Revenge of the Cipher Absentees

Revenge of the Cipher Absentees title
Revenge of the Cipher Absentees title Left to right: Mana, Moulder, Dagda

Story

In the year 2015, Gregorian calendar, Fire Emblem Cipher was created. Much like its predecessor, it sought to bring the vast cast of Fire Emblem into the real world in the form of trading cards. As the years passed, every entry in the series received cards of many of their characters. However, only the newest games, from Awakening onwards, had every single character gain a card. Twelve games preceded Awakening, and some of their characters were snubbed.

The Absentees

When in 2020 the axe was brought down upon Cipher, many were disappointed. Those in the Thracian Peninsula were the worst off. Huge swathes of the cast were completely ignored. Parts of Akaneia also were treated poorly, with the near-complete exclusion of the obscure Akaneia Saga characters. Sporadic exclusion of Elibians, those of Magvel, and those of Tellius also occurred.

This story begins with one angry Magvellian, Moulder of Frelia. His game was one of the last to receive cards, and though most of Eirika’s army got cards, he did not. He made contact with Dagda, ruler of Purple Dragon Mountain in Thracia, and together they formed the Cipher Absentees Club. Soon, members from across the world joined up. Their aim was simple: figure out just who cancelled Cipher, why they did it, and to get revenge for their loss!

The Opponents

The trading card market is a large one. Different parts of Earth like different games, but a few have reach across the world. As far as Jugdral’s residents are concerned, everything ultimately derives from Emperor Celice of Grandbell, and through him to the other kings on the continent. But Cipher is far from the only card game, and the idea of competition isn’t well-liked. Rumours of trainers, duellists, and footballers abound. Somebody is setting up oddly specific opponents to face the Cipher Absentees, holding knowledge beyond Celice’s own. Just who was it that cancelled Cipher?

Information

Revenge of the Cipher Absentees is a short RPG Maker game inspired by the cancellation of Fire Emblem Cipher. Cipher was a card game featuring many Fire Emblem characters, but many characters isn’t every character. I started to get into playing the game around this time, figuring that if I didn’t start playing and collecting the game then, I never would. I was also shown a piece of artwork depicting several characters who never got Cipher cards, which was also a piece of inspiration. It can be found on Twitter here. I felt like releasing something on Halloween, so I spent a few days creating a quick adventure.

Features

  • An hour of gameplay
  • Twelve party members
  • Combat arts, with HP as cost
  • No random encounters
  • Eleven boss fights
  • Save any time

Project Status

The game was released unfinished. The final boss was impossible to kill, and no ending was ever programmed in. It would not take too long to program one in, and it is fairly likely that I will do so at some point.

Gallery

An image illustrating combat arts.GAME: Gomes the Invincible emerged!DAGDA: But nobody remembers that side of Miletos. It's just an old, run-down forgotten peninsula south of the Empire proper. Grandbell ends at Chalphy.The opening narration of the game

Downloads and Links

Releases

Latest release (1st November 2020): Download here

Other links

Fire Emblem Universe thread: Here
Walkthrough here.

Running Instructions

Ensure the RPG Maker VX Ace RTP is installed. Otherwise, Revenge of the Cipher Absentees will not run correctly.