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Fyre Emblem vs. FireEmblemPride
Fyre Emblem This guy is my hero.
TwinHamster
Download: 899 KB
V.S.
FireEmblemPride
Play Time: Nil hours and 20 minutes
Review # 1 for FireEmblemPride This guy is my hero.
Them's Fightin' Words
    For those of you who are reading this review after looking at my screen name, you probably have guessed correctly: I am by and large a Fire Emblem fan. I don't think that a greater game series has graced my presence since the dawn of the first Final Fantasy, and I think that the Fire Emblem series surpasses it in almost every way imaginable. And while this game here (based off of the awesome game "Fire Emblem: Gaiden" for NES) is a sound, if not somewhat of a spoofy tribute to that game, there are a quite a few holes here and there that need to be filled if this game is to fulfill any of its potential.
Graphics
    To talk about the graphics, one would have to divide it up into three areas: The walkabouts, the tiles, and the backdrops. Seeing as this game uses a custom battle system though, this makes the backdrops moot (though the title screen was done pretty well, and that technically is still a backdrop). So, moving on to the next step, we have the walkabouts... or walkabout. Yes, the old trick of "make one sprite then switch the palette" is quite present in this game, though in its defense I'd say it was done pretty well in lieu of the old FE games: Nice and simple. This is a good and bad thing, though, as others won't exactly be as enticed to play if they see the basic little Alm scooting about his 20 minute demo.

The maptiles, on the other hand, are not so good. It isn't so much that the artist lacks any talent in making them, rather he chose not to USE any of that talent. Most of everything you see is one color, save for the small houses that you'll see in the towns, which in themselves aren't too bad (though quite possibly ripped). The grass outside on the world map is one color, unless you count the LIGHTER grass that is planted around little areas of the map to keep things from looking too mundane. I wouldn't see these as the permanent graphics anyways, though... and I really doubt TwinHamster sees it that way either.
 
Storyline
    This.. is what will kill any FEG fan. This game has next to nothing to do with the actual story of the NES game, as it is more or less mocking it as time goes on. The game constantly makes fun of itself in many situations, which is a huge turn off and really kills the mood for any game. But what is shown in this game is as shows: You are a member of an Anti-Republic group that, more often than not, resorts to violence to solve their problems in the outside world. And you go around killing Republican soldiers... for no apparent reason other than the fact that "You hate the Republic and the Republic hates you." Yay. Add that to the fact that most of the dialouge from the Republican soldiers make them sound like they had tried out for a part or two in "Rainman" and you'll get the picture.  
Gameplay
    This is where the greatest potential in this game lies but, sadly, as of now it is one of its weakest aspects. There is only enough content for you to wander around the countryside, kill a few of the locals, break into a castle, kill some Republicans, then end the demo. Sure, you'll get a Tag quest or two, but other than that there really is not much here. Maybe adding some more townspeople, or miniquests to do in the town before you go off on the main adventure. But right now, all you get to do is wander around fight bad guys in a half-complete battle system. Speaking of which...  
  Battle
    ...Emblem de Pyro took a stab at making a battle system, seeing as the default OHR one really is not up to the Fire Emblem standards. But what is here is not so great, as you don't feel so much like you are part of the action as much as you are just watching it all happen. It's always the same: You attack, I attack, you attack, I attack, then someone dies. Yay. You take NO part in the battles WHATSOEVER (unless you count pressing enter to bypass text boxes as having some greater power over the fight), meaning that if you are took weak to take on the guy that wants to kill your blue-haired butt, then it is tough bones for you pal. On a brighter note, though, is that there is so much room for improvement here. Remember that game "OHR Tactics?" I'd probably borrow some of the scripting from that, seeing as it is as close to any Fire Emblem battle system than I've ever seen. And on that note, putting more people in your party wouldn't be such a bad idea either. But on the other hand, you could just turn that into an entirely different battle system and improve upon the one you currently have, making it into some sort of Dualing battle system. You know, like on Suikoden 3. But, as it stands now, what is here is hardly passable as the deep, innovitave battle system that needs to be here, but it is in the right direction.  
  Map Design
    UGH. This is what I hated most about the game, to be honest. The towns are empty and basic, with nonmoving NPCs staring blankly into nothingness (One of them even comments on this). The world map is pretty ugly, with poorly gradiented water and bland grass tiles spread out across the continent you are on. As stated earlier, though, these seem more like filler graphics than anything, as it is pretty obvious that TwinHamster half-assed anything that is not the battle system. I don't think much more needs to be said here, really.  
  Balance
    Not so much. For the latter half of the fights I was in, I was praying for critical hits every turn, and even then I barely got out of the skirmishes alive. On that note, though, you'll find that critical hits come in sort of an abundance, so it teeters on the thin line of Too-Easy and Too-Hard. To its benefeit though, this does add some intensity to the otherwise boring battles that go on: "Come on.. critical hit.. please, critical hit- YES!!!" But that isn't really balance in any case. So what I'd say to do is to, first and foremost, make the battle system a little more involved, then smash the two halves of the game together to make it "Kinda Hard And Kinda Easy." Then you'll achieve balance.  
Music
    I don't feel I have a right to vote here, seeing as my sound card only plays about half of the instruments that BAM initially has, so most of what I hear are rhythmic beats with a tiny melody peppered in. The one song that I did hear, though, was the classic Fire Emblem theme, which is put up as the main battle theme of this game. I'll say it once: You won't find this song once anywhere in the NES game. I'd take it out and replace it with the original FEG battle theme. That should suit the game just fine.  
Enjoyment
    In all honesty, I think I only enjoyed the game because of my deep love of Fire Emblem. The towns made me nostalgiac. The battles made me nostalgiac. The graphics made me nostalgiac. But for those who have never played Fire Emblem: Gaiden for the NES (most likely found on emulator nowadays), you might not get any enjoyment here. Even those who are fond of the GBA games may turn their nose up at this one. To put it short, you have to really, really, REALLY like Fire Emblem in order to get the most out of this game.  
Final Blows
    In short, this game is a yawning attempt at a Fire Emblem game. All it really needs to do is try and push a little harder and it'll be one of the best... or at the very least, the OHR answer to Fenrir's Final Fantasy H. Just push up the graphics a bit more, stop making the NPCs dull down the game, thrown in a storyline, and please, PLEASE make the battle system more innovative. This game has some awesome potential here that I'd like to see come out in the future.
CURSES! Foiled again by the infamous imaginary wall! I'LL GET YOU YET! AND YOUR LITTLE DOG, TOO!!

CURSES! Foiled again by the infamous imaginary wall! I'LL GET YOU YET! AND YOUR LITTLE DOG, TOO!!
Final Scores
Graphics: 4/10.0
They range from so-so to bleh, and all of the bleh comes from the artist lazying about. But at least you know what's what.
Storyline: 2/10.0
Once again, try a little harder. Explain why in the world everyone hates each other, and then I'll come back for more.
Gameplay: 4.5/10.0
Serious potential here, but as of now... not really much to look at.
Music: 5/10.0
Seeing as my soundcard is not really suited for BAMs, I don't think I should rate the music. Have a 5.
Enjoyment: 4.5/10.0
Yeah, it was OK, but it could be better. Tons better. Try harder with this, and I'll be glad to re-review it with the grade it deserves.
Overall Grade: D+
Final Thoughts
    The game itself isn't really at fault - it is the creator for half-assing every aspect of the game except the battle system, and that even needs a little work. But if given a chance, this game could be a hit.  


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