History VideoGame / FireEmblemTheBindingBlade

** Sacae is based on Mongolia with a dash of Japan, and take both their English and Japanese names from exonyms for the Scythians of the Eurasian steppe. It's a far-eastern nation with a notable tradition of horseback riding and archery, and a religion that worships the sky and earth. However, for a people based on Mongolians, they mind their own business most of the time and are in fact invaded by Bern, instead of [[HordesFromTheEast being the ones doing the invading]] like their real life counterparts. For the Japanese aspect, Myrmidons/Swordmasters clearly use katanas and those characters, especially Karel, are heavy with "wandering samurai" tropes.

* ActionGirl: Oh, take your pick. Melady, Lilina, Fir, Echidna, Sue, Shanna, Thea, Igrene, Dorothy, Fae, Cecilia, Cath, Clarine, Gwendolyn, Niime, Juno, Sophia, even Elen after she promotes. It helps that this game has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: There are a lot of characters. The playable ones alone total at 62, with an unusually high number joining in the first few chapters by Fire Emblem standards.

* TropeCodifier: While ''[[Videogame/FireEmblemThracia776 Thracia]]'' had several elements of classic ''Fire Emblem'', this game cemented what to expect from a ''Fire Emblem game'', such as the [[RecurringElement recurring tropes]] being in full-force, the plot structure of fighting a kingdom and then slaying a dragon of some sort, and a backstory that has a great deal of mythos to add to the world.

** Henning in Chapter 8x is infamous for being really hard to hit, much less kill, for being so early in the game. Hard Mode [[CharacterForcedSelecting practically forces]] the player to deal with the problem with an early promoted Rutger, or rely on another blessed promoted unit.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: As the first game released after the Shouzou Kaga era,''Binding Blade'' has so many of this that it deserves its own [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade page]].

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** Due to ''The Blazing Blade'' being a prequel, there are several instances where characters are ignorant of elements that were also key plot points twenty years ago, although it's not difficult to rationalize things away given the time the heroes spend undercover, Canas' determination to keep the events ''out'' of the history books, and the fact that Eliwood would probably not want to talk about the painful events his InfinityPlusOneSword caused.
*** In ''particular'', there's the fact that Lyn, the heroine of the prequel, is completely absent and unmentioned. That's because, when ''Binding'' was developed, she simply didn't exist; Rutger, Fir, and Karel are the fast sword-swingers of this title, and Lyn came into existence for ''Blazing'' as a good point-of-view character for the planned Anglophone-friendly intro campaign and was "meant" to simply fade into the background after the game. This has always stood out a little bit, but with the passing of time, the advent of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', and with Lyn becoming one of the most popular characters in the franchise, her complete absence is now an elephant in the room. Between a few snatches of info in ''Blazing'' and ''Heroes'', there are guesses as to what happened to her (the most popular being that [[spoiler:she's the mother of either Lilina or Sue and, either way, perished trying to defend Sacae from Zephiel after taking up the Mulagir]]), but since she simply didn't exist when ''Binding'' was written, there's no definitive answer.
** Thieves revert to not being able to class change, even though the Jugdral games allow them to do so.
** In this game, there are no unpromoted classes capable of using light magic, something that isn't the case with the other types of magic. Later Game Boy Advance installments feature the Monk class, which is an unpromoted class that uses light magic, essentially giving light magic an equivalent to Mages and Shamans.
** Oddly, [[AntiCavalry horseslaying weapons]] such as the Rapier or Halberd do not get a damage bonus on Troubadours and Nomads. This was fixed in the future GBA games.
** While the game does introduce the support system that would become a franchise cornerstone, the game curiously only supports paired endings for Roy; everyone else's endings are unaffected by supports, which can lead to a few narrative oddities (such as Fir, for example, being a heartbreaker, as she goes off to further her mastery of the sword after the game's events, leaving her potential suitors in the dust). Units who don't participate in the endgame also get a very simplified versions of their endings. There's also no support conversation viewer after beating the game, which the prequel and ''Sacred Stones'' would include.
** This was the game that introduced the Bandit Brothers, a pair of {{Gonk}} twins with VillainousIncest implications. Unlike later games though, their portraits are pallete-swapped from one used for earlier Berserker bosses. In later games, this look is reserved for the bandit brothers alone.
** Some graphical differences between ''Binding Blade'' and the other two GBA titles:
*** The character mugshots do not blink. The prequel and ''Sacred Stones'' would later add blinking animations to the character portraits.
*** The cutscene backgrounds were drawn like the sprites and the overworld. ''Blazing Blade'' and ''Sacred Stones'' would later use either photographs or paintings ported into the system instead.
*** With the exception of Zephiel, Idunn, Leygance, Roartz, and the Wyvern Generals, all bosses use the standard red palette like generic enemies instead of using ones that match their portraits' color scheme. However, in the case of Damas, Ruud, Slater, Erik, Dory, and Debias, this was due to an oversight.
*** Ballistae have their battle animations used. As for the other GBA games, however, they were never used, probably due to the ballistae in those titles having wheels attached.
*** The credits roll in this game, compared to other ''Game Boy Advance'' titles, looks drastically different; instead of using text, it uses letter graphics, and appear in a slideshow instead of crawling upwards. Also, if the true ending has been reached, it will show full endings of 10 of the characters that participated in the final chapter.
** If one were to not count ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Archanea Saga]]'', the game has the earliest example of DLC maps in the main series. However, unlike the ones from later installments, the DLC were simply just 4 additional trial maps that could only be obtained through certain events at the time of release, and were never programmed into the game itself. These maps have yet to resurface in any form.
** Unlike previous installments, this game actually has a playable tutorial, but instead of being played through a new save file, it is an optional chapter that is played separately. This would be elevated in the prequel, where the tutorial itself is actually part of the save file.
** ''Binding Blade'' was the first ''Fire Emblem'' game to feature a Hard Mode, and it was mostly a fairly simple affair of autoleveling the enemies to be stronger, as opposed to later games making significant changes to map or enemy design or outright altering core mechanics. There was also the famous HardModePerks, which didn't show up again after ''Blazing Blade.''
** Unlike future GBA installments and beyond, base accuracy for the different weapon types are significantly more stratified in ''Binding Blade'', with lances and especially axes being much less reliable than swords or bows. Combined with tough opponents with the capacity to dodge and bosses on +30 Avoid thrones, this leads to low hit rates that often surprise players who started with later games.
** ''Binding Blade'' was the first ''Fire Emblem'' title to feature a convoy that is accessible on the map from a unit (''Geneaology of the Holy War'' and ''Thracia 776'' had map locations where units could interact with the storage) and only one of two (the other being ''Binding Blade''[='s=] prequel, ''Blazing Blade'') where the convoy would be a distinct, deployable unit, making Merlinus the only character to ever hold the Transporter class. Starting with ''Sacred Stones'', the convoy would be accessible from the main lord.

