KingoSpade
Same turn reinforcements? Hate em
Fatigue system? Hated it
Saias' 10 Leadership Stars? Hated it
Losing units if Leif escapes first? Hated it
Reinforcement ballista? Hated em
Permanent status stave effects? Hated em
Fog of War's abyss of black? Hated it
Capturing instead of buying things? Hated it
Chapter 24x? DESPISED IT.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
But yeah Thracia 776 is one of the best Fire Emblem games to me personally, with deep mechanics, gameplay, and the best map design in the entire series.
Where the appeal of Fire Emblem is seeing how seamlessly story or cutscenes are incorporated in its gameplay and map designs this is it at its peak. With a plot that really makes you feel like you're on the losing side of a war that was already decided and you're only getting through by sheer smarts and perseverance with only your closest friends by your side along with any able-bodied soldier you can pick up along the way.
Everything is stacked against you, the game feels like it wants to put reinforcements on your flank to tell you you're taking too long? It'll do that.
Maps where your defensive position gets slowly compromised by crumbling walls and the enemy swarms in? It'll do that.
Entire third parties that are not part of the main conflict but will go against you because you seem like the easier pick-off? It'll do that.
Chapters where the enemy is just stacked with ballista, killer/master weapons, status staves, and have reinforcement spawns that ambush you? It'll do that.
This game despises you, it'll do everything it can to make you suffer if it can. But that's why it feels so rewarding when you overcome the BS this game throws at you and move on, along with getting a feeling of getting through only by the skin of your teeth, and you'll have to feel that way for most of the game.
Seeing new staples in the series such as the new mission objectives of "Escape" or "Defend" was fun and they were implemented pretty well in most chapters they appear in. The mechanic of rescuing and dropping was a godsend in this game and all games that came after it.
The plot is so well done in making you feel that this is not another Fire Emblem game where the main character succeeding makes everything right, Leif is only fighting to survive and eventually reclaim his homeland and even then he has to face against the might of an entire continent-wide empire if he wants to hold his position. The main villains in his story while big in personal conflict to him, are just footnotes in the grand scheme of the Jugdral storyline. (But still, they do make for an amazing cast of villains.)
This along with its incredibly dark tone of showcasing what the common people of Jugdral go through with the empire make for a game that shows the despair and bleakness that Jugdral has gone into. With child sacrificial rituals rampant, corrupt nobility and military leaders having control of the world, and any attempts of rebellion or uprising being crushed swiftly. (Hell a major plot point in the game is assisting a rebellion in a big city while its on its very last legs.)
But the best thing about this game is the amount of tools and power it gives to the player to overcome its difficulty.
Never would I have thought I would have 6 warp staves in my convoy and 4 meteor tomes I could use at my disposal anytime before this game along with a berserk stave for those extra-tight moments.
Held items that impact your units growth rates so certain stats can increase more, sometimes at a cost is a great idea.
Weapons that are unique to some characters to give them that special edge they need? You got it.
Manuals that you can use to customize your units with skills that would normally only be locked to certain characters? Sure, why not?
A mechanic where depending on the unit you use your crit chance is multiplied from 1-5x on their second attack if they have one? Absolutely.
Literal chance that your movement can take a second turn for free? Yes, go move em around some more.
The variety of the units this game gives you is so fun. To put it into a perspective, there are two units in this game:
One comes in from the first chapter with 0 skill and who's main appeal is to be your entry to capturing, since then he is well known to be one of the worst units in the army and debatably the entire series since he falls off quickly.
The other joins in extremely under-levelled at only an abysmal 1 skill, is a staff user with only base 3 magic who also uses healing staves, yet she is debated to be one of the best units based on her sheer potential for utility.
This game gives you the tools, and while sometimes it may feel like this may be the most unfair game, (And, admittedly some aspects are pure BS but we'll get to that later.) there is always a way to pull through its obstacles with the items at your disposal.
Though, yes, this game has its flaws. I played with a translation patch (Lil' Manster) that went to the liberty of displaying certain hidden UI mechanics and fixing descriptions so they are more clear on what they do. And that's the biggest issue in this game, the amount of unexplained mechanics and events.
