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Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 (JP) is a tactical RPG game and is the fifth installment in the Fire Emblem series. It was released only in Japan in 1999 on the SNES, and was the third and final game released on the SNES.
The game is is a midquel that takes place between Chapter 5 and Chapter 8 of the previous game, Genealogy of the Holy War, one year before Chapter 6 specifically. The setting and game events take place on the Thracian peninsula in southeastern Jugdral in Gran Calendar Year 776, hence the game's title.
Characters[]
| Name | Class | Nationality | Description (translated from Japanese Wikipedia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alva | Lance Knight | Munster | Son of a Leonster knight. Bright and cheerful. He and Cain are best friends. |
| Amalda | Paladin | Grannvale | Friege general. She leads the 10th Legion. She has doubts about the Empire's way of doing things. She can be recruited only when you choose the Millefeuille Forest route, as you need to talk with her in Sleuf. |
| Asbel | Mage | Munster | Grandson of Gunna (an unused character), a priest of the free city of Hrest. He has been given the exclusive wind tome Grafcalibur by Ced as a token of his prefect brotherhood. He and Leif have sworn a vow of eternal friendship (according to his biography). |
| August | Bishop | Grannvale | Former Bragi monk, he was forced to leave the Church of Edda and wandered from place to place. Later, he meets Lewyn, and his activities resonate with him. Under his direction, he searches for the whereabouts of Prince Leif of Leonster and becomes his military strategist. |
| Brighton | Axe Knight | Munster | He was a knight of Munster, but joined the Magi because he could not stand the plight of its citizens. |
| Cain | Lance Knight | Munster | Son of a Leonster knight. Parents died in battle, hence a war orphan. He is serious and quiet. |
| Carrion | Cavalier | Munster | His father was a knight of Leonster, but died in battle. He and his mother were saved by Hannibal. He is friendly and has a strong sense of responsibility. |
| Ced | Sage | Silesse | A Silessean prince traveling in search of his father, Lewyn. Leader of the Magi. He is a direct descendant of Ced the Wind Crusader. He joins Saias as a support of choice. |
| Conomor | Paladin | Munster | Count of Ulster. He has no choice but to side with the Grannvale Empire after the princess is taken hostage. He can be recruited only when you choose the Norden Line route, because you need to talk to him with Miranda. |
| Dalsin | Axe Armor Knight | Munster | Heavy knight of Munster. He is dissatisfied with Raydrik's actions. |
| Dagdar | Warrior | Thracia | The former leader of the bandit group in Mount Violdrake. He was persuaded by Eyvel to join the Fiana Freeblades. |
| Dean | Wyvern Knight | Thracia | He is an experienced warrior, loyal to Arion, although he is brash and uncooperative. Under secret orders from Prince Arion of Thracia, he deserted the Thracian army and joined the Tarrah mercenaries. He resembles Dáinn, a dragon knight of the Twelve Crusaders. |
| Diarmuid | Forrest Knight | Agustria | Son of Lachesis and brother of Nanna. Joined Seliph’s Liberation Army in Isaach. A collateral descendant of Hoðr. |
| Eda | Wyvern Rider | Thracia | She joined the Tarrah mercenaries with her brother Dean. She is serious and hardworking. Like her brother, she resembles Njöran, a spear knight of the Twelve Crusaders. |
| Eyvel | Swordmaster | Grannvale | The leader of the Fiana Freeblades and the female elder of Fiana Village. She harbors Prince Leif and his friends. |
| Fergus | Sword Knight | Connacht | A traveling mercenary. Jovial and easy-going. |
| Finn | Lance Knight | Munster | Lance knight in the service of the Leonster royal family since Quan’s time. |
| Fred | Paladin | Grannvale | A knight of Friege and second-in-command to Olwen. He well protects Olwen due to her inexperience. |
| Galzus | Hero | Isaach | Mareeta's biological father. He comes from the defunct Ribaut royal family and is a descendant of Od. He has lost his homeland and leads a wandering life. |
| Glade | Duke Knight | Munster | Lance knight of Leonster. Husband of Selphina and Finn’s old brother-in-arms. |
| Halvan | Fighter | Munster | A member of the Fiana Freeblades. He is calm and collected. He and Osian are best friends. He has a sister named Patricia in the village. |
| Hicks | Axe Knight | Munster | A knight whose son was taken hostage as part of the child hunts and lives under Munster’s control. |
| Homer | Bard | Tarrah | A traveling bard. He is a womanizer and a tavern-goer. |
| Ilios | Mage Knight | Thracia | A Friege general. He has a complex about being from a commoner background. He joins only if Olwen is dead or has not joined Leif’s cause. |
