Angell Soul Reviews: Fire Emblem

Hello dear readers, I’m a friend of Rpg Soul and you can call me Angell Soul (it’s a pun on my actual name, trust me it’s funny). RPGs can be time consuming endeavors for even the most dedicated gamers. With some titles taking as much as 60+ hours to complete the main story alone, not many have the time to play every game that’s out there. I’ll be contributing reviews to the blog as much as I can to help make Rpg Soul’s job a little easier and making it possible for this blog to cover a wider range of topics.

Today’s review will focus on one of the most successful and well known series of tactical role playing games, Fire Emblem. Previously, Nintendo had shied away from translating the games into English because they were afraid the series’ notorious difficulty would turn off Western gamers. However, the inclusion of two characters from the series, Marth and Roy, in Super Smash Bros. Melee generated enough interest in the property to justify a localization of their next title in 2004. So, let’s take a good look at Fire Emblem for the Game Boy Advance, the game that made Fire Emblem a staple of tactical rpgs the world over.

The most famous gameplay element that most people probably know about Fire Emblem (until the introduction of casual modes in the most recent games) even if they haven’t played it before is the fact that characters stay dead once they die in battle. If any of the three main characters die the game ends and you have to restart the level, if any of the supporting characters die they are gone from your party for the remainder of the game. For anyone with even the slightest OCD tendencies this element of the game can be infuriating: especially, when a lucky critical strike from an enemy takes out one of your favourite characters with a single hit. We’ll go into more detail about the gameplay later on. For now let’s go on to discussing the story elements.

Plot: Most people would probably tell you that the plot of a tactical rpg really isn’t that important, what really matters is the tactical depth and difficulty the game provides. The story of Fire Emblem is pretty much a straightforward jrpg plot that doesn’t provide many surprises. A small group of heroes and their band of followers are drawn into a conflict that quickly evolves into a fight to save the whole world from a shadowy sorcerer and his evil army. The group eventually rescues a pair of siblings who the big bad wants to sacrifice for nefarious purposes. Eventually, the secret of the brother and sister is revealed and evil is defeated. The setting is typical of a medieval sword and sorcery style fantasy world and includes mystical creatures like pegasuses and wyverns.

Opinion: The plot provides very little that is particularly memorable. It checks all the usual boxes: brave heroes, fight against evil, grand consequences. It’s truly the rewarding gameplay and the memorable characters that make people continue to sing the praise of this game. The story is nothing terrible, but nothing notable either.
2/5 Soul

Character(s): The characters in Fire Emblem are probably as equally forgettable as the plot is. However, the aforementioned permadeath feature of the game does keep you strangely attached to them. The key way you learn about the individual stories of your faithful companions is through character conversations that can be triggered in combat. That means if you want to learn more about your favourite characters you have to use them in combat, which then means that they might die before you get to see their relationships flourish! 

There’s an element of dating sim to the matching of characters. If you successful get their relationships up to the max level and keep them alive to the end, then certain characters will have special paired endings. Most of those endings usually involve some sort of romantic outcome like marriage.

Despite most of the supporting characters being basic anime stereotypes the way we learn about them does have a tendency to make us get invested in the characters. However, this doesn’t apply so much to the three main characters who are fairly bland.

Lyn, the lead heroine, is a brave and honest warrior who believes in what is right and fights for the greater good. Elliwood and Hector are basically the same but they have penises instead. The player character is a nameless and faceless tactician who the main characters consult with before battles. Your character has no personality whatsoever.

3/5 Soul


Gameplay: Gameplay is of course where Fire Emblem shines at its best. The battles are challenging and the game provides you with a variety of different kinds of settings and win conditions which keep the game feeling fresh all the way to the end. Combat is based around a simple to master rock-paper-scissors system for weapons and magic. There are a limited number of stages available so you also have to be careful how you use your characters to make sure they level up appropriately. You also have limited weapons stock and money that you have to keep an eye on to make sure you are equipped properly for battle. The battles in Fire Emblem provide a fun mix of storytelling and character building with challenging high stakes combat because of the permanent death feature. This is the winning formula that made Fire Emblem the enduring hit it has become today.

5/5 Soul

Overall: Fire Emblem has definitely become a classic as the first English language version of the game to be released. The battles are still challenging and fun to play even to this day. However, the story doesn’t quite hold my interest as much as other tactical rpgs. The Final Fantasy Tactics series have shown that tactical rpgs don’t have to sacrifice story for gameplay, you can have the best of both worlds. Despite its sometimes generic packaging, Fire Emblem remains a great game well worth your time, I cannot wait for the new Fire Emblem Fates. 4/5 Soul