Topic: Fire Emblem Series Discussion

@DarthNocturnal: Yeah, I get the whole point of classic mode which is why I'm like suggesting that smart move that they did for the GBA one where this lord's units won't die and can be used again for some maps that are big just to encourage those casual gamers to try out classic mode.

I really do value the point of classic mode seeing as how its the traditional way to experience fire emblem. Unfortunately, its not that I can't do it because seeing as how I now have a job and just got only few hours of free time, I just simply can't find the time and this is really in the case for Holy war which is really helpful having battle saves.

Now even though I hate everything in Final Fantasy Tactics, at the very least, It is possible to reset the whole thing for two reasons.

1. The maps are small
2. They give some time before a unit fully dies.

Fire Emblem doesn't need that second option. They can just easily make smaller maps like Tactics, further adding more chapters.

I'm saying this because I want to experience classic mode so that time barrier isn't the big problem for me and that it can be less brutal. I really love the tactical stuff that the franchise gives and I want to experience that without spending 4 hrs on just 1 or 2 chapters because well..like I said earlier. FE seems to be the only one getting this genre right.

Guys, let's not make this thread dead cause there is still a lot to talk about this franchise.

Like how things could have been if we haven't gotten another fire emblem game had Awakening failed?

To me, that sounds like the end of TRPG games. Why? Because FE is the definitive and seems to be the only series that gets TRPG done right.

@Socar I'm certain there are other good TRPG's (I thought it was called strategy, but I'm not certain). And I do know that there are fans of FF Tactics, I remember seeing someone mention it in the Mystery of the Emblem review and they were a fan, but didn't like FE.
Aside from Fire Emblem, I think the only other SRPG I've played is Pokemon Conquest which I did enjoy. Since I'm not familiar with other games of the genre though I can't exactly judge it myself though.

Speaking of the map size. Aside from Genealogy of the Holy War, I don't think there were too many large maps in the series. Most of the time they would take around 10-20 turns or so at most so it wouldn't be too time consuming to restart it. (Although the chapters where I've failed in the late turns can be a bit frustrating to start over)
But they do also give you ways to get through them faster. In some games you can change the movement speed to make it faster and you can also edit the animations so it won't even go into the battle animation which saves quite a bit of time. And in the DS games as well as 3DS, you can skip battles as well as turns which helps speed them up even more.

@yokokazuo: Buddy....let me tell you that of all the TRPG games that I ever got my hands on, I can guarantee you that Fire Emblem does it the best unlike any other game out there.

All the games that I last check don't do the variety bit right at all. They just have Rout the enemy and defeat commander which is admittedly true for Fire Emblem for the most part like Awakening but Fire Emblem when it comes to it, gives variety and does it well.

There are objectives in FF Tactics that tell you to protect someone and to do that, you have to defeat every single unit that can get their hands on that someone you're suppose to protect. What happens here is that you are doing the same thing only with one more obstacle in mind which becomes bland. I can say more horrible things about the game but doing so would only spoil the whole point of this thread so I'll leave it at that.

In Fire Emblem, it doesn't work like that at all. There's an objective of the same but this time, doing it within a certain turn limit. Its fantastic in many ways. Firstly, you can't grind because the enemies here are tough and when you can grind, you can only do so little after which, you can't level that unit at all.

You then have additional gimmicks that while they don't kill units, can still do decent damage to them. And lastly, the map is designed in such a way that you can't even think of defeating the main boss because the enemies can easily kill you. So the map is fully designed in such that you have to defend within a certain time.

There's one objective where you have to escape all your units. The enemy units will keep growing both from front and back making it endless. This will not be easy grinding because the units will stop levelling up at some point if you keep killing enemies. So unless its something like getting chests or other goodies, you're better off just running away from them.

The closet variety that you can get besides Fire Emblem is Valkyria Chronicles but its not as perfect as FE. Infact majority of them are just boring and not very fun to play.

Again, I have no issues with the length of the map. Just add another difficulty mode like super easy mode so that I don't suffer too many consequences and I'm happy. Of course, maybe this is something Nintendo will do for the next game.

@DarthNocturnal: Nah....pheonix is just invincibility.......i'm talking about like reducing the AI difficulty not making me a god or something. So that I don't have to think too much. That way, it will motivate casual players to move to classic mode.

