Prior to its release in 2004,Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones received previews in the Japanese gaming press and in other sources. Some of the screenshots of the game used in previews are comprised of preliminary content or data which is clearly different from the game's final form, especially in previews from earlier points in the game's development.

Pre-release build

Main article:Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones prototype

A largely incomplete pre-release build of the game was leaked from the Intelligent Systems FTP server in 2008 and subsequently widely distributed. In its degree of incompletion, it is uncertain to tell how much of what was in there was planned for the finished product at one time or another; interesting differences include different layouts forChapters 5 and6, significantly different portraits for some characters, and a small number of completely different names.

Magazine features

DuringFire Emblem: The Sacred Stones's pre-release, like many other games, it was featured in various video game news outlets, including magazines.

	The early version of Eirika's portrait from the prototype appears in magazine previews.Vanessa also has a very slightly different portrait from the final release.
	The incarnation of Eirika's early animation, also appearing in the prototype, was featured in a magazine.
	An item called theStone Shard (魔石のかけら) is a recurring feature of pre-release material, including the pre-release build. Acting as a temporary monster weapon forRevenants andBaels, in every pre-release appearances it uses the icon ofFlametongue. It still exists in the final game, dummied out and now using aRed Gem icon, and is technically usable by all monsters.
	An alternate version of what may be theprologue. Featuring a singlecavalier, and avillage, both which differ from the prologue in the final release. The general tile layout of the mountains is also different.

Monster artwork

Artwork for theMauthe Doog andElder Bael appear in some magazines, however the full size and high quality versions were never publicly released, artwork for the rest of the monsterclasses is not known to exist.

	Artwork of aMauthe Doog from a magazine.
	Artwork of anElder Bael from a magazine.

Official website screenshots

Curiously, the game's official Japanese website uses screenshots from what appears to be an earlier build of the game in its "Screenshot" pages; other pages which use screenshots, like theUnit page, use more recent screenshots in line with the final version.

	In almost all prerelease sources, the battle and other windows use the same HUD style asThe Binding Blade andThe Blazing Blade. Given that some early screenshots and sources also include scene where entirely new HUD frames had to be drawn, it is uncertain whether the original intention was to retain the original HUD style, or whether completing the overhaul simply took until fairly late in the development process.
	No character seen in battle has a personal palette, using only the class's default for playable units.
	TheGreat Knight's sprite is fairly different: it has no shield, and its saddle is red compared to the dark blue armor.[1]
	Marisa starts at level 12, instead of at level 5 as in the final product; assuming theShamshir'smight is the same, Marisa has 8strength instead of her 7 in the final version.[1]
	Inchapter 2 Eirika is accompanied by a femalemyrmidon and ashaman that are not present in that chapter in the final game.Ross is also seems to be absent, andBone, the boss, is in a different location.
	AMaelduin is present in the first floor of theTower of Valni, an impossibility in the final version. The layout is also slightly different, the femalecleric map sprite also has yet to be changed to the version used in the final release.
	Though barely visible in the screenshot,Tethys still appears to useNinian'sDancer map sprite.[2]

References