One of my favorite games of all time and the best strategy game available on the GBA or DS. The addition of branching promotion options adds a lot of variety and the streamlined roster of characters (compared to 6 and 7) makes for far fewer throwaway characters. The story is excellent and concise compared to 4 and 7, which spend way too much time dwelling on needless background information. While many criticize this entry as easy compared to prior Fire Emblems, the selectable difficulty and available extra dungeons add challenge and replay value for those that are interested. For anyone that enjoyed any prior or later Fire Emblem entry, I would consider this a must-play. Anytime I play newer strategy entries such as Jeanne D'Arc, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, etc., I am constantly thinking that I would rather be playing Fire Emblem. While I prefer the bonus experience system of the GC/Wii Fire Emblem games, having FE on a portable system makes this the FE title to own.
