Hey everyone. It's been a while since my last review, so I decided to do a review about the second game I played in a series that quickly became one of my favorite video game series of all time: fire emblem. The first game in the series I played was fire emblem 7 which was less than a year ago, and this game came after it very soon (in order of when I played them). Since this game is basically 2 games in 1 (and since I haven't played out book 2 yet), I'm only going to talk (or write in this case) about the first half of the game and I might do the second half later. For those of you who didn't know the first half of the game is a remake of the first game with updated game play, but is it done right? Well lets find out.

Graphics: 8 This game looks pretty good for on the SNES (or Super Famicom since it was only sold in Japan). I know it might not look as good as some other titles for the system like Star fox or F-Zero, but it's still lives up to some other games for the time. It might look kinda blocky, but this is the Super Nintendo / Famicom we're talking about. Some characters are redesigned a bit (like Marth actually wielding pants here for example) and it's usually for the better. In fact, they made an anime with designs based of this game. Long story short: not the best sprites for the SNES / Super Famicom, but still pretty nice for their time.
Sound: 8 Being honest, this game does a good job with sound effects. I mean every time someone attacks, you can acuarly hear the weapons hit the flesh of units. Once again it's not the best for the SNES ? Super Famicom, but that improved with later games. The music is also remixed pretty decently. I really liked some themes in this game. Remember the Fire Emblem theme from Smash Bros Melee? Well, that was basically a combination between the recruitment theme and the main theme of this game. Speaking of which, the recruitment theme of this game is really cool. I honestly prefer the music and sound of Shadow Dragon, but that's comparing the SNES / Super Famicom to the DS.

Addictiveness: 8 Like I've said before, Fire Emblem quickly became one of my favorite video game series of all time. I haven't played the original NES / Famicom game, but even I can tell this version is a lot better. So why is this better (besides the better graphics)? Well first of, they gave you the ability to see how far each unit could move on the map. This saves you the trouble of looking at the mobility stat and count how far each unit can move exactly. Just press a simple button, and you can see how far each unit can move. An other introduction is the ability to dismount from horses, pegasi or dragons, which can be used strategically. You can also see your weapon's stats, even before you bought them. This was impossible in the first game. And last but not least: the support function. This function increases the stats of units if they're close to other ones, but it's only possible for lovers and good friends (most of them are pretty easy to figure out thought). So the game has some really fun features.

Story: 9 Fire Emblem is by far Nintendo's most story driven series of games.The story goes like this: The evil Mediuth, dragon of darkness, allied himself with a sorcerer by the name of Garnef. Together the two took over the Arkanian continent. Eventually they reach Arithia, where Marth lives, and try taking it over. Thought Arithia fought back, they were betrayed by their ally and neighbor Gra.The father of the main protagonist (Marth) gets killed, Falchion (the divine sword which only people in Marth's bloodline can use)gets stolen  and his sister sacrifices herself in order to save Marth. So two years past and Marth hides in Talys, which later on gets attacked by pirates. So Marth and the Arithian knights fight them and after that decide to fight for freedom of the entire Arkanian continent. So slow but sure Marth and his allies free the Arkanian continent, retrieve Falchion from Garnef, and slay Mediuth. It's a pretty simple story for today standards, but was very complicated for the time, But I still question: who killed Marth's father? (since sometimes they tell general Joil from Gra did this, but at other points they tell Garnev did this). However, I also really like some of the characters. Marth is a really deep and likable protagonist to me. Sure there are better developed RPG protagonists out there, but remember: it was on the NES / Famicom (the freaking Nes / Famicom for crying out loud). Most of you will probably recognise Marth from the Super Smash Bros games. Marth honestly doesn't have a lot of dialogue in the first few chapters, but you start to understand him as a character later. For me, he's probably 1 of my favorite protagonists in gaming. To me he deserves to be in Smash Bros ,and I doubt they will ever get rid off him unless they somehow stop representing Fire Emblem (eat your heart out Lucina). I wish I could say more, but I don't want to spoil things this time so yeah next category.

Depth: 6 Depth is probably the weakest point of this game (remember, I only count the first half of the game here). There really isn't too much depth in the game. You basically play trough a lever (or chapter in this case), beat a boss and go on to the next level / chapter. It basically repeats that way until you face the last chapter. Doesn't really help that 5 levels from the first game were removed either. Thought, you should still be able to spend a couple of hours at this game.

Difficulty: 7 If you're new to Fire Emblem you should play another game first, because this game would be too hard for a newcomer. I played Fire Emblem 7 before this so I wasn't bothered by it too much, but a newcomer should play another game first because this game doesn't give you explanation even if you're new to the series. For newcomers: leave this one for later.

Final score: While Monshou no nazo as a remake is easily inferior to Shadow Dragon, I still found a lot of enjoyment out of it. So I give this remake an 8 out of 10