Those scrolls I mentioned? In the patch they'll clearly show you which growth rates they effect, along with its passive of blocking crits. In the actual game this is their description (While being translated from the original Japanese text):
"A scrap of the writings of [X]. It bestows a mysterious power upon its bearer." What a great explanation.
That mechanic where the crit chance on a second attack is multiplied depending on who you fight with? It's just straight up hidden which is weird considering that's sounds pretty important to display. And some characters have zero as their crit chance so the second hit will never have a crit happen for them.
Being forced to dismount horse units in castles is pretty horrible. Especially considering the separate weapon ranks for those horse-mounted units if they are or not mounted. Even worse considering lances just don't exist whatsoever in the final chapters of the game.
And I do not care same-turn reinforcements are and always will be a bad gameplay mechanic no matter the Fire Emblem game, knock it off trying to defend it in any way ANY gameplay mechanics put in to force a "Gotcha!" to the player (ESPECIALLY with ambush spawns) with almost no warning or indication of where those reinforcements will come by is always a bad idea and just screams putting it in just for difficulty's sake.
I am sure I speak for some people when I say entire chapters had to be restarted because some reinforcement I had no idea would spawn decided to come in and destroy one of my best units because the game said so. Or same-turn reinforcement spawned and you had to reset to now plan for those untold reinforcements and god forbid any more come after those. It's a bad mechanic, always will be, always has been.
And the amount of hatred new or modern releases get because they don't reach the peak of this game's map design and, "Oh the Kaga games were just better, new FE fans have no idea what a true Fire Emblem game looks like." Stop it, I would much rather take explained mechanics over a game that keeps half of its gameplay unexplained and necessitate you having a guide sometimes to understand how some things work.
But overall, it's a great game and one of my (begrudgingly) favorite games in the series. The map design still leaves an impression on me to the point that just playing it once I can already point it a specific map and how it was designed to fit the story and situation you find yourself in. The soundtrack is also a pretty big plus every song drives home the "Objective: Survive" tone of the game (My personal favorite being "Come To a Trap Door - Charge")
Fatigue system? Hated it
Saias' 10 Leadership Stars? Hated it
Losing units if Leif escapes first? Hated it
Reinforcement ballista? Hated em
Permanent status stave effects? Hated em
Fog of War's abyss of black? Hated it
Capturing instead of buying things? Hated it
Chapter 24x? DESPISED IT.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
But yeah Thracia 776 is one of the best Fire Emblem games to me personally, with deep mechanics, gameplay, and the best map design in the entire series.
Where the appeal of Fire Emblem is seeing how seamlessly story or cutscenes are incorporated in its gameplay and map designs this is it at its peak. With a plot that really makes you feel like you're on the losing side of a war that was already decided and you're only getting through by sheer smarts and perseverance with only your closest friends by your side along with any able-bodied soldier you can pick up along the way.
Everything is stacked against you, the game feels like it wants to put reinforcements on your flank to tell you you're taking too long? It'll do that.
Maps where your defensive position gets slowly compromised by crumbling walls and the enemy swarms in? It'll do that.
Entire third parties that are not part of the main conflict but will go against you because you seem like the easier pick-off? It'll do that.
Chapters where the enemy is just stacked with ballista, killer/master weapons, status staves, and have reinforcement spawns that ambush you? It'll do that.
This game despises you, it'll do everything it can to make you suffer if it can. But that's why it feels so rewarding when you overcome the BS this game throws at you and move on, along with getting a feeling of getting through only by the skin of your teeth, and you'll have to feel that way for most of the game.
Seeing new staples in the series such as the new mission objectives of "Escape" or "Defend" was fun and they were implemented pretty well in most chapters they appear in. The mechanic of rescuing and dropping was a godsend in this game and all games that came after it.
