The best Fire Emblem games, ranked from best to worst

The first North American Fire Emblem game released for home consoles, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance remains the pinnacle of the series in both its combat and its storytelling. Starring a lowly mercenary rather than the princes and princesses so often seen in Japanese role-playing games, Path of Radiance touches on dark themes, including racism and genocide, throughout its politically-charged conflict. A war between several nations has left the world on the brink of chaos, and protagonist Ike’s journey to bring those responsible to justice is epic in every sense of the word. Path of Radiance also built on the series’ combat and tactical mechanics in clever ways. The many weapon-wielding and magic-based classes were joined by the morphing Laguz, and a bonus experience system allowed for lesser-used characters to still keep pace with the rest of the party. Despite this, it still retained the classic Fire Emblem difficulty.

How do you take a series that has been riffing on fantasy warfare for decades and turn it into something remarkably fresh? Why, turn it into Harry Potter, of course! Fire Emblem: Three Houses is split between the traditional combat missions and sections that take place in a monastery, where the protagonist works and develops the abilities of his students. The changes of pace keep the incredibly long game from feeling stale, and the conversations and storylines you find are actually worth exploring. Three Houses also gives you far more control over how you develop your party. Characters typically start as low-level commoners who can essentially be trained to take on any class role, and though you are initially limited to just the characters in the house you’re leading, you can eventually recruit those from other houses to round out your squad. It all adds up to the most personalized Fire Emblem game yet, and one that is certainly worth playing more than once.

A prequel to a game that didn’t release in North America at all, 2003’s Fire Emblem was an odd choice for players’ introduction to the series. Despite this, its memorable three protagonists and their eventual struggle against a terrifying dragon could be appreciated in its own right, as could the game’s delicate balance of tutorial elements with slip-and-you-die tactics. Simple in comparison to the later games, Fire Emblem is nonetheless essential to the series’ legacy, with gorgeous sprite-based artwork and a stunning soundtrack that will be stuck in your head for weeks after finishing the game. It plays just as well now as it did at launch more than 15 years ago, which you can’t say about too many other games.

The Nintendo Switch had already launched by the time Nintendo released Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, a downright bizarre remake of the Famicom’s Fire Emblem Gaiden. Alongside the standard grid-based tactical combat, the game included free-roam dungeons, which contained hidden secrets and deadly enemies. The game’s voice acting was also superb, as were its gorgeous retro-inspired animated cutscenes. What didn’t work as well were the standard turn-based combat sections. The weapon triangle of past Fire Emblem games was completely removed, outright eliminating much of the decision-making, and the difficulty balance was severely thrown off by the time the credits rolled. Despite these flaws, it’s still certainly worth playing, especially as a unique look at the series’ past.