Regional Differences

This is a sub-page of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones features plenty of regional differences, be they simple graphical touches or full-on gameplay changes.

Graphics#

Health Warning Logo#

There is no health warning screen when starting up the game in the Japanese version.

Opening Demo#

In the Japanese version of the intro, the names of the characters are shown written in katakana with their romanization written underneath. The katakana was removed during localization, and aside from changing "Eirik" to "Eirika" the romanized names were left intact.

Japan	International

The background that the character portraits in the intro appear over was changed, the Japanese version likely having some sort of animation error, as in context the US background makes more sense. The portraits fly in over the blue background, but it then changes to the gold texture and the blue background flickers in and out when the game switches to the next set of portraits in the Japanese version.

Japan	International

Title Screen#

When the title screen was localized, a few changes were made compared to the original Japanese logo: the logo was entirely redone in English, the drop shadow on the primary logo was made smaller, "Press start" was changed to "Press START", and the subtitle scroll was adjusted for the length of the English subtitle. The copyright year was also adjusted, as The Sacred Stones released in the rest of the world one year after the original Japanese release.

Japan	International

Miscellaneous#

The buttons in the sound room were redrawn and recolored, that and the height of the music numbers also seems to have been raised a pixel or two for some reason.

Japan	International

The skirmish occurring at the world map location Bethroen had its Fog of War palette changed from nighttime to actual fog.

Japan	International

The flash that plays when a unit of the Assassin class instakills an enemy with the Silencer skill was changed from red to purple. This is somewhat curious, as the previous game had this animation unchanged in all regions.

Japan	International

When engaging a randomly generated enemy on the world map the Japanese version declares "Opening of a Battle!"; but in the international versions the text simply reads "Skirmish!".

Japan	International

• The European version reworded the retreat prompt to avoid using spaces as padding. The US version uses 8 spaces to pad the text box to a guaranteed minimum width (if these spaces are removed the prompt does not display properly). This padding is also present in the Japanese version.
• In the Japanese version, the player can discard the Gleipnir from their inventory. This is not possible in the international versions.

Gameplay Changes#

General Changes#

• In the Japanese version, you can skip through the title screen and main menu by holding Start when resetting or booting up the game. In the international versions, it's no longer possible to skip through the title screen and main menu.
• In the Japanese version, the Rapier, Reginleif, Zanbato, Horseslayer, Halberd, and unused Mani Katti are the only anti-cavalry weapons that don't receive an effective bonus against Mage Knights, Tarvoses, and Maelduins. This was fixed in the international versions.
• In the Japanese version the Gorgon class has the flying movement type. As Gorgons aren't depicted as flying creatures in this game, the class was changed to the mage movement type in the international versions.
• The difficulty settings were adjusted for every map. The settings are listed in the order of "Difficult, Normal, Easy".

Chapter 5#

• Joshua lacks the "do not attack Natasha" AI in the Japanese release, and as such will attack her if she is in his movement range. This change was most likely made to make it easier for the player to recruit Joshua.

Chapter 5x#

• An Archer was replaced with a Mage. Additionally, the two enemies holding a Chest Key will now pursue any units in their range instead of remaining stationary.

Chapter 6#

• A Javelin was added to a Cavalier's inventory on Difficult mode.

Chapter 7#

• A Javelin was added to Murray's inventory.

Chapter 8#

• A Javelin was added to a Cavalier's inventory.

Chapter 9 (Eirika's Route)#

• Amelia leaves the map on turn 9 in the Japanese version and turn 11 in the international versions.
• Binks' Iron Bow was replaced with a Steel Bow.

Chapter 11 (Eirika's Route)#

• The number of playable units available for deployment was increased from 10 to 11 (blue square at coordinate (4, 13) was added).
• The boss' level was raised from 3 to 8.

Chapter 12 (Eirika's Route)#

• The number of playable units available for deployment was increased from 11 to 12 (blue square at coordinate (5, 9) was added).
• The boss' level was raised from 4 to 9, and a Steel Bow was added to its inventory.

