Lets just say if you are not familiar with the series, this is a very good game to start. First of all, this series is fairly difficult in comparison to other role playing series. A lot of people who attempted Fire Emblem on GBA (the first North American release) couldn't make it through; though in my opinion, that Fire Emblem is the best one of the North American releases (I like the characters better than the others, and I like the multiple storylines which really add to the replayability). This game has some new features which make things a lot less unforgiving.
Saving: there are three saves plus two additional saves used for mid level save points. That means the player can play through half a level, save it, and if they screw up later, they can return to the save and attempt again. I am only in the early levels at the moment, but so far I have seen that most levels have two mid-level save points; one in or near the initial camp, and one further on in the level. In previous games, the only form of mid-level save points was a save state, which would exit the user from the game, and then delete when the user resumed play (essentially, you have one shot beginning to end of each level).
Unit Class Changing: in previous games, you could only change classes at certain points: there were level 1 (ie. Knight) and level 2 (ie. Paladin) classes, and sometimes level 0 classes (footman, usually a basic spear soldier, these characters would begin very weak, but if they survived to make it to a level 2 class, they were probably the best unit you'd have by end of game). In this game, almost every character can switch between any level 1 class types between any level of the game (an exception would be Marth, who must always be Prince class). When the unit switches classes, some stats are raised, and some are decreased accordingly. This makes losing units less painful; if you lose all your healers, just switch some other unused items over at the end of the level.
New additions to the army: There appear to be way more units entering the army than in previous games; I am getting as high as 5 or 6 new units on a level; and in previous games it was usually 1 or 2, and rarely 3 or higher (usually once or twice per game). This combined with the save feature means you'll never be short on troops.
Overall, one of the interesting factors of this series in the past has been the difficulty. It is, however, very very nice to play a less harsh version; and to finally have a version to introduce people to the series with. Although, players who enjoy this one may not enjoy having to lose a minimum of 15 characters throughout the game (without restarting levels at least, which I will say, makes the game WAY less fun; at least for me, some players may enjoy trying to get through the game without losing a single character even if they have to do 50+ level resets). It comes highly recommended as a first game of the series.
I have read reviews saying that people don't like the story, it is fairly basic, but it is sufficient for this type of game; it's not like it's annoying or anything, just fairly straightforward. The first Fire Emblem on GBA has a fantastic story to it, but it is also the most difficult of the 5 current releases. In case people are wondering the order of ease:
Fire Emblem - Shadow Dragon, DS (I have only played through a 15-20% of the game, but I can already see how this one will be easier than the others).
Fire Emblem - The Sacred Stones, GBA
Fire Emblem - Path of Radiance, GC
Fire Emblem - Radiant Dawn, Wii
Fire Emblem, GBA
Fire Emblem Wii is a direct sequel to Fire Emblem GC. All of the others can be played independently. Fire Emblem on GBA is a prequel to a game released earlier in Japan that was never released here.
Saving: there are three saves plus two additional saves used for mid level save points. That means the player can play through half a level, save it, and if they screw up later, they can return to the save and attempt again. I am only in the early levels at the moment, but so far I have seen that most levels have two mid-level save points; one in or near the initial camp, and one further on in the level. In previous games, the only form of mid-level save points was a save state, which would exit the user from the game, and then delete when the user resumed play (essentially, you have one shot beginning to end of each level).
Unit Class Changing: in previous games, you could only change classes at certain points: there were level 1 (ie. Knight) and level 2 (ie. Paladin) classes, and sometimes level 0 classes (footman, usually a basic spear soldier, these characters would begin very weak, but if they survived to make it to a level 2 class, they were probably the best unit you'd have by end of game). In this game, almost every character can switch between any level 1 class types between any level of the game (an exception would be Marth, who must always be Prince class). When the unit switches classes, some stats are raised, and some are decreased accordingly. This makes losing units less painful; if you lose all your healers, just switch some other unused items over at the end of the level.
New additions to the army: There appear to be way more units entering the army than in previous games; I am getting as high as 5 or 6 new units on a level; and in previous games it was usually 1 or 2, and rarely 3 or higher (usually once or twice per game). This combined with the save feature means you'll never be short on troops.
Overall, one of the interesting factors of this series in the past has been the difficulty. It is, however, very very nice to play a less harsh version; and to finally have a version to introduce people to the series with. Although, players who enjoy this one may not enjoy having to lose a minimum of 15 characters throughout the game (without restarting levels at least, which I will say, makes the game WAY less fun; at least for me, some players may enjoy trying to get through the game without losing a single character even if they have to do 50+ level resets). It comes highly recommended as a first game of the series.
I have read reviews saying that people don't like the story, it is fairly basic, but it is sufficient for this type of game; it's not like it's annoying or anything, just fairly straightforward. The first Fire Emblem on GBA has a fantastic story to it, but it is also the most difficult of the 5 current releases. In case people are wondering the order of ease:
Fire Emblem - Shadow Dragon, DS (I have only played through a 15-20% of the game, but I can already see how this one will be easier than the others).
Fire Emblem - The Sacred Stones, GBA
Fire Emblem - Path of Radiance, GC
Fire Emblem - Radiant Dawn, Wii
Fire Emblem, GBA
Fire Emblem Wii is a direct sequel to Fire Emblem GC. All of the others can be played independently. Fire Emblem on GBA is a prequel to a game released earlier in Japan that was never released here.
-Insert Inspiring Quote-
