Fire Emblem Awakening

[Jonnas]

Holy eff, this is an Akaneia game? And Marth is a masked swordsman? Sounds promising, actually.

 

I do hope we also get the "free-at-first" DLC here, too. Also, I'm wondering which characters will be brought back for DLC (fingers crossed for Hector and/or one of the Laguz)

 

Hype!

[darksnowman]

The opening music for the Fire Emblem trailer on the Nintendo Direct was spine tinglingly good. Fire Emblem for the win.

 

I hope some Laguz are part of the add-on content too. I'm sure they will be because seeing as we've had so few FE games in Europe, they will have to use some characters we'd know. :p They can throw in Lord Ike for a few pence too when they are at it.

[Ramar]

Well it looks like I'll be buying a 3DS when this comes out.

[-Dem0-]

Wanted to watch the trailer again (BLOODY EPIC!) I clicked on the trailer that was uploaded by IGNentertainment and I saw this in the comments below the video:

 

Marth and Roy are back in the 3DS version of Fire Emblem. Although keeping much of the core gameplay from previous versions, Fire Emblem 3DS is introducing the new "My Unit" system in which you can create your own playable character! More details will be revealed as we get closer. So in the mean time, check out this brand new trailer from Nintendo now!

 

Where the hell did they get this from? I thinks it's an error on their part, although Roy could be a DLC character.

 

proof:

[Jonnas]

Marth and Roy? What the-

 

IGNentertainment

 

Ah, right.

[Ike]

It isn't introducing My Unit either, it was in the second DS game. Although it will be new once it's Awakening released in over here since only Japan got New Mystery I suppose.

[darksnowman]

It isn't introducing My Unit either, it was in the second DS game. Although it will be new once it's Awakening released in over here since only Japan got New Mystery I suppose.

 

I thought there was only one Fire Emblem on DS, Shadow Dragon or something? I'm so out of touch with the series despite thinking the ones I've played are excellent (Lord Ike's two entries and I snagged one of the GBA entries of VGP).

[Captain Falcon]

I thought there was only one Fire Emblem on DS, Shadow Dragon or something? I'm so out of touch with the series despite thinking the ones I've played are excellent (Lord Ike's two entries and I snagged one of the GBA entries of VGP).

 

Yeah, after Shadow Dragon, they remade Mystery of the Emblem which was the third game in the series and the first on the Super Famicom.

 

The original game two sections - Book1 and Book2. Book1 was a remake of Dark Dragon and Sword of Light (lost a few chapters in the process but still a fair amount remained) and Book2 was the brand new content following on with the story.

 

The DS version dropped the remade Book1, for obvious reasons, but it does include the 4 BS Chapters as unlockables that originally aired on the Satellaview service since they dealt with Akaneia.

 

And as Ike mentioned, it also introduced the "My Unit" character that you get to create and take through the story. Alas, it never came to Western shores but I think @Ike recently posting in the general board purchases thread to having picked up a copy of it.

 

Have you had a chance to play it yet and if so, are there substantial enough changes from the core gameplay of SD to warrant picking it up?

 

Holy eff, this is an Akaneia game? And Marth is a masked swordsman? Sounds promising, actually.

 

I'm not entirely sure whether it's an Akaneia game - it takes place in the Kindom of Iris but the trailer does show a world that looks a bit like Akaneia so either it's just in the same world but different continent, like FE:Gaiden and as I understand it Geneology and Thracia 776, or it could be that that this is a new state that has formed in Akaneia.

[Ike]

And as Ike mentioned, it also introduced the "My Unit" character that you get to create and take through the story. Alas, it never came to Western shores but I think @Ike recently posting in the general board purchases thread to having picked up a copy of it.

 

I sure did

 

Have you had a chance to play it yet and if so, are there substantial enough changes from the core gameplay of SD to warrant picking it up?

 

Not yet, got to finish some other games off first but I hear it's an improvement other Shadow Dragon. All this Awakening news has made me want to play a Fire Emblem so I might bump it up priorities Wasn't cheap importing it but since we're not getting it seemingly I figure'd it was worth it.

[Captain Falcon]

I sure did

 

Not yet, got to finish some other games off first but I hear it's an improvement other Shadow Dragon. All this Awakening news has made me want to play a Fire Emblem so I might bump it up priorities Wasn't cheap importing it but since we're not getting it seemingly I figure'd it was worth it.

