Fire Emblem (Nintendo Game Boy Advance, 2003)

Fire Emblem is a strategy RPG series with releases on many Nintendo systems. This Fire Emblem game, though the seventh in the series, was the first to be released within the United States. Fortunately, the Fire Emblem games are for the most part unrelated in terms of plot, much like the popular final fantasy franchise. This makes for a player-friendly port despite the age of the series. The plot is related to the sixth game in the series, but as a prequel rather that a sequel, and one of the game's protagonists is the father of the popular Super Smash Brothers character Roy.

The game and story is organized into chapters. Story elements generally take place at the beginning and end of each chapters, with the occasional bit of story emerging at X turn on a certain map. The story uses text and anime-style character portraits, with an occasional detailed still. The actually story is very well executed. Most plot points center around the main characters, called 'lords.' During the first ten chapters, basically the tutorial, you play as with Lyndis as your lord character, after which you switch to having Eliwood as your main lord. After you have beaten the game once, you have the option to play as another lord (Hector) with a slightly different storyline, and hard mode becomes available. Additional characters are recruitable during most, if not all of the chapters, each of which has a unique personality. Also available are sidequests, which are more difficult than normal chapters but often provide additional characters or storyline elements.

Gameplay is turn based and resembles a game of chess. Each chapter is one map, with a specific goal. Players may be asked to rout the enemy, seize a castle or throne, defeat the boss character, or defend a key person or location. Each character is a specific class, which utilizes certain weapons and has their own statistical strengths and weaknesses. For example, knights have excellent defense and attack but abysmal speed, whereas mages have high magic but are frail. Weapon types and terrain can affect combat either favorably or unfavorably, and both magic and metal weapons utilize a rock/paper/scissors type hierarchy. In addition, there is no way to revive a fallen combatant, which is one of the things that makes Fire Emblem distinct from other RPG-type games. While it can be annoying to restart a chapter six times to ensure none of your characters kick the bucket, it also makes the game much more realistic.

Overall, the game is engrossing and fun. The sheer number of characters and difficulty settings gives the game tremendous replay value. If you're looking for a good strategy game or play RPGs for the story element, this is an excellent choice.

Fire Emblem is a very good Strategy RPG from the makers of Advance Wars. This is actually the 7th game in the series and the first to be released in the US.

What separates Fire Emblem from other SRPGs is its difficulty level. All of your characters are unique and if they die, it is permanent. As a result, if you want to keep all your characters alive you will have to restart levels every time someone dies. While this may be (too) frustrating for some, I found it refreshing as if forced me to really focus my strategy on making sure my characters survive. There is enough information available to you to accomplish a perfect game if you choose to pay attention to it and think out your moves.

Fire Emblem also has incredible replay value. The game is divided into chapters. The first 10 are mandatory tutorials and you're given control of one of the game's 3 main characters. Starting with Chapter 11 though, the game goes into its main story with a new main character and that takes you through to the end of the game. Once you have completed the game you can then play Chapters 11 and on with a 3rd main character who gives a different perspective on the game's story and also offers new challenges and a few extra Chapters. And beyond that, there is a hard mode for all 3 main characters and other features that keep the game interesting after several plays.

Most importantly, the game is fun. It has a compelling story line and pops into your head when you don't have time to play. You might get addicted to this series if you buy this game and fortunately at the time of this writing there is another Fire Emblem game (8) on Gameboy Advance and yet another (9) on Gamecube (with a 10th in development). If you're up for a serious challenge and a very fun game, try Fire Emblem.

I consider the Fire Emblem series to be one of the best game series that nobody knows about. It is not a standard, Final Fantasy'esque rpg game, but turn based strategy. The first guide describes the game in much more detail than what I go into, so with that in mind, here are my thoughts.

If you played Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones (SS) or Path of Radience (PoR, Gamecube) first, this game will be significantly more difficult. There is only one difficulty level in the game, unlike SS or PoR. The game's tutorial for the first 10 chapters will baby you, yet give some semblance of a challenge through the bosses and when they introduce a ballista to you in chapter 8 (i believe). After that, the game gets progressively more difficult. I currently am at chapter 18 and the game now basically represents hard mode in SS and PoR. If you can beat this game, you will be able to beat SS and PoR a lot easier.

If you have played PoR, you will be dissapointed that you can't steal enemy weapons and staves (you couldn't do this in SS either, however).

The storyline, as per other FE titles, is amazing! You will not be dissapointed here. I've found myself unable to put down the controller (I have the Gameboy player add-on for the gamecube) because of the storyline!

Overall, this is an incredible game. Sure, the mechanics are simple and gameplay is mostly similar to the other Fire Emblem titles, but each story is amazing and worth your time to play. I would not necessarily recommend this title for someone who is new to the series. The games can be very frustrating at times, and this one decidedly more so than PoR and a bit more than SS. Personally, I think starting with Path of Radiance is a better game to break into the series. This said, the game does have the tutorial mode, and if you beat this game, SS and PoR will be a bit easier to play, as I found them less difficult.

Get this game, you will enjoy it. I would recommend getting the Gameboy Player for the Gamecube if you have a 'cube (buy it on eBay), as it will be a bit easier to play when you can see the movement squares a lot better. Be prepared to pay a good bit for both the game and the Gameboy player, as both are kind of rare.

This has got to be my favorite game of all time. The game has a perfect blend of strategy and the RPG element, not to mention characters for everyone. Fighters for the burly gamer, heroes for the wannabes and of course the delicate pegasus knights for the shy girls. Magic users have powerful attacks but weak physical defenses as would be expected from them , knights move slowly but have powerful offensive and defensive abilities. The music for this game is awesome, the battle scenes extraordinary, and the plot line captivating. It's a tough game but not impossible, anyone who's in to strategy games will love Fire Emblem. Those who don't love strategy, will after playing it.

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