After all, Fire Emblem is a Nintendo property, and Nintendo doesn't publish games on Steam.

There are games like Fire Emblem on Steam, obviously - SRPG Studio is basically 'RPG Maker for Fire Emblem games', not that you can't also do that with RPG Maker MV or MZ if you so desire. Even Shouzou Kaga, one of the creators and directors of the Fire Emblem series until his exit from Intelligent Systems in 1999, hasn't stopped making Fire Emblem-like games in the quarter-century since, with Vestaria Saga and its follow-up also available on Steam. This isn't a giveaway for those either, though, as the publisher of the English versions is sketchy as hell, hasn't put the games on sale for years (or ever, in the case of the second game), and charges $20 a pop for what were freeware games in their original Japanese releases.

Of course, Nintendo's lawyers don't look kindly on fangames, and as such there's no Fire Emblem fangames on Steam either. This isn't the case on sites like Itch, where there's no cost to publish and where the traffic is low enough that such things can fly under the radar for a while - even bemused articles from gaming websites didn't lead to the removal of this Gilmore Girls crossover hack, and there are a number of fangames available that more directly use characters or assets from the games. With Steam's publishing fee and higher level of scrutiny, such things don't exist there, or get swiftly removed if someone thinks it a good idea to try listing one.

Thus we can conclude that Valencia Saga: Sofia's Rebirth, having been available on Steam for over half a decade now, is neither an official Fire Emblem title or a fangame of such. Any similarities to Fire Emblem Gaiden/Shadows of Valentia are certainly a result of the game's substandard (but ultimately understandable) English translation, and not an indicator that fans of that game would be interested in checking this one out. As a bonus, it's quite cheap despite being a full-length, definitely-completely-original title, allowing me to give away a full three copies* for less than $10 during the summer sale.

Unfortunately, as it's only available through the Steam storefront and not as keys, cross-region issues might pop up when gifting to the winners, but judging from the SteamDB price tracker that shouldn't really be a concern unless you're using a Swiss Steam account.

*You probably need to tweak the url to get to the actual GA. Level 1+ SG users only. GA ends Sunday night/Monday morning or even Sunday/Monday afternoon depending on timezone.

EDIT: GA has ended - winners, please check your friend requests on Steam!

5 months ago*

Comment has been collapsed.

looking at the publisher for Vestaria Saga makes me think the issue of no discounts and such an issue with the developer, and not the publisher

made me WL grow a few titles... but if the no discount continues it will prbly rot there for eternity.

5 months ago*
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Thanks! 🚀 I also know of Banner of the Maid which seems similar to FE~

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

BUMP for solved!

Im a fan of Fire Embles, so when I switched from console to PC I missed not being able to play them legaly apart of emulators and find new titles look alike it's always cool. I did 100% of Dark Deity when i discover his existence, and I have few others like Symphony of War (waiting to get the DLC cheap) to play it, and Banner of the Maid too. So it's always nice discover new titles.

I knew the Vestaria Saga (even I kinda forgot about it), but first time hearing the Valencia Saga, and looks like the old FE, so it looks hella interesting. Thanks for the post and the GA!

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

🤜🤛🔎🔍✅

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Stumped trying to tweak the url. Still very interesting information about fire emblem. Thanks

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

View attached image.
5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Gahahahah this was so helpful, thanks. I swear I hadn't seen the tweaking logic before seeing this

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

#gifsyoucanhear ^^

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I love you

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Thanks for this very roundabout introduction of this definitely original game. Considering to look out for it in future (aka not-wishlist but-maybe).
I sure wish the reviews didn't mention FE so explicitly - who knows when some corp may pick things up in the backend!

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Thanks for the GA! To add, Tear Ring Saga and Berwick Saga are also interesting games to check out, especially since Kaga also worked on both of them.

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

The Battle for Wesnoth is a turn based strategy game with hexagonal grid, you may find its gameplay is similar to FE.
Personally, I only play FE: The Blazing Blade, and FE: The Sacred Stones.

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Bump!

5 months ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Sign in through Steam to add a comment.