slinkun
09-18-2005, 11:24 PM
GBA has been pretty much renowned for it's foray into the world of turn-based strategy. Between advance wars, FF tactics, and fire emblem, theres enough to keep anyone busy for a long period of time. This is of course discussing the latter.
First, an overview. The first fire emblem was a very surprising game. I had never quite experienced such a delicious combo of RPG elements mixed in with turn based strategy. You were given a small basic team to start, then as the plot advanced, youd meet more and more people to add to your party, which made a difference as once one of your characters died in the game, they were dead for good. no questions asked. The set up for combat was very simple, turning battles into what were somewhat rock, paper, scissors contests. (swords bested axes, axes bested lances, lances bested sowrds, etc.) As gamers have been shown in the past, simple doesn't mean it's necessarily bad either. The character animations were well made and the plot is one of the best things I have seen since breath of fire 2. (if you don't have it, get it!)
Now, I didn't expect too much going into the sequel that i hadn't seen already. The first few missions, I saw the same graphics, combat, mechanics, etc. So yet again, I was expecting another one of those "is it really 5 in the morning?" experiences with this game. I was wrong. Now I stay up till about.... wait, sleep?
They took the few things that were wrong with the first game and fixed them, then tossed in some more things that basically tasted like awesome. First change that I noted was the addition of a world map. Nothing major I thought at first, but i found that it was definately added in for a reason. Sometimes after you've played a mission, the image of a monster will appear on the world map. You go to this image, and you initiate a skirmish that does not involve the main story arc of the game. That's right, no more having to depend on the arena to level your characters. Also added was a Lufia-style "endless dungeon" although I wouldn't call it endless, but I haven't reached the last level yet. The next improvement is the ability to enter shops and armories outside of battle maps, which again is one of those extra little conveniences in the game.
Those who enjoyed the class changing in the first fire emblem will be pleasently surprised by the addition of about 6 or 8 new classes as well as multiple roads of advancement. In the first game, for example take the armored knight unit. With the knight crest item, it could advance and turn into the General unit. Now, in sacred stone it works more like this: you have a recruit. When it turns level 10, it can become either a cavalier or knight. If you use the knight crest on the cavalier, it can become either a paladin or a great knight. On a knight, you can choose either a great knight or a general (((for those who have never played the first game, this may be difficult to understand, and for that i apologize.)))
However, there is a saddening lack of hand drawn art like there was in the first as well as a lack of new, original music. Whereas the first game had tons of art scenes to enhance the mood, I think I've only encountered one thus far. (already on chapter 16)
Overall, I give this game a very strong solid 9 for continuing to be innovative and keeping things fresh.
First, an overview. The first fire emblem was a very surprising game. I had never quite experienced such a delicious combo of RPG elements mixed in with turn based strategy. You were given a small basic team to start, then as the plot advanced, youd meet more and more people to add to your party, which made a difference as once one of your characters died in the game, they were dead for good. no questions asked. The set up for combat was very simple, turning battles into what were somewhat rock, paper, scissors contests. (swords bested axes, axes bested lances, lances bested sowrds, etc.) As gamers have been shown in the past, simple doesn't mean it's necessarily bad either. The character animations were well made and the plot is one of the best things I have seen since breath of fire 2. (if you don't have it, get it!)
Now, I didn't expect too much going into the sequel that i hadn't seen already. The first few missions, I saw the same graphics, combat, mechanics, etc. So yet again, I was expecting another one of those "is it really 5 in the morning?" experiences with this game. I was wrong. Now I stay up till about.... wait, sleep?
They took the few things that were wrong with the first game and fixed them, then tossed in some more things that basically tasted like awesome. First change that I noted was the addition of a world map. Nothing major I thought at first, but i found that it was definately added in for a reason. Sometimes after you've played a mission, the image of a monster will appear on the world map. You go to this image, and you initiate a skirmish that does not involve the main story arc of the game. That's right, no more having to depend on the arena to level your characters. Also added was a Lufia-style "endless dungeon" although I wouldn't call it endless, but I haven't reached the last level yet. The next improvement is the ability to enter shops and armories outside of battle maps, which again is one of those extra little conveniences in the game.
Those who enjoyed the class changing in the first fire emblem will be pleasently surprised by the addition of about 6 or 8 new classes as well as multiple roads of advancement. In the first game, for example take the armored knight unit. With the knight crest item, it could advance and turn into the General unit. Now, in sacred stone it works more like this: you have a recruit. When it turns level 10, it can become either a cavalier or knight. If you use the knight crest on the cavalier, it can become either a paladin or a great knight. On a knight, you can choose either a great knight or a general (((for those who have never played the first game, this may be difficult to understand, and for that i apologize.)))
However, there is a saddening lack of hand drawn art like there was in the first as well as a lack of new, original music. Whereas the first game had tons of art scenes to enhance the mood, I think I've only encountered one thus far. (already on chapter 16)
Overall, I give this game a very strong solid 9 for continuing to be innovative and keeping things fresh.