screenshot Ike's FE Megathread {15.5}

[Integrity]

school started back up, look forward to the weekend

[#!/dev/haru]

EliteqSVBnに is Brighton's, and my vote is worth infinity

[Integrity]

I got sick.

With the overwhelming pain of failure lying heavy in his heart, Leaf fled Manster, accompanied by several members of the Magi group.

However, danger was still with them.

Bounty hunters were after the reward placed on Leaf, and the Manster Army was gaining on him from behind…

Let’s get moving. Chapter 7 is a pretty great and cool chapter, and it functions as a transition between what we’ve been doing and Thracia’s next theme, which it delivers pretty ham-fistedly.

August: “Lord Leaf, the Manster Army is gaining on us.”

Leaf: “What should we do?”

August: “We have two choices. We can either head west into the mountains to shake them off, or we can continue on southward towards Castle Meeds. Either way, we will probably have to request aid from Thracia.”

Leaf: “Aid…from Thracia? But Thracia ruined my country and killed my parents. I have no intention of asking them for help!”

It’s something Fire Emblem could be worse at, but I’m always slightly amused when the first thing somebody says in a chapter is the last thing the map text told us about.

Anyway, this conversation is pretty important because it’s a fairly stark turning point. Give it a read:

August: “Do you intend to put your allies in danger just because of your own selfishness? You must understand that we are not fighting to avenge your country or family. We have stood up to liberate Northern Thracia from the Empire.”

Leaf: “Well, yes… But can we even trust Thracia? They’re allied with the Empire.”

August: “I’m sure that they would stand up once they see their borders being invaded. Also, General Hannibal resides in Castle Meeds. He is a respectable warrior known as the Shield of Thracia. I’m certain he would help us if we tell him that we have escaped from Reidric of Manster.”

Leaf: “All right, then let’s head for Castle Meeds. We can go to Tahra later.”

August: “Tahra…? I’ve heard that the Imperial Army has surrounded Tahra because it openly opposed them taking their children. It would be suicide to go there with our small forces.”

Leaf: “Tahra is like a second home to me. The duke of Tahra… He died protecting me from the Empire. I also have a lot of friends there. I have to save Tahra, August!”

We’re standing here, poised and ready to start Leif’s character development, finally. Despite what Agust D is saying, everything before this was personal to Leif. Fiana and even Ith were just Leif protecting his home from bandits/Thracians; invading Manster was to save Nanna and Marita; escaping Manster has been to save his own life. We haven’t done anything so noble as try to liberate North Thracia – but that’s where we’re going. Leif’s not developed yet, though. He’s still taking this all personally, insisting that we go to Tahra next because that’s where his friends are and his priority is to save them, not to win some noble war.

I like this because it comes at a pretty focal point in the early narrative (you’re finally in the clear, probably) and because it comes at a logical point in the story. Leif hasn’t had a hardass mentor to shape him up before; as will come up later this update or maybe the next, Finn’s pretty much coddled the kid, exactly like he was probably supposed to. August, now, and another dude in a few chapters, are the first things that Leif has had that are anything like advisors, and he takes time to adapt to it – but he does adapt. This is Leif’s story, remember.

Mercenary: “Looks like someone raised hell in Manster. And if the rumors are true, that someone is a kid named Leaf, one of the last surviving heirs of Lenster. There’s a huge bounty on his neck as well. We’ve got a nice one to go after for a change…”

Shiva: “Hm…”

Shiva’s back, by the way, if you captured and didn’t release him back in 2x. This is where you can finally get him.

Brighton gets the EliteqSVBnに because he’s super hot and also by popular vote at the time I counted.

As my sister once said to me, sending me money in Guild Wars 2: jingle jangle, bling bling mother fucker.

House dialogue is weird. Apparently there are rogues in the west known for using poison on their weapons. This guy gives us the panacea, and gives me an excuse to use the word panacea.

As far as chapter 7 goes, we follow in the footsteps of the last few good chapters and have a pretty good choice of how to handle it. In this case, it’s pretty clear-cut: go left, take longer, be sheltered from the pursuers, fight the bandits; or go straight, go fast, fight the swordsmen, but the pursuers catch up better. It’s a good design. I’m fond of it.

An old friend, and by friend I mean total dipshit, pops up to talk to us. Hannibal is a minor player in this game, as he well should be given his position in Thracia both geographically and politically, and he’s actually not a dipshit in this game compared to Genealogy.

[spoiler=Hannibal]Soldier: “Yes, there were some suspicious figures lurking around the area, so we captured them. They’re probably bandits from the outskirts to the east…”

Hannibal: “I see… What are they saying?”

Soldier: “They keep claiming that they are simple villagers, but from the way that they talk, I can only suspect that they’re brigands of some sort.”

Hannibal: “All right, I’ll talk to them myself later. More importantly, something is boiling up in Manster… That Reidric might be scheming something. Be on your guard.”

Soldier: “Yes, sir!”

Soldier: “They keep claiming that they are simple villagers, but from the way that they talk, I can only suspect that they’re brigands of some sort. Also… There was a knight among them, but he managed to escape. We are currently searching the area for him.”

Hannibal: “All right, I’ll talk to them myself later. More importantly, something is boiling up in Manster… That Reidric might be scheming something. Be on your guard.”

Soldier: “Yes, sir!”

Finn: “Is Lord Leaf safe…? I must go find him…”

Finn: “I must be off. You may return to the city now.”

Saphy: “Sir Finn… Am I just a hindrance after all?”

Finn: “No, that’s not it. I appreciate your offer to help, but I’m not sure if I can protect you or not.”

Saphy: “When I left Tahra, I swore to the war god, Heim, that I would not fear death as long as I could help the savior of my town. You need not worry about me. If I could be of any assitance to you, then please take me along.”

Finn: “Very well, if you insist… In any case, we must get going. We need to find the prince before sunset.”

