Fire Emblem

"An unforgettable GBA game"

In the latter part of the year 2003, GBA was getting a load of strategy games. Of course, just about everyone's most anticipated GBA game for 2003 was Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, a sequel to the popular PS1 game. It was popular and it sold well, but it didn't satisfy many of the original game's fans. There was another strategy-RPG, and although the series never reached the United States until now, Fire Emblem showed a lot of promise. I got both games for Christmas, and I must say that Fire Emblem dominates FFTA, which is a good game in it's own right.

Graphics - 8/10
The graphics are nice, but they're not worth bragging about. If you've played Advance Wars, you should know that the graphics in both games are very similar. The maps look decent, and they are very colorful. You can see mountains, forests, streams, and land. There's also some battles that take place inside a castle or cave, and you'll see pillars, doors, and more. Although the maps aren't very detailed, you can easily see where you're going, and that's good enough for me.

When you see the characters on the map, you'll notice that they aren't very impressive looking. They look bland and you can't see them very well. However, when you fight an enemy, the screen shifts, so you can see the two enemies fight up close. The character models in battle look nice. They are nicely detailed, and you'll see some nice animation, when they attack each other. You can also add backgrounds or switch the feature off.

Before and after each chapter, you'll see the characters talking and other stuff will happen. The characters are shown from the waist up, and this is where the story is explained. There's also some cool cut scenes, that you'll be able to look at occasionally. They are only still pictures, but they look good.

Sound and Music - 8/10
The music in this game is great. There's music for the maps, for character themes, and for other situations. The map music is usually fitting, and it sounds clear. Levels, where you have to defeat an evil enemy, have creepy music. Other maps may have upbeat music or something else. There's also a Sound Test, that allows you to listen to all of the game's music.

The sounds in Fire Emblem are solid. You can hear horses gallop, swords slash, and more. Most of the sounds are heard during the fighting between two people. You'll hear the weapons connect, and you can also hear a sound, when they miss. You can als hear sounds for healing, magic, and other things.

Story - 9/10
Fire Emblem has a very cool story. It's well written and easy to understand. The game's story is expressed through the segments at the beginning and end of each chapter. You start off as a man named Mark (you can give him a different name, if you want), who has just been saved by a young woman named Lyn. Lyn lives alone on the plains, and she has no family. She eventually finds ut that she has a grandfather in another country. She sets off to find him, and she meets many companions along the way. After she meets him, you go into a different story.

One year after the events of the first 10 chapters, a young man named Eliwood sets of to find his lost father, along with Mark (you), his best friend Hector, and a few other people. This is where the story picks up and gets exciting. You'll soon find out that there's more at stake than Eliwood's father, and you must lead your group to save the world from evil.

Controls - 9/10
The controls don't require you to pull off moves or anything, but I'll explain them anyway. You move your cursor over a character, and then you can tell the character where to go and what to do. It doesn't take skill or anything, just pressing the "A" button to select your character and options. You can also press "L" to go to a unit, who hasn't taken his or her turn yet.

Gameplay - 10/10
Fire Emblem is a brilliant and outstanding game with plenty of chapters and even a few side quests. You start off in levels that are simple, and they are there to explain to you how to play the game. The first part of the game is basically a tutorial, and it's great how they fit it into the story. Usually, tutorials are optional, and you might not really want to do them, but Fire Emblem makes it actually enjoyable.

Fire Emblem has a lot of characters, that you can have join your group and use in battle. Some characters join you automatically, but others require you to talk to them with a certain character and convince them to join you. Obtaining characters in vital to advancing through the game. Also, if your character dies in this game, he or she dies for good. That's right... you won't see that character again. Of course, characters that are important to the story don't die, but you get "Game Over," if a character like Eliwood or Lyn dies. The fact, that the characters can die for good, really makes the characters feel important to you. You won't just attack your enemies, and let a character die. It adds much more to the game's strategy and does something that most video games aren't able to do: Make the characters important to the gamer.

The game has a unique battle system, with a rock-paper-scissors style of winning. There are three types of main weapons: Sword, lances, and axes. Each one of those is strong against another weapon and weak against the other. Swords are strong against axes, but they are weak against lances. Lances beat swords, but lose to axes. And, axes beat lances, but are weak against swords. The type of weapon that you have affects your opponent, depending on what weapon your opponent is wielding. The Weapon Cycle affects your accuracy and strength. There's also a cycle for magic. The weapons only have a certain amount of uses, and they become useless, after you've used them to their limit.

There are plenty of character classes in Fire Emblem, and each can change it's class with a special item and being at level 10 at least. Your character can level up to 20 in his or her first class, and 20 again in the second class. So, you can have 40 levels at the maximum. Your character's stats go up, when you change classes, also. Each class is unique in it's stats, which weapons it can use, and how it moves on the map.

The chapters are very fun and brilliant. You and your enemies take turns moving around the map and fighting each other. Most of the goals are to defeat all the enemies, defeat the boss, seize the throne, or survive for a certain amount of turns. The game requires a lot of strategy, if you plan on keeping your characters alive. And, don't think you can just save and attempt something, and try again, if it doesn't work. The game saves your every move automatically, and if you make a mistake, you can finish the chapter with your loss, or restart the chapter. It really makes the game more challenging, since it makes every move count.

Replay value - 9/10
After you beat the game, you can unlock hard mode AND Hector's story, which has new levels for you to play. You also can unlock some other things, so you have plenty to do, after you beat the game.

Overall - 10/10
Fire Emblem is one of GBA's best games. Get it. You won't be disappointed. There's around 30 hours of gameplay in the main quest alone, so this game will keep you busy.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/16/04