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

FE6 Boxart.png

Retail boxart of the game.

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[1][2], none of Binding Blade's prototype builds have resurfaced in any form.

January 2001 build

The game (still known as Fire Emblem: Maiden of Darkness at the time) was first announced on August 2000 as one of the many titles to be released on the Game Boy Advance. However, no further news were made until January 19th, 2001, when an article about it was published by Famitsu. Included with the article is the first known screenshot of the game[3].


Space World 2001 build

The most well-known early build is the one shown in Nintendo Space World 2001. 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[4]. 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.

Differences between Roy's design

This build is notable for featuring Roy's infamous prerelease design, where he is depicted with a more youthful and adventurous appearance than his final one, akin to the likes of most Shounen protagonists. Notable differences include the following, all of which Roy's final design either toned down or didn't have:

  • His hair was a lot more distinct and messy, while the final design has the hair toned down to look more realistic.
  • His armor looked a lot heavier; having large, bulky pauldrons, and a smaller breastplate. His breastplate also has a red gemstone embedded in it, which didn't appear in the final, but given the fact that Roy's color scheme is an inversion of Lilina's, it was probably likely that it would've represent the opposite of Lilina's blue one.
  • He also wore a long-sleeved black shirt and large white gloves, but the final has him wear a blue jacket over the same shirt albeit short-sleeved. and blue fingerless gloves.
  • The headband has a slightly different pattern between the two versions.
  • Roy's boots had cloths wrapped around, with the kneeguards attached. The final has them removed.

Despite Roy having his design altered a few months before Binding Blade's release, both his battle and map sprite still use his old one in the final game. His ingame portrait, however, did get updated to reflect the change.

Post-SpaceWorld 2001 builds

Unknown prototype build

Availability

Gallery

January 2001 build

Space World 2001 build

Other builds

External Links

See Also

Reference