Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is a role-playing video game published by Nintendo for Game Boy Advance in 2004. This is the eighth entry of the Fire Emblem series and final title to be released for the Game Boy Advance. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones isn’t so much a sequel as a variation of the original Fire Emblem. With different characters, enemies, locations and a different storyline, there are very few new gameplay elements to distinguish it from the original. Thankfully the original was so good that most gamers won’t mind revisiting it in a slightly different form. Let’s check out whether or not this game is worth the time and money.
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones Works the Mind
The Sacred Stones is a turn-based RPG that focuses on character development within the framework of a very deep storyline. If players are looking for a button masher you might as well leave this review right now. There’s a lot of text to digest that a player can’t skip over because it provides valuable information on upcoming situations. Some of these missions can be hours long and players don’t want to miss out on hints such as the location of various items or some mention of an enemy’s weakness.
Background Information on Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
A long time ago, peace was established among several kingdoms by the use of the five Sacred Stones which eradicated the threat of the evil monsters. Now after a century of peace the Grado Empire has attacked the Kingdom of Renai’s, causing the prince and princess to locate the five stones to once again establish peace on the continent. A map will outline missions and allow players to revisit areas to earn more points and goodies to build up characters.
Battles are turn-based and can be fought with weapons, magic, and summoned monsters. There are many classes in the game each with special abilities and skills. With experience points earned players can upgrade characters into new classes such as cavaliers, paladins and great knights. The battles look spectacular with great animation and particle effects. Expanding on the fantasy theme this version includes monstrous enemies such as zombies, skeletons and gargoyles.
Interactive Gameplay with Friends
Within the storyline you will forge deep relationships with the characters in your party. Not only will players help to upgrade characters, but they will learn a lot about them through the storyline and as players interact with them during the game. This is the perfect set up because if a player loses one of them in battle they’re gone for good. The only way to get them back is to start the entire mission over again which can take a few hours. This really gives something to worry about since players will obviously have a lot invested in their characters.
Final Thoughts
The production is top notch, with great graphics and animation. It looks, sounds and plays just like the original which is a really good thing since many consider it an instant classic. The blend of RPG and turn based strategy is an excellent combination, at least for this game. Gamers can replay the single-player campaign countless times and never have the exact same experience. For a change, the single-player mode is actually better than the multiplayer mode. Expect weeks upon weeks of pure gaming fun.