Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is a Japanese Super Famicom tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It was released on May 14, 1996 in Japan. It is the fourth title in the Fire Emblem series, the second Fire Emblem title for the Super Famicom, and the last game produced by the late Gunpei Yokoi. It was released on the Japanese Virtual Console service on January 30, 2007.
Development[]
Genealogy of the Holy War features the largest soundtrack ever composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko, comprised of 114 tracks. Some songs from the game were reused in the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem games. Norse and Irish mythology are the main contributors to names found in the game.
Pre-release Changes[]
The final version of Genealogy of the Holy War features some significant differences from the original design brought about by to development and time constraints. As explained by Shouzou Kaga in Fire Emblem TREASURE, the game was originally planned to be divided into three parts, with Seliph's story being the second part. The third part was going to explain the parent killings and incest issues. Other alleged changes made to the plot, characters, and classes are described at this link, but none of this information has been factually confirmed by any official sources.
Setting[]
- See also: Jugdral Series
Genealogy of the Holy War takes place in the continent of Jugdral, which is divided between eight territories: the Kingdom of Grannvale, the Kingdom of Verdane, the Miletos District, the Manster District, the Kingdom of Thracia, the Lords' Dominion of Agustria, the Kingdom of Silesse, the Aed Desert, and the Kingdom of Isaach. Each were founded by the Twelve Crusaders: Baldr, Ullr, Thrud, Fjalar, Nál, Bragi, Heim, Njörun, Dáinn, Hoðr, Ced, and Od.
According to staff, Jugdral is within the same world as Archanea, the continent featured in the original Fire Emblem and its sequels, but set hundreds of years prior to the events of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. At the time that Genealogy of the Holy War takes place, the Dragon Tribes of Archanea were debating how to treat humanity.
In the year Grann 440, the Earth Dragon Loptous made a pact with the priest Gair, who becomes his vessel for bringing ruin to humanity. By 632, the Divine Dragon Naga had discovered Loptous' part in the gradual conquest of Jugdral, and so she chose twelve soldiers to defeat Loptous: this event became known as the Miracle of Darna. In the year 648, the Twelve Crusaders defeated Loptous and his cult, bringing peace to the land in a conflict dubbed the "Holy War". The Twelve Crusaders subsequently established the nations of Jugdral that still exist as of the beginning of Genealogy of the Holy War in the year 757.
Jugdral Chronology[]
- Grann Year 001: Grann Kingdom formed west of the Jun River.
- Grann Year 230: Shift to republican government.
- Grann Year 310: Territory expansion: Era of prosperity.
- Grann Year 440: Dark Lord descends to Archbishop Galle; Loptr Church religious order is formed.
- Grann Year 447: War of the Twelve Deadlords; fall of the Grann republic.
- Grann Year 448: Archbishop Galle takes the throne, and the Loptrian Empire is formed.
- Grann Year 449: The Great Purge: Casualties exceed one hundred thousand.
- Grann Year 452: Sorrow of Miletos: Numerous human children are burned to death in sacrifice to the Dark Lord Loptous.
- Grann Year 453: Atrocity at Edda: Casualties are in tens of thousands.
- Grann Year 535: Mutiny of Maera Imperial family.
- Grann Year 611: Liberation army disseminates across the Jugdral continent.
- Grann Year 632: Miracle at Darna Fortress: Gods descend to liberation army, and the Twelve Crusaders emerge.
- Grann Year 633: Beginning of Holy War.
- Grann Year 648: Fall of the Loptrian Empire: The Twelve Crusaders establish seven dukedoms in Grannvale and five regional kingdoms.
- Grann Year 649: Kingdom of Grannvale formed.
- Grann Year 757: Grannvale invades Isaach.
Story[]
Sigurd's Tale[]
"Just a minute! The following section contains spoilers. Viewing it will cost a lot. Are you prepared to pay for it?"
|
Prologue: Birth of the Holy Knight[]
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War begins as Prince Kurth of Grannvale, son of the elderly King Azmur, heeds the cries of his people to send their army to subdue the Kingdom of Isaach in response to the massacre of Granvallian citizens by barbarians of Ribaut, a dukedom of Isaach. Despite the counsel the Prince receives from Duke Byron of Chalphy and Duke Ling of Yngvi, none of them foresaw such violence as Grannvale, Isaach, and the continent of Jugdral as a whole were at peace for many years. While Prince Kurth, his closest advisors, and the military might of Grannvale march to Isaach, Lord Sigurd remains in Chalphy Castle to oversee the territory in his father, Duke Byron's absence.
While Grannvale's army is occupied elsewhere, Prince Munnir of Verdane invades, flooding across the border into Yngvi. his army defeats Yngvi's Bow Knights, and Munnir takes Ling's daughter Edain back to Verdane, intending to force her to marry him.
At the advice of House Chalphy's prodigal advisor, Oifey, Sigurd gathers the remaining Chalphy knights, Naoise, Alec, and Arden, to travel to Verdane to rescue his good friend Edain. While on the road to Yngvi Castle, he is joined first by Lord Azelle of Velthomer, followed by Lord Lex of Dozel. Then Sigurd's sister Ethlyn, her husband Prince Quan of Leonster, and their most loyal knight Finn come to Sigurd's aid.
