Man, at some point you’re just going to have to except that your tastes are radically different from a lot of other peoples’. This is like the third review you’ve posted where you’re taking aback by other people not liking something you liked or liking something you didn’t.
Yeah, I agree. I didn\'t reply prior because I honestly don\'t want to start a flame war, but he really sounds a little bit condescending here as well, like he believes only he is right or something.
I apologize, yeah, that is a legit criticism. I tend to follow the more unpopular and less-played FE games, and one of the main things that strikes me a lot is that critiques of them tend to consist of comparing them to other games and finding them wanting because they\'re different from those other games. (I remember someone listing lack of weather as a reason for why Binding Blade is less advanced than Blazing Blade: you know, weather, the mechanic they only used in one game because it was immediately apparent that it wasn\'t a fun mechanic.)
But that said, it\'s still hypocritical to tear down the big guy to make the little guy look good. If I think these games are good on their own terms, I should judge them on their own terms, and I absolutely do get why people find one game or the other more appealing. I\'m considering giving the review a rewrite.
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A rough gemstone
I went into Binding Blade with low expectations, as it's often considered a lesser FE. For my part, my patch had the luck to allow me to access Hard Mode from the start, which I did mainly out of curiosity... then I had a wonderful time.
Is the story good? It's fine. The characters work plenty well, particularly if you read supports, and the plot, though basic, is told decently. It's a pseudo-remake of Archanea, with a neat world and enough spins on the formula for me to not completely skip it, even if Merlinus is a bore. But Binding Blade isn't really a story-driven game; it's a strategy game, and that puts the focus on the strategy. So is Binding Blade a well-designed game? Not especially, no. And yet in terms of mixing fun and challenge, it does a spectacular job.
Binding Blade's maps are large, full of stuff to do, and encourage you to keep moving. When you play Binding Blade, you're hurrying your way to an objective, or trying to handle whatever's blocking you from reaching it. And the enemies blocking you feel perfect. They require enough work to take down to be interesting, and they're at just the point where units fit into distinct niches, where doubling is hard but feasible, where swordmasters and snipers are worthwhile, where the game's Crutch Character does fall off. Chipping down the chapter 1 enemies with Marcus's iron sword and watching them barely survive was when I knew I was going to have a good experience.
Strategy-wise, Binding Blade is very different from its successors, which tends to throw people off. The maps are universally Seize, which I actually enjoy quite a bit, since that keeps things moving. Growths are a little lower, but promotion bonuses are strikingly high. Axes are generally bad, but swords and bows are in rare form. And then there's the unit balance, which tends to either make or break it for you: Binding Blade has a huge cast, and especially on Hard with its beloved Hard Mode Perks, the differences between individual units are vast as the sea. Personally, I find the brokenness of units like Melady to be a lot of the game's appeal, and they shine all the brighter in a game that can still challenge them, while most of the weaker units have some utility or are self-evidently not worth the trouble. And then there's Roy—but while he is indeed as lame as you've heard, I never found him to be so bad that he was making the game harder. Keeping him protected was something I did naturally.
There are some things I genuinely do consider flaws. The gaiden chapters are all bad (I have no idea why they recycled their gimmicks in the sequels), and the Sacae route needed a full revamp. Hit rates are lower, and some bosses turn into a slog as a result. And while I find the supports well-written, shaking up a somewhat rote story, they build so slowly I often don't bother. But whenever I play it, something memorable happens, and I feel smart for pulling it off—and any game that makes me feel that is one I love.