Fire Emblem for Nintendo Game Boy Advance

Fire Emblem

When you see this title, you are probably thinking that you’ll see Marth and Roy from Super Smash Bros. Melee, but don't get your hopes up, this game has nothing at all with them. But don’t let that bug you, the game is still incredible even though it has a completely different plot.

Consider this: You are a traveling apprentice tactician, who was found unconscious in the plains of Sacae. Then, a girl named Lyn (Lyndis) finds you and nurses you back to health! Lyn become friends with you and all of the sudden, she discovers that her grandfather is gravely ill, and she needs to save him from her grandfather's evil brother, Lundgren.

This game is quite a complex strategy game which really makes you ponder every move you make. If you make one wrong move, it could cause one of your charactors to die. And by the way, if someone dies they don’t come back like in any other game - no revivals, that's it!

Although the game is rated for kids 6 and up, I would definitely disagree with that rating. There is a lot of fighting in this game and I would bump the age recommendation to ages 10 and up for many reasons, especially because it's such a complex strategic game and the blatant fighting.

There are many weapons and all sorts of types of magic, which is why there is a Triangle of Weapons, and a Trinity of Magic. The Triangle of Weapons involves Swords best Axes, while Axes best Lances, which bests Swords. And the Trinity of Magic goes like this: Light Magic bests Dark Magic, as Dark magic bests Anima Magic, in where Anima magic bests Light Magic.

There are three main charactors in this game, two of them you don’t meet until you're deeply involved in the game. These are: Lyn, the swordswomen from the plains; Eliwood, the Marquess of Pherae's son, (which is similar to a king's son), and Hector, the younger brother of Lord Uther. Other character you will bump into are Dorcas, Ninian, Matthew, Sain, Oswin, Rebecca, Guy, and Florina,

There are many different types of fighters in this game, as Caveliers, Paladins, Snipers, and more. Also, remember that you can recruit members by talking with them. Sometimes you must use a select person to speak, other times, just one of the three lords. I think this a wonderful RPG (role playing game), although I was sort of disapointed that Roy, my favorite character, wasn’t in the game. However, Eliwood looks awfully similar to him! The sound effects in this game, by the way, are awesome!

Without a doubt, Fire Emblem is one of the best strategy RPG games of 2003 for the GameBoy Advance platform. The Review Zone.com salutes Nintendo's hard-working development team on a fantastic strategy RPG that rocks off the chart in replayability and mind-bending challenges!