Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, the eighth game in the Fire Emblem series, greatly resembles its predecessors. Which may provide some comfort to old fans; the game play mechanics mostly remained the same. For people new to the series, one feature to take note of is permadeath where upon dying a character is lost for the remainder of that play-through. At times this may seems frustrating but it's one of the many appeals of the series. From a bird-eye view, players direct the actions of the characters to complete an objective each stage in turn-based combat. Reviewers has spoke favorably at the level of attention given to the game's story and individual units.

Graphics: 9
   The graphics, as expected, are arguably more refined than previous installments albeit not by much. The game features a visually pleasing map display, fast-paced individual battles and some admirable animations. The character portraits has an acceptable level of detail compared to the rest of the game.

Sound: 8
   The music was well-received by reviewers, nothing particularly worth criticizing, and I consider some to be quite engaging. There are 70 songs throughout the game, many of which are up-beat. Sounds outside of music were pretty standard.

Addictiveness: 7
   I'm a fan of the Fire Emblem series, it's safe to say I'm often willing to try out the newer games. When I start a play-through, I usually play for several sets of many consecutive hours to beat it. However after the adventure is over, I'm not inclined to pick it back up. But for me, that usually apply to most games. Other reviewers have noted Sacred Stones' replay values to be above average.

Story: 7
   It's a standard medieval fantasy story with swords, magic, and everything else people normally expect of the genre. The story takes place on a continent called Magvel, home to six kingdoms: Renais, Frelia, Jehanna, Rausten, Grado, and Carcino. Renais is the home of the main twin protagonists, prince Ephraim and princess Eirika. Frelia ruled by Hayden the Sage King is known for their pegasi military units. Jehanna is ruled by the Queen of the White Dunes, Ismaire. Rausten, a theocracy is ruled by the Divine Emperor, Mansel. Grado who suddenly experienced a boost in military power is ruled by the Silent Emperor, Vigarde. Carcino may not actually meet the qualifications to be called a kingdom. They're more of a commercial based republic with a council of democratically installed leaders. Anyway, the story starts with Grado's invasion of its old political ally, Renais. As the kingdom's main castle is being taken over, Erika makes her escape with the assistance of her loyal knight, Seth while her brother Ephraim is engaging in guerrilla warfare with Grado. The twins are surprised by the sudden attack, and thus embarked on a campaign to seek the truth behind this war and the appearance of demons all over the land, and put an end to it all.

Depth: 8
   The games has plenty of depth to its game play. 20 levels for the first class, 20 for the second class, and the three trainee units technically have an extra 10 levels before their promotion to a standard class. The world view map offers travel to and fro previously traveled destinations. There is an system allowing easy organization of your units' equipments and other miscellaneous items plus a large storage.

Difficulty: 5
   Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is noted for its relatively easy difficulty compared to other games of the series. This is mostly because the game allow players to grind if they want to, a feature absent in its predecessors. Of course, players can impose artificial difficulties on themselves if they desire a challenge such as keeping all the characters alive during the course of the game. I don't recommend it but there exists a exploit called arena abuse which makes the game trivial. You'll have to search for further information at other sources since I won't explain it here.

Overall: 7.3
   I recommend it to those interested in the Fire Emblem series. It's a fine game.

This game review is not bad. Is this your first game review?

I am a casual Fire Emblem who has played Fire Emblem 6-8 on the Gameboy Advance versions. I discovered Fire Emblem almost a year ago and I don't regret picking up on this series. I sometimes play it from time to time and it is still fun to play especially if you're a person who likes an interesting strategy game. I don't know about you but I would rate this game higher than how you rated it. May I ask why you rate this Fire Emblem game at a very low rating?

I like how you explained some of the history along with the story section in this game. I feel like some of the sections like the graphics, sound, addictiveness, depth, and overall sections could be explained a little bit more to me. Remember that not everyone has played this game before and you would want to persuade your readers to play or not to play this game based on your perspective and personal experience.

Good general idea of the game but it could be explained a little bit more. A lot of game reviews on Vizzed are a little bit longer and specific in general and I think you can do that next time. You're off to a good start so far but I am sure that you can improve more.

Keep writing some more game reviews.  I am looking forward to your future game reviews.

ghostfishy :

"Is this your first game review?"

Unless my memory is failing me at this age, I believe this is my first game review.

"May I ask why you rate this Fire Emblem game at a very low rating?"

When I looked at the other reviewers' ratings, I noticed 13 out of 15 were above 9. This game may be good, but it isn't that good. (Although I can accept the 8.5 overall rating given by Evil G.) I did not inflate my ratings, but instead rated it as objectively as I could while keeping in mind the qualities of other Game Boy Advance games released around 2005. If I were to convert a 7.3 to a scale from A to F, I would consider it to be a B. Above average, but lacking (and failing my expectations) too much for me to mark it as an A.

I wrote this review because I had roughly 20 minutes before dinner and nothing to do (except study but I'm not in the mood.) I never intended for it to be a serious review hence why it's short. I had no motive for writing this review other than sharing my opinion (and getting some vizz), however if I continue to write reviews in the future I'll consider doing so seriously and maybe with the purpose of persuading the audience to play. (Maybe add 2 points to all of my ratings or something.)

The fact you wrote this in twenty minutes feels me with cheer. There is quite a bit of rubbish reviews on this site, yours is not one of them. Good job for twenty minutes.

You actually wrote this in 20 minutes? I am very impressed. It takes me at least a few days to make a game review. I think if you put more time and effort in your game reviews, it would be much better and enjoyable to read at least especially from a Fire Emblem fan. Alright, I am just wondering about your review and how you rated it. People just rate it and backed up their details in different ways. It's your own opinion so you believe what you believe.

I am looking forward to your future game reviews!