Little did I know that a game I bought because the artwork on the gem case looked cool would turn out to be one of my favorite RPGs of all time, still living rent free in my brain 20+ years after I initially played it.

For those wanting to experience this game in a more modern setting, they're giving it a remaster and re-releasing on steam and switch, including an update on the translation, which would be my only real knock against this gem. It wasn't as horrible as some of the worst offenders at the time, but it could...Certainly have been improved.

But the core of the experience remained in this game, which is a JRPG which is NOT 'teenagers go and kill god', but rather one based on politics and intrigue. So you know. Relatable reasons. Its a game with so many well placed twists and betrayals and reveals that 20 years later I still don't want to spoil them. It also includes one of most memorable villains in any game ever, Luca Blight.

You can also hire a detective who can look into the background of a unicorn that joined your party, and he complains about what went wrong in his life to lead him to this juncture.

Starring Red Cloud as he came to be known back then. A game that can make dragons boring. Horrible translation alongside a nonsensical storyline holds back...Uhh. I mean it was a...game...? It had turn based with QTE when you hit people, about the only really interesting aspect about it. I would've rated this much higher when I had played it in the past, but replaying it as an adult led to noticing...A lot of issues. Like the storyline being bananas and said translation issues.

Games like this always have their loyal supporters, but there's a good reason Square hasn't gone back to this game.

Fire Emblem games have mostly not been renowned for their writing...But with Three Houses seeming to pave the way towards them trying to tell more nuanced stories, this game released and gave it a firm 'HAH, NOPE!'.

Disclaimer before I just dump on this game: The actual gameplay was kinda fun, some systems were neat and the maps were cool.

Everything else is crap.

You are the special-est and most renowned character EVAH. A demi-god renowned for doing...Something. That has a whole religion surrounding them with characters who actively worship them as a diety. Even your enemies can't help but respect and admire you...For some reason.

And when you look at the map, literally the ENTIRE world, even the other continents, revolve around you. ...This kind of power fantasy might gel with others, but for me this is...just...not why I'm here. Despite actually really enjoying the gameplay, the story just kept on popping in to ruin whatever I felt about it. The other characters who join your party aren't much better.

This bleeds into the 'gimmick' that the game introduces, which has you summon past characters from other Fire Emblem games to give you some neat powers. These characters are even MORE underwritten than the main character and plot itself, leading to a very jaded reasoning as to why they even bothered.

If you're a player who can completely ignore a games storyline...I guess this is for you? Mechanically this game is sound.

My personal favorite fighting game currently on the market.

Remember when 3D fighting games (As in they actually use the 3D space) were going to be the big thing? Then slowly but surely everyone started to gravitate back towards 2D fighting games. Now its only competitors are games that are owned by the same company (Tekken) or flawed anime ones.

So what makes these games fun? Being more tactical. Instead of trying to memorize a combo to deal as much damage to the enemies health bar, you tend to deal fewer but more meaningful hits to the enemy. This in conjunction with fully utilizing the 3D space of the fighting rings tends to make fights a large back and forth, giving you a larger range of attacks to try and catch the enemy off guard.

So while beginner friendly, it can also have a high skill ceiling (Though the latter is sometimes debated because...the internet...and some folks thinking that if a game doesn't give you carpal tunnel it doesn't require 'skill').

So what's new for this game? Well with the DLC this is one of, if not the biggest roster in the entire series. They've also made sure to go and edit characters so they don't feel copy and pasted like earlier entries, everyone feels fleshed out. A new mechanic that can parry and hit an opponent, that can be powerful if used at the right time, but exploited by more experienced players. And although not strictly 'new', characters now have a gauge that powers up and can be used to either pull off a super attack, or given a boost that enhances moves and attack power.

My only real complaint is that the second story mode where you create a character and roam around the world has its difficulty setting turned towards the easy side with no real way to change it. I'd say what's on offer for singleplayer folks is strong compared to its competitors, but not as deep as SC IV and not as vast as SC III's.

This and its sequel have to be one of my bigger dissapointments in playing. Boring and grindy combat, paper thin characters to 'woo'. The art is pretty but...That doesn't really help.

On the bright side, this game...is super long? You basically go through about five characters' arcs, a playthrough hitting triple digits isn't unheard of.

Save your money and just look at the artwork of the characters online. It'll be just as deep of an experience as actually playing this game.

Is there something lower than half a star?

I'm going to start by trying to find something nice to say about this game: The combat wasn't terrible. It was kinda fun? Revolved around...Not-boinking the female protagonists to give you Not-Kids who are RNG based...Annnd now I'm back to wondering if I can give this less than half a star again.

Stupidly horny game. Paper thin characters. And on top of that, your character is the most special-est and amazing-est person EVAH. Like naming your character? This game lets you do that, and immediately never uses it in place of calling you 'GG'. ...Which stands for 'God's Gift'. ...As in God's Gift to Mankind because your ji-...SOUL power is so...potent.

............There's power fantasy, and then there's THIS crap. Run away. Run faaaaar away....

It was...fine? Obviously the original changed...well...basically the entire gaming landscape with the over the shoulder view. But that was twenty years ago, what does this game bring to the table?

...Eh? The combat is excellent, enemies are quite varied and reactive. But also not really that hard? I recall playing the original version being scary, but this one...Noope. Didn't even make me all that tense either. It was FUN though. ...I dunno, like empty calories kind of way?

As for changes to the story...Eh? The B movie cheese was removed, replaced by Leon being...really bland. Occasionally belting out one liners from the last game to make us go 'HE SAID THE THING!'.

They did a lot of good work on Ruiz though, making that side character really stand out. ...And making me wish we were playing as him instead.

Surprising for when it was announced, since the original still held up pretty well, but this game feels more like a Director's Cut, everything tweaked and balanced and enhanced. I actually understand the story now, the characters are believable (Though still sometimes dumb because...That's how plots happen in horror settings; people doing dumb things). Felt a bit on the easier side of things because they added in some Dead Space 2 quality of life changes, which includes cutting off a necromorphs' limb then picking it up and impaling them into a wall. But it was still spooky, so I enjoyed it.

A massive SRPG where instead of fantasy soldiers you have...Knight Mechs. Fairly entertaining with three completely different storylines, going from one where you can lead a real rebellion and have a huge selection of mechs fighting others, to a smaller group that has some dating sim elements...?

Probably my favorite Working Designs game. Not sure how well it'd hold up nowadays without any ability to quickly speed up battles though.

The MC really needed pants though. I have no idea why some games think a protagonist with shorts was acceptable.