Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld video game console in 2004 for Japan and 2005 in the West. It is the eighth entry in the Fire Emblem series, the second to be released outside Japan, and the third and final title to be developed for the Game Boy Advance after The Binding Blade and its prequel The Blazing Blade.

Set in a separate continuity to earlier Fire Emblem titles, The Sacred Stones takes place on the fictional continent of Magvel, which is divided into six nations, built around five magical stones said to be linked to the imprisonment of an ancient demon. When one of the six nations, the Grado Empire, invades its neighbors and begins destroying the stones, protagonists Eirika and Ephraim of the royal family of Renais set out to gather allies and halt Grado's conquest, while also trying to uncover the reasons for the war. The gameplay is similar to previous Fire Emblem games, focusing on turn-based, tactical movement of units across a grid-based battlefield. Core features of the game include permanent death for characters defeated in battle and support conversations that grant advantages to certain units in battle.

The Sacred Stones began development alongside Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance as a side project, sharing much of its visual design and mechanics with The Blazing Blade while incorporating elements from earlier entries such as Fire Emblem Gaiden. First announced in mid-2004, it was heavily promoted in Japan. When released, it sold over 230,000 units during 2004, with a further 90,000 being sold upon its North American debut. Reception was positive overall for its story, characters and gameplay, although many critics cited it as being too similar to its predecessor.