Issues



If you ask me, the official Fire Emblem localisations are some of the best I’ve seen. However that doesn’t prevent me nit-picking at some of the holes they’ve created!

Blazing Sword

Lyn’s Age Change

Lyn’s age was changed from 15 to 18, and the story was also changed to say that Madelyn eloped 19 years ago. However in Kent and Wallace’s C Support (1 year later) it is still mentioned that she eloped 17 years ago.

Florina’s Two Pegasi

Throughout the course of the game, Florina refers to her Pegasus as both Makar and, more commonly, Huey. Huey is her Pegasus’s actual name, with Makar being a possible misinterpretation of “Mark” (the default name of the Tactician).

Hanon the Horseman

In the opening to Eliwood’s (or Hector’s) story, the game refers to Hanon as a male. Binding Blade players should know that, aside from St. Elimine, Hanon is the only other female member of the Eight Legends.

Laus Working for Bern?

In Chapter 16 (or 17 in Hector’s story), Benard’s description states that he is the “Knight Commander of Bern”, despite being in charge of the Laus army. This is just a honest mistake and nothing conspirational; in the Japanese version, he is described as the
“Knight Commander of Laus” as you’d normally expect.

Mixed Up Titles

In Chapter 19xx, Teodor introduces himself as the “Shrike”, but his
Help description calls him the “Shadow Hawk”. The latter is his proper title, while the title
“Shrike” belongs to Kenneth. Linus is referred to as the “Mad Dog”
in dialogue, but his Help description calls him the “Rabid Hound”—both are legitimate translations of his Japanese title. Finally(?) in Chapter 15 (Hector’s story), Eliwood states Eubans’s nickname as “Hurricane”, which is exactly the same as Legault’s title. Eubans’s original title was “Fierce Eagle”, which fits in well with the chapter name “Talons Alight”.

Lost Spirits

In the story Nils states that Ninis’s Grace is blessed by the spirit of ice, Ninis. The other rings are also blessed by similar spirits, although the references were lost in translation (originally they appeared in the Help
description of the rings). Filla’s Might is blessed by the spirit of fire, Filla, Thor’s Ire is blessed by the spirit of thunder, Thor, and Set’s Litany is blessed by the spirit of wind, Set. On a related note, Genealogy of the Holy War
enthusiasts may notice the spirits’ names are very similar to Fala, Tordo and Sety, the Crusaders of fire, thunder and wind respectively.

Bonus Disk Weapons

If you view the Help description for the Wind Sword, it just states “A magic sword capable of”. The full description for the item is “A magic sword capable of striking at a distance.” Similarly, the Help description for the Dragon Axe states “An axe designed to strike”, with the full description being “An axe designed to strike down wyverns.” Also, viewing the descriptions repeatedly can cause minor graphical glitches.

Ninian and Nils’ Mother

In Chapter 19xx there is a flashback scene featuring a man and two children, who look suspiciously like younger versions of Nergal, Nils and Ninian. The man says “Daddy has to go to Aenir…I’m going to get Mommy”. This line was mistranslated and is supposed to read “Daddy has to go and get Aenir… Mommy”. In other words, Aenir is not the name of a place, but their mother.

Why Did I Want Power?

Related to the above, if Chapter 19xx was visited, Nergal says “Why did I… want power? ……Quintessence? …Don’t…under…stand…” when he dies. Sounds innocent enough for Nergal, until you realise Quintessence was mistranslated and in its place should have been Aenir’s name instead- Quintessence was called Aegir in the Japanese version, so it’s not surprising they got the two mixed up.

Lady Isabella

When you recruit Harken with Lowen, Lowen comments about Lord Eliwood, Lord Marcus and a “Lady Isabella”. Isabella is, unsurprisingly, just a mistranslation of Isadora. On a similar note, Eliwood’s mother is sometimes referred to as Eleanor instead of Eleanora.

Cursed Blade?

During Chapter 27 (or 29 in Hector’s story), in the Augury, Nils states “…I sense a dire foe in the battle ahead. The weapon he wields is cursed. A sword that steals life energies and feeds them to its wielder.” The weapon he is describing is obviously a Runesword, but the boss of chapter (whether Lloyd or Linus) is equipped with a Light Brand. In the Japanese version they were equipped with a Runesword instead.

