Written 8.07.2010 - Uploaded 12.07.2010
Once again I'm mighty late with my reviews. This one I played almost a year ago.
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Sacred Stones is the eighth installment in the Fire Emblem series, but the second that was translated and brought outside Japan. Before Sacred Stones, I had played Fire Emblem 7, which is known as just Fire Emblem in the west. The series started out on the NES, and a remake of the first game has been made to the DS. That particular game was the very first tactical JRPG, and Fire Emblem has been the genre's standard bearer ever since. Not much has changed either, the basic mechanics were already laid out in the very first game, and have only been decorated later on.
At its core, Fire Emblem is pretty straightforward fantasy, where everything is resolved through tactical battles. The series has always had two key elements: unique characters and permanent deaths. The characters are what makes this game tick. Since each of them is different from the others, even those sharing the same class, the player's choices really matter. There is however a bit of annoyance: a lot of a character's real potential depends on his or her stat growth probabilities, but this information is not shared with the player. Another thing is that some characters are simply better than others most of the time, unless you get really unlucky. Nevertheless, becoming fond of your characters is what keeps players hooked to this game.
Picking of characters in Sacred Stones is not simply a matter of individual stats though. The support system, introduced in FE6, throws more into the mix. Each character can have relationships with others (romance or just friendship) which are developed by keeping them together in battles (ending turns next to each other). These relationships are important, because high levels of support give substantial bonuses to the characters as long as they stick close to each other. In addition to picking strong characters that fit your style, it's also important to make sure each of these characters can have some kind of relationship with others. All this brings another interesting dimension to the game, because the player has to form efficient groups of characters that are compatible.
Fire Emblem games are typically quite difficult. Sacred Stones is no exception, but I did perceive it to be somewhat easier than the previous game, and definitely easier than the DS remake of the first game. It's not that it's very easy to lose battles. The difficulty comes from permanent death. Players are not allowed to save during battles, and the game autosaves every time something happens. When someone dies, the game immediately autosaves and the only way around this is to restart the entire battle, and that can mean losing hours. This is good. Proponents of save-where-you-want-when-you-want will argue differently, but high risk is the whole point here. It forces the player to weigh tactics really carefully.
Which brings me to another good point about Fire Emblem. Information is largely abundant. The player can always see exactly how probable it is to hit, how much damage will be delivered, how many hit points the opponent has and what's the probability to make a critical hit (triple damage). Enemy movement range can be seen. In short, everything in the game can be measured and fed into the player's brains to form effective tactics. So when you do screw up, there's not many things you can blame except yourself. The game is full of meaningful tactical decisions and gets especially interesting when the stakes are high. Like being two hours into a battle and facing a really tough situation where only the most optimal play will avoid a restart.
There are other inputs into the tactical decision process. Since the first game, Fire Emblem has had its own rock-paper-scissors paradigm. Lances beat swords, swords beat axes and axes beat lances. But a skilled character can turn the tables, and there are special swords that are good against lances but lose to axes, for example. Mages are strong against physical fighters, because their resistance is weak. Then again, mages typically have low defense. Flying units are really mobile, but are highly vulnerable to bows. Sometimes just equipping the wrong weapon can result in character death. Did I mention this game is not easy?
One last thing is character experience. It's really valuable in this game, and one of the biggest reasons you really really really don't want to lose your characters. It is often necessary to arrange easy targets for your weaker characters, or they will never level up. Sacred Stones adds three apprentice units. While most units start at the base class (they can upgrade to advanced class after level 10), these apprentice units start out really weak and have to gain ten levels just to get to a basic class. However, since each level up in this game brings more stats, these three will be among the strongest characters by the end of the game, if the player has the patience to raise them.
Sacred Stones does make experience a less limited resource by introducing overland map encounters which are repeatable (they respawn from time to time), and two optional dungeons which the player can grind to his heart's content. Although, the second one is really not a place for grinding, as it is the most difficult challenge in the entire game. I didn't particularly like the access to unlimited experience, but I did like the bonus challenge. This game also has lots of monsters, whereas previous titles have usually been about fighting against other humans. Nevertheless, not that much has changed since FE7. Some flavor has been added, some of it good, some of it bad. The end result is pretty much equally enjoyable.
Actually, this game and the series altogether bear quite a strong resemblance to the classic PC fantasy strategy Fantasy General. That game is somewhat heavier though, but you can save whenever you want. Doesn't make it easy though (the battles take hours), and I've not been able to finish it yet. One advantage of Fire Emblem is the platform: these games are really good for portable play. I've never liked action games on the DS that much. The controls are really not so great, and the end result is too often aching wrists. Puzzle and strategy games on the other hand are perfect. Once I get lost in thought, time passes at amazing speed.
Sacred Stones is a good game in an awesome series. There aren't many flaws, as long as you don't mind having to replay large bits. This is acceptable, because the game doesn't feel unfair. It's a good example of how a carefully thought out risk/reward system can really enhance a game. So if you're not familiar with it yet, and have the patience to face the challenge, go pick Sacred Stones up. FE7 is a good follow-up, because it's slightly more difficult.