Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade was developed by Intelligent Systems and released by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in Japan on 25 April 2003 as Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. It is the seventh Fire Emblem game, the second on the Game Boy Advance, and the first in the series released outside Japan. Yuka Tsujiyoko composed the music; it was her last work as the series' composer.
The game is a prequel to The Binding Blade, set 20 years earlier on the continent of Elibe, with Lyn, Eliwood and Hector as its three heroes. Marth and Roy's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee and the success of Advance Wars made Nintendo more willing to localize it.
In the West it was released as simply Fire Emblem, reaching North America on 3 November 2003 and Europe on 16 July 2004. It later came to the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014 and to Nintendo Switch Online on 23 June 2023.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Fire Emblem | Game Boy Advance | Nov 3, 2003 | Nintendo | 1 |
| NA | Fire EmblemVirtual Console | Wii U | Dec 4, 2014 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | ファイアーエムブレム 烈火の剣Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Game Boy Advance | Apr 25, 2003 | Nintendo | 2 |
| AU | Fire Emblem | Game Boy Advance | Feb 20, 2004 | Nintendo | 1 |
| EU | Fire EmblemTwo European cartridges: English/German/French and English/Spanish/Italian | Game Boy Advance | Jul 16, 2004 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | ファイアーエムブレム 烈火の剣Virtual Console | Wii U | May 14, 2014 | Nintendo | 1 |
| EU | Fire EmblemVirtual Console | Wii U | Aug 21, 2014 | Nintendo | 1 |
| WW | Fire EmblemGame Boy Advance – Nintendo Switch Online (Expansion Pack) | Switch | Jun 23, 2023 | Nintendo | 1 |
Also known as: ファイアーエムブレム 烈火の剣 JP2Rekka no Ken JP1Fire Emblem WW1Fire Emblem: The Sword of Flame WW1
Box art by region
NA Fire Emblem 
EU Fire Emblem
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
-
TitleGBA (NA)GBA (EU)
The subtitle Rekka no Ken was dropped and the game was sold in the West simply as Fire Emblem; Nintendo's official English subtitle The Blazing Blade dates from 2017.1
-
ContentGBA (NA)GBA (EU)
Lyn is 15 in the Japanese version and 18 in the North American and European versions.2
-
ContentGBA (NA)GBA (EU)
The Japanese version can import data from The Binding Blade to unlock extras; the international versions removed this feature.3
Translations
Where to play legally today
-
Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
Reception
In Japan the game debuted at number two with 93,880 units and had sold 272,000 by 2012; there are no exact Western figures, but the developers called it a commercial success overseas. It holds a Metacritic score of 88/100, and Famitsu gave it 34/40.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.