Fire Emblem

"The Lance Is Mightier Than The Sword"

I haven't really studied the subject, but from what I can gather, the arrival of the Fire Emblem series here in the U.S. has been long overdue. And with the success of the Advance Wars games on the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo finally saw the writing on the wall and gave us the medieval strategy goodness we deserve. But does 'Fire Emblem' live up to the hype?

If you've played Advance Wars or a similar turn-based strategy game (Shining Force, Warsong, etc.), you have a good idea about what to expect from 'Fire Emblem.' You control a variety of units as they wage war with an opposing force. Your job as 'tactician' is to maximize the strengths of your various units, and to play smart defense when the enemies take their turn. (For example, don't have your scrawny cleric wandering around by herself, unless you're trying to get rid of her for some strange reason.) While the victory conditions of each mission will vary, the basic idea is always the same: destroy enemy troops while keeping all of your guys alive.

Why do you care if your guys come back home? Because unlike Advance Wars, each of your units in Fire Emblem is a unique individual, and if they die, they're gone forever. I suppose you could sacrifice a guy here and there if you don't care about having a full roster, but most people will undoubtedly start a mission over if someone goes down. This, of course, is where the frustration kicks in, as nobody likes losing a unit to an enemy who only had a 23% chance to hit, but managed to pull it off regardless. It gets especially rough towards the end of the game, when powerful enemy magic users begin slinging Bolting spells at you. The Bolting spell has an incredibly long attack range, and you might have one of your men get zapped into dust without even knowing he was near danger. Very irksome.

Thankfully, smart tacticians will find ways to keep their boys (and girls) healthy on the battlefield. Like in many of these types of games, each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses, which you can exploit to high heaven. Swords kick axe butt, axes cream lances, and lances crush swords. There are exceptions, of course - a Level 7 Assassin with a sword will wipe the floor with a low-level, lance-wielding Cavalier - but by attacking the right foes with the right weapons, you'll always have a solid advantage in battle. Units counterattack when engaged, so you must also factor that into play when forming a strategy. If a guy might give you 11 damage back when you attack him for 6 points, is it really worth the risk?

One of the more interesting facets of the combat system is that your characters wield specific weapons that you can find and buy. Choosing which weapon to use is its own strategy, as one sword might do more damage, while another has a better chance to hit. Weapons will get used up over time, so you'll probably want to save your rare and nasty weapons for when you really need them. New weapons can be bought at stores you find on some battlefields, and occasionally in treasure chests. You can even visit houses if you happen to be fighting in town, and people will talk to you and sometimes even give you items. You'd think they'd be terrified to see sword-wielding maniacs strolling into their house, but the people of 'Fire Emblem' seem to be a hardy breed. Besides, you should be happy that Ma Kettle kept that giant poisonous axe in her linen closet all those years, and is happy to share.

Magic-wielding units are very valuable (and rare), as they can attack at range and are also more durable than you might expect. Magic tends to be quite effective against melee units, but it's pretty weak against flying pegasus knights... who, of course, are weak to archers... etc. There are healers, of course, and even dancers who can use their power to let another character act twice in one turn. The game has a lot of unit variety, and when you factor in the fact that some units can use more than one type of weapon, you've got a pretty deep little strategy game on your hands.

Alas, all is not perfect. The game's A.I. is predictable and rather dumb, which can be a letdown. If you need a chuckle, send a thief into a pack of mediocre axe-wielding foes. They'll climb all over him, swinging (and missing) with their clunky axes as he counterattacks left and right, using his speed and weapon advantage to tear them to ribbons. Don't get me wrong, the A.I. will TRY to initiate battles in which it has a weapon or terrain advantage. But if it can't find any, it will just attack any unit within range, no matter how hopeless it is.
Because of this, your counterattacks during the enemy's turn can become a big part of your overall strategy. If you see a bunch of lance-wielding wyvern riders coming your way, put up a wall of axemen in front of your troops and watch the carnage ensue. And if you find a single-tile choke point that a bunch of enemies will come through, just stick a really nasty character at the end (maybe an assassin with a killer sword, for example) and watch the enemies gladly walk into the meat-grinder.

Also, most enemy leader units never move from their starting position. So you can assemble your entire force and surround him safely, so long as you stay out of his attack range. Heck, you can even pelt him to death with arrows and magic if he doesn't have any long-range weapons to fight back with. Of course, the enemy usually has a sizable numbers advantage, so maybe their stupidity is compensation. The game isn't especially challenging overall, although it does get more complex as it goes along. Thankfully, there are harder bonus quests to unlock, which will keep strategy buffs busy for quite some time.

I must make a confession here: I did not follow the story as I played the game. I lost all patience for video game cinema scenes a while ago, and I skipped them all here. The story in 'Fire Emblem' might be really good. I have no idea, nor do I care. I came here for the strategy, baby.

The acquisition of new units is handled in a pretty quirky fashion. Some new characters will join you automatically as the story progresses. However, others can be signed on by talking to them during battle. Yes, you heard me: talking to them in battle. I've never heard of opposing soldiers stopping to chat in the middle of a war, but hey, it could happen, I guess. Anyhow, if you approach special enemy or NPC soldiers with the right person and talk to them, they'll be persuaded to swtich alliances and join the forces of good. That's some pretty slick persuasion, you must admit.

Overall, 'Fire Emblem' is an addictive game with a lot of good content, but be warned: if you're frustrated easily, you may end up throwing your Game Boy out the window at some point. You could be 15 minutes into a mission and kicking butt, and then you suddenly lose one of your units because you left him too open, or the enemy got a lucky hit. Unless you're willing to let your guy die forever, you're forced to restart the entire mission from the beginning. And if this happens two or three times on the same mission, well... you might start to get pretty darn annoyed with ol' 'Fire Emblem.' My advice? Take it slow, heal religiously, and keep advancing units in forest or fortress squares whenever possible.

The graphics in 'Fire Emblem' are typical fare for the genre; solid and serviceable, with some pretty entertaining animations during the battle sequences. The music is also pretty good, although a bit repetitive. The little flute jingle that the bard plays is really quite infectious, I must admit. I smiled every time I heard it.

A lot of people have asked me which is better: Fire Emblem, or Advance Wars. I personally prefer Fire Emblem, as I like the medieval fantasy theme, and the fact that each unit is unique and gains experience/skills. I think a feisty cleric named Serra is far more fun than a generic medium tank you just spat out from a factory. Don't get me wrong; 'Advance Wars' is a terrific game. But if you can only choose one, I think 'Fire Emblem' has a bit more appeal.

If you can handle some occasional frustration and an impatient A.I., you'll probably get your money's worth with 'Fire Emblem.' We are truly spoiled to live in an age when you can get these kinds of quality strategy games for handheld consoles. (Thankfully, you can save the game at any time during a mission, making 'Fire Emblem' safe for short playing sessions.) If you're into turn-based strategy or just want a good game that will give you many hours of solid fun, look no further.

NOTE: Some copies of 'Mario Kart: Double Dash' for the GameCube come with a bonus promotional disc. This disc contains a bunch of free special items you can download onto your 'Fire Emblem' cartridge, provided that you have a GameCube/Game Boy Advance Link Cable. If you happen to have the bonus disc lying around, the special goodies are well worth taking the time to download. Kudos to Nintendo for slipping in a nice little surprise for 'Fire Emblem' fans.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/04