This is an extremely fun, addictive, and challenging game that never gets old.
Very simple breakdown: You take control of 3 different lords- Lyn, Elliwood, and Hector- and control them and their friends on different tactical maps consisting of forests, mountains, rivers and plains. Most of the time the objective is the same: Defeat the enemy leader (or entire enemy army) but there are some other mission types to shake things up like 'survive X turns' or 'protect X unit'. Each of your little guys has a job class like warrior, shaman, thief & etc. and most can be further promoted later on after reaching level 10 (provided you've also found their class-specific item).
Each unit can attack with many different types of weapons or magic. And in ol' rock / paper / scissors fashion, each weapon type can best another and get trounced by yet another. So swords will typically dominate an axe-wielder, axes will crush a spear unit, who himself will be extremely effective against sword bearers. Magic is handled in almost the same way, with Light vs. Dark vs. Elemental. On the side you have archer units who completely destroy most flying units like Pegasus knights and Wyvern Riders.
As for the challenge, it's not like it's super hard to win many of these missions it's just that it's really hard to win these missions without getting anybody killed. Trust me when I say I must've restarted any given mission at least 3 or 4 times when one of my weaker characters was unexpectedly killed off during the last turn. Oh man you will hate when that happens. Unlike most other games, when a supporting character gets killed off they stay dead forever, unable to be used in any future battles. Well, this isn't EXACTLY true. I guess it's more like they're so gravely injured they're unable to fight but still live because they can still show up in the between-mission story scenes from time to time.
So you'll have hidden items, magic weapons, hidden shops, battles against an easy opponent just to have some enemy reinforcements show up to wipe out your merchant's tent... It's the perfect critical balance of extreme fun and hair-pulling frustration that really makes for a compelling game. Special mention should also be given to just how well Fire Emblem's presentation is too. Characters have their own large portraits, the HUD is well thought and laid out, and there's even Tool Text Tip help pop-ups on just about everything in the status screen if you press one of the shoulder buttons to explain everything more if necessary.
I originally bought this more than 10 years ago new and as of Dec. 2014 I'm still playing it off and on. Not many games I've been able to say that about this side of Diablo 2.
What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Customer Questions & Answers
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2005
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2020
Verified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
Peckingbird
The best English-release Fire Emblem to date!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2013Verified Purchase
S.J.M.
Go play. Now.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2005Verified Purchase
Christine Smith
Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2017Verified Purchase
Fabian Wilkinson
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 17, 2014Verified Purchase
DescoleJean
even though I like the game
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 20, 2015Verified Purchase
