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Unused content
Last revised: 23rd March 2010
If you look around a couple of pages on this site, or elsewhere, you'll often see mentions of unused things like weapons or classes.
Why are they in the games?
Obviously they were planned to be used but ended up left out for various reasons. Maybe the developers didn't have time to fully implement them (some unused spells in Thracia 776 had unfinished animations) or perhaps they thought they disrupted the balance of the game (too many S Rank weapons in Path of Radiance?). Nonetheless, they remained in the game data.
Why didn't the coders just delete them?
Game coding seems to be a tricky process. Keeping track of every single string of data is probably not a viable option. That's before you consider whether deleting the data will cause adverse effects. If people aren't ever to see the unused things (normal people anyway...), why not just leave them in? Usually, there's no worry of the unused data hogging up space, especially with game sizes these days.
So just what exactly is unused in all the Fire Emblem games?
Well, I've tried to make a list of everything interesting that I've
come across. Most people find these stuff just by using codes or
hacking
the game. Also, when compiling data for
games,
it's not uncommon to bump into unused data.
Shadow Dragon
Portraits
There are three unused portraits, of Midia, Minerva and Shiida, in different (more casual-looking) clothes.
Classes
Fire Dragon, Mage Dragon and Divine Dragon exist as separate
classes, although they don't seem to have fully working map
animations. Their statistical data is actually used when fighting with
the
Fire/Mage/Divine Dragonstones. There are also male and female
Cavaliers on foot, which probably meant dismounting (like in Mystery of the Emblem) was
planned to feature at one stage.
Names
Just one name- Nehring, which is the same name as the boss of
Chapter 19 of Mystery of the Emblem.
Radiant Dawn
Items
Notable items include Slim Lance, Warp Powder, Wild Stone (probably
functions as a Wildheart version of the Laguz Stone or Gem), Serenity,
Tempest, scroll
versions of the Beorcguard, Laguzguard, Knight Ward, Full Guard and
Knight Ring items from Path of
Radiance,
and two Dark variants of the final boss's special attacks.
Names
Tabasa, Nabe and Lalomi appear amongst a bunch of NPC characters,
while Gritz and Jacob appear with the relationship diagram characters.
Dialogue
In Part 4 Final-1, there is dialogue suggesting that Hetzel could be
spared in that chapter. Also there is an unfinished synopsis of the
story, which has a few details that are slightly different, such as
Marado being
named Rino and Ludveck being named Charolai. Digging a little further,
it seems the Dawn Brigade was originally going to be named the "Dawn
Feather".
Supports
It seems the developers were originally going to include full length
support conversations (like the ones in the previous three games)
instead of the watered down ones that you see now. One major difference
is that only data for A-rank supports exists,
so it's possible the developers intended to utilise the current
"everybody supports" system, but have special conversations for certain
pairs when they reach the A-level support (that's just my guess though).
The list of support pairs can be found here.
Music
Not counting alternate versions of many existing songs (which only differ very slightly), there are around 25 unused songs. The most notable ones include themes for Mist, Tibarn and Naesala, as well as a map theme that is a remix of Arum's victory map theme from Gaiden.
Path of Radiance
Characters
Some of these characters appear in dialogue, but never on the battlefield. The full list can be found here.
Zelgius's data might just be proof of the Black Knight's true
identity. Melty is used as the Pegasus Knights summoned by
Tanith's Reinforce skill, while Heather doesn't seem to ever make a
physical appearance. Leanne and Nealuchi both
have escape and death quotes, as well as support data, perhaps
indicating they were going to be
playable characters or at least characters on the field. Additionally,
there are map models for Deghinsea, Sothe as an Assassin and an older
Sanaki (some images here).
Portraits
These include some generic Thieves, Renning and a hooded
Soren.
The Renning portrait is often used as evidence that Bertram, of the
Four
Riders, is in fact Renning.

The same person?
Classes
These include most of the female mounted knights, female Bishops, Black Dragons and non-royal Herons. The female Bishop is actually used as a dummy class, most notably for Elincia (although Sanaki, Kurthnaga and Gareth use it as well). The Black Dragon class is used for Kurthnaga during an event.
Items
This game has got tons of these, most notably three extra S Rank weapons- Urvan, Rexcalibur and Rexflame. All three work fine, although the latter two don't seem to have proper map animations. Rexcalibur is apparently shown in a game demo, leaving a few people wondering how to get their hands on it.
Additionally, there are three staves, several Skill books, the Devil
Axe and
the Bright Bow. The Bright Bow was meant to be the
magic-based weapon for bows, but perhaps they thought the Runesword was
enough (since both are infused with Light magic). Interestingly, the
Bright Bow can also target enemies adjacent to the user, so it looks
like a
strategically useful weapon, if only you could get it normally. There
are also unused Rapier and Lightning Sword models.
Supports
A whole slew of supports were cut from the game:
Stefan/Tauroneo, Sothe/Volke, Astrid/Tanith, Tanith/Volke,
Ranulf/Tauroneo, Lucia/Titania, Marcia/Mia, Mist/Tormod, Mist/Volke,
Muarim/Stefan, Nephenee/Mia, Oscar/Astrid, Reyson/Ulki, Kieran/Lethe,
Gatrie/Bastian, Geoffrey/Kieran, Geoffrey/Bastian, Haar/Sothe,
Haar/Ulki, Ike/Zihark, Janaff/Reyson, Janaff/Sothe, Shinon/Mist,
Devdan/Makalov, Elincia/Jill, Elincia/Lucia, Elincia/Muarim,
Elincia/Nephenee, Elincia/Tauroneo, Boyd/Devdan, Calill/Shinon,
Brom/Geoffrey, Brom/Makalov
No conversations exist for these supports, although Zihark has an
unused alternate dialogue in the Epilogue, which seems to be a remnant
of his support with Ike.
Just two- an alternate Game Over theme
(which was recycled in Radiant Dawn)
and a Comical theme. Meanwhile, the sound data suggests there were
plans to give Bertram,
Ena and Petrine each their own battle theme. Maybe Ena was originally
going to be the last of the Four Riders (instead
of Bryce)?
The Sacred Stones
ItemsAlacalibur (also known as Aircalibur) mysteriously features in this game despite not featuring since Sword of Seals. The spell animation works fine, but the music cuts dramatically whenever it's used. Also, it has a Killer Ballista icon