| Karin | Pegasus Rider | Silesse | Apprentice of the Pegasus Knights in Silesse. She is looking for a prince who left his country. |
| Lara | Thief | Dacia Forest | A petite woman who is one of the Magi, a group of freedom fighters. She was maltreated as a child and was a dancer in a troupe of traveling entertainers. |
| Leif | Lord | Munster | The protagonist of this game. Prince of Leonster, pursued by the Empire. He aims to rebuild his homeland. He is the son of Quan and Ethlyn, and is descended from the lance knight Njöran (not the heir to the Divine Weapon), and is also a collateral descendant of Baldur. |
| Lifis | Thief | Thracia | The head of the Lifis pirates. He is a small-minded person at heart. |
| Linoan | Cleric | Tarrah | Daughter of the Duke of Tarrah. She rules over Tarrah in lieu of her late father. Arion's fiancée. Little does she know that she is a descendant of Heim. |
| Machua | Myrmidon, promotes to Hero | Munster | A Munster swordswoman who has been one of the Magi since its formation. |
| Mareeta | Myrmidon | Isaach | Eyvel rescued her from slave traders and adopted her. She is the biological daughter of Galzus and is a descendant of Od. |
| Marty | Brigand | Thracia | Dagdar's underling. Laid-back. |
| Miranda | Mage | Munster | Princess of Ulster. She is selfish and strong-willed, but on the inside she is a kindhearted girl. |
| Misha | Pegasus Knight | Silesse | Pegasus Knight. Head of the Silessean Mercenaries. Daughter of Dithorbia, a former member of the “Four Heavenly Knights” of Silesse. |
| Nanna | Troubadour | Agustria | Princess of Nordion. Daughter of Lachesis from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. A scion of the black knight Hoðr. |
| Olwen | Mage Knight | Grannvale | A mage knight of Friege. She respects her brother Reinhardt. Although she is a general, she is assigned to Kempf’s army, which detests Reinhardt, and is forced to carry out only reconnaissance missions. |
| Osian | Fighter | Munster | A member of the Fiana Freeblades. He has a cheerful personality, but he is short-fused, quarrelsome, and scatterbrained, and Evyel is concerned about him. |
| Perne | Rogue | Dacia Forest | Head of the Dandelion Bandits, a band of thieves in the Dacia Forest. He has a policy of stealing from greedy nobles, not for personal gain, but to distribute the loot to needy villagers. |
| Ralf | Hero | Thracia | A traveling mercenary. Frustrated with Grannvale's ways, he temporarily joins forces with Amalda. |
| Robert | Archer Knight | Munster | A war orphan. He likens Selphina to a mother. |
| Ronan | Archer | Thracia | A young man from the Village of Iz. He is a hunter. He has a strong sense of justice. |
| Safy | Priest | Tarrah | Cleric of the Free City of Tarrah. She joins Leif’s causer to liberate Tarrah. |
| Saias | Bishop | Grannvale | Court priest of Velthomer. Son of Aida, a former general of Velthomer. An illegitimate son of Emperor Arvis and a direct descendant of the magic warrior Fjalar. He befriends Ced and is a support of choice. |
| Salem | Loptr Mage | Loptr Church | He was a mage of the Loptr Church, but escaped. He is rescued by Perne, who accompanies him. |
| Sara | Cleric | Loptr Church | Daughter of the Loptr Church. Granddaughter of Manfroy, she hates her grandfather who killed her father. |
| Selphina | Archer Knight | Munster | Archer knight of Leonster. Daughter of Count Dryas and wife of Glade. |
| Shannam | Swordmaster | Isaach | He parades around impersonating Shannan, prince of Isaach, and behaved as he pleased in the Leonster army led by Glade. |
| Shiva | Myrmidon | Savan | A mercenary from Savan. Lives with his own aesthetics. |
| Sleuf | Priest | Grannvale | A priest of Bragi. He is looking for “the three pillars of light”A, following the wishes of the dead Claude. |
| Tanya | Archer | Thracia | Daughter of Dagdar. As a bandit leader’s daughter, she is coarse and rough, and is not very good at expressing herself, especially when arguing with Osian. |
| Tina | Priest | Munster | Priest. She is taken hostage by Perne. She has a meek personality. |
| Troude | Myrmidon | Munster | A member of the Dandelion Bandits. He is fond of Perne's personality. |
| Xavier | General | Munster | A senior minister of Leonster. He serves the Grannvale Empire to protect his men and people. |
Setting[]
Thracia 776 takes place during the events of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. During Genealogy of the Holy War, in the year Gran 761, the ruler of Grannvale Arvis has broadened his countries rule across the whole of Jugdral. Thracia 776 is set within the second generation storyline, while the banished prince Seliph is still in hiding and arranging to battle Arvis' hold on the continent. Main protagonist Leif is the deposed heir to the Republic of Munster, who was rescued from an attack by the forces of Thracia by Finn, a friend of Seliph's father Sigurd.
