Download Link
(At the bottom of the GameBanana page)(includes patcher)
FEE3 2025 Trailer
Project Statement:
Fire Emblem: Four Riders seeks to explore the heyday of the legendary Four Riders of Daein 20 years prior to the start of Path of Radiance. The story follows Gawain, Ike’s father and Greil’s name at the time, as he goes through a meaningful character arc. As I am currently the sole developer, I have set the project to include only 11 chapters in order for it to see a full release. This page is for the Demo Build which includes a vertical slice of the first four chapters.
Features:
4/11 chapters with new scenarios, scripted cutscenes, portraits, dialogue and enemies. 10/~17 playable characters with written supports.
Canonicity:
As this is a prequel of FE9, it includes characters and events only vaguely alluded to in canon. In order to give context and characterization to this story I have taken some creative liberties. This includes OC’s that try to add to the less explored elements of the lore left unsaid in FE9/10. I try to be as faithful as possible to things actually stated in the vanilla games. Most of my research is based on the translation of the Tellius Recollection Series by Kantopia.
Remixed Maps:
When I first started this project 6 months ago, all that could be changed with the maps were the textures and enemy/ally placements. Within the past few months, there has been considerable advancements in map editing. We are now able to manipulate and add objects on the map due to some work from Jade and me. If you want to be in on this exciting frontier, join the Gritnea Tower Discord. Due to these tools/info being very recently developed, the demo chapters (1-4) have limited map edits. In the future chapters, I will be more ambitious with reconfiguring the overall flow of the map. The hack does have rearranged maps compared to the vanilla and will include trial maps that few players have experienced.
Difficulty:
Due to having only one playtester so far, the game might need more polishing in this aspect. I aimed for a similar difficulty to FE10 hard mode which might be too much for some. Currently the only difference between the difficulty options when you start the game is Hard has fog of war while the others do not (unless you count exp gained). I think by getting a wave of playtesters from the FEE3 trailer release, I’ll be able to better get a temperature read on what people do or don’t like about the difficulty.
Themes:
Indoctrination, Exposure, In-Group/Out-Group Dynamics
Links:
- Tellius Modding Discord
The best place for feedback for me would be in the Four Riders forum post. Where Tellius hacking advancements happen these days. - ATMachine YouTube
Sometimes I post scripted cutscenes early here. - Guide
Might be helpful for recruitment/win conditions - My Hacking Guides
Concerns map editing and soon a dialogue hacking guide
FAQ
Q: Does this hack have X quality of life feature?
A: Right now I’m mainly focusing on scripting and writing the chapters out before focusing on QoL features. Most features the GBA community has does not exist in FE9 yet.
Q: Does this hack have X gameplay change when compared to vanilla FE9?
A: Right now the gameplay is pretty much the same as FE9, with the exception of Tauroneo having axes. In the future, and very likely in the next update, I will be including the ‘Rider’ class and personal weapons for each Rider that should differentiate the gameplay.
Q: Why start at Tier 2 promotion?
A: This project actually started at the simple question of “Is it possible to start at FE9 Ch.20?” and then ballooned out from there. Due to the relatively short length of the hack, this is a decent place to start and still make level cap. My first chapter still contains the closest to vanilla layout of cutscenes/placements because it was when I was learning and not confident to make entirely new cutscenes. I am still leaving open the possibility of adding more chapters to the front-end, and even have vague ideas of what happens before, but I’d really need to inspire a new generation of FE9 hackers to help in this endeavor because it’s just too much work for one person lol.
Q: Only 4 Chapters?
A: Since I’ve had to learn a lot while developing and also contributing to map editing research, progress is a bit slower than desired. I can’t really see it speeding up because I’ll still be pushing myself to learn and do new things with the next chapters.
Q: What’s stopping you from making whole new maps?
A: Currently we lack a tool for exporting models to(not from) .gs in the program Noesis. The ground/floor of each map is one big model and would need to be changed in Blender or something, then converted back to the obscure .gs file format the game uses. If you’re a Python dev, making a plugin for Noesis for this very purpose would be a game changer.
Q: Why aren’t battle animations supported?
A: We aren’t there yet when it comes to adding full functionality of the FE10 models.
Q: Why does Gawain look like that?/Why does the game refer to them being mounted when they aren’t?
A: In the future, I plan to include the “Rider” class for the four which will have them mounting mid-combat. Gawain’s portrait references his TGC art design and a paladin look. In the FEE3 trailer, I used the Ike Vanguard model in some of the footage because I hadn’t decided yet what I wanted to do about him yet. It will be Lord model->Paladin model in the future. This means Lanvega will have a foot base class.
Q: Why does Tauroneo use a sword for his axe animation?
A: Currently we can’t edit the models directly so I had to make due. I will probably end up using his FE10 model to make up for this.
Q: What is the canonicity of X?
A: Notable creative liberties:
- I made Gawain (Greil) more ‘insensitive’ towards Laguz, at least at the start, then shown in FE9. I want him to undergo a character arc, especially upon meeting Elena, so please excuse his behavior as he is indoctrinated by living in Daein.
- I made Bryce into a noble for the sake of a more interesting group dynamic. Let’s just say he matured a lot during those 20 years.
- Duke Seliora is given more characterization since he is the least developed senator in FE10. His appearance (being not old looking) might bring into question when he became a senator, but I am just having him be there 20 years prior for the sake of the story (it is a decent assumption he was senator).
- King Daein (whom I gave the name Uthrar) is not given much in the original. It is known that he had 13 children so I made the extrapolation that his strategy is having a large harem of wives through interlocking political arrangements (in order to have that many children; Ashnard has to be the 13th, etc.) Queen Annevere and any other alluded to queens were not mentioned in canon.
Roadmap:
Features to Come
- Personal Skills
- Personal Weapons
- Unique Rider class, Dark Mage class, Monster classes
Future Chapters
- Chapters 5-8: Dragon Princess/Serenes Massacre Mini-Arc
- Chapter 9-10: Usurpation
- Chapter 11: Vs Greil
Credits:
- Jade: FE10 Model Imports, FE8Anim Editor, FE9 Map Editor, help with bugs
- Forerunner305: Playtesting
- A special thanks to the members of the Gritnea Tower Discord for their encouragement and inspiration. Make sure to check out their projects in the discord if you crave more Tellius!
Known Issues:
- There is currently an error message that pops up when you start the game. With newer versions of Dolphin, this can be ignored and you can continue playing without issue. This will be fixed in a later release.
- Don’t watch any tutorials, you’ll be warped to the wrong map after them.
- In Chapter 4, the final Homasa stays red after talk and can be attacked.
Changelog
v0.11: Fixed the error message on start-up and squashed a lot of other bugs.
Placeholder Disclaimer:
In the opening of Ch.1, I use an AI-generated image placeholder of an approximation of Apostle Misaha’s appearance. I haven’t decided on her character design yet but she’ll probably be older looking as implied by RD.
