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Tear Ring Saga

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Title Screen

Tear Ring Saga

Also known as: Tear Ring Saga: Yutona Eiyuu Senki
Developer: Tirnanog
Publisher: Enterbrain
Platform: PlayStation
Released in JP: May 24, 2001


CharacterIcon.png This game has unused playable characters.
GraphicsIcon.png This game has unused graphics.
ItemsIcon.png This game has unused items.
TextIcon.png This game has unused text.


ProtoIcon.png This game has a prototype article
PrereleaseIcon.png This game has a prerelease article

Elementary, my dear Cactus.
This needs some investigation.
Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page.
Specifically:

Tear Ring Saga is a totally-not-a-Fire Emblem-game tactical RPG. Shouzou Kaga, the mastermind behind the first five Fire Emblem games, left Intelligent Systems to create his own Fire Emblem clone after the planned Nintendo 64 entry was cancelled.

Needless to say, Nintendo wasn't happy.

Mechanically, it reintroduces many features from Fire Emblem Gaiden. It later got a more original sequel for the PlayStation 2 that retains its Japan-only status.

Sub-Pages

Read about prototype versions of this game that have been released or dumped.
Prototype Info
Read about prerelease information and/or media for this game.
Prerelease Info

Unused Graphics

Hmmm...
To do:
  • Lots of graphics to rip.
  • Distinguish exactly which portraits are unused.
  • Check for unused battle animations.

Promotional Title Screen

Used Unused
Tear Ring Saga-title.png TearRingSaga-OriginalTitle.png

A promotional screen showing the game's release date and its original title: Emblem Saga, which was hastily changed late in development to avoid a lawsuit.

Nintendo sued anyway.

Unused Portraits

Over half the character portraits (roughly 30!) go unused, also due to the name change.

Early Runan

Runan's hair color was changed very last-minute to avoid the incoming lawsuit, though this proved ineffective. Runan's original blue-haired portraits remain in the game in both promoted and unpromoted form. The unused portraits have slightly different posture and clothing as well.

Used Unused
TearRingSaga-Runan used portraits.png Tear Ring Saga-Runan unused portraits.png

Unused Portrait Animations

Julius

It seems at some point all characters may have been planned to have blinking and talking animations. A good handful of character portraits in the game have unused graphics for blinking animations, though only Miradona blinks in the final game. Julius, interestingly, has frames for mouth movement as well.

In the final game, no one moves their mouth when talking during cutscenes aside from Miradona.

Battle Map Sprites

TearRingSaga-unused human map icon.png

A very, very unrefined map sprite of a human with a sword and cape. It technically seems to have animations, but all the frames are the same, so it doesn't look like it's moving.

World Map Location Icons

Some of the location icons seen in prerelease images for the game still exist unused in the final game. The final game's world map is entirely brown, like a paper map, and is not in color like these icons and the prerelease world map.

Prerelease World Map Final World Map Unused Icons
Tear Ring Saga-prerelease world map.png Tear Ring Saga-world map.png Tear Ring Saga-unused world map icons.png

Runan Artwork

TearRingSaga-Runan blue hair art.png

Artwork of an earlier design of Runan, the main protagonist of the game, with blue hair. In the final game, his hair is brown. For whatever reason this art is just hanging around with the skill icons and map sprites. The image labels him as "Ryunan".

Unused Characters

TearRingSaga-Boyce portrait.pngTearRingSaga-Teppster portrait.png
Two unused characters named Boyce (ポイス) and Teppster (テップスター).
Judging by their recruitment conversations, they would've been among the soldiers available to recruit from Count Marlon's troops between Chapters 1 and 2.

Speaker Dialogue (JP) Dialogue (EN)
Runan 君は……
ヴェルジェの正規兵ではないな
You...
aren't an official Verje soldier, are you?
Boyce オレはポイス
雇われ者の傭兵です
スピードを活かした剣の技が
ご所望なら、ぜひこのオレを!
I'm Boyce.
An hired mercenary.
If you need quick sword arts,
I'm definitely your man!
Runan 傭兵…… A mercenary...
Eugen 彼らは金で雇われる
戦闘のプロフェッショナルです
少し守りが弱いのは気になりますが
素早い動きから鮮やかに
繰り出されるその剣の技は
重装備を常とする
騎士たちには真似できませぬ
Money hires him.
He's a professional of the battlefield.
His low defenses are somewhat worrying,
but his quick movements
and skillful sword strokes
cannot be imitated
by knights always wearing heavy armor.