Together, they retake Yngvi and find the bow knight Midir, injured but alive and insistent on joining Sigurd's forces to rescue Edain. As Sigurd's group, at this point a small army, sets out to conquer Evans Castle in Verdane, Arvis, Duke of Velthomer and attendant to the king, arrives on his orders to aid Yngvi, yet finding Sigurd has already liberated the castle, passes on a Silver Sword and his task of subduing Verdane. When they take Evans, they find no trace of Edain within the walls. Filat, King Azmur's messenger, arrives to inform Sigurd that he has been entitled a "Holy Knight of Grannvale". Honored, Sigurd obeys his orders to secure Evans Castle for Grannvale and prepares to march deeper into Verdane.
Chapter 1: Girl of the Spirit Forest[]
Prince Eldigan of Agustria, which shares a border with Verdane and Grannvale, meets with Lord Sigurd to ask him why he invaded Verdane. After Sigurd explains himself, Eldigan allies with them and holds Evans Castle as Sigurd and his forces continue their search for Edain.
To the southeast of Evans in Genoa Castle, Prince Cimbaeth, younger brother of Munnir, is frightened by Sigurd's army and decides to attack. In his stead he forced Ayra, a mercenary whom he just hired, to guard the castle, threatening to kill Ayra's nephew and charge, Prince Shannan of Isaach, if she shirks her duty. Cimbaeth leads his army to fight Sigurd's and the fell-hearted prince dies in battle alongside all his soldiers. As Sigurd's forces conquer Genoa Castle, Oifey finds Shannon in the dungeon. Despite his status as a prince of an enemy nation, Sigurd vows to protect the boy. Upon seeing Shannon has been freed, Ayra stops attacking Sigurd's army and instead pledges her blade to his service.
In Marpha, the southernmost city in Verdane, Munnir holds Edain captive. Yet she makes fast friends with Jamke, youngest of the three Verdanite princes, and her fellow prisoners. Jamke frees Edain and her friends, though Munnir quickly discovers his brother's treachery and sends his army to bring Edain back to Marpha Castle. Lucky for her, a young thief named Dew helps her escape through the dense forests to meet Sigurd's army. They conquer Marpha Castle and slay Munnir. While in town, Sigurd rescues a woman being harassed by a ruffian. She knows his name upon seeing him, as she had been held hostage by Munnir and had spoken to Edain, but she flees before he is able to get her name. He asks the town elder about her, and he tells him her name is Deirdre. Yet he also says to give up hope of ever seeing her again: she is a priestess of the Spirit Forest, whose residents have prophesized that should Deirdre liaison with a man, calamity will befall the world. Sigurd dismisses this as superstitious nonsense and resolves to meet Deirdre again.
Meanwhile, Prince Jamke arrives at Verdane Castle to speak with his father, King Batu, about making a peace treaty with Grannvale. His father, under the dark mage Sandima's curse, refuses to listen. Sandima then orders Jamke to take the remainder of the castle's army and attack Sigurd's army. As soon as he leaves, Sandima assassinates the king. Manfroy, Sandima's master and the head of the Loptr Church, appears and asks if Sandima has found the Loptyrian scion yet, disappointed to learn that the last player in their plans yet evades them.
On the battlefield, Jamke reunites with Edain, who convinces him to join Sigurd instead of fighting him. On their way to Verdane Castle, Sigurd's army traverses the Spirit Forest, and Deirdre returns to Sigurd. She confesses that she could not stay away, though she should, as the blood of the dark god runs through her. Claiming once more that this is superstition, Sigurd tells her he loves her too, whereupon she joins Sigurd's army and becomes his lover. As they continue northward to Verdane Castle, Deirdre is instrumental in defeating Sandima. Inside the castle, Sigurd finds a lethally injured King Batu, who tells Sigurd that the evil spreading across the continent of Jugdral is the work of the Loptr Church, a dark sect bent on resurrecting the Dark Lord Loptous.
When Sigurd returns to Evans Castle, he marries Deirdre. She and Ethlyn become friends, and she gifts Ethlyn the Light Brand.
Chapter 2: Disturbance in Agustria[]
Bewitched by Manfroy, Prince Chagall of Agustria murders his father, King Imuka, and takes the throne. Anti-Grannvale sentiment is strong among the Agustrians, and Chagall soon leads his army to attack Sigurd's in Verdane. When Eldigan goes to Agusti Castle to plead for peace, Chagall casts Eldigan into the dungeon. A division of the Heirhein army, led by Lord Boldor and his son Elliot, attacks Nordion and attempts to capture Lady Lachesis, sister to Eldigan. When Sigurd receives word that Eldigan is captured, he heads for Nordion with Deirdre at his side. They rescue Lachesis, recruit her, and rout the remainder of the Heirhein army.
Hearing what Sigurd has done, Chagall goes to Anphony and informs Lord Macbeth that while he was busy looting and pillaging in the chaos of war, his avarice cost them Heirhein. In a panic, Macbeth commands his hired mercenaries to subdue Sigurd. Meanwhile, Lewyn and Sylvia save the villages from Macbeth's soldiers.
