Summary
TheFire Emblemgames have always had very serious and mature stories, but while the majority of them at least end on a high note, this isn’t the case for every entry in this beloved longrunning series. Because most of theFire Emblemgames usually involve some downright despicable and monstrous villains, it can sometimes mean that their effect on the world is too great to be reversed, resulting in a prettydark and gloomy endingfor the story.
Other times though, it’s simply implied that not everything is as it seems by through subtle hints and references, making the player wonder whether the world really is a safer and better place, or if there’s still some sort of evil presence lurking in the shadows. It’s time to take a look at theFire Emblemgames that steered away from the typical heroic ending, and instead, took a much darker approach to their final scenes.
Late into the story ofFire Emblem Blazing Blade, Lyn and the party decide to save the mysterious Prince Zephiel from an assassination from his jealous father,King Desmond, who was furious that his son was more talented and admired than he was. Ultimately though, it becomes clear by the very end of the game that this key decision was actually a huge mistake, as while the main party members are all shown getting their flowers thanks to their heroic efforts, the game then skips fifteen years later where Zephiel, disillusioned and bitter, is approached by a robed figure.
The man accuses Zephiel of awakening a Demon Dragon, a being much more powerful than a regular dragon who could thrust the world into a state of chaos due to its sheer magnitude of strength. Because players already would have gotten a taste of just how overwhelming regular dragons are by facing them near the end of the game, it amplifies this creepy ending sequence even more, and it’s a perfect way to set up the events for the next game,The Binding Blade, where Zephielplays the role of main antagonist.
Although the long and chaotic war between the Hoshidan and Nohr kingdoms is finally put to an end once players complete the last battle ofFire Emblem: Conquest, it’s clear that something is still very off with Corrin, who doesn’t seem to be as overjoyed as their allies. During the events of the last battle, and leading up to it, Corrin is forced to kill their own Hoshidan siblings in some pretty gruesome ways, including Takumi, Corrin’s stepbrother who actually died previously, but is being possessed by a demonic entity. Even Hinoka, a Hoshidan sibling who Corrin sets free at the very end, says that healing the wounds caused by the invasion will take a long time, and may never even be possible.
It results in an incredibly emotional battle whichbecomes an absolute bloodbath, but once it’s over, Corrin is congratulated for their efforts, and even offered the throne as a reward, which is the very last scene of the game. Although it seems upbeat on the surface, there’s clearly a very dark undertone toConquest’sending that perfectly puts into perspective just how vicious and violent this war has been, and puts into question whether Corrin should really deserve any praise for turning on their own siblings in the first place.
Roughly mid-way throughthe Black Eagle route inFire Emblem: Three Houses, Edelgard will reveal that her true intentions are not to align with the church, but instead, to invade all of Fodlan in an attempt to rid the world of Crests once and for all. Although this does inevitably lead to plenty of casualties due to the ongoing war that she instigates, there is at least some logic to Edelgard’s motives, since Crests are shown throughout the game to be very unfair in practice, often being viewed as symbols of social status which the church uses to demonstrate their authority over the population.
By the end of this route though, if the player decides to turn against Edelgard, they will not only strike her down, but will also be forced to kill Rhea, who had been the ruler of the church for hundreds of years. With all of Fodlan in disarray, and seemingly no one else to lead it, Byleth is the one who assumes the position of the church’s leader. Because the game already highlighted just how dangerous and unfair the church’s rule can be though, and the fact that all nations in this ending dissolved completely, it implies that this isn’t exactly a “good” outcome for anyone, and since it’s not made clear if the Crests had been completely destroyed, it means the cycle of violence and oppression could easily start all over again.
Once players finally comeface to face with Sombronat the very end ofFire Emblem: Engage, there are two possible endings that they can achieve depending on how well they perform in the battle itself. If they manage to overcome Sombron and his men, they will earn the good ending where Sombron’s energy is released, and the world is safe once again, but if Alear dies during this mission, this will result in the bad ending showing up where Alear and their sister Veyle become possessed by Sombron’s dark power.
While the actual image of Alear with a horrified look on their face staring straight at the camera is already incredibly unnerving, what makes the scene all the more creepy is when Sombron notifies Alear that, because of their failure, all their allies that they had been traveling with for most of the game had been killed in the previous battle. It’s an incredibly sinister ending for an otherwise very jovial and colorful game, being more in line with the darker tone of some of the earlier games in the series.
It’s established fairly early on inScared Stonesthat the Grado Empire is soon going to face ahorrible natural disasterwhich will shake it to its core. Lyon, the prince of Grado, seemed to try and stop the oncoming earthquake by making use of the Sacred Stones, but this unfortunately only ended in failure once he became corrupted by the devious Demon King. While it would be suspected that the main band of heroes would manage to stop the earthquake from happening, this actually doesn’t happen at all.
Instead, the earthquake does occur, and ends up wiping out hundreds of thousands of civilians, and leaving the kingdom in in ruins. That’s not all though, as the entire continent and all its nations have also been destroyed due to the war that takes place throughout the game, resulting in a pretty depressing ending. Although Eirika and Ephraim do seem hopeful for the future ahead, aiming to rebuild the nations to their former glory, the game still makes it very clear by the end that there’s no ignoring the sheer amount of death and destruction that has been caused.
