Alternate route
In some Fire Emblem series games starting from Fire Emblem Gaiden, the player is confronted with a branching set of alternate routes, in which the story and gameplay progresses in one of two distinct directions. The player chooses between the two routes, either explicitly through being given the option or implicitly through meeting certain statistical criteria, setting them on one of two paths of successive chapters which they will exclusively follow until the two routes converge back into a single chapter progression. When taking a route, the player is never able to visit the other route during the same playthrough, often resulting in certain characters being available solely based on a player's choice of route.
It should be noted that the "A" and "B" designation lettering is a colloquialism applied by the fandom to simplify talking about such split routes; the games themselves never refer to route-specific chapters by this letter designation, with equivalent chapters in a route instead bearing the same chapter number. The letter designations are, however, used officially on the website for Thracia 776, in the same fashion as the fandom's usage.[1]
Alternate routes by game
Fire Emblem Gaiden and Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Alternate routes in Gaiden and Echoes: Shadows of Valentia | |||
---|---|---|---|
Root map | Northern route | Southern route | Notes |
Access criteria | |||
Characters recruited in or as a result of this route | |||
Attack on the Desert Stronghold | Northern Desert Battle | Southern Desert Battle | -- |
Take the northern path from the Desert Stronghold. | Take the southern path from the Desert Stronghold. | ||
Sonya | Deen | ||
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776
Alternate routes in Thracia 776 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Root chapter | Split route A | Split route B | Notes |
Access criteria | |||
Characters recruited in or as a result of this route | |||
15: Two Paths | 16A: Norden Line 17A: The Gates of Leonster |
16B: Dark Forest 17B: The Gathering Storm |
-- |
In Chapter 15, escape the map via the west escape point or select the "Fort Norden" option when Leif talks to the priest. | In Chapter 15, escape the map via the east escape point or select the "Millefeuille Forest" option when Leif talks to the priest. | ||
Ilios, Sleuf, Misha, Sara, Amalda | Shannam, Miranda, Sara, Conomor | ||
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Alternate routes in The Binding Blade | |||
---|---|---|---|
Root chapter | Split route A | Split route B | Notes |
Access criteria | |||
Characters recruited in or as a result of this route | |||
9: The Misty Isles | 10A: Western Resistance 11A: The Hero of the West |
10B: Amidst a Struggle 11B: Flight Toward Freedom |
Gonzalez is at level 11 when recruited on the B route, but at level 5 on the A route. |
In Chapter 9, do not visit the top-right village. | In Chapter 9, visit the top-right village. | ||
Larum, Echidna, Geese, Gonzalez, Klein, Thea | Elffin, Bartre, Geese, Gonzalez, Klein, Thea | ||
16: Storming the Capital/ 16x: The Glorious Ascension |
17A: Ocean's Parting 18A: The Frozen River 19A: Bitter Cold 20A: Ilia's Salvation 20Ax: The Freezing Lance |
17B: The Bishop's Teachings 18B: The Laws of Sacae 19B: Battle in Bulgar 20B: The Silver Wolf 20Bx: The Bow of Swift Wind |
Experience gained by dead characters counts toward the threshold. In Chapter 21, Yoder will join with the divine weapon from the route the player did not visit – Mulagir if the player took the A route, and Maltet if the player took the B route. |
At the end of Chapter 16/16x, Shanna and Thea's total experience gained ≥ Sue and Sin's total experience gained. | At the end of Chapter 16/16x, Sue and Sin's total experience gained > Shanna and Thea's total experience gained. | ||
Niime, Juno | Niime, Dayan | ||
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Alternate routes in The Blazing Blade | |||
---|---|---|---|
Root chapter | Split route A | Split route B | Notes |
Access criteria | |||
Characters recruited in or as a result of this route | |||
22E/23H: Living Legend/ 22xE/23xH: Genesis |
23E/24H: Four-Fanged Offense (Linus version) |
23E/24H: Four-Fanged Offense (Lloyd version) |
In Chapter 27E/29H, the boss of the chapter will be whichever boss of Ch.23E/24H was not fought – Lloyd if the Linus version of the chapter was completed, and Linus if the Lloyd version of the chapter was completed. |