Chapter 13 (Eirika's Route)#

• A Hand Axe was added to a Fighter's inventory.
• Amelia's starting level was reduced from 5 to 4.
• A Steel Lance was added to Cormag's inventory.
• In the Japanese version, Pablo has higher stats than his first encounter. However, he loses two levels in between encounters, as his level is lowered from 7 to 5. In the international versions, Pablo's level was raised from 5 to 9, and he has the same stats as in his first encounter.
• Aias' level was raised from 9 to 10, and his Silver Sword and Steel Lance were replaced with Short Spear, Silver Blade, and Swordslayer. Additionally, his Lance rank decreased from A to B.

Chapter 14 (Eirika's Route)#

• The chest in the western room of the map had its content changed from Swordreaver to 10,000 G.
• The tile that is one tile directly above where Rennac first appears on the map had its graphics changed.

Chapter 9 (Ephraim's Route)#

• A Heal staff was added to both Priests' inventories.
• A Javelin was added to a Cavalier's inventory on Difficult mode.

Chapter 10 (Ephraim's Route)#

• The number of playable units available for deployment was increased from 10 to 11 (blue square at coordinate (17, 19) was added).
• A Cavalier's Armorslayer was replaced with a Horseslayer.
• A Javelin was added to a Cavalier's inventory.
• A Mend staff was added to a Troubadour's inventory.
• A Fighter's Iron Axe was replaced with a Steel Axe on Difficult mode.
• Beran's Steel Sword and Short Bow were replaced with a Lancereaver, Killer Bow, and Longbow.

Chapter 11 (Ephraim's Route)#

• The boss' level was raised from 3 to 8.

Chapter 12 (Ephraim's Route)#

• An Archer's Iron Bow was replaced with a Short Bow and will now drop the weapon when defeated.
• The Gargoyle with a Horseslayer no longer drops its weapon when defeated.
• Caellach's Hand Axe was replaced with a Tomahawk and Hoplon Guard.

Chapter 13 (Ephraim's Route)#

• The number of playable units available for deployment was increased from 10 to 11 (blue square at coordinate (9, 20) was added).
• A Halberd was added to a Fighter's inventory.
• A Mend staff was added to a Troubadour's inventory.
• A Hand Axe was added to the Brigands and Pirates' inventory.
• A Javelin was added to the Pegasus Knights' inventory.

Chapter 14 (Ephraim's Route)#

• A Fighter's Steel Axe was replaced with a Hammer and will now drop the weapon when defeated.
• The chest in the southern room of the map had its content changed from Halberd to 10,000 G.

Chapter 15#

• The number of playable units available for deployment was increased from 11 to 12 (blue square at coordinate (13, 15) was added for Eirika's route, and blue square at coordinate (1, 5) was added for Ephraim's route).
• A glitch in this chapter where the other main lord doesn't have their HP healed if they stand on a fort and doesn't show up in the unit status screen was fixed (e.g. if the player came to this chapter from Eirika's route then Ephraim would not appear on the unit status screen and vice versa).
• A Mend staff was added to both Troubadours' inventories. This, seemingly inadvertently, made the only Berserk Staff and the only Sleep Staff in the game borderline impossible to obtain, since the addition of the Mend staves means that is what is dropped instead of the rare status staves.
• A Hand Axe was added to the Dragon Axe Berserker's inventory.
• A Steel Bow was added to a Ranger's inventory.
• Forts were added underneath Caellach and Valter.
• Caellach's default weapon was changed from the Tomahawk to the Silver Axe. Also, he pursues any units in his range in the Japanese version.
• Valter's Silver Lance was replaced with a Killer Lance, and his default weapon was changed to the Spear.

Chapter 16#

• The number of playable units available for deployment was increased from 11 to 12 (blue square at coordinate (14, 2) was added for Eirika's route, and blue square at coordinate (3, 3) was added for Ephraim's route).
• The Sage with a Purge tome had a Divine tome added to its inventory and now drops its unequipped item when defeated.
• The Sage with a Purge tome and Red Gem had its inventory changed to an Elfire tome, Bolting tome, and Red Gem.
• In the Japanese version, Orson carries a Silver Lance and a Runesword on Eirika's route, and a Silver Sword and a Spear on Ephraim's route. This was swapped in the international versions. Also, Orson initially wields the Spear or Runesword by default rather than the Silver Sword or Silver Lance.