If you’re not willing to read that spoiler, how the hell have you read my entire LP? but mostly, our lads from Fiana got caught by Hannibal, taken for bandits, and thrown in the dungeons of wherever it is that he rules. Finn escaped, because he’s …Finn, I guess. Hannibal’s dave recognizes that Finn was an actual knight, not a bitch, and mentions that. That’s pretty much it. That said, Hannibal actually comes across as a competent ruler, something he completely missed in Genealogy. He’ll have a bit more to say later, but suffice it to say that his characterization in this game exists, compared to his characterization from Genealogy, and that he’s fairly convincingly the thing that Genealogy wanted us to think he was. It’s pretty nice, overall.

Of note, also, is a callback to the Genealogy part of this project – Safy “swore to the war god, Heim,” making this the first part in the Jugdral Pair that somebody invokes a god, in a religious fashion, who isn’t Blagi. Woo!

Finn’s position is pretty precarious, but at least he can use his horse to fight all the axe dudes. Wait…

Uh, meanwhile, this guy is there. Moving on.

As you proceed down, Leidrick does a talking. There’s not much to it, just him telling Eisenhow (left) to run us down and catch us before we make it to Hannibal, then they won’t have to violate a treaty with Thracia, and everything will be gucci. The one thing to note about this conversation is the excellent line:

Reidric: “The Empire and Thracia are allied, but we are not on good terms with each other. In fact, we’re on bad terms.”

Otherwise, Go Down. Safy talks to Shiva to get him recruited.

It’s not a great conversation. It’s goofy as hell.

Shiva: “……”

Saphy: “Thracia needs Lord Leaf! I would gladly give my life to ensure that he arrives there safely!”

Shiva: “Hmph… You say some pretty stupid things sometimes, don’t you? Fine… Have it your way.”

Saphy: “What!? Then you’re going to help Lord Leaf?”

Shiva: “Yeah. Might as well, you know? But let me say this. Don’t ever talk about death lightly in front of me. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s people rushing to get killed.”

Let’s gloss over it.

Eventually you’ll crunch through to Hannibal, and

what the fuck?

Whatever. Bless this interface. There’s access to facilities down here, including an arena if you’re so inclined.

Finn’s got conversations with both the people you’d figure.

They’re both just kind of ….by the numbers, you know?

Nanna: “No, I’m fine. Eyvel protected me…”

Finn: “I see… I wouldn’t know what to say to that person if something had happened to you…”

Nanna: “Father…”

Finn: “Hm? Is something wrong?”

Nanna: “No… Sorry. Never mind…”

--

Finn: “No, I trusted you would be safe, Lord Leaf. I just didn’t expect to find you so quickly…”

Leaf: “It’s all thanks to the Magi group.”

Finn: “Magi…? They’re called the Magi group? They seem to have both knights and mercenaries, but who are they?”

Leaf: “They’re rebels from Manster. They agreed to help me until their city is liberated.”

Finn: “I see. …Where is Eyevel? She doesn’t seem to be here…”

Dunno. There’s just nothing about them that’s striking in any meaningful way. I’m glad that they’re there, Finn needed to have them logically, but… you know?

It’s kind of a flaccid moment to end the arc on, which is alright, because the end-of-chapter conversation is actually relevant right now.

Leaf: “My name is Lugh Faris, General Hannibal.”

Hannibal: “…You look like him…”

Leaf: “What? …I look like who?”

Hannibal: “No, forget it. What do you intend to do from now?”

Leaf: “I’m planning on going to Tahra. I have friends there…”

Hannibal: “Are you going over the mountains?”

Leaf: “Yes. We are fugitives. We cannot go through Imperial territory.”

Hannibal: “I see… Those mountains are home to bandits. Be careful.”

Leif straight-up lies to Hannibal. You’ve probably figured it out from Hannibal’s second line, if you didn’t know already, but Hannibal absolutely knows who he is. Leif, naively, thinks he’s pulling one over on the old guy; he still hasn’t embraced his fame. Then, Hannibal gives you your dudes back. This is a little hokey – the knowledge that they’re with Hannibal is locked behind an optional conversation with Finn, who doesn’t even have to be alive, so it’s entirely possible/probable that you have Leif just walk up and demand that Hannibal releases his dudes that he doesn’t know Hannibal has.

Leaf: “Thank you. Then will you release my allies?”

Hannibal: “Ah, yes, of course. You there. Bring them here.”

Soldier: “Yes, sir.”

Halvan: “Lord Leaf! Thanks for coming. Sorry I couldn’t be of any use…”

Othin: “Those bastards from Thracia! I’ll kick their asses the next time I see them!”

Not to mention Leif’s peculiar choice of wording, “my allies,” but that might just be an artifact of the patch. Halvan and Orsin play the exact same dynamic that’s their only thing in the whole game, but I forgot one!

It’s his last line in the whole game. Savor it.

We pick up Carrion. Carrion is pretty cool, also he’s pretty cute. That’s about it for him. Hannibal sends him with us to escort us to Purple Dragon Mountain, another point where I’ll fight the Awankening translators. Violdrake is really lame. Purple Dragon rules.

Carpool shows up here to acknowledge that we saved him. He gives us a Warp staff. That is the end of Carpool’s relevance to this series.

Peace.

That wraps up the Escape from Manster arc pretty neatly. There’s a pretty clean break here, in that the theme of the next few chapters is starkly different from the ones we just did, but let’s look back and recap.

Tentatively, I think this little five mission pack is the best narrative Fire Emblem has ever had as a series. That’s not to say anything for the rest of Thracia – the game as a whole is one of my less favorites for a few reasons – but this particular thing is very good. We’re introduced to a number of characters who, unlike the Fiana Freeblades, are pretty distinctive without being exaggerated (Orsin), and have a degree (just one, though) of relevance outside their joining conversations. Fergus and Karin come with a dynamic that isn’t simple, the Magi Triplets we pick up are something else entirely, and Lifis is carried over from the Fiana chapters, which is good because he’s great. The game drops the ball a little bit with the non-Karin characters as the chapters roll on, and Hicks and Dalshin are entirely forgettable, but it starts strong and only strays a little bit, which is better than one ought to expect from Fire Emblem.

