Fire Emblem: Embers Entwined
is a ROM hack of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones developed by the group Team Rectangle Strategy. It's a game developed using the "telephone" hacking method as previously seen in Call of the Armor and Bells Of Byelen, in which each member takes turns doing exactly one chapter's worth of work before passing it along to the next individual. It released a short few weeks after Bells, though it does more than enough to stand itself apart from its contemporary.
The story follows two primary protagonists. The first is Petra, princess of the kingdom of Mainea who strives to fight back against the Malus Empire who are attacking her home. Second is Diego, a mercenary and bastard son to Duke Alvaro of Aragon who wants his own noble title after being denied a claim to inherit Aragon. This clash of personalities is left to work together early on when Petra is desperately in need of allies, and the duo's travels in search of more go in several odd directions involving dangerous elder magics and deeply unhealthy family dynamics.
Embers Entwined sticks fairly closely in terms of mechanics to The Sacred Stones, with stat spreads not being too high and skills being limited to what was in Stones to begin with. It starts as a slow burn, but the story quickly ramps up once entering the second half and revelations about the cast start to be uncovered, and gameplay also becomes more complicated and intricate thanks to map design growing more unique and characters' gimmicks beginning to shine through. This is all while still maintaining mechanical cohesion with the official games, showcasing just what sorts of things can be done within the engine.
Tropes in Fire Emblem: Embers Entwined:
- Aerith and Bob: As is tradition, names can range from ordinary (Terry, Jeff, Mary) to more out-there (Deesa, Datura, Gruyère).
- Back from the Dead: A recurring theme is characters being resurrected, either through necromancy or possessing another's body. At one point Diego even uses his abilities to create Fire Emblems to instead resurrect Petra, who was stabbed to death by her resurrected father.
- Battle Couple: Deesa with Christel and Zaid with Chell.
- Big Bad Ensemble: The game can't quite stick to a single Big Bad throughout. At first it starts as Forben and Cassius, only for Forben to abruptly die. Eventually the title goes to Flavius, the resurrected true heir to Aragon, and Luke, the guy assisting him, before Forben steals the mantle again at the last second.
- Crutch Character: Rasmus is a Sniper who joins alongside Petra in the very first chapter. Enemies start weak enough that he can one-round just about every unit you come across with his Silver Bow, though sooner than later his abysmal Speed stat will mean that he's the one in danger of dying if a strong enough enemy gets too close. His secret promotion to Bronze Knight can improve this somewhat thanks to its sizeable boosts to his speed and bulk.
- Final Boss Preview: Forben, the dark mage from the opening chapter who you're meant to avoid, becomes the ultimate final boss after being driven mad by a desire to end death completely.
- Heroic Bastard: Diego was born out of wedlock, and has no fondness for his noble father.
- Horned Humanoid: The Myrmidon Datura has horns as a result of her draconic heritage.
- Long-Lost Relative:
- Late in the game, we learn that Petra has a long-lost sibling: Serah, the Sniper who joined on the previous map.
- We don't learn the true identity of Diego's mother until near the very end of the game. It's Gabriella, the body-surfing, mind-controlling mage who went mad after being resurrected.
- Magic Knight: The Mage Fighter from Genealogy of the Holy War appears in this game, being the unique promoted class of Diego. Armored archer/healer Grunhilde also gains Anima magic access on promotion, and Erina's secret Master Knight promotion lets her use swords and bows in addition to the light magic and staves she'd have as a Valkyrie.
- Magikarp Power: There are two units who join in the second half who start in trainee classes, meaning that they promote first into a tier-one class, and then a tier-two class.
- Gruyère joins in Chapter 13, with his inexperience being explained by him having no formal fighting training due to originally being a bandit. He can become an Axe Mercenary (which can become a Hero) or an Axe Soldier (which becomes a Halberdier).
- Jenna is a fresh recruit to the Aragon military who joins all the way in Chapter 17. You only have five chapters to use her, but to make up for it her growths are incredibly high, and in addition to a simple Lance Soldier into Halberdier promotion she also has a unique class path, from the Lord-like Pikesman to the horse-riding Lancer.
- Mutually Exclusive Party Members: Thanks to the soft rule of two new recruits per map, Chapter 16 features a choice between the Bishop Phileas and the Swordmaster Ryland. They each come with very strong equipment, including an S-rank weapon, though you still get the S-rank of whichever man you don't take at the end of the map.
- Mysterious Backer: It eventually turns out that Rumina, the thief you can beat up in the first chapter, has been helping Petra's army from behind the scenes up to when he joins, not wishing to join directly initially due to being afraid of what would happen if he did.
- Necromancer: Forben, the oddball Malusian tactician, has the power to summon undead monsters and bring back the dead. When he's killed and takes over the body of Alvaro, he joins the party and allows you to use this to your advantage, summoning previous bosses to help on the field.
- Patricide: It's eventually revealed that Petra killed her father, king Marek, many years ago after he went crazy and attempted to murder a young boy with Ashen Blood. The boy, Johan later joins your army as an adult going by Rumina.
- Really Royalty Reveal:
- Erina is the sister of the Empress of Malus, and thus holds claim to the throne when it's revealed that said empress was Dead All Along.
- Initially-minor character Serah is the sister of Petra, and thus another princess of Mainea.
- Recurring Element: The titular Fire Emblem is, indeed, in this, as an artifact of immense power that can do just about anything the holder wants it to, currently kept guarded by House Aragon. It turns out that people descended from the house, such as Diego, are capable of magically creating new Fire Emblems, and their ability to resurrect the dead is what encouraged Erina to join Diego's mercenary troop to begin with.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Petra's the heir to Mainea, and she's one of the main characters.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Petra, despite being the lead from the very first chapter, soon finds her story relevance being swept away by Diego's half of the plot, which takes up much more screentime in comparison.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: When Rumina joins your party, he has the ability to shapeshift into any variety of promoted monster class, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. It's explained as him possessing what's known as Ashen Blood.