Athos’s Flame Breath

At the end of Chapter 28 (or 30 in Hector’s story), Nergal comments that Athos’s magic was impressive and calls it “Flame Breath”. This is a very bizarre mistranslation of Forblaze (the name of Athos’s tome).

Aura, Excalibur and Fenrir

These spells were called Argyraurae, Gigascalibur and Nosferatu respectively in the Japanese version. As such, they share no relation to the original spells that appeared in earlier games in the series. Although, technically Argyraurae and Gigascalibur are referred to as Aura and Excalibur in the game code, while Nosferatu’s originally planned name was Fenrir. The Excalibur in The Sacred Stones is called Excalibur in the Japanese version though.

Bartre’s Death?

Bartre and Karla’s paired ending seems to suggest that Bartre committed suicide after Karla’s death, in particular the line “Bartre took their daughter to her uncle and joined Karla”, despite him reappearing in Binding Blade. This line was mistranslated and originally said “Before her death, Karla requested for Bartre to take their daughter to her brother that she would soon be separated from”.

The Sacred Stones

Garcia Arm-wrestles Himself

In Gilliam and Garcia’s C Support, Garcia calls Gilliam “Garcia” at one point. The same typo appeared in the Japanese version (according to Pegasus Knight there are around 15 typos in the support conversations alone). So not really the fault of the localisers, but I’m surprised they let this mistake slip.

Neimi Knows Cormag?

In Neimi and Gilliam’s A Support, Neimi talks about Cormag even though she doesn’t know him or support with him. This is a mistranslation of Coma, Colm’s Japanese name.

Selena or Syrene?

In Kyle and Syrene’s C Support, Kyle calls Syrene “Selena”. Syrene and Selena’s names are pretty similar, so I can imagine how that mistake was made.

Wyvern Riders, Lords and Knights

In the Japanese versions, Wyvern Riders and Wyvern Lords were called Dragon Knights and Dragon Masters respectively. Some speculate the name changes were changed to distinguish the dragon mounts from the dragons banished during the Scouring. This sort of made sense until this game introduced the Wyvern Knight class, whose mount was an actual Wyvern.

Pierce Glitch

When a Wyvern Knight activates Pierce and attacks consecutively without being interrupted by the enemy, the game may freeze depending on the amount of damage dealt during the first strike. It seems this glitch is caused by striking an enemy before their HP bar has finished decreasing. This glitch can be avoided by turning off battle animations for Wyvern Knights. In the Japanese version, there is no such freezing when using Pierce.

Path of Radiance

Horseless Ranger

The Ranger class in The Sacred Stones was called “Forrest Knight” in the Japanese version (the same class that appeared in Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776), so the Ranger class in this game is thus a new class. A similar argument applies to this game’s Cleric and Valkyrie classes (the ones in previous games were called “Sister” and “Valkyria” in the Japanese version).

Ike’s Four Swords

(NA version only)

It has been widely reported that Ike will often start Chapter 1 with four Iron Swords instead of one. This phenomenon seems to occur when the player skips the Visit tutorial in Chapter 1.

Nosferatu the Light Tome

One of the Light magic tomes is named “Nosferatu”, an odd choice given that it’s the name of a fictitious vampire. Those familiar with the GBA games may know that Nosferatu was a dark magic tome there, which made more sense. The whole story of this tome is slightly more complicated. Nosferatu, known as Resire in the Japanese version of the games, started life as holy-based spell in
Fire Emblem Gaiden, before officially becoming a Light magic spell in Genealogy of the Holy War. Afterwards, it became a Dark magic spell in the GBA games and finally returned as a Light magic spell in Path of Radiance.

Nasir’s Icy Breath

The Help description of Nasir’s Breath weapon states that it’s the icy breath of a White Dragon. The word “icy” was added in the English version and there is no such reference in the Japanese version. When you actually use it, Nasir’s breath looks more light-oriented than ice.

