Glossary of terms for free SRPG games | From Fire Emblem-derived terms to common tropes in the community

I've compiled a list of terms commonly heard in the free SRPG community.
While this terminology isn't limited to free SRPGs, I focused on it because this blog covers many free games.
Many of the terms used originate from the original SRPG, the Fire Emblem series.
This blog will focus on terms that are difficult to understand at first glance, as well as terms whose meaning differs from their original meaning.
This is largely based on my personal opinions and biases, so please read it with an open mind and feel free to point out any inaccuracies.
If you have any requests for additional information, please leave a comment and I may add it.

*The images on this page were generated using an AI-powered tool.
In generating this, we have not used specific work titles or author names in the prompts to avoid infringing on the rights of any particular author.

A-row

Red and green duo

A duo unit that joins the team early in the game, with red and green as their image colors.
Red often indicates strength/defense type, while green often indicates technique/speed type.
The name is derived from Cain and Abel, characters who appear in "Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light" and "Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem."
I put it under the category "reddish-green," but I think "sekiryoku" (energy/power) would also be fine.

Ace

A powerful unit in your army that serves as a trump card.
Having such units allows you to entrust difficult situations to them, making it crucial to develop your main units early on for successful gameplay.

Helper slot

A unit that is exceptionally talented right from the start.
They can become a reliable asset right away without needing much training, but sometimes they only join the team temporarily.
He's a slightly different type of character than the "Jagen slot" character, who joins from the start and has a low growth rate.

Ka-gyo

Evasion shield

This refers to a unit with high evasion capabilities that acts as a wall, dodging enemy attacks.
Unlike heavily armored soldiers with high defensive capabilities, they are less likely to take damage for different reasons, but their HP and defense are often low, making them vulnerable to enemies with high hit rates.

Conversation *Added in May 2026

A command that appears when specific units are adjacent to each other.
Conversations with enemies often lead to them joining your party afterward, and some works use the terms "talk" or "persuade."
Conversations between allies often result in benefits such as the establishment of support relationships, status increases, and item acquisition.

Lock picking

This refers to the skill that allows you to open treasure chests and doors.
This skill is mainly possessed by thief-type characters and is important not as a fighting force, but as a way to collect treasure chests.
If you feel that you're wasting deployment slots, some games allow you to compensate by using consumable keys.

Casual Mode

This term refers to a game mode or difficulty level where allied units do not permanently leave the battlefield even if they are defeated.
Recently, in addition to the "easy, normal, hard" difficulty levels, we've started seeing games that allow players to choose whether or not to permanently leave the game.
Some argue that it would reduce the sense of tension and make the game too easy, but if you're going to reload and restart anyway when an ally is defeated, I think choosing to play on casual mode from the start is a viable option.

Wall role

This unit's role is to block the enemy's advance route and minimize casualties.
Heavy infantry units, primarily those with superior defensive capabilities and HP, are chosen.
Because its function as a "shield" to protect allies in the rear is prioritized, the ability to defeat enemies through counterattacks is not necessarily required.

rescue

One unit lifting up another unit to protect it.
In most cases, the system is only capable of rescuing someone who is smaller than the rescuer.
Mounted units can sometimes be rescued regardless of their size, while other times they cannot be rescued at all.
Those who perform the rescue often experience a temporary decrease in their stats because they are carrying their allies, so caution is advised.

Examination

The act of attempting to obtain a desired outcome in a phenomenon that is determined by probability by repeatedly saving and loading the game.
This is often done when the stats that increase upon leveling up are small.
Example of use: "His strength growth rate wasn't good, so I carefully nurtured him from the beginning, and he became strong."

Interceptor type

One of the enemy's behavioral patterns.
Normally, it doesn't move, but it will move and attack any unit that enters its attack range.
While the timing of combat is relatively easy to control, the enemy often lies in a position of advantage, so adequate preparation is required.

Experience point thief

This refers to units that you don't want to give experience points to, but are instead defeated quickly due to the enemy's high destructive power.
It is often used against allies with low growth rates or allied units that cannot be moved by the player.
In games where you can't endlessly grind for experience points, the total amount of experience points you can gain is fixed, making it crucial to decide who to give them to, which is why negative terms like "thief" are used.

