Hey everyone, welcome to Cool Bits where we point out our favorite small video game moments.
A Cool Bit can be a secret, an Easter Egg, or just a small detail that really resonated
with us.
And this time we’ll be looking at some birthday secrets in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Okay, so one of the biggest changes Fire Emblem: Awakening introduced was the expansion of
the support system.
Now characters could fall in love and have children, who would then become playable characters
thanks to time travel shenanigans.
There are thirteen children in total which, except for Lucina, are decided by the mother
in the relationship--and like most children, they each have a birthday.
Now the thing with birthdays in Awakening is that they follow the internal clock of
the 3DS and the game keeps track of every character’s, including your Avatar’s.
And by visiting the Barracks on that day, the character will receive items as well as
a temporary surge in power for certain stats.
It’s nothing significant, but it is a nice gift.
However, when it comes to most of the children, those birthdays might actually be celebrating
even more than you’d think.
Let’s start with Lucina, whose birthday falls on April 20th.
Now this date might not mean much to you...unless you’re a huge fan of Fire Emblem, because
that just so happens to be the same date that the very first game in the series, Fire Emblem:
The Dark Dragon and the Blade of Light released on the Famicom back in 1990, kicking off the
strategy series and introducing Marth, Lucina’s ancestor.
So her birthdate is quite fitting considering that heritage.
But she’s not the only one with a birthdate connection to the previous games.
In fact, with the exception of one, every child’s birthday in Awakening matches the
Japanese release date of every Fire Emblem before this game.
Let’s go through them chronologically, and next up is Yarne, whose birthdate is March
14th and matches the release of Fire Emblem Gaiden in 1992, the second game in the series.
Following that, there’s Severa, born on January 21st, and representing Fire Emblem:
Mystery of the Emblem from 1994.
Then Cynthia’s birthday of May 14th is the same day as Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the
Holy War in 1996.
Interestingly, even 1997’s BS Fire Emblem: Akaneia Saga, which was originally only available
on the Satellaview Super Famicom add-on and served as a 4-chapter prequel to the original
Fire Emblem, is represented by Kjelle’s September 29th birthday.
Continuing on, Gerome was born on September 1st, the same day Fire Emblem: Thracia 776
was released in 1999.
After that was Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade in 2002 which is represented by Nah’s birthday
on March 29th.
Laurent’s birthday on April 25th ties in with the release of Fire Emblem: The Blazing
Sword in 2003, which is also the first game in the series to be released internationally.
Next up is Noire, whose birthday is October 7th, the same day Fire Emblem: The Sacred
Stones was released in 2004.
Then, as it turns out, Lucina’s is actually pulling double-duty, because not only does
her April 20th birthdate match the release of the first Fire Emblem, but Fire Emblem:
Path of Radiance as well, which came out in Japan in 2005.
Then there’s Brady, born on February 22nd which corresponds with Fire Emblem: Radiant
Dawn’s 2007 release.
Inigo gets to represent the DS remake of the original Fire Emblem with his birthday falling
on August 7th, the same day Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon released in 2008.
Then there’s Owain who was born on July 15th, the same day as the Japanese-only release
of Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem ~Heroes of Light and Shadow~, a remake of
the third game in the series from 2010, which also happened to be the last game in the series
until Awakening.
So that covers it for the games, but that only accounts for 12 of the 13 children, which
leaves Morgan, the Avatar’s child, as the only one whose birthday does not match with
any previous Fire Emblem’s release date.
However, Morgan was born on May 5th, which is Children’s Day in Japan.
That seems like a pretty good way to celebrate the birthdays of all these children from Fire
Emblem: Awakening.
Considering that Awakening could have been the final Fire Emblem game if it hadn’t
sold well, these matching birthdays would have served as a great send-off for the series.
But as it stands, it’s still a pretty Cool Bit.
Now let us know if you have any Cool Bits of your own by posting in the comments, and
we may feature it in a future episode.
Thanks for watching and make sure to keep an eye on GameXplain for more Cool Bits and
other things gaming too.