I've heard the Fire Emblem games, prior to the ones I've played (prior to 7 they were never released outside of japan), were always good-great, but never anything phenominal to most gamers. The biggest turn-off to most people who would otherwise like the game is "permanent death", meaning you lost that character at any point (even if it's your favorite archer/swordsman/mage) and he's dead, period, having "died" at that battle. Of course there are those who don't mind or even like the system, giving a sense of priority to just surviving with all of your characters intact. Personally I own 7 and 8 for GBA and 9 for Gamecube, and love them all. They use an anime-style graphics system, a good story, and a ton of great characters (all of which can have discussions with each other to expand their own personalities and stories). Also the games have great music, and the gameplay is solid (albeit never fantastic). Path of Radiance (accidentally said Portrait of Ruin) for Gamecube (2005) sold 100k it's first week but only 55k afterwards, so I don't expect too much in the "legs" department for this game. :( I'll admit I'd love to see this one do over 250k at least. :) edit : oops, I dunno how I made that mistake, I don't even like Castlevania. :p
Nobody is crazy enough to accuse me of being sane.
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