Fantasy RPG Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is among this month's additions to the Nintendo Switch Online virtual library, but only in Japan. This continues Nintendo's slow drip-feed of its virtual console library, which still currently only includes classic NES and SNES games.
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is the fourth entry in the series, and is still currently a Japan-only release. It's one of several Fire Emblem games that have yet to be localized in the west, which also includes Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. Despite its Japan-only release, Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is one of the more acclaimed titles among the fanbase for its story. It was also the first Fire Emblem game to feature children units before Fire Emblem: Awakening adapted the concept once more.
This month's Nintendo Switch online games include Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War for Japan as part of the Super Famicom Library. Japan is also getting Doomsday Warrior as another exclusive, while Spanky's Quest and Super Baseball Simulator 1,000 are exclusive English releases. However, both America and Japan will be getting Caveman Ninja (Joe & Mac), Magical Drop II, and Ninja JaJaMaru-kun. All of these games will release on May 26th for both versions of Nintendo Switch Online.
There have been rumors of a possible remake of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War akin to Fire Emblem: Echoes on the 3DS. These rumors come from a leaker that includes Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War along with other games they claim will be released in 2021, but this is obviously far from a confirmation. December 2020 also saw the English release of the first Fire Emblem, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade Of Light. This was however a limited release similar to Super Mario 3D All-Stars and is no longer available to purchase.
If Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War was the next game to get the Fire Emblem: Echoes treatment, it would be a well-received choice. Not only would it bring a Japan-only Fire Emblem game to other territories, but it would also update and increase in scale what is arguably one of the largest scaled Fire Emblem games there is. In the meantime, fans can play the original game through a Japanese switch account, albeit untranslated. It seems as though fans will have to keep waiting for either an English localization or a future remake of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War should fans want to play it in English.
Source: Nintendo/YouTube