If a member of Sigurd's army defeats Chulainn in the Agustrian arena, he will join their side in the war. From Heirhein, they approach Anphony. Not much of a fan of Macbeth's, the mercenary Beowolf will join Sigurd's army for a fee. After they take Anphony, Filat arrives and tells Sigurd there are rumors going around in the Royal Court of Belhalla that Sigurd, Quan, and Eldigan are conspiring against Prince Kurth and that this is why Sigurd hides Shannan the Prince of Isaac. Meanwhile, a messenger for Manfroy arrives at Agusti informs him about the assassination of Prince Kurth. Erinys, a Pegasus Knight of Silesse, demands that Prince Lewyn return to her immediately. Chagall tells her that Lewyn is a prisoner in Evans Castle, but Erinys finds Lewyn on the battlefield dressed as a Bard. He reveals Chagall's lie and convinces her to join Sigurd's army rather than drag him back to Silesia Palace.
Neither Lord Clement of Mackily nor Chagall and his army can stop Sigurd from seizing Agusti. Yet the recently freed Eldigan saves the life of his king, demanding to know why Sigurd has conquered Agustria. Sigurd promises him that though the has been ordered to hold Agustria, if given enough time, he will be able to restore peace between their nations. Without much choice, Eldigan reluctantly trusts his word.
Chapter 3: Eldigan, the Lionheart[]
About six months later, at Agusti Castle, Seliph is born. In Madino, Chagall rallies his army and prepares to retake Agusti. Smelling gold amidst the blood, the Orgahil Pirates mutiny against their captain and raid the villages on the northern shore. While Sigurd goes out to keep the peace, Deirdre stays at Agusti Castle to watch over Seliph and Shannan.
Sigurd seizes Madino and meets Father Claud of Edda, with Tailtiu of Friege acting as his bodyguard. Claud informs Sigurd of Prince Kurth's assassination, stating that his father, Lord Byron, is the primary suspect and has gone missing. Sigurd is concerned for his father, but Claud reassures him that if he, a descendant of the crusader Bragi, prays at the Tower of Bragi, the truth will be revealed and he will pass it along to King Azmur at Grannvale. Claud and Tailtiu make their way to the tower, leaving Sigurd at Madino.
Deirdre learns of Sigurd's victory in battle and rushes to see him, placing Seliph in Shannan's care. Before she reaches Sigurd at Madino Castle, Manfroy appears before her. He wipes her mind clean and kidnaps her.
While initially avoiding the conflict, Eldigan is forced by Chagall to fight and betray Sigurd. He leads his Cross Knights from Silvail against Sigurd's army. If Lachesis speaks to Eldigan, she convinces him that betrayal is not the way of a knight. He gives her the Earth Sword as a remembrance of him and returns to Silvail, where he is publicly decapitated by the Silvail guardsmen under Chagall's orders. Finished with that business, Chagall hires Travant and other Thracian mercenaries to kill Sigurd. However, the Dragon Knights fail and Travant flees the country, leaving Chagall to be defeated once and for all.
Shortly after Sigurd conquers Silvail, Prince Shannan, carrying baby Seliph, comes to him and informs him of Deirdre's fate. Hearing that the war has ended, the Orgahil Pirates look to go raiding once more, and when their captain, Brigid, refuses them again, they intend to kill her. She escapes to Sigurd's army, where she meets her sister, Edain, for the first time since childhood. Having found her long lost sister and heir to House Yngvi, Edain gives her the holy bow Yewfelle. At Madino, Ethlyn gives Quan the holy lance Gáe Bolg. While Quan was meant to have had it the entire time, Ethlyn kept it secret and upon her person, fearing the legendary curse upon the lance. Quan reassures her that the curse is just an old myth: he won't be lost like Deirdre, and they will return home to their daughter, Altena, safely.
Claud returns from the Tower of Bragi and reveals that Duke Lombard of Dozel killed Prince Kurth on the orders of Duke Reptor of Friege, who killed the pacifist King Mananan of Isaach. Just when the fighting seems to be done, Lombard and his army march to Agusti Castle and Sigurd is deemed a traitor to Grannvale. As Sigurd and his army flee, Erinys's sister Annand arrives at Orgahil and takes them to Silesse.
Chapter 4: Dance in the Skies[]
One year later, Queen Lahna comes to see them where they hide at Sailane Castle and informs them that Arvis is marrying a previously undiscovered daughter of Prince Kurth. She urges her son, Lewyn, to return to Silesia quickly, as her brothers-in-law have been scheming for the throne.
Quan, Ethlyn, and Finn embark on a journey to gather reinforcements from Leonster, purportedly with baby Leif. Soon after their departure, Duke Myos of Tófa orders an attack on Sailane. With the help of Dew's lockpicking skills, Sigurd's forces manage to rout their attackers, overtake Tófa castle, and kill Myos. Daccar, another of Lewyn's uncles launches an attack onto Silesse Castle and holds its Queen as a hostage. Annand, loyal knight of the queen, gathers her brigade to counter-attack, but Andrey, the brother of Edain and Brigid and the father of Scipio, comes with his army of archer knights, killing her and her pegasus knight brigade. Queen Lahna orders the people of Silesse Castle town to flee to the mountains near Sailane. These civilians are then rescued by a division of Sigurd's army.
After Sigurd retakes Silesse Castle from Daccar and his henchmen, Lewyn reunites with his mother. Though he promises never to leave her again, she tells him his place is in the world and gives him the holy wind tome Forseti. As the army conquers Zaxon Castle, the Silessian civil war comes to an end.
