Final Fantasy for Potterheads.

What does that title even mean. and if you know what game its actually the byline to then give yourself ten points, because I don't think anyone would get it from that.

I've never read Harry Potter he always came over as an insufferable little prick in the films, I have played Final Fantasy. So if you immediately think of a JRPG stuffed full of insufferable 15 year old Bishonen twunts and anime waifus, you'd fail as this is actually describing Fire Emblem.Be glad that JK Rowling isn't doing this, as there'd be an after market patch that made every character trans, because that's how they were meant to be.

For those wondering about what Fire Emblem is, its a Wargame with permadeath that is well regarded in Japan but not so in the west despite the games themselves being great. That tag line is from the print edition of the Metro Newspaper. The online version is here and is still tainted with the Potter curse.

If we were going to sell the series, I'd say it was basically an anime Game of Thrones but a touch less grim. Your characters still die though, due to bad planning, over confidence and a gamble on outcomes that you can misjudge. Badly.

There's a rock paper scissors style to the combat, don't put any flying horses up against archers even though they have great range, likewise any one with close range weapons can decimate archers and mages. Later instalments brought romance options to your doomed troops, and of course the garbage people have been whinging for gay relationship options, just because well why not.

The series (by Advanced Wars developer Intelligent systems) has been running since NES days in Japan, and there's patches for the NES and SNES instalments over at RHDN, for the curious. It's a bit of a late system game too, 776 Thracia came out in 1999 well into the Playstation era.

For me, the GBA game Secret Stones with Lady Lyndis and Elwood was my introduction to the series, and can say that it doesn't disappoint, at all. There are of course more recent games to pick, and I'd say don't bother with Shadow Dragon for DS, and choose any of the 3DS incarnations to get you money's worth.

Edit now with screenshot.

Finally as I was up town for reasons last Friday, I will give a shout out to Dimes Juices as a blatant plug, especially their apple and sour cherry flavour. Really good Fruit Juices from turk e yay (Turkey)
and worth the 79p spent on it. Also the folks in the shop, I got it from, had a huge black and white cat (a shop Byron if you will.) sitting out so if I'm back that way, I'll be sure to go back.