replayed this one to do the ephraim route. i think coming out of a replay of the first real fe game i ever played multiple years after starting this series has made me appreciate it a lot more. it still has one of the best casts, probably the best visuals and soundtrack the series had on the gba, the story is one of my favorites in fire emblem when viewed from both routes, and lyon is easily the best main antagonist in the series. i do think the maps are pretty easy on normal mode, but the maps are well designed and it's far from the easiest. i honestly wonder why the difficulty is such a point of contention for fe8 but not awakening which is much easier.

overall a very special game to me. it's still a bit upsetting that magvel is the only pre-modern continent we never got explored again in a future entry to the point where its mythology/lore is easily one of the least fleshed out in the series other than fates and engage. at this point hoping for a sequel to fe8 is a bit silly, so i'll just enjoy what we got the way we got it.