Fullmetal Alchemist and Video Games: the Story of a Transmutation

Regarding the video game itself, the plot is all the chapters of the series from 1 to 51, the protagonists of the game are also the protagonists of the series Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric who are looking for the philosopher's stone. The player controls Edward Elric and sometimes Alphonse Elric; the game's touch screen is used to draw transmutation circles and perform alchemy in the game.
When the game starts in character mode you will be able to choose the character with whom you will start your adventure, each character you use in character mode will allow you to access his alchemy book.

On the occasion of the recent teaser about the next Fullmetal Alchemist Flesh and Blood movie, I have once again put my hands on my head, but not because they have chosen a Japanese actor to play Edward Elric (when he should be European), which does not matter to me (in the same way as Ghost in the Shell), but to recall his poor baggage in video games.

I still do not understand how a manganime with so much pull (you do not have to be a genius to know that he is my favorite; there are people all around the world who have chosen Ed as an avatar years on end and I many more have tattoos of one of his most iconic symbols) does not have adaptations to the video game that stand out beyond pure fan-service. And what is worse, that practically the majority of these have not arrived to Spain quite yet.


PS2: the Best Stage and Indeed where It Delivered Its First Blow

Knowing that the Hiromu Arakawa manga was released in 2001 in Japan and that the anime did the same and was launched soon after, in 2003, it took practically no time for the first official videogame on 'Fullmetal Alchemist' to come out, since in late December 2003 it was released in Japan called 'Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Tobenai Tenshi' (known in the United States as 'Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel') for PS2, an action-RPG with Edward and Alphonse as protagonists.

Some the media had come to compare it with 'Kingdom Hearts', both for sharing gender and also for being from the same company, Square Enix. But it went wrong in all its sections, something that reflects well its average of 56 in Metacritic. Of course, it is currently highly quoted on eBay and the like, with prices that do not drop below 70 euros. Game Boy Advance (Nintendo) then followed with Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Omoide no Soumeikyoku. At the end of July 2004, Game Boy Advance was hosting the so-called 'Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Omoide no Soumeikyoku' on its portable circuits, which could be translated as 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Sonata of Memory', a classic, turn-based JRPG by Tom Create and featuring Bandai, another powerful brand in the industry.

Unfortunately it is still exclusive to Japan, although if we search thoroughly on the Internet we can find various translation attempts and even complete guides in English. So we can understand what happens on the screen.
Between 2004 and 2005, PS2 continued to take advantage of the 'Fullmetal Alchemist' license, but not only by Square Enix, where the first action-RPG was squeezed with two sequels ('Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir' and 'Fullmetal Alchemist 3: Kami or Tsugu Shoujo'), but also through Bandai with a 3D fighting game ('Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Dream Carnival').
Unfortunately, all of them are still exclusive to Japan, with the exception of 'Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir', which also set foot on American soil (quite strongly I might say), like the first installment. To highlight, in any case, the aforementioned 'FMA: Dream Carnival', of development similar to that of 'Smash Bros.'.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy

In late July 2005, 'Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Dual Sympathy', internationally known as 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy', would debut on the Nintendo DS platform, ultimately the first FMA to arrive in Europe (back in 2007).
This videogame offer was a 2D action game with light touches of beat'em up. The DS touch screen was reserved primarily for using alchemy. And he also took advantage of it later to offer ten somewhat additional mini-games which would come to serve as some sort of side story.

Wii Gave It a Shot with other Adventures of many Sorts
In late 2009, the Nintendo Wii would receive two Fullmetal Alchemist video games. The two in charge of Square Enix and in the form of adventures where the visual prevailed and there was little to do (mostly interacting with the characters with the blow of wiimote or participating in "shoot" minigames; it may not make much sense to many, but it is a nice idea, entertaining).

It goes without saying that both 'Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Akatsuki no Ouji' and 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Tasogare no Shoujo' (known as 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Daughter of the Dusk') did not leave Japan. I am hoping to give them a go and test for myself what many people post out there. Firstly, Square Enix opted for Wii in its latest adaptations to the world of video games, and along came Bandai Namco and did the same with the Sony PSP.

There were also two games, but one of them was an action release. The first one was 'Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Senaka or Takuseshimono' at the end of 2009 (internationally known as 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood' and eventually came to be the second and last title to set foot on PAL territory) and then 'Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Fullmetal Alchemist - Yakusoku no Hi' in mid-2010.

And since then, no trace of more video games about Fullmetal Alchemist, which is a real shame. Firstly, this is so because none of the adaptations that have been seen have lived up to the legacy of the manganime. And second, because only two have stepped on European territory. At least we will always have their sleeves and anime, and also get excited by remembering the superb soundtrack by Michiru Oshima.