At the end of Chapter 22E/23H/22xE/23xH, Eliwood, Hector, and Lyn's current levels total 50 or more. | At the end of Chapter 22E/23H/22xE/23xH, Eliwood, Hector, and Lyn's current levels total 49 or less. | ||
Geitz | Wallace | ||
24E/26H: Unfulfilled Heart | 25E/27H: Pale Flower of Darkness (Kenneth version) |
25E/27H: Pale Flower of Darkness (Jerme version) |
The experience gain requirement does not count any eperience gained by any of the relevant characters in Lyn's tale, if it was completed. Dead characters count as 0 experience toward the threshold. |
At the end of Chapter 24E/26H, Erk, Serra, Priscilla, and Lucius's total experience gained ≥ Dorcas, Bartre, Guy, and Raven's total experience gained. | At the end of Chapter 24E/26H, Dorcas, Bartre, Guy, and Raven's total experience gained > Erk, Serra, Priscilla, and Lucius's total experience gained. | ||
Harken or Karel | Harken or Karel | ||
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Alternate routes in The Sacred Stones | |||
---|---|---|---|
Root chapter | Route A (Eirika) | Route B (Ephraim) | Notes |
Access criteria | |||
Characters recruited in or as a result of this route | |||
A New Journey (Interlude following Chapter 8) |
9A: Distant Blade 10A: Revolt at Carcino 11A: Creeping Darkness 12A: Village of Silence 13A: Hamill Canyon 14A: Queen of White Dunes 15A: Scorched Sand |
9B: Fort Rigwald 10B: Turning Traitor 11B: Phantom Ship 12B: Landing at Taizel 13B: Fluorspar's Oath 14B: Father and Son 15B: Scorched Sand |
The characters of each route are also recruited automatically in the opposite route's Chapter 15, as the sole members of the retinue of the other Lord character. |
Select "Go with Eirika to Rausten". | Select "Go with Ephraim to Grado". | ||
Innes, Saleh | Duessel, Knoll | ||
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Alternate routes in New Mystery of the Emblem | |||
---|---|---|---|
Root map | Route A | Route B | Notes |
Access criteria | |||
Characters recruited in or as a result of this route | |||
Prologue 3: Training Begins | Prologue 4A: New Companions (Jeorge) | Prologue 4B: New Companions (Athena) | The exclusivity of the characters is only present in the Prologue chapters. |
Choose the "No" option during the conversation with Jagen. | Choose the "Yes" option during the conversation with Jagen. | ||
Gordin | Athena | ||
Prologue 5: March Duty | Prologue 6A: Bonds (Ogma) | Prologue 6B: Bonds (Draug) | |
Choose the "No" option during the conversation with Katarina. | Choose the "Yes" option during the conversation with Katarina. | ||
Ogma | Draug | ||
Prologue 6: Bonds | Prologue 7A: The Final Test (Est) | Prologue 7B: The Final Test (Cain) | |
Choose the "No" option during the conversation with Katarina. | Choose the "Yes" option during the conversation with Katarina. | ||
Est | Cain | ||
Fire Emblem Warriors
While Fire Emblem Warriors's gameplay structure ultimately allows players to play all of the game's chapters, there is one situation in the story mode that plays in a somewhat similar fashion to an alternate route branch. Unlike alternate paths from the mainline Fire Emblem games, both paths must be played to progress, instead of it being one or the other.
In this situation, the game's main characters, Rowan and Lianna, split up their forces and each seek out one of the two rival factions from the world of Fire Emblem Fates. In storyline playings of these chapters, characters who are on the opposite side of this split cannot be deployed, but this restriction is removed in free play mode.
Alternate routes in Warriors | |||
---|---|---|---|
Root chapter | Hoshido route | Nohr route | Notes |
Characters initially embarking on path | |||
Characters recruited on path | |||
5: The Dragon's Table | 6: Hoshidan Princess 7: Hoshidan Prince 8: High Prince Ryoma |
9: Nohrian Princess 10: Nohrian Prince 11: Crown Prince Xander |
Rowan is not usable in storyline playings of Chapter 7 due to storyline reasons that develop on his route; there is no counterpart situation on Lianna's route. DLC characters are not restricted by this split, despite the storyline implying otherwise in the case of Owain, Oboro, and Niles. |
Rowan, Chrom, Robin, Frederick, Lucina | Lianna, Lissa, Cordelia (Darios joins this path as an NPC) | ||
Hinoka, Takumi, Sakura | Camilla, Leo, Elise | ||
References
- ↑ ファイアーエムブレム/攻略インデックス, nintendo.co.jp, Retrieved: March 19, 2017
See also
- Side quest
- Multiple endings
- Fire Emblem Fates, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes; games which feature branching, completely divergent routes.