* EasyLevelsHardBosses: Binding Blade stands out for having enemies more or less fairly levelled (and somewhat harder than contemporary games), but scary difficult-to-hit bosses parked on thrones that are a legitimate threat to your units. Chapter 8x is one of the better examples, where there is a horde of easy enemies for you to train weaker units with, but Henning is a WakeUpCallBoss where you basically need a promoted character to deal with. Hard Mode has tough bosses ''and'' tough enemies with higher stats and in greater numbers.

** Mercifully, the enemy units in Chapter 4 will ignore Clarine while she's an NPC as she trots over to Roy.

* CrutchCharacter: Marcus, Zelot, and to a extent Dieck are all essential for carrying the player through EarlyGameHell, particularly Hard Mode. While the former two fall off combat-wise, they remain useful for their mobility and utility; Dieck's combat stays good if he's trained, but starts to fall off toward the end.

* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Or, more appropriately, Red Girl, Blue Boy for Lilina and Roy respectively. Their [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair hair colors]], however, invert this.

* EliteMooks: Implied, Bern often has squads of soldiers of the same class clustered together, with one either being higher levelled, promoted, or has better weaponry compared to the others (implied to be their leader).

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Starting with this game, the unit starting positions can now be altered on the map from the preparations menu. This was done to avoid the stress of having to reorder units via complicated methods just so they could have a set position, which was present in the previous games. It's still possible to do the latter method, however.

* FantasticRacism: Bern mounts a genocidal campaign against the tribes of Sacae; Sue and Rutger are both witnesses to the atrocity.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Roy's army is made up of mercenaries, orphans, thieves, defectors, and genuine veterans.

* StoryBranching: Roy goes through either Sacae or Ilia depending on whether or not your pair of nomads or pegasus knights, respectively, have higher cumulative experience. You also recruit different characters on each path--the leader of Sue & Sin's clan in Sacae, and Thea & Shanna's older sister in Ilia.

* ArtShiftedSequel: This game marked a shift in artstyle with the turn of the millenium. Character illustrations began to be done digitally and the designs slowly drifts away from the 90s fantasy flair of the Jugdral games. The in-game color palette is far brighter compared to the previous titles on the Super Famicom, a necessity due to the original model of the Game Boy Advance not being backlit.