 

I'd been toying with the idea of picking it up a while ago and all this buzz surrounding new FE has got me in the mood again but I have other games to finish, and other, unfortunately bigger, priorities to deal with.

 

I dare say by the time I'd get to play it, Awakening will be knocking on the release door and then it would side lined.

 

SD was fine if a little basic, so a few things to mix it up (not every have every battle be a siege the throne for starters) would be nice. I'm sure the story is better, if you can understand it, since the first didn't have much to flesh out to begin with.

 

Maybe one day I'll pick it up with the rest and have a collection as awesome as this one at the Nintendo store including that lovely looking Falchion.

 

 

 

Though this picture seems to lack New Mystery from what I can tell...

[Retro_Link]

Don't remember seeing that at the Nintendo Store! Maybe the display was only there for a while to promote the launch of a new game?

[Captain Falcon]

Don't remember seeing that at the Nintendo Store! Maybe the display was only there for a while to promote the launch of a new game?

 

You've been to the store in NY?

 

They had a bunch of cabinets for different franchises - must be recent as the shots show Kirby: Return to Dreamland on the Wii.

[Retro_Link]

You've been to the store in NY?

 

They had a bunch of cabinets for different franchises - must be recent as the shots show Kirby: Return to Dreamland on the Wii.

Yeah in Summer 2010.

Bought a nice White Classic Controller Pro there.

 

There was merchandise galore (albeit, not much I was interested in), games for sale, consoles set-up, demo pods, loads of pokemon stuff, but don't remember individual cabinets for certain franchises, so yeah maybe a new feature. They must change stuff around regularly anyway.

[Jonnas]

I'm not entirely sure whether it's an Akaneia game - it takes place in the Kindom of Iris but the trailer does show a world that looks a bit like Akaneia so either it's just in the same world but different continent, like FE:Gaiden and as I understand it Geneology and Thracia 776, or it could be that that this is a new state that has formed in Akaneia.

 

Could be. The folks at Serenes Forest noticed more hints towards this (the main emblem is actually Akaneia's Fire Emblem, and this game's continent is somewhat similar to Akaneia)

 

Anyway, if there is a relation, then I really need to play the other two games. I've been putting off playing SD because of the archaic elements they didn't change/remove, but New Mystery sounds interesting (I hear it's much better than SD. It even has Base Conversations).

 

I might resort to an emulator for FE12, though. Fans are already working on a Translation Patch, which seems to be making good progress.

[Captain Falcon]

Could be. The folks at Serenes Forest noticed more hints towards this (the main emblem is actually Akaneia's Fire Emblem, and this game's continent is somewhat similar to Akaneia)

 

Anyway, if there is a relation, then I really need to play the other two games. I've been putting off playing SD because of the archaic elements they didn't change/remove, but New Mystery sounds interesting (I hear it's much better than SD. It even has Base Conversations).

 

I might resort to an emulator for FE12, though. Fans are already working on a Translation Patch, which seems to be making good progress.

 

I didn't even click about it possibly being Marth at first. It was the fact that the Shiel looked like the Fire Emblem/ Shield of Seals otherwise I would have missed it. That's when I went looking at the pics on Serenes and noticed the Altean Prince. Before then, I just thought it was another typical blue haired fighter the series seems to favour in significant roles that would be revelaed in time.... though I guess that exactly what's going on here since we are still speculating until confirmed otherwise.

 

I wouldn't call SD archaic - it's just a little lacking in features used by the more modern releases. I say modern, but we're really talking post Mystery and that still takes us a far way back. Still, it forces you to play a little differently knowing that Cavaliers can't move after an action or that you can't run up and rescue a weak/vulnerable ally. The story isn't anything to write home about but the gameplay is perfectly solid.

[Jonnas]

I wouldn't call SD archaic - it's just a little lacking in features used by the more modern releases. I say modern, but we're really talking post Mystery and that still takes us a far way back. Still, it forces you to play a little differently knowing that Cavaliers can't move after an action or that you can't run up and rescue a weak/vulnerable ally. The story isn't anything to write home about but the gameplay is perfectly solid.

 

But it's exactly stuff like that that's been putting me off If a recent Metroid lacked maps or other key features introduced in Super Metroid, I'd call it archaic, as well.

"No rescuing" is a big offender. I've also heard only Marth can visit villages, is this true?