This is also the one part of the game where the Magi Squad is relevant, and while the rest of the game totally discards them as a thing, they’re handled so close to well in this part of the game so I’m going to praise this part of the game for them. Ced obviously tears whatever gets close to him up, while orchestrating your escape from the prison, and can run interference for you in 6 – a thing I wish he did normally, not just if you missed 4x, but whatever. The Magi Squad, which you’ve heard about, are the guys who constitute the bulk of your force at this point, and they only bolster as you go on via Asvel. In a way, it’s kind of poetic, though – the Magi Squad is entirely contained to this entirely self-contained piece of the game. If Fire Emblem put out mission pack-sized games, this would be an ideal candidate, right here.

I mentioned a long time ago how Thracia functions as a sequel to Genealogy versus how it functions as a standalone experience, and this is one of the few times where it functions really well as either. There’s a few cameos from Genealogymen here in Ced and Hannibal and the Evil Trio from Belhalla, but they’re neither solely cameo nor have their relevance to Genealogy explained. Ced is there as the leader of the Magi Squad, which is completely logical if we didn’t play Genealogy, and a bonus “oh hey” if we did. Hannibal, similarly, is just a big dude on the Thracian border and doesn’t stick out in-story unless we played Genealogy. The Evil Trio are a little starker, in chapter 4, having their own scene and all, but it still functions well enough as an overall politicking-builder that doesn’t really go much of anywhere but hey, nothing’s perfect.

The biggest thing I want to praise about this set of missions, though, is the complete consistency of its theme. The point is for Leif to escape. That’s it. There’s nothing else. In all five maps in the pack, the only goal in each single one is for Leif to get out and figure out what to do next. The gameplay supports this in the most obvious way, by having the objectives all be “Leif escapes,” but it also supports it in much subtler, better ways. The paralogue is optional, sure, but it isn’t a detour like 2x was; it’s positioned as just this is the way we happened to take out of the prison that took us to 4x, instead of that which was uneventful, rather than “let’s take a 90 degree right to this island and wipe out some bandits and then hurry on.” The odds in the chapter follow the theme, too – you’re facing largely organized piles of military daves, in formation and probably better than you, and you have to peel them apart and kill them. 6 and 7, when Leidrick is on your ass, have effectively infinite dudes who will overrun you if you don’t keep your ass moving forward. They do a good job of creating an effectively oppressive vibe, that you’re definitely the underdog here and that you definitely need to get your shit out of here. Even fatigue plays into this – while it’s a mechanic, it doesn’t come into effect until chapter 8. There’s no time to rotate, there’s no time to rest. It’s all hands on deck, all the time.

Most importantly, though, is that all of the objectives in the map that one would take for granted that aren’t “Leif escapes” are entirely optional. The citizens in 4? They can die. As long as Leif makes it out, you’re not gaming over. The kids in 4x? Same. Nanna? Shit, lose all of Nanna, Evayle, and Marita. 6? You can put Leif on Karin, fly straight over the town, and exit with just those two, and it’s still a success even if you lose the rest of your army to the mysterious post-escape capturing. If nobody but Leif makes it to Hannibal, you still did it. You still accomplished the mission. The game then rewards you by giving your Fiana Freeblades back, plus Carrion, because you’re moving into the next part of the game and you’re going to need a proper army – and it’s feasible for you to make it out with fewer than optimal dudes, because once you’ve punched through chapter 5, you can reasonably complete the chapters with just Leif and Karin. The game can turn into a total rout for multiple chapters, without you failing. It’s downright bold for Fire Emblem.

Narratively, the game goes with this almost perfectly. Sure, there’s a wee misstep in Karin’s longwinded conversation with Ced in 4x, but all of the conversations between Leif’s dudes from the moment you break out of the cell are generally terse, there isn’t terribly much emotion exchanged and there isn’t much or any character development going on because you’re on the run from Leidrick from the second Lara opens that door. Finn’s conversations with Leif and Nanna kind of stick out in this department, and I think they should have been moved to chapter 8, but they’re not that bad at breaking flow.

Now that we’re closing the door on the Escape from Manster arc, where to? We’ll see a shift that’s kind of funny and sudden now; with Agust here now, and D in a bit, Leif is going to start receiving a lot of leaderly advice, and is going to have to start making The Right Calls. There’s a bit of personal business coming up, but now that he’s secured his own life via Hannibal, it’s time to put away the personal business and get to being Quan’s son, the king of Leinster. Let’s strap in and get started on it.

Time to go to Purple Dragon Mountain to pick some more old friends up.

Fittingly, this is the first point in the game where we can deploy people. Fatigue’s caught up, so our squad is …kinda limited. Thracia, weirdly, has a minimum and a maximum deployment for any given mission, and I’m not totally sure why, but sure.

Carrion’s kind of a shifty looking motherfucker.

Carrion: “No, I’m not returning to Thracia. I’ve already informed General Hannibal.”

Leaf: “What?”

Carrion: “General Hannibal knows everything, Lord Leaf. No, it’s not just the general… Rumors about your survival have spread out all over the peninsula. People are counting on you to stand up and unite those fighting against the Empire. And of course, I also feel proud that I can participate in the battle to liberate my country.”

Leaf: “Your country? You’re not from Thracia?”

Carrion: “No, I was born into a Lenster knight’s family. My father died in battle, but my mother and I were rescued by General Hannibal. Please, Lord Leaf, allow me into your service. I want to be part of the battle retake Lenster!”

Leaf: “…I don’t have such strength. I don’t know whether I’m really capable of recapturing Lenster…”

Yeah, Hannibal knew all along. You think Leif was pulling one over on him, when everyone else in the world knows him? Nah. Hannibal’s competent, unlike in Genealogy. He’s going to stuff Leif into his secret mountain mansion base, since he’s a fugitive, and then talk to him when nobody’s looking. Leif’s youth is played up a little hard here (and will be for a while) but it’s not terrible, and it never makes it beyond a little cringey. He’s definitely not immediately on board for this whole liberating Leinster thing, though, and there is some consistency to his angst. It’s still personal to him, remember?