Chapter 5: Doors of Destiny[]
Barely has the fighting stopped before the army of Grannvale again calls for Sigurd's head. Among the number stationed at the border between Silesse and the Aed Desert is Byron, who has travelled there in order to give Sigurd the holy sword Tyrfing. Intent on fighting his way through to the capital to clear his name, Sigurd defeats Lombard conquers Lubeck Castle. In the meantime, Shannan and Oifey flee with Seliph and the other children of the army to Tirnanog in Isaach. After he conquers Phinora, Sigurd hears news about the deaths of Quan and Ethlyn at the hands of Travant and his Dragon Knights. Though Travant sends his subordinate Magorn to kill Sigurd, his army is able to defeat the Thracians. Finally, all that remains between Sigurd and the capital is Reptor and his army in Velthomer. Yet when Sigurd's forces approach, the Velthomer knights turn against Reptor at the behest of Aida, lover of Arvis. She tells Sigurd that Arvis is expecting him in the capital, ready to celebrate his victory.
Sigurd meets his destiny, falling into Arvis's trap. Their conversation is cut short as Arvis reveals he is intent on killing him for his murder of Prince Kurth, despite House Chalphy being cleared of the crime. In Sigurd's final moments, Arvis brings forth his wife, who is none other than the captured and incapacitated Deirdre. Sigurd despairs as Deirdre holds no memory of him. As he is incinerated by Arvis's Valflame, the Battle of Belhalla begins. Though termed a battle, it is in reality a massacre, as the Roten Ritter bombard's Sigurd's army with meteors. The casualties in the Belhalla Massacre are unclear, with only Edain, Brigid, Lachesis, Erinys, Tailtiu, and Sylvia confirmed to have survived.
After the Battle of Belhella, Arvis travels to the Spirit Forest to investigate Deirdre's past and discovered that she was in fact his sister. His feelings for her did not change and he resolved to keep it from her.
Edain escapes to Tirnanog and conducts church services at the local abbey. She helps raise Seliph and the other children. Her sister, Brigid, once again loses her memories and is carried by the sea to a new destiny, this time in Iz of the Munster District. Lachesis and her daughter Nanna join Finn in Leonster. While she becomes a surrogate mother to Leif, she leaves to search the desert for her son, Diarmuid, who unbeknownst to her is safe in Tirnanog. Erinys becomes Queen of Silesse in Lewyn's stead, but falls terminally ill. Tailtiu flees to Silesse with Erinys. Sylvia survives the Belhalla Incident, but her whereabouts are unknown.
As for Lewyn, Manfroy kills him personally. Yet the Wind God Forseti resurrects him, descendant of his favored hero Ced and wielder of his tome. They make a pact: Forseti shall guide Seliph toward victory and Lewyn allows him to possess him.
Intermission[]
"Just a minute! The following section contains spoilers. Viewing it will cost a lot. Are you prepared to pay for it?"
|
With the death of Sigurd, Arvis is crowned Emperor of Grannvale and blessed with two twin children, Julius and Julia, from Deirdre. Subjugating Silesse and Leonster, Lord Arvis unified the continent of Jugdral. However, after years of relative peace, the Loptr Church successfully resurrects Loptous using Julius's body as a vessel. As Loptous and the church take control, the new Loptrian Empire becomes an authoritarian regime rife with murder, enslavement, theft, and child sacrifices.
Seliph's Tale[]
"Just a minute! The following section contains spoilers. Viewing it will cost a lot. Are you prepared to pay for it?"
|
Chapter 6: Inheritors of Light[]
The year is Grann 777, 17 years after the Battle of Belhalla. The ruler of Isaach, King Danann from Dozel in Grannvale, sends an army to capture and execute the rebels who stand with the rightful heir to the throne, Prince Shannan and his Liberation Army in Tirnanog. The characters in this part of the story depend on the relationships of those in Sigurd's army. If their mother never entered a relationship, the children of that generation may be replaced by substitute characters who fulfill the same role.
At Tirnanog, Scáthach sees the army and rushes inside to tell his sister, Larcei. The two myrmidons, the priestess Lana, and Seliph, son of Sigurd and Deirdre, meet the Isaachian forces in battle. Oifey, Diarmuid, and Lana's brother Lester come to their rescue and the Liberation Army routs their enemies.
Upon conquering Ganeishire Castle, the group finds Lewyn of Silesse's royal line and Princess Julia of the Grannvale Empire, who has lost her memory of her past. Lewyn leaves Julia with Seliph and his companions to attend other matters while King Danann orders his sons Iuchar and Iucharba to attack. Larcei can convince either one of them to join her, but the other will get jealous and attack without question. Fee, a pegasus knight, daughter of Erinys, and Arthur, a mage, arrive from Silesse near Sophara Castle, looking for Fee's brother Ced and Arthur's sister Tine. They both decide to join the rebels and help their cause. The group frees Sophara, then the capital city of Isaach, and finally Ribaut, defeating King Danann and liberating Isaach from the Grannvale Empire. Lewyn returns, informing Seliph of his true heritage as Julia's brother and the son of Deirdre and Arvis. Though hesitant to believe him, Seliph accepts his fate as the gods will it.