Janaff’s Son

In one of Janaff’s death quotes, he asks Ike to look after his son. “Son” is just a mistranslation of “Prince”, so Janaff really meant to tell Ike to look after the prince (Reyson).

Duke of Many Names

Throughout the game, Sephiran is mentioned as Duke Belsys, Duke Persis and Duke Perseus. His title in the Japanese version is Perusisu, which would be romanised to Persis. Also there is more inconsistency with Duke Gados also being referred to as Duke Gaddos. In case you were wondering, Duke Gados/Gaddos is in fact Lekain (the reference in the English script was removed for some reason).

Pegasus and Paladin?

In The Sacred Stones, Vanessa states that her Pegasus is called Titania, which happens to be the name of the female Paladin in this game. In case you didn’t know already, the character Titania was originally called Tiamat, so the two have no relation. Obviously, since one is a Pegasus and the other is a Paladin…

Kyle’s Sister from Tellius?

In Forde and Kyle’s B Support (in The Sacred Stones), Forde mentions that Kyle has a sister called Mia. In this game, there is a female swordfighter called Mia. Could the two have any connection? Nope, since the The Sacred Stones Mia was actually called Maia and this game’s Mia was called Wayu. Double name changing clash~

Strange Lands Times Two

Chapter 12 is called “A Strange Land” and Chapter 25 is called “Strange Lands”. Aside from an “a” and an “s”, the chapter names are identical. In the Japanese version, Chapter 12 was called “Foreign Domain” and Chapter 25 was called “Across the Mountains”. The Chapter 12 translation is understandable, but Chapter 25’s is probably just a mistake.

The Sacred Stones

Data Transfer Freeze

(Early NA version only)

When using the data transfer function, the game freezes if there are any Easy mode saves from Path of Radiance. Also, Normal and Hard mode saves, from Path of Radiance, are listed as Hard and Maniac saves respectively. The localisers probably forgot to take into account the shuffling of difficulties that occurred in the English version of Path of Radiance that resulted in the addition of the new Easy mode.

The Black Knight

The Black Knight’s class description states “This enigmatic knight was formerly one of Daein’s Four Horsemen. He wields the skill Luna.” The Black Knight’s former group is known as the “Four Riders” in the rest of the script; “rider” and “horseman” are synonymous in Japanese. Meanwhile, his skill is actually known as Eclipse when you check the Skills screen; in the Japanese version, Luna and Eclipse were both known by the same name.

Ettard and Alondite

This is only really relevant in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but in the Japanese version the two swords’ names are swapped around. In other words, the Black Knight’s sword was Ettard and Ike’s initial sword was Alondite. The reason why Ettard was renamed Alondite in the English version of in Path of Radiance was probably because its internal name is Alondite.

Muarim Is Ike’s Sister?

(Early NA version only)

In the glossary, viewing Muarim’s description lists Mist’s description instead. This isn’t a case of somebody messing up pointers, but Mist’s description literally appears twice in the script.

Unrelated Brothers

(NA version only)

In the “Three Brothers” base conversation that can be viewed in Part 3 Chapter 2, Rolf says to Boyd “We fight all the time, and we might not be related, but you’re my real brother.” This implies that Rolf and Boyd are step-brothers and not blood-related. However in the Japanese version, there is no such reference. Additionally, the official Path of Radiance (Japanese) site states that Oscar, Boyd and Rolf share the same father, so they are all half-brothers at the very least.

Sanaki Needs a History Lesson

In Part 3 Chapter 11, Sanaki tells Ike that “[Ragnell] was used by Empress Altina, the first apostle of Begnion, back in the early days of the empire.” Firstly, during the time of Altina, Begnion was still a monarchy, so Altina was neither an empress nor Begnion an empire. Secondly, Altina herself was not an apostle; Begnion’s first apostle was her granddaughter. The correct history of Begnion can be gleamed from Lethe and Jill’s B support in Path of Radiance and from the official timeline.