Carrion: “There’s no need to worry about that. Let us head for General Hannibal’s mansion.”

Leaf: “He has a mansion?”

Carrion: “Yes, it’s located on the mountain. There are many people like me staying there. Count Dorias has been training young knights under the protection of General Hannibal.”

Leaf: “What!? Dorias… Did you say Count Dorias!? The Count… He’s alive…?”

Carrion: “Will you come?”

Leaf: “Of course! Being able to see Count Dorias again is like a dream come true!”

Liberating Leinster is one thing, but getting to see Not Dad is all it takes to get Leif going again. He’s a kid. This is what kids do. The whole point of this next portion of the game is that Leif has to learn to stop being a kid.

August: “Lord Leaf, forgive my interruption, but bandits have appeared. They seem to attacking a nearby village. What do you want to do?”

Leaf: “Help them, of course. You’ll fight with us, right Carrion?”

Carrion: “Of course, Lord Leaf. It’s strange, though… A bandit named Dagda is in charge of this area. His village is being attacked…?”

I’m not totally sure why it’s weird for bandits to be attacking a village run by bandits but, hell, okay. Whatever, Carrion. I figured Thracia was a lawless wasteland, except for the parts Travant goes to.

Actually, speaking of, he’s coming back soon.

Ruemay: “Damn, this is more than I bargained for. All right then, let’s get this over with…”

The guy on the right, Gomez, is literally Fire Emblem’s nadir of subtlety in portrait design. Can you tell he’s a bandit? The other guy, Rumay, is just a guy trying to make a living doing mercenary work. Because it’s Thracia. Because Thracia fucking sucks. “Thracia fucking sucks” is a theme of the next few chapters too, by the way.

Gomez goes inside the mansion. Rumay is our enemy today. If you kill Rumay, you’re a dick.

The map is pretty straightforward. You move left. Reinforcements come from the top periodically. Fast is of the essence – you only have a fewteen turns to finish to get a paralogue. More importantly, though,

Marty!

Marty: “Ulp… N-No, you got the wrong guy…”

Othin: “Turning your back isn’t gonna hide you, you know. What are you doing out here?”

Marty: “Um…well… Gomes, he…”

Othin: “That’s not what I’m asking! If you’re going against Dagda and Lady Eyvel, then you’re going against me, too! Prepare to die!”

Marty: “W-Wait! …Sorry. I was wrong…”

Othin: “…So you’ll join our side?”

--

Marty: “Ulp… N-No, you got the wrong guy…”

Halvan: “…Turning your back isn’t enough to hide yourself, you know… Anyway, what’s the meaning of this?”

Marty: “Um…well…Gomes, he…”

Halvan: “What do you mean, ‘Um, well’! Marty…”

Marty: “I-I had no choice…”

Halvan: “…Let’s get this straight. Are you going to betray Dagda and Lady Eyvel and turn to the other side?”

Marty: “A-All right… You don’t have to get so angry…”

Halvan: “So that means you’re on our side, right?”

What’s all these dudes’ issues? Marty just needs a paycheck, sheesh.

Anyway. Tiny map, it turns into a complete rout.

Capture and hold onto the boss, or you’ll lose the paralogue. Also, if you don’t, you’re still a dick.

Fancy that.

Ruemay: “Hmph, that’s none of your business. Why don’t you hurry up and kill me off?”

Leaf: “No, I have no such intention. I’ll release you if you just answer one question.”

Ruemay: “Release…? Never! I’ll be staining my name as a Dragon Knight if I take pity from an enemy!”

Leaf: “But you have a wife and children, right? If you die, they will suffer without income. That’s really all right with you?”

Ruemay: “……”

Leaf: “You have your issues as well. I won’t dig into your personal information, nor will I pursue you after this.”

Ruemay: “…What is it…that you want to know?”

Leaf: “I want to know where the owner of this mansion, Dagda, and his daughter Tanya have gone.”

Ruemay: “…… They’re inside. Gomes is in there as well. …He’s out to kill them.”

Leaf: “All right, thanks. August, release this man, dragon and all.”

August: “…Yes…”

Ruemay: “…I’m sorry.”

Rumay just needs money, and apparently being a soldier doesn’t pay enough. Thracia is a shithole, if they haven’t stressed it enough. Gomez has some beef with Dagda, and he picked up some hired muscle to help him see it out, that’s all this is. With this conversation, as long as Dagda and Tanya didn’t die way back when we had them, it’s time for 8x. If Dagda and Tanya are dead, well, there’s no 8x because that’s the point of 8x. If Dagda or Tanya is dead, though, there’s a little bonus dialogue and you get the living one and don’t go to 8x:

Tanya: “Lord Leaf…”

Leaf: “Tanya… Good, you’re all right.”

Tanya: “Yes… Gomes let me go after I told him my father was dead. He asked me to apologize to the villagers…”

Leaf: “I see… Tanya, I’m sorry about Dagda…”

Tanya: “No, it’s all right. He did the right thing…”

Leaf: “What are your plans now? Do you want to come with us?”

Tanya: “Is it all right if I go along with you?”

Leaf: “Of course. I would ask you to come.”

Tanya: “Y-Yes! Of course I’ll go. Thank you!”

Dagda’s dialogue is the same as a conversation he has in 8x, which is disappointing but comes with the implication that without Tanya Dagda just murders all the dudes in his mansion and walks out to join you. Tanya’s is entirely original. Feels bad, man.

Tiny map, entirely indoors. Thracia is good at giving opportunities for your footdaves to shine.

Welcome back, lads.

Dagda: “You’ll just be a hindrance. Shut your pretty little mouth and do as I say!”

Tanya: “Y-Yes, dad…”

Gomes: “Hey hey, not so fast. You’re both gonna die here!”

