Fire Emblem: The Second Scouring is a fan-made sequel to Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. It features a whole new story, set three years after Zephiel’s defeat, with Roy once again acting as the main protagonist. This time around, Roy and company will fight against mysterious foes looking to steal the legendary weapons that were used in the Scouring and against Idunn and her war dragons. As Roy soon finds out, however, these new enemies are not to be trifled with.
Gameplay-wise, the hack draws heavy inspiration from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. Enemies are tough and numerous, often boasting high HP and attack stats, encouraging the player to use tactics that utilize the many deployable unit slots and the open terrains to overcome this discrepancy. All for the purpose of providing a new challenge to those who enjoyed playing through hard mode in Roy’s previous adventure. The many “flaws” present in The Binding Blade are all here, including several units acting mostly as fillers and the low hit rates of most axes and lances.
The initial version of this hack was made in two months, constituting my first project related to FE hacking. Since its release in mid-2022, however, several details have been added over time to flesh out the overall experience.
Features
- A new story with many twists and turns
- 24 brand new chapters, some on familiar grounds, but most on newly designed terrains
- 7 new playable characters with newly written support conversations
- Altered stats for the returning cast, though they mostly stay true to their characteristics in the original game
- Altered weapon balancing, though the more common weapons were not changed greatly
- Adjusted support conversations to keep the dialogue consistent with events that transpired in the Binding Blade
Chapter 1 narration
It has been three years since Roy, the heir to Pherae, put an end to King Zephiel and his world-conquering ambitions. Ever since then, good diplomatic relations have been established between the nations of Elibe. Queen Guinivere of Bern has been working closely with King Mordred of Etruria to stifle any sign of public unrest following the war, ensuring that no grudges are allowed to take root in either nation. In addition, the legendary weapons that were used to end the dragon threat have all been distributed to the various nations and regions of Elibe. They serve as symbols that the peace was forged in unity:
The sword Durandal is kept in Pherae; the axe Armads is kept in Ostia; the lance Maltet is kept in Ilia; the bow Murgleis is kept in Sacae; the light tome Aureola is kept in Etruria, as is the accompanying Saint’s Staff; the anima tome Forblaze is kept in Arcadia; and the dark tome Apocalypse resides in Bern, as does the magical sword Eckesachs.
It was believed that this distribution of these powerful artefacts would ensure stability in the event one nation grew overly ambitious, similar to that of Bern during Zephiel’s reign. New developments have, however, shook this foundation of peace and order. Shin, appointed new leader of the Kutolah clan by the Silver Wolf, is facing several small scale attacks from an unknown enemy. Acquiring Murgleis appears to be their goal, as the treasure chamber in Bulgar, where it is being kept, seems to be targeted. Others are facing similar attacks, though it is difficult to prove that they are coordinated by a single group of individuals. This story begins as Roy attempts to fend off one of these attacks.
Known Issues
- The menu pointer will turn red at the start of each chapter, as will the green arrow indicating weapon triangle advantage. Further, the stat increase-animations during level ups will blink, causing quite the eye-sore. This happens because I decided to make custom world map intros, which for some reason causes these specific palettes to misalign. The only workaround known to me is to use the suspend feature and reset the game. Unfortunately, this then needs to be done on each subsequent chapter (save for the last one) if you do not want to put up with the red menu pointer.
- The thief’s movement animation will sometimes be glitchy when attempting to move after stealing an item, making it appear as if the enemy is moved instead. This happens because thieves aren’t supposed to be able to use the canto ability, and can be avoided by pressing A, making the WAIT-option appear, and then pressing B before finally moving the thief to its desired location. This issue is strictly visual and does not affect gameplay.
Note
In addition to the UPS-patch, the download also includes a list of support partners for the new characters, and a strategy guide containing tips and secret shop locations.
Changelog
3.2:
- Improved visual details of almost all chapters
- Buffed Zhalrik’s defense stat
- Removed poison weapons from Ilian mercenaries and Etrurian soldiers
- Increased the durability of silver dagger
- Added mini portraits of Olevious, Wilgram, Hennie and Anna by Neenscrame
Credit:
- THE 1 (hacking, production)
- Gringe (English translation of base game)
- MageBoy (debugging and playtesting, Wilgram’s druid palette)
- Neenscrame (mini portraits of Olevious, Hennie, Wilgram and Anna)
Download (v3.2):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pw8gpvgltwttxv984egb7/0378-Fire-Emblem-The-Second-Scouring-THE-1.rar?rlkey=n2prw1fmwkzdt6x3emxvmqn3n&st=a7c8khxm&dl=0
Link to ScubaLuigi’s excellent thread detailing his initial impressions with the hack: