Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones/Regional Differences

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 the character names in the intro are written out in English letters and Japanese. Aside from changing "Eirik" to "Eirika", the English letters remain and the Japanese katakana was removed.

Japan	US

The background that the character portraits in the intro appear over was changed. The Japanese version might actually be some sort of animation error, as in context the US backgound 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	US

Title Screen

Of course, the title screen was translated. The small English "Fire Emblem" was removed, as it would be very redundant in the English version.

The drop-shadow on the primary logo doesn't seem to fall as far in English. "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 English the year after its Japanese release.

Japan	US

Miscellaneous

The buttons in the sound room were redrawn and recolored somewhat. The music numbers also seem to have been raised a pixel or two for some reason.

Japan	US

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

Japan	US

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 and it was unchanged in all regions.

Japan	US

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

Japan	US

Gameplay 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.
• Enemies on Easy Mode and Hard Mode are now 2 levels weaker.
• The Rapier and Reginleif’s (previously non-existent) effective bonus towards Mage Knights was fixed.
• In the Japanese version the Gorgon class has 'flying' movement type, this allows it to cross over terrain most units cannot (Example: mountains, thicket, which are impassable for most units). The class was changed to have a non-flying movement type in non-Japanese releases. As Gorgons aren't depicted as flying creatures in this game this change was presumably the correction of some sort of error.

Area Changes

Several areas had some changes made between the Japanese and international versions.

Chapter 5

Joshua does not have the "do not attack Natasha" AI in the Japanese release; he will attack her if she is in his movement range. In the international releases he will not attack Natasha.

Chapter 13 (Eirika`s Route)

• Amelia’s starting Level was reduced from 5 to 4.
• Pablo now has the same stats as the first time you fought him (his stats are higher in the Japanese version).

Chapter 15

• In the Japanese version, neither Troubador has a Mend staff.
• In the Japanese version, the Dragon Axe Berserker does not have a Hand Axe.
• In the Japanese version, Caellach is not on a Fort; he will also pursue your units once they get in his range.

Chapter 16

• A sage now drops a purge when defeated.

Chapter 19

• Riev now has the same stats as the first time you fought him (with the exception of Difficult mode, where he gains 1 in Magic). In the Japanese version, Riev gains a massive boost in stats.
• Riev does not move in the international versions. In the Japanese version he will move once someone gets into his range.

Chapter 21

• The Japanese version lets you turn off animations for the final boss. The international versions forces animations for this fight.
• The final boss is equipped with a Ravager initially instead of a Demon Light.

Stats

The localization team changed many of the characters, classes, and weapons` stats

Character Growth Rates Japan->International

Character	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res
Seth	85%->90% +5%	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gilliam	-	40%->45% +5%	30%->35% +5%	-	-	-	-
Moulder	80%->65% -15%	-	-	45%->40% -5%	-	-	-
Ross	-	-	-	25%->30% +5%	-	-	-
Innes	60%->75% +15%	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lute	-	70%->65% -5%	-	-	-	-	45%->40% -5%
Forde	80%->85% +5%	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kyle	85%->90% +5%	-	-	-	-	-	-
Amelia	70%->60% -10%	40%->35% -5%	-	-	-	-	-
Artur	-	60%->50% -10%	-	-	-	-	60%->55% -5%
Marisa	-	25%->30% +5%	50%->55% +5%	55%->60% +5%	-	-	20%->25% +5%
Ewan	-	55%->45% -10%	-	-	-	-	-
L`Arachel	-	60%->50% -10%	-	45%->50% +5%	-	-	-
Rennac	60%->65% +5%	-	-	-	-	-	25%->30% +5%
Joshua	-	30%->35% +5%	-	-	-	-	-
Syrene	-	35%->40% +5%	-	-	-	-	-
Lyon	-	-	10%->55% +45%	10%->55% +45%	-	10%->45% +35%	15%->55% +40%
Glen	-	40%->45% +5%	-	-	-	25%->35% +10%	-
Selena	-	-	-	-	-	-	25%->30% +5%
Hayden	-	-	40%->45% +5%	-	-	-	-

(Source: Serenesforest.net)

Character Base Stats Japan->International

Character	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Con	Weapon Rank
Franz	21->20 -1	8->7 -1	-	8->7 -1	-	-	-	-	-
Vanessa	-	-	-	12->11 -1	-	-	-	-	-
Neimi	18->17 -1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Colm	-	-	-	12->10 -2	-	-	-	-	-
Artur	-	7->6 -1	-	9->8 -1	-	-	-	-	-
Lute	-	-	-	-	-	-	6->5 -1	-	-
Tana	-	8->7 -1	8->9 +1	12->13 +1	-	7->6 -1	-	-	-
Innes (Eirika`s Route)	28->31 +3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gerik	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11->13 +2	-
Saleh (Eirika`s Route)	-	-	-	-	-	9->8 -1	-	-	-
Cormag (Ephraim`s Route)	29->30 +1	13->14 +1	8->9 +1	-	3->4 +1	-	1->2 +1	-	-
Cormag (Eirika`s Route)	36->32 -4	18->15 -3	12->10 -2	13->11 -2	6->5 -1	15->13 -2	3->2 -1	-	-
Rennac	26->28 +2	8->10 +2	11->16 +5	15->17 +2	-	8->9 +1	3->11 +8	-	-
Duessel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	(Sword Rank) B->(Sword Rank) A +1
Syrene	-	10->12 +2	-	-	-	8->10 +2	10->12 +2	-	-
Caellach	42->47 +5	16->19 +3	15->14 -1	-	-	13->15 +2	-	-	-
Orson	47->48 +1	-	14->15 +1	12->14 +2	-	-	9->11 +2	-	-
Riev	44->49 +5	-	-	-	-	17->16 -1	-	-	(Light Rank) A->(Light Rank) S +1
Selena	33->38 +5	-	-	-	-	9->11 +2	-	-	-
Glen	41->46 +5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Valter	40->45 +5	-	-	15->17 +2	-	-	10->12 +2	-	(Lance Rank) A->(Lance Rank) S +1
Lyon	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	(Staff Rank) S->(Staff Rank) A -1

(Source: Serenesforest.net)

Class Base Stats Japan->International

Class	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Con	Weapon Rank
Mage (Male)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6->5 -1	-
Manakete (Male)	12->20 +8	-	-	-	-	2->1 -1	2->1 -1	8->6 -2	5->25 +20	-
Civilian (Young boy)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5->4 -1	-

Class Maximum Stats Japan->International

Class	HP	Str	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Con	Weapon Rank
Great Knight (Female)	-	-	25->26 +1	23->25 +2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Recruit (3)	-	28->23 -5	-	-	-	27->22 -5	27->26 -1	-	-	-
Journeyman (3)	-	30->26 -4	28->29 +1	26->28 +2	-	30->23 -7	24->23 -1	-	-	-
Pupil (3)	-	-	29->28 -1	26->27 +1	-	24->21 -3	30->26 -4	-	-	-
Demon King	-	40->50 +10	40->50 +10	40->50 +10	-	40->50 +10	40->50 +10	-	40->50 +10	-

(Source: Serenesforest.net)

Transfer Data

The Transfer Data feature is only used in the Japanese release. Its menu graphics exist for every language, but, as mentioned, was only used in Japanese.

Event Distribution Items

To do: Confirm EU names.

These items were distributed at events in Japan with the above transfer feature, and are unused in every other region. (And essentially Japan too, at this point, as said distributions haven't run in ages.)

ID	Weapon Name	Range	Might	Hit	Weight	Critical	Weapon rank	Durability	Worth	Flavor Text	Notes
81	Shadowkiller	1	5	90	5	5	E Sword	60	Cannot be sold.	Effective against monsters.	Effective against monsters.
82	Bright Lance	1	7	90	8	5	E Lance	60	Cannot be sold.	Effective against monsters.	Effective against monsters.
83	Fiendcleaver	1	8	75	10	5	E Axe	60	Cannot be sold.	Effective against monsters.	Effective against monsters.
84	Beacon Bow	2	6	85	5	5	E Bow	60	Cannot be sold.	Effective against monsters.	Effective against monsters. Probably effective against flying units?
B7	Juna Fruit	--	--	--	--	--	--	1	Cannot be sold.	Give this to a worthy unit and see what happens.	Has a very unique effect for the series at the time. When used by a unit at level 10 or above, this lowers said units level by a random amount between 1-5 without changing the unit's stats. This would allow for that unit get get more level ups-and thus stat points.