Speaker Dialogue (JP) Dialogue (EN)
Runan 君は… You are..
Teppster スピアナイトのテップスターと申します
槍での攻撃と守りの技には
多少の自信がございます
きっとお役に立ってご覧にいれますよ
I am Teppster, a Spear Knight.
I have confidence in my offense and defense
arts with the spear.
I shall prove myself useful to you.
Runan そうだな…… I see...
Eugen リュナン様
槍は総じて命中率が高
ここぞという時に安心して
攻撃を任せることができます
また彼は前衛での守りを
任せられるだけの体力と
相応の技術も持っておるようですな
同行させれば
あらゆる局面に対応できる
頼もしい存在となってくれましょう
Lord Runan.
The spear has high accuracy in general,
entrusting attacking to it
will never let you down.
Further, his body build
allows him to handle the front line's defenses.
It also appears he possesses apt technique.
If we bring him along,
we acquire a reliable soldier
useful in any situation.


Of the two, only Teppster has surviving unit data left in the code:

Gender Class Level HP Strength Skill Agility Defense Magic Luck Wlv. W.P. Skills
Spear Knight 3 28 7 5 6 5 0 2 7 76 Big Shield, City Fighter


(Source: Matthew TRS (portraits), (script), Pegasus Knight (stats))

Unused Items

Books

A type of item that teaches a particular skill to a unit once. In the final game, the only books available are Guilty Heart (teaching the Mug skill) and Move Again Book (teaching the Move Again skill), but many more unused books exist, listed below. (Note that the skills themselves are all used in-game.)

Book Skill
Soul Blade Earth Saint
Dancing Soul Dragon Saint
Life Saucer Heaven Saint
Armour Kill Geomancy
Initiative Gale
Power Shield Big Shield
Indeed Awareness
Vitality Life or Death
D Crash Continue
Flying Soul Rising Dragon
Thieves Book Steal
Warp Book Warp
Picklock Book Picklock
Charge Book Charge
Elite Book Elite
Demon Tome Anti-evil
Forest Secret Forest Fighter
Mountain Secret Mountain Fighter
Sea Skill Sea Fighter
Frontier Secret Frontier Fighter
Desert Secret Frontier Fighter
City Secret City Fighter

Emblems

These were removed for obvious reasons. According to their description and various pre-release interviews, the army having these would be recognized as an official squadron of their kingdom, allowing for an increase in income each turn. However, all of their functionality was left out in the final.
There is a generic "Emblem" and four other emblems for each one of the royal families: Canaan, Reeve, Salia, and Leda.


(Source: Fire Emblem WOD (item icons))

Unused Text

Old Opening

Hmmm...
To do:
Original Japanese text and maybe more details on where this is located, exactly?

What appears to be a version of the opening monologue from much earlier in development. Some names appear to have been swapped around or changed, and some major events occurring in the final go unmentioned.

Japanese Translation
? The troubadour Lewyn singeth:

Fortheria, land of the sleeping gods, a land unable to escape from war. For so long as people are human, the sins of history are doomed to repeat…

Long ago, war was fought for generations between two sides: the aboriginal Canaanites of the island continent Fortheria, and the immigrant Jugudi of the mainland continent.

Because of this long-standing opposition, or perhaps in spite of it, the Canaanites founded the Empire of the Dark God, while the Jugudi built the Kingdom of Reeve.

The Kingdom of Reeve was whittled away by the Empire, who had obtained the favor of the Dark God. After years of successive blunders and disaffection of the corrupt royalty, the Reevan capital of Lieberant finally capitulated.

In response to this, an alliance of small countries dotting the Senay coastline–Mahl, Wellt, and Blaad–rose up against the Empire. At the site of Fort Valt, they faced Achtullus, a reknowned Canaanite commander, and Kranion, the demonic dragon who truly controlled the Empire. In the face of these enemies, the alliance suffered a great defeat.

And so, two years have passed since the fall of the Kingdom of Reeve…

(Source: Matthew TRS)