If you are into old school RPG/Strategy games like the old Tactics Ogre and Shining Force, this is the game for you. I first ran into the Fire Emblem series on the Gamecube, in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and I liked it so much that I bought this one for the DS.

This game has addictive play, engaging characters, and a solid user interface. The sound is very good for a portable. If it lacks anything, it lacks innovation- Once you've played a couple dozen RPG/Strategy games, you've seen everything. Of course if you are an old school addict, that doesn't really matter, you just want to play another one.

The only serious weakness to the game is the imbalance between the two main characters; the game focuses too heavily on the sister, Princess Erikia, before the decision point where you choose which character to follow.

Regardless of its weaknesses, this game is thoroughly enjoyable, though it may be a little difficult for a beginner at strategy games. Characters that die are lost forever, as per the Fire Emblem series, and weapons decay and are destroyed in battle. The difficulty level makes it more appealing to strategy enthusiasts rather than the casual player. I had a challenge on normal difficulty the first run through, and there is a harder difficulty for me to play with once I come back around to play a second time.

Several big bonuses to this game: There is a mode that lets you skip all those annoying game tutorials, if you already have a good idea how to play these kinds of games. There is a tower that you can play through numerous times to power up weaker characters that you haven't been using. Seth. Maybe its the D&D player in me, but good looking red-haired paladin generals add to any RPG.