Nintendo has added a classic Fire Emblem to Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack, but if you’re a player of the newer games, you might still find this worth your time.
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones was originally released on the Game Boy Advance between 2004 and 2005, and has an interesting history of its own. Intelligent Systems actually had broader ambitions to make 3D Fire Emblem games on the GameCube. However, after seeing how much difficulty they would have transitioning to 3D while making Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, they jumped back into the Game Boy Advance to make this game instead.
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is one of the first games that was brought to the West alongside Japan, and it also brought with it mechanics that would make the game less punishing. No, this game did not introduce permadeath, but it did introduce something that would make the game considerably easier. As you play through the game, you will be able to encounter open areas that are outside of the story campaign. If you find that a certain section of the game is too hard, you can always reenter these open areas and grind your characters up.
Grinding is a time tested mechanic that makes these games approachable, but because the earlier Fire Emblem games forced players to get through battles without being able to grind and with permadeath, this also represented a fundamental change in how the game is played. It is simultaneously true that these changes made Fire Emblem easier to the point that the challenge could essentially be eliminated as a mechanic, and that these changes to make the games easier made the franchise much more successful, especially in more recent years.
Story wise, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones isn’t particularly beloved over other games in the franchise, but it no doubt has its fans. You play silver spoon siblings Eirika and Ephraim, who have to escape their kingdom of Renais after a surprise attack by their superior neighbor, the Grado Empire. Eirika and Ephraim travel across the continent of Magvel to assemble an army to take on the Grado, but they also embark on a spiritual quest. The Sacred Stones, used to imprison the Demon King, have become the Grado’s targets, and so the siblings have to find and use the stones to stop the Grado and the Demon King’s resurrection.
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones will definitely be a bit of a deep cut, but for Fire Emblem fans who were won over during the 3DS era, this is one old school game worth rediscovering. You can watch the official announcement trailer below.
