Fire Emblem Awakening: The Outrealms

So, Fire Emblem Awakening has been out for a couple of months now, and it is still pretty much the only game I've been playing steadily.

Today, however, marks the release of the last of the DLC missions for the game (unless they are planning on adding some which haven't been released yet in Japan).

So, I thought I'd create a new thread to discuss the game, now that we've had some time to look it over, and it's DLCs.



The DLCs for this game take place at an overworld map location called "The Outrealm Gate". Essentially, it's a portal to other worlds. These worlds include the other worlds that we've seen in Fire Emblem games, such as Elibe and Jugdral. They also include some truly unique worlds (such as an Outrealm dedicated entirely to armories or hotsprings), and a few that are very close mirrors to the world of the game, and serve as an "alternate history" type map.

Since this could get pretty long if I talk about each individually, I've grouped them in spoiler tags to compress the post. The only one with actual spoilers though, is the Future Past pack, and they're listed with a secondary spoiler tag inside the main one (oh, and if you're not going to delve into the descriptions at all, I'm just going to say here that I consider the Future Past pack one of the best DLCs I've ever seen, for any game).

-The Einherjar wars- (Champions of Yore, Lost Bloodlines, Smash Brethren, and Rogues & Redeemers)
The plot for about half of the Outrealm DLC chapters revolve around the Einherjar. They are cards containing the spirits of champions which can be used to summon a shadow of the champion into battle. These spirits are currently engaged in a war with each other across four different Outrealms, and your job is to defeat them to bring peace to the land. These characters serve as the rewards for the majority of the DLC chapters, giving you access to heroes with unique skills from other points in the series.

The plot is fairly cookie cutter, but the missions are not. Each map is based on a map from a previous game in the series, and features a unique setup of heroes and villains to fight. Each is tuned for a different level party, and if you don't overgrind, they'll push your tactical abilities quite well. The Einherjar also make a decent showing for themselves. Each NPC and enemy on these maps has something to say when they enter combat or are defeated, and relates to both the situation at hand, and their personality and role in the game they're originally from. Best of all, however, is that each has a unique dialogue with a character on your team. It's impossible to tell who will speak to whom until they face off against each other, but some of the dialogues are touching, some are in-depth "face my blade" type talks, and others are simply hilarious.

-The Golden Pack-
These DLCs are a unique bunch. Each features a rather unique, comical storyline, while providing a unique reward. The Golden Gaffe features heavy gold rewards (and is probably the single most rewarding map of all the DLCs), EXPonential Growth has a ton of enemies that are easy to kill and offer huge EXP totals. And Infinite Regalia has duplicate copies of some of the one-time ultimate weapons (and a rather grim story if you listen to your character's comments and look behind the humor).

-The Scramble Pack-
Now things start getting good. If you like the Support system, you'll love the Scramble Pack. Each chapter comes complete with dozens of dialogue conversations between various characters. Essentially they're an entire secondary set of support conversations. The maps also feature a huge number of sparkly tiles, which are great for increasing your support levels with your team.

-The Challenge Pack-
What to say about these maps? Two have fun, silly stories and comments, but the first one is really dark. But the real reason they exist? The challenge. Each map can be completed as a regular map, but also has a special condition to reap the reward. And these are some worthy challenges. Completing them can be hard (especially on higher difficulties), but you'll need excellent teamwork, planning, and unit setups to beat them with the conditions met.

-The Future Past-
Oh my gosh. This is probably one of the best DLC packs I've ever seen. In any game. Ever. It has no real reward, you get no money, and no new characters or items, yet the story and challenge are phenomenal. These chapters pretty much force you to train your entire team, which can be a bit of an annoyance if you don't like that sort of grinding, but the story potential and challenge of the missions themselves is phenomenal.

Unfortunately, the story is basically a spin-off of the game's main story (complete with an epilogue and awesome artwork). So I can't talk more about it without entering spoiler territory.

