Fullmetal Alchemist is a series that has had tons of adaptations of its original manga. Some of these entries are beloved by fans, and others, much like the fans' opinions of Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, have proven to be much more divisive.
Out of the five PS2 games and six hand-held titles, fans may wonder which ones are actually worth tracking down and playing. Let's breakdown of the series' history with video games and find out which Fullmetal Alchemist games are worth playing.
Playstation 2
The Playstation 2 tends to have a huge amount of anime games that are generally considered substandard. The PS2 Fullmetal games, consisting of three action-RPG titles by SquareEnix, are no exception. The first game, Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel, saw mixed reviews from critics. Broken Angel is based on the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist anime and takes place between episodes 17 and 18. The plot is centered around an item known as the Philosopher's Catalyst, which is said to be equal in power to the series' staple artifact, the Philosopher's Stone.
Reviews were fairly critical about the gameplay feeling, at best, generic. Broken Angel may be a decent distraction for Fullmetal fans, but this game feels fairly skippable and in-line with more mediocre anime games. However, the game's sequel would actually improve on many of the flaws of Broken Angel. Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir spices up the gameplay formula from the original game while visually improving things. Critics seem a little more favorable towards this one, though many still admit that the only people who will be able to get enjoyment out of the game will be Fullmetal fans.
There was one more game in the SquareEnix Fullmetal Alchemist trilogy, Fullmetal Alchemist 3: The Girl Who Succeeds God. This one wasn't released outside of Japan, possibly due to poor international sales of the first two. With what seems to be a pattern for anime games, The Girl Who Succeeds God may actually be the best SquareEnix Fullmetal game, with many reviews citing that the combat is much faster and more dynamic than the first two games. There are fan-made English patches and Japanese imports of the game available, though it'd be a shame if this Japan-exclusive Fullmetal game was one of the few worth playing.
The last Fullmetal game to ever be released on the PS2, Fullmetal Alchemist: Dream Carnival was developed by Bandai and was actually a fighting game. This title was also never released outside of Japan, and unlike The Girl Who Succeeds God, there doesn't seem to be too many reviews of this title online. There appear to be some English patches, so it may be worth tracking down a copy for those willing to take a chance on this title.
Handheld Games
Following the PS2 era, Fullmetal saw new titles released on the GameBoy Advance, Nintendo DS and Playstation Portable. Both the GameBoy Advance titles and one of the PSP titles were only ever released in Japan and are about as difficult to find information on as Dream Carnival. The other PSP game, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, is tough to track down despite having an international release.
The two DS games are actually fairly well-received. Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy follows the plot of the 2003 anime, with its gameplay consisting of typical action-focused combat against enemies and a series of surprisingly enjoyable mini-games. For being a rare internationally released Fullmetal game, Duel Sympathy actually stands out as being worth a play.
The other DS game is called Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Card Game and is actually a virtual revival of the 2005 trading card game of the same name. Though some of the game's mechanics are fairly simple, fans call it a faithful recreation of the old trading card game that manages to be a solid DS title with tons of content. With as many Fullmetal Alchemist games as there are, it's a surprise that the two titles probably worth playing the most were on the Nintendo DS.