The plot is so well done in making you feel that this is not another Fire Emblem game where the main character succeeding makes everything right, Leif is only fighting to survive and eventually reclaim his homeland and even then he has to face against the might of an entire continent-wide empire if he wants to hold his position. The main villains in his story while big in personal conflict to him, are just footnotes in the grand scheme of the Jugdral storyline. (But still, they do make for an amazing cast of villains.)
This along with its incredibly dark tone of showcasing what the common people of Jugdral go through with the empire make for a game that shows the despair and bleakness that Jugdral has gone into. With child sacrificial rituals rampant, corrupt nobility and military leaders having control of the world, and any attempts of rebellion or uprising being crushed swiftly. (Hell a major plot point in the game is assisting a rebellion in a big city while its on its very last legs.)
But the best thing about this game is the amount of tools and power it gives to the player to overcome its difficulty.
Never would I have thought I would have 6 warp staves in my convoy and 4 meteor tomes I could use at my disposal anytime before this game along with a berserk stave for those extra-tight moments.
Held items that impact your units growth rates so certain stats can increase more, sometimes at a cost is a great idea.
Weapons that are unique to some characters to give them that special edge they need? You got it.
Manuals that you can use to customize your units with skills that would normally only be locked to certain characters? Sure, why not?
A mechanic where depending on the unit you use your crit chance is multiplied from 1-5x on their second attack if they have one? Absolutely.
Literal chance that your movement can take a second turn for free? Yes, go move em around some more.
The variety of the units this game gives you is so fun. To put it into a perspective, there are two units in this game:
One comes in from the first chapter with 0 skill and who's main appeal is to be your entry to capturing, since then he is well known to be one of the worst units in the army and debatably the entire series since he falls off quickly.
The other joins in extremely under-levelled at only an abysmal 1 skill, is a staff user with only base 3 magic who also uses healing staves, yet she is debated to be one of the best units based on her sheer potential for utility.
This game gives you the tools, and while sometimes it may feel like this may be the most unfair game, (And, admittedly some aspects are pure BS but we'll get to that later.) there is always a way to pull through its obstacles with the items at your disposal.
Though, yes, this game has its flaws. I played with a translation patch (Lil' Manster) that went to the liberty of displaying certain hidden UI mechanics and fixing descriptions so they are more clear on what they do. And that's the biggest issue in this game, the amount of unexplained mechanics and events.
Those scrolls I mentioned? In the patch they'll clearly show you which growth rates they effect, along with its passive of blocking crits. In the actual game this is their description (While being translated from the original Japanese text):
"A scrap of the writings of [X]. It bestows a mysterious power upon its bearer." What a great explanation.
That mechanic where the crit chance on a second attack is multiplied depending on who you fight with? It's just straight up hidden which is weird considering that's sounds pretty important to display. And some characters have zero as their crit chance so the second hit will never have a crit happen for them.
Being forced to dismount horse units in castles is pretty horrible. Especially considering the separate weapon ranks for those horse-mounted units if they are or not mounted. Even worse considering lances just don't exist whatsoever in the final chapters of the game.
And I do not care same-turn reinforcements are and always will be a bad gameplay mechanic no matter the Fire Emblem game, knock it off trying to defend it in any way ANY gameplay mechanics put in to force a "Gotcha!" to the player (ESPECIALLY with ambush spawns) with almost no warning or indication of where those reinforcements will come by is always a bad idea and just screams putting it in just for difficulty's sake.
I am sure I speak for some people when I say entire chapters had to be restarted because some reinforcement I had no idea would spawn decided to come in and destroy one of my best units because the game said so. Or same-turn reinforcement spawned and you had to reset to now plan for those untold reinforcements and god forbid any more come after those. It's a bad mechanic, always will be, always has been.
And the amount of hatred new or modern releases get because they don't reach the peak of this game's map design and, "Oh the Kaga games were just better, new FE fans have no idea what a true Fire Emblem game looks like." Stop it, I would much rather take explained mechanics over a game that keeps half of its gameplay unexplained and necessitate you having a guide sometimes to understand how some things work.
