The game that saved Fire Emblem as a franchise. Pretty cool.
Gameplay Rating: 7/10
It's definitely Fire Emblem, albeit super simplified.
That being said, it is probably the easiest Fire Emblem game if you're doing a regular playthrough. I can't speak for the mental ward patients doing Lunatic+ No Supports No Pair Up No Items No Weapons No Skills No Crying runs (god bless their souls), but it is comically easy to turn this game into an absolute cakewalk by reclassing only once with the Second Seal, gaining not just more chances to hit your stat caps, but also gaining entirely new skills that break the game (see: Galeforce). Combine that with the Support System and Pair Up, it becomes obscenely easy to steamroll through the game. And let's not even get started on how busted the Child Units are.
Map Design-wise, it's definitely on the weaker side compared to the rest of the franchise. None of the maps are particularly too memorable, barring a few of the gimmicky maps like the volcano one, but I don't remember there being a particularly bad map. Maybe the desert chapters, but those are in virtually every Fire Emblem game.
Story Rating: 8/10
The first arc, up to Chapter 11, is one of the strongest introductions to Fire Emblem; I'd argue that it's THE best place to start when playing Fire Emblem because it gives you pretty much everything you could ask for.
From there it kind of wanes a little with the Valm arc, but it's passable for the most part.
The characters are fun. There's some good interactions between the cast in the Supports, like Lon'qu and Cherche's.
It's nothing mindblowing, but it's solid enough.
Colorblind Rating: A+
Nothing really affected me here, so it's a-ok.
Gameplay Rating: 7/10
It's definitely Fire Emblem, albeit super simplified.
That being said, it is probably the easiest Fire Emblem game if you're doing a regular playthrough. I can't speak for the mental ward patients doing Lunatic+ No Supports No Pair Up No Items No Weapons No Skills No Crying runs (god bless their souls), but it is comically easy to turn this game into an absolute cakewalk by reclassing only once with the Second Seal, gaining not just more chances to hit your stat caps, but also gaining entirely new skills that break the game (see: Galeforce). Combine that with the Support System and Pair Up, it becomes obscenely easy to steamroll through the game. And let's not even get started on how busted the Child Units are.
Map Design-wise, it's definitely on the weaker side compared to the rest of the franchise. None of the maps are particularly too memorable, barring a few of the gimmicky maps like the volcano one, but I don't remember there being a particularly bad map. Maybe the desert chapters, but those are in virtually every Fire Emblem game.
Story Rating: 8/10
The first arc, up to Chapter 11, is one of the strongest introductions to Fire Emblem; I'd argue that it's THE best place to start when playing Fire Emblem because it gives you pretty much everything you could ask for.
From there it kind of wanes a little with the Valm arc, but it's passable for the most part.
The characters are fun. There's some good interactions between the cast in the Supports, like Lon'qu and Cherche's.
It's nothing mindblowing, but it's solid enough.
Colorblind Rating: A+
Nothing really affected me here, so it's a-ok.