Not too hard to fix the icon~
Other unused items include a dummied Mani Katti, Forblaze, Luce,
Earth Seal, Mine and all of Ninian's dancer Rings from Blazing Sword. The Earth
Seal works normally (probably has the same effect as the Master Seal),
as do the dancer Rings and the Mine. Forblaze and Luce don't have
spell animations, while the Mani Katti cannot be used by anybody
(normally). All of the dummied weapons have the name "Dummy" in the
English version.
Names
Nate was a Wyvern Rider whose role was replaced by Cormag (who
originally had Joshua's role as a coin-flipping Mercenary). Demi
appears amongst generic boss names. Mehve, Loewe and Mulitia are unused
names in the prototype version, appearing at the very end of the
character names list.
Blazing Sword
Characters
These include Bramimond, Leila, Uther, Elbert and Eleanora.
Bramimond has
the class "Bramimond", some great stats (and growth rates) and S Ranks
in all four areas of magic. Leila is a Thief with S Rank in sword.
Uther is a General, with very good stats as well. Eleanora
is a Bishop that can also use Anima magic (as well as Light and
Staves). Elbert is a Peer and can use both swords and lances. Elbert
and Eleanora have generic growth rates, whilst the former three do not.
Perhaps it was planned that you could use them?

Not his true stats
Classes
Items
These only have names and, include: Tiina staff (same as in Sword of
Seals), Battle robe and Battle call. According to leaked data
from Intelligent Systems, the Battle robe item was changed to a Defence
robe, which eventually became the Ninis's Grace item held by Ninian in
the final release.
Names
Quite a lot of unused names in this game: Igrene (likely the same character as in Sword of Seals, also an Archer in the prototype version), Nadine (no, not Natalie, Dorcas's wife), Bruno, Bogan, Efta, Igor, Alexis, Baudouin (probably all bosses, Efta sounds like a Morph's name).
Opening text
Before the English release, it seems the developers already intended
to have an English text opening for this game, similar to in Thracia 776. Luckily they decided
to stick with good old Japanese in the end...
| There was a
continent where
"people" and a "dragon" live together a long time ago. Both they were living by not invading. However suddenly The balance was torn by invasion of "people." Fighting has also changed natural providence. This to fight was called "war of a dragon and a man." The defeated dragon disappeared to somewhere People who won made it steady and lengthened power. And about 1000 years after... |
Sword of Seals
Characters
William appears to be an unused boss, with a similar portrait to Roberts (a mini-boss who appears in Chapter 11A, in Hard Mode).
Classes
The Divine Dragon class is basically Fa's transformed state. However it has a glitchy map sprite and no battle animations. There are also female Mercenaries, Social Knights and Paladins programmed. The "female" Mercenary has an alternative map sprite (which looks a bit like a Myrmidon), but no battle animations. The latter two have very glitchy map sprites and, again, no battle animations.

Roy the "female" Mercenary
Items
Sword of Seals features the
infamous Watch staff. It's supposed to reveal rooms hidden by roofs
(like the ones in Chapter 6), but it doesn't
do anything in this game. The Demon Dragonstone functions identically
to Idoun's Dark Breath. However it gives stat bonuses so maybe it was
intended for a Mamkute version of Idoun. The Demon
Dragonstone is
listed under some of the official guidebooks, but it's
definitely unused. Also there is the Bridge Key, which doesn't seem to
do anything
since there are no drawbridges.
There were a few world map locations that ended up not being used:
Phestos, Siene, Alesia, Terina, Calach and Regia.
Thracia 776
Characters
Manfroy and Yurius have data for this game, despite making very
brief appearances in the dialogue. They both have the wrong portraits
though- Manfroy has Machua's, while Yurius has Yuria's (another version
of Yurius has Cyas's portrait...). Also
there is an unused Bishop character (Gunna) who is stored amongst the
playable characters' data. He has the same portrait as Coen (Ida's
father). Gunna is speculated to be Asvel's father or grandfather, due
to his class and death quote.