* BadassFamily: Roy's parents that can be either Lyn or Fiora that are warriors, or Ninian who is a half-dragon. Lilina's mothers Farina, Florina or Lyn are also ladies of war, and their respective parents are rulers of their countries. Lilina and Roy can also potentially be cousins.
** Rebeca and her potential husbands, Nino and her twins whose fathers can be either Jaffar or Erk also fit this trope.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: ''The Binding Blade'' gives us some subversions in a series that plays this trope straighter than an arrow most of the time: The axe-wielding Gonzales (whose ugliness and low intelligence make him feared), and the plain-looking Dorothy (with her small eyes and plain, boyish clothing).

*** In which the lord's father doesn't die (Despite suffering from an illness), but rather [[spoiler:[[MetaTwist it is the heroine's (Lilina's father Hector) who does]]]]. Since Eliwood only shows up in the first chapter of this game and doesn't make any further physical appearances outside of the noncanon Trial Maps, this also makes Roy the only lord in the series to have his father show up onscreen and survive, and overall one of the few lords with at least one parent still living.

* CrutchCharacter: Marcus, Zealot, and to a extent Dieck are all essential for carrying the player through EarlyGameHell, particularly Hard Mode. While the former 2 fall off combat-wise, they remain useful for their mobility and utility; Dieck's combat stays good if he's trained but starts to fall off toward the end.

*** Ballistae have their battle animations used. As for the other GBA games, however, they were never used, probably due to the ballistae in those titles having wheels attatched.

** Unlike future GBA installments and beyond, base accuracy for the different weapon types are signicifantly more stratified in ''Binding Blade'', with lances and especially axes being much less reliable than swords or bows. Combined with tough opponents with the capacity to dodge and bosses on +30 Avoid thrones, this leads to low hit rates that often surprise players who started with later games.

* ElementalWeapon: The four physical Divine Weapons have epithets associated with a different element: Durandal the Sword of Sacred Fire, Armads the Thunder Axe, Maltet the Blizzard Spear, and Mulagir the Wind Bow.

** Etruia is based on Medieval Rome. It is the seat of the Church of the game's resident CrystalDragonJesus and a nation with a high level of civilization. Notably, the real life civilization of Etruria was a state in what is now Central Italy which was conquered by Rome.

* GuideDangIt: Recruiting Douglas doesn't make sense at a first glance. He starts as an enemy and proactively attacks, and nobody can make him a friendly unit by talking to him (including his prince and his adopted daughter)like other potential recruits. You have to seize the throne first.

* IHaveYourWife: King Mordred is held hostage by Bern forces [[spoiler:at the instigation of his TreacherousAdvisor, Roartz,]] to force Etruria's top generals to fight Roy's army.

* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler:Jahn claims to be the last dragon, even his battle theme is named after that fact. Technically, there are other dragons around, but Idunn is not a "true" dragon since she became a Dark Dragon and the war dragons she created are not real dragons, either. However, there are dragons on the other side of the Gate and in the Dread Isles, as seen in the prequel.]]

** Chapter 7 on Hard Mode is one of the more notorious chapters in the game in that it is practically impossible to guarantee the survival and recruitment of all 3 NPC's (Treck, Zealot, and Noah) ''and'' ensure that your own party all lives. The one saving grace is that the two cavaliers are non essential, and it's easier to keep Zealot alive in order to get the Ilia gaiden chapter and the true ending.

** Roy and Lilina's fathers are the inverted counterparts of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Marth and Caeda's]]. Marth's father Cornelius was killed during the War of Shadows, while Roy's father Eliwood only ever shows up in the first chapter and become irrelevant afterwards. Meanwhile, Caeda's father Mostyn survives the events of the game just fine and all, but Lilina's father Hector [[spoiler:dies during the Disturbance of Bern instead]].

** Perceval seems to bear resemblances to Camus, and looks to fit in with the Eponymous archetype... except he's actually recruitable, doesn't choose MyCountryRightOrWrong, and survives the events of the game (If he ''is'' kept alive).

* PowerupLetdown: The Silver Blade has 1 more Might than the Silver Sword in exchange for less hitrate and durability and a lot more weight.

* RecurringElement: There are many aspects of ''The Binding Blade'' that are extremely similar to previous games, notably ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'' and ''Videogame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''. Some of the characters (Melady is a very blatant {{Expy}} of Minerva in terms of class, looks, and personality and Altena in terms of relationship to Gale) and parts of the plot. (mostly about Idenn being the "Dark Dragon", the various political coups, the legendary warriors and their weapons, all of the liberation that Roy does) The game does tackle all of this in a different enough manner to not be a total repeat, but it's clear that there was a lot of inspiration taken from previous titles.

