This was my first Fire Emblem game I ever played, and personally I would also recommend this game as someone's first Fire Emblem game. It's the most standard Fire Emblem game, good and simple gameplay, a simple story, and a great cast of characters to get attached to that not only extends to the main characters and villains but to the side characters as well. Along with being a GBA Fire Emblem game which always have some pretty awesome battle animations and spritework.
A lot of people in the Fire Emblem community will call this game "mid" with an awful story that has a lot of holes. And yeah the story does have some plot holes but that doesn't take away from how good of a story it can be without it being a worldwide conflict full of intrigue or complexity like the story of the Tellius or Jugdral games. There's still a fair share of tragedy, mystery, and twists that make this story at least worthwhile to see.
Plus for a game that's on the GBA it offers a lot of story content, having three separate story lines for you to play.
One being about a lost noble heiress of the plains reclaiming what's rightfully hers, not only for her title or noble status but rather to reclaim her own family that was taken away from her.
The second being about a just noble heir looking for his missing father but is thrust into a much deeper conspiracy.
And the third being of the heir's best friend coming to terms with his own image, secretly dealing with loss, and seeing the lengths he will go just to see his friends on the other side safely, even if it means putting the most heavy prices on himself.
But even then you see the stories of so many more characters, each unit has their own unique personality, their own desires, and their own backstories if you look deep enough for them. Prince Zephiel's arc in this game is especially good and in my opinion makes him a better character than before, adding depth to him and fixing some of his 1-dimensional traits in the previous game. The story of Nino and Jaffar are really well handled at being juggled alongside the main story of this game.
The Black Fang members are also all really brimming with personality, I could really only point out two villains that I would say lack any real charm or depth. Along with other members joining your army and having their own separate stories such as Legault.
Overall, the characters really make this game shine, and that's in big part to the Support System and Paired Endings. While it does suck that supports are limited to 5 conversations, just one of those conversations already offers a lot of personality from any character involved with them. And each of the recruitable characters you can get in this game will always be different and unique from each other.
A lot of people in the Fire Emblem community will call this game "mid" with an awful story that has a lot of holes. And yeah the story does have some plot holes but that doesn't take away from how good of a story it can be without it being a worldwide conflict full of intrigue or complexity like the story of the Tellius or Jugdral games. There's still a fair share of tragedy, mystery, and twists that make this story at least worthwhile to see.
Plus for a game that's on the GBA it offers a lot of story content, having three separate story lines for you to play.
One being about a lost noble heiress of the plains reclaiming what's rightfully hers, not only for her title or noble status but rather to reclaim her own family that was taken away from her.
The second being about a just noble heir looking for his missing father but is thrust into a much deeper conspiracy.
And the third being of the heir's best friend coming to terms with his own image, secretly dealing with loss, and seeing the lengths he will go just to see his friends on the other side safely, even if it means putting the most heavy prices on himself.
But even then you see the stories of so many more characters, each unit has their own unique personality, their own desires, and their own backstories if you look deep enough for them. Prince Zephiel's arc in this game is especially good and in my opinion makes him a better character than before, adding depth to him and fixing some of his 1-dimensional traits in the previous game. The story of Nino and Jaffar are really well handled at being juggled alongside the main story of this game.
The Black Fang members are also all really brimming with personality, I could really only point out two villains that I would say lack any real charm or depth. Along with other members joining your army and having their own separate stories such as Legault.
Overall, the characters really make this game shine, and that's in big part to the Support System and Paired Endings. While it does suck that supports are limited to 5 conversations, just one of those conversations already offers a lot of personality from any character involved with them. And each of the recruitable characters you can get in this game will always be different and unique from each other.