But overall, it's a great game and one of my (begrudgingly) favorite games in the series. The map design still leaves an impression on me to the point that just playing it once I can already point it a specific map and how it was designed to fit the story and situation you find yourself in. The soundtrack is also a pretty big plus every song drives home the "Objective: Survive" tone of the game (My personal favorite being "Come To a Trap Door - Charge")
2010
This really is peak Fallout, they were right
2023
I think Capcom has finally mastered how to make remakes of the Resident Evil games after the amazing success that was Resident Evil 2 Remake and the less-than-great Resident Evil 3.
The visuals are amazing, the atmospheres in each area always feel unique and never feel like a mesh of everything. The run-down and wild aesthetic of "El Pueblo", the grand and ominous halls of Castle Salazar (Which gave me some memories of the Spencer Mansion, that was great), to the occult aesthetic of The Sanctuary were all great.
The characters in this one are all really great and all give great charm and personality through their designs and dialogues. My personal favorite character being Ramon Salazar with his dramatic personality and his mannerisms all fitting his exaggerated personality.
The gameplay was impressive in this game, the gun combat was great, every weapon felt amazing to use (Especially the rifles), and the combat is really diverse and varies. You could do so many things from blowing up dynamite in an enemy's head, roundhouse kick them to the ground, or blow off entire limbs to incapacitate them, the possibilities in each combat encounter are truly unlimited to your own weaponry and the environment around you.
The bosses were great in this game from a gameplay and aesthetic perspective, terrifying and uncomfortable designs which drive home how malformed they've become, along with each giving their own method of attacks and ways to be defeated.
The soundtrack is pretty great, definitely have the feeling that from this point on the "ambient" horror tracks I've loved from the first two games are going to be almost entirely gone which is a shame. But the soundtrack still offers great songs including boss themes and chase themes (Most specifically, El Garrador's theme.)
Overall, the action is much more ramped up in this game and I can feel it ramping up more in future games instead of horror; but the horror the series is known for is very much present still along with some pretty great dedicated horror segments in this game. Such as The Regenerador sequences.
The visuals are amazing, the atmospheres in each area always feel unique and never feel like a mesh of everything. The run-down and wild aesthetic of "El Pueblo", the grand and ominous halls of Castle Salazar (Which gave me some memories of the Spencer Mansion, that was great), to the occult aesthetic of The Sanctuary were all great.
The characters in this one are all really great and all give great charm and personality through their designs and dialogues. My personal favorite character being Ramon Salazar with his dramatic personality and his mannerisms all fitting his exaggerated personality.
The gameplay was impressive in this game, the gun combat was great, every weapon felt amazing to use (Especially the rifles), and the combat is really diverse and varies. You could do so many things from blowing up dynamite in an enemy's head, roundhouse kick them to the ground, or blow off entire limbs to incapacitate them, the possibilities in each combat encounter are truly unlimited to your own weaponry and the environment around you.
The bosses were great in this game from a gameplay and aesthetic perspective, terrifying and uncomfortable designs which drive home how malformed they've become, along with each giving their own method of attacks and ways to be defeated.
The soundtrack is pretty great, definitely have the feeling that from this point on the "ambient" horror tracks I've loved from the first two games are going to be almost entirely gone which is a shame. But the soundtrack still offers great songs including boss themes and chase themes (Most specifically, El Garrador's theme.)
Overall, the action is much more ramped up in this game and I can feel it ramping up more in future games instead of horror; but the horror the series is known for is very much present still along with some pretty great dedicated horror segments in this game. Such as The Regenerador sequences.
This game really is as special as everyone says it is. Before I picked it up, I always wondered how people could have fun with this game, considering such a big part was failing and dying to a game known for having no mercy when it came to you making mistakes or slip-ups, spending long amounts of time on one boss who beats them down over and over again. I even picked it up when it was on sale because I figured if (At the time) I most likely didn't enjoy it, it wouldn't be such a huge loss of money.
But then the more I played, I got to keep experiencing that feeling of that perfect balance of "Fairness without forgiveness". Most every death always felt like it was my mistake or fault, if I got killed by a boss it was almost always because I rolled too early/late or I thought it was a different attack.