Guest Unit *Added in May 2026

This refers to a companion unit that joins your team for a limited time only.
They are often referred to as "allies" or "NPCs" depending on whether or not they can be controlled.
While some may officially join afterward, more often than not, they end up leaving.
If you give them too much experience points before they leave,Experience point thiefIt can sometimes turn out that way.

Attack speed

This refers to attack speed.
It is usually calculated as "speed - weapon weight" and is used to determine whether a follow-up attack is possible (see separate section).
In games that include a "physique" parameter, the weight of the weapon may be calculated by subtracting the physique from the weapon's weight.

fixed growth

This refers to a growth system where the parameters and timing of level-ups are fixed.
Compared to patterns where growth is random according to the growth rate, this pattern avoids ups and downs and tends to result in more stable unit performance.
While it eliminates the need for careful selection, it may not grow as much as expected, which could be a matter of personal preference.

Sa-gyo

relocation

After an action, move to a location equal to the amount of remaining movement points.
In some works, it's incorporated as a system feature, while in others, it's provided as a unit skill.
Units that are mounted on horses or other vehicles can often use this ability.
When the enemy uses it, it can be quite troublesome because you might be attacked in waves by multiple enemies.

re-action

To make a unit that has already entered a standby state active again within a single turn.
It is activated by special troop types such as dancers, or by specific skills.
It is a powerful element that dramatically increases strategic flexibility.

Reconnaissance map

A map that is shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to see the full extent of the map.
The area around an allied unit is often brightly lit, but only within a few squares.
The illuminated area may vary depending on the troop type, and the visible area may also be expanded by items.
In some games, if you encounter enemies while moving, your movement may stop, or you may be forced to engage in combat.
While players may be unable to perceive enemies, enemies may be aware of their allies' positions, putting players at a significant disadvantage in battle.

3-way stalemate

This refers to a system where certain weapon types have advantages or disadvantages.
The order is something like: Sword > Axe > Spear > Sword..., Fire > Wind > Lightning > Fire... and so on.
The side with the advantage receives bonuses to accuracy, evasion, and power, making combat easier. Therefore, the basic strategy is to attack with a weapon that is not at a disadvantage.

Jagen slot

A powerful unit that is available from the start and hardly grows in level.
The name is derived from Jagen, the old holy knight who appeared in "Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light".
When tackling high-difficulty challenges or when doing in-depth gameplay, I often rely on their help.

Support relationships

This refers to a relationship where being near another player grants an advantageous bonus.
Because the roles of the giver and receiver of support are defined separately, it is not always the case that both parties will benefit.
These effects often primarily apply to accuracy, evasion, critical hit rate, critical hit evasion rate, attack power, and defense power.
This system is helpful for imagining the relationships between units.
While it used to be treated as a hidden setting, it's often explicitly stated these days.

accident

When an ally is defeated due to carelessness or bad luck.
This is more likely to happen if you are unintentionally attacked with a weapon that exploits your weakness, or if the enemy lands a critical hit.
Taking precautions against such accidents is crucial when playing SRPGs.

Early Advanced Classes

This refers to units that are of an advanced class from the moment they join the team.
Since they don't have any class changes that would significantly boost their abilities, their growth potential is often less than that of units that join in lower classes.
While it used to be that growth rates weren't particularly high, recently we've seen both high growth rates and top-tier early-game advanced classes.

Mine warfare tactics

This refers to a tactic where powerful units are thrown into densely populated enemy areas, and then the enemy units are relentlessly annihilated during their counterattacks.
The units you deploy will be subjected to intense enemy attacks, so they need to be at least ace-level strength.
There's a belief that it's a waste to concentrate experience points on top-tier units, so there's a risk of becoming an experience point thief.

stock

It's a warehouse that will store items you can't carry yourself.
During gameplay, access is often restricted to the main character unit and a select few other units.
A common system involves a unit being adjacent to another unit that can use the stock, allowing that unit to access the stock as well.

