User:Bluemothsword/Sandbox

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (lost early builds of Game Boy Advance tactical role-playing game; 2001-2002)

Boxart.

Status: Lost

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade is the sixth installment and the first handheld title of the franchise, first released on March 29th, 2002 in Japan. Months prior to its release, its protagonist Roy makes his first overall debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and he, alongside fellow Fire Emblem protagonist Marth, sparked international interest in the franchise, resulting in later titles (Save New Mystery of the Emblem) to be released worldwide instead of Japan-only. It is also known for codifying gameplay elements that were present in previous games, most notably the Support Conversation System, which, if two characters acquire enough points and talk, their support level increases.

Following its initial cancellation as the ill-fated Fire Emblem: Maiden of Darkness, development had started over from the beginning, and the story was rewritten from the ground up. Though screenshots of its various early builds, as well as a single pre-release trailer of its Nintendo SpaceWorld 2001 build exists online, and the later two Game Boy Advance games (The Blazing Blade and The Sacred Stones) had their prototypes leaked in 2008, none of Binding Blade's prototype builds have resurfaced in any form.

SpaceWorld 2001 build

The most well-known early build is the one shown in Nintendo SpaceWorld 2001. This build is notable for featuring Roy's infamous original design, where he is depicted with a more youthful and adventurous appearance than his final one, akin to the likes of most Shounen protagonists. The only associated material that have been known to survive are a promotional flier, a magazine photo, screenshots, and a pre-release trailer albeit in low quality. Standalone reuploads of said trailer exist on YouTube, but are muted. A standalone version that includes the audio can be watched below.

Pre-release trailer containing the only known footage of the build

From the available footage, the UI is drastically different from previous builds, beginning to look identical to the one that appears in the final game. The Battle screen was also heavily simplified, with the health bars becoming more simple and the names of the combatants located in them. The character Lilina was going to be recruited in the very first chapter, but instead, she joins in the eighth one instead. Weapon icons from the previous game Thracia 776 were also used as placeholders before new ones were created. During enemy phase, player units were on the left side of the battle screen, while the enemy's were on the opposite.

External Links

• Official website of the game.
• NIWA Fire Emblem wiki article detailing pre-release information.

See Also

• Fire Emblem: Maiden of Darkness (lost build of cancelled Nintendo 64DD tactical role-playing game; 1997-2000) - The original version of the game.
• Fire Emblem Wii (lost tech demo; late 2000s)
• Fire Emblem: Archanea Saga (partially lost original Satellaview version of "Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem" bonus content; 1997)