Nintendo sparking up new Fire Emblem

TOKYO--Nintendo has announced it will release a new Fire Emblem on the Game Boy Advance titled Fire Emblem: Seima no Kouseki. The title roughly translates into English as "Fire Emblem: The Jewel of Light and Darkness."

Fire Emblem: Seima no Kouseki takes place on the continent of Magi Val, where a past civilization brought peace by sealing off evil monsters with five holy jewels. The continent was then divided into different kingdoms, with each guarding one of the holy jewels.

The game starts off years later when the Grado Empire--the strongest of the five kingdoms--begins to invade its neighbors. The Lunes Kingdom, which shares a long border with the Grado Empire, falls under attack and resists with all of its forces.

The main characters in Fire Emblem: Seima no Kouseki are Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirik, twin heirs to the Lunes Kingdom. Prince Ephraim is a master at spear techniques and has a strong sense of Justice. However, he disappears from his kingdom just as the Grado Empire attacks it. His younger sister, Eirik, flees to a neighboring country during the attack, based on orders from the king. The twins start off separately in the game, but their stories connect as the game goes on.

What's known so far about Fire Emblem: Seima no Kouseki's gameplay is that it will focus more on character-building and classes. It will also feature a new map system, which will allow the player to go back to old maps to retry stages for racking up additional experience.

Fire Emblem: Seima no Kouseki is scheduled for release in Japan in the fall of 2004. No American release date has been set.