One of the truly under appreciated games of our time is Fire Emblem. Fire Emblem is a series of tactical RPGs that are Nintendo exclusive. My personal favorite title, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken (Or simply titled Fire Emblem in America) is a GBA release that is a prequel to Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi. Why am i telling you this? Roy, who appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee, was the main character in Fuuin no Tsurugi. And in Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, you use Roy's old man Eliwood. Fun? Well, how about we find out!

Gameplay: Okay, so it is a turn by turn RPG. Some people may find that boring. But some people will also smoke marijuana. Sure it is turn based, but Fire Emblem is for strategy. Like a NIS title, Disgaea, it is played on a grid on which you must position your characters. Unlike Disgaea, there are different types of terrains, and more objectives than simply "Kill everything on screen." There are more deciding factors in combat than you may take into account, some small details you may take for granted are crucial notes in Fire Emblem. Especially equipment. Weapons break over time, and your characters can't heal their own JP. And as a very devistating note, once a character in Fire Emblem dies, THEY ARE DEAD FOR GOOD! Well... okay, maybe not for good. Characters who are defeated in the tutorial chapters will appear later, but with reduced stats. Another thing that makes it difficult is the characters. Some characters, such as Marcus or Wallace, start out STRONG, but end up being useless by the end of the game. While characters like Lyn, Florina, Guy, Matthew, and Kent start off weak but turn into unstoppable killing machines if you can level them up. Also, the character support system adds more variety to the plot and emphasizes the lives of the fan favorite side-characters.

Graphics: Well... okay, so the GBA is outdated. ********. But for a GBA game, it is very well made. The sprites are very good, and the CGI artwork and several backgrounds are beautiful. Not to mention that some characters are eye candy.

Plotline: Fire Emblem in a nutshell: Someone is awoken to a great legacy they were not aware of and will somehow become involved in saving the world, and somehow an artifact called the Fire Emblem will be involved. But while Nintendo games usually recycle more than just the backbone of the plot, it can be noted that there tends to be a lot of variety between Fire Emblem games. In my opinion it beats Final Fantasy because the plot is more realistic and has less random twists and emos. Now, the plot is deep, you have to pay really close attention. And different characters you unlock and have support conversations with reveal more to the plot or allow for more fun or emotions. It can be funny, it can be exciting, it can be tragic, and it can be sickingly sweet. All that, and chicks with swords and green hair. Finest kind of game you can get! XD

Music: Once again, you can't expect much out of the GBA. While Golden Sun was better, the Fire Emblem hand held games have decent music and sound. Even though the beeping sound that is used instead of character speech does get on your nerves after a while.

Difficulty: It is easy on the easy mode, decent on the hard mode, and a challenge on the bonus Hector Hard Mode.

Overall: As far as GBA games are concerned, this is probably the best. It is like a very good graphic novel that you control. It certainly has enough text to be a novel...
Also! The support conversation system, great characters, fun strategy, great story, and a few more details on the events that lead to Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi. As far as prequels go, this game was one of the few that stayed true to its plot (as opposed to Devil May Cry 3). Forget the emos in Final Fantasy, this game is a lot more memorable, a lot more addicting, and a lot more fun. And it is a lot more structured.

Final rating: 10/10