Not to mention the game was accented well taking place in a fleshed out world with characters that always leave a big impression, and that's saying a lot considering the setting is already in a dying world, long past its prime, and a husk of what it used to be. Yet it still managed to be lively.
Even though some will say it's a pain to go out of your way to search for the lore, for the most part the game presents you with a lot of lore by having it be in items you either need to have or will have after certain events, or simply choosing to talk to the NPCs in the world which is never hard considering each character is great to speak to. The lore is not overly long either, just some sentences that flesh out the world bit by bit.
I will agree, that the game's quality does dip a bit down by the second half, it's still a fun time, personally I didn't experience a lot of the misery others describe they had in some areas. (I actually liked the Tomb of the Giants, an area most hate. Though admittedly, I missed the ability to see) Eventually though, by the time the "second half" happens, you're well more than past halfway through the game.
Not to mention the soundtrack, this game does good when the music appears, making sure the moments that have music be more emotional and impactful for there being music at all. Every boss' theme to me didn't feel like I was against something that could not be defeated or was unstoppable, it made me feel like I was facing something incredibly powerful but that does not mean I did not have the means to defeat it. My personal favorite boss theme would be the Four Kings' theme, while the boss if flawed; that song was a big reason for me to keep running back to them.
Overall, I will play more of this series in the future, it really is as great as everyone who's played it says it is. (Even if they're in excessive pain from dying to a boss for the 100th time.)
But then the more I played, I got to keep experiencing that feeling of that perfect balance of "Fairness without forgiveness". Most every death always felt like it was my mistake or fault, if I got killed by a boss it was almost always because I rolled too early/late or I thought it was a different attack.
Not to mention the game was accented well taking place in a fleshed out world with characters that always leave a big impression, and that's saying a lot considering the setting is already in a dying world, long past its prime, and a husk of what it used to be. Yet it still managed to be lively.
Even though some will say it's a pain to go out of your way to search for the lore, for the most part the game presents you with a lot of lore by having it be in items you either need to have or will have after certain events, or simply choosing to talk to the NPCs in the world which is never hard considering each character is great to speak to. The lore is not overly long either, just some sentences that flesh out the world bit by bit.
I will agree, that the game's quality does dip a bit down by the second half, it's still a fun time, personally I didn't experience a lot of the misery others describe they had in some areas. (I actually liked the Tomb of the Giants, an area most hate. Though admittedly, I missed the ability to see) Eventually though, by the time the "second half" happens, you're well more than past halfway through the game.
Not to mention the soundtrack, this game does good when the music appears, making sure the moments that have music be more emotional and impactful for there being music at all. Every boss' theme to me didn't feel like I was against something that could not be defeated or was unstoppable, it made me feel like I was facing something incredibly powerful but that does not mean I did not have the means to defeat it. My personal favorite boss theme would be the Four Kings' theme, while the boss if flawed; that song was a big reason for me to keep running back to them.
Overall, I will play more of this series in the future, it really is as great as everyone who's played it says it is. (Even if they're in excessive pain from dying to a boss for the 100th time.)
2020
This game was a lot shorter than I thought it would be. Though even before playing I saw critiques of how this game is a step down from the original. And after completing the game, yeah I can see how people feel that way (I do plan on playing the original as well to see how better it's claimed to be.)
But it felt so weird, even though the game is incredibly similar to RE2 Remake in exploration, combat, and visuals; I can't put my finger on it that this game didn't make me feel the same anxiety or enjoyment that RE2 Remake did, where I felt like conserving ammo no matter what, feeling nervous to turn any corner, and knowing that no matter where I was, I was never safe.
In this game, I did feel that at the start but eventually I lost that feeling of anxiety which is weird considering that you get to explore most of Raccoon City where it should be extremely more dangerous than the inside of the R.P.D.
That and I do agree that Nemesis is underwhelming, the portions where he does appear to chase you are great and made me feel terrified to see him. Too bad that they're scripted portions, I can only imagine how great it would be for Nemesis to be like Mr. X and prowl around the open Raccoon City map looking for you. Just up his difficulty a bit compared to Mr.X to make up for how open Raccoon City is compared to the inside of the R.P.D. Even add the detail of hearing Nemesis' heavy breathing and, "S.T.A.R.S..." quote when he's near similar to how you hear Mr. X's footsteps in the R.P.D.