Chapter 7: Passing the Desert[]
Lewyn brings news that Leif, son of Quan and Ethlyn, has begun his own revolution in Leonster of the Munster District, yet finds himself overwhelmed by imperial forces. The Liberation Army sets out across the Aed Desert to help. Prince Shannan, who had set out on his own quest to find the holy sword Balmung, arrives at the Aed Shrine only to find that Patty has stolen it. When she learns that Shannan is the missing Prince of Isaach, Patty gladly hands over the sword. Meanwhile, the Liberation Army marches for the Aed Shrine in hopes of dispelling the Loptr Church's foothold in the desert. Shannan reunites with his army and Patty follows him, excited to meet not just one, but two lost princes.
Ares, son of Eldigan and Grahnye, betrays his employer, Bramsel of Dahna, to free his close friend Lene. Though he returns to his boss and adoptive father, Javarro, the man says cruel things about women and Lene, prompting Ares to leave him in disgust. Once Dahna falls to the Liberation Army and Bramsel is defeated, Lene is freed for good and joins Seliph's cause. Ares returns to Dahna to look for her, yet finds Seliph, son of Sigurd, whom he has sword revenge against for the murder of his birth father. As Seliph explains that their fathers were close friends and allies, Ares's motivation to kill him falters, and he resigns himself to watching Seliph closely for signs of treachery. He reunites with Lene, and the Liberation Army marches on to Melgen Castle in the Munster District, under the control of Ishtore of Friege and his lover, Liza. Arthur recognizes Ishtore's cousin Tine by the pendant she wears, matching the one his mother gave him. As the siblings reunite, Tine switches sides and Melgen falls along with Ishtore and Liza. Seliph is then able to rescue Leif, Finn, and Nanna. With the liberation of Ulster, Bloom of Friege is forced to retreat to Conote, and Diarmuid meets his sister Nanna for the first time.
Chapter 8: Dragon Knights of Thracia[]
Bloom is determined to take Ulster back and defeat Leonster at all costs. He launches attacks against both Ulster and Leonster. Meanwhile, King Travant of Thracia waits in Mease, waiting for his own chance to conquer the Leonster peninsula. Accompanying him are Arion, his son, and Altena, stolen and raised as Travant's child and wielding the same weapon that killed her true parents.
Eventually, Seliph and Leif manage to overcome Bloom's forces and set out for Conote to end things once and for all. Bloom sends the bow-wielding mercenary Febail after them; however, Patty recognizes him as her brother and he joins Seliph's army. The last true obstacle between Seliph and Conote is Ishtar, wielding the holy thunder tome Mjolnir. Julia warns Seliph not to attack her, for she is a formidable foe. Even so, Seliph's army manages to defeat her. However, before Ishtar can be killed, Prince Julius of Grannvale appears and orders her to stay at his side. They teleport away, leaving no formidable protection for Conote, which falls to into Seliph's control.
Travant sees his opportunity to take the unguarded territories of Leonster, Conote, and Munster for himself. Travant appoints Altena as the commander of Thracia's forces, mainly composed of dragon knights, while he himself retreats to keep his hands clean. Though she is hesitant to attack innocent people, Altena nonetheless sets out to attack. As she approaches, Ced instructs the people of Munster to flee, wishing to minimize the impending casualties. Altena stops; without her help, Thracia's army falls to Seliph. Grateful for his help, Ced joins the Liberation Army. Finally, Seliph defeats the remainder of the Thracians stationed in Mease. Altena, after seeing the outcome of the battle, decides to retreat into Thracia.
Chapter 9: For Whose Sake[]
Altena arrives in the Thracian capital and talks to Travant, wishing for no more bloodshed. However, Travant orders her back to leading a dragon knight squadron, and with convincing from her "brother" Arion, she sets out to defeat Seliph's army. Meanwhile, General Hannibal ponders the course of the war in a similar fashion to Altena. Travant questions his loyalty, ordering Hannibal's adoptive child, Coirpre, to be taken to Luthecia as insurance, leaving Hannibal to defend Kaphatogia. While all of this is happening, Finn recalls the face of Altena in the last battle, and advises Leif to talk to her, so that he might convince her of joining Seliph's army. Before any casualties may happen, Leif reaches Altena and tells her of her true heritage. When Altena returns to Travant demanding answers, Arion attacks her for her disloyalty. Hannibal's army poses a tough block for Seliph, but they cut off Hannibal's escape route and defeat his forces. As the Liberation Army conquers Luthecia, they free Coirpre, who immediately goes to his father to talk to him. Hearing the pleas of his son, Hannibal joins him on Seliph's side of the war.
Travant decides he must enter the battlefield, but he first leaves his holy lance Gungnir to Arion in a reckless move that makes him easy to kill. The new King Arion jostles Altena awake from where he had knocked her unconscious, telling her that he never wanted to hurt her and advising her to join Leif. Not without some regret, Altena leaves the main castle and reaches Seliph to ask him if he wants her services. Seliph gladly accepts; brother and sister are together again as Leif and Altena reunite.
The fortress city of Musar falls quickly, and without reinforcements, Grutia falls even quicker. As a last resort, Arion deploys 3 squadrons of dragon knights, meant to retake Mease, Kaphatogia, and Luthecia. He also goes into the field to guard the road to Thracia Castle, wielding the Gungnir. Arion's defensive prowess poses a threat, but eventually Seliph's army manages to defeat him and his armies. Just like with Ishtar, Julius appears and warps Arion to safety, leaving Thracia to Seliph and Leif.
