Fire Emblem (GBA Review) by Spud

Fire Emblem
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Intelligent Systems
System: GBA
Release: November 3, 2003; US

Story
The story is pretty well-developed, and you will find yourself getting really emotionally involved with the characters. It's a little too complicated to get into here, but be assured that it is definitely worth your time. The most important thing to note is that this is a prequel to Japan-only sixth game in the series, which featured the ever-popular Prince Roy of Pherae.

Sound 13/15
This game has a near-perfect RPG score. None of the tunes disappoint, and the songs are very memorable. The sounds are well done despite a little repetition here and there. You won't find yourself wanting to turn down the volume on this one. There are three very notable exceptions, though: the song that plays when you recruit someone to your party (Together We Ride), the song that plays whenever something sad is happening (Requiem), and one overhead map song that I can't place the name of. You will hear these A LOT.

Graphics 18/20
Some of the best the GBA had to offer in 2003, and the visuals still hold up well today. The battle animations are well-crafted, and the characters are exquisitely detailed. The anime-styled moves (think Bleach or Rorouni Kenshin) are pretty cool but there's plenty of repetition, and this is most apparent when you play a chapter with 100+ enemies to fight. Also, some actions are conspicuously absent of animations.


Hector, on the right, pwns just about anything that moves.

Appeal 20/25
Fire Emblem has only one major problem: the tutorial. These are some of the dullest 2 or so hours in all of videogame-dom. The story in this portion of the game is full of instructions like "This is Will. Will is an archer. Archers shoot arrows. Move Will to this spot and watch him shoot an arrow." It's helpful and definitely important, but it's amazing how many characters can beat you half to death with the stupid-baton in one level. Once you get past these first ten missions, the game starts to ramp up in difficulty and in excitement. Missions have nice variety, from "Kill Everything In Your Way" to "Seize the Fort and Assassinate the Enemy Leader" to even "Go Shopping". Fire Emblem also has some amazing replay value; I'm on my 22^nd playthrough and counting, and have spent over 1000 hours playing.

Gameplay 40/40
The game starts out with some basic rock-paper-scissors gameplay (swords-axes-lances) but then evolves into more complex counter-weapons and Trinities. The big draw of any Fire Emblem game, though, is the fact that characters who die in battle REALLY DIE, with no way to bring them back. Plus, the game autosaves every move you make. This means that if you mess up, you'll have to repeat the whole level. The emotional investment you'll put into the characters will make you replay whole chapters to go back and keep them alive. It sounds annoying, but this system is actually quite good and promotes careful thinking before you send your units rushing ahead.

Overall91/100
Fire Emblem is a fun game, easily the best in the North American series. Besides the god-awful tutorial, this is strategy gaming at its finest. This is not to be missed.

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