Product Description

For generations, the nations of Magvel have lived in perfect peace. Now, defying all reason, the Grado Empire has invaded neighboring Renais. Twin heirs to the throne of Renais, Eirika and Ephraim fight to free their kingdom and uncover the secret behind their former ally's treachery in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5104 in Video Games
• Brand: Nintendo
• Model: GANIN 045496735203
• Released on: 2006-09-08
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Game Boy Advance
• Subtitled in: German
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00" h x 5.00" w x 5.00" l, .18 pounds

Features

• Take on all-new monster battles and the Tower of Valni, with floor after floor of challenging fights, to gain the experience your soldiers need
• As your soldiers increase in skill, you'll be able to choose between multiple classes to customize your army -- cavaliers, paladins, knighst and more are at your disposal
• Field dozens of new soldiers and units on the field, from pegasus knights to mage knights
• New submaps you'll be able to enter and leave at will, plus a new class change system for upgrades

From the Manufacturer
For generations, the nations of Magvel have lived in perfect peace. Now, defying all reason, the Grado Empire has invaded neighboring Renais. Twin heirs to the throne of Renais, Eirika and Ephraim fight to free their kingdom and uncover the secret behind their former ally’s treachery in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

Features:

• Execute your attack! Plan your strategy to take advantage of your strengths and exploit your enemy’s weaknesses. Guide your soldiers carefully, because if they fall in battle, they’re gone forever!
• Command dozens of soldiers on the field, from the familiar pegasus knights and cavaliers to brand-new units like the mage knights, who wield both weapons and wizardry in battle.
• Discover new ways to improve your army! Take on all-new monster battles and the Tower of Valni, with floor after floor of challenging fights, to gain the experience your soldiers need to master their skills.
• As your soldiers increase in skill, you’ll be able to choose between multiple classes to customize your army and master your perfect strategy! Will your cavalier become a paladin, or will he sacrifice speed for power and become a great knight? The choice is yours!

As with the previous Fire Emblem, there are legions of unique character classes in the game: Each character has a unique set of skills, shaping the way in which you play the game. You can decide which characters to use, giving you more control over your strategic approach. This game includes brand-new character classes and introduces a new way of changing your character classes, opening up new strategic possibilities: players can choose how to develop their characters and what types of units to focus on.

New units include the axe-wielding great knight; the summoner, who can call monsters into battle; the mage knight, who can use both weapons and magic; and many more. For the first time, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones features some traditional fantasy monsters, from skeletons to zombies, from gargoyles to gorgons--these monsters generate new challenges for experienced players.

Taking a cue from traditional role-playing games, this installment of Fire Emblem gives players the opportunity to gain experience and build their units’ levels endlessly by fighting in new monster battles. As a result, the game not only gives new players the opportunity to practice and improve, but also gives advanced players the chance to develop their characters to suit their playing styles. This feature gives players of this Fire Emblem much more flexibility in developing their units.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones contains a new guide that contains a glossary of terms and explanation of game commands and features. Players can review this information at any time.

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Customer Reviews

Better Sequel to a Great Game
It is a time of peace, suddenly, your country of Renais is attacked by your ally, Grado. They are after the Sacred Stone, but why would they want the very thing that sealed the Demon King away centuries ago?

Welcome back to the realm of Fire Emblem. This installment had nothing to do with the other game (which is a little disappointing) but it still is as good as the first. So, what's new this time around, well first off, there's a difficulty selection available from the start (you had to unlock it in the first). There's beginner, which explains the game and has a tutorial, normal, for those of us who played through the first one and know much of the controls, and difficult, for those who want a challenge.

I got to say that I'm glad that they've added this feature so we don't have to listen to the idiotic tutorial (its good to look at it if your a beginner, but its still annoying). Anyway, the core of this game is essentially the same with some added features.

These added features include that of choosing what you want your character to turn into. For example, in the first game, thieves could only become an assassin. However, in this game you have a choice of an assassin, which is a killing machine (if you have the Killing Edge equipped), or become a Rougue, which is a thief who doesn't need lockpicks to open doors and chests. This adds a lot to the game too.

The other neat feature is the ability to walk on the world map and choose where you want to go. This system, I would compare it to that of FF Tactics Advance because you can run into monsters who are also new to the series.