Dagda: “Gomes! I don’t want to fight you. Let’s talk…”

Dagda, a man characterized entirely by his Huge, goes for the reasonable option. I like him, so of course this is the last time he’ll talk until, ah, 24x.

Gomes: “I’m sick of this shit! What the hell are we accomplishing by working this worthless piece of land? I work my ass off day and night, and I’m still starving. You’re just being tricked by that bitch, Eyvel. What’s the matter with you? Get a hold of yourself, you old geezer!”

Dagda: “Watch your mouth, boy! You’re just a lowly servant, of mine! All right then, show me what you’ve got! I’ll take you all on!”

And with that, Dagda is triggered and the map begins. This chapter is in full, monolithic Genealogy style – every single bandit under Dagda’s command except for his daughter turned on him and sided with Gomez. It’s kind of dumb, but also kind of just a Fire Emblem thing. I dunno. It might be a pet peeve of mine and nothing more. These humble beginnings make you think this is going to be another 2x, a chapter with no relevance but to recruit a few characters, but there’s actually something to say here.

It’s just all the way at the end.

Oh, Fog of War. Aren’t you pleasant. Hiding terrain here is about triply silly because this is Dagda’s house. Dagda knows the layout of his own house.

The map is a proper scrap; there’s a ton of enemy bandits, very enclosed spaces for fighting, and a bunch of treasure to get. Besides the stupid Fog of War mechanic (and it isn’t even nearly as bad as it could be), it’s a pretty good chapter except for a pair of missteps.

Dagda’s, to a lesser extent, and much more relevantly Tanya’s survival can be annoying. Dagda’s very durable, but not infinitely so, and he’s basically his own tank, heals, and DPS for the first chunk of the map. Tanya, on the other hand, is very fragile and cannot contribute, because there’s no way for Dagda to fully protect her, and sometimes she’ll just get splattered across the wall from a guy jumping on her out of the Fog of War. It’s not too bad, but iffy design that doesn’t impact you too hard is still iffy design.

Dagda and Leif have the conversation from last chapter. It’s not much. Leif tells Dagda about Evayle, Dagda gets mad. It’s more than a little jarring because, like,

Dagda: “Of course. But…I never thought you would come out all the way here. Is Eyvel with you?”

Leaf: “……”

Dagda: “What’s the matter?”

Leaf: “Eyvel… She’s in Manster. We…couldn’t save her…”

Dagda: “What! What were you doing in there!?”

Dagda was there when Leif got captured and thrown into prison with Evayle. What the fuck, dude? Why the harsh reaction? The total lack of surprise to Leif popping out of Leidrick’s jail? It’s just weird and incongruous, particularly after the great consistency of the last few chapters.

Orsin and Tanya have a conversation, too, but it’s just the two of them calling each other bakas for five lines, and then Tanya starts crying. That’s it.

Otherwise, we crush through the pretty good map and get to the other misstep – the boss. He’s stupid.

This is his stat line. He’s also on a throne, giving him 10 more defense and 30% more evade. He has nineteen BLD, and the cap is 20.

It’s hard to read, thanks to ethics in video game translation patching, but what you’re seeing is that Makua attacks once for his once, and trades 53% hit for 55% hit; she does An damage, he does Twenty-Six.

Magic does a good number on him, but you have to be careful because he does have a bow to switch to. Plus, it’s kind of annoying for your reliable methods of killing the boss to be limited to “Leif’s one sword, Nanna’s one sword, and the eminently missable Asvel.”

Whatever. Marty has 20 BLD. That’s more than 19. Is capturing him even worth it, for a lockpick and two steel weapons? No. But we did it, and that’s what counts. That’s it for the chapter, let’s talk.

Oh baby.

Leaf: “I feel sorry for Dagda. Why can’t the people get proper jobs?”

August: “This barren land can’t be worked. Probably most of those people are the descendents of Thracian peasants. They were abandoned as children and had no choice but to grow up to be bandits. They wouldn’t have been able to survive otherwise.”

Leaf: “What? Nonsense! What parents would abandon their own children?”

This conversation exists to both stress Leif’s naivety really ham-fistedly and to tell us, in no uncertain terms, how shitty Thracia is. It’s one thing to have an youthful, bright-eyed character, but you can’t tell me that Leif, living on Jugdral in Thracia for fifteen years, hasn’t encountered straight-up poor abandoned orphans, like, in all the bandits he’s killed.

August: “Oh? You were traveling, yet you don’t know the pain of starvation? Where did your food come from when you running from the Empire?”

Leaf: “Food? I…don’t know. But my hunger was always satisfied…”

August: “Hm, I see you were blessed with fine servants. But you don’t understand the suffering of the people. Southern Thracia is covered with steep mountains. The soil is dry, and the climate is harsh. The farmers work day and night, but still they aren’t able to feed themselves. Either they all starve, or they sacrifice a few to let the others survive. This is the truth, Lord Leaf.”

Finn’s fault. He got all the food for Leif, plus Leif hid in mostly nice villages like Fiana and big cities like Tahra. It’s a good gesture – the game tries to justify his reactions, but the justification doesn’t stretch as far as the narrative needs it to. Leif’s ignorance goes to ridiculous levels, with the justification only excusing some modest ignorance about the world. It’s not awful writing, but it’s not good.

Also, August is explaining the topography of Thracia, where Leif grew up, to Leif. Leif grew up, at least in part, in those mountains. This is that thing where we don’t know a thing, so it needs to be explained to someone.

Leaf: “Can’t they import food from other countries? Northern Thracia didn’t have a shortage in food at all.”

August: “Northern Thracia has placed tarrifs on the south. They are especially strict about agricultural trade.”

Leaf: “What did they do that for?”

August: “The immediate reason lies in the war that happened one hundred years ago, but the situation continues to this day because the north and south don’t try to understand each other. Also, Northern Thracian nobles are known to be especially greedy.”

