Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. This is the second game in the Fire Emblem series to be released outside of Japan and the final game in the series to be released for the Game Boy Advance.

Plot
This game takes place on the fictional continent of Magvel which is divided into five nations. Each of the nations here is built around a magical stone said to be linked to the imprisonment of an ancient demon. One of the five nations (Grado Empire) invades its neighbors and begins to destroy the stones. Now the two main characters Eirika and Ephraim (who are twins) set out to gather allies and halt Grado's conquest by trying to uncover the reasons for the war.

Why It's Sacred

 * 1) The gameplay itself is still similar to that of Blazing Blade and Binding Blade, but the thing is that it still manages to stay true to what Fire Emblem is known for. The tactical RPG gameplay!
 * 2) Brings back some features from previous games at its time.
 * 3) *The world map from Gaiden is back. The world map allows you to get more freedom in choosing to play the game. Gives players more control of how much experience the team gets.
 * 4) *Monster units (also from Gaiden) are back in this game with some monsters being introduced in this game. You got revenants, entombeds, bonewalkers, mogalls, baels, tarvoses, gargoyles, cyclopes, gorgons, etc.
 * 5) *Like in Genealogy of the Holy War, the skill system is used there. Some units have unique skills that can be used in battle. For instance, the general class has a Great Shield skill. Another example would be the bishop class having a Slayer skill. Assassins and rogues in this game have a Disarm Trap skill.
 * 6) *And who could not forget the support conversations returning as expected. Support conversations can be attained in the optional skirmish battles and extra battles in the Creature Campaign.
 * 7) After the 8th chapter, the game splits into two paths depending on the player's choice. You can either choose Eirika's or Ephraim's routes to continue. If you want a challenge, try Ephraim's. Once chapter 15 starts, you can then have control over both main characters. The story would be the same, but there will be some major differences on Ephraim's route.
 * 8) Introduced a branching class-change system. Compared to the previous GBA games, this one allows players the power to choose what type of advanced class your unit can become. The only characters who can't have this would be our two main characters due to how they have their own unique class. You still need specific items to change class.
 * 9) Trainee classes are introduced here. They are similar to the villagers from Gaiden only they comprise a pupil, journeyman, and recruits. Those characters will gain more experience than usual and reaching Level 10 will make them stop getting experience and can now class-change at the beginning of the next battle without the aid of an item.
 * 10) Similar to the Trial Maps from The Binding Blade and The Blazing Blade, there is a post-game mode called Creature Campaign. Players can wander the completed world map and fight in the Tower of Valni, Lagdou Ruins, and various monster Skirmishes. You are allowed to getting into all of the game's shops to replenish the supplies you have. There are no goals here.
 * 11) *Secret shops are available here. You can infinitely collect items and allow every unit to have their stats maxed (only if the player is interested).
 * 12) *Some characters are exclusive to this mode like Orson, Ismaire, Selena, Hayden, Valter, Glen, Fado, Lyon, etc.
 * 13) If you are counting the maps from Tower of Valni, Lagdou Ruins, and Melkaen Coast as the afformed locations are not actual chapters, the game has a total of unique maps dialed up to 49.
 * 14) Colorful graphics and sprites just like what you expect with a GBA Fire Emblem game. It's built on the same engine as the other GBA Fire Emblem games. The maps and backgrounds look great as well thanks to that.
 * 15) A simple yet top-notch story. The story is easy to understand and some of the scenes had images that look like something art of an art piece or a manga just so that the story can be told in the way it was meant to be (well for GBA standards). Here are some examples.
 * 16) Has a multiplayer mode called Link Arena. This is a local multiplayer mode where four players can take chosen units to the arena. The last group standing or the part with the highest score wins. Permanent death is disabled in this mode!
 * 17) A cast of colorful and likable characters. Some characters are easy to like and why don't we introduce them like this.
 * 18) *Eirika is one of the two main characters in this game. She is depicted as a gentle girl who is against violence. Despite her hatred towards violence, that does not mean that she is a coward as she does accepts that fighting is a necessity during the war. Not to mention that she can actually fight.
 * 19) *Ephraim is another main character. He's a confident and brave leader who dislikes wasting time. While he does seem to struggle with communication, it's not to the point where it's very severe. He still cares for others and has even gone to the point of protecting his own sister.
 * 20) *Lyon is one of the main antagonists of the game. He's interesting since his character is different when he talks to Ephraim and Eirika. When he goes under the Demon King's control, he becomes a threat who has a speech that appears in a black box with white text. So cool!
 * 21) *Seth is a 'duty comes first' man who is honorable. While cold outside, he is also just and fair. Also a cool General of the Knights of Renais.
 * 22) *Duessel is one of Grado's Six Generals who have martial prowess, honor, and a will to fight for the greater good. He's also the same guy who trained Ephraim at one point.
 * 23) *Other characters are likable and relateable too such as the earnest Franz, the quiet yet dependable Gilliam, the fierce yet gentle Garcia, the cunning Joshua, the blunt Marisa, the spiritually wise Saleh, the hearty Dozla, the inexperienced yet desirable Amelia, etc.
 * 24) Soundtrack is atmospheric as expected. Keeps the medieval-like setting the series is known for.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) While the game is still good, it's noted to be too similar to the previous game The Blazing Blade.
 * 2) Graphical glitches may occur at certain times during gameplay. For instance, if the playtime exceeds 200 hours, which will result in the 0 in the middle not present if the player is saving their game. Another thing is that during floor 7 in Lagdou ruins, a glitch may occur if the player attempted to solo the floor. Despite this, they are minor glitches and they are not severe enough to crash the game.
 * 3) *Speaking of glitches. In the English version, players need to take caution when using Wyvern Knights because it has a glitch where if it throws a javelin and activates its skill, the game will lock.
 * 4) For some reason, if a Pegasus Knight promotes to a Wyvern Knight and supports a certain character, they will still talk about their "pegasus" even if they are clearly riding wyverns.
 * 5) Since you have infinite chances for training units, the difficulty gets drastically lowered.
 * 6) Both the routes for the main characters can't be experienced simultaneously in one play-through.
 * 7) Some errors in the game like Tirado being said in the US version to be an aide to General Grado when it should be General Valter or some supports referring to other characters like Garcia calling Gilliam "Garcia" or when Kyle calls Syrene "Selena".
 * 8) If Joshua dies, Myrrh will take his place in Eirika's epilogue. However, it's unclear who would lead Jehanna.

Reception
The reviews of the game are generally positive. GameRankings gave the game an 84%, Metacritic gave the game an 85/100, 1Up.com gave the game a B+, NGC Magazine gave the game 4 stars, RPGamer gave the game a 4/5, PALGN gave the game a 9/10, and RPGFan gave the game an 82%

Trivia

 * 1) *Years later, it spawned the E-enough! Brother, you are starting to anger me! meme and the If I were not a holy woman, I would beat you senseless meme
 * 2) *As a comic book adaptation as a collaboration between Nintendo, Udon, and Gamepro. It takes place before the game's prologue and it was promotional material for the English release of the game. It tells the story of an unnamed Renais general who was created solely for the comic.
 * 3) *To promote its release in Japan, a special commercial was created for broadcast in September of 2004 where it had a girl playing on a Game Boy Advance being drawn into the worlds of the Fire Emblem series.
 * 4) *According to Nintendo Treehouse staff members Tim O'Leary and Alan Averill, the game was an easier game to localize for as it had less text content.

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