I wish I could get into Fire Emblem the way everybody else seems to.
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Posted Apr 29, 2020, 5:09 PM UTC
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I'd suggest trying Path of Radiance and the sequel, Radiant Dawn, as a hail-Mary. Since you can't get into the new ones, you might as well try the best of the old. If you don't like those, it's safe to say you won't like anything the series has to offer. There are many of us out there, myself included, who love the old ones (and IMO PR/RD are the very best) and don't like the new content at all.
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I do have POR but I'm unable to hook up my GameCube without one of those expensive HDMI adapters. It's a shame both of those games became rare without any sort of virtual console release. I also thought combining them into a remastered collection for Switch would have been a no-brainer.
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I'd have liked that as well. Right now the best way to play either of them is emulation.
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For one, I think the permadeath aspect, which is now a series staple, has not aged well in the slightest. I know it can be turned off in the modern games, but the gameplay is clearly designed around having it on, plus you'll be at the mercy of everyone telling you that you're playing it "wrong".
I absolutely disagree with this.
If the option is in the game, then the devs designed and put it there themselves. I feel no remorse whatsoever for using an official option in-game.
Also I do not have any care in the world for random strangers telling me how to play a game that I bought myself.
Just turn off perma-death.
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I agree that's there's no wrong way to play and I shouldn't care what others say, but I look at Casual mode the way I look at "Story Mode" some other modern games have now. Basically just a brain-dead easy mode for people who just want to enjoy the story. It's not wrong, but it's not the way the devs intended it to be played. Maybe Casual in FE isn't a 1:1 comparison to that but it's how I've always looked at it.
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I don't have a link handy now, but I think I heard that the FE devs said at some point after Awakening and Fates, that over 50% of players now play in Casual Mode.
I totally believe that, because Awakening and Fates sold so many more copies than previous FE games. So their customer base has expanded exponentially and most people who buy video games nowdays are NOT hardcore.
So in that way, I think the FE devs certainly realize that from a business perspective and actually ARE designing the newer games with that in mind.
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Yeah, I also couldn't get into Fire Emblem. Permadeath is damaging to the game and feels pointless. Level design isn't as good as other tactical RPGs and I don't feel like I have the same flexibility in approach or character progression either, probably thanks to permadeath. And the stories are usually boring with bad writing and characters who don't get development thanks to permadeath. I've just given up on the series at this point.
As someone who's a fan of tactical RPGs, it's probably the only notable series that I just don't like.
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This is precisely why I love it. I also refuse to let anyone die, and restart the level/rewind in Echoes and Three Houses.
To me it adds an additional layer of strategy, where you've got to intentionally avoid death. I really like it because it requires additional planning since you can't just send out a unit as a suicide decoy.
But I also completely understand how others will hate that just as much as I love it.
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The way I do every first playthrough of the games is that I leave permadeath on but reset (or rewind in Echoes and 3H) whenever a unit dies, that keeps the challenge while removing the stress of potentially screwing up your entire run. Ironman permadeath is for the later playthroughs, and casual mode is for if it's your first SRPG or you're only interested in the story.
Awakening, non-Conquest Fates, and 3H on normal are the "my first SRPG" difficulties. It's there for people just getting into it but that's not where you go for rewarding gameplay. 3H on hard is still a little on the easy side but it's not to the point where it's braindead.
All of the FE games are easily breakable, but that's why it's fun. Going through on repeat playthroughs and making your army as OP as possible or doing challenge runs where you make it through with a specific team composition or whatever are what gives the games their replayability.
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Play these with permadeath off if you want character interaction. There is nothing wrong with using something the devs give you.
Fuck people who tell you otherwise, I’m giving you the pass.
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Given that you only managed to finish one game in the series but have tried several I'm gonna say its just not for you, which I think you know. What makes games click for some just wont work for others, and it seems you're on the outside this time. That said, lets take a few points here and see what we can make of them
Permadeath: I think while many people play with permadeath on few people actually let their characters die, and instead just restart maps. I play these games were when someone does die, crit or no, that's it for them. Like you stated this can make some story scenes REALLY weird. I've heard this makes you more attached to the characters, but I've always found them to be more like options in my toolbox; i.e. I need a tanky person for this situation, grab one of those, I need a magic damager to kill the greatknight, grab me one of them. Dont have a good cav yet, better train one up etc. This is pretty much identical to how I played FFT and how I played all the recent FEs (awakening, fates, valentia, and 3 houses) but NOT how I played the older ones.
The Forgotten: The games before FE became huge are varying degrees of different. Some are incredibly easy (4, 8, 9) and some are...not (5, start of 10). Each of these has a reasonable story when considering its age, and each as a cast characters that range from memorable to "who??". this is because classes and growths have never been made equal in FE and certain trope characters and classes are so familiar and recognizable as to make that particular "run" exciting by itself. The map designs are often varied as are the objectives, and the music is usually good. The protagonists are rarely deep, and the villains or nemeses are often flat. But the scope and ambition of each game changes so drastically that each one can feel fresh. These simple stories coupled with iconic characters and sometimes hard gameplay can be exciting, and the various ways to use your retinue can make each map attempt fresh
The New: I think despite the vocal group shouting to the contrary that people LOVE the dating/vn aspects of the new FEs. They LOVE how tropey the cast is in each game, and if we're being honest the cast has always been tropey and stupid, its just so much more obvious now. The newer games still deliver on small teams fighting off gradually more and more massive armies, but the map variation and objectives have become flat and samey, the focus being much more centered on stats and systems for the teams. This is good and bad. Mechanically FE changes only incrementally, so system and mechanical complexity in newer games is fresh and good, but the maps being nearly all route the enemy flat zones is pretty lame. You do get a neat dragon point ambush map, or a exploding volcanoe here and there but those are rare. You certainly are correct in saying the game never forces you out of power slamming it with 2-4 god characters and ignoring the rest, and that is to its shame
The Difficulty: New FEs are not difficult. in fact they are down right easy and poorly designed on the base difficulty. The steamrolling you describe happens in every newer game except Conquest (I didnt play Rev so dunno there) on base difficulty and oftentimes above the normal setting. I think this is due to sales, but people LOVE power creep and I think that's part of what makes FE click with people; the power curve. Having your small army of like 4 dudes that can only take 2 hits max go to a 10 man doom squad one shotting the game is fun. Building a god killer that can fight off 5-10 dudes in a turn is hilarious. Players love that kind of thing and FE delivers this in spades.
Tl;dr - FE then and now are good for different and similar reasons. puzzle like maps, and iconic characters or dating and VN elements both tie into the same power curve fantasy to make an often rewarding experience with simple easily digested stories and characters.