Chapter 10: Light and Dark[]
Heading west, the Liberation Army enters the Miletos District. The small country has not escaped the tyrannical rule of Grannvale, as the Loptr Church conducts child hunt after child hunt. They are aided by the merciless Queen Hilda, wife of Bloom, mother of Ishtar and Ishtore, and the woman who tortured Arthur and Tine's mother to death.
Ishtar convenes with Julius and her mother in Chronos, the seat of imperial power in the Miletos District. Julius commands her to send the kidnapped children to Belhalla to be trained as child soldiers. Hilda sends them along and shoos Ishtar away to join Julius at Miletos Castle. Luckily, the Liberation Army finds some children who managed to escape the Loptr Church when they conquer Rados. They are able to defeat Hilda and take the castles of Chronos and Peruluke, but Julia is abducted by Manfroy.
With Julia's capture, the gates to Miletos Castle open as the Loptr Church takes to the field in hopes of destroying Seliph's army. Among them are Julius and Ishtar, playing a game of who can kill the first victim. If either one of them is defeated, both will teleport to safety.
Fighting through the mass of mages, Seliph takes Miletos, allowing him free passage across the Miletos Straight Bridge to Chalphy, the homeland of his father. However, Chalphy is defended by none other than Emperor Arvis himself, wielding the holy fire tome Valflame. Secretly, the man gives the Bishop Palmark instructions to abscond with the captured children and the holy sword Tyrfing in hopes that Seliph might acquire it. He also talks with the captive Julia, revealing to her that he is her father, and gives her the Circlet of Deirdre, claiming that it will protect her in the future. Seliph finds Palmark and receives Tyrfing, then goes to Chalphy to avenge his father. If Seliph defeats Arvis, he can have a conversation with the spirits of Sigurd and Deirdre, who warn him of the trials ahead. Regardless, Arvis falls, Chalphy is liberated, and Belhalla is now in sight.
Final Chapter: The Last Holy War[]
News of Arvis's death reaches Julius and Manfroy in Velthomer, who hardly spare a moment for the loss of their pawn and immediately summon Julia. Julius asks if she knows who he is, but she denies that he is her brother. Indeed, Julius responds to this by saying that he is the Dark Lord Loptous and that he has been sent to this world to rule it. While he means to kill Julia because she inherited the blood of Loptous's mortal enemy, Naga, Manfroy interrupts, saying they can use Julia as a weapon for their own purposes. Julius then teleports back to Belhalla, giving orders to the Grannvalian Dukedoms to engage Seliph's army at Chalphy. As Edda, Dozel, Yngvi, and Friege's armies march out, dark bishops of the Loptr Church overtake all their fortresses, preventing them from turning back.
Seliph emerges victorious against Edda and Dozel. Yet as his forces depart for Friege, they are caught in an ambush between Friege's Gelben Ritter, led by Hilda, and Yngvi's Beige Ritter, led by Andrey's son, Duke Scipio. Despite this, Seliph manages to capture Friege Castle. Here, they discover through Felipe, Arvis's aide, that Arvis and Ishtar have been hiding the abducted children on the castle grounds, protecting them from becoming child soldiers, gladiators, or sacrifices to Loptous.
The final and most perilous stage of the New Holy War then commences. Ishtar sets out with the Weissen Ritter, the elite imperial guard of Belhalla, to engage Seliph's army in Velthomer with assistance from soldiers of Silesse. Arion's mercenary squad deploy and attack Chalphy. Twelve Deadlords, undead fascimiles of the Twelve Crusaders, defend Loptous at Belhalla. At Velthomer, Manfroy deploys elite members of the Loptrian Cult to protect him while he hides in the castle and sends the hypnotized Julia to attack Seliph.
Altena intercepts the Thracians and convinces Arion that he was lost in foolish pride. He and his squad then become allied with her. Meanwhile, Seliph and his army engage and defeat Ishtar, the Falcoknights, and the Weissen Ritter after a long and harsh battle. On the way to Velthomer, they come in contact with Julia. Though Seliph attempts to reason with her, Lewyn comments that she is under a trance; the only way to undo it is to kill Manfroy. Seliph then charges for Velthomer with his best knights while the rest of his army distract Julia, defend Friege, and ready for an assault on Belhalla. The fell Manfroy finally falls as Seliph conquers Velthomer. With Manfroy dead, Julia is able to snap out of her trance and runs to find Seliph. When she reaches Velthomer, Lewyn leads her to a vault Arvis had constructed in secret. With Deirdre's Circlet they are able to access the Book of Naga, the only weapon that could counteract the effects of the Loptous tome.
At last, the time has come for the Liberation Army to march on Belhalla. Though the Deadlords put up quite a fight and Julius showers them with Meteors, Seliph and Julia break into the Imperial Palace. The holy blood of Naga protects them as they battle Loptous. They deal him a mortal blow, and the Dark God rises up out of his body and returns to the netherworld, causing all under his influence to die along with Julius.
Thus ends the resurrection of Loptous and the Loptrian Empire. Seliph becomes King of Grannvale, and Julia the Princess. The control of all the territories on Jugdral falls to the rightful heirs, should they live. If not, Seliph governs these places from Grannvale, alongside his wife, the Queen.
