| Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Intelligent Systems |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Producer | Takehiro Izushi |
| Designer | Shouzou Kaga |
| Programmers | Toru Narihiro Takafumi Kaneko |
| Artists | Masahiro Higuchi Mayumi Hirota |
| Writers | Shouzou Kaga Masayuki Horikawa |
| Composer | Yuka Tsujiyoko |
| Series | Fire Emblem |
| Platform | Super Famicom |
| Release | Nintendo Power
|
| Genre | Tactical role-playing |
| Mode | Single-player |
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776[a] is atactical role-playing game developed byIntelligent Systems and published byNintendo for theSuper Famicom; it was originally released through theNintendo Power flash cartridge in 1999, then on a ROM cartridge the following year. It is the fifth installment in theFire Emblem series,[b] the third and last title to be developed for the Super Famicom, and the last home consoleFire Emblem until the release ofFire Emblem: Path of Radiance in 2005.
Thracia 776 takes place on the continent of Jugdral. Set in the generational gap withinFire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, the story follows main protagonist Leif as he rallies a private army in an attempt to defeat the ruling Grannvale Empire and restore his lost kingdom of Thracia. Gameplay follows the traditionalFire Emblem system of tactical battles taking place on grid-based maps, but with added elements such as a fatigue system where characters lose energy with each performed action.
Development began in 1998 as a compact side project toGenealogy of the Holy War, although it eventually grew considerably in scale. Series creatorShouzou Kaga acted as designer and scenario writer, the characters were designed by Mayumi Hirota, while the music was composed byYuka Tsujiyoko. Kaga, Hirota and Tsujiyoko would later leave Intelligent Systems to pursue independent careers, with only Tsujiyoko returning to work on future games. The game was commercially successful upon release, although it was one of the poorer selling titles in the series as a whole. It also received positive reviews from critics. No version has been released outside Japan.
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 is a tactical role-playing game in which the player takes command of a group of units and goes on story-based missions with varying objectives, from defeating specific enemies and rescuing targets to escaping unharmed from engagements.[3] Maps hold a variety of different terrains, from flat plains to mountains; combined with a unit's own abilities, the environment affects movement. There are also locations such as towns and churches where items, in-game currency or health may be granted if a unit uses a specific action there. In addition, a "Fog of War" effect is present in some maps, where the map is obscured to players until a unit advances and reveals the portion of map within their movement and attack range.[4]
Thracia 776 uses a turn-based battle system, where each side acts within their turn to move selected units across a map using a grid-based layout. Units and their alignment or status are represented through colors, with blue units being playable and red units being enemies among others.[3] After a certain point in the game, advance planning for units becomes available, allowing players to pick a group of units to take into a battle.[5] When two units engage, the scene transitions to a separate battle screen where the fight plays out automatically, with each units' stats being displayed below the battle.[6] The battle is won when the map objective is completed: objectives vary from defeating all enemies to defeating specific units or rescuing particular units, or even escaping unharmed from battle.[3] Specific actions such as attacking or opening chests add "fatigue" to a character: should they become too fatigued, they will not be playable in the following chapter.[4] Actions in battle reward player units withexperience points (EXP): when one hundred EXP are gathered, the character will level up and their stats will be randomly raised.[3] Each stat is capped at 20 points: stats are divided into health and magic, and passive abilities such as agility, speed and critical hit likelihood.[6]
Each unit is assigned a character class, which affects their assigned weapon, strengths and weaknesses, and range and speed of movement on the battlefield. These classes range from axemen and swordsmen to thieves, to mounted units and magic users such as healers. Some characters, such as main protagonist Leif, have unique classes. Classes also naturally evolve during the course of the story. Mounted units have the option of dismounting their steeds to fight on-foot, and must dismount when inside buildings.[4][7][8] Weapons within a unit's selected character class can be freely swapped out for more powerful versions: when mounted units dismount, they swap lances or axes for swords, and they also receive penalties to their stats when dismounted.[4][6] Weapon effectiveness is governed by the Weapon Triangle: swords are strong against axes, axes against lances, and lances against swords.[4]
Thracia 776 is set within the second generation storyline ofGenealogy of the Holy War, while the exiled prince Seliph is still in hiding and preparing to battle Arvis's hold on the continent.[9] Seliph's cousin Leif is the deposed heir to the Republic of Munster, who was rescued from an attack by the forces of Thracia by Finn, a friend of Leif's deceased parents Quan and Ethlyn. Spending most of his life on the run, Leif eventually finds shelter in the village of Fiana. One day, the villager's protectors are routing bandits when Raydrik, the new Duke of Munster, attacks the village in search of Leif, kidnapping Leif's friends Nanna and Mareeta. Devastated by the town's destruction and his friends' abductions, Leif decides to face the forces of Thracia and retake Munster. Aided by Finn and a growing band of rebels, he rescues both Nanna and the enemy-controlled Mareeta, and defeating the forces of both Raydrik and Veld, a high-ranking priest of the Loptous Sect, as they retake Munster and liberate northern Thracia. Leif's forces finally face Raydrik in battle, but upon his defeat Veld transforms him into an undead monster called Deadlord Mus. Leif destroys Mus, kills Veld, and cements his forces defending Munster and northern Thracia from the Grannvale army.
