Fire Emblem 11 (3DS)

[Edge7]

So Fire Emblem 7 was one of my favorite GBA games. I missed out on The Sacred Stones, I adored Path of Radiance, but Radiant Dawn and Shadow Dragon were disappointing; Shadow Dragon for being too simplistic in story and characters comparison to all the other games, and Radiant Dawn couldn't win me over with it's story.

So what do you guys think about the upcoming Fire Emblem for the 3ds? Here are some screenshots: IGN: Fire Emblem 3DS Artworks (3DS) 3523954 gotta say, I kinda miss the art style the older games had... but maybe as more characters are shown, I'll warm up to the new material.

[Polnareff]

PLAY SACRED STONES NOW. I DON'T CARE HOW; JUST DO IT!

Game looks decent so far. Is the male character supposed to be related to Mars/Marth (or IS that Marth)?

I don't really have much of an opinion on FE11 so far since lol 7 screenshots lol.

[Jiro]

Shadow Dragon for being too simplistic in story and characters comparison to all the other games

That was the remake of the original, wasn't it? That's like saying the PSP port of FFI was disappointing compared to the other FFs because its story was rubbish

[Edge7]

Shadow Dragon for being too simplistic in story and characters comparison to all the other games

That was the remake of the original, wasn't it? That's like saying the PSP port of FFI was disappointing compared to the other FFs because its story was rubbish

Well, to be fair, that's what I meant to say. I was pretty much spoiled with the current games to the extent that going back to the series' roots couldn't keep me engrossed long enough (same thing happened with FF1). It's unfair judgement to be sure, but I can't force myself to play a game I can't get into.

[Jiro]

Oh no, I just didn't realise you knew! I shouldn't have made the assumption, apologies.

[Skyblade]

Shadow Dragon for being too simplistic in story and characters comparison to all the other games

That was the remake of the original, wasn't it? That's like saying the PSP port of FFI was disappointing compared to the other FFs because its story was rubbish

It is far worse than that, though, and an examination of the games in question will show you that. Shadow Dragon fails in comparison to the other games, not simply because of what it was, but because of what it changed. Graphically, it is vastly inferior to the GBA games... Despite having undergone a graphical uplift. A game with visuals designed for the DS should not be inferior to those for the GBA, especially if both are sprite-based systems. Yet Shadow Dragon's graphics are, and are obviously so. They ditch the stylized sprites and incredible aesthetic that the series was using for no good reason.

The new class swapping completely destroys one of the fundamental aspects of the Fire Emblem series as well, making the characters seem less unique and, consequently, less interesting.


Sacred Stones was a pretty good game, though I feel it was nowhere near as good as the first GBA game, however. It just felt a little sloppy in comparison, though I find it hard to expand on what I mean. Mostly minor things. While the characterization we got in the Support Conversations was brilliant, the main story and the character development it displayed felt rather weak, especially compared to the strength that we saw in the original GBA game and Path of Radiance. There were a host of minor glitches involved with the new abilities, but overall, they were an addition I applaud.

The new world map, however, I just don't understand. I thought I would love this feature, as it basically gave the opportunity for extra levelling, and more battles to build and expand support conversations. Unfortunately, acquiring gold in these fights is nearly impossible, and that makes them worse than useless. Coming out of a fight with 50 gold coins and an entire battle's worth of weapon decay is not a winning combination, and I rarely found more than that. So you usually simply ignore those battles like the plague, because fighting them risks weapon degredation increasing to the point that you will not have the equipment to proceed further in the main game. Even the Tower gauntlet fights seemed to fall into this same pattern of costing you far more than you got out of them, which basically kept me from ever exploring them. If this feature is going to be kept in, these battles need much higher rewards. More dropped weapons, especially of higher quality as you go further in, and more dropped gold to buy new weapons to keep exploring.


On the other hand, the first Fire Emblem game for the GBA was absolutely brilliant, and I quite enjoyed Path of Radiance as well. I haven't yet really played Radiant Dawn, mostly because I haven't finished a playthrough of Path of Radiance that I am happy to carry over (I'm a bit too much of a perfectionist), but what little I did play seemed solid, though I do have some reservations about switching to a different playable team each chapter. I will watch out for the new one. It seems solid, and hopefully it will be another good addition to the series here in the USA.

[Bolivar]

Never got into Fire Emblem, this looks kinda tight though.

[Edge7]

Never got into Fire Emblem, this looks kinda tight though.

Personally, it's my favorite (and first) turn based strategy game.

[Skyblade]

Never got into Fire Emblem, this looks kinda tight though.

Personally, it's my favorite (and first) turn based strategy game.

I think that Shining Force was better, largely due to the fact that it had an RPG basis outside of battles, you got to explore towns, hunt for items and characters, talk to NPCs, etcetera. The FF Tactics games also did a lot more to flesh out their world than Fire Emblem did, with optional sidequests and such.

However, Fire Emblem has great core gameplay, usually very excellent characters, and an exceedingly charming aesthetic (except for Shadow Dragon, which abandoned any aesthetic sense at all).

[Edge7]

I think that Shining Force was better, largely due to the fact that it had an RPG basis outside of battles, you got to explore towns, hunt for items and characters, talk to NPCs, etcetera.

As far as turn based combat goes, I prefer Fire Emblem's "phase" approach to Shining Force's turns being based on the character's speed.

And, while I love the original Shining Force, they have definitely lost touch with their origins. I thought Shining Tears was mediocre, and I detested EXA.