Fire Emblem

I look forward to the day I get to play the 3DS games but... men, I will probably skip Fates due to all the controversy, as well as the stuff that is being discussed right now which really rubs me off the wrong way.

Edited by dood9780 on Jan 15th 2019 at 12:05:23 PM

I do hope you have fun with whatever 3DS games you play. Personally, I had a lot of fun with all three, with Awakening and Fates being my favorites in the series.

Speaking of the 3DS games, any tips on grinding for Sol, Luna, and Astra in the Thabes Labyrinth?

Fates is absolutely worth it and there's maybe only one thing in it that actually deserves the level of vitriol it gets. Don't be discouraged.

Play Fates for the gameplay at least.

Pick a god and pray.

Edited by erazor0707 on Jan 15th 2019 at 12:08:58 PM

Gameplay-wise, Conquest is worth playing. The higher difficulties are highly regarded as being the best strategy Fire Emblem experience you can have. The AI is smart and the maps are fiendishly difficult without feeling cheap like Awakening did.

One thing I'm really thankful that the localization of Fates did was introduce me to Marisha Ray. I hope she voices more characters in future Fire Emblem games.

Which I find a little funny, because Awakening introduced me to her husband, Matthew Mercer. The guy's someone I really respect, especially when he speaks out against bigotry or gives tips on how to be good tabletop game players.

Edited by dragonfire5000 on Jan 15th 2019 at 12:11:45 PM

That's an interesting stance to take when Staff Savant and Inevitable End exist (and are eventually comboed).

Yeah but at least enemy reinforcements don't attack on the same turn they appear.

By the way, speaking of bigotry... can I apologize for something? You may recall a couple years back I brought up the case of a woman who worked on Fates who was fired after online comments she made that were interpreted as defending pedophilia were publicized. What I didn't know at the time was that a) the comments were a decade old, and b) the people who brought the comments to Nintendo's attention were alt-righters, and thus they were likely simply using the comments as an excuse to ruin a woman in the gaming industry. For making it seem like it was a serious issue that the right thing was done on, I apologize.

As something of a coda? The forum where I first heard this story from was itself assimilated by the alt-right shortly thereafter. I don't go there anymore.

Awakening telegraphs that pretty hard on almost every map, though (there's a handful of them that don't have dialogue and/or super obvious Fort/Stair tile placement that are legit bad design).

Sure, it's telegraphed when they'll appear... The first time. Then they'll keep spawning for an unknown number of turns and you never know when it's safe to move in with a healer to heal your front/backline without risking a sniper spawning and one-shotting you out of nowhere or five mages nuking your general without giving you a chance to see it coming.

x3 I think I vaguely remember that; it's been a while though.

Also, sorry to hear that the forum you used to be on got taken over by those kind of people. It makes me happy that the moderation here takes a pretty firm stance against such people.

Repeated reinforcements generally come from Forts/Stairs, so just body block those to prevent the spawns. Or turtle up in a safe portion of the map and keep killing stuff until it stops streaming in. Or run juggernauts with healing items/skills that don't need healer support. There's a number of anti-zerg counterplay options available here.

Compare this to infinitely stacking 10-range Enfeeble in a game with no Restore Staff.

Well to me, it's the difference between fiendishly difficult and cheap. I don't find the Fates example to be cheap because you know from the beginning what you're dealing with. It's not hidden, it doesn't appear in the middle of the battle, you know immediately what you're getting into and how you'll be forced to handle it.

I find the reinforcement instant attack from Awakening cheap because unless you've got a single unit strong in every defensive stat (and yes, I suppose that this is very possible if you've been farming levels in extra battles or DLC levels, but let's assume that you don't fight risen and just do story chapters like I do) blocking the way of reinforcements, you're playing the roulette to see if the reinforcements this turn don't have what they need to counter you.

Edited by Resileafs on Jan 15th 2019 at 4:15:20 AM

That's an interesting definition. The Forts and Stairs are right there at the beginning, too, and if someone says something, it can be assumed you should watch/block those tiles. That's counterplay. Inevitable Savant doesn't have anything to counterplay it aside from I guess suiciding and using the revive staff as some sort of poor man's Restore. Otherwise, the only other thing to do is rush hard (possibly expending all Rescue uses from the game if one knows this is coming) and get through before the army all end up at -12 or worse all stats (considering that even -8 Spd and Def is often enough to get someone tanky doubled and two-shot on Lunatic).

Having a unit that's strong in every stat is not only possible, but probable. Robin is basically engineered to be exactly that with very little player effort (Veteran is the most broken skill in the game). Most of the other characters have good enough growths that some level of concentrated EXP gaining with them (and yes, this is without grinding or DLC) will put them far enough ahead of the curve that they should be able to shrug it off (and if you're playing L+ and can't one-shot what will spawn, unequip your damn weapon). Deficiencies in Def/Res can also be covered by pair-up partners (a wife/husband can easily give +7 or more to a particular stat this way...) and Tonics (seriously, don't underestimate that +2 bump). And this is only factoring in fighting the enemies right beside their spawn points. Like I said, you can play it safe and hang back, turtling in a part of the map that isn't full of Forts/Stairs. Or body block the Forts/Stairs tiles, which prevents the enemy from spawning entirely.

Edited by KuroiTsubasaTenshi on Jan 15th 2019 at 3:33:15 AM

I'm someone who doesn't agree that Conquest has good map design but the chapter with Iago and Staff Savant is fucking excellent.

Well, different strokes for different people, I guess. Maybe I was unlucky, or maybe I poorly planned out my team or something. Personally, I've experienced far too many "Enemy appears on the edge of the map and flies halfway across it and through your line to one-shot the healer that was protected from land units with a ranged weapon" too often to see this mechanic as anything but frustrating.

