Regardless of issues like this, though, Fire Emblem remains a series that is absolutely worth playing. Its tried-and-true strategy RPG formula, support mechanics, and memorable characters have engrossed fans since day one. This is a big-ticket Nintendo franchise these days with spin-offs and everything. You don’t want to miss it.

Read on to find out what the Fire Emblem games release date order is, what its story order is, and what we think the best order is to play the games.

What’s the best order to play Fire Emblem?

The best order to play Fire Emblem is in whatever order you like – most of them are totally standalone stories with new characters, kind of like Final Fantasy. Considering the rarity of some of the games, however, we’d recommend you stick with the most recent releases.

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On the Switch you can play through Fire Emblem Warriors, Three Houses, Warriors: Three Hopes and Engage. It’s probably best to start with those, in that order. Of those, Houses and Hopes work nicely as a duology.

If you’ve got a 3DS, however, it’s best to start with Fire Emblem Awakening before you move onto the Switch. This is a brilliant game to introduce you to the game’s settings, characters, and gameplay (it just so happens that it’s one of the finest entries in the franchise to date).

The best place to start if money is no object, however, is with the original. If you can find a copy of the remake on the DS (Cex often has it), definitely go with that as Marth plays a big role throughout the series, even getting involved in Engage.

Ultimately, though, you’ll be fine with whatever order you play the games in. Each one is worth playing and each one can be enjoyed without having played any others, yes, even those rare direct sequels.

Fire Emblem games in release date order

The Fire Emblem series began back in 1990 with Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light on the NES. This game was never released in the UK until 2008 as the DS remake: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. It took until 2003 for the first Fire Emblem game to release outside of Japan, on the Game Boy Advance: known simply as Fire Emblem. Since then, the tactical RPG series has gone from strength to strength and it is now one of Nintendo’s main franchises.

The first six games in the Fire Emblem series didn’t get released outside of Japan, but we’ve included them in the list below (along with any remakes/rereleases) so you can get a picture of the entire list. Be warned, too, that most of the games in the series are only available to play on their original release platform so do come at a high cost these days. Without further ado, here is the complete list of mainline Fire Emblem games in release date order:

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light - 1990, NES (Japan-only)

• Was remade on the Nintendo DS in 2008 as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (buy from Cex for £85)
• The original was released in English for the first time as a limited-time eShop title on the Switch in December 2020 until April 2021

Fire Emblem Gaiden - 1992, NES (Japan-only)

• Was remade on Nintendo 3DS as Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia in 2017 (buy from Cex for £28)
• It’s also available to download on the 3DS eShop until that closes)

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem - 1994, SNES (Japan-only)

• Was remade on Nintendo DS as Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem in 2010, again, Japan-only

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War - 1996, SNES (Japan-only)

Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 - 1999, SNES (Japan-only)

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - 2002, GBA (Japan-only)

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade - 2003, GBA (buy boxed from Cex for £130, unboxed for £40)

• Released worldwide as simply Fire Emblem
• Is also available to download on the Wii U eShop while that is still open

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones - 2004, GBA (buy boxed from Cex for £135, unboxed for £40)

• It’s also still available to download on the Wii U eShop while that is still open

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - 2005, GameCube (buy from Cex for £220)

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn - 2008, Wii (buy from Cex for £75)

Fire Emblem Awakening - 2013, 3DS (buy from Cex for £35)

Fire Emblem Fates - 2016, 3DS

• There are versions of this game, each with a different story and playable characters:
• Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright (buy from Cex for £25)
• Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest (buy from Cex for £30)
• Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation (download separately on the 3DS eShop)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - 2019, Switch (buy from Amazon for £53.99)

Fire Emblem Engage - 2023, Switch (buy from GAME for £49.99)