There's also a Tower of Valni that is like an endurance round. You can leave whenever you want to, and its not required that you go there.

The storyline this time around is predictable but still can be classified as good. I mean I figured from the start what was going to happen, and most of your predictions will come true.

My favorite thing about this game are the main characters, Eirika and Ephraim. They are twins but seem to be complete opposites. Eirika is the peace loving princess who hates war, and Ephraim is the one who runs off trying to find pride in fighting.

So, should you pick up this game? Yes, if you liked the first one, but wanted more or if you haven't played the first. No, if you are tired of the gameplay from the first game because all you are going to get is the recycled form of the original.

PROS
- Good game with good stratergy ideas
- You have the choice to choose if you want the tutorial
- The added walk on the map feature is very useful
- The ability to choose what your unit will become

CONS
- The story is way too predictable
- A lot of this game is recycled from the old game (can be good or bad)

An Entertaining and Engrossing RPG
If you've played the first Fire Emblem, then you already know that this is a must have. But it doesn't matter if you're new, because the stories are unrelated.

The story is good, but a little cliched. There once was an evil monster who terrorized the world, but then he was sealed up by the Sacred Stone. Fast forward to the present. There are six kingdoms, five of which keep the Sacred Stones. The country of Renais has shared a friendly relationship with the Grado empire, until one day Grado invades. The prince and princess of Renais, Ephraim and Eirika, go looking for help from other nations, and eventually find out that the Grado emporer is trying to destroy the Sacred Stones and release the evil of old upon the world. So of course, they have to stop him.

Now on to the gameplay. It's excellent. It's pretty much the same as the first Fire Emblem. You direct your units on the field, but you have to be careful of the enemy's range. The weapon and magic triangles return, which, if you're not familiar with it, is like a game of rock-paper-scissors. You can upgrade your characters' classes when they get to a high enough level, as in the last game, but now you can choose between classes. For example, a myridian can become a swordmaster or an assassin. Also, if your characters are too weak, there are optional battles with monsters, and places where you defeat monsters floor by floor.

Graphics are good overall. The field animations are average, but the battle scenes are nice and fluid. All the characters look beautiful. No pretty cutscene stills this time around, though.

And the characters are wonderful. This is my favorite thing about Fire Emblem. Each unit is an individual with his own face and personality. Then you have supports. When you put two compatible units together for a while, they can have a support conversation. Through this you learn a little more about the characters, but it also improves their stats when they are near each other on the field. Even more interesting, if you have a high enough support between a male and female character, they'll probably get married in the end. There is, however, a down side to the characters' individuality. It makes it so you don't want to lose any of them, so every time someone dies, you have to start the chapter over. Unless you just want to beat the game and aren't concerned about the characters.

Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, sound is great. The music is good, and appropriate for whatever the situation is. And the sound effects are nice, especially the one for a successful hit. THWACK!

The replay value is good. Ephraim and Eirika split up during the game, and you'll need to play both scenarios to get the full story. Plus if you're like me, you will want every single support conversation for the archive, which takes a very long time.

Nice extras. There's a sound room, and after you beat the game you can view the support conversations you've unlocked. There are also multiplayer options.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is one of my favorite games. It is excellent, and although it is somewhat easier than the last game, it's still hard. A must for RPG fans, but be ready for a challenge.

Good Game
This game is a lot of fun, and it's my first Fire Emblem game. You commandeer about 10 different characters in this story, and you fight against a variety of characters as you progress through the story. You must supply your soldiers with weapons (which break over time) while still managing your slim budget. The two main characters are Eirika and Ephraim, and you must choose between whom you wish to play. The storyline and characters are very interesting and if it didn't have such a plotline I probably would've just passed it up as another Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (which, I must say, was rather a boring game.)

The pet peeves about this game, however, are numbered few. The most annoying things about this game is that if a charcter other than Eirika and Ephraim die, they're gone forever. However, you can choose to restart the chapter, but that gets kind of annoying if you keep dying. A second annoying thing about this game is that your weapons break. Not too big of a deal, but annoying still.

Overall, I think this game is great and should be a part of any gamer's collection. I've been playing it nonstop since I got it; it was worth the money.