Thracia 776 was created byFire Emblem series developerIntelligent Systems, designed and written by series creatorShouzou Kaga, and produced by Takehiro Izushi.[10][11] The music was composed byYuka Tsujiyoko, who had worked on everyFire Emblem title since the original game in 1990.[12] The characters were designed by Mayumi Hirota, an artist who had worked onGenealogy of the Holy War and took over as character designer from Koya Katsuyoshi after the latter left Nintendo. Kaga chose her after being favorably impressed by her drawing abilities, and brought her on board for bothGenealogy of the Holy War andThracia 776.[13] Kaga came to refer toThracia 776 as one of the two best titles in the series to that point alongsideGenealogy of the Holy War.[13] It would be the last time Kaga and Hirota worked on the series, as both left Intelligent Systems after the completion ofThracia 776, and would go on to developTear Ring Saga for thePlayStation.[13] Tsujiyoko also left to pursue a freelance career, but she would return to create and supervise music for futureFire Emblem games includingThe Binding Blade andFire Emblem Fates.[12][14][15]
Development ofThracia 776 started around the beginning of 1998, with the initial plan being for a compact side project toGenealogy of the Holy War. Development was also supposed to end a considerable time prior to its eventual release date, but as the game evolved, the staff felt the need to keep going and create a fullFire Emblem title. This in turn caused difficulties with keeping the game within the world ofGenealogy of the Holy War, with Kaga commenting that it would have been simpler to create a completely original title if they had known how big the project would become. Characters were intentionally given little buildup or backstory, leaving their individual personalities for players to imagine. As the strategic war simulation elements ofGenealogy of the Holy War had suffered due to the goal of creating an intricate story, Kaga this time switched his focus to the gameplay. The basic structure was taken fromMystery of the Emblem, with additional elements such as branching pathways within maps and variations in unit movement. This was achieved by giving each map a different algorithm to work with. The fatigue system was introduced to challenge players further.[10]
Thracia 776 was first released through theNintendo Power flash cartridge system.[16] The original version was released on September 1, 1999.[17] In addition to its standard release, a pre-written cartridge as part of a "DX Pack" was made available.[16] A version for the Super Famicom's standardROM Cartridge was announced in December 1999, three months after the initial release.[18] This version was released on January 21, 2000.[17] It was the third and finalFire Emblem title to be developed for theSuper Famicom, followingMystery of the Emblem andGenealogy of the Holy War.[19]Thracia 776 was the lastFire Emblem game to be developed for home consoles untilFire Emblem: Path of Radiance in 2005, and was purportedly one of the last original Super Famicom games to be developed.[20][21]Thracia 776 has never been released outside Japan,[20] but an Englishfan translation that translated crucial story elements was released in 2007.[22] A more complete fan translation with translated menus and improved dialogue and title translations,Project Exile, was completed and released on May 31, 2019.[23][24] The title was re-released digitally through Nintendo'sVirtual Console service in Japan, for theWii on July 15, 2008,[25] and forWii U on July 10, 2013.[26]
Upon release, the Nintendo Power version proved highly popular, with people coming in high numbers to stores supplying it. This was attributed to the popularity of theFire Emblem series.[30] It was the best-selling Super Famicom game of September.[31] By November the following year, it was reported to be the most popular Nintendo Power title within that period.[32] Combined sales of its Nintendo Power and ROM Cartridge releases reached 106,108 units as of 2002, makingThracia 776 the worst-sellingFire Emblem game at the time.[33] An alternate estimate byFamitsu at the end of 1999 put total sales at 145,600 units, ranking as the 103rd best-selling game title of the year. According toFamitsu, it was the highest-selling Super Famicom release of that year.[34]
Famitsu gave the ROM cartridge release a score of 35/40.[27][28] The reviewers were both positive about its further refinements and additions to theFire Emblem gameplay formula, and surprised by the greatly increased difficulty level when compared to the previous entry.[28] Kerry Brunskill ofNintendo Life again noted the steep difficulty even when compared to otherFire Emblem entries, but also positively noted its sound gameplay base and praised its "well thought out" story.[35]Nintendojo's Desmond Gaben gaveThracia 776 a score of 9.9/10 in his review: he praised the graphics as some of the best on the system, generally approved of the gameplay improvements despite its high difficulty, and called it a "must-have" for fans of the genre.[29] The game was noted by websiteRacketBoy as both a rarity due to its release media and recognized alongside the other Super FamicomFire Emblem titles as a quality game.[19]TechnologyTell included among their lists of the top Super Famicom games that had not been released overseas.[36]
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