Practice swings

This refers to the practice of having units (unnecessarily) use staves to gain experience points.
Healer-type characters often only gain experience points from using staves, so they are frequently leveled up in this way.

Total annihilation play

In games where you can restart from the beginning of the map after a game over, this refers to a play style where you repeatedly restart to earn experience points and money.
This system is commonly seen in Super Robot Wars-type games, but it's rarely seen in games made with SRPG Studio.

Immediate action required for reinforcements

This refers to the situation where enemies appear as reinforcements during the enemy's turn and immediately take action.
From the player's perspective, enemies that weren't present during their turn suddenly appear and attack, making it impossible to counter them on the first encounter.
As an example of an unfair system, it is often disliked by players.
However, if there are hints beforehand that reinforcements will appear, or if they appear far away so you won't be immediately attacked, it's not necessarily considered taboo.

Ta-row

Standby type

This refers to an enemy behavior pattern where the enemy does not move at all, even when you enter their attack range.
Since they won't move towards us, we can take our time to prepare before attacking.
Bosses, enemies guarding something, and enemies blocking the way often exhibit this behavior pattern.

Terrain effects

This refers to the parameter adjustments and status changes obtained by waiting in that location.
For example, waiting in the forest increases evasion by 20%, while waiting on a cliff decreases evasion by 50%.
It doesn't necessarily have only positive effects.
There are also instances where waiting in that position grants an effect that restores HP every turn.

Save

This refers to save data that is deleted after being loaded once.
Use this if you want to end the game midway through.
Even in games where you can't save during gameplay, this suspend save function is often still usable.
While not a fair method, copying the suspended save data to another folder allows you to load it multiple times, albeit with some effort.

Pursuit

When certain conditions are met, an additional attack will be launched.
In the Fire Emblem series, this ability is activated when your "Attack Speed," calculated as "Speed - Weapon Weight," is a certain amount higher than your opponent's.
In some games, the skill applies to all units, while in others, it only activates on units that possess the "Pursuit" skill.
The effect of increasing the number of attacks on the enemy is significant, so whether or not you can follow up with attacks is a crucial aspect of strategy.
In Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, follow-up attacks are treated as skills, so whether or not a unit has a follow-up attack greatly affects its usefulness.

fish

This involves luring an enemy that doesn't move on its own into its attack range.
Since it's dangerous to face a large number of enemies at once, the basic strategy is to lure them out little by little.
However, be careful, as luring certain enemies may trigger the movement of other enemies around them.

Assault type

One of the enemy's behavioral patterns.
This unit is an action-type unit that moves in a straight line from its initial position towards allied units.
Many enemies in the early stages follow this pattern, making them relatively easy to deal with.
However, if there are a large number of charging enemies, it may be impossible to deal with them all at once, so techniques such as staggering the timing of engagements are necessary.

Suicide weapon

This refers to weapons that inflict fatal damage on specific troop types or have an extremely favorable matchup against them.
Examples include bows that inflict massive damage on flying units and special swords that can pierce heavily armored soldiers.
Some games apply significant boosts to attack power itself, while others guarantee critical hits, so be careful.

Doping items

An item that permanently increases your stats when used.
It's like the "seed of [something]" in Dragon Quest.
Whether you focus on developing strengths or weaknesses, or even who you use it on, will greatly affect the outcome depending on the player.
If you're unsure, using it on the main character is rarely a waste.
There's a theory that, not just in SRPGs, the earlier you use something, the longer the benefits from that increase last, so saving it is a waste.

Na row

second army

These are the reserve units that are not selected for the sortie team.
Units that inevitably arise in games where not all units can be deployed, and which may be deployed depending on the map, are not usually referred to as the "second string."
Once you're sent down to the minor leagues, it's difficult to return to the major leagues unless you consciously work on developing your skills.
There are instances where characters can make a comeback by acquiring powerful exclusive weapons or through enhancements obtained via events.

