Development was also supposed to end a considerable time prior to its eventual release date, but as the game evolved, the staff felt the need to keep going and create a full "Fire Emblem" title. This in turn caused difficulties with keeping the game within the world of "Genealogy of the Holy War", with Kaga commenting that it would have been simpler to create a completely original title if they had known how big the project would become. Characters were intentionally given little buildup or backstory, leaving their individual personalities for players to imagine. As the strategic war simulation elements of "Genealogy of the Holy War" had suffered due to the goal of creating an intricate story, Kaga this time switched his focus to the gameplay. The basic structure was taken from "", with additional elements such as branching pathways within maps and variations in unit movement. This was achieved by giving each map a different algorithm to work with. The fatigue system was introduced to challenge players further. "Thracia 776" was first released through the Nintendo Power flash cartridge system. The original version was released on September 1, 1999. In addition to its standard release, a pre-written cartridge as part of a "DX Pack" was made available. A version for the Super Famicom's standard ROM Cartridge was announced in December 1999, three months after the initial release. This version was released on January 21, 2000. It was the third and final "Fire Emblem" title to be developed for the Super Famicom, following "Mystery of the Emblem" and "Genealogy of the Holy War". "Thracia 776" was the last "Fire Emblem" game to be developed for home consoles until "" in 2005, and was purportedly one of the last original Super Famicom games to be developed. "Thracia 776" has never been released outside Japan, but an English fan translation that translated crucial story elements was released in 2007. A more complete fan translation with translated menus and improved dialogue and title translations, "Project Exile", was completed and released on May 31, 2019. The title was re-released digitally through Nintendo's Virtual Console service in Japan, for the Wii on July 15, 2008 and for Wii U on July 10, 2013. Upon release, the Nintendo Power version proved highly popular, with people coming in high numbers to stores supplying it. This was attributed to the popularity of the "Fire Emblem" series. It was the best-selling Super Famicom game of September. By November the following year, it was reported to be the most popular Nintendo Power title within that period.