Adilink's note: If you don't understand the things I say in here, like "Hoshii Orb" or something, I'm sorry. I tried to make this as least confusing as possible. If this is just as easy as understanding a genuine Fire Emblem game (with almost 100% of text being in Japanese), then drop me a line with what parts confused you so I can fix that up. Thanks. ^-^
Fire Emblem is the first ever strategy RPG (one of the many genres and milestones Nintendo has created). Gumpei Yokoi is the genius behind this saga. It's similar to Shining Force and Final Fantasy Tactics. Or maybe think of a medieval Advance Wars. Which is expected, since the development team Intelligent Systems has developed both the Wars series (yeah, there's more than one) and the Fire Emblem games. Fire Emblem is also one of my favorite series of games. Yes, it's a series. There are six games total. Two for the Famicom (NES), three for the Super Famicom (SNES) and one for the Game Boy Advance. BTW, this is the greatest strategy RPG there is, IMHO.
Most Fire Emblem games work like this. You have an army (that can get more units) and you're goal is to conquer a castle to move the story along. Here's the catch. There's no creating units or anything. Also, each unit has a personality and a story behind them. You usually get more units by having one person conivnce an enemy to join your ranks, or they come from somewhere to help you. Oh yeah, if anyone dies, they're gone forever. No reviving, no Phoenix Downs, no Life Bottles, no Regains. Now you're thinking, "An RPG where you permanently lose your characters?" Well, it does get annoying, but it still brings a challenge to the game. Also, each team has it's leader. Marth and Roy are among the leaders of the game. Usually, they suffer from Sucky Leader Syndrome, which means they suck ^-^
*UPDATE* I read more into FE4, and it seems you can revive members, but it's very tedious, since only two people can use the item to revive, it breaks after you use it, and it costs 30,000 Gold to repair it.
Each game has had it advances in the gameplay. Here's a list of each game, along with a general explanation for the game.
Fire Emblem (Famicom/NES): It started the genre, and like Mario, Zelda and Castlevania, it sets staples for the series, but still is difficult to sort of play after you've played the others. I'd say it's decent when compared to the other Fire Emblem games. The team leader is Marth. But he looks like he's been taking drugs or something.
Fire Emblem Gaiden (Famicom/NES): Why is it that the sequel to the first ever game has to be the black sheep? Think about it. Super Mario Bros. 2, Zelda II, Castlevania II... Anyways, this follows that as well. It goes to a more adventure style game. Also, there really isn't that sort of Fire Emblem feel to it. The leader here is Alm, who has the worst case of Sucky Leader Syndrome I've ever seen (meaning he sucks REALLY bad).
Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo (meaning "Mystery of the Crest") (Super Famicom/SNES): Now we come to Fire Emblem 3. This game is really cool since it has the original Fire Emblem bulit right in, complete with improved graphics and everything. Why did that happen? Because the actual FE3 happens a few years after the events of FE1, and has a lot to do with the original's story, so the developers were so kind to do this ^-^. Personally, I think it's great, so you don't have to deal with all the weirdness of the first one. Also, the team leader is Marth, who again suffers from Sucky Leader Syndrome, although you can change that with the Hoshii Orb. And he looks normal now.
Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu (meaning "Genalogy of Holy War") (Super Famicom/SNES): Ahh. Fire Emblem 4. My favorite in the series, and the favorite of many Fire Emblem players. This game has a ton of improvements to FE3, like the graphics and sound. Also, it has the best story as well as the most replay value. Then there's the Love System. "Love System?!" you may ask. Well, in this game, there are two generations of armies. With the first generation, you can make your units fall in love with each other. Depending on who gets married to who, the children will have different stats and skills, as well as a ton of other differences. Finding the right husband for your girls adds a lot of fun to the game. The second generation has completely different units (many of which are the kids of the first generation), which gives you a lot of variety in your units. This game has two leaders; one for each generation. The first is Siglud, my favorite FE character. The second is his son, Celice (also spelled as Selis). The great thing about them is that neither have Sucky Leader Syndrome.
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 (The title really doesn't have an English translation. More on that later.) (Super Famicom/SNES): Fire Emblem 5 was made after Gumpei Yokoi's death (RIP). This game is not as good as Fire Emblem 4 in my opinion. From what I've played, the missions are more varied, but they seem too short. But there are more types of missions. Also, it introduces the Fog of War (if you've played Advance Wars, you'll know what I'm talking about). The game itself takes place between the time gap of the generations in FE4. It deals with the kingdom of Thracia in the FE year of 776 (thus the name). The intro spoils a large event in FE4, so don't read it (even if you don't know Japanese, since it's in English) unless you've gotten pretty far in FE4. The leader of this game is Prince Leif. He's the son of two FE4 first generation characters. He also is in FE4, but doesn't play as big of a role. And so far, from what I've played, he's pretty crappy too.
Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi (The Sealed Sword) (GBA): This is the latest installment of this great series. I haven't had a chance to try it just yet, so information is limited. This game is rumored to come to America, which would be the greatest thing to happen for the series, since no one I know has heard of Fire Emblem beyond what is told in SSBM. This game is a lot less complicated that FE5, from what I've heard. Also, it has multiplayer capabilites, a feature that Fire Emblem games would greatly benefit from, but have always lacked. This game features Roy as the leader. I've heard that he has Sucky Leader Syndrome.
If you would like to play a Fire Emblem game yourself, you have three choices. One, you can try to get an import copy of one of the games (which is VERY hard), but that might not be so easy, because even if you do get it, it'll probably be REALLY hard to understand, knowing that the text is basically 99% Japanese. And your NES and Super NES probably can't play Japanese games (mine can, though). GBA's can play games from any region, though. Second, you can pray that FE6 is coming to America and get it then. Third is emulation. I'm not gonna say any more than that.
If you do get a chance to try a Fire Emblem game, you'll wonder why Nintendo never bothered to bring it outside of Japan. For many people now, the most Fire Emblem they can get lies in their Super Smash Bros. Melee games. Or they can play Advance Wars and try to imagine it as Fire Emblem (like me :P). Dana's Note: Final Fantasy Tactics can work the same way.