False Apostle

During the flashback scene in Part 3 Chapter 13, Lekain uses the “fact” that Sanaki has allied with the Laguz Alliance as an excuse to borrow reinforcements from Daein. However, in the story’s natural progression, Daein had already allied with Begnion before Sanaki joined with the Laguz. In the Japanese version, Lekain doesn’t mention Sanaki in the flashback scene, so there was no problem with his request.

Heron Queen?

(NA version only)

In Part 3 Endgame, Tibarn refers to Lillia as the “Heron Queen”, but she was referred to as a princess in Path of Radiance. “Heron Queen” was a mistranslation and should have been “Heron Princess”—”Queen” and “Princess” are easy to mix up in Japanese.

The Class Roll

Once you’ve completed the game enough times, the 3rd Tier classes will start appearing in the opening demo’s class roll. When they appear, however, Trueblade is labelled as Swordmaster, Saint is labelled as Sage and Sentinel is labelled as Lancer. In the Sentinel’s case, it isn’t an error in the European version since it is called a Lancer there.

About Soan

In the Japanese version, Stefan’s name was Soanevalke. Since his name contained Soan’s name, this served as additional evidence of Stefan being descended from Soan. Also, in the glossary, it states that Soan “became the second king of the beast tribe laguz”, which is a mistranslation. In the Japanese version the line read “Soan, of the beast tribe, became the second king [of Begnion]”.

Inconsistencies with Path of Radiance

In Path of Radiance the Black Dragon King’s name was Deghinsea, but in this game he is called Dheginsea. Similarly, there’s Ranulf’s subordinate Kysha, who is now Kyza. Meanwhile, the glossary claims that “Heart of Fire” is another name for Lehran’s Medallion, when it should be the “Fire Emblem”… The European version has these first few inconsistencies fixed. Additionally, the game refers to the “Four Riders” that preceded the Black Knight as the “Great Riders”, when they were formerly known as the “Steadfast Riders”. Finally, Begnion’s “Guiding Tower” has become the “Tower of Guidance”, while the great bridge bordering Crimea and Daein, “Riven Bridge”, is now known by its Japanese name “Oribes Bridge”.

Lost for Words

When Reyson, Leanne or Rafiel fight Dheginsea (for instance by using a spell card) a conversation will occur, but the message boxes will be devoid of text. The actual conversations are supposed to the same as the ones when they Talk to him.

Micaiah’s Non-reaction

At the very end of Part 4 Endgame(2), Yune comments about the Black Knight’s death:

Yune: Whose… Whose memory was that? It’s just one of the many… They’re swirling everywhere… The tower resonates with their strength. But… who is it? Who do they belong to? … There is such sadness… Zelgius met someone, one lonely soul calling out to another…

Yune: Micaiah. You’re sad, too, aren’t you? You wished that the Black Knight could have stayed by your side.

Yune: But he’s no longer with us. Zelgius is gone…

Yune: And now the soul that remains is once more alone…

In the English version, the bolded line doesn’t show for some reason, even though it exists in the script and is displayed in the Japanese version.

Missing References

For some weird reason, a number of trivial facts were lost during the Japanese-English transition. In the class roll and glossary, the game originally stated that Rafiel was the first prince of Serenes, Reyson the third prince, Leanne the fourth princess and Lillia the third princess. Similarly, Gawain’s title “Divine Knight” was removed from his glossary entry. Meanwhile, in Gareth’s ending, it was mentioned that Ena’s newborn child was named Rajaion (like the child’s father). Finally, the Epilogue originally showed Ike’s title “Hero of the Blue Flames” right before it displays “Fin”, which again was omitted.

Shadow Dragon

Son of Akaneia?

Technically not a localisation error since it also appeared in the Japanese version. During the end of Prologue III, Malledus remarks that Marth is a son of House Akaneia and the sole heir of the Falchion. Except Marth has no relation to House Akaneia. Altea does pledge allegiance to House Akaneia, but I don’t think that’s what Malledus was implying.

Larabel’s Shop

In the North American version, the name of the vendor owner is Larabel. However European players will notice that her name is instead Aimee, which is the same name as the vendor from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. Larabel is her name in the Japanese version, but it was changed to Aimee in the English release of Path of Radiance. The American localisation team probably failed to realise that they had changed her name previously.