Fire Emblem Gaiden
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Fire Emblem Gaiden / Echoes: Shadows of Valentia |
| Abbreviation(s): | Gaiden, Echoes |
| Creator: | Intelligent Systems/Nintendo |
| Date(s): | 14 March, 1992 (Gaiden) 20 April, 2017 (Echoes) |
| Medium: | video games |
| Country of Origin: | Japan |
| External Links: | Official Site, |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Fire Emblem Gaiden, later known as Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, is a tactical role-playing game based on the Fire Emblem series.
Story overview
The story follows protagonists Alm and Celica as they try to reach different goals: Alm, to stop Rigel's war from hurting innocents, and Celica, to find the missing goddess Mila.
Echoes introduced five new characters who were not present in the original Gaiden:
- Faye (a new member of the Ram village childhood friend group, who has a crush on Alm)
- Fernand (Clive and Clair's childhood friend, who turned traitor after a disagreement with Clive)
- Berkut (Alm's cousin and Emperor Rudolf's heir)
- Rinea (Berkut's lover)
- Conrad/The Masked Knight (Celica's long-lost half brother)
Gaiden Fandom
The original Gaiden's fandom was small to nonexistent due to the game's obscurity. Back then, the new and different mechanics made it a bit of a black sheep compared to the more linear Akaneia, Jugdral, and Elibe games.
Echoes Fandom
Fan reception
When Echoes came out, the Fire Emblem fandom was much larger, and the characters were given more life and personality thanks to the deeper story and voice acting. While this was a boon for fans who enjoyed Gaiden and wanted to see more appreciation for it, the climate of the fandom led to the same character and shipping wars that plagued other games.
The five canon foreigners were divisive, at best. Faye caught the most heat for being another "unrequited tragic maiden" type who had a crush on the hero but could never be with him.
Echoes received a lukewarm reception with some finding its gameplay relatively weak due to retaining a lot of the original game's outdated mechanics and bland map design. However, its writing, voice acting, and characters have received a lot of praise and are generally cited as the main reason to play the game.
Shipping
Fan works
External links and archives
- Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia tag on AO3
- Fire Emblem Valentia stories on fanfiction.net