(SPOILER)The Future Past story is an alternate world where the children have not yet gone back in time. They are instead gathering the gemstones and the Fire Emblem. However, in this particular future, the children don't survive to make it home. At least, not without your help. You're essentially entering a blasted world of difficult fights, a great story, and some absolutely heartbreaking dialogue between the children of the other world and their parents. Heck, even the children and themselves is phenomenal (Cynthia's dialogue with her self is both touching and hilarious).

The story is dark, and the fact that each mission involves keeping alive 4 of the children (whose stats are as though they were just recruited, so whatever they inherit from their parents and that's it), means that the missions are extremely challenging. More so if you want to see the conversations, since you'll likely be using characters from outside your A-Team.

-Apotheosis-
A chapter for people who think that Lunatic mode is too easy. The difficulty on the purchase screen is listed as "Insane" instead of the usual star rating for a reason. You're facing enemies who have Limit Breaker, and a host of skills you will never get, like Dragonkin and Pavise+. The battle is a five wave fight. Oh, and if you clear the first wave in two turns or fewer, you're offered the option to restart it with harder enemies. So, yeah. This is for the masochists out there.

Granted, it does have a character reward. And a pretty good one. But still, if you beat this chapter, you probably won't need it.

Feel free to post your own thoughts on the game or the DLCs here. I'll be back with more info and opinions on the game itself later. For now, I'm just glad that turn based tactics games are making themselves known so spectacularly. First XCOM, now Fire Emblem. Now if we can just get a new Shining Force or FFT game, things will be golden.

46 views and no replies, what an underappreciated gem!!!

So me and Sky have been fangirling over it via PM, but I'll post some thoughts here.

If you're an SRPG fan, this system makes it worth jumping into the DS, simple as that. This is my first Fire Emblem, but I am enjoying its own take ont he SRPG genre, particularly with relationships and pairing up. The story has been a little typical for me up to where I'm at (Chapter 15 or 16 or so), but I find that a lot of these games start off that way then get progressively deeper as the plot develops, and I am starting to see some of that.

I told Sky, but I'm an unapologetic sucker for 3D gaming. I don't know if it's a standard-bearer for the 3DS, but Fire Emblem does make pretty cool use of the 3D feature. I like how it makes the battlefield look like a tabletop setup you might find in a Warhammer/detailed pen-and-paper type RPG (EOFF needs to get back into that again...). And I think a big advantage of 3D is how it enhances traditional 3D graphics in a way that you can really see the depth of things. The music is also pretty good, it's definitely crept into my head throughout the day.

I just started a job that involves a bit of commuting, and this has been my go-to game for that purpose. I haven't been going through the story as much as playing random battles and grinding up my weaker characters. So I think no matter how you play SRPGs, this game's got what it takes to tickle your fancy. This is the kind of handheld gaming I enjoy immensely, and I can't wait to get more into this series!

Unfortunately I don't have a wireless connection but I really like this game too.



The only thing about class swapping though is that it seems to make some characters less unique...they should give different characters personal skills too to make them stand out a bit more.



7 is still my favourite. :)

I'd like to take a moment to discuss the DLC mission Apotheosis.

There's no real spoilers, as this mission has no real story. It's simply a five wave fight against the most powerful enemies in the game. And I mean that. The enemies in Castle Apotheosis trump everything you've faced. No boss or enemy in the game comes close to matching the foes you face here.

Victory in Castle Apotheosis is based entirely on your preparation and your tactics.

Writing a turn by turn guide for this is going to be nearly impossible, as what units you take in, their skills, and how they work together is going to be radically different for each player. So instead, I thought I'd share my basic tips, and hopefully help some of you survive this insanity.


Be prepared to grind. A lot. When you go into Castle Apotheosis, you want to do so with a team of max stat units, equipped with Limit Breaker. You want the best team you can get, with the best skills you can get them. And you want them equipped with the absolute top tier in weaponry, which means a lot of money spent at the Forge.



Anyway, on to the details.