Gameplay[]
Many of the gameplay mechanics in Genealogy of the Holy War differ from other Fire Emblem games in the series. These differences include:
Chapter Format[]
Instead of conquering just one castle per chapter, the player must capture several. Also, the player will have a castle in their possession at the start of each chapter that must not be conquered by the enemy. In allied castles, the player can shop, fight in the arena, store items, and repair weapons (see below). The starting castle is the only place in which the player can promote characters.
There is no limit on how many player characters can be deployed; this is balanced by the player receiving fewer controllable units than in other games in the series.
Generation Format[]
Unique to Genealogy of the Holy War is the fact that the game is divided into two distinct generations of characters with two unique story arcs, in a similar fashion to Book 1 and 2 of Mystery of the Emblem. However, unlike the Book system of Mystery, stats and character pairings in the first Generation directly influence the characters in the Second, and the Second Generation cannot be played immediately at the start of the game: either Generation 1 must be completed or a Save file or state of a game at Chapter 6 must be used. The events of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 take place between Chapters 5 and 6, the end of the First Generation and the start of the second, spanning the year before Chapter 6.
Villages[]
Villages cannot be destroyed by enemy units in one turn. Enemies can only destroy a portion of a village each turn; however, the more the player allows an enemy to tear down a village, the less gold will be rewarded for rescuing it. An intact village gives 5000 gold, and for every turn the village sustains damage the reward is lowered by 500. Also, some villages might have items to give or stats boost to whoever is sent to that village.
Arenas[]
Characters do not die when they have lost an arena battle; instead, they remain alive at 1 hit point. There are only seven arena opponents to fight for each character per chapter, as opposed to infinite opponents in other Fire Emblem games. Also, the arena opponents are predetermined for each level and are always the same, though there is variance in the enemies if the player unit is a class that can only attack at range (for instance, if they are an Archer or Bow Knight).
Class Change[]
Genealogy of the Holy War is the second Fire Emblem game where the player does not need items to promote a character: the player must reach Level 20 and then return to the home castle of the chapter in order to receive class promotion. Also, rather than being reverted to Level 1, the character will remain at his/her current level and can level up to Level 30.
Death[]
Like other Fire Emblem titles, characters that fall in battle are lost permanently. However, it is possible to revive a single dead unit with the Valkyrie Staff, after which the staff breaks. A second use requires repairing the staff at a cost of 30,000 gold.
Weapon Durability[]
As in other titles that feature weapon durability, weapons in Genealogy of the Holy War have a limited number of uses before they break. However, broken weapons are not immediately discarded. They can continue to be used, albeit with reduced stats, and weapons can be repaired at a cost of gold at repair shops in player-controlled castles. A form of this weapon durability mechanic later appears in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which similarly allows broken weapons to both be used with reduced stats, and repaired by a blacksmith.
Money and Items[]
Unlike most Fire Emblem titles, in which gold is kept as a collective pool that all units can spend from, each individual unit in Genealogy of the Holy War has their own wallet and may only spend what they personally have. There are also restrictions in transferring money between units. Only thieves can give gold to anyone, while other units may only give gold to a unit with whom they are in love.
It is not possible to trade weapons and items between characters. The only way to transfer something to another character is to sell the item or weapon to the pawn shop and have another character buy it for a higher price.
At the end of each chapter, each unit alive gets 1000 gold for each castle that is seized and not destroyed.
Relationship System[]
Genealogy of the Holy War introduced a relationship mechanic referred to the Love System. With this mechanic, compatible characters of the opposite gender will accrue Love Points over the course of the battle, earning more points per each turn they end adjacent to each other. When a certain threshold is reached, the characters will become lovers. Certain pairings can also engage in special conversations that are worth large amounts of Love Points. When lovers stand next to each other, they gain a boost to their critical attack rate.
For female characters in love pairings that survive to a certain point in Chapter 5, they and their lover will become the parents of a child that will grow up to become a playable character in the second half of the game. The child will inherit their weapons (assuming the weapon can be wielded by the child's starting class) and personal skills. Holy Weapons, regardless of class compatibility, are always inherited by the children. The parents also pass on their holy blood and their stat growths, giving the player some manner of control over their units' growth rates.
If any of the potential mothers other than Ethlyn or Deirdre die or do not fall in love by the end of Chapter 5, substitute player characters appear in their children's place. The second generation of characters can also fall in love, giving them the boost to critical attacks, but this otherwise has no effect on the story.
Weapon Triangle[]
Genealogy of the Holy War is the first installment of the Fire Emblem series to implement the weapon triangle, introducing a rock-paper-scissors relationship in which swords beat axes, axes beat lances, and lances beat swords. This system has since become commonplace in the series with most titles released since Genealogy of the Holy War implementing it in some form.
Special Skill System[]
Genealogy of the Holy War is the first installment of the Fire Emblem series to assign special skills to individual characters. Characters may also gain skills by belonging to a certain class. Skills may be activated by command on the field, activated automatically under certain conditions, or activated by chance. If characters in the first half of the game fall in love, they will pass on their individual skills to their children in the second half of Genealogy of the Holy War. This skill system is also used in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Fire Emblem Awakening, and Fire Emblem Fates. A limited version of this system, where skill is assigned only by unit class, is found in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.
