Despite my score,it's definately worth playing to any SRPG fans out there.
Story[6/10]
The story is about you,the main character,Eirika,the princess of Renais,evacuating with her fellow knight,Seth,away from the invasion of the Grado Empire.Without warning,the Grado Empire broke it's friendly truce,and the loved Emperor suddenly decided to attack to destroy the Sacred Stones.The sacred stones is what keeps the Demon King intact,sealing it's body and soul.If all sacred stones are destroyed,the Demon King would rise again and torment the world.
There you have,one little summary of what the game is about.But the real truth about the story is the character development.The main characters develop throughout the story,and adds more fun to the story.
The story,is fairly well written with nice dialouge in the beginning of the game,but in the middle,the story gets somewhat dull,and is already predictable.This is why I lost interest in the story.
Gameplay[8/10]
Okay,the main part of the game is the gameplay.It's a grid-based tactics game,where you and the computer battle it out through the story chapters.During battle,you move your characters and fight the enemy.There's also a catch.There's a weapon triangle system,which also happens to be like rock-paper-scissors.Like Lance beats Axe,Axe Beats Sword,and Sword beats Lance.This also goes to the same with the magic weapons.Light beats Dark,Dark beats Anima,and Anima beats Light.With this triangle system,you get twice the stragety involved,and your weapons also break.This sound challenging and all,but Sacred Stones is still easy for newcomers.
Mostly through the chapters,you'll come across new party members,and new people to recruit into your army.This involves by talking to one,with a certain person,such as Eirika.By doing this,you may also get a different recruit,with the one you recruited which would convince the other recruit to join.Fire Emblem is known for the death of the characters.When you characters die in battle,they stay injured till the end.Because of this,most players restart the chapter,making sure all of the characters are alive,and well equipped.
There are a lot of job classes in this game,where you can promote your characters into a stronger one,such as a Cavalier to a Paladin,and so forth.The new thing introduced into this game are "Trainees",which can take on different classes,according to it's branch.Like for example,Amelia,who uses a lance,can choose to be a knight,or a cavalier,but not a warrior.There are three trainees in the game,Ross,Ewan and Amelia.Each are supposed to be the most powerful characters in the game,after you beat the game twice,on each story paths.
There are two paths in this game,which again joins together in the end.This is the Eirika Route,the beginner route,or the Ephraim Route,for the advanced players.Each path has thier story parts in the game,and then the two main characters join together to fight against a much more sinister enemy.
Unlike the previous fire emblem games for the Game Boy Advance,there is a map where you can move around,to train and to shop.This is why the game is much easier than most of the fire emblem games.You can train your guys and promote them early in the game,by going inside a ruin or a tower,or by fighting an enemy that has popped up in a map.
Sound/Music[6/10]
Yeah,the music just doesn't get to me for some reason.I loved Blazing Sword's soundtrack,but Sacred Stones seems to be downgraded far too greatly.It's not really bad,or really good.It's in between.
The sound,however,is good.You can hear your units move thier feet,or hear your fire spell burn the enemy.The sounds in the game is definately better than the music,but both combined makes a better experience.There's nothing better but to hear a critical destroying your enemy.
Overall[7/10]
It's certainly the best game I played,bu it was definately fun to play and finish.If you are a SRPG fan,I suggest you buy this game and try it out.Despite my review,your opinion my differ greatly,and you might enjoy it more than I did.