First, unit choice. There are a lot of units you can take into this fight, but there are some things to look out for. You'll want units with as much versatility as possible. Specialized units like Berserkers or Sages have drawbacks due to the sheer variety and numbers of foes you'll face. So, my recommendation is to have every male unit be a Dread Fighter (one of the best classes in the game period). Their stats are all-around great, and they can wield both weapons and magic. For female units, you'll want several Dark Flyers. Again, one of the best classes in the game. They're weaker to physical attacks, but, again, they can wield both magic and weapons, which is a huge benefit. And finally, you'll want two Brides, who will serve as your healers (excellent stats, and can attack and defend themselves better than most other healer units).




Second, skills. Galeforce is a huge one in this mission, and you'll want it on as many of your attackers as possible.

Rally Skills are next. If you haven't used Rally a lot, that changes now. Rally is absolutely huge. There are ten different Rally skills in the game (Strength, Magic, Skill, Speed, Luck, Defense, Resistance, Movement, Spectrum, and Heart), and you'll basically want all of them. This means you'll want two characters who do nothing but serve as dedicated Rally slaves. A male Avatar or generic character can learn Strength, Magic, Skill, Luck, Defense, and Spectrum, and a female Avatar or generic character can learn all but Strength. Load the male character up with half of them, give the female the other half. And be prepared to keep these two out of combat, because they won't have Limit Breaker or All Stats+2. Oh, wouldn't you know, two more recommended skills.

Ignoring the Rally units, that's 3 skills for your main attackers now (Galeforce, Limit Breaker, and All Stats +2). Any male unit who can't get Galeforce should get Aggression, an extra ten damage (five on this map) is nothing to scoff at. Your Dark Flyers should carry Iote's Shield, to negate bows and wind damage. After that, pick ones you want. Astra, Luna, and Sol are all excellent choices on this map. Bond or Renewal can keep units alive, and Armsthrift will be welcome if you can fit it in.



Third, weapons. Here's where things get really annoying. You'll want a ton of weapons, because you're facing a lot of enemies, and it takes a lot to take each one down. The best weapons on this map are Forged, even better than the ultimate weapons, because you can get Forged Brave weapons. Every attacker should have at least four weapons, two physical, two magical. When forging, max Might first, then dump the other three points in Hit. This is a lot of weapons, and they get expensive, fast, especially when I tell you which weapons to use. For physical weapons, use Brave. The ability to attack twice as often is simply too huge to ignore (especially since Paired Up units get two attacks on every Dual Strike). Which also leads to the other recommendation. For magical attacks, you cannot do better than Celica's Gale. I know, the base Might on this thing is only 4. But forged for max Might, this tome is a beast. It allows double hits, just like a Brave weapon, and it does double damage to flyers, since it's a wind tome. If you need more of them, summon Celica from the SpotPass teams, and buy them from her (just resummons each time you use her shop).


Finally, Tonics. When you're in a battle that last five waves against enemies with stats ten to twenty points higher than anything else in the game, you'll want every stat point you can get. Buy every stat booster you can get, and use them all. You can buy individual ones from various shops, or use one of the better items like Gaius's Confect or Tiki's Tear that you can find from sparkly tiles. Boost every stat you can.




Now, on to strategy.

The strategy on this is actually fairly simple. Pair Up units with A or S Rank support for the huge stat boosts, and make sure all your units are within range of your Rally Slaves at the beginning of each turn. Rally will hit all units, even Paired Up ones, so you'll have a lot of power in each pair. Here's where Galeforce shines. Your Galeforce users can run out, hit an enemy, and fly back into range of the Rally Slaves (also ensuring the weak Rally slaves stay shielded), so that they can get the boosts next turn.

Pair Up also shows how incredibly overpowered it can be with this setup. As the first unit in a Pair attacks, it will be followed (an A Rank support on max stat units leads to about an 83% chance of a Dual Strike) by two attacks from the Paired unit. And best of all, enemy defensive skills will not activate on Dual Strikes. Oh, Dragonskin will still reduce the damage by half (like I said, these guys are cheap), but skills that activate, even ones with 100% activation rate such as Pavise+ and Aigis+ (and every unit on this map carries one of those two skills) will not activate to reduce the damage of a Dual Strike further. Counter will also remain blissfully silent.

Combine this with our Brave weapon choice, and you'll be looking at twelve attacks with each Pair, which is why they're pretty much guaranteed to drop even the most powerful opponents and be able to make it back to the safety of your ranks.



