There comes a time when you face the toughest of fights. Searching for peace, you find struggle everywhere you turn. You mess up time and time again. When things seem impossible, do you give up?
This is…
I L L U S I O N of S E R E N I T Y
A dark fantasy Fire Emblem hack built in the Dark Dragon and the Sword of Light engine.
This hack is set in the land of Akaneia, somewhat after the events of Monshou no Nazo. Having heard of the prince’s victory over Hardin and the revived Mediuth, Prince Mars’s cousin Akai returns to Aritia after many years to see his relative once again. But when he arrives, something is amiss. Otherworldy dark forces gather over the land, seeking to find three pieces of a mystic artifact with the power to alter reality itself. With this new threat, Mars builds a new army of soldiers to reclaim the pieces and prevent a cataclismic disaster.
After the huge runaway success of my previous hack, I wanted to build another hack with a major focus on story this time around. This is a mature, serious piece of fanfiction to explore some obscure aspects of Akaneian lore that even hardcore Kaga fans will be bewildered by. I didn’t want to simply crank out another silly hack filled with inside jokes or surreal humor. I’ve been flooded with so much positive feedback from people letting me know how much they love my writing, so I’ve been motivated to really double down on it.
In this game, in addition to Mars, you also play with many new characters. Let’s meet some of the core members:
Cast
This is Akai Heirin. He is Mars’s cousin, a daring youth with a friendly disposition and a longing for adventure. He’s a very important character to the story. During the War of Shadows, he and his family fled from Aritia to a hamlet on a piece of land far to the east. He spend his days training his sword-fighting skills and making friends with the villagers.
Snow is an Aritian knight who is in charge of protecting Akai’s family. His serious nature makes him seem cold and distant to others, but he really cares about protecting the royal family. He and Akai don’t always see eye to eye.
Cozen is a young archer that Akai met in the village where he stayed. Cozen is no professional fighter, but he practices every day with his bow so he can one day be an expert sniper. He and Akai became fast friends.
Lyre is a girl from the village who studies magic. While she became friends with Akai, her strong preference for magic over physical fighting has developed a sort of rivalry with him. Still, there are hints that there could be something more than friendship going on between them…
These are my original characters. I worked very hard on their designs and backstories, so please don’t steal them. I will be very very sad if you do.
As for the game itself, here are some thrilling screenshots:
One of the most common complaints from the thousands of feedback comments I’ve gotten about Time For Tom is how people found the game to be too difficult. There weren’t enough powerful units and items, so in response, I’ve made sure that this game is significantly easier. I’ve simplified some of the more complex, interesting map designs from my previous hack.
Other exciting features of this hack include:
- 20 all-new chapters
- New playable characters with custom portraits
- Brand new custom weapons and tomes
- 5 bonus maps
- All enhancements from my previous FE1 projects
- New battle animation graphics
- And more!
You can get yourself a copy of this hack here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FqDcW-zJa2GL6MapKN821y3V9RBD_9mI/view?usp=sharing
Patch it an original, umodified Japanese ROM.
You don’t have to worry about bugs. Since I have countless friends, as well as the millions of people who play FE1 every day and my limitless free time, this game has been playtested to death. Every planned feature was seen through to completion, nothing was simplified just to meet the deadline.
I’ve been working on this project for over 6 months, so it’s a good thing I didn’t stay up past 2AM to finish and write this post. I sure am glad I didn’t have to burn myself out just to finish this thing. This project won’t be received the same way after today.
Credits
Virtually everything was done by me, using my own tools.
OC designs, and some portraits, were made by Mareeta using official artwork.
Special shoutout to Darmann again for his FE1 notes. I basically spend my whole time with the ROM map up. Life would be miserable without them.
And the final thing you need to remember:
You’ve got to believe in the power of love! <3
And Happy International Hack Release Day!