 

The basic story is something that doesn't really bother me, as that's a point that was never going to change. I am curious about the cast and the plot that started it all, though (especially since they were direct inspirations for a lot of stuff FE6 did)

[Captain Falcon]

But it's exactly stuff like that that's been putting me off If a recent Metroid lacked maps or other key features introduced in Super Metroid, I'd call it archaic, as well.

"No rescuing" is a big offender. I've also heard only Marth can visit villages, is this true?

 

The basic story is something that doesn't really bother me, as that's a point that was never going to change. I am curious about the cast and the plot that started it all, though (especially since they were direct inspirations for a lot of stuff FE6 did)

 

I'd forgotten about Marth visiting villages and wasn't entirely sure but a quick flick through the manual does confirm that is the case. Yeah, that is a nuisance since you can't have Shiida or Jeigan pick him up and carry him around the map but it's not as big of a pain as it sounds on paper because of how the levels are laid out... though that itself could be a bone of contention I guess.

 

I wasn't aware of any direct influence of the Akaneia games to the Elibe ones beyond recurring gameplay ideas of the franchise. Evil tryants and traitors are synonymous with any RPG and not inherent to just FE games. Perhaps it speaks more to my knowledge of the stories for both sets. Having never played 6, I'm not too familiar with the details of story beyond the basics I've read about.

 

What are the inspirations you speak of?

[Jonnas]

Character designs are the most obvious similarity

 

 

(The initial party is Marth, Jagen, cavaliers, archer and knight, right? The Fighters are also part of Ogma's mercenary band, aren't they? Is the boy mage an orphan? Was the Wyvern Rider also a significant defector from the enemy nation? Just guessing)

 

In FE6, a war erupts, and Roy gains the key to end the war in the form of Princess Guinevere, who he meets early in the game. The enemy is actually attempting to eradicate humanity by summoning/resurrecting ancient dragons to take over, a plan he concocted alongside his shady advisor/shaman, who is seen wearing a dark robe (and who turns out to be an ancient dark dragon).

The story in SD sounds somewhat close to this (Serenes says there are more similarities with FE3, though.)

 

 

Like it's said in that page, the main reason for this was that Sword of Seals was supposed to be a "reboot" of sorts, being the first portable Fire Emblem, and the first one to be released internationally (though that last part didn't quite happen), so a lot of mechanics were simplified (removing skills was just one of many changes), and most changes concerned the core, basic elements of the gameplay.

[Captain Falcon]

@Jonnas

 

Minerva (the Draco Knight in red) was a defector yes, but in most of the subsequent games in the series, the Wyvern Riders/Knights/Lords always belong to the oppossing army. In PoR, it was Daein that had all the Wyverns but then in RD, it was Begnion who suddenly had them instead of their army of Pegasus Knights because, they are the bad people. In 6 and 7, they all come from Bern. I don't think you ever see a none defecting Wyvern Rider after they split the class in FE4 and they all seem to be of more importance than your average unit.

 

The Red and Green knights feature in every FE with one being balanced and the other relying more on strength. They are defined by their armour mostly and they never differ much from game to game consequently. There are certain designs styles that they will never deviate too much from and so all games feature similar dress senses for any given class... though even I'm not so blind as to say some of the colours are a little close to not raise some suspision.

 

You're right about the starting party being eerily similar though.

 

I'm sure some of the changes weren't so much about thinking of the internatonal audience as they were just trying to avoid making the game too niche and difficult if they continued making it more convoluted with each game. It needed stripping back so they could rebuild it if they ever wanted to widen its appeal.

 

Roy and Marth weren't guaranteed for inclusion in the Western Melee release and so it makes it difficult to put too much strength in the idea that FE6 was always intended for international release, even if it never happened. I'm sure they toyed with it after the fact, due to the popularity with players, but then ultimately chose to make 7 into something more beginner friendly. FE6 isn't generally considered that highly among the fanbase anyway from what I gather. It only enjoyed a brief bit of popularity amongst internet elitists claiming it was better than 7 because they wanted to shove it down peoples throats that they were "hardcore" FE fans... though I daresay a good chunk of those people claiming its greatness had never actually touched it.