* RescueRomance: Roy will rescue four of his six potential love interests.
** Roy first rescue Sue who was a prisoner in the castle of of lord Orun
** Then Roy rescues Lilina who was locked in her own castle
** Roy then rescue Cecilia from a prison in Etruria after fighting and losing to the villain Zephiel
** Roy also rescue Sophia who was in the same cell of Cecilia

* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler:This is the only game in the franchise in which the true final boss can survive the events of the game, but that's only when Idunn is defeated with the binding blade and Fae is still alive.]]
* SingleLineOfDescent: Lilina, Roy and Sue are the only child of their parents, who fought the previous war and are rulers or chiefs of their own people.
* SlippySlideyIceWorld: Ilia, an entire country covered in snow and ice. Due to its poor fertility, many took up jobs as mercenaries to keep the country wealthy. It is where the divine spear of snow and ice, Maltet, is hidden.
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: In Chapter 3, Zephiel, Idunn, and Narcian--all of them very powerful fighters--are all present at Araphen Castle. Idenn, the FinalBoss, offers to take out Roy's band of low-level fighters and mercenaries, but Zephiel declines and departs with her, leaving the matter to Narcian. ''He'' promptly turns the matter over to a low-level knight so he can lech on Clarine. This happens again in Chapter 13, but instead to a low-level Wyvern Lord and a large force of Etrurian cavalry.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: ''Binding'' is a bit worse about it than a number of other ''FE'' entries due to just how long the game's gone without an official release, and how long the fans only had katakana and a few sources of romanized names in JP materials to rely on (with some of those clearly not matching the katakana - "Thite" being a classic example). The whole cast only got official names once ''Fire Emblem Heroes'' rolled around with its Choose Your Legend event.
* StoryBranching: Roy goes through either Sacae or Ilia depending on whether or not your pair of nomads or pegasus knights, respectively, have higher cumulative experience. You also recruit different characters on each path--the leader of Sue & Shin's clan in Sacae, and Thea & Shanna's older sister in Ilia.
* SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity: There's a [[AntiCavalry Halberd]] available at the end of Chapter 3, a weapon that normally wouldn't be available until sometime later in the game. The following chapter is infested with powerful Cavaliers that just so happen to be weak to that weapon. The same goes for the Wyrmslayer, which you receive right before you encounter the first Mamkutes and before the Wyvern attacks really get bad.

** The company comprising of Zealot, Noah, and Treck all hear that Hector (their employer) dies, but still continues to fight the rest of the Ostian forces that turn on Lycia. Hearing that Roy is still fighting for Hector is enough for them to join him.

** Sacae is based on Mongolia with a dash of Japan. It's a far-eastern nation with a notable tradition of horseback riding and archery, and a religion that worships the sky and earth. However, for a people based on Mongolians, they mind their own business most of the time and are in fact invaded by Bern, instead of [[HordesFromTheEast being the ones doing the invading]] like their real life counterparts. For the Japanese aspect, Myrmidons/Swordmasters clearly use katanas and those characters, especially Karel, are heavy with "wandering samurai" tropes.

* WanderingCulture: Sacae is home to numerous nomadic tribes primarily comprised of HorseArchers, such as Sue of the Kutolah tribe.

** Astolfo mentions a bit of Elibean CommonKnowledge that at least three people on the continent that share the same face, in the GBA game most blatant about PaletteSwap bosses.

** Among GBA mages, Lilina uses a different battle sprite when unpromoted. In this case, hers has long hair, straight bangs, wore bracelets instead of gloves, and wears a shirt/skirt combo, all of which the female mages of succeeding GBA games lacked.

** Roy and Lilina's fathers are the inverted counterparts of [['VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Marth and Caeda's]]. Marth's father Cornelius was killed during the War of Shadows, while Roy's father Eliwood only ever shows up in the first chapter and become irrelevant afterwards. Meanwhile, Caeda's father Mostyn survives the events of the game just fine and all, but Lilina's father Hector [[spoiler:dies during the Disturbance of Bern instead]].

*** With the exception of Zephiel, Idunn, Leygance, and the Wyvern Generals, all bosses use the standard red palette like generic enemies instead of using ones that match their portraits' color scheme. However, in the case of Damas, Ruud, Slater, Erik, Dory, and Debias, this was due to an oversight.

* MissingMom: Roy's mother is supposed to be dead, and Lilina's mother is never mentioned so her fate is unkown, though its implied that she is also not alive.

* NintendoHard: Hard Mode can be quite the overwhelming challenge, with some levels being just short of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Thracia 776]] levels of hard.

* NoNameGiven: Object example; the titular legendary sword is just called ''[[SpellMyNameWithAThe the]]'' Binding Blade. However, in the English version of ''Heroes'', a variant wielded by Legendary Roy is called "DragonBind", though this was only done because of the character limit.

* UnfortunateNames: The legendary Aureola tome is uncomfortably close to "areola", which is the formal name for "nipple."