Ha-gyo

Secret shop

It refers to a hidden shop that doesn't look like a shop at first glance.
In many games, only units holding specific items will appear if they wait in a particular square.
At that time, the items on display are often rare or unavailable for purchase, making them highly valuable.

The three Pegasus Knight sisters (Added May 2026)

It refers to three sisters riding Pegasus Knights.
The name originates from Paola Catria Est, a character who appeared in "Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light."
Perhaps as an homage to these three, flying units of the three sisters often appear in SRPGs.
Incidentally, since "Pegasus Knight" is a registered trademark, outside of Fire Emblem, they are usually depicted riding other creatures such as griffins or beasts.
It's also a fairly common trope that when these three surround an enemy and attack, a special attack called a "triangle attack" occurs.

To be a wimp

The growth rate when leveling up is lower than expected, resulting in not becoming as strong as desired.
It's often used to describe a specific status, such as "his strength has weakened."
Naturally, this would not happen in the case of fixed growth.

Defense map

This refers to a map where you clear the game if you avoid meeting the defeat conditions by a specified turn.
This is common in maps where you have to prevent enemy intrusion or in situations where you have to withstand a fierce enemy attack.

capture

To capture a weakened enemy.
This system is implemented in some games, and in many cases, you can take all the items from captured enemies.
Since all enemies can be captured except for those that are uncapturable due to skills or other factors, this system wastes the time of players who want to earn money.

Boschik

The strategy involves repeatedly attacking the boss without defeating it to gain experience points.
This method becomes possible if the boss is waiting in a location where it can regenerate naturally, as it will automatically regenerate as turns pass.
By doing this, you can quickly level up your allies.
Some works have measures in place to prevent this method from being used.

Ma row

Map weapon

This refers to an area-of-effect attack that deals damage to multiple units within a certain range.
While it can be used unilaterally without incurring counterattacks, its power often limits the number of times it can be used.
This attack method is often called a "map weapon" because it's a common feature in the Super Robot Wars series, but it's also sometimes referred to as such in other fantasy SRPGs for its clarity.

No pin, 0 pins, silent

A state where no parameters have increased upon leveling up.
While many games have settings that make it easy to raise HP, the silent, despairing feeling you get when the level changes without even a sound, without even the HP increasing, is a well-known feature (?) in the community.

Unrivaled

To defeat enemies with overwhelming strength.
It's similar to "mine warfare tactics," but this term is used in a slightly broader sense.
Example usage: "XX has grown so powerful that it's unstoppable against mages."

Ya-gyo

A crushing defeat. (Added in May 2026)

This phenomenon occurs when, after defeating enemies one after another during the enemy's turn, new enemies continuously pour into the empty spaces, ultimately leading to your own units being defeated by accumulated damage.
This is a reversal phenomenon unique to SRPGs, where high attack power becomes a disadvantage.

Ra-row

random number

In games, it refers to a number that controls the outcome, which is determined by probability.
This includes things like whether an attack hits or not, and what grows when you level up (excluding fixed growth).
If the random number generator is fixed, the same result will occur even if you save and repeat the same action.
If the random numbers are not fixed, the same action can yield different results, making repeated trials worthwhile.

Escape Map

This refers to a map where the objective of victory is to escape the battle zone.
Sometimes everyone needs to leave, and other times only some units need to leave.
In Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, if the protagonist leaves the party first, all remaining allied units are captured and become unusable until the end of the game, a truly brutal design choice.

lost

The unit being defeated and permanently removed from the team.
This is a traditional feature of the Fire Emblem series, a system that makes you feel the weight of each unit's life.
Some works have a way to revive characters after they've been lost.

Wa-gyo

warp

The ability to instantly teleport to any location on the map.
Sometimes you can fly anywhere on the map, and other times your movement type allows you to jump over obstacles.
Since you can fly to places that are normally inaccessible, it opens up various unethical strategies for dealing with the game.

English letters

CC

It refers to changing classes.
When a lower-level job reaches a certain level, the conditions are met, and by using a certain item, the character can be promoted to a higher-level job.
In addition, there are classes that can be changed through events, and some classes have multiple possible class changes.