(Source: Fireemblemwiki.org)

Text Changes

Character Names

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

Japanese	Translation	English
コーマ	Coma	Colm
アスレイ	Asseray	Artur
ターナ	Turner	Tana
ヒーニアス	Heanus	Innes
ジスト	Xyst	Gerik
マリカ	Marica	Marisa
クーガー	Cugar	Cormag
ケセルダ	Cethelreda	Caellach
アーヴ	Irv	Riev
フォデス	Fodeth	Fomortiis

European Version

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

German Version:

• Duessel's name was changed to Duenell possibly because Duessel is a real-life German surname.

Spanish Version:

• Innes`s name was changed to James.
• Fado's name was changed to Vari.
• Tirado`s name was changed to Tatoh possibly because Tirado is a real-life Spanish surname.

Italian Version:

• Tana's name was changed to Dana.
• As stated above, Eirik had her name changed to Eirika for the international versions. However, the Italian localization went further and changed it to Erika.

(Source: Fireemblemwiki.org)

Class Names

As with the previous game, several classes were renamed from Japanese. A few of these are minor tweaks that seem to have been made with limited menu space in mind.

Japanese	Translation	English
ソシアルナイト	Social Knight	Cavalier
山賊	Mountain Thief	Brigand
シスター	Sister	Cleric
かけだし戦士	Novice Fighter	Journeyman
アーマーナイト	Armor Knight	Knight
ドラゴンマスター	Dragon Master	Wyvern Lord
ドラゴンナイト	Dragon Knight	Wyvern Rider
剣士	Swordfighter	Myrmidon
フォレストナイト	Forrest Knight	Ranger
マムクート	Mamkute	Manakete
ゾンビ	Zombie	Revenant
マミー	Mummy	Entombed
ビグル	Bigl	Mogall
アークビグル	Arch Bigl	Arch Mogall
スケルトン	Skeleton	Bonewalker
ヘルボーン	Hellbone	Wight
マグダイル	Macdaire	Maelduin
デスガーゴイル	Death Gargoyle	Deathgoyle
ケルベロス	Cerberus	Gwyllgi
ドラゴンゾンビ	Dragon Zombie	Draco Zombie

Other Name Changes

• The location name Grado had its name changed to Graze in the Italian localization.
• The location name Rausten had its name changed to Raust in the Italian localization.

Removal of Alcohol References

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 the 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 (the princess he is guarding), 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 manages 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 English. A few of these English names were changed in the international versions.

Japan	International
Follow me!	Follow Me!
Sadness time	Sorrow
Comical time	Laughter
Work out a plot	Solve the Riddle

(Source: Fireemblemwiki.net)

Errors

• In Gilliam and Garcia's C Support, Garcia calls Gilliam "Garcia" during the part where Garcia challenges Gilliam to arm-wrestle him. This same typo appeared in the Japanese version, the US localization did not fix this, though the European version corrected this.

Japanese Version

• In Tethys`s 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. Not only do the sum of winning and losing numbers not match to the number of matches, but Joshua even tells Artur that they are roughly even. The English version fixes this by having Joshua tell Artur that Artur has won 11 out of 21 matches.

All 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: in the Japanese script, dragonstones are never mentioned, only wyvernstones.

Oddities

• 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. This is odd as in all versions Lyon`s facial portrait shows him in his possessed portrait in the Final Chapter of Eirika's route.
• 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 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 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`s bug page that goes into more detail about this.
• 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.
• As shown above, Cormag`s base stats were significantly inflated in the Japanese version of Eirika`s route.