![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/assets1.ignimgs.com/2017/05/05/fireemblem-1280-1494011213316_1024w.jpg)
When Fire Emblem first appeared on the Game Boy Advance in the United States, the series had already enjoyed more than a decade of success in its native Japan. Even so, players in the west took to it immediately. It was hard to mistake the similarities with Advance Wars, one of developer Intelligence System's other games, but Fire Emblem forged a superior personality of its own with the rich interactions between its lively characters. Nor were its strengths limited to characterization — with dozens of classes to choose from, a rich leveling system, and permanent death for characters, it was just as fantastic in action.
- The popularity of Fire Emblem characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee helped spur Western localization.
- Nintendo planned to end the Fire Emblem series if this release failed to sell more than 250,000 copies.
- Mars was briefly considered for a setting.