Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones review

Fire Emblem has always suffered from being Intelligent Systems' "other" strategy franchise - overlooked by many in favour of the all-conquering Advance Wars series. However, more's the pity for those who passed on the last title: it offered a richly-textured, immensely enjoyable and highly addictive experience (even though it was very frustrating at times). So, can Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones move away from the shadow of Advance Wars? Upon playing the game, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd placed the previous Fire Emblem cartridge into your GBA; aside from some minor cosmetic changes, the battle graphics appear to have hardly moved on and the cut-scenes play out in exactly the same way (albeit with a different story and set of characters). Adding to this sense of familiarity is the fact that The Sacred Stones plays identically to its predecessor: the ingenious Weapons Triangle remains in place, as do the support conversations, promotions system (although you can now recruit three 'rookie' characters - over whose development you have a slightly freer hand) and the limited durability of weapons and items. But upholding firmly-established traditions is no bad thing when the last game was so good. Scratch the surface however, and you'll find that more has changed than you initially thought. Gamestyle was particularly impressed by the presentation: the previous Fire Emblem was certainly no slouch in this department, but everything in The Sacred Stones has been refined and tidied up - menus are easy to use and information is never more than a button press away (Intelligent Systems has even added an in-game guide that expands as you encounter new gameplay elements). While it's true that when you first play the game everything looks decidedly familiar, look a little deeper and you'll soon notice that player and enemy characters are far more detailed than before (as is their animation). However, the element of frustration remains: if lost in battle, a character stays "dead" for the rest of the game - meaning difficult decisions are required over what is an acceptable rate of attrition, or whether you should restart lengthy battles if someone is lost at the end. The auto-save feature (which is incredibly useful when playing on the move) makes it even harder to go back and fix that one false move that resulted in the loss of your favourite character. Whilst The Sacred Stones' plot is fairly generic 'save the world from the forces of darkness' RPG fare, it is told in a compelling manner via the numerous cut-scenes that bookend each chapter, and further serves to draw the player in. Each recruitable character has an interesting backstory which is fleshed out by the many support conversations (meaning you'll grow quite attached to your motley collection of warriors and misfits). The plot gets really clever midway through the game when it branches in such a way that two sets of missions are available (depending on which of the two main characters you wish to follow); this is a neat trick and adds plenty of replay value to the title. The biggest change you'll notice is the inclusion of an overworld map, whereby you're free to visit previously-cleared areas to purchase items or battle the monsters that randomly appear. Unfortunately, this disrupts the compelling urgency of the narrative as you can indulge in a spot of levelling up, rather than follow the story. And as The Sacred Stones consists of just over 20 chapters (as opposed to well over 30 in the last title), everything feels so rushed that it detracts from the overall experience - Gamestyle felt as if we had just got to grips with the abilities of each of our characters, and how they best interacted, when the game ended. Further compounding the paucity of levels is that the game is too easy: the map allows for unlimited levelling up (so you can always ensure your party is strong enough for the next challenge), item management is also far less of a concern than it has been previously in the series (as you can revisit shops), and an armourer from whom you can purchase a variety of basic weapons even travels with your party. The previous game had a taut difficulty curve that required well-devised strategy to move to the next mission - giving the player freedom to explore has effectively removed this vital element. While Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is probably too similar to its predecessor to win over a host of new fans, its core gameplay is highly enjoyable and quite addictive (and there's plenty of replay value). It's just a shame that the biggest and boldest changes to the trusted Fire Emblem formula are arguably the most flawed elements on offer; this isn't the A-grade title that Gamestyle was hoping for and it looks as though Fire Emblem will remain in the shadow of Advance Wars - well, at least until the next instalment.