The story remains the same as far as I have played*, but what has changed is some of the characters. Support conversations have been added to fill gaps that existed in SoV (Genny no longer has only one support chain), and dialogue has been improved in many of the supports, and even in the story for some. Faye, for example, is not changed as a character. She still likes Alm, and is caring of him. The difference is, she is no longer psychotically obsessed. She cares for other people now too, in a non-romantic way. It makes her a more reasonable and likable character, without changing her too much. This change helps to balance out Alm’s companions as well. With the added dialogue, it makes it seem like Gray and Tobin aren’t the only ones actually existing.

Additionally, many characters have also had sexuality and/or gender changes. This does not change their core character or their actions in the story, but it does change how they interact with other characters. Jesse is now transmasc for example, and it adds another layer of context to his story. Fernand is gay, and rather than liking Mathilda, he likes Clive. This is better because gay, and he has more interactions with Clive. Also adds a dynamic of being back-stabbed while also being heartbroken. There’s a few others I don’t remember off the top of my head, but you’ll know if you check out the game.

Characters also have more depth to them. One example, when Leon talks with Valbar, the small talk is still there, but issues of trauma can come up, and are not simply avoided, especially when characters are as close as these two are.

• Cutscenes and flashbacks are integrated into the story, rather than being collectibles that can be found and viewed with the timewheel menu. Doesn’t change the story, but I do think this is a better way of doing things.

The game makes many changes in it’s design, most of which I think improve the quality of the game. Obviously it is a GBA game, and I really like the aesthetic of the GBA FE games. Most of the animations are new and fresh compared to the 3 official games, and the interface is clean and minimal without being cluttered. Clutter wasn’t much of an issue with SoV, but it did have 3D graphics for combat, and while some people prefer that over the 2D combat, I actually prefer it 2D. I think it allows for more flexibility with animations, making them clean, flashy, and entertaining.

The soundtrack is also ported over completely with GBA versions of the SoV soundtrack. This is great, and I think the devs did a great job with it. This is where an issue comes in, though there isn’t much to do about it. Tracks like “The Scions’ Dance in Purgatory” and “Lord of a Dead Empire” do not shine as much as they do in SoV. It’s hardware limitations, and it is not felt with most of the soundtrack, but these two specifically have vocals and an orchestra. It’s two battles, so not that much is lost, I just wanted to mention this as these are great tracks you should totally just listen to if you get the chance.

There are many changes unrelated to the fact that it’s a GBA game. The weapon triangle is added, for example, though it doesn’t apply to the basic weapons. Each character still starts off with an unbreakable basic weapon, but weapons like iron and silver will break now after their durability runs out. This was not present in SoV, though the game accounts for the fact that weapons will break. I actually don’t mind this change, as it adds another aspect of resource management to the game, without punishing the player too much as to leave a unit unarmed.

Map design is also improved by a lot compared to SoV. SoV had an issue where many of the maps were ported from Gaiden without improvements. Gaiden was released in 1992. Many of these maps may have been interesting then, or been forced due to hardware limitations on the NES, but they got boring and repetitive in SoV. Many maps were fields/swamps with some trees/bushes and a bridge. This is not the case in Sacred Echoes. Maps have gotten an overhaul, and while they still resemble the ones seen in SoV, there are more buildings, obstacles, walls, locked doors, treasure chests, etc. Overall, the maps are more interesting, and can make the game more challenging, but also rewarding and fun. In a way, it also allows for more strategy, as players can arrange units around walls and obstacles rather than move them in a block towards the enemy’s block. This wasn’t always the case in SoV, but it was easy to tell when it was, so the fact that this is gone is great. Maps also now have houses and villages to visit, giving the player more objectives.

In terms of win conditions for these maps, SoV only had ones involving killing the boss and routing all enemies (and killing the boss might have been one level). Sacred Echoes adds more objectives, like seize, defend, and survive, while also adding more boss kill objectives. This means a player doesn’t necessarily have to wait for that one unit out of the way to either approach or force the player to move all of their units toward it. It also makes gameplay more interesting, as the objective isn’t the same every time.

Sacred Echoes still features the world map, and players can control where the character moves. The level count is more streamlined, especially in the first two parts of the game, which were a little bloated in SoV in my opinion. Players no longer have to do filler levels with no story. There are some levels that are repeatable, which are not only useful in grinding XP but for classing up units. While SoV had 3D dungeons, Sacred Echoes turns them into ordinary combat levels. On these levels, class-up statues and stat fountains are objects that can be interacted with during combat. This simplifies the experience, and while the dungeon exploration was somewhat interesting in SoV, it is understandable how it could not be ported to the GBA, especially considering Sacred Echoes is only a romhack built on the Sacred Stones engine. I also don’t think I really miss the dungeons, as while they were interesting, the Sacred Echoes experience just feels cleaner to me. One thing I think the devs should have done with the world map is removing the respawning enemies on the map. While it is not as bad on Sacred Echoes due to how levels work, it is still just annoying to have to fight an enemy that respawns every time I move if I need to go back and do something. You don’t really have to move back in Sacred Echoes**, but it was something that seemed pretty pointless to me in SoV, and it would have made the experience cleaner if they had just been removed.

** This is as far as I have played in Sacred Echoes. When I had reached the point I currently am in Sacred Echoes, I hit a point where I had to do the same battle many times due to map navigation.