Story[]
Translated from the Japanese Wikipedia article, in lieu of a concise rendition from the English Wikipedia article, using official localized terminology as established by Nintendo of America.
Leaving young Leif at home, Prince Quan of Leonster in Munster District and his wife Ethlyn set out on an expedition to rescue their close friend Prince Sigurd of Chalphy. On their way, however, they were suddenly ambushed in the Aed Desert by the Thracian army led by King Travant, and their horses were caught in the desert and unable to fight satisfactorily. To avenge the death of his prince, King Calf of Leonster challenges the Thracian army to battle, but is betrayed by his ally Connacht, and meets an ignominious end on the Thracian river. The remaining Leonster forces, unable to put up a good fight, are defeated by the Thracian army, and the Castle Leonster falls. Leif, under the protection of knight Finn, flees the castle. While moving from place to place in Ulster and the fortified city of Tarrah, he escapes the pursuant forces of Thracia and the Grannvale Empire and takes refuge in a small village called Fiana.
Fiana Village was ruled by a female mercenary by the name of Eyvel, who protected the neighboring villages from pirates as the Fiana Freeblades. She began to accompany 15 year old Leif to exterminate the pirates. For the first time, the imperial army led by Raydrik attacked the village while he was away and took away Eyvel's adopted daughter Mareeta and Lachesis' daughter Nanna. In order to get the two back, Leif heads to Munster, which was seized by the Fiana Freeblads.
However, on the way to Munster, Leif is caught in a trap by Raydrik at a fort called the "Gate of Kelves" and is captured. While being escorted to Munster and held in prison, he is rescued by the Magi group led by Ced. Eyvel is forced to duel with Mareeta and is turned to stone by Raydrik's trickery. Although he is able to join up with Nanna, Eyvel is helpless, and with Eyvel's rescue in mind, he flees Castle Munster.
Out of necessity, avenging his parents, Leif seeks protection in Thracia, and escapes from the pursuit of the Munster army. Thanks to the resourcefulness of General Hannibal, who is in charge of Castle Meath in Thracia, he escapes the ordeals. He is joined by the Fiana Freeblades and others, and Hannibal is also said to be protecting Count Dryas and other Leonster remnants. Rejoicing at their reunion, Lief next sets out to rescue Tarrah, which he says is in dire straits.
The oppression of the Empire had led to the child hunt in Tarrah, and a rebellion against the Empire led by the duchess, Linoan. However, the situation was not good, and the city was surrounded by large Imperial and Thracian armies, and its fall was only a matter of time. Leif and his Liberation Army were able to break through the siege and enter Tarrah, but the situation remained the same and the country was on the brink of collapse. Prince Arion of Thracia persuades Linoan and company to leave the city on the premise that the citizens are safe, and the Liberation Army and the Tarrah Mercenaries withdraw from the city.
Leif and his liberation forces set their next goal as the liberation of Leonster. There are two paths to take to reach Leonster: The route advised by Count Dryas, which is to march from the west along the Norden Line in front of the castle. Or the route advised by strategist August, which is to go through the Millefeuille Forest from the east side and attack the castle from behind. Neither of these routes was easy, as a large enemy army was waiting in front of the castle, and to get through the back of the castle, the army would have to pass through a difficult forest.
At Leonster Castle, the former Leonster general Xavier was defending it under the command of Marquis Gustav. Xavier had been forced to surrender because of hostages taken from the families of his adjutants and because of the large number of his people. Many other Leonster soldiers were mixed in with the Imperial Guard, making the liberation of Castle Leonster very difficult.
Leif finally restores his homeland by defeating Marquis Gustav, Lord of the Castle Leonster. However, just as he continues in high spirits and launches an army to rescue the rebellious people of Ulster, an incident occurs. The advance party is defeated, and Count Dryas, who was in command, is killed in battle. Castle Leonster falls into danger once again before an all-out counterattack by the Empire. Leif is forced to fight a long and painful battle.