With the main strategy gone, the rest is the question of handling the numbers. You face a lot of enemies here, and you're likely to run low on weapons among your most attacked units. You'll also have enemies teaming up one after another in a suicidal conga chain to try and take even one of your units out. Survival, even with this strategy, is not going to be easy.

To mitigate this, first, be aware that when you get a new wave, they won't move until you enter their attack range, but once one enemy sees you, they all see you, and they'll come running. You can stagger the enemy approach if you send a high mobility unit out as a scout, and pull it back once you get the enemy's attention. Making the enemies come to you can split them up. Flyers will reach you long before foot soldiers trudging through the trees.

Unfortunately, there are only a couple of good choke points on this map, so you'll have to keep moving (if the enemy gets around you and hits your Rally slaves, you're dead). Take all the time you can to recover and trade weapons around between waves, and definitely abuse your high mobility Galeforce units to hit and run. The fewer enemies you can face at a time, the better off you'll be.



One final word of warning. If you finish the first wave in under two turns (which I just did on Lunatic difficulty), you'll get an offer to join in on the ultimate opponents. There are more enemies per wave, and their stats run about ten points higher than the opponents you face normally (60+ Strength as a base stat hurts). But the strategy is still the same. Hit and run, use Brave weapons, and carry a lot of stat boosters. Or, at least, it's the same so far. I'm still only in wave two. Wish me luck.



I hope this helps anyone insane enough to take on this ultimate challenge. And the next time someone tells you that turn-based games are too easy, toss them into Castle Apotheosis, and watch them despair.

Apologies for the sequential post, but this thread had no replies when I started typing up my last post (how many hours ago did I start writing that?), so I was unable to respond to these.

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Originally Posted by Flaming Ice

Unfortunately I don't have a wireless connection but I really like this game too.

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Go to somewhere with free WiFi. The DLCs are great, and the SpotPass content alone needs to be downloaded (and is free!). Once you've downloaded them, you won't need the connection anymore (it turns out that multiplayer is local only :(), so just find somewhere to download them once.

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The only thing about class swapping though is that it seems to make some characters less unique...they should give different characters personal skills too to make them stand out a bit more.

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I think they did this about right, actually. The parent characters only have 3 classes (of about fifteen) that they can reclass into. It's a minor enough number that it keeps them customized, and leads to a ton of min/maxing development for the children characters. Plus, some of the job combinations are just so much fun. Such as the fact that Kellam can reclass into a Thief. Because he's one of the stealthiest members of the team since no one ever notices him.

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7 is still my favourite.

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Forum spellchecker is telling me you have an extra "u" there. :)

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

46 views and no replies, what an underappreciated gem!!!

So me and Sky have been fangirling over it via PM, but I'll post some thoughts here.

If you're an SRPG fan, this system makes it worth jumping into the DS, simple as that. This is my first Fire Emblem, but I am enjoying its own take ont he SRPG genre, particularly with relationships and pairing up. The story has been a little typical for me up to where I'm at (Chapter 15 or 16 or so), but I find that a lot of these games start off that way then get progressively deeper as the plot develops, and I am starting to see some of that.

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Yay, I can finally talk to Bolivar about the children characters. I mean, sheesh, it was a huge part of the advertising that was aimed at fans of the series, but Bolivar apparently hadn't heard of it. And there is so much depth to that system.

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I told Sky, but I'm an unapologetic sucker for 3D gaming. I don't know if it's a standard-bearer for the 3DS, but Fire Emblem does make pretty cool use of the 3D feature. I like how it makes the battlefield look like a tabletop setup you might find in a Warhammer/detailed pen-and-paper type RPG (EOFF needs to get back into that again...). And I think a big advantage of 3D is how it enhances traditional 3D graphics in a way that you can really see the depth of things. The music is also pretty good, it's definitely crept into my head throughout the day.

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While we're talking about the 3D, I'd just like to say that this game's 3D cutscenes are absolutely GORGEOUS. They look utterly phenomenal. I'm not usually one for 3D visuals, honestly, but the cutscenes (and a lot of the artwork) make truly beautiful use of the feature.

