[Xyphlan]

If you have been keeping unusually close tabs on my Trisphee activity, then you may have noticed my lack of posts yesterday. This was due almost exclusively to my perhaps foolish decision to begin playing the newest entry in the Fire Emblem series, for the 3DS. I've yet to finish it, but I quite like what I've seen so far. Perhaps the biggest change from previous Fire Emblems is the overhaul of the support system, which allows two different characters to combine into one unit, and occasionally have them attack at the same time, as well as defend each other.

Related to this is the ability to hook up your units together, with all heterosexual support progressions culminating in a proposal (not counting siblings, naturally). I've only arranged a handful of marriages so far, but all of them were... nice. I'm not entirely sure how to put it into words, so I suppose I shall just state that all supports that I've built have elicited at least a modicum of feels from my heart. Another thing to mention is that there is an absurd number of marriage possibilities, as any opposite gender supports can wed, and it seems like most units can support most other units. Of particular note is the Avatar, the sort of "Player Character", who takes the role of tactician (albeit in a far more active way than in FE7). The Avatar can support any playable unit, and can be either gender, at the player's discretion, meaning that the Avatar can marry all playable units (I believe).

The story so far has been quite interesting, perhaps the best of any Fire Emblem I've played. The game is also superlative in its difficulty, necessitating the inclusion of a "casual mode", which allows you to keep your units, even after they fall in battle. I initially suspected that this would make the game far too easy, but I could see how it could be a challenge even with the no-casualty handicap removed.

All in all, is a fantastic game, and I would be honored to know what opinions, if any, my peers have on it. If you would also like to discuss previous (or dare I say, future) Fire Emblem games, such discourse would be just as welcome.

[hyjin]

i have played the demo... battle style similar to previous FE games... i enjoy the graphics and videos they have in it... i might consider buying it...

[Xyphlan]

I can't seem to get my 3DS connected to the internet, so I never played the Demo. This will pose a problem when I inevitably want to play the DLC. But alas, that is a problem for future-me.

[Illusion]

I never really liked the Fire Emblem game I played, but I want to buy this game real bad... (This is probably because I'm desperate for new 3DS games... Monster Hunter is out next month so I still have some waiting to do :/)

[Xyphlan]

A word of advice to anyone considering playing this game: Do NOT play hard mode. I don't want this message to spur you into trying hard mode, just so you can prove me wrong. It is an arduous experience, one for which you can never truly be ready.

[Farore]

I've been eying this game in my amazon cart for weeks now unsure if I should go for it, hahaha. I loved the demo (played Normal & Hard mode), but if it's like the original SMT: Devil Survivor difficulty-wise later on I know I'm going to throw my 3DS at the wall ~8 hours into the game.

[Xyphlan]

I can't say I'm acquainted with the saner difficulties of the game, (I'm currently attempting Lunatic difficulty in Casual mode) but I imagine that if you did it on the lowest difficulty, in casual mode, it shouldn't be too difficult. Casual mode is the one where units that fall in battle can return in future battles.

That said, I discourage anyone from playing Lunatic even further than I discourage Hard Mode. It's just... not okay. In so many ways.

[Natsunaine]

I lost Interest in Fire emblem after they pretty much ruined the game play in there first DS game.. The Gba games were far more Superior.

[Farore]

@Xyphlan: I'm not entirely convinced you're not a wizard if you beat the game on Lunatic. o:
I guess I'll give the game a shot. Amazon's shipping estimates look a bit daunting, but it's impossible to find a physical copy in my area.

@Natsu: How was it ruined? Maybe it was a one time thing or something fixed to be likeable in FE: Awakening.

[Natsunaine]

Examples, For one, I disliked the fact that any character could be any class and without having to have seals.. The whole point of FE was to have a variety of characters and to have set jobs to fit there personality or lifestyle.

The entirety of the ability to create a weapon with custom skill and what not irritated me, It made the game less challenging

The story was extremely dry, The first two games I have on an emulator right now, And I can play the story non-stop over and over without getting bored.. I had to force myself to play through the ds version..

[Farore]

I can see how that could kill the game a little depending on how it's executed. From what I've read there's seals of some kind in Awakening, but probably not like the ones in the older games. I think it's along the lines of being able to switch classes after so many levels, but you're a bit restricted on what you can choose and have to weave your way to the ideal class and stats you want..... maybe.

[Natsunaine]

I am a Hardcore Fan of the originals though, That will never change..

[Xyphlan]

I'm being a bit pedantic here, but Shadow Dragon actually was a remake of the very original Fire Emblem. I assume that when you refer to the "originals", you mean the GBA games, which I do believe were great. Shadow Dragon's story never made much sense to me.

