPG where the lives of your units are at risk as they head into battle. It would follow lords like Marth, Seliph, Roy, Ike, Lucina, and many others to witness their stories unfold on how they overcome the wars they’ve endured.
Each Fire Emblem title takes an interesting approach in presenting their gameplay while making it stay the same throughout time. Some titles outdo others, but that’s what makes them fun to play. Including spin-offs, here are the best Fire Emblem games of all time according to Metacritic.
Updated December 16th, 2020 by Meg Pelliccio: With the recent port of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light to the Nintendo Switch, albeit for a limited time only, many fans have been reigniting their love for the Fire Emblem series. With the series having sixteen titles to its name, there’s plenty of love to go around.
The Fire Emblem series has a large fan following and it’s no surprise why when taking the Metacritic scores into account. There are plenty of great titles that are worth playing, so check out this rundown of the best ones to date.
15 Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light (62)
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light was the very first Fire Emblem title and the protagonist was none other than the now fan-favorite Marth. This game not only kickstarted the Fire Emblem franchise but has been credited with popularizing the tactical role-playing genre as a whole.
It originally released in Japan for the Famicom but was later ported to Nintendo Switch for Japanese fans in 2019. Fortunately, the west can now get their hands on this groundbreaking title as well, as it was finally localized and recently released for Nintendo Switch, though for a short period only (until March 2021).
14 Fire Emblem Heroes (72)
Fire Emblem Heroes is a free-to-play mobile title that released in 2017 for both Android and iOS. It follows in the same tactical role-playing game footsteps as its predecessors and incorporates characters that have appeared in various titles throughout the franchise.
The game features microtransactions, as well as offering a “gacha” style system to receive new characters. Fire Emblem: Heroes continues to receive additional updates, adding new features, chapters, and characters to keep the game fresh and inviting for all players.
13 Fire Emblem: Warriors (74)
Fire Emblem: Warriors brought the dream of making a Dynasty Warriors game with Fire Emblem characters come true. The gameplay is where it’s at and offers mindless fun as your character beats thousands of enemies until the timer runs out or the goal is achieved.
It does have the downside of only featuring characters from Shadow Dragon, Awakening, and Fates, but that can lead to possibilities of another game. Just make sure to get the Nintendo Switch version as it is crisper and fast-paced.
12 Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (78)
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance would be fine without a sequel, but it is still greatly appreciated with Radiant Dawn’s release for the Wii. It greatly suffers from a small mistranslation that gave early reviews a bad rep, and that is the difficulty options.
Instead of Normal, Hard, and Lunatic, the localized version instead has Easy, Normal, and Hard. But if you’re a fan familiar with Fire Emblem, then this game will show you how brutal it can get as you switch from different teams.
11 Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows Of Valentia (81)
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is the perfect definition of a love letter to the game it is based on. Director Kenta Nakanishi played Gaiden many times and cherished the memories he had with his father playing with him before he would eventually pass away.
It was clear from the presentation that this game had so much heart and soul put into it. Ranging from beautiful visuals, breathtaking music, and fleshed-out characters, Nakanishi’s father would definitely be proud of his son for remaking a cherished game.
10 Shadow Dragon (81)
Remaking what is also somewhat of a remake was a farfetched idea, but Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon managed to land well on Metacritic. The West was finally introduced to Marth’s story and while it is not dialogue-heavy and only basic at best, Shadow Dragon features many difficulties and encourages replayability.
The graphics are definitely outdated and not the best for the Nintendo DS, but for a traditional Fire Emblem experience, it is definitely a must-try if you can get your hand on a used copy.
9 Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (85)
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones acts as a spiritual successor to Fire Emblem Gaiden, featuring two branching paths, as well as giving players access to grind at free will. Considered by many players to be one of the easiest games in the series, the eighth entry is very welcoming and gives a different kind of gameplay.
