Alright, so Fire Emblem: The Corruption of Roy is one of those GBA hacks that actually feels like it could’ve been official—if Nintendo ever let Roy’s story get this dark. You start off with the usual Fire Emblem setup: grid-based battles, permadeath looming over every dumb move, and a cast of characters who somehow make you care about their survival even when they’re just pixels.

But here’s the twist—Roy’s not just fighting some generic evil empire this time. The corruption in the title? Yeah, it’s personal. Without spoiling too much, let’s just say the story takes some turns you wouldn’t expect from a GBA-era Fire Emblem. The writing’s surprisingly solid for a fan project, and the maps? Brutal in the best way. You’ll spend way too long agonizing over whether to send your pegasus knight into archer range or risk your healer getting one-shot by a rogue mercenary.

If you’ve played Binding Blade, you’ll recognize some mechanics, but there’s enough new stuff—weapons, tweaked classes, a few nightmare-inducing enemy formations—to keep it fresh. Just don’t get too attached to anyone. You know how Fire Emblem is.

Honestly, it’s impressive how much this feels like a lost chapter in the series. If you’re into tactical RPGs at all, this one’s worth the frustration.