Gemfire

Not to be confused with Pivotal GemFire.

Gemfire
North American NES box art
Developer	Koei
Publisher	Koei
Platforms	NES, Super NES, PC-88, PC-98, MSX, X68000, FM Towns, Genesis, MS-DOS, Windows
Release	August 29, 1991 NES JP: August 29, 1991 NA: March 1992 PC-88 JP: September 27, 1991 PC-98 JP: December 21, 1991 MSX JP: 1991 X68000 JP: March 27, 1992 FM Towns JP: May 1992 Genesis JP: June 25, 1992 NA: November 1992 SNES JP: October 22, 1992 NA: December 1992 MS-DOS NA: 1992 Windows JP: August 22, 2003
Genres	Turn-based strategy, role-playing
Modes	Single-player, multiplayer

Gemfire is a 1991 role-playing strategy video game developed and published by Koei for the Nintendo Entertainment System and later ported to Japanese home computers, Super NES, Genesis, MS-DOS, and Windows. The object in the game is to unify a fictional island by force. Players use a variety of units, such as archers, infantry and dragons, in order to capture the castle needed to control that particular territory.

A sequel, Royal Blood II: Chronicles of the Kingdom of Dinar, was released in Japan for Windows.

Gameplay

File:Gemfire Screenshot.png

The tactics screen is the place where a majority of strategic actions are performed. The right side of the screen shows the world map and which territories are controlled by whom. The left side of the screen shows the player's current resources and available actions they can take.

At the outset of the game, the player has the option of selecting a scenario and family. All four scenarios use the same game board, but they differ in which families are present and what provinces, vassals and gems they have. Ultimately, the player must conquer the entire map to win the game.

Gameplay is divided into the main tactics screen and individual battle screens. On the tactics screen, the player is allowed one action per turn (in-game month) per territory. With that action, the player may hire or move troops, upgrade the territory's economy or defenses, engage in diplomatic actions (such as plunder an adjacent province or propose alliance with another family), or attack an enemy territory.

Only adjacent territories may be attacked. Upon attacking or being attacked by an enemy, the focus shifts to battle, wherein a player may field five units (archers, knights, horsemen, and either a wizard or a hired unit). The player moves individual companies of troops about the map in a turn-based tactics fashion; certain units may build fences to keep enemies out. One army wins if the enemy base is captured, all enemy units are defeated, or the enemy army runs out of food.

Plot

Gemfire takes place in the fictitious Isle of Ishmeria. Long ago, six wizards, each wielding a unique brand of magic, used their powers to protect the island and maintain peace. This was disrupted when they were collectively challenged by a Fire Dragon, summoned forth by a wizard intent on plunging the country into darkness. The sea-dwelling dragon of peace known as the Pastha charged the six wizards with the task of fighting back. They succeeded, sealing the Fire Dragon away into a ruby at the top of a crown, and themselves became the six jewels around the crown's base. The crown, called Gemfire, became a symbol of utmost power and authority.

When Gemfire fell into the hands of the King of Ishmeria, Eselred, he sought to abuse the object's power, using it to embark on a tyrannical reign, instilling fear within his oppressed subjects. His young daughter, Princess Robyn, being unable to bear with her father's grievous misdeeds any longer seized Gemfire and pried the six wizard gems loose, causing them to shoot upward into the sky before scattering themselves to different parts of Ishmeria. When a furious Eselred learned of Robyn's actions, he had her locked away in a tower.

Meanwhile, the six wizard gems each take up residence with a prominent family of Ishmeria. The two most powerful of these clans are the Blanches, led by Prince Erin and supported by Zendor, Emerald Wizard and Wielder of Lightning; and the Lyles, led by Prince Ander and backed by Pluvius, Sapphire Wizard and Caster of Meteors. Four other clans (Flax, Coryll, Chrysalis and Molbrew) also have wizards (Scylla, Empyron, Chylla and Skulryk respectively) of Gemfire at their disposal in the beginning. With the breaking of the spell on Gemfire, each of these clans sets out to unseat Eselred, claim the throne as their own and restore order and peace to Ishmeria.

Reception

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
	DOS	NES	Sega Genesis	SNES
Famitsu		24/40	25/40	23/40
PC Player	65/100
Playtime			77/100
Questicle.net		25/100

Gemfire has received mixed reception from critics.

Writing for Questicle.net, Dylan Cornelius criticized the game for being too difficult to get into, citing the game as having an overwhelming amount of things to do. The reviewer concluded that, while the game could hold the attention of Koei and strategy game fans, because the game fails to teach its rules properly, it couldn't be recommended by them.

Legacy

On May 21, 1999, a sequel to Gemfire entitled Royal Blood II: Chronicles of the Kingdom of Dinar was released exclusively in Japan for Microsoft Windows computer operating systems.

External links

• Gemfire at MobyGames
• Gemfire (Sega Genesis) can be played for free in the browser on the Internet Archive