Good evening all! I haven't reviewed in quite a long time (since early last year, at best), and my previous reviews are admittedly not very high in quality. I aim to do much better here, and I hope you agree with me! I also hope you enjoy this review, and my goal is that it will entice at least someone to try it out! This hack is quite amazing, and worth the effort I’m going to put into this review! As for the layout of the review, I have decided to follow the categories that the review thingie wants me to rate (scroll up to see them). I wasn’t really going to do a categorized review, but I decided I would to save time to do use the categories. I hope this won’t take away from the review, nor from the quality of what I’m writing. Let’s dig in!!!



I’ll start out with a few facts and tidbits regarding TLP (TLP = The Last Promise). The Last Promise is a hack of Fire Emblem, one of the best RPG/Strategy series ever made! Blazer (FireBlazerx17 here on the site) has spent many thousands of hours on this hack, from what I understand, and every minute of it has been worth it! He has truly created a masterpiece, and it has been enjoyed by countless Fire Emblem fans all over the globe.



One of the things that, for me, sets this hack apart from many others is the Graphics. Now, I’m not talking about the actual pixels on the screen, because those are limited to what the GBA could do. I’m referring to the sprites (both character and weapon), the map, the cut scenes, the fights, and even the menus. Each sprite is unique, both from other hacks and from other Fire Emblem games. The maps are created by Blazer specifically for this game (Note: You may see a similarity to ‘Tactics Universe’ in this game, and that is because Tactics Universe is the unfinished version of The Last Promise.), and the fight scenes even contain unique class sprites.



If you combine what I’ve listed, in addition to what you’ll experience by playing the game, you will be sure to enjoy the graphics of this hack. I know I have definitely enjoyed it, many times! As I am reading through what I have written here, and based off of what I have seen when playing this hack, I really do not feel comfortable with giving the graphics of this game any worse of a grade than it deserves. I can’t justify giving graphics a perfect score of 10, but I really was blown away by the graphics. Keeping all this in mind, I will award a score of 9 to the graphics of this hack. I really would rather say 8.75, but as the ratings up at the top do not allow for decimal scores I think that 9 will suffice.



As I’m looking at this chart, I see that I’ve got music up next. I cannot stress how amazed I am at the music in The Last Promise, and I have no issue with giving perfect marks to this totally deserving category. Blazer (or whoever he brought in to help with the music) has captured the very emotion and story of The Last Promise in the music created for it, and you will no doubt agree with me here. If you are not blown away by the creativity and relevancy of each song, then you are probably not a fan of this style of game. Each song is designed to fit in to a specific part of the story, and it does so very well. Every time I have played The Last Promise, the music is immediately something that I notice and enjoy. Often, when playing games on my laptop, I will turn off the sound and turn on some of my own music. However, with The Last Promise, I am always listening to the game music! With that in mind, I can’t be comfortable with giving the music from this hack anything less than a perfect 10 out of 10. Blazer, kudos to you!



Something else I’m sure you’re wondering is this: How addictive is The Last Promise? Well, I really think that depends on what you want from a game. If you’re looking for a game that has little story, such as the older arcade game Pacman (in which you simply advance as far as you can before losing all of your lives) or a game that you can put down at any time, then you need to be looking at other game series and hacks! This hack won’t offer you either of those! The Last Promise is definitely a long game to play through, and each chapter is unique in its story and challenges. If you enjoy spending many hours (I often can spend 3+ hours per day on this game at least, and will only stop because of school or other responsibilities) playing RPG/Strategy games, then this hack is definitely one you need to be playing. Like, now. I couldn’t put it down, despite my best efforts to do so, and I doubt you will be able to do so either. The hack kept pulling me down into its story, and I couldn’t resist playing for hours and hours at a time! Playing The Last Promise is comparable to reading a good book, which you just can’t put down. The story (which I’ll get into more into later on in the review) is really like a book, and you’ll notice that while playing it.



The last point I want to make regarding the addictiveness of TLP, at the risk of spending too much time on this topic, is how Blazer melds each part of the game (graphics, music, story, etc) to create a world that you can envision yourself as actually being a part of. I have often caught myself daydreaming about how I would have approached a situation if I were in Shon’s shoes, or considering the various parts of the culture and technological advancement. I’ll even admit to dreaming about this game once or twice, which only further proves its fantastic blend of the various parts of the hack. Expect to be dragged into the game when playing it, and you will enjoy it greatly! Rating here: 8/10.



