Woohoo! Finally finished! This is an awesome game.
User Rating: 9.2 | Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones GBA
I've played the first Fire Emblem game for the GBA and it was very, very good. This follow-up is not a sequel but a new story, a very good story. The character drawings in this game are cool, colourful, and looks anime-ish. We all know how cool those type of characters look don't we =). The graphics in this game are identical to the earlier Fire Emblem game but you don't feel as if the graphics need improvements, they look beautiful as they were before and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have another game that looked just as beautiful. As before, everything on-screen flows smoothly and doesn't slow down. The animations that take place are still gorgeous, there's just something addictive and pleasurable about watching your enemy's health bar fall to zero. Heck I could'nt get enough of it, I didn't get bored of it. The music is this game is also very good. They're memorable (I call them memorable if I can still remember how they sound weeks later) and each piece of music fits in with what comes on screen very well. Like when you have to pick who you want to send into battle, the music that played reminded me of soldiers getting ready for war. Or like when you attack an enemy or are under attack, the music that plays reminded me of something dangerous occuring. Sound effects like weapons that render the enemies' flesh and magic spells that crackle also enhance the overall experience. Such great entertainment. Now we come to how the game plays out. It's strategy but I know some of you just don't like slow and boring games, just the button mashing ones, too bad for you then, as you'd most likely not appreciate what this game has to offer. The battle system is turn-based, which means when it's your turn, you move your characters, attack enemies, use and trade items, talk to each other, etc. And after that's done with, Your enemies shall have their turn. One thing about this game is you have to be pretty careful. You should keep in mind that in this game there's a kind of rock-paper-scissors combination being swords are effective against axes, axes are effective against lances, and lances are effective against swords. When you think about it, it makes sense, though it may not always work. But if your character is powerful enough, you can ignore that rule and try your luck, or simply destroy that wretched skeleton. Another thing you have to keep in mind though is that in this game, if you lose a character, he's out, and you cannot use him or her anymore. It's up to you whether you want to progress the game without him/her but you would have lost a very valuable ally. No character in Fire Emblem:The Sacred Stones is useless. Each character has a unique story and has his/her own reason for joining you. The story is so masterfully told. It is indeed heart-wrenching when one of your characters dies. Story-telling as good as this doesn't come often and you would be as satisfied as I was if you played through it. All in all, this is a superb strategy game. Somewhere in the middle of the game, you had to choose whether to follow Ephraim or Eirika(siblings). Whoever you chose, after the finsihing the game, you could always go back and choose the other sibling. Conclusion: You ought'a get this game
