Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genealogy of the Holy War is one of the older Fire Emblem games that, unfortunately, we’ve never gotten here in the west. It’s the fourth entry in the franchise, and actually introduced many of the ideas that would become integral to Fire Emblem for years to come. First off, it was the first game to feature the weapon triangle, something that drastically changed the way your strategies played out in battle. On top of that, it also introduced a chapter format for the story, as well as the relationship system among other things.
The really interesting aspect of Genealogy of the Holy War, however, is the generation system it uses. The game is actually split into two halves, corresponding to two different generations. You character’s stats and pairings in the first half of the game directly influence your characters in the second generation.
The game takes place on the continent of Jugdral, which is composed of eight different continents founded by 12 crusaders. The first part of Genealogy of the Holy War focuses on Sigurd, a prince of Chalphy as the continent gets thrown into chaos because of a budding war.
Genealogy of the Holy War is a fascinating game that really highlights the transition from old Fire Emblem to new. Its generational system is still wholly unique even in the series, and it’d be great to see its ideas get updated even more with advancements like weapons that break the weapon triangle, and the support relationship system from Awakening and Fates. On top of that, it’s really a shame that the west never had the chance to experience one of the more interesting entries in the series. It easily seems like the obvious choice, should Nintendo choose to remake more Fire Emblem games.