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I just started a job that involves a bit of commuting, and this has been my go-to game for that purpose. I haven't been going through the story as much as playing random battles and grinding up my weaker characters. So I think no matter how you play SRPGs, this game's got what it takes to tickle your fancy. This is the kind of handheld gaming I enjoy immensely, and I can't wait to get more into this series!

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The DLCs are a decent place to start. They'll introduce you to some of the characters, at least.

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Originally Posted by Skyblade

Go to somewhere with free WiFi. The DLCs are great, and the SpotPass content alone needs to be downloaded (and is free!). Once you've downloaded them, you won't need the connection anymore (it turns out that multiplayer is local only :(), so just find somewhere to download them once.

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Oh, well that's good then. I have a wireless Router but I don't even know how to hook it up....Maybe I'll check if there is a place in this area sometime :)
But local multiplayer means I have no one to play against =/

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I think they did this about right, actually. The parent characters only have 3 classes (of about fifteen) that they can reclass into. It's a minor enough number that it keeps them customized, and leads to a ton of min/maxing development for the children characters.

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Heh, the child characters' stats are so high. Reclassing helps get different skills but I like it more when characters seem more unique; that way it feels like there is more strategy to using them rather than "this character has higher stats than that one.....there's my choice".

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Plus, some of the job combinations are just so much fun. Such as the fact that Kellam can reclass into a Thief. Because he's one of the stealthiest members of the team since no one ever notices him.

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Lol..he got bad stats as a great knight (no wonder why no one notices him) ...Really like Stahl, he got really good stats except for his res. I turned both stahl and Kellam as great knights for support/mobility (I always use generals but they obviously lack the mobility).

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Forum spellchecker is telling me you have an extra "u" there. :)

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Spellcheckers need to learn Canadian :greenie:

Honestly, skills are way more important than stats when it comes to choosing which character over which. Stat differentials between characters are only a few points when you get to dealing with max stats. Which skills they have access to is what really sets them apart.

Edit: Well, the extra tough enemies tore me apart. Ok, actually, not true. I got through a wave and a half (two and a half if you count the first wave, which triggers the secret fights), and I quit when I lost Marribelle, who is only one of a dozen troops, and she took out about six guys before they downed her. Dual Guard+ should also go on the recommended skills list for the backup members of a pair. But I was able to beat the "basic" Castle Apotheosis foes. Which, considering that I'm only about to do Chapter 6, and I didn't even have a full team (I was using only regular characters, no DLC or others except for my import Avatar from my first run), is pretty dang good, I think. I've spotted a possible adjustment to make in my strategy as well, but I'm not going to try again until I have a full roster.

2nd Edit: For those who don't know how to download the DLCs, they're available from the "Purchase Maps" menu in the Outrealm Gate. To download the free SpotPass content, go to "Wireless" in the menu, then choose "Bonus Box", and then "Update Now". The Bonus Box is also where you'll claim the items, activate the maps, and summon the shops/enemies.

How much does the DLC cost because I think I've read some is free but you have to pay for some of the stuff?

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Originally Posted by Flaming Ice

How much does the DLC cost because I think I've read some is free but you have to pay for some of the stuff?

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The SpotPass content (as I noted above, downloadable by choosing "Update Now" from your Wireless Menu's Bonus Box options) is free.

DLC... Gets kind of expensive.

Each map is sold for $2.50 to $3.00 (in the US, at least). But most of the maps (all except Apotheosis) are available in 3-map packs, which sell for $6.00 or $6.50.

In total, if you get every DLC in pack form, you're looking at $53.00 plus tax (granted, that's almost an entire triple-A game's cost, but in my mind, it's well worth it).

If you're in Europe, the packs change price, and they're being released later. If you want a full accounting (as well as a pretty decent overview of each DLC), head over to Serenes Forest. You can also change the region to European or Japanese to see what the cost is in each region (I linked you to the US page because it has a summary of all the DLCs, while Europe only has those that are released across the pond, which is about six of them).



URGENT NEWS: Fire Emblem was nearly CANCELLED before the release of this game.