The portrait is real, everything else I made up
Several classes from Genealogy of the Holy War appear, most notably: Lord Knight, Master Knight, Falcon Knight, Dragon Master, Junior Lord, Emperor, Dark Prince and Forrest. There are also unused map icons for the Princess, Queen and female Loputo Mage classes.
Items
Almost too many to name. Most of these are from Genealogy of the Holy War as well:
Gaeborg, Gungnir, Falaflame, Thorhammer, Aura, Loputousu, Bolganone,
Darkness Spear, Master Proof and... the Watch Staff. Just highlighting
some of the spells freezes the game because their descriptions are
incorrect. Otherwise they all work, albeit with very glitchy
animations. The Gaeborg and Gungnir are interesting in that they
possess the holy weapon flash from the previous game (that and the
Gungnir's weapon
description even tells you that hacking is bad and not to do it!).

Hacked Ishtar, holy weapons and more
The Master Proof finally made a proper appearance in The Sacred Stones (known as a Master Seal in the English version). The Watch Staff causes the screen to glow when used (like when you conquer the throne in the Final Chapter), but doesn't seem to do anything else.
Dialogue
Several unused conversations feature. In Chapter 19 there are
conversations that suggest
Ishtar was supposed to make an appearance in battle (backed up by the
fact that she and her Torhammer spell has data). In the Final Chapter
it seems there was going to be another (final?) boss- perhaps a monster
since its lines are in Katakana (like Mediuth and Loputousu). Also
there is some kind of timeline, similar in style to the one seen in Genealogy of the Holy War, which
also states the full names of major characters Celice and
Leaf- Celice Baldos Chalphy and Leaf Faris Claus respectively.
Genealogy of the Holy War
Classes
Lots of soldiers, or more precisely: Soldier, Sword Soldier, Spear Soldier, Axe Soldier and Archer. They are all Soldiers with different weapons (like the Armours in this game). The Spear Soldier seems to be a stronger lance-using Soldier. Perhaps they were axed in favour of the Sword/Axe/Lance/Bow Armours?
Items
The Charm staff seems to be a status affecting staff like Sleep, Silence and Berserk. It doesn't do anything (it freezes the game when used), but maybe the name has a clue... The Thief staff only works with map animations (it freezes the game otherwise) and steals gold from enemies, which might have come in handy. The Thief staff reappears in Thracia 776, where it is one of Tina's personal staves.

The Charm staff (don't ask why Sigurd is a High Priest)
Skills
A couple of skills never appear as personal or class skills, although
they have icons. These include: Return (same effect as the Return
Ring), Recover (same effect as the Recover Ring), Re-Move (same effect
as
the Knight Ring), Holy Sword and Darkness Sword. More details on them
can be found in the Skills list for Genealogy
of the Holy War.
Mystery of the Emblem
Characters
The characters from the original who didn't return, like Riff and Daros, have data but no portraits.
Classes
The Guardian looks very similar to a General, but I don't believe it is programmed to use any weapons. The Dark Knight is basically like a Social Knight or Paladins (it has a Social Knight battle sprite). Perhaps it was meant to be a custom class for Camus. Finally we have the Sea Dragon, which has the ability to move freely on water just like Pirates; it uses a Fire Dragon battle sprite, which is disappointing. All three classes have a glitchy inactive map sprite.

The Sea Dragon (AKA Marth)
Items
Includes Silver Key, Dark Dragonstone and Ohm Fragment. The Ohm
Fragment was supposed to resurrect its user after death, before
vanishing, but doesn't actually do anything.
Gaiden
Classes
There are at least two unused classes: Serpent and Naga. Naga is
also the same name as the Divine Dragon King from Akaneian lore, but
these are probably just monster classes (Naga are serpent deities in
Hindu mythology).
Items
Judging by its name, the Gaia spell was likely an Earth-based spell.
It doesn't have a proper spell animation though.
Dark Dragon and Sword of Light
Characters
Sabre (slightly different name to Savor from Gaiden) is an unused playable character, with Misheil's portrait, who also has data as an enemy. Wylar is one of the first non-playable characters and doesn't have a portrait. Heimler appears to be a generic knight boss and is likely the same character as in Shadow Dragon. Basilisk, Salamander and Narga appear towards the end of the character list, along with Gaia; the first three are names of the dragon tribes, so maybe Gaia was going to be the Earth Dragon tribe's name?
Items
Wyvern, Gargoyle, Salamander, Shenron, Neptune and Dark Dragon can
be equipped by Mamkutes, but can't be used to attack with. The Helarn
staff has the unusual ability of making equipped weapons permanently
indestructable and the staff itself has 22 uses! No wonder it was
removed...
The joys of an infinite use Iron Sword
Before it was finally implemented in Thracia 776, it seems Fog of War
was initially planned for this game, judging from the Telescope item,
which claims to increase Vision by 5 when used. The Dark and Time Orbs
can be used 3 times each, but nothing seems to happen when you use
them. Finally, we have the Fire Emblem in item form; unlike in Mystery of the Emblem, anyone can
hold it.
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