Introduction
After Marth’s battle with Durhua ended, the people of Akaneia began to rebuild their devastated homelands. Hardin, the hero from Orleans, married Akaneia’s Princess Nina and restored Akaneia as a Holy Empire. One year later, as Marth’s wedding with his beloved Sheeda nears, the Empire orders Marth to vanquish the rebellious Grunian army. Marth, having sworn loyalty to the Empire, begins a new expedition, although he has doubts.
About the Game
War is upon the continent of Akaneia once again, in this direct sequel to Dark Dragon and Sword of Light. The gameplay returned to that of the original, albeit with some slight differences and numerous improvements, thanks to the move to the superior Super Famicom hardware. This was also one of the longest games in the series, featuring two games in ones- the first was a remake of the Dark Dragon and Sword of Light story, while the second contained the new Mystery of the Emblem story.
Features
Characters
The game featured a cast of around 50 characters, each with their own (simple) personality and attributes. Most of these characters only have a few lines in the game, and don’t even say anything when they die, but in later games they have more substantial dialogue.
Death
When a character is defeated in battle, they are lost forever. In this game, you can actually resurrect one character at a later point in the game, but that was it. Similar chances to resurrect single characters occur in a few other games, but they are rare, and usually defeated characters cannot be saved.
Classes
Each character belonged to a character class, which determined what weapon types they could equip. Depending on their class, a few characters could promote to a upgraded and stronger class. In later games, almost all the characters could promote. Marth couldn’t promote, making him a comparatively weak character, which is quite unusual for game heroes.
Weapons
Several weapon types existed, each with varying characteristics, including swords, lances, axes, bows, staves and magic tomes. A single stat called Weapon Skill determined what level of weapons characters could use, from the weak Iron Sword to the stronger Silver Sword. Some weapons also inflicted extra damage to certain enemies, such as bows against flying units.
Terrain
Terrain types, such as forests, mountains and water, impeded character movement, with different classes having to pay differing movement costs to move through certain terrain. Some terrain, like forests or forts, gave defence and/or recovery benefits. Having a character on a beneficial terrain gave them a well-needed advantage against the enemy.
Healers
Unlike later games in the series, Priests do not gain experience points when casting healing or support staves. The only time they gain experience is when they are attacked by enemies, although this nets them a considerable amount of experience, equivalent to defeating the enemy.