@DarthNocturnal: Well Conquest is pretty much telling you to play the game in Casual Mode unless you can spend about 3-5 hours per chapter. And the Normal mode isn't exactly easy mode.

A bit off topic here, but I love that Percy's voice actor is Anthony Del Rio, aka Pit! And Silas too. I'm super happy Ryoma is voiced by Matthew Mercer, my favorite voice actor.

I just don't understand why the hell NoA won't market the FE Cards? Really....is it THAT expensive to release those cards to the west considering how trading cards also has a market for the west?

@Socar 3-5 hours per chapter seems a bit over exaggerated, each chapter usually only takes 30 minutes to 2 hours even with Classic on. The higher difficulties would maybe add a few extra minutes of thinking, but even that is kind of pushing it.

@Iggly: Yeah, two hours does seem to work, But in my experience playing conquest, some chapters do take a while to complete.

Also, considering that you can't save at the end game in conquest or even retreat, it makes it all the more forgiving to have casual mode just to have battle saves.

@Socar Personally I always found the Chapter after 27 easier on every route so there's no need to save if your units are already properly leveled. If your units are under-leveled during the final fight, then you'll probably want to manage your units better on your next playthrough.

So do any of you guys know which Fire Emblem has the best story ever told to date?

@DarthNocturnal @Socar
It's a pretty tough decision for me between Blazing Sword and Path of Radiance, but my personal favourite would probably be Blazing Sword.
I have it on VC although I'm still playing through several off her FE games, but I've heard that several people also like Genealogy of the Holy War.

I had never played an old one. This thread is opening my eyes to things. I literally forgot there's no casual mode. I got spoiled with awakening and so on.
Is the DS game rare?

If you have a Wii U, you can get the game at a cheap price. Its less portable yes, but from what I've heard, many didn't seem to like the game very much. I haven't gotten the game.

Me personally, I love Awakening as its got me into the series overall. After all, as Virion once said

"It was a thing of beauty."

Still love that dialogue btw!

Ya, Shadow Dragon is one of my least liked games, but it is in no way a bad game and I personally love the multiplayer. It's kind of similar to Fates where you create your teams and can face off against someone else locally or online (except wifi is shut down now).
If you have a friend who also owns it I would recommend getting the DS game is you can find it for the multiplayer. If you have a Wii U then I would recommend getting it on VC (I don't think it is available in NA yet, maybe I'm mistaken though)
Also there was an online shop that allowed you to get certain items depending on the day of the week/month, but it is no longer available on the DS. This was made functional again on the VC version though.

@DarthNocturnal oh yeah, that was a main issue I had with the game. I don't like being forced to sacrifice my units to get more side stories.
I just recently beat New Mystery and aside from not having the ballista class (I loved them in Shadow Dragon haha), I prefer it overall to Shadow Dragon. You don't have to kill any units to unlock side stories so that's a big plus for me.

@DarthNocturnal: @yokokazuo: Ok look, I want to ask both of you guys something. Why is it that people claim that there are better Tactical RPG's than Fire Emblem or don't agree that Fire Emblem is the definitive experience of playing tactical rpgs?

Whatever TRPG games I've played so far are nowhere as solid as Fire Emblem. Vantage Master isn't what I call completely tactical seeing as how I'm pathetically weak compared to the AI unlike Fire Emblem where I can be just as strong as the AI even if the AI is few levels ahead. FFT has horrible AI which are beyond unbalanced and Valkyria Chronicles isn't exactly all that tactical since you can just shoot the AI's head to just kill them.

Yes, by saying that, it makes the genre completely niche but honestly, FE does the genre right and its the only one that expands the genre right. I mean, what other game has other objectives to do besides Chronicles which doesn't execute them right.

@Socar Fire Emblem is my favourite video game series and 7 is my absolute favourite game. But I haven't played too many games of its genre. People do have varying opinions though and so there will be others who prefer a different TRPG to Fire Emblem.
I feel like saying that Fire Emblem is the "definitive experience of playing tactical RPGs" is like saying Mario is the definitive 2D platformer or CoD is the definitive shooter.
There are quite a few different platformers and shooters and there are people who prefer certain games over others for various reasons. Various games tend to differentiate each other from different series and so different mechanics appeal to different people.

Well...I guess opinions vary. But honestly, when looking at TRPG games alone, Fire Emblem to be is the definitive way to play TRPG games and is the only one that knows how to do the genre right.