Awakening was purposely designed as an effort to bring together all the best features from the Fire Emblem series. Re-classing and the forging of weapons return, but re-classing requires a special kind of seal. And you needn't worry about the game being too easy, if that's your concern. The overworld map and branching evolution paths of Sacred Stones also return. Also, the characters are all fantastic, with few exceptions. Supports are far and away the best of any game in the series. If you have ever been a fan of any Fire Emblem, and you have a 3DS, I recommend you check it out.

And I never said that I've finished lunatic. Indeed, I am still working on it. Then again, I never admitted to not being a wizard.

I believe it's actually possible to download a digital copy of the game, but I'm not entirely convinced of the mechanics of the operation.

[Natsunaine]

Xy, You are misinformed if you think Shadow Dragon was a remake of the original because it was not.. it was a CONTINUATION Of the story from the original. If it was a remake for 1, It would have had the same characters and the same story plots.. Which it didn't The original games first main Character is a women by the name of lyn, Then Eliwood.. And after you beat the game you can have the main character be Hector...

For, Two, It would not be a shadow dragon, It would either be called Ice Dragon due too the twins, Or Fire dragon due to the Fire dragon you fight at the end.


Re-Classing ruins that game for me as it is, As I said before the entire POINT of having a specific class for each Character to have was to better show there story and there attitude.. Allowing them to switch Classes all willy-nilly just ruins that for me. Second, The weapon forge makes it pointless to take the time to find rare weapons with special feats when all you have to do it make a weapon from a cheap sword the way you want it. It takes the fun out of the game completely and supports the Lazy gamers out there who don't want to take the time to actually enjoy a game.

[Xyphlan]

Fire Emblem Rekka No Ken (translated as "Blazing Sword", and released as just "Fire Emblem" in America) was the first game to be released in America, but the 7th game in the series. As evidence, I point to the cliffhangers of the game, which were never resolved by a future release. This is because it was a prequel to Fire Emblem 6; the cliffhangers were already resolved. Other references include Armads telling Hector that he will die in battle, and Roy and Lilina being shown at the end.

The original Fire Emblem, Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, was for the NES, and starred Marth. Shadow Dragon was a remake of this game, which explains its dated mechanics. It takes place in a universe entirely separate from that of Blazing Sword, although Awakening does take place in the same universe, but in the far flung future.

Support conversations have always been where characterization shines the most in any Fire Emblem game, and Awakening pulls them off quite well. There is no cap placed on the number of supports a unit can have, as long as it only has one S-rank support (marriage). This means that most of a character's supports can be explored in a single playthrough, if one wishes. While it can be disconcerting to see Kellam, who starts as a knight, dressed in ridiculously excessive armor when his class is "archer", it has little effect on the narrative. Reclassing works with the skill system and breeding system to introduce interesting strategic opportunities. For example, if one were to breed a Draco knight to have both the bowbreaker and tomebreaker skills, they could train an incredibly powerful unit with few weaknesses.

To be honest, I've forged but one weapon in my playthrough and a half of Fire Emblem Awakening. While it is true that you are allowed to increase damage, hit rate, and critical chance by forging, there are a plethora of unusual and unique weapons in this game, far more than any previous Fire Emblem. For example, there is a sword that, upon defeating a foe, has a change of granting the user a small bullion, proportional to the unit's luck stat. The forge allows no opportunity to add these unique bonuses. I feel the need to stress again that this game is quite difficult. By the time you have regular access to steel weapons, your foes will be consistently wielding silver.

Apologies if I ranted for too long. I have... strong feelings about Fire Emblem.

[Asami]

Natsu Hun. Did you seriously come into this thread to complain? Im pretty sure the threads intent was to discuss this game. Awakening. Not every single FE game and how you feel about them. It really irks me when someone does what you are doing. It made me upset when someone did the same thing in my skylanders thread. And it makes me upset now.

from the sound of it it seems like xy is a huge fire emblem fan (I admit im a kinda big fan but not much anymore. Other things have taken its place) but I am sure he knows what he is talking about. Where you said you hate it so you probably haven't gone through the lengths of researching and learning new things about the games. (I know I do this for the things I love)

So please don't insult him by saying you know more than he does about something he is CLEARLY passionate about.
I know you'd hate it if someone did the same to you

So instead of coming in here and sounding like a condescending jerk. Maybe ask about the game. Learn new things. Seem genuinely curious. If not. Don't post here. We don't need to read about how much you dislike all the "new games" it really upsets other people when people do that kind of thing. This is clearly a thread for FE awakening. He wants your opinion on this game in particular. And from the sound if things you haven't even tried playing it. So you clearly cant have an opinion on it really. Preconceived notions hold people back. Ive been wrong about a lot of things because I thought "well this looks dumb" or "the other ones suck so this must suck as well" and im usually wrong. So take a step back. Look at what you are doing.
//end rant
//hugs
that was tough but it had to be done.

Also xy I have played the demo
it seemed AMAZING. I really want to play it but it has a lower priority to shin megami tensei devil survivor overclocked and a few others ^^ but ill get there eventually (hopefully)
if not im probably missing out on an amazing game.