And it all comes back to Quan’s ilk. Thracia has tons of sweet minerals to make weapons, so they have a killer army; North Thracia has tons of food. Because they’re medieval babies, they (realistically enough) don’t treat the situation right and it blows up. It’s believable, it’s cool, and there’s inklings of it in Genealogy that aren’t handled in the slightest. Thracia is a shithole, and North Thracia likes it that way. It’s the quintessential story of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Travant was justified. Due note that the guy we’re fighting, Leidrick, is a proper quisling from Northern Thracia.

Leaf: “I’ve always been told that Thracia was a cruel, militant empire. But…they have their own troubles. Why? Why do they keep on hating each other? They used to be one unified kingdom…”

August: “That is the tragedy that lies behind the two sacred spears, the Gae Bolg and the Gungnir. People can become both wise and foolish depending on their leader. Lord Leaf, you have much to learn to be able to lead your country to a bright future. You must not make the same mistake as your father…”

Agust is finally shit-talking Quan. Good. Quan was a cunt.

The whole thing is a little too deep in the “everyone has issues equally so they all suck” way of storytelling, but not so far that I’d knock it for that. It does its job – Agust is starting Leif’s growth as a leader. Quan comes up at the end of this conversation, and not for the last time in the next few chapters. Agust is gonna make a leader out of Leif or die trying. Actually, doesn’t Agust die? Shit, I don’t remember.

Next time: Travant comes back. Hooray! Also, maybe it won’t be three weeks between updates.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Integrity

[Konnor97]

Agust is gonna make a leader out of Leif or die trying. Actually, doesn’t Agust die? Shit, I don’t remember.

[spoiler=I guess]It's Dorian whom you meet soon, like chapter 10 I think. He dies at like chapter 18 or so leading a charge against retreating enemies or something that receive reinforcements that push back.

I remember the gist, not specifics.

[Specta]

Gomes: “I’m sick of this shit! What the hell are we accomplishing by working this worthless piece of land? I work my ass off day and night, and I’m still starving. You’re just being tricked by that bitch, Eyvel. What’s the matter with you? Get a hold of yourself, you old geezer!”

Dagda: “Watch your mouth, boy! You’re just a lowly servant, of mine! All right then, show me what you’ve got! I’ll take you all on!”

dadga you probably should've fed him more just sayin

[The Draco Knight]

[spoiler=I guess]/

I remember the gist, not specifics.

Actually

Dorias dies in Chapter 19, when he was leading an army in order to free Alster

[Integrity]

while i appreciate the secrecy spoilers aren't really necessary in this thread, the working assumption is that everybody reading has played the games before

[Tryhard]

tbh gomez is a man of the working people

[Moblin Major General]

tbh gomez is a man of the working people

Gomez the Communist Hero fights losing battle against Manster mogul Dagdar, backed by the monarchist forces of North Thracia. Story at 11, only on GNN, the Grannvale News Network.

[Psych]

of course he's a communist, his sprite was red

good thing we don't have to worry about the filthy green party magi squad

Edited September 7, 2016 by Psych

[Julius Nepos]

Wasn't Heim a saint? When did he become a god?

[Integrity]

the crusaders are all revered as gods, mostly consistently. remember that lewyn was the scion of the "wind god, sety" etc.

[DarkDestr0yer61]

Purple Dragon Mountain. That name is awesome.

[Katie]

I finally caught up on this LP. I finally got Fates a few weeks back, so I've mostly been playing it and haven't visited the forums as much. I've beaten BR and am about halfway through Rev, and I can definitely understand what the OP was saying about Fates. BR's story is indeed rather inoffensive. It isn't great, but it's not that bad as far as FE stories go. I haven't played or even bought Conquest yet, but from what I've heard about its plot, I can already tell its plot is terrible. And I definitely think the gameplay is some of the finest the series has had. I really like a lot of the new mechanics.

It's a shame you're not as far in Thracia as I'd hoped you'd be. I haven't checked this thread in like a month.

[Integrity]

look, man, i'm a phd student and summer just ended, i'm not made of time :(

[Katie]

look, man, i'm a phd student and summer just ended, i'm not made of time :(

Yeah, good point. And I'm honestly one to talk seeing as I'm a jobless 19 year old who isn't in college so I pretty much am made of time yet I haven't updated any of my LPs in over a month. But I'll do it when I finish Fates, honest!

[Paperblade]

look, man, i'm a phd student and summer just ended, i'm not made of time :(

just become a NEET Edited September 15, 2016 by Paperblade

[Integrity]

no, i think one of you is enough

[Baldrick]

Change your major to Fire Emblem script doctoring, then you can kill two birds with one forum post.

[DarkDestr0yer61]

Change your major to Fire Emblem script doctoring, then you can kill two birds with one forum post.

I think he wants a useful degree

[Baldrick]

I think he wants a useful degree

It would be very useful in improving the plot of future FE titles.

[Integrity]

major

yes, mine is technically just "engineering" but the focus (the important part) is systems modeling (industrial and human systems)

[Mekkah]

Ch5

"Evayle’s really tough, but you can’t just throw her in and guarantee her survival here"

Sure you can. She's still invincible. The only way she loses is if she gets captured.

[Integrity]

Also, maybe it won’t be three weeks between updates.

lol.

Hopefully you guys haven’t forgotten literally everything that happened last time, because while I am finally getting up the gumption to write this fucker, I’m definitely not going to have the gumption to write this fucker and summarize the previous one. We’re kicking into chapter 9 here, and from this point for an update or two the narrative is kind of just …a slog to work through. Nothing really important is going to happen – oh, sure, we’ll make it to Tahra and save Tahra alright, but that’s chapters 13 and 14. That’s the next thing that happens, it’s in five chapters, and there are two paralogues for us to pick up between now and then. That’s seven chapters of narrative dearth, according to my calculations.

It’s kind of weird to have put off an update for two three weeks a literal month fuck it because there wasn’t enough to care to write about rather than being overwhelmed by having too much to care to write about, huh.

He’s back, baby!

Travant is restyled a significant bit in Thracia, very much for the better. He’s still kind of a dick, definitely a bit of a power-hungry warmonger, but he’s more human and less Genealogy villain.

