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TL;DR it offers great replayability, many ways to play, and is a fun game, but story, length, and roster size (though the characters are very compelling, especially the villain) are not its strong suits. Sacred Stones is an amazing starting point in the Fire Emblem Franchise. It's by no means the best game, but it definitely has the most accessibility. With intensely different difficulty settings, branching paths, branching promotions, and an open world map, it offers a wide variety of playstyles and replayability. There are so many ways to tackle the game that it's easy to play how you want. You can challenge yourself with Hard Mode and some self-imposed challenges, or you can play on easy and grind all you want. It has a decent story, but it's a fairly short game, and has a small roster compared to other Fire Emblems.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
If you are into old school RPG/Strategy games like the old Tactics Ogre and Shining Force, this is the game for you. I first ran into the Fire Emblem series on the Gamecube, in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and I liked it so much that I bought this one for the DS. This game has addictive play, engaging characters, and a solid user interface. The sound is very good for a portable. If it lacks anything, it lacks innovation- Once you've played a couple dozen RPG/Strategy games, you've seen everything. Of course if you are an old school addict, that doesn't really matter, you just want to play another one. The only serious weakness to the game is the imbalance between the two main characters; the game focuses too heavily on the sister, Princess Erikia, before the decision point where you choose which character to follow. Regardless of its weaknesses, this game is thoroughly enjoyable, though it may be a little difficult for a beginner at strategy games. Characters that die are lost forever, as per the Fire Emblem series, and weapons decay and are destroyed in battle. The difficulty level makes it more appealing to strategy enthusiasts rather than the casual player. I had a challenge on normal difficulty the first run through, and there is a harder difficulty for me to play with once I come back around to play a second time. Several big bonuses to this game: There is a mode that lets you skip all those annoying game tutorials, if you already have a good idea how to play these kinds of games. There is a tower that you can play through numerous times to power up weaker characters that you haven't been using. Seth. Maybe its the D&D player in me, but good looking red-haired paladin generals add to any RPG.Read full review
I really love the Fire Emblem series, and while this isn't as strong as some of the others it is still a great game. If you haven't played any of the Fire Emblem games know that they are very story driven and have a lot of interesting characters. Also know that the games are hard. It doesn't seem like it at first bit if you want to keep all your characters alive it takes a lot of work. The The Sacred Stones is well worth it, however because like the other games in the series the story is just so captivating. I've had this game once and lost it so I decided to buy it again.
For me, this member of the Fire Emblem games is truly a joy to play. You get to work with a large variety of characters, from mages and monks wielding spells and magic, to paladins and archers flinging swords, lances, and arrows. The graphics are of superb quality for such a compact system as the GBA, and the flow of the game runs smooth, though allowing you some choices on where you'd like to advance next. One element of the games that can be both frustrating and challenging is the fact that when a character loses all of their hit points, they die, and can never be used in combat for the rest of the game. The good news is that you can restart the level over, thus saving your character, but you also lose whatever items and experience points you earned yourself from the previous try. This can be frustrating, but I'd rather redo a level than lose a character for the rest of gameplay. There's a balance between weapons, some being strong than others. Also, the stronger the weapon, the lesser amount of times you can use it before it breaks, thus forcing the player to carefully consider what types of items to buy and equip their characters with. My favorite part of this Fire Emblem installment is the fact that when your character is about to change classes, you have choices on what type of unit they can turn into. Many have special abilities or have an added weapon that they can use. It makes the game more complex and interesting. Overall, I feel this is one of the best GBA games I've come across, and it's one I'm certainly addicted too.Read full review
Just collecting the rest of these awesome RPG/Stragety games, since I love them so much. Recomended age: 10 and up. Gameplay 10/10: The game itself is played in chapters along a set storyline and main character(s) tale,like any other F.E game, but unique to S.S is the map, where you may traverse to the various areas to pit your small army against creatures to level up or collect weapons and items. It is played in a very unique 2D format with animated battle scenes were you take turns to move your units against the opponent, were they will engage upon contact. There is no overworld however, except for maybe the map. But characters do engage in compelling conversations, sometimes even in battle. Graphics 9/10: A unique form of 2D combat mixed in with animated battle scenes gives it a distinct lovable taste for any F.E fan or new player. F.E isn't based on it's graphics but the game play and storyline. Storyline 10/10: If F.E is renowned for one thing...it's having complex and plot twisting storyline, with surprises and tricks around the corner; that urge the player to continue on. this one is no exception, and in my opinion it was one of the most deep storyline in any F.E or game I've played to date. Sound 9/10: The sounds are entirely electronic with no orchestra to speak of in this one, but they have a fun and engaging feel to them when you initiate battle or "epic" tunes when facing the bosses. The characters have no voice overs, probably due to the mass amount of text in the story and huge cast of characters. Replay value (High): Whether I want to come back and test your skills in a harder difficulty or try to smash through with no deaths, or even challenge Creature campaign mode to unlock extra hidden characters, I've always found a reason to come back to this game. The storyline is compelling and the game play is hooking, the replay value is at least high, for me...very high. Downsides: The difficulty can be tedious at times, with losing characters in battle or not being able to defeat a particular boss, sometimes I have to put it down and do something else for awhile because it's to hard at the time. But in my opinion it's difficulty is one of it's beauties. The game is hard to judge on a scale of complexity with understanding it, it depends on the player, the battle system is basic and randomized, however the strategy on higher difficulties or in certain parts can be more complex and the game can be quite ruthless in this sense to any unwary player. There is no way to replay chapters, once you get through it, you cant go back unless you start a new game or create a save file specific to that chapter. Overall a must buy for any strategy fan, or F.E fan. And for those new to the series, check it out, I love it. And I knew nothing about strategy games.Read full review
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