#FERetrospective

I'm going to be honest here

I think Fire Emblem Sacred Stones is one of the best RPGs ever made. No, not FE games, RPG in general- I think this is truly the game that understands what Fire Emblem does and does it perfectly

Fire Emblem, at its core, is a story driven by characters- and Sacred Stones nails that. All 33 of this game's cast is well written, well developed, and just plain amazing. You WANT to learn about this cast, you WANT to see everything they have to offer

The story is absolutely amazing to me- Eirika still stands as one of the best written and well developed leads in a RPG, my second favorite RPG lead of all time (Yuri Lowell is too good, sorry). Fantastic character development, likable personality, just a series highlight

And Ephraim ain't that far off, also having great character development and a strong personality- his lack of presence for this first third of the game is what holds him back , he was my second favorite lord until Dimitri came around

And the game knows its characters are what pulls it through, as SS is a very personal story. Sure, you have the big bad empire, but world building isnt what this game cares about- it cares about the personal relationship with its leads

This story puts a lot of emphasis on Eirika and Ephraim's personal relationship with Lyon, a move that pays off in spades. Lyon is consistently praised as one of, if not the, best villain in the series, and the main reason is you FEEL the emotion behind him and his friends

People wanted to see the three of them happy, people wanted to see a happy ending- but thats not what this game gives. Lyon's tragic downfall is the right blend of sympathetic- you feel for him, but you're well aware his actions are still wrong and he has to suffer for them

Strong leads, strong supporting cast, and an ending that doesnt pussy out and hits you hard with a bittersweet conclusion- its fantastically written. And the supports amplify the leads even further, but arent required for them to stand alone

You dont NEED to know the exact reason Lyon felt so desperate to seek the Demon King's power, you felt his inferiority complex and self doubt just fine in the story, but Knoll's support with Duessel helps expand it. THe supports are FULL of stuff like that

Gameplay wise, it does a lot right. Branching promotions and paths encourage replay ability- and the game actually is designed with that in mind by not being 30+ god damn chapters. The shorter length is a plus, it encourages multiple runs

The game is on the easy side, but it has a difficult post game in Lagdou ruins for those seeking it- I never understand why people consider the post game for games like Pokemon and disregard it with FE, thats a pet peeve that still bothers me

The map design is the bst of the GBA games too IMO, avoiding the clunkiness of FE6 and polshing some of FE7's rougher ideas, with a lot of maps like the gorgon egg map being some of my favorites in the series

Sacred Stones is one of those games that every time I replay it, I see more and more how much better it is than I thought- few games are like that for me, and I could gush about how amazing this game is for hours. This is peak FE and yet to be topped for me