Which Fire Emblem game is the second installment in the series?

Fire Emblem Gaiden is the second installment in the Fire Emblem series.

Intelligent Systems developed Gaiden for Nintendo’s Family Computer, and Nintendo released it in Japan in 1992. It followed Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and was the final Fire Emblem game made for the Famicom. The word “Gaiden” means “side story,” reflecting its different setting and experimental structure rather than a conventional direct continuation.

Gaiden introduced a freely navigable overworld, towns, dungeon exploration, character class changes, and two armies that could be managed across separate routes. These ideas made it unusual among early Fire Emblem games. It remained Japan-only for decades; international players encountered its story through the 2017 Nintendo 3DS remake, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Mystery of the Emblem was the third game, not the second.