February
28, 2005
Intelligent
Systems' Fire Emblem series has enjoyed a following in Japan
for a number of years, appearing on the NES, Super NES, and Gameboy
platforms. Now, the American arrival has been making waves on
the Advance, giving the portable system another quality strategy
game. That's always a good thing. This
is actually the seventh Fire Emblem, but knowing that isn't important,
unless you're trying to impress other nerds with your trivia
(of course, you could also smuggle them alcohol, but that's another
topic). If you're familiar with Advance
Wars, then you know pretty
much everything you need to know. This is a turn-based strategy
game that also involves moving military units around forest,
hills, bridges, and towns.
Giving
the strategy genre a fantasy-RPG twist is novel enough for console
games to still stand out. The story, which plows ahead at a steady
clip, involves a girl who discovers that she is a long-lost princess
who must reclaim her rightful place before villanous upstarts
steal the throne from an ailing king. Usually, this is when I
start groaning, as these games just start piling on the same
fairy tale routines; it's as lifeless and outmoded as a mullet
man in a biker bar. What
do I have to do to get someone to write a decent script? If you're
going to make your game dependant on story, than shouldn't you
put, oh, I don't know, ten minutes into the writing? There once
was a whole thriving genre of computer adventures with witty
scripts. I'm not expecting Hemmingway, but seriously, enough
with this. Boring! The
real game (the part that involves, you know, playing) is solid
fun, thanks to Intelligent Systems' longstanding experience.
These people know how to make a game that's challenging. If you
want a Gameboy game that will kill a lot of time, it's this one. That
said, I have to major beefs with Fire Emblem that I've never
been able to overcome. First, if you lose a character in battle,
you can never get them back. They're gone for good. Usually,
in an RPG, dead fighters can be revived; not here. Needless to
say, that's a pretty lousy kick in the shins. Second
problem, you can't create your own maps. Now, granted, I'm likely
in the minority on this one, but the custom maps feature is the
best thing about Advance Wars 2; it makes the game a multiplayer
classics. This game is largely a single-player exercise, but
so what? There should be the option to play against other friends
and create your own maps. That ought to be framed in a plaque
and hung on the wall. How
much that affects things for you is your business. If you can
still slosh your way through Fire Emblem and keep a smile on
your face, more power to you. Knock yerself out, kids. |