Chapter 18#

• The number of playable units available for deployment was increased from 10 to 12 (blue squares at coordinate (2, 3) and coordinate (4, 3) were added).
• Three Gargoyles had their Silm Lance replaced with a Steel Lance.
• A Gargoyle had its Slim Lance replaced with an Axereaver.
• A Gargoyle had its Slim Lance replaced with a Toxin Lance and Javelin.
• The boss' level was raised from 8 to 15, and Stone was added to its inventory.

Chapter 19#

• Riev pursues any units in his range in the Japanese version and remains stationary in the international versions.
• An extra Druid now appears in the southeast part of the map.
• A Hand Axe was added to a Fighter's inventory.
• A Hand Axe was added to a Warrior's inventory.
• A Steel Bow was added to a Warrior's inventory.
• A Silver Sword was added to a Ranger's inventory.

Chapter 20#

• In the Japanese version, Riev has higher stats than in his first encounter. In the international versions, his stats remain the same. Additionally, he will now pursue any units in his range instead of remaining stationary.
• A Javelin was added to a Deathgoyle's inventory.

Final Chapter#

• Fomortiis summons stronger promoted monsters in the international versions as opposed to weaker unpromoted monsters in the Japanese version.
• Fomortiis' default weapon was changed from Ravager to Demon Light. Also, animations are forced to be on during the Fomortiis battle in the international versions.

Stats#

The localization changed many of the characters, classes, and weapons' stats. In the tables below, instances in which a stat increased are marked in green. The instances in which a stat decreased are marked in red.

Characters#

Classes#

Weapons#

Shop Changes#

In the international versions, many shops had their stock and/or the order of their stock changed visited during a chapter. Most notably, the international versions allow players to purchase the Nosferatu tome in the Chapter 17 shop, while it can't be purchased in the Japanese version. On the flip side, the international versions don't allow players to buy stat-boosting items from the Secret Shops during the storyline.

Transfer Data#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Does the transfer menu itself still exist in international versions?

To do: Rip the unseen translated graphics.

Despite only being used in the Japanese release, the Transfer Data feature has its menu graphics existing in every language.

Event Distribution Items#

To do: Add the European names.

These items were distributed at events in Japan with the above mentioned transfer feature, and were left unused in the rest of the world (and essentially Japan too, as said distributions haven't run in ages). Despite never being released internationally, these items did receive localized names.

ID	Icon	Name	Range	Might	Hit	Weight	Critical	Weapon rank	Durability	Flavor Text	Notes
81		Shadowkiller	1	5	90	5	5	E Sword	60	Effective against monsters.	Cannot be sold.
82		Bright Lance	1	7	90	8	5	E Lance	60	Effective against monsters.	Cannot be sold.
83		Fiendcleaver	1	8	75	10	5	E Axe	60	Effective against monsters.	Cannot be sold.
84		Beacon Bow	2	6	85	5	5	E Bow	60	Effective against monsters.	Also effective against flying units. Cannot be sold.
B7		Juna Fruit	--	--	--	--	--	--	1	Give this to a worthy unit and see what happens.	A unit at level 10 or above randomly loses 1 to 5 levels while retaining their stats. Cannot be sold.

Text Changes#

Character Names#

Some character name changes occurred from the Japanese to English localization.

The US English and European English revisions have no name differences, however, several other names were changed for other European languages:

• In the German version Duessel's name was changed to Duenell.
• In the Spanish version Innes' name was changed to James, Fado's name was changed to Vari, and Tirado's name was changed to Tatoh.
• In the Italian version Tana's name was changed to Dana, and Eirika's name was further changed from the original "Eirik" to Erika.

Class Names#

As with the previous game, several classes were renamed in the international releases, a few of these being minor tweaks that seem to have been made with limited menu space in mind.

Location Names#

For some reason the Italian localization changed the name for the locations Grado and Rausten to "Graze" and "Raust" respectively.

