The player primarily controls Edward, an alchemist who can transform objects from the game's stages into weapons to defeat his enemies.

[4] On their way to Central, the Elric brothers Edward and Alphonse, who are being escorted by Major Alex Louis Armstrong, end up in the town of Heissgart when their train is attacked by terrorists claiming to be from the Amestrian military.

The Elrics are separated from Armstrong while exploring the chimera-infested town, meeting a young girl named Armony Eiselstein (アルモニ・エイゼルシュタイン, Arumoni Eizerushutain) who is not attacked by chimeras.

When Wilhelm requests the Elrics to bring them Etherflowers, they are accompanied by Armony who eventually convinces the brothers to act against her father’s wishes and reluctantly teach her alchemy.

Wilheim‘s assistant Greta Riddle reveals her true identity as Camilla (カミラ, Kamira), a rogue alchemist who sought the Philosopher's Catalyst to become immortal while she and Wilheim won over the compliance of the Hiessgart region’s overseer Brigadier General Mudi Nemda with weaponized chimeras for his agenda of establishing his own country.

But Camilla ends up falling to her apparent death when she attempts to the kill the Elric brothers after Wilheim sabotages her scheme with an Etherflower, which damages the catalyst with Armony mortally injured as a result.

Mustang’s group arrest Nemda for court-martial while the Elrics resume their return to Central alongside Armstrong while reading Armony's letter to them.

Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel was developed by the Japanese company Racjin and initially produced by Enix, before their merger with Square in April 2003.

[6][7] Themes emphasized during the creation of the game include the bond between Alphonse and Edward, as well as the series' basic concept of Equivalent Exchange, which states that "man cannot gain without sacrifice".

[3] Darryl Vassar from GameSpy agreed with IGN's review but found Edward's alchemy "fun" due to how the player can interact with the levels' objects.

[2] GameRevolution's Joe Dodson was far more negative, stating the plot is sometimes "lame" due to the reasons the main characters are in chase of Armory.

[13] RPGFan's Neal Chandran found the story as "told a bazillion times, with plot twists a child could see coming a mile away."

While also finding the alchemy entertaining, RPGamer noticed the player needed to go into a menu to use items which ruined the game's fast-pace combat.