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> Results: Fire Emblem
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Intelligent Systems IndeedAfter thirty-two hours of superb strategy and story, you get a whole new campaign to play. That about sums up the greatness of Fire Emblem for the Game Boy Advance. After playing through over thirty rock-solid scenarios that range from very easy to moderately difficult, you're presented with the chance to play all that again on Hard mode or to embark on a parallel story from the perspective of the game's third main character. Hector's Story contains lots of new maps and different troop layouts for the ones you already played, giving this game legs that are second only to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Unlike that game though, this one is focused with laser sharp precision on telling a great story. There have been something like seven Fire Emblem games in Japan and this is the first one to make it to these shores. When you see just how incredibly polished this game is you'll wonder what the heck took so long. That's especially true since the series has been quite popular in Japan and clearly had the potential for a rather large audience here right from the start. Fire Emblem combines strategy with a small amount of role-playing to create a hybrid that's never too complex and never too simple. Every decision you make is an important one and many of the intricacies of these decisions only reveal themselves with long term play. That's the hallmark of great design.  For the first ten or so chapters (each map is a chapter), you play a tutorial. Characters are introduced and the game's story begins with the stage nicely being set for a larger plot. One defining feature of this series is made abundantly clear to you when you reach the end of the tutorial. Don't let characters die if you can help it. After the tutorial story ends, if a character dies, you either have to replay the mission to keep that from happening or move on without them. This permanent death may anger you depending on your affinity for this design decision. Having been through it all the way to the end, it's easy to tell you to go on without a dead character unless you've lost a lot of them. There are plenty more characters to find along the way. Each chapter is a battle where decision making is key right from the start. You have to decide who you want to take into the fight based on pre-battle intelligence. You also get to manage weapons and equipment for your characters which becomes a game in and of itself as you journey across the lands. All weapons have a breaking point after so many uses so there's a lot of good decisions to be made on who should use a weapon and when. You also have to manage funds to purchase equipment making financial concerns a similarly high priority as the game progresses. Navigating all the screens necessary to gear up is a breeze. In fact, control is so good in the game you rarely think about it. When all the preparation and management is combined with the strategy game on the battlefield, Fire Emblem really comes together as a whole. Battlefield tactics include a system of counters where swords best axes, axes best lances and lances best swords. This triangle of attack power provides the basis for character class usage in a fight. There's a similar triangle for magic use and of course magic users are typically vulnerable to physical attacks while being strong at just about anything if used at a distance. There's some subtlety too. Having certain characters fight alongside each other can open up "support" conversations making them fight better when in close proximity to their "friends". This support isn't immediately evident but is a super cool addition that helps give the gameplay onion some more layers to peel back with invested time. The best thing is when you put all this stuff to the test on the maps. Maps often have multiple choke points where you can route enemies and of course where you could be routed as well. You are almost always outnumbered in battle so you've got to plan ahead and never leave a character exposed. Every single battle in the game is an entertaining slice of strategy and tactics. As your characters win battles, they gain experience and the ability to wield better and more diverse weapons. That part is pretty standard stuff as is pretty much all of the above. But it all just comes together so well that whatever generic design exists at the core, the elegance of play is evident in the final product. The thing that really sets the game apart is the story and especially the characterization of the game's diverse cast. Each battlefield unit is not just some faceless, nameless soldier to throw away. You come to know each character and will protect some of them at all costs while allowing others to throw away their lives along the way. The characters will even address you personally as the tactician behind their exploits. If you role-play it, you'll definitely feel a part of their group and despite the rather rudimentary map graphics, you get a sense of being there. You mourn a lost friend but maybe not for too long as a new challenge to distract you is always just around the corner. The first play through should definitely be conducted without restarting a chapter unless a main character dies at which time you're forced to try again. Playing the game in "iron man" fashion will definitely give you more emotional ties to the game's plot. The story is not overly original but it is very well-told through the conversations of the characters. It's not really a swords and sorcery epic so much as it's a game of political intrigue and discovery. Even though the aforementioned map graphics are rather sparse, each location you visit has its own sense of place and you'll come to know the lands of Fire Emblem very well by the end. If you're not much for chat, you can quickly skip every conversation with the start button. It's not recommended though because this really is well-written text when compared to many similar games. There are also a lot of strong emotional moments that really help tie you to the characters as you play. Skipping through definitely ruins the building sense of dread that is carefully plotted through the characters' discussions. Nintendo deserves a big pat on the back for providing such a strong translation. It's been said twice now, but the map graphics aren't going to win any awards, however they're serviceable enough. Where the game really looks great is in the conversation screens, combat cutscenes, character portraits and some beautifully drawn anime stills. You get to see each attack and defense play out if you want to and with so much great animation available there, it's best to leave the hacking and slashing on. It's clear that a lot of time was spent on character design and after finishing you'll clearly remember everyone you encountered on your long journey because of it. You might also have some of the games musical score running through your head. It's not the greatest soundtrack done in 16-bit style, but it's definitely above average and memorable. That's really how Fire Emblem wins you over. Not one piece of it seems particularly innovative or different by itself. But when you look at it all together, it stands out as such a strongly produced package and hits you with just how good it really is all the way through. When you combine all that great production value with the sheer length and replayability of the main adventure along with varied difficulty levels, this is one Game Boy Advance game that offers a lot more playtime than its physical cartridge size implies. It's easy to get lost in the troubles of Bern or the quest to find the Marquess of Pherae. Fire Emblem makes you feel like a Noble whose duty and honor must be upheld. Bring on the obvious sequel! Kid Factor: Fire Emblem is loaded with text and it requires a child that's able to read and read well. It also has some rather ominous betrayals and moments of emotional distress that aren't appropriate for smaller children. The thing is, the story is so good and is told in such a way that it almost comes across as a storybook. There are powerful knights, deadly dragons, archers and scheming nobles. Magic is as ubiquitous as it is in any role-playing game. However all the characters for the most part are humans and the bad guys are people that sometimes do terrible things so the E-Everyone rating might be pushing it. Early teens should love it but kids a lot smaller aren't really right for it and a little older probably aren't all that interested. Mom and Dad should play it though by all means. This is great strategy gaming with a plot. Reviewer Recommended Ages: 10+ Genre: Strategy/RPG ESRB Rating: E-Everyone Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Intelligent Systems 
Fire Emblem is loaded with text and it requires a child that's able to read and read well. It also has some rather ominous betrayals and moments of emotional distress that aren't appropriate for smaller children. The thing is, the story is so good and is told in such a way that it almost comes across as a storybook. There are powerful knights, deadly dragons, archers and scheming nobles. Magic is as ubiquitous as it is in any role-playing game. However all the characters for the most part are humans and the bad guys are people that sometimes do terrible things so the E-Everyone rating might be pushing it. Early teens should love it but kids a lot smaller aren't really right for it and a little older probably aren't all that interested. Mom and Dad should play it though by all means. This is great strategy gaming with a plot.
Kid Factor by Dave Long
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