This game is very popular for speed runs, LTC runs and has even been the base for many Fire Emblem ROM hacks. It originally released for the GameBoy Advance, but was later ported to both 3DS and Wii U.
8 Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance (85)
Ike remains one of the most popular characters in the entire series, and for good reason. Path of Radiance offers a strong story accompanied by stellar gameplay and an excellent array of characters. It is also beginner-friendly and appealing to hardcore players (for the Japanese version that is).
The only problem Path of Radiance has is that it’s rare to find and is sold off at high prices from places like Amazon and eBay. But for what this game has to offer, it brings an unforgettable journey for the growing mercenary.
7 Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright (86)
Fire Emblem Fates is the fourteenth entry to the Fire Emblem franchise and was the first to offer a split release, with there being more than one version of the game. Each version has a unique story and focuses on a different gameplay style, so although released under the same banner, for the full experience players would need to play all the titles.
Birthright was one of the initial two versions available at launch, where the protagonist is aligned to the Kingdom of Hoshido. Birthright‘s gameplay is similar to that of Awakening, in that players will find it easier to gain both gold and experience points, making it a better choice for those still new to the genre.
6 Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest (87)
On release, the other version available was Conquest, where the protagonist is aligned to the kingdom of Nohr. Conquest‘s gameplay style is less rewarding for the player, making it more difficult for those unfamiliar with the franchise.
As well as fewer rewards for each map completed, there are also additional objectives to complete, and sometimes the maps have a limited number of turns. Fans perceive Conquest as the more “classic” version, which is likely why it scored a little higher than its counterpart.
5 Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation (88)
Revelation is the third version of Fire Emblem Fates, though it was not available at launch but was instead released later as DLC. It can not be bought as a standalone entry, as players require a copy of either Conquest or Birthright in order to play Revelation.
Revelation sees the protagonist decide not to align with either of the kingdoms in the game. It mixes the two previous versions together in terms of gameplay, with the added rewards and experience of Birthright, plus the additional objectives and the stronger focus on strategy from Conquest.
4 Fire Emblem Fates: Special Edition (88)
Fire Emblem Fates is somewhat of a controversial title, to say the least. With the feature similar to Pokémon-Amie being removed from international releases, being able to marry your “brothers” or “sisters,” and having a story so ridiculous that memes came to life, however, the gameplay is what makes Fates incredible.
The Fire Emblem Fates: Special Edition offered all three titles in one edition and so was well-received by fans. Conquest is the perfect classic experience that offers fantastic map design, Birthright fits for those that are still new to the franchise, and Revelation does a mix of both while giving everyone a happy ending, but the less said about that route, the better.
3 Fire Emblem (88)
Fully known as Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the seventh entry was introduced to western audiences after the appeal Marth and Roy brought from Super Smash Bros. Melee. Out of the GameBoy Advance titles, this is considered to be the best out of the three.
Lyn Mode can be annoying to deal with if one is familiar with how the game works, but it introduces what kind of characters Fire Emblem brings and how they’ve grown attached to them. To this day, it remains one of the best titles to start out if anyone wants to get into Fire Emblem.
2 Fire Emblem: Three Houses (89)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses set up a lot of expectations and delivered them nearly perfectly. With a morally gray story, fascinating characters, and addicting gameplay, the 16th entry outsold its predecessors by a long mile.
People to this day are still dissecting the characters’ motives, make amazing cosplay and fan art, and the voice actors became heavily involved by displaying their gratitude to voice the characters. Even with its hurdles from delayed dates, Three Houses is one title many gamers will remember for a while.
1 Fire Emblem: Awakening (92)
Known as the entry to save the franchise, Fire Emblem: Awakening made a return to western audiences for the Nintendo 3DS, and the timing for both that and successful sales in Japan was all it needed to continue the franchise to this day.
It might not be the top-selling Fire Emblem game, but its legacy is something to admire for saving a franchise from ending. The game had a lot of love put into it, even if not everything is perfect.
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