Trabant: “Those bandits, attacking the people of Thracia… This will not be taken lightly.”

Altena: “You didn’t have to come all the way out here, father.”

Trabant: “Well, as king, I must be aware of any and all happenings in my country. And besides, it’s been a while since I have traveled with you, Altena.”

Altena: “Yes, I’m happy you decided to come with us.”

Trabant: “I tried to get Arione to come along as well, but he said he couldn’t leave the castle unattended. Oh well…”

Altenna’s here too, for whatever that’s worth. Don’t expect her to showcase any development from the previous game, she’s pretty much still a brick wall who is interacted at by people. If nothing else, though, it’s nice to say that her relationship with Travant makes any sense now, since he’s shown onscreen doing things besides verbally abusing her. And, you know, having her killed, as far as he knew when we killed him.

Trabant: “Yes. I want you two to lead Thracia in the future. The fertile lands in the north, and the rich minerals in the south… Thracia needs both of these to rise up to independence and peace again. A unified Thracia… My wish is to rebuild Thracia into that prosperous nation that Dine and Nova created. …And if that process dooms me to Hell, then so be it.”

We’ve already heard this one before, I know, but it’s important to see how a difference in phrasing can change something drastically. Travant in Genealogy was kind of just an opportunistic warmonger who wanted to seize Thracia and unite it under his banner. Travant in Thracia is still pretty much all of those things, but instead of playing it as his grab for power it’s played as his attempt to put his homeland together and make Thracia great again – plus, you know, get to fuck over the North Thracians who fucked him over. Travant isn’t a good guy, but his villainous motivations are relatable in this game.

Trabant: “Merlock!”

Merlock: “Yes?”

Trabant: “I’m leaving the rest to you. With all these troops, I trust you won’t fail. Hunt down the bandits and kill them all. Give them what they deserve for making our people suffer!”

Merlock: “Yes, your Majesty!”

Merlock is a nobody. Word’s Gotten to Travant (and it’s not just him being a dick) that there are some bandits raiding the area around Hannibal’s mansion. He’s not wrong, that’s kind of exactly what Dagda’s crew were doing before we annihilated them, but also awkwardly there’s a bunch of North Thracian nobles here that Travant doesn’t know about and we don’t want him to know about. We have a good reason for being here, so do they, we have a good reason to fight, and they have a good reason to be here as a relatively small force.

Don’t get too attached to all these “happening” things, by the way. Next comes “Approach to Tahra,” then “Approach to Tahra 2,” then “Approach to Tahra: A Quick Detour,” then…

Recruitable characters! Selphina has mild recurring plot relevance, as in she shows up outside this chapter and also has optional conversations. Sometimes, you take what you can get.

Dorias: “No, Selphina. According to General Hannibal, Lord Leaf is headed here with a band of fighters from Fiana and Manster. We must wait here for him.”

Selphina: “Yes. In that case, I shall lead the defense of the mansion. Kein! Alba! Roberto! We’re going out. Follow me!”

Selphina’s going to hold the fort while we try to arrive. The mission kind of ends with a contrivance if you do it “correctly”, but it’s not terribly offensive, only lightly so.

Who are Kein, Alba, and Roberto, you ask?

Literally nobody. I don’t think the sum total of them have a single line in the entire game, barring escape/death quotes and character endings. The most interesting fact about them is that Alba is Scotland in Scottish Gaelic.

Agust insinuates that Hannibal tipped Travant off, the mission kicks off. It’s an okay mission. It’s kind of one of those baseline Fire Emblem missions that’s like well, it’s not bad, but it doesn’t really do anything amazing either.

Merlock has a lot of daves compared to you.

You move along the top and link up with Selphina, then just crunch through a ton of daves. Theoretically, this is one of the few points in the series where permadeath would actually be a reasonably good mechanic – the enemy force seems pretty overwhelming, and technically the mission objective is just to “escape.” Some useless shits like, for instance, Kein and Roberto and Alba could stall the mess long enough to get everyone you cared about away.

Fuck that, though, lol, we just feast on them.

Delicious. This is kind of where the chapter falls apart, though. If you do go for the escape as, I suspect, you were intended to, you might have to make some intelligent decisions with regards to who gets to get away and who gets sacrificed etc. etc.

Unfortunately, like so many of Fire Emblem’s intelligent chapters, the option is also there to just punch through the puzzle with your bare American fists and just murder everyone. And you’re rewarded extra for going about it this way, making your longterm game easier. Ain’t no rewards for not killing dudes. If you take that route, this huge and pretty detailed and pretty and tactically interesting map becomes one big team fight that goes down in the top-left approximately one fifth of the map. It strips all the nuance out, which is unfortunate because it’s a higher-reward solution in both the short- and long terms.

Plus, fighting against my narrative that you’re supposed to escape, there are two optional conversations that you sure as shit aren’t going to fire off if you’re escaping like a good boy. Remember when I was praising Thracia earlier for having no/light optional conversations in the high-octane prison break maps where people don’t really have time to talk? I might have spoken too early when I said this chapter didn’t really do anything wrong, particularly since these conversations go against pretty much everything I gave praise for back then.

An excuse to look at Carrion’s adorable mug tho…

Carrion: “I’ve returned, Lady Selphina.”

Selphina: “Ah, Carrion. Good work.”

Carrion: “Well, I can only help out with things like this. I’m trying hard to become a fine knight like Sir Glade and be of some use to Lord Leaf… Curse my powerlessness.”

Selphina: “Carrion, don’t rush. You’ll only end up losing your life that way. Oh, and I suppose it’s time to give you this.”

Carrion: “A beautiful sword… Where did this come from?”

Selphina: “This is known as the Elite’s Sword. Your mother asked me to give it to you once you became a knight.”

Carrion: “My mother?”

Selphina: “Yes, you were still young when she died of sickness. She said this is the sword your father used during his prime.”

Carrion: “The sword of my father…a knight of Lenster.”

Selphina: “That’s right. Use it wisely.”

