✰ GR Creative Highlight: 167 Super Nintendo Reviews, Index on first page

Pedz wrote:Telling us the game or is it a surprise?

Brawl Brothers ..... I would proberbly be further along but started reviewing World Heroes 2 for the Neo Geo .....so many ideas so little time

OK so here is Review 166 for the Super Nintendo Brawl Brothers

So Review 167 is heavily underway.... there is a script/written review and the gameplay footage has been recorded....

So here is my 167th SNES Review .... Fire Emblem Thracia 776





And just in case your more of a reader this is my Written Review probably complete with errors.

So, the game I am here to talk about today is Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, which is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Famicom, which I am sure most people will know is the Japanese Version of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was originally released for the Nintendo Power flash cartridge in 1999
So, this is one of the things that makes the game interesting and one of the reasons I wanted to talk about it… So, what Was the Nintendo Power Flash Cartridge?
Nintendo Power was a video game distribution service for Super Famicom and Game Boy systems that was operated by exclusively in Japan from late 1996 until early 2007. The service allowed users to download Super Famicom or Game Boy titles onto a special flash memory cartridge for a lower price than that of a pre-written ROM cartridge. I guess you would consider it like an early form of digital game distribution and something we didn’t get over in Europe.

The game did get a cartridge release the following year but only in Japan… this game never made it to either European or American Territories… At first when I began Reviewing Super Nintendo games for my 150 Super Nintendo game review Project, I decided to only review games that I owned on original Hardware and with no modifications but after I got over 150 Reviews, I decided I would like to expand the project beyond this point and that I would look at a few other things such as rom hacks, homebrew games and as in this case translated Japanese games. In these modern times you can either use emulators to play titles like this or buy counterfeit cartridges, load the games on to a Micro console or as I have done here add the rom with the translation applied to an Ever Drive type SD Card reading console and play it in your SNES… this is actually one of the methods I would recommend as there are so many games like this to try to the point it would become highly cost prohibitive to buy counterfeit carts of every game. I do however wish that Nintendo would contact one of the translators so they could offer this up for sale or make it part of there Nintendo Online Switch Subscription service so that fans could try this with their blessing.

So for those who know Fire Emblem where does this game sit well It is the fifth instalment in the Fire Emblem series being the third and Final entry on the Super Famicom and in fact the last home console Fire Emblem until 2005 when Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance was released on the Nintendo GameCube… A review of which you can find elsewhere on my Youtube channel.
Ok so its important to say that with this game not having an original English translation and me not having heard many people talk about it I might actually pronounce all of the people and kingdoms names wrong but here we go lets get into the story… Fire Emblem Thracia 776 takes place on the continent of Jugdral. If your big into these games and have played the previous Super Famicom game Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, it is actually set during the generational gap within that story…. but don’t worry You don’t need to have played any other Fire Emblem for this one to make sense as it has its own characters and story. This game follows a main protagonist called Leif as he assembles a private army in an attempt to defeat the ruling Grannvale Empire and restore his lost kingdom of Thracia. That’s as much of the story as I am going to give away and I have limited my footage to stuff from the first mission because I feel that in the case of this game and Fire Emblem games in general the story is one of the most important things about the game, you play these games both to challenge yourself mentally, to try and come up with the right tactics and battle plan to progress while not loosing soldieries but also to see where the story takes you. I would say this game has a strong story, one which is both typically Fire Emblem but also very gripping, just like pretty much all of these titles you’ll soon have favourite characters who you have formed pretty deep attachments to and you’ll be desperate to guide them to victory.
So, the gameplay follows the traditional Fire Emblem system of tactical battles taking place on grid-based maps, but it does have certain added elements such as a fatigue system where characters lose energy with each performed action... You will work your way through the various story-based missions which come with varying objectives, from defeating specific enemies and rescuing targets to simply safely escaping from overwhelming odds.

Each of the maps holds a variety of different terrains, from flat grasslands, to bushes, to mountains which you have to consider when either traversing the land or attacking enemies. In addition, a "Fog of War" effect is present in some maps, where the map is obscured until you get a unit to advance and reveal the portion of map within their movement and attack range There are also locations such as towns and churches where items, money or health may be.

The game like all Fire Emblems works in a chess like manor where you take a turn followed by the computer taking its turn, but unlike chess where you pick and move one piece in these games you get to move every single one of your characters before the computer then takes its turn and does the same. The real key to the game is trying to keep a few moves ahead within your mind, don’t just think about what you are doing now, but think about what the computer may do next, and about how you can keep ahead of the game, do you advance out into the open in range of multiple enemies or do you stick back in the semi safety of the bushes and wait for the enemy to advance. As you deafest enemies you gain experience which see’s your soldier’s level up and become even stronger, part of the strategy in this game is to make sure you use the right type of unit in the right situation, swords for example beat axes, but axes beat lances while lances beat swords… You also need to be mindful to not over use your tougher characters or you will rob some of your initially weaker soldiers the chance to grow in power and some of them have the possibility to end up much stronger. After a certain point in the game, advance planning for units becomes available, which instead of having you take your whole army into battle instead tasks the player with picking the best group of units to take into a battle for the following stage.

Ok so overall what do I make of the game well if I judge it as a game of its time I think the sound and graphics are good for their day even if the graphics are a little bit basic compared to the current Fire Emblem titles, it’s a good game that I enjoyed a lot but the steep difficulty when compared to other Fire Emblem entries makes me say that it’s a good game to play if your into your Fire Emblem type games and I would give it a score of 8 out of 10 while noting that if you’re thinking of a jumping in to Tactical RPGs this might not be the perfect entry point…. If you are looking for a good first timers Fire Emblem case, I would probably recommend you try either Path of Radiance on the GameCube or Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (which was just called Fire Emblem in the UK) on the Gameboy Advance as I think they both offer an easier introduction to this kind of Video game.