Shouzou Kaga, creator of Fire Emblem, has stated that "Final Fantasy III" influenced him during the development process of the first Fire Emblem game, "Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light".

According to IGN, there was almost a Fire Emblem game planned to be made for the 64DD add-on. The add-on sold poorly in Japan, and internal structure changes at Intelligent Systems resulted in the game being cancelled.

Although many attribute Fire Emblem coming abroad to Marth and Roy's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee, it was also due to the success of Advance Wars, a similar strategy game by Intelligent Systems. In an interview with Edge Magazine, The director of Advance Wars Kintaro Nishimura stated "it seems that Advance Wars success shifted Nintendo's attitude over western tastes."