This is quite shocking to me. Apparently the series had been flagging enough that an ultimatum was issued on the sales numbers. Apparently it did kick the devs enough to deliver one of the best games the series has had, but still... This is a great series that has only just been starting to be released over here in the states (I think we've only gotten five of the games in the series). I am very glad that Awakening has done well enough to surpass the numbers.

Alert your friends to this game, we need to increase sales!

EDIT: It also might be worth pointing out, this is one of the only Fire Emblem games which has had serious marketing buzz, at least in the US. The rest of the series is known and talked about by fans, but largely passed under the radar of the gaming media during the time of release. Had there been reviews and previews of the others, I'm sure they would have done better.

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Originally Posted by Skyblade

Each map is sold for $2.50 to $3.00 (in the US, at least). But most of the maps (all except Apotheosis) are available in 3-map packs, which sell for $6.00 or $6.50.

In total, if you get every DLC in pack form, you're looking at $53.00 plus tax (granted, that's almost an entire triple-A game's cost, but in my mind, it's well worth it).

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Alright, thanks...I live in Canada so, of course, it'll be the us prices. Too expensive for me lol.

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If you're in Europe, the packs change price, and they're being released later. If you want a full accounting (as well as a pretty decent overview of each DLC), head over to Serenes Forest. You can also change the region to European or Japanese to see what the cost is in each region (I linked you to the US page because it has a summary of all the DLCs, while Europe only has those that are released across the pond, which is about six of them).

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Ah, I've used that site before, should have checked it again, pretty useful information on it.

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This is quite shocking to me. Apparently the series had been flagging enough that an ultimatum was issued on the sales numbers. Apparently it did kick the devs enough to deliver one of the best games the series has had, but still... This is a great series that has only just been starting to be released over here in the states (I think we've only gotten five of the games in the series). I am very glad that Awakening has done well enough to surpass the numbers.

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We actually got 6 but they better not cancel >.>

*My favourite game series*

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EDIT: It also might be worth pointing out, this is one of the only Fire Emblem games which has had serious marketing buzz, at least in the US. The rest of the series is known and talked about by fans, but largely passed under the radar of the gaming media during the time of release. Had there been reviews and previews of the others, I'm sure they would have done better.

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Do they even make a lot of copies of the games?

Because they sell very quickly. Even sacred stones I saw only once before it was sold out at ebgames (lucky enough I chanced upon it without knowing about it). Only radiant dawn/POR seemed to stay in the stores a bit longer.

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Originally Posted by Flaming Ice

Do they even make a lot of copies of the games?

Because they sell very quickly. Even sacred stones I saw only once before it was sold out at ebgames (lucky enough I chanced upon it without knowing about it). Only radiant dawn/POR seemed to stay in the stores a bit longer.

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Honestly, Nintendo's never had a lot of faith in this series across the seas. It was only luck that got it localized internationally anyway.

See, originally, when Super Smash Bros. Melee came out, Roy and Marth were intended to be included on the Japanese version only. Marth was the hero of the original game, and Roy was the hero of the most recent. But neither of these games had seen international release.

However, during the localization process, the localization team responded extremely positively to the characters, and didn't want to pull them. So Nintendo let them leave them in. And it was then fan interest in the characters following Melee which convinced Nintendo to attempt a worldwide localization of the next Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem Rekka no Ken, which was game 7 in the series, and a direct prequel to Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi, game 6, which introduced Roy.

So Nintendo never really pushed or supported the Fire Emblem franchise over here. The success of the Fire Emblem characters in Smash Bros, Roy and Marth in Melee, and later Ike as well in Brawl, has been huge, however, and the games have been selling well over here. They're just not well supported.

Hopefully the fact that Awakening has hit the quarter million mark in the US alone that was the sales benchmark required in Japan to keep the series alive means that we'll still get more of the series localized as they go forward.

And hopefully we won't get a repeat of Shadow Dragon (I still hate that game).

Marth, roy, and ike made for really good characters in smash bros too. As I recall,I remember reading that marth/roy were included in the game to help advertise #7 before it came out over here too. But it really helps to advertise the games...how many people would have known about fire emblem if not for smash bros?

