Can't believe I didn't think of that until now. >.<

This is my first Fire Emblem game and I love it. I think I just beat chapter 12 of Erica's plot. It was the one where the queen gets killed. I've done an OK job of keeping characters alive. I lost the little boy who is the dancer's little brother (should of had Seth just rescue him instead of trying to defend him) but that is it. I didn't get some of the optional enemy characters but I did get Joshua. I'm glad. He is useful and he adds a major section to the plot when you have him in your party. I also upgraded the mercenary guy to a Ranger (Archer/Swordsman), Artur to a bishop (staves/magic strong in light magic) and Franz to a Paladin like Seth. He isn't as useful as Seth but he is OK. The other two are useful. A mounted archer who can fight up close and a light magic guy who can heal and use other priest abilities to heal in the midst of battle since your priest is often at the back of the group.

Does anyone know what happens if Seth dies before he can explain the bracelet and the sacred stones to you? I'm curious.

Ghost 'n Goblins difficulty doesn't depend much on how you do on previous level and doesn't become easier for the people who should want it more difficult because of that.

I knew even without playing a game in the series that Fire Emblem would require time though. You don't have to leave a character behind. Just reset and change your strategy next time. I had heard from plenty of places that that is how you play FE.

yeah, I played FFTA before Fire Emblem, which didn't require that and was a superior and more replayable game without forcing me to restart every single time someone was defeated (and it even had areas that had perma-deaths too, so they gave you an option at times).

It's not that Fire Emblem is bad, it really just has too many ideas that just seem to actively go against what every type of player would want from the games and just isn't good enough to justify the hype compared to similar games in the genre.

I learned this game is a whole lot more fun with the battle scenes turned completely off because, for me, they just break the pace of the game. I had to set the game's moving speed and text speed to high as well because my characters just seemed to be moving too sluggish on normal settings.

I also learned that if you don't analyze every single last detail before making a small move you could end up losing one of your best troops forever (which I find stressful and annoying) so I always have to check the enemy's range and weapon before deciding which characters to throw after them. Muting the game while I'm playing seems also to be necessity, because the music and sound effects break the detestable amount of concentration necessary to make the correct moves.

My favorite parts of the game are definitely exploring the terrain, visiting the villagers (and collecting items from them :3), and reading all of the story and listening to all of the characters. So far, I'm finding this a pretty decent strategy game but I've definitely played much better. :/

I've never tried a Fire Emblem game before this, but getting into this one - I'm really enjoying it!
I chose Normal mode and I'm slowly getting through the game. Unfortunately all of my rangers/mages have been killed early on - so I only have melee-ers. D:

I'm pretty sure that the characters still appear in story telling even if they die in battle. At least that is what happened in another GBA Fire Emblem game.

Well, I killed off Forde and Kyle in the section where they were invading Renvall with Ephraim and they still came back to fight with me later on.

Do players dieing in battle affect the ending in any meaningful way? Just curious.

I want to level Vanessa up to be a strong character, as a lance-toting pegasus-riding knight is pretty cool. But it's been a battle keeping her alive all the time.

Really enjoying this game. Now I've ordered the Wii game to play through too.

I've played through this game a million times, I decided this time I'm killing off all the characters I don't like. It's tough getting through the beginning without Seth. lol

Post Above me: When the character dies (well, not really dead but you know what I mean), you obviously can't raise the supports which means the until won't end up marrying at the end, like most do.

I tried that in Chapter 4, but he kept getting counterattack OHK's. Maybe it will work better in later chapters with tougher enemies.

Take his weapons away.

Hmm, interesting. I didn't know you could completely disarm your characters. I'll have to try that out.

My Forde got killed also but I think it is just that mission where it doesn't matter. Few of my guys have died in battle but this time I have my Archer and Pegasus Knights alive. I had troubles with them in Fire Emblem (the another GBA game) and they got killed really quickly.
There's one character type I don't like, Thieves. They are too boring.

Abusing Seth is literally the most efficient way to beat the game, he solos the game with ease.
Seth has good base stats, but some of the best growths in the game. If you raise everyone up to level 20 and then promote them without using Seth at all then he will be inferior to a lot of them, although is you used him in a similar proportion to everyone else he'd be around level 6 and near the top of your units.

In general with FE the easiest way to be effective is to use a smaller group of units, but they'll be higher levelled due to being used more.
Seth is no Marcus, he doesn't have poor growths, and the enemies never get mighty enough to defy him.

once i beat the game, can i start over and which path should i take Eirika or Ephraim

@Late: Oh, sure, of course. But Assassins aren't.

@Fuzzy: I recommend getting the Gamecube title (Path of Radiance) and playing through it first, if you can. Not only is it the better game with the better story, but Radiant Dawn will make more sense, the characters will be more likable, and many of them will have bonus stats or abilities if you keep your memory card with Path of Radiance complete save data. Besides, play through both games together, and since the time between them is so small, it's basically like playing through one REEEEAAAALLY long AWESOME game.

Forde died... And I already used the item to make him better...
One guy used Sleep, other one got critical hit and then I had only 3 energy left. Then I noticed that they still have an archer which hadn't moved yet and it hit 4 damage and killed Forde. I think he's third guy who got killed, trying to beat the game without having to reset to get my guys back.

How do you change classes?