Did we ever get the orriginal games.

[TribstyAnn]

I've been playing through Fire Emblem for the GBA, the first one we ever got in the west. Its really good, even though its old and I'm really enjoying it. I know there were a bunch before it that were Japan exclusive, and I was wondering if they have been translated (by official or un-official means), or released on virtual console.

 

[Knight]

All Fire Emblem games only released in Japan have unofficial english translation patches, of varying quality and playability. The first one has an official english translation in the remake Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon for the DS, the rest will require an emulator for the patches. Most of them have been released for the Virtual Console untranslated, but I'm not sure if they can be played by people not in Japan.

Basically, all Fire Emblem games have english translations, in the form of official translations or unofficial patches for emulators.

 

[TribstyAnn]

Do you know if the unofficial translations on emulators are legal?

 

[The Flame of Vengeance]

Do you know if the unofficial translations on emulators are legal?

No, they aren't legal because they use the same properties, names, designs, music, etc. as the games the translations are based on, without Nintendo's consent. Since they are emulating official games, they are illegal, at least, as far as I know. The untranslated games have probably been released on the Japanese Wii U VIrtual Console EShop.

 

[Slayerpon Tatsu]

No, they aren't legal because they use the same properties, names, designs, music, etc. as the games the translations are based on, without Nintendo's consent. Since they are emulating official games, they are illegal, at least, as far as I know. The untranslated games have probably been released on the Japanese Wii U VIrtual Console EShop.

No, emulators are legal. Rom hacks are a different story. However, they don't take credit for it and don't use it for money, so it falls under the fair use law so you could say it's not illegal