Title says it all, what would you all say defines Fire Emblem from a gameplay/mechanics standpoint (nothing related to story/plot/etc).
Note this is not meant to mention things exclusive to FE, I have no doubt FE has borrowed from other game and other games have borrowed from FE.
Some of my own to start (I’ll edit in responses when I remember to do so)
- Weapon Triangle: This isn’t exactly true for a lot of Fire Emblems in the series (1-3, 15, 16*), but the relationship between Swords/Axes/Lances is sort of unique to the FE franchise. Other games do have weapon triangle-esque relationships (Langrisser has Spearman/Infantry/Cavalry) but none to my knowledge tie the relationship directly to the weapon type rather than the class type.
- Level-Reset Promotion: Marth would disagree, but promotion has existed from the start of the series and has a different implementation vs other RPGs. Most you’re incentivized to promote as early as possible, while FE you can be rewarded (sometimes superficially) by waiting until the maximum level to promote.
- Large Cast/Battalion: Sort of self explanatory, the only RPG that seems to be even remotely similar to this is Pokémon.
- Weapon Levels: This I’m not super certain with, I just may not have played enough other RPGs where such a mechanic exists.
- Supports/Support Conversations
- Permadeath (although it has been somewhat watered down, I agree with it being included)
Fatige