Found a copy at my local Wallyworld, which was no small matter, as the game is out of stock on pretty much every online site and most retailers. I just finished Chapter 6 this morning -- had to play as soon as I woke up. It's one of those games -- you know, the kind that keep you up at night thinking about it; the kind you wake up thinking about how you want to build your characters up when you start playing again.
That's Donnel up there. He's a villager you meet early on in the game. I hear he gets pretty beefy as you level him up, so I'm throwing him into the fray as often as possible.
The game is really great so far...and hard as hell, at least in terms of keeping everyone alive. I'm playing on Hard difficulty in Classic mode, so if a unit dies, they stay dead like they would in previous FE games.
And I have to say, the criticisms regarding grinding for levels and re-classing for endless stat boosts have been grossly exaggerated. Perhaps in Normal mode things are much easier, but you don't get free access to Second Seals (to re-class) 'til much later in the game, and it's hard to grind even the "easiest" sidequests, as the enemies can still send your units to the hereafter. Gameplay-wise, Fire Emblem is still very much intact. It just has a ton more to offer now.
Unfortunately, the story is very..."Tales of." Don't get me wrong, Tales of Symphonia is one of my all-time favorite games, but that series generally has a lot of silliness and plot devices that are a complete departure from realistic social situations. Awakening has a lot of that too. However, the actual plot is quite compelling. Chapter 6 was a good set-up to get you wanting more, in spite of the ridiculous premise.
But the game does have a good sense of humor, I'll give it that. This is a Support scene. When you battle together, you raise the bond of relationship between characters. I'm trying to hook up Sumia and Chrom so they'll marry and have a kid. Sumia is really into Chrom, so it seems like a natural pairing.
The game has a lot of other, really cool features. The WiFi stuff comes with a boatload of downloadable fan service. The DLC maps should really satisfy anyone who's been into the series for a while. It's like a "greatest hits" of Fire Emblem. Great stuff.
Haven't really played on my 3DS or touched it much at all for months -- pretty much since Resident Evil Revelations -- so it's nice to have another really good reason to pick the system up.
I've never played a Fire Emblem game and thus know nothing about it. I know Super Smash Brothers took a character or 2 from it, but what is the main draw of this franchise? How is it played. I don't think I have ever heard as much buzz about a Fire Emblem game as I am now. Is there something different or special about this one?
I'm actually interested for the first time. Need to know more though.
I got my copy today and I got to say it is a lot of fun. Now since it is my first Fire Emblem game I decided to play with perma-death off and on the second hardest difficultly choice to learn the game a little. I got to say I love how challenging the game is and I am looking forward to see how perma-death adds to the game when I get to my next play through.
Been playing it like crazy and it's already one of my favorite games. Absolutely fantastic! And btw, Donnel is a boss. I have him as a level 2 Hero right now with 30+ Str, Skl, Spd, and Def. He destroys everything and everybody. Although it does looks silly, a hero with a pot on his head for a helmet lol
1 Like @Joshua2222 Yeah, man. Donnel is pretty freakin' ridiculous. I ended up S-ranking him with MU, and they lay waste to everything in their path. Unfortunately, it's a double-edged sword when you're trying to level up other units. I may have to equip him with the ladle. :P
@johnsteed7 Agreed. And to better answer your question from my previous blog, regarding the game's explanation for how kids are introduced into the story, it's actually set up quite well. They do appear as adults, but there's a plausible explanation...within the confines of this fantasy, of course.
Have you tried to do Lunatic? The enemies are stronger than your characters and it feels like the only way to beat them is to send out Frederick.
1 Like @Drkirk08 Damn, I'm only 14 hours into the game and I feel burnt out for the day since I just got passed a really tough part. But I'm having a lot of fun. Of course i feel bad for that Wizard kid getting friend zoned in my story.
@Drilbit777 @Drkirk08 Lol. I'm starting off in easy mode to experiment combinations. I did some interesting marriage experiment. I married a thief with a Taguel (rabbit-human) and will do a dragon with a Hero. My best duo is a paladin with a general. They literally cannot be destroyed. lol
I like the series, but I wouldn't buy a 3DS for it. If they had launched the 3DS with this game, then I still might own a 3DS, just sayin'.
Also, whats the point of second seals anyway. I have one but it seems to make my character weaker rather than stronger so i don't use it. I find Master Seal to be more useful but am i doind something wrong with the second seal?
@Drilbit777 Second seal is used to change a character to a different class. Though it may temporarily lower stats, it's great for boosting stats overall, as well as gathering up skills.
@GeekyDad So if i were to lower the MC back to a tactician ( Mine is a grandmaster now) when he reaches level 10 and then reupgrade him back to a grandmaster would it make him a lot stronger?
@Drilbit777@GeekyDadThere seems to still be a lot of guess work going on in the forums regarding stat caps, but the general consensus seems to be that it might not be the best idea to revert back to a tier-one class. You might want to try Second Seal to change over to another tier-two class to boost stats. So far, the best, most accurate information seems to be coming from: http://www.serenesforest.net/fe13/index.html
This game is so much fun. Its my first Fire Emblem game and i have to say I haven't been addicted to a portable title like this since Persona 3 PSP. Also in mine Chrom marries Marribelle and now i feel bad for that wizard kid since he just got friendzoned and Sumia is never going to get Chrom. But other than that I think its awesome and I can't wait to keep playing.
"Haven't really played on my 3DS or touched it much at all for months -- pretty much since Resident Evil Revelations -- so it's nice to have another really good reason to pick the system up."
This happened to me too, haven't been interested in another 3DS game since RE: revelations, i don't really like mario games so i was really bored with my 3DS.
I was busy in my free time with persona 4 on my vita (almost 90 hrs), and i am really excited to pick this game now, is good to see nice opinions about the game, a must have for now, i expect more titles like this in the future :)
I really need to get this. I have a feeling it's going to be very hard to find in a few months if it isn't already. I really need to finish a couple of my other 3DS games first. It is a must have for sure.
@tightwad34 People are trying to sell the artbook that comes with the game if you preorder it. I've seen people try to sell it for around $30. Damn.
@tightwad34 You can download it from the eshop for $39.99 if you have enough space/don't mind not having a physical copy.
@Thunderstarter @tightwad34 Definitely a great option for folks who simply cannot land a physical copy, but I had to have that card with its awesome pixel art. Plus, I want to be able to play it on a different 3DS, should I upgrade in the future.
@tightwad34 Yeah, I tried buying it online, but couldn't find a copy. I was surprised my local Walmart had three copies. I know Shadow Dragon (DS) is currently selling for about $75 on Amazon, so yeah, definitely get it before rarity drives up the cost.
Still one of the reasons I'm looking forward to buy a 3ds. At last, something worth playing for. FE: Shadow Dragon was a little disappointing.
Seems like the 3DS is picking up the vibe this year with some pretty strong releases. I'm game on picking this up at some point---in addition to Mirror of Fate and Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon.
1 Like I just love how well-made the game is. It seems like a lot of portable games are pretty much just lesser versions of console games, so it's nice to see a game that fells so...complete. If Pokemon X and Y have the same production values that this game has, I'll be in heaven! :)
1 Like "Haven't really played on my 3DS or touched it much at all for months -- pretty much since Resident Evil Revelations -- so it's nice to have another really good reason to pick the system up." <---- I second that :)
