Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

"What a Finality"

The war to end all wars is upon us. Surprisingly besieged by the once peaceful kingdom of Grado, the war-torn country of Renais is all but blotted off the map. With their father taken captive by the Grado army, Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika must make haste if they wish to solve the riddle of their former allies' sudden betrayal. Gather your troops, because the redemption of their country draweth nigh.

The journey that Ephraim and Eirika must make will not be painless, for up from the very bowels of Hell itself come a group of dastardly foes. These minions of the demon feast on the bleached bones of their prey, making an already Grado infested route a terrible fait for any who wish to attempt it. The twins must though, for the fait of their people depends on their success. Along the way, many a brave soul will join their cause. All have one goal however; to stop the people of Grado from claiming the Sacred Stones, relics which are said to house the soul of the Demon King himself.

Just from the narrative above, you can already tell Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones contains a story that doesn't exactly involve fields of happily colored roses. Instead, it revolves around one of strife, deceit, and pain that test the very souls of its telling. That's good though, because it represents all of which Fire Emblem is about – war. Following the proven formula of its forerunners, Fire Emblem places the player – you – at the head of an army that must battle its way across the map in turn-based, tactical fashion. It's a match made in heaven, combining the best of both genres to create a truly spectacular experience.

Well, almost. The major reason why Fire Emblem may turn someone off is because of this system. Whereas some tactical games choose to circumvent the elongated process of leveling up by allowing characters to fall off the field when defeated, Fire Emblem has the nasty feature of once killed, gone for good. Characters will never return, save for you shutting off the game and resuming your quest from the last save point. This makes leveling up critical, because restarting a mission from the beginning can cost you upwards of an hour of playtime.

At least, until they find out that it adds a feature that can't be imitated to the game. In most tactical games, it's okay to lead a character out in an attempt to get enemies away from a point. That's not the case with Fire Emblem. You could do that, but then you'd be potentially risking a character that could play a big role in the story. Making a player think twice before he or she makes a move is exactly what this system aspires to do, and it's excellent.

Fire Emblem further adds to the mayhem by making use of a deep class system. Via items, leveling, and a couple of other factors, the player can mold a particular character into a multitude of different jobs, making the possibilities for your roster virtually limitless. Some characters are obviously meant for certain jobs, yeah. But the whole point is that the player is given the option to make the decision on his or her own, unlike some games which use it as a puppet in advertising. Do you want a Knight, or a Hero? The question is thankfully up to you.

While that may sound great, it doesn't mean that everyone will love the game undyingly. The graphics – although fantastic in spurts – definitely have its problems. As if taking on a pixilated form weren't enough, the developers of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones chose to make the battle field in which you fight extremely unappealing. Two seconds later in a battle, you'll be blown away by the detail. Those drastic changes don't do much for the quality of the game – or the series for that matter – at all. Grievous problems aside, most people will probably fall in love instantly when they see the richly designed portraits that accompany a character during story sessions. Beautifully done, they made the segments in which you have to sit much more bearable.

Another potential problem that people may face is in the music. It's orchestrated, don't get me wrong, but it's also incredibly repetitive. This takes place in the battle track especially, where you sit through the entire game listening to that one song. As said earlier however, definitely only a small problem came up due to the orchestration that took place. Take it with pride, the game does a great job of masking it even with its limited track. I guess that's a blessing actually, we get to see what happens when a developer has a limited track to work with and actually does it well. Not that it hasn't happened before, but it all comes way to rarely.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is one heck of a game. Granted, some people may be turned off by problems such as repetitiveness and the unforgiving nature of the character death system, but in the end, it pulls it together with game play that really can't be found anywhere else on the GBA. Solid class development, an enthralling story, and a finality that will appease any RPG enthusiast make Fire Emblem the game to own in 07.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/23/07, Updated 12/22/09

Game Release: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (US, 05/23/05)