But eitherway, the visuals are great, exploring Raccoon City was great to see, the combat is good, though ammo is much more generous and plentiful here than RE2 Remake, which I personally didn't like. And contributed to the feeling of losing the anxiety because I had plenty of ammo to spare and kill every enemy instead of maneuvering around them for ammo conservation.
Even though the game is a step down from RE2 Remake and its original as I heard, it's still a fun little time to play, but it definitely doesn't reach the highs that Resident Evil can reach, that and after this game we all were left in a cruel, cold, and Carlos-less world.
But it felt so weird, even though the game is incredibly similar to RE2 Remake in exploration, combat, and visuals; I can't put my finger on it that this game didn't make me feel the same anxiety or enjoyment that RE2 Remake did, where I felt like conserving ammo no matter what, feeling nervous to turn any corner, and knowing that no matter where I was, I was never safe.
In this game, I did feel that at the start but eventually I lost that feeling of anxiety which is weird considering that you get to explore most of Raccoon City where it should be extremely more dangerous than the inside of the R.P.D.
That and I do agree that Nemesis is underwhelming, the portions where he does appear to chase you are great and made me feel terrified to see him. Too bad that they're scripted portions, I can only imagine how great it would be for Nemesis to be like Mr. X and prowl around the open Raccoon City map looking for you. Just up his difficulty a bit compared to Mr.X to make up for how open Raccoon City is compared to the inside of the R.P.D. Even add the detail of hearing Nemesis' heavy breathing and, "S.T.A.R.S..." quote when he's near similar to how you hear Mr. X's footsteps in the R.P.D.
But eitherway, the visuals are great, exploring Raccoon City was great to see, the combat is good, though ammo is much more generous and plentiful here than RE2 Remake, which I personally didn't like. And contributed to the feeling of losing the anxiety because I had plenty of ammo to spare and kill every enemy instead of maneuvering around them for ammo conservation.
Even though the game is a step down from RE2 Remake and its original as I heard, it's still a fun little time to play, but it definitely doesn't reach the highs that Resident Evil can reach, that and after this game we all were left in a cruel, cold, and Carlos-less world.
2022
I swear the developers don't know how to balance this game.
Great use of ambient horror tracks. Each monster is unique and requires their own way of being avoided or contained. The amount of SCPs you can interact with this game to your own benefit, not only being chased by monstrous SCPs is really great.
The gameplay loop of this game is so simple and exploitable it hurts.
As hard as it is to take this game seriously now. I do appreciate how good it is at making ambient design and sound cues to both give the player information, mislead them, or just provide some nervous tension.
1997
I will firmly die on the hill that this game is better than Mario Kart 64.
2014
This game is fun, but my god does the character roster with this game even with DLC suck. And the battle mode is horrendous.
2001
I really wish Nintendo returned to the actual creepy atmosphere this game provided sometimes, but I know that will never happen.
1994
This game is the biggest reason on why I put so much emphasis on listening to the soundtracks of games. The songs in this game are crazy in their quality, especially for being stuck on the SNES' sound limitations.
From Aquatic Ambience to Fear Factory, most songs and tracks in this game will always hit you just right to keep you so immersed in every level and segment in this game.
Plus the level design is actually reasonably challenging and always fun, the bonus games are always rewarding and never frustrating. Controlling Donkey and Diddy Kong along with the animal companions always feels nice, especially the fish companion.
From Aquatic Ambience to Fear Factory, most songs and tracks in this game will always hit you just right to keep you so immersed in every level and segment in this game.
Plus the level design is actually reasonably challenging and always fun, the bonus games are always rewarding and never frustrating. Controlling Donkey and Diddy Kong along with the animal companions always feels nice, especially the fish companion.
I will never get over the "too much water" complaint that the IGN Review gave this game.
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.