A piece of literature that is nearly on the level of Game of Thrones, a novel that released in the same year. Genealogy of the Holy War is so thunderously successful at everything it tries to be that even bringing up anything that might be "wrong" with it makes me feel like pedant. I'll admit, my initial playthrough of Genealogy was exhausting, and it took me forever. Playing a chapter of Genealogy takes a lot out of you., particularly if you're determined to keep everyone alive. The tactics in play here in Cavalry Emblem are wildly different from the traditional games, but different is not worse. I could complain about having to move my units individually for miles and miles across each chapter, but the more time that passes since my first playthrough, the less that feels like it matters. It's truly difficult not to feel like Fire Emblem peaked right here, and while it has managed to survive and produce many more games that I've greatly enjoyed, Genealogy is so impressive that a starry eyed player from its day would surely be disappointed at what we have now... not because it's any sort of grim future, but because Genealogy makes it feel like Fire Emblem can do anything it sets its mind to.