Unfortunately # 6 didn't get released here, which seems odd, considering they could have released it as a sequel instead of a prequel. (would be nice if they could do a POR/RD version for both 6 and 7 and release them together).

Hopefully they'll keep going with the game then, specially since they have some crossover version coming out, might be nice to get it over here depending on what it's like.



One thing they really need is harder endgames though...#7 wasn't too bad with some of the characters but the dragon was easy.....the demon king was one hit with a critical from ross... Just making it so certain characters did more dmge than others didn't change too much of anything between the games.

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Originally Posted by Flaming Ice

Marth, roy, and ike made for really good characters in smash bros too. As I recall,I remember reading that marth/roy were included in the game to help advertise #7 before it came out over here too. But it really helps to advertise the games...how many people would have known about fire emblem if not for smash bros?

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Well, it's actually had a pretty big cult following among the Tactical RPG community. I heard it from the Shining Force fans long before it was ever localized (which is why I was surprised I was introducing Bolivar to the series). Beyond that, however, it's gotten very little advertising at all, despite having excellent critical reception and good buzz from most who have played the games.

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Unfortunately # 6 didn't get released here, which seems odd, considering they could have released it as a sequel instead of a prequel. (would be nice if they could do a POR/RD version for both 6 and 7 and release them together).

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The only remakes I've seen from the Fire Emblem series so far is Shadow Dragon (and a few screenshots of Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo ~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū~, and it looks to be fairly similar to Shadow Dragon), and I absolutely hated that game.

But if they bring the quality of the other games up to that of Awakening, I would absolutely adore remakes of Blazing Swords, the Jugdrali games. Heck, I'd even take a portable remake of the Tellius games, especially if they straightened out Radiant Dawn's troubles.

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Hopefully they'll keep going with the game then, specially since they have some crossover version coming out, might be nice to get it over here depending on what it's like.

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Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem is I believe being primarily headed up by Atlus, not Intelligent Systems, and is going to be a standard RPG, not a Tactical RPG. Of course, since I adore Atlus's work, I'm going to buy it, and getting the SMT and Persona fans introduced to the Fire Emblem's characters can only do good things for the series.

And, oddly, despite the totally different settings, I think it's a crossover that has an absolutely insane amount of potential. Both series have excellent storytelling and extremely well developed characters, and the conflicts and themes will even work well together. I am definitely looking forward to how this crossover will play out.

With one exception. I have to buy a Wii U now. Dangit.

What games have you guys played in the series and what is the emulation scene like ?

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

What games have you guys played in the series and what is the emulation scene like ?

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I've played every one released in the US. There are a few translated ROMs of the earlier games floating around, but I haven't tried them.

Personal rating:
1. Awakening
2. Fire Emblem (first one released stateside for the GBA)
3. Path of Radiance (GameCube)
4. Tie between Sacred Stones (GBA) and Radiant Dawn (Wii)
5. Shadow Dragon

You shouldn't have any trouble emulating the GBA ones. GameCube emulation is usually a bit tetchy, though, and I haven't tried Wii emulation at all.

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Originally Posted by Skyblade

Well, it's actually had a pretty big cult following among the Tactical RPG community. I heard it from the Shining Force fans long before it was ever localized (which is why I was surprised I was introducing Bolivar to the series). Beyond that, however, it's gotten very little advertising at all, despite having excellent critical reception and good buzz from most who have played the games.

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I didn't even really know of tactical games before I played...thought it was weird at first (as you don't directly control the characters in battle); now it's one of my favourite series. But I bought #7 after playing smash bros lol.

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But if they bring the quality of the other games up to that of Awakening, I would absolutely adore remakes of Blazing Swords, the Jugdrali games. Heck, I'd even take a portable remake of the Tellius games, especially if they straightened out Radiant Dawn's troubles.

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Unfortunately it probably won't happen if they were thinking of quitting the series :cry: 3D wouldn't be too bad either.

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And, oddly, despite the totally different settings, I think it's a crossover that has an absolutely insane amount of potential. Both series have excellent storytelling and extremely well developed characters, and the conflicts and themes will even work well together. I am definitely looking forward to how this crossover will play out.