Removed Alcohol References#

To do: Actual script comparison instead of a summary.

While this game's localized script is generally unchanged from Japanese, the support set for Garcia and Dozla was changed to remove references to them trying out many kinds of alcohol and getting drunk. The localization preserved the general content of the first conversion, but it diverges a bit in the later conversations. In the localization they end up trying out many different weapons (and end up hurting themselves in amusing ways):

• In the C support the two discuss what they had for breakfast, and how breakfast is an important meal for a warrior. Dozla mentions he drank nothing but alcohol that morning in Japanese. The English version instead says all he had for breakfast was... knowledge. In Japanese they discuss that the youths in the army don't drink much alcohol, while the English version has them discuss how the youths in the army don't practice with many weapons.

• The B support once again removes alcohol references, them discussing the drinks they had earlier is changed to them discussing their sparring match earlier. In Japanese they discuss how axemen and alcohol go together well, and how you meet friends in the strangest places. In English there are amusing lines about Garcia managing to shoot himself with a bow... somehow. In English the conversation ends with them deciding to try magic next.

• The A support is completely different, Garcia talks about his son and Dozla talks about L'Arachel, and the conversation ends with them both sharing a drink. The English version ends with a very amusing but less heartfelt conversation recounting their misadventures with magic (Garcia managing to burn off Dozla's beard with a healing staff.)

Sound Room#

Several of the song names in the Japanese version are spelled out in often rather awkward English, and as such a few of these English names were changed in the international versions.

Errors#

• In Gilliam and Garcia's C Support, Garcia calls Gilliam "Garcia" during the part where Garcia challenges Gilliam to arm-wrestle him. This typo appears in the Japanese and North American versions, but was fixed in the European version.

Japanese Version#

• In Tethys' C support with Marisa, Tethys asks Marisa why she sleeps on her left side. This is incorrect as Marisa is left-handed and Marisa explains how she sleeps with her dominant arm up. The English version corrects this to so that Tethys asks Marisa why she sleeps on her right side.
• There is a typo in Syrene and Tana's B support conversation where Syrene calls Tana "Syrene".
• Joshua tells Artur that Artur has won 15 times and lost 16 times out of 21 matches. The sum of the matches equals 31, not 21. The English version fixes this by having Joshua tell Artur that Artur has won 11 out of 21 matches.

Every English Localizations#

• In the Japanese version, in Neimi and Gilliam's A Support, Neimi refers to Colm. In the English version, Neimi instead refers to Cormag, which doesn't make sense since Neimi and Cormag don't interact. This error was caused due to Cormag being written similar to "Coma", which is Colm's Japanese name.
• In Kyle and Syrene's C Support, Kyle calls Syrene "Selena". Syrene and Selena's names are pretty similar, which explains the names getting mixed-up.
• In Cormag's English A support with Artur, Artur explains that wyvernstones are rarer than dragonstones. This is a mistranslation as in the Japanese script, dragonstones are never mentioned, only wyvernstones.

German Localization#

• The help-description of the NPC-civilians in Chapter 6 erroneously claims that Novala conquered the capital of Renais. This error likely stems from the translator mistaking the claim of him having seized something as being about the capital itself, instead of about the civilians living in it.

Oddities#

• In his A support with Tana, in the Japanese version Cormag says that he's thinking of disappearing. Strangely, the English version changed this line so Cormag instead says that he's thinking of getting into woodworking.
• In the Japanese version of Ephraim's route, Glen's death is mentioned in Valter and Cormag's battle conversation. This is strangely omitted in the English version.
• In the Japanese version, checking Lyon's stats in the Final Chapter of Ephraim's route shows him with his possessed portrait. The international versions changed his portrait to his normal appearance.
• As shown above, the maximum stats for Demon King class was increased in the international versions. However, in all versions the Demon King never gets close to 40 in stats, making the further increase in the localization odd.
• In the international versions, it's possible for the game to freeze up if a Wyvern Knight activates Pierce and attacks consecutively without being interrupted by the enemy. This glitch doesn't seem to occur in the Japanese version. There is a section on Sacred Stones' bug page that goes into more detail about this.