Chapter 22: The King's Demise
Chapter 22 focuses on the various difficulty and unit management options available to players, designed to cater to different skill levels. These include modes that alter the traditional permanent death mechanic, making the game more approachable for newcomers, as well as special side chapters that provide opportunities to recruit new units if your roster thins out.
This chapter details the following mechanics:
- Casual Mode: Introduced in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, this mode turns off permanent unit death. Any character defeated in battle will be available again in the subsequent chapter, making the game less punishing.
- Phoenix Mode: Featured in Fire Emblem Fates, this mode further reduces difficulty by allowing defeated characters to return to battle on the very next turn with full health. It is specifically designed for strategy RPG novices.
- Lyn's Tale: The introductory chapters in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade function as an extended tutorial. During this segment, permanent death is disabled. Units defeated in Lyn's story will return in Eliwood's/Hector's story, though they will be weaker.
- Gaiden Chapters: Similar to those found in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, these side chapters become available if a specific number of units have been lost. They serve to offer new recruitable characters, preventing the player's roster from becoming too small.