Fire Emblem Gaiden: Тактическая ролевая игра для Famicom

1992 tactical role playing game by Nintendo

Fire Emblem Gaiden (ファイアーエムブレム外伝, Faiā Emuburemu Gaiden) is a tactical role playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Famicom. Released in March 1992, it is the second installment in the Fire Emblem series and the last to be developed for the Famicom. It builds upon the basic turn based strategy gameplay of the previous title, while including new elements such as a navigable overworld. Set in the same world as its predecessor, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Gaiden follows the battles of two opposing armies on the continent of Valentia, which is torn apart by political strife involving the princess Celica and her childhood friend Alm. The development began after the commercial success of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Original designer and writer Shouzou Kaga returned and assumed the role of director, while Yuka Tsujiyoko and Gunpei Yokoi returned respectively as composer and producer. Kaga's main concern was addressing pacing issues from the first game, and allowing for a greater connection between players and the characters. The game was a commercial success, selling over 324,000 units as of 2002. It received mixed reviews from critics, and was later compared to Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link as the "black sheep" of the series. Some elements would be used in later Fire Emblem titles. A full remake, titled Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, was released worldwide on the Nintendo 3DS in 2017.

Fire Emblem Gaiden is a tactical role playing game set on the continent of Valentia. Players assume control of two armies, led by Alm and Celica, who navigate an overworld and can visit towns, where they may recruit new allies or talk to traders to transfer items between the groups. The overworld is freely navigable, with additional areas opening up as the story progresses. Battles use a turn based battle system, with the player, enemies, and sometimes non playable characters each taking turns and moving across a grid based battlefield; battles are won by the player defeating all enemies in a map or killing a boss character. Enemies include human troops and monsters. The players are given a limited number of units, which are each assigned unique character classes that have various functions in battle, such as being mounted or having access to magic. A unit's class also affects their range of movement on the battlefield. The music and sound design was handled by Yuka Tsujiyoko, who had worked on the first Fire Emblem. The game's subtitle, "Gaiden", is a Japanese term for a side story related to a larger work, denoting the game's status as a secondary adventure set in the same timeline as the first game. Kaga designed Gaiden to address issues raised with the first game, such as tedious elements of map navigation. The system of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was used as the base for various improvements to aspects such as enemy AI, although the gameplay adjustments ended up removing some of the strategic elements. The game made use of the new MMC4 memory chip, developed partially in response to the memory capacity problems faced during the development of the first game. For the story, Kaga wanted to deepen the relationship between the player and their units, represented through the growth of the characters through their battles. To create a stronger and broader central narrative, Kaga created the game's dual protagonists Alm and Celica. Gaiden was released on the Famicom on March 14, 1992. It released on a 2Mbit cartridge. It was the second and last game in the series to be developed for the system, and has never received an official release outside Japan. the version for the Nintendo 3DS on April 3, 2013, and the version for the Wii U on August 20, 2014.

In Japan, it topped the Famitsu sales chart in March 1992. as of 2002, Gaiden had sold 324,699 units. This made Gaiden the fourth best selling title in the Fire Emblem series to that date. Video game magazine Famitsu gave Gaiden a score of 28 out of 40. In their review, critics noted that its gameplay changes meant that it could not be compared to its predecessor, with one critic enjoying its gameplay and calling it better than the first game. Another critic noted that it was fairly easy during the first half, then became rapidly more difficult during the later stages. Another reviewer noted that, while the number of maps had increased, the strategic elements had become noticeably weaker. Public reception was positive: in a poll taken by Family Computer Magazine, it received a score of 24.3 out of 30, indicating a large popular following. In a later retrospective article on the Fire Emblem series, Pocket Gamers Mark Brown compared Gaidens radical and short lived shift in gameplay to that of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Nadia Oxford of USGamer also compared Gaiden to Zelda II due to its short lived gameplay changes, in addition to the similar case of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. While the majority of Gaidens new gameplay elements would be discarded in later entries, the concept of class evolution was retained throughout following entries.