 

Anyway, I've gone somewhat off my point and the one you raised :p

 

So yeah, I think some parts are aping the the original. It seems Shouzou Kaga always wanted to go back to Akaneia and maybe this was intentional given he left at the end of Thracia - they felt they needed to create a new land instead of relying on one that existed but still wanted to some things familiar to fans. That they didn't want to go back to Akaneia but that they could still tell the same story. It also helps to further explain the big overhaul in gameplay since it was under new hands. And the rest are just FE in general and not any particular game. So whilst they may have first appeared in Dark Dragon, they've not been short on appearances since to the point it would be wrong to single out FE6 as bringing them back.

[Jonnas]

Minerva (the Draco Knight in red) was a defector yes, but in most of the subsequent games in the series, the Wyvern Riders/Knights/Lords always belong to the oppossing army. In PoR, it was Daein that had all the Wyverns but then in RD, it was Begnion who suddenly had them instead of their army of Pegasus Knights because, they are the bad people. In 6 and 7, they all come from Bern. I don't think you ever see a none defecting Wyvern Rider after they split the class in FE4 and they all seem to be of more importance than your average unit.

 

True, the enemy nation usually has the Wyvern Riders*, and I realised that comparison was futile after I posted (though the character design, and even the names, Minerva -> Miledy, are still similar. I wouldn't be surprised if her motivations for defecting were similar, though that's conjecture).

Also, the image was found online, and I would've removed the Red&Green cavaliers on the same principle.

 

*The Tellius games are curious in this regard, since we are never told Daein specializes in wyverns. As it turns out, the only Daein Dracoknights are defectors from Begnion, which we are told since FE9. Ditto for the Peg.Knights only being the apostle's personal guard. Pretty neat.

 

I'm sure some of the changes weren't so much about thinking of the internatonal audience as they were just trying to avoid making the game too niche and difficult if they continued making it more convoluted with each game. It needed stripping back so they could rebuild it if they ever wanted to widen its appeal.

 

Roy and Marth weren't guaranteed for inclusion in the Western Melee release and so it makes it difficult to put too much strength in the idea that FE6 was always intended for international release, even if it never happened. I'm sure they toyed with it after the fact, due to the popularity with players, but then ultimately chose to make 7 into something more beginner friendly.

 

So yeah, I think some parts are aping the the original. It seems Shouzou Kaga always wanted to go back to Akaneia and maybe this was intentional given he left at the end of Thracia - they felt they needed to create a new land instead of relying on one that existed but still wanted to some things familiar to fans. That they didn't want to go back to Akaneia but that they could still tell the same story. It also helps to further explain the big overhaul in gameplay since it was under new hands. And the rest are just FE in general and not any particular game. So whilst they may have first appeared in Dark Dragon, they've not been short on appearances since to the point it would be wrong to single out FE6 as bringing them back.

 

Well, I suppose this could also be correct. The Serenes Forest article doesn't really offer sources, so either point (or both) is equally credible.

 

Still, there's no denying that the Akaneia games were the main influence in creating the simpler FE6. What I really want to check is, to what extent?

 

FE6 isn't generally considered that highly among the fanbase anyway from what I gather. It only enjoyed a brief bit of popularity amongst internet elitists claiming it was better than 7 because they wanted to shove it down peoples throats that they were "hardcore" FE fans... though I daresay a good chunk of those people claiming its greatness had never actually touched it.

 

Anyway, I've gone somewhat off my point and the one you raised :p

 

Eh, I remember those fans' attitude True, the game is quite hard, and provides a great challenge. It's also true that most criticisms on the game are valid, as there are many uninteresting supports, plenty of useless/bland characters, and the RNG so often seems to hate you. Not to mention certain aspects were still in the need of tweaking and polishing.

 

I think it's a bit underrated, though. There's some good support conversations in there (though I don't recommend trying to see them in-game ), the maps are well-designed, the difficulty never feels "cheap" and the music is very enjoyable (generally better than FE7, in my opinion)

[-Dem0-]

Awesome Cover!

 

 

Trying to show something with Marth going the other way?

[dazzybee]

That he's gay?

[heroicjanitor]

Not sure it's Marth tbh... And he is going the other way because he forgot to buy that Steel sword and his current one is about to break. He is raging.

[-Dem0-]

LOL! those times where I would try to save All those weapons even those that were Grade C, I would even take down the map's boss with a D/E weapon. memories are flooding back, Oh the stinginess!

[Jonnas]

That he's gay?

 

Marth is happily married to Caeda. He's unambiguously straight.

 

...

 

..

 

Wait, does that mean that the rest of the cast...?

Edited February 28, 2012 by Jonnas