With one exception. I have to buy a Wii U now. Dangit.

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Yeah, I enjoy Atlus games too, they'll most likely do a good job with the game (though it's probably weird looking for a setting for crossover games to occur in).


I need a wii u too....unfornately it's too high of a price for me (and with the various complaints, I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo makes a revamped wiiU)

So, time to tone down my fanboyism a bit and talk about some of the negatives of the game.

- First, the customization and min/maxing. Yes, it's awesome. The problem? Without the DLCs, you probably won't use a ton of it. What you get out of the system depends on what you put into it, and with the main game itself, you're likely to beat it without going to the effort of min/maxing the various children character abilities (or simply trying to survive Lunatic or Lunatic+ without DLC grinding, rather than working to put a ton of effort into the children). It's only with the DLC that you really get cause to delve into the depth of the system.

Oddly enough, though, the DLC solution to this is not what you might expect. Usually, one would jump to the conclusion that the game was created with the DLCs in mind. However, the DLCs were in fact created later, in response to fan demand. While the Einherjar wars missions were planned from the get go, the Scramble Pack, Challenge Pack, Future Past, and Apotheosis missions (I don't know about the Golden Pack) were all designed around fan feedback, a desire for more story, and harder content. This is why the popular characters got their own pics (even if Tharja's lovely derrière did get censored in the US version), why Future Past junked rewards in favor of sheer awesome story content and difficulty, and why Apotheosis just said "to hell with it" and threw out the hardest enemies in the entire series.

They created a really in depth system that allows a ton of customization and min/maxing, but they didn't really put it to use in the main game. On the plus side, this does make it more accessible to new players, and optional superbosses and missions has never really been the series' forte, so it makes sense that they wouldn't start with them. On the other hand, it does seem like a bit of a missed opportunity. At least, without the DLC. With the DLC, though, everything makes sense.


- Second, the SpotPass characters. Each one comes with their own map and mission, which are fun, and the characters are awesome. Unfortunately, though, I'm not really happy that each one only gets Support conversations with the Avatar. Actually, this was another issue that a lot of fans had that got corrected in the DLCs, as the Scramble Packs contain a number of conversations between the SpotPass characters and a few other players. But, still, I would have liked to have seen full Support integration, especially since some of those Supports would be really, really important (I'm not going to spoil who the characters are, though, so I'm shutting up now).


- Third, Morgan. I really, really hate what they did to Morgan. I understand why they did it. Since the Avatar can marry any character of the opposite gender, including the SpotPass and Children characters, giving Morgan any kind of fixed background would have been difficult. But the amnesia is such a cop-out! I want to see Morgan's background! I want to know where Morgan came from, or why, if Morgan is the child of the Avatar and a child character, Morgan came back in time from a later future. I want to know what exactly happened in Morgan's timeline. Again, missed opportunity. We do get a little more on Morgan in the Future Past DLCs (and, geez, if it isn't both heartwarming and creepy as heck), but it's still vague and minimal.


- Fourth, the Father characters. Each child character is based off of their mother. Severa is always Cordelia's girl, etcetera. However, the Support conversations between child and father are extremely formulaic, and share much of the same text no matter who the father is. Given that some of the characters are radically different, I would have expected a little bit more variety in the conversations. Yet again, the DLCs take this into account (noticing a trend here?), and the conversations between child and father include some fairly large differences depending on who the father is, which is really nice. Unfortunately, while you have a Support Log, you don't have a log for DLC conversations, so you need to play the chapters a lot to see all of them, and play them again to see them a second time (or, y'know, check YouTube).




Ok, I would like to take a moment to say I totally wasn't intending to gush about the DLCs when I started this post. But when I learned about them being created due to fan feedback and responses, I really kind of couldn't help it. While the solutions weren't perfect, Intelligent Systems really did a great job of crafting the DLCs into what their fans wanted to see, and it's great that they were able to cover so many of my criticisms (but still, more on Morgan!) in the DLC chapters. If you've got to make DLC, that's how to do it.