List of Skills[]
- See main article: List of Skills in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
Characters[]
- See main article: List of characters in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
Chapters[]
- See main article: Chapters (Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War).
Classes[]
- See main article: List of Classes in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
Fan Translation & Romhacking[]
Genealogy of the Holy War was released exclusively in Japan during the early fifth generation console era. No officially localized version of the game exists.
In the year 2000, J2E Translations started an unofficial English translation project on the game, although the project was discontinued before an initial patch was released. The translation project remained dormant until 2003, when it was picked up by the Fire Emblem forums staff. There are many versions of the fan translation patch circulating across the Internet. The more recent versions of the patch have the main dialogue fully translated into English and also the battle and death scripts translated, but the game's ending dialogue remains untranslated along with certain castle conversations. The versions of the patch since July 2006 use the dialogue font used in the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem games.
In 2016, "Project Naga" was released. Spearheaded by a translator named Book of Holsety, the translation took over 3 years to complete. It uses the variable width font used in the 1995 Mother series SNES game EarthBound. Since its July 2016 release, Book of Holsety has continued to work on minor edits, including bringing some names in line with the character poll translations and Awakening translations, grammar and spelling edits, and removing anachronisms such as 'geez'.
In 2025, Miacis and LilinaGaming on Serenes Forest released "Lil' Nordion", which was an update to Project Naga featuring modern localizations introduced in the mobile game. The patch is, at the moment, still undergoing work, but the team behind it anticipates that it should be completed by 2026.
In the early 2000s, a hacking team called Binary began to work on a balancing patch for Genealogy of the Holy War. The project became a massive alteration, and in 2009, the first edition of Fire Emblem: Binary was released. By its 2018 update, the patch featured a global rebalancing, introduction of new sprites and enemies (many of which were imported from the other two SNES Fire Emblem games), new weapons, classes, promotions, and growths, among other changes. Characters of minor Holy Blood could wield Holy Weapons (albeit they receive only half the bonuses), nearly all Holy Weapons are obtainable (the exception being Gungnir), characters can carry up to 65000 gold instead of 50000, the Arena enemies were changed and their defeat yields more gold, weapons' Critical kill-counts don't exist, characters can double without Follow Up, Horsemen characters can dismount and dismounted characters can traverse cliffs (though this feature is very buggy still). Most characters have branching promotions, meaning for example when Azelle hits level 20, he can become a Mage Knight or a Mage Fighter. A few story beats were changed: at the beginning of the second generation, the Yewfelle and the Forseti Tome aren't passed to the children. The Forseti tome is dropped by Musar, who in the hack is the son of Daccar and appointed duke of Silesse by Arvis. The Yewfelle is dropped by Scipio in the final chapter. Sprites from other games were used for certain mini-bosses, including Reinhardt appearing in the final chapter to lead the Gelben Ritter with Hilda. This hack is completely in Japanese, though there is an English patch that translates the introductory chapter and the game menus.
Representation in Non-Fire Emblem Games[]
Super Smash Bros.[]
Content from Genealogy of the Holy War first appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series through a selection of music tracks in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. These music tracks are used in the Coliseum stage.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Sigurd, Seliph, and Julius appear as Primary Spirits, and Deirdre appears as a Support Spirit. The game also features a remix of the track "Edge of Adversity", which was originally used for the Battle of Belhalla.
Trivia[]
- In the Castle Arenas, if you listen long enough, a remix of the Player Phase Theme from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light will play.
- In the first Choose Your Legends event of Fire Emblem Heroes, three characters from Genealogy of the Holy War placed in the top 100. Among the Genealogy cast, Sigurd placed the highest in 55th place with a total of 5,282 votes, Ayra placed at 65th with a total of 4,489 votes, and Arden placed in 93rd with a total of 3,094 votes. All three were added as playable characters to Fire Emblem Heroes on October 19, 2017, alongside Deirdre, Tailtiu, and Arvis.
- The sixth Choose Your Legends event is the first one to have a character from Genealogy of the Holy War as one of the four winners. Seliph came in second in the men's division to Chrom from Fire Emblem Awakening.
- The battle animations in the game inspired those in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
- Genealogy of the Holy War was the first Fire Emblem game to be featured in the Fire Emblem Trading Card Game.
- Genealogy of the Holy War was discussed in pages 56 through 59 of Volume 87 of Nintendo Power, published around the time of the game's release. In the article, Sigurd was referred to as Zigludo, and Seliph was referred to as Serlis. The official artwork of characters from first generation are shown on the bottom of each page, four apiece. The only first generation characters not shown are Lex, Azelle, Midir, and Dew.
- The game's original subtitle in development, Light Inheritors, became the title of Chapter 6.
- The game features a number of references to Norse and Germanic mythology in the names of characters and other elements. For example, the villain Loptous's name is derived from two Norse Gods, while Sigurd is the name of a hero from Germanic legend.
- Genealogy of the Holy War has the fewest main story chapters of any Fire Emblem title with only twelve. However, compared to the average Fire Emblem title, each chapter is abnormally long, with the Prologue requiring the capture of two castles, while the final chapter requires capturing five.
- Alongside Three Houses, Genealogy of the Holy War was the only Fire Emblem game to place in TV Asahi's poll of the top 100 video games of all time.
Gallery[]
