Introduction
You probably remember that I said that this article would be about the new Fire Emblem game for the Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, my current gaming budget prevents me from purchasing that right now. But, fear not, faithful followers! I searched for “best Fire Emblem” games. That led me to this page and the game that I most wanted to try on the list was Fire Emblem GBA.
I remember my time with the Game Boy Advance fondly. I purchased no less than three separate consoles including a retro style Super Nintendo motif. I loved the Super Nintendo. It remains my favorite console of all time by leaps and bounds. When Nintendo gave us the opportunity to put all of those game into our pockets, I welcomed that opportunity.
A (Very) Short History with Fire Emblem
In spite of all of that, I never played any of the Fire Emblem games. When I texted Chris after learning about the new Switch game, he admitted to never playing them either. He owned one of them at least. And, the reason he never played it is that it requires a console that he doesn’t own. But, as Chris said, all of the Fire Emblem games come highly rated. So, it surprises me even more that, not even during my emulation phase, I never played a single game. I wanted to remedy that with Fire Emblem Engage. Because, watching a TFT stream earlier, someone mentioned the game. So, maybe the game could finally get me some juice on the page. Alas, we wait at least one more pay cycle for the new one.
The Decent – Graphics and Combat
Graphics – Look, I understand the age and limitations of the Game Boy Advance. Even with those caveats, this game looks primitive. The color palette ignores about 32,760 of the available colors. The sprites need help, too. It looks almost like a late cycle NES game. Granted, it came early in the GBA life, so I guess that makes sense. Still, the look of the game surprised me from what I remember about the SNES/GBA.
Turn-Based Combat – I’m used to games with more freedom to their movement like Zelda or Final Fantasy. Therefore, I found the limitations of the movement in this game annoying. A minor complaint, especially when you consider that combat works much the same as those games. But, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that.
The Good – Short Prologue and Other Graphics
Short Prologue – When I heard them talking about the new Fire Emblem game, they said something about still being in the part of the game where it tells you sword beats axe, etc. While probably true here as well, the story so far (more on that in a minute) makes it bearable.
Other Graphics – Outside of the main world, the graphics become more detailed. The battles animate each attack satisfyingly. But, the graphics engine shines in the cut scenes. Fully colored and well drawn characters interact to push the story forward in a satisfying way.
The Great – Something New and The Story
Something New – Even though I mentioned Zelda and Final Fantasy earlier, I like Fire Emblem GBA because it represents something new and different from those games. I think I needed that change of pace because now I want to play through this one and as many of the others as I can find. I definitely need the new one now.
The Story: I made fun of the introduction dialogue in that caption up there. But, I kid because I love. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do if I played an RPG at this point that didn’t start with me waking up. It’s just such a huge part of the genre right now.
The Verdict
I only played through the prologue and Chapter 1 so far. But, I enjoyed what I saw and played. I promised Fire Emblem Engage and delivered Fire Emblem GBA. Other than graphics, I honestly can’t see that there’s much of a difference between the two. But, join me after I get Engage and we can see together what the differences actually are.