Awesome, now we are into the story!!! I have a feeling I will be spending a while here. Lol! The story for The Last Promise is quite impressive. There is not much I can share without requiring spoiler tags (which I cannot use in a review), but I will do my best.



The story for The Last Promise is, quite honestly, comparable to a good book. I have mentioned that earlier, and I don’t think I am mistaken with that comparison. I honest think that Blazer may have written a book about this, and written the story for this hack from the book. Lol. The story here is very detailed, and definitely exciting, in addition to being very high quality. Blazer has shown his skills here, and he has interwoven the relationships of the characters very well. Keeping the perfect balance of story, yet brevity, is quite hard to do. Blazer has surpassed any other hacker I have heard of to this point, and he has become that which every Fire Emblem hacker wishes to be. If he was to sell this for money, rather than for free, people would definitely buy it due to its quality. The story is a large part of that.



Another think I want to mention regarding the story is that you can really get into it. You can quite easily get lost in the story, and begin envisioning yourself as some of the characters. You’ll find yourself relating to some of them, and really getting into the mindset of the characters. You’ll be relating to Kelik’s losses, or getting motivated by Seigfried’s speeches. Shon’s kiddish behavior will have you smiling, and his friend Gordon’s loyalty will leave you longing for a similar friend. In addition, each character has his or her own unique backstory and their interactions with others are based off of it. Blazer did amazing with the character stories, and with the characters interactions with one another. All in all, I don’t know that I can say anything more that will do this justice. I really got into the story, I really liked the characters, and I really could relate to them. Therefore, 10/10 for story. Oh yeah, and the plot twists help.



Depth is a fairly similar category to story, so hopefully I’ll be able to cover it fairly quickly. The Last Promise has plenty of depth, as I’ve mentioned in the above section. I don’t really know of a way that Blazer could have improved on the story, nor the character stories. Each character background story is detailed, enticing, and unique. The story itself has a lot of depth, as Blazer could have been satisfied with a basic storyline. He chose not to settle for less than his best, however, and his stories are woven with sub-plots, details, and facts that can help us relate to the characters. This certainly has been the best hack I’ve ever played, of any game, and the depth he provides in his stories (and even subplots) is incredible. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I might prefer his hacks over some of the Fire Emblem games I’ve played. Yes, I’m talking about the official ones. Depth, like story, has blown me away in this hack. I will give this one a 9 of 10, and Blazer has certainly earned that good grade.



Now, for the final category before my conclusion. Difficulty. The Last Promise isn’t necessarily that difficult, if you play right. I never particularly found it difficult, and any experienced Fire Emblem player shouldn’t either. You will need to watch out for the later chapters, and don’t bet all your money on Shon (even though he can go beast mode, don’t make him your best character. I won’t say why, but trust me on this one). You will face easy enemies, hard enemies, and the final boss will go all beast mode on you if you don’t plan right. That in mind, though, I don’t think I could give this category more than a 7 or so. Still, that’s fairly respectable and Blazer has earned it. I do want to mention, as well, that I am not saying it’s very difficult because of its high rating. I merely mean to say that Blazer has balanced it quite well, the difficulty of the game I mean.



Alright, now for the overall portion. Overall, this hack has thoroughly impressed me. I never really thought that a hack could bring as much as The Last Promise has to the table, and yet my mind has been blown many times through this hack. Any fan of the Fire Emblem series, and any fan of RPG’s and Strategy games, this game is a must play for you! Blazer is the most skilled hacker I know of, and he’s brought his best to the table in this hack. Please check it out, and let me know what you think!



Overall, I give The Last Promise a rank of 9.7 out of 10. This is the highest I have rated any hack, ever, and this hack has truthfully earned it. If you have any questions, check out my Ask Anything or PM me! Also, be sure to check out my hack that I’m working on right now with Frodlex and Tails the Fox! Again, if you have questions on those, feel free to PM me or ask me in my Ask Anything. Also, if you liked this, don’t forget to rate the review via the games page!!!


Also, watch for my walkthrough of Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword! I plan to release it sometime during the next TdV.

mrfe : i really liked reading your review because i have also found this game very fun i love it. i think it has pretty good quality

I second User's comment to the T. lol Good work here, man. I'll be sure to try it.

Nice work. I haven't played many hacks, but I'll definitely give this one a shot.