Overall score on pook's 100-point system (TM): 88 or just 9. A must play for tactics lovers
Graphics (24/30, judged by system)- Being developed by Intelligent Systems, who also do the Advance Wars games, much of the graphics have a familiar feel. Simple, overhead maps and fairly easy-to-read "pieces" on the map "gameboard." It also maintains a fairly unimpressive attitude from that perspective. However, Fire Emblem ratchets up the graphics quite a good bit more with nice PC/NPC portraits (lots), and fantastic battle animations. The animations are not supremely well-drawn or anything, they are stylized but are actually animated with a lot of care, even for minimal frames. It's hard to explain, but someone who knows animation well did them, and there's lots to see on that front. The story is told through still story sequences which have lots of still art, usually in sepia-tone, but of so-so quality.
Sound: Fx/Voice (8/10)- As much as this is a strategy board-type game, there is quite a lot of sound, most of it relegated to battle animations where they are well recorded, in stereo and very well done. From clanking armor to small foot shifts making noise to the whir of a spinning blade, this ended up being a very appreciated part of the game and added a lot to the battles.
Sound: Music (7/10)- The music here is generally very well done, some of it memorable, and recorded in stereo (something 1st party titles often do that I wish 3rd parties would on the GBA). What's unfortunate is that with such a fast-moving game, you rarely hear more than a few seconds of various tracks before the game switches views or modes and fires off a different one. There's no sitting back and enjoying the music most of the time. Thankfully you can unlock a sound room, but it's really better to have it appreciable in-game.
Gameplay: Length (15/15)- The first run through the game clocked at 25 hours (though deaths probably pushed that to 30). This was already a very good length. Upon completing the game, however a second-story opens up along with hard modes if you want to attempt them. I did try the second story which was another 25-30 hours and well worth it. I suppose if you played all modes once this could easily be a 100 hour game, but at 50 I'm more than satisfied.
Gameplay: Story (4/5)- While from chapter to chapter there is definitely a definable goal and intrigue, the story is once again somewhat forgettable RPG fare. What makes the game compelling on the story front are the characters. There are a ton of NPCs you get the opportunity of using and their conversations end up being a highlight more than anything. They may start to develop friendships between each other depending on your actions and what characters you're using. And finally because the characters have their own motivations (though often shallow) you want to see them through the adventure. When one dies you are definitely left with a wonder of what might have been. This becomes a strong motivator for replay, to see if you can take different characters through the game, especially since the first time around you certainly will lose quite a lot of them to silly mistakes. Making you care about characters is a nice accomplishment.
Gameplay: Game Design (30/30)- If you complained that Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was easy, and like Advance Wars, then this game is definitely for you. It's fast moving like Advance Wars and shares a similar base-level rock/paper/scissors battle scheme. Beyond that the depth begins. The most touted aspect is the fact that when your characters die, they die for good. You can either restart the mission or you can move forward. It is very painful to lose characters but it makes the game all the better if you simply move forward and treat the game realistically. Of course if you lose too many it may become impossible to finish the game, so there may be occasions where you lose many characters in one battle and it's advisable to restart. But wimping out and restarting after every death will severely diminish your enjoyment of the game.
Beyond that, the game treats your characters like an RPG. You carry them from battle to battle, they gain levels, stats, weapon proficiencies and can eventually change class, perhaps. They form friendships with each other that makes bonded characters perform better when in close proximity. There is decent item management and though weapons break with usage (something I normally don't like), it's managed here well.
AI in the game is another interesting factor, coupled with the permanent deaths. If the CPU thinks it has a chance of killing one of your players (based on stats, I presume), then it attempt to do so. This means that the CPU is actually quite efficient at killing your characters off, and forces you to play defensively at times.
There really is just so much to the game that I liked. Small things, like being able to turn animations off for battles; in FE you can turn off animations by character. During my 2nd run through the game this came in very useful since I wanted to see animations for new characters but not ones I'd grown tired of in the first play. The game auto-saves after every turn which makes it great for pick-up-and-play and also stops you from attempting to cheat and replay a turn you died on. You will die again if you reload that file attempting to change what happened. Pre-battle stats screens end up being quite useful…many of the layers of the game were only fully appreciated in the second play-through, which made it a pleasure to do.
Final Thoughts: The unforgiving nature of the game may frustrate you at first but you'll quickly find yourself loving this game. One of my favs on the GBA, easily.
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