Fire Emblem owes so much of its identity and gameplay to this excellent title. This is the most engaging story in the series and characters really pop despite having so few conversations. They make up for it by having most of those conversations matter a lot both in story exposition and conveying personalities and feelings. A shorter chapter count isn’t even an issue because every mission is so dense with content that you’ll be there for hours. The challenge of each mission makes great pop-offs when things work out. Promotions are very strong and well worth the effort invested into each and every character. The skill system was a bit finnicky as a first attempt but still very fun to play around with. I’m stunned this game was born so early in the series lifespan. It’s nothing short of a masterpiece.

If I were to name downsides, one would be maps so expansive that units without horses struggle to keep up with the ebb and flow of your army, enemy armies and changes in the battlefield. This isn’t as bad in generation 2 where pairings are more of an afterthought, but in generation 1 this results in leaving certain units out of the fight until their pairing is done; further crippling your offensive and defensive capabilities. The other main issue I encountered was boss balance varying wildly, namely the ones with holy weapons. Their stat leaps are far stronger than your own to the point almost every unit you have is guaranteed to die without some major luck involved.