Reinforcements appear for Leif and the other liberation forces who have been holed up in the city for as long as six months. With the help of Seliph's army, the Imperial Army was defeated and Ulster was liberated. Leif and Seliph hold a briefing, and Leif's army heads for Munster, while Seliph's army heads for Connacht. In an attempt to rescue Eyvel, Leif chose to go to Munster as soon as possible.
Leif’s army advances to Munster after narrowly defeating Reinhardt, a close ally of Ishtar, who awaits them on the Great River of Thracia. In Munster, Ced and his Magi continue to resist. Cooperating with Ced and company, they succeed in taking control of Munster Castle. The priest Saias brings the Bragi Sword, which defeats the Loptous Sword, wielded by Raydrik, and defeats Raydrik, with whom he has a history. According to the mysterious girl Sara, the Kia Staff obtained at the Munster Castle can restore those who have been turned to stone. In order to save Eyvel, he heads for the secret temple of Loptous, located underneath Munster Castle.
Leif manages to rescue Eyvel by evading numerous traps. He proceeds to defeat Veld, the one who turned Eyvel into stone. Raydrik has become a Deadlord even after his death, and is guarding the altar where Veld is. Defeating the Deadlords and Veld, the mastermind behind the Thracian uprising, Leif manages to liberate the northern Thracian region.
Development[]
Development of Thracia 776 started around the beginning of 1998, with the plan being for a compact side project to Genealogy of the Holy War. Development was supposed to end a considerable time prior to its eventual release date, but the staff wanted to create a full Fire Emblem title. This later caused problems with keeping the game within the world of Genealogy of the Holy War, with Kaga stating that it would've been simpler to create a completely original title if they'd known how big the project would be.
Characters were intentionally given little buildup or backstory, leaving their individual personalities unknown. As the strategic war simulation elements of Genealogy of the Holy War had suffered due to the goal of creating an intricate story, Kaga shifted his focus to the gameplay. The basic structure was taken from Mystery of the Emblem, with additional elements such as branching pathways within maps and variations in unit movement. This was achieved by giving each map a different algorithm to work with. The fatigue system was introduced to challenge players further.
Reception and legacy[]
Upon release, the Nintendo Power version proved highly popular, with people coming in high numbers to stores supplying it. This was attributed to the popularity of the Fire Emblem series. It was the best-selling Super Famicom game of September. By November the following year, it was reported to be the most popular Nintendo Power title within that period.
Combined sales of its Nintendo Power and ROM Cartridge releases reached 106,108 units as of 2002, making Thracia 776 the worst-selling Fire Emblem game at the time. An alternate estimate by Famitsu at the end of 1999 put total sales at 145,600 units, ranking as the 103rd best-selling game title of the year. According to Famitsu, it was the highest-selling Super Famicom release of that year.Famitsu gave the ROM cartridge release a score of 35/40. The reviewers were both positive about its further refinements and additions to the Fire Emblem gameplay formula, and surprised by the greatly increased difficulty level when compared to the previous entry. Kerry Brunskill of Nintendo Life again noted the steep difficulty even when compared to other Fire Emblem entries, but also positively noted its sound gameplay base and praised its "well thought out" story.
Nintendojo's Desmond Gaben gave Thracia 776 a score of 9.9/10 in his review: he praised the graphics as some of the best on the system, generally approved of the gameplay improvements despite its high difficulty, and called it a "must-have" for fans of the genre. The game was noted by website RacketBoy as a both a rarity due to its release media and recognized alongside the other Super Famicom Fire Emblem titles as a quality game. TechnologyTell included among their lists of the top Super Famicom games that had not been released overseas.
Leif can be summoned with the Emblem Rings in Fire Emblem Engage.
External links[]
- Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 at Japanese Wikipedia, the Japanese counterpart to the above
- Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 at Fire Emblem Wiki, the Fandom wiki on Fire Emblem
- Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 at Fire Emblem Wiki, a member of the Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance
- Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 at GameFAQs
| Fire Emblem series | |
|---|---|
| Console games | Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light • Gaiden • Mystery of the Emblem • Genealogy of the Holy War • BS Fire Emblem • Thracia 776 • Path of Radiance • Radiant Dawn • Three Houses • Engage • Fortune's Weave |
| Handheld games | The Binding Blade • The Blazing Blade • The Sacred Stones • Shadow Dragon • New Mystery of the Emblem • Awakening • Fates • Echoes: Shadows of Valentia |
| Spin-offs | Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE (Encore) • Heroes • Warriors • Warriors: Three Hopes • Shadows • Super Smash Bros. |
| Related | Intelligent Systems • Shouzou Kaga • Yuka Tsujiyoko • Nintendo Wars • Project X Zone 2 • WarGroove • Dark Deity |
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