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[Jackie Blue]

OK, I played the first American Fire Emblem (the second GBA one) when it came out.  I got fairly far but also got frustrated and never beat it.  Then I played the Sacred Stones and didn't have too much trouble with it.

But now I'm playing the fan-translated first GBA game, and it is kicking my ass.  The chapters are incredibly long and if it weren't for being able to save-state every turn or two I would probably just completely give up on it.  I guess the reason you get like 54 characters in it is because they fully expected you to let people die all the time just so you could barely scrabble to the goal, unless you like restarting a 2-hour long level because one of your favorite characters died.

So I've come to the weird conclusion that the GBA Fire Emblem games are meant to be played backwards, since the first game is the most difficult and happens last in the time sequence of events.  I'm going to try that and see what it's like to play the story in chronological order.

[Tartar Martyr]

I have only played the American Fire Emblems, but the first one is possibly one of the most frustrating games I have ever played.  Everything is pretty easy and nothing but smooth sailing until you get to what I assume is the last fight against Nergal.  And even that isn't too bad until Nergal appears and has two guys who have staffs to cast "beserker".  This is by far the most annoying attack in the fire emblem universe.  I wouldn't mind if it just possessed one of your characters for a few turns, but you could still "pin" them like you can with enemies (ie block them into a corner with your characters) to ensure that the possessed character only attacks strong defensive units.  Or even if you could attack and kill the possessed character (as much as I hate to see the lvl 20 paladin that I have raised through two classes go, it is better than losing any of the heroes).

I love the Fire Emblem games, but this attack just seems exponentially cheap.  Surprise me by bringing new units onto the screen from out of nowhere, or give all of the magic users the attacks that have a massive range, just get rid of fucking beserker, or at least limit its range to 1-2 spaces.  Is there even a staff that lifts the effects of beserker?  It is just so frustrating to spend 30 hours on a game, carefully planning every move so that you can build support levels and not lose any characters, and then a bunch of beserker casting nancies bust up the parter!

[Storm Rider]

I've played all three American Fire Emblem games, and I am eagerly awaiting the Wii installment that is supposedly coming out later this year. But I really wish that Nintendo would translate all the Fire Emblem games that never made it to the US and put them on a compilation or the Virtual Console or something. I would pay for each and every one happily if necessary.

[ScrambledGregs]

I've heard nothing but good things about the entire series, but I've never gotten into it. I hate that if characters die I lose them forever. It makes it that much harder to level weak characters like thieves and whatnot. Also the "rock-paper-scissors" style of weapon strength makes the games feel less like strategy RPGs and more like Advance Wars with a fantasy skin.

But I never liked Advance Wars, so...

[Blue Kitty]

I loved all three of these games so very much, and was sad when I learned that there are so many more of them across the Pacific.  I got so into it that I would be near tears or terribly frustrated when one of my much loved characters finally bit the dust.


I can not wait for the Wii version, though it looks like a sequel to the Gamecube version, which can be either good or bad.

[Storm Rider]

I actually like the permanent death mechanic. It makes you get even more attached to the characters, plus, that's kind of how war actually works. The thing about the Fire Emblem games is that they're very challenging without being frustrating. Even if I've died on a level 20 different times (which I certainly have), I always load the same level up again with just as much enthusiasm as the first time I tried it, because I just really want to beat the crap out of that boss.

[ScrambledGregs]

I'll never be truly happy until they make a full blooded and good sequel to the Shining Force games. And that's part of the reason I don't like Fire Emblem, because I wanted it to be something it's not. But taken on its own terms, I still don't like it. If I wanted realism from a game, I'd play a flight sim. Permanent character death does not belong in a fantasy themed strategy RPG, in my opinion.

[Jackie Blue]

The permanent death thing is not a way of enforcing "realism", it's just a game mechanic.

Like I said, in the first GBA Fire Emblem, you can recruit about 54 characters.  The most you ever bring into battle is 12-14 and there are only like 12 "classes".  Therefore it's generally not a problem having a character die because you can replace them, unless you're like me and get stuck on certain characters.

Fire Emblem is much more fun and interesting to me than Shining Force.  I don't know why you wouldn't give it a try.  It's much deeper and more fun than Advance Wars, and the "rock paper scissors" thing is actually not as all-powerful as you're making it out to be.  Quite often your characters will either be strong enough or have the proper weapons to ignore the weapon triangle.  Plus, if axes, swords and lances were all equal... what would be the point?

[ScrambledGregs]

I gave Fire Emblem a chance and it didn't hook me. Surprise: sometimes people don't like games that you do. Stop taking it so personally when I don't want to play FFX-2 or I don't like the Fire Emblem series. I'll never play any sports games, either, no matter how good they are. I'm just not interested in the game mechanics of any of the above.

[Jackie Blue]

I'm not taking it personally, I was under the impression that you hadn't even given Fire Emblem a chance.

The FFX-2 thing was more just a case of you saying something stupid.  You said you'd never played it and you never will, which is a particularly stupid position to take considering that A) You love Final Fantasy games, B) Gameplay-wise it is one of the most fun FF games in existance, much more fun than FFX, and C) Judging a game as being crap without even playing it is really ridiculous.

Wouldn't it annoy you if someone said "Even though I've never heard Neutral Milk Hotel, I think they're crap and not worth my time"?

[ScrambledGregs]

No, because music is quite different from videogames. You could listen to a few minutes of Neutral Milk Hotel and say "this isn't good." Videogames, I rely on the reviews of websites and the opinions of people I know to decide if I'd like a game or not because videogames are more expensive and time consuming than CDs. Based on what I've read about FFX-2 and watching gameplay footage, I wouldn't like it.

[Jackie Blue]

You rely on reviews and opinions of people you know?

You have much to learn, young Grasshopper.