Review written by J Hodder

Japan held off a lot of high quality games for the SNES. Fire Emblem was one of these games that was never released in North America. With almost as many titles as Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem is one of the leading tactical RPG games ever made.

The game is split into two stories, featuring two different leaders. First we meet Lyndis, a young woman who learns of her royal decent and journeys to meet her sickly grandfather before his death. She is accompanied by a ever expanding group of warriors who unite to help her stop her corrupt uncle.

At the end of Lyndis' adventure, another begins. The second half introduces you to Eliwood, a young prince looking for his missing father. Through his quest, he is thrust into a quest, along with his allies, to save the world from a sinister force.

The gameplay works on a chapter system, where you move your characters around a map battling with enemy forces. The difficulty is in your weapons breaking after so many uses and the only stores actually being on the map, which require a character to skip a turn.

Movement and attacking is very different for all characters. Three principal types of weapons are used; swords, axes and lances, each one working in a triangle of strength and weakness against eachother. Bows allow long range and exist outside this triangle and are good against flying characters. Magic also works in a pattern like this, using light, dark and elemental in a triangle. This requires you to think about what forces you are taking into battle and what to have them use to fight.

Graphically, this game is on par with it's SNES counterpart, making for a high quality GBA game. The sound isn't as good as what we are used to, but the sound doesn't make this game. The gameplay and strategy make this game great.

The drawback to this game to that it is far too linear and does not have many side quests and no mini games to give a break from the main story. Fire Emblem means to be focussed on the actual game, but could be much more. The inability to level up on your own is another drawback, although it does make the game tougher with the limited experience there is to get.

For those who enjoy strategy and challenge this is an ideal game, just be ready to devote a lot of time to planning out your moves and preparing your army for their final battle.