The Fire Emblem series of Strategy Role-Playing Games has been gradually building up a strong following here in the West following years of Japanese-only releases in the past. Now, though, Intelligent Systems and Nintendo are working hard to bring back the very first game in the franchise, one that has never been released in English before. This time the game will be revitalised on the Nintendo DS and appears to even have online content!

The latest issue of Famitsu has revealed some more tidbits of information about the proposed reworking of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems’s old NES game from 1990, the very first Fire Emblem ever made, which is being translated onto the Nintendo DS. Entitled Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Ken (which roughly translates into English as the very lengthy Fire Emblem: New Dark Dragon and the Sword of Light), the game was first revealed by Nintendo of Japan’s president, Satoru Iwata, back in October 2007 at a Japanese Press event mainly for Wii. Technically this will be the eleventh entry into the long standing franchise, even though it is in essence a remake of the NES / Famicom original. If released in the West, though, it will only be the fifth game to hit here, following Fire Emblem and Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones on GBA, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance on the GameCube and the most recent version, and some say best entry by far, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn for Wii.

Whilst the basic structure of the game will remain the same, with players taking control of a large team filled with a variety of skilled fighters, magicians, thieves, archers and so on, with each team taking it in turns to attack, there will be a few notable changes. First of all the graphics will be significantly improved and CG artwork will be included. More importantly, though, is how the dual screen set-up will now allow for touch-screen tactics to be employed, with players using the stylus to move characters around the battle ground with the greatest of ease. Another key inclusion this time round is the use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. This time round players will be able to partake in long distance multiplayer battles, and this will actually prove to be a first for the series! Gamers start an online battle by first of all setting up a team using up to five units that they have diligently built up whilst playing through the extensive single-player story mode and then taking their team into the battle fields that Intelligent Systems has specifically created for multiplayer battling.

The game’s story centres on the royal prince Marth (whom most readers will know from his appearance in the Super Smash Bros. games) as he embarks on a quest to win back his home kingdom and rescue his kidnapped sister. Characters that were not present in the Famicom original have been introduced into this version, as well as some that were actually taken out when it was remade in the Super Famicom remake Monshō no Nazo (which was also a Japanese-only release). Other details revealed so far prior to the game’s 7th August release in Japan include how the weapon triangle is being implemented, ‘Weapon Skill’ has been removed and replaced with ‘Weapon Ranks’, Sstrength and Magic statistics now co-exist, health bars are shown below characters, there will be at least one new playable character (the Social Knight, Freyr), and there will also be at least one new weapon (the Wing Spear used by Sheeda).

According to Wikipedia, the full story outline from the Famicom original (seen in the above video clip to give an idea of how it will play), which should not be drastically changing in this remake, if at all, is as follows:

“Marth is prince of Altea and a direct descendant of Anri, the warrior who slew the shadow dragon Medeus. However, after an attack from the neighbouring kingdom of Dolua, Marth is forced to become an exile in the neighbouring nation of Talis. His sister Ellis is taken hostage after his father is killed battling the evil priest Garnef. With the help of the Altean knight Jeigan, the Talisian Princess Sheeda, and others, Marth embarks on a quest to find the sacred sword known as Falchion and the Fire Emblem that will allow him to wield it. Only then will he be able to confront Garnef and the resurrected Medeus, win the kingdom of Altea back, and rescue his sister.”

Two new scans from Famitsu magazine can be viewed below:

Expect more details to arise as the game’s 7th August release date draws ever closer…