Fire Emblem
Like Advance Wars, but different
Intelligent Systems has become one of my favorite developers. I've played Advance Wars and AW: Black Hole Rising, and for the fourth time (which isn't saying much compared to many), I've beaten Fire Emblem. From when I first met Lyn as a traveling tactician to when I felled the fire dragon that broke into my realm, the game has amazed me.
As I do enjoy it, I find the plotline to be the weakest part of Fire Emblem. First of all, it feels too similar, as many RPGs recently have felt. There are two parts to it, the first being a 10 (possibly 11) chapter tutorial, which goes over the basics early on, and then puts your brain at the helm for the last few chapters. Tutorial may be a bit harsh of a name, as the instructions do not dictate your commands heavily after the fourth or fifth chapter, but every chapter will begin with a few instructions as how to progress. The second part is the main story (first part introduced a few key characters, yet only really detailed an event that didn't tie in too much with the general plot) with Eliwood as the center of attention. Basically, your father has gone missing, and young Eliwood is off to find him. Upon finding his father several chapters later, Eliwood learns of an evil man, Nergal, who is planning on unleashing ancient dragons unto the world with the power of a mysterious dancer and bard. Your goal is to aid Nergal. Okay, not really, but wouldn’t that have spiced things up a bit? You need to stop Nergal, duh.
As I mentioned, this is all slightly familiar. Save the world from an evil magician who has corrupted many people and also did a few other nasty things. Probably the saving grace is that you, the player, take a role as the traveling tactician who guides our young Eliwood and company through battle. You never really appear during battles, but an icon will show the personification of you during cut scenes of decent importance. Yes this is similar to the original Advance Wars, and it is a unique concept. Too bad we won't see this again in Sacred Stones.
Speaking of cut scenes, the story is portrayed in an interesting manner. Whenever two people start talking, a screen pops up with a background (changes depending on location) and the upper portion of their body appear and act out the scene. While the sprites of these people never really change (outside of very subtle facial expressions and the mouth moving), the entire sprite itself with move across the screen, behind people, or make quick dashes to indicate a duel as to give you an imitation of a real cut scene. This method of storytelling is used in Fire Emblem about 95% of the time. The other 5% belongs to some insults (or bribes) thrown from enemy boss characters to members of your own team before one assaults the other in combat. Strangely enough, these detail some more...interesting history about the lesser known combatants you control.
The graphics in those cut scenes are better than what we've really seen in a tactical RPG up to that point. The sprites are clean and clear, and move flawlessly during their actions. The backgrounds (if turned on) are nice little shadings and are accurate, although they aren't really too special and can be ever so familiar as you pass the halfway mark. If you've played any of the Advance Wars games on the GBA, then the scenario graphics will be very familiar. The real beauty to be found here has to be in battles. The animations are simply adrenaline-rushing, clean, beautiful, and remarkable. Basically, when a battle pops up, your fighter is on the right and the enemy is on the left. Depending on who is attacking, the statistics of the two buddies, and any weapon-enhancements; the number of times attacking and any critical hits scored will differ. Yet seeing Eliwood take his rapier and stab it through an enemy with lightning speed is just hard to describe. You wouldn't think it was so interesting from a written description, but the action is nonetheless wonderful.
Being that the battles are beautiful, and you have the 10 chapter tutorial, some of the gameplay might have been realized by now. It is a tactical RPG, much like the Advance War series. In fact, so much borrows from that series that Fire Emblem almost feels like a side-story to Advance Wars. However, there are differences. In Advance Wars, your units were expendable and replenish-able. Fire Emblem gives you a set force that is generally more powerful than your average enemy, and can counter tougher boss characters as a group. However, losing one in battle will result in death (or serious injury to those important, plot-wise), and you won't be able to use them again. Frustration will come to those who do not think out their actions before doing them, because losing a powerful ally is something that will generally make you reset that chapter. Oh, I guess I should say that there is no saving during battle. If you turn off your GBA during any part of the battle, the game will automatically save at that specific point and replay any of the battles you tried to avoid. That means if you know a character of yours will die and you want to prevent it by quickly resetting, the game will remember where you are, and will repeat the same results of that battle. Restarting a chapter will occur often to prevent character death will most likely happen often to greenhorns.
If you aren't so worried about losing a few characters, there are plenty to fall back on. The game starts you out with a few characters, and you generally average one new character per chapter. Every character can be leveled up to 20, and can change their low class to a high class anywhere from level 10-20. Doing so will reset your level back to one, and allow you to work back up to 20 again. So you must remember that being a tactician, you want the strongest abilities to come out of your characters. Yet sometimes you want to up the class level right away, which of course is foolish and only done by a novice, you silly person.
Scenarios progress in turn-based combat, and every character on the map gets one turn. The movements are all grid-based, and different environmental obstacles (trees, mountains) affect how far you go each turn. Intelligent Systems made an incredibly deep system here with all the abilities and restrictions during battle. Fire Emblem is one of those games that will require you to read the manual; otherwise you will be completely lost. For a complex thinker like I am (selfish, yes sir!), this is a great way to blow a few hours whenever I need to. The actions you take have so many different possibilities that it is hard to know which one will give the greatest results, but by the end of the tutorial (if you pay attention to what people say) you will know what and how to do things appropriately.
Music supports the different battle scenarios and story changes appropriately. Several are catchy tunes, I must admit. Some are a bit...ugh, but at least Intelligent Systems gave themselves a good pool to choose from. There are at least 50 songs (all playable in a Sound Room), and there are multiple songs for any given situation, depending on the circumstances. The Fire Emblem theme, which was loved by many in Super Smash Bros. Melee, makes a great return, along with a few variations if you listen closely. You would be hard pressed not to find a song you really like in this game, as the quality seemed to surpass many themes I've heard in other GBA games.
All interfaces are easy to get through and the controls aren’t slippery. Menu screens, even for a complex game like this, are easy to find, easy to read, and everything becomes second nature after the tutorial. Then again, some of you human refuse (a la Sonia) might not be able to comprehend the intricate details of Fire Emblem.
To finish up, replay has a high factor in this game. After you defeat Fire Emblem on your first round through, I am almost completely sure you will want to play again. However, there are benefits. Beating the game unlocks Hector's Story, which will replace Eliwood with Hector (best friend, axe-wielder) as the central hero of the game. Most events stay the same (it still starts with Lyn's Story, unchanged), but there will be a few unique chapters and the plot will shift focus from Eliwood's emotions to Hector's trials. Add to that the many characters that aren't available in one play through, plus any extra chapters you may have missed and the game will undoubtedly keep you playing.
I must say the overall package adds up to something great. Some will complain that it feels too much like an Advance Wars without the expendable units, but I'm sure that will be a minority. Fire Emblem is a great game to have on the handheld, and a better game that most others out there. With Sacred Stones coming out in May, be sure to pick up the original in case that sequel pulls a Devil May Cry 2 (or Xenosaga II, as we now know).
Gameplay 9
Controls 10
Graphics 9
Sound 9
Lasting Appeal 10
Overall 9.4
Topic: Fire Emblem (Read 2378 times)
