Fire Emblem: Thracia 776

I must admit that despite being a fan of the series, Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 is a game that I did not know existed until last year! This is a really strange game that was released for the Japan only, Nintendo Power Flash Cartridge which was a service that allowed Japanese gamers to take their cartridge to a store and download certain games to it for the SNES and Game Boy. The game I am looking at today was released for this service in 1999! Which is kind of crazy as the Nintendo 64 had already been out for years at this point!

I Will Take Down The Grannvale Empire!

Thankfully, Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 has received an unofficial English translation so I was able to enjoy the story that was crafted for this game. The story sees the main character, Leif wants to take down the Grannvale Empire. The reason that he wants to do this is to bring back his kingdom of Tharacia. In typical Fire Emblem fashion, there is a lot of story here and many characters that you will come to know, like, love and even hate. Still, the story did not quite grasp me as much as some of the other Fire Emblem games I have played.

Take Your Turn….. But I Am Tired!

The gameplay that is on offer here in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 is exactly what you would expect from a Fire Emblem game. It is a tactics-based RPG where you have to try and prevail in a variety of scenarios. Some of these can be as simple as winning the battle at hand. However, you do also have other things on occasion to tend to including protecting characters, getting way without getting hurt and so on. So, while you could argue that the core game is the same, I think they keep you on your toes enough.

One thing that they did add to Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 is a fatigue system. This means the more moves you make the more tired you get! This may not sound like much, but it is another thing to keep an eye on and another added element of strategy to the game. It does actually make the game more challenging as at first, I tried to just ignore this and I ended up screwing up really bad and having to start the game over!

I must say that in the history of Fire Emblem, this is one of the most interesting games to ever be made. It is just so strange the way that this game was released back in the day and that alone I am sure makes this one of the more unknown Fire Emblem games out there. If you are a fan of the series, Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 is a game that is very easy to recommend to you guys. It may not change a great deal from the other Super Nintendo Fire Emblem games, but the added fatigue mechanic really does make it that extra bit challenging.

Final Score: 8.5/10

Pros:

• The game has a rather in-depth story
• I really do like the fatigue gimmick they introduced
• It has that classic SNES look that I love
• The soundtrack gets you jacked up when you play
• A nice amount of variety to the missions

Cons:

• I like the presentation, but it looks similar to the earlier SNES titles
• The game was never released in the West!!!!