Edited by Resileafs on Jan 15th 2019 at 4:56:32 AM

In my last Awakening Hard run I wasn't really bothered by the same-turn reinforcements even though I don't remember their spawn times. It's rare for them to turn up right on top of you. I was more annoyed by how fast enemies bumrush you, giving you little space to organize an actual strategy. It's way too easy to let someone (usually Robin) just juggernaut their way through while the others fight the leftovers for a little precious exp.

RE Xander: He's a fairly obvious clone of Camus, so him being mindlessly loyal towards someone who is clearly a psychopath is sort of a given, as is common for that archtype.

@Leo of the Nohr siblings: While he's the most practical and only one who uses sense when he's being pragmatic about disobeying their father, he's also afraid of being put in charge of Nohr one day. Leave that to Xander and he can help his older beother rule.

Mostly something to take note of, because we now have a Cipher of Birthrights Nohr King Leo that suggests he instigates wars with Hoshido For Fun. So there's that nice image to imagine.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Jan 15th 2019 at 2:18:37 AM

dood: I would definitely reccomend playing Fates. Just be aware that you'll have to pay quite a lot for the full experience, but it is worth it.

I have quite a few problems with Conquest, but my wall of text was just the result of finally having the chance to pour them all out. I still enjoyed it, and I even liked more of the story than I disliked; as I said, it's the only video game that actually made me cry. The writing can definitely be good, it's just not perfect.

Quel le foutre?

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, chapter 14: Land of Sorrow

The army pushes througho to Gra, where Marth confronts the man who killed his father.

This map interestingly takes the form of a castle surrounded by a moat. I bring along Julian because there are some locked doors and chests, as well as my regular forces of Shiida, Cain, Abel, Hardin, Minerva, Ogma, Nabarl, Lena, and Maria. Joining them are Merric and Linde for magic and Gordin because there are rather a lot of ranged enemies.

As soon as the map begins, a text box informs me that Gra used to be an ally of Altea until King Jiol betrayed and killed Marth's father, Cornelius. Marth now has his chance for revenge.

Also at the start of the map is a drawbridge, another series first. Julian uses his lockpick to raise it, then Minerva and Cain storm the Ballistician guarding it. A homeowner tells me that I can get a discount in the shops if I have ha silver card, and another explains that units can promote when they his level 10. Lena warps Marth over to the village on the far northwest, and Gordin, Linde, and Merric form a defensive line on the north bank of the moat. Gordin, as it turns out, is unable to equip the Parthia, but he does manage to use it to increase his Res by 7, making him the only unit with nonzero Res. Hello mage killer! The Ballistician retreats and some Knights come to attack my dudes, but there's no serious damage done and my army proceeds. Shiida, Abel, Hardin, Lena, and Julian take the east passage toward the treasure chamber, while the bulk of the army heads west.

Meanwhile, Marth visits the village and instead of a normal villager, we get a dashing young man who gives me a Thoron that he liberated from Heimler, and asks me to keep Nyna safe, promising that we will meet again. Ooh, the plot thickens! Marth makes his way back to the army.

The east squad breaks into the treasure chamber and survive the Sniper in there thanks to a lucky didge from Shiida. Julian raids the treasure chests, nabbing a silver card and 10,000 G. Merric and Linde go north to deal with the Granian army's rather large number of Archers; meanwhile, Palla and Catria appear to the east and approach my army. For some reason Minerva can't speak to them, so I leave her and Marth within their range; they approach Marth and speak to him, explaining that now Maria is free they will fight alongside him, but their younger sister, Est, has not yet returned form Grust. Palla says the three of them are more powerful together, which I guess is a hint about the Triangle Attack.

After their recruitment, pairs of hostile Pegasus Knights appear from their spawn point for the next several turns. In retrospect, I should probably have used this opportunity to grind up the new girls, but I ended up pumping the Exp into Nabarl, Ogma, and Cain (Minerva proved chronicly unable to hit anything this map). Palla and Catria each buy a Beast Killer at the armoury (Hooray for discounts!), then Julian unlocks the southern door and we proceed.

The east squad rush and kill the Thieves in the throne room, and Marth moves into place to protect Julian from the Knights. Thanks to the simple AI, both Knights break themselves on Marth's rapier, then because it's narratively appropriate I send Marth to fight Jiol. Jiol has enough HP not to go down on a single turn, and when he assaults me, the translation I'm playing has him actually call me "rebel scum". That's an interesting choice of words considering his relationship to Marth.

Anyway, Marth kills him and Julian takes out the Cleric next to him. Marth seizes the throne, and Mr. Exposition tells me that there's no sign of Falchion - Gharnef must have taken it with him to Khadein. Looks like it's off to Khadein we go next.

New units: Palla, Catria

Takings: 10,000 G, silver card

Levelups: Marth, Shiida, Cain, Hardin, Merric, Linde, Nabarl, Ogma, Julian

Previous instalments: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13

Well, I guess I won't skip Fates after all. Whenever I get a 3DS.

Conquest also made me cry. In laughter at how bad its plot was. Not even joking.

I found Birthright painfully boring myself.

Fates is my favorite game in the franchise.

Oh it has problems. One Game for the Price of Two being essentially the killing blow to the game's legacy, both in "That's a ripoff" sense and the "The plot doesn't make sense because we had to literally tear it apart."

But dammit, it has one of the most entertaining cast of characters I've seen. Corrin's situation is insane in an incredibly entertaining way and the supports are often a lot of fun. Every ounce of the game's presentation drips with style, armor design in particular is salivation worthy.

The biggest gripe with Fates I think everyone has is lost potential. So many aspects of the game where kneecapped thanks to feature creep; the S-ranks and child units, the three-game story, the cheat DLC... It all works against a game that was brimming with promise. It was good. It should have been legendary.