Carrion: “Yes! Thank you, Lady Selphina!”

Let’s get a little pet peeve out of the way here, first. In Genealogy, we had these conversations where people would give each other items that were locked to a chapter, plus some conditions (like being in love), and that was fine because next chapter they might not have the item since it’s going to be a year in the future. This is Thracia, though. Thracia works on a reasonable time frame. Chapter 10 takes place an unspecified time after this, but certainly on the order of days. Selphina will only give Carrion his dad’s sword now, in this frenetic life-or-death situation. It’s a dumb bit of pretty standard stupid video game gooberiness, but it bugs me particularly much here. Just have her give him the sword in the postgame if you don’t get the conversation, jeez. Have it appear in his inventory.

That out of the way, what are we dealing with here? It’s a pretty unassuming conversation about dead parents, not much to talk about, except for the context around it. I talked (bitched) about this a lot in Genealogy, and then was pretty happy when it was made much better in the early parts of Thracia, but it’s going back downhill now. The context around this conversation is the Thracian army bearing down on these two dudes, and neither one is concerned. Hell, what makes this worse than other conversations of the same variety is that it isn’t even acknowledged; the conversation was written in a vacuum and inserted. Carrion says “I’m back” and Selphina says “oh hi.” Carrion’s coming back to an active (or freshly finished) battle scene having brought Leif with him, and it’s just “I’m back” “oh hi.”

It gets better, at least, as the series goes on, but it’s these little huge inconsistencies in storytelling that really make Fire Emblem fall apart as a cohesive narrative.

There’s two other conversations. In one of them, Leif cries on Selphina a bit. In the other, uh…

[spoiler=this] Selphina: “Sir Finn! It’s good to see you again.”

Finn: “You are…?”

Selphina: “Have you forgotten me? I’m Selphina.”

Finn: “Selphina? Count Dorias’ daughter?”

Selphina: “Yes.”

Finn: “…Well… So this is that little girl with the braids…”

Selphina: “Ten years can make a big difference. I’m now married to Glade.”

Finn: “Glade? He’s alive!? Where is he? I have to see him!”

Selphina: “He’s not here. He went to aid the people in Tahra…”

Finn: “Oh, I see… Too bad. I suppose it can’t be helped if it’s an order…”

Selphina: “You seem to be more interested in Glade than me, Sir Finn. You haven’t changed at all… You were always cold towards women.”

Finn: “Cold? I never intended to be…”

Selphina: “Then why did you leave Lady Lachesis? You knew how sad she was…”

Finn: “…I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

Selphina: “Yes, you do! But you act like you don’t know at all. You’re cruel, Sir Finn!”

Finn: “Selphina, we’ve met after many years. We don’t have to…”

Selphina: “Oh… Yes, I’m sorry. We finally meet again, and I can’t do anything but shout at you…”

Finn: “No, it’s all right. We’ll talk about it later. Right now, we must fight.”

Selphina: “Yes, Sir Finn…”

I don’t even know what the fuck to say about this one. How dare Finn be more interested in his man crush than in this chick he didn’t even immediately recognize. How dare.

But, again, this is all pouring out on an active, narratively disadvantaged, battlefield. At least Finn kind of acknowledges it!

I didn’t take a picture of it, but the boss dialogue is really funny for this chapter.

Merlock: “You… You’re not bandits! Who are you?”

Yeah, uh, we kind of are bandits. Like, half or more of our group right now is Thracian freedom fighters or deserted knights probably patchy versions of their old gear. We’re textbook bandits, or at least sellswords.

You know, ignoring those of us who are bandits. Or bandit kings.

Dorias! This is our counterpart to Agust, completing Leif’s advice column.

Leaf: “At Alster… So you were injured letting me escape… I-I’m sorry! All because of me, you…”

Dorias: “No, please don’t worry about it. An old man like me would never have been much use anyway. More importantly, Lord Leaf, we must hurry if we are to go to Tahra. According to Glade’s letters, the Empire is about to lead a full-scale attack. Now that we have gathered the heroes under the flag of Nova, let us be off. Let us fly the flag of the New Kingdom of Lenster and liberate Northern Thracia! First of all, we have to deal with the soldiers stationed outside.”

August: “About that… Something is strange. They seem to have stopped attacking altogether.”

Leaf: “That is strange…”

Dorias: “Well, we can’t sit here. I shall go take a look. Please wait here.”

Dorias: “Well, that man was right. They seem to have stopped advancing. What happened? Hm? What’s that… A Dragon Knight? She’s saying something to the Thracian Army…”

Dorias is fighty. He’s okay. He and Agust comprise a reasonably obvious, but not terribly, heavyhanded dynamic – Agust is mistrusting and pragmatic, Dorias is straightforward and righteous. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser will never go out of style, and that’s okay.

Altena: “An emergency notice just arrived from General Hannibal. The people occupying this mansion are not bandits. They are mercenaries that General Hannibal himself hired to protect the people in this area from bandit attacks. Halt your attacks and retreat at once!”

And scene, cut, map’s over. This whole fight was a big dumb misunderstanding. Course, if any of your dudes didn’t escape, they’re gone, but programming details. This is the Poor, Unsatisfying way to end a chapter – us getting to the mansion didn’t actually mean anything, it’s just the trigger for Altenna to happen to show up to call everyone back. Sure, this isn’t nearly the worst the series is about it, but it’s disappointing to go from a good premise to a botched execution to a flaccid ending.

Fortunately, chapter 10 is more of the same. We’re still on the way to Tahra.

Ayy! Olwen is the focus of our next three chapters, two and a paralogue. She’s not an amazing character, but she’s not bad either. She kind of suffers from a really common Fire Emblem problem, though: all the things that happen to her to get her to join us …really seem like they should have happened a while ago. Remember my bitching about the uprising that was the crux of Genealogy chapter 4, how all those setpieces had been just a way until nothing (besides the narrative being there) hit the Jenga tower on the bullseye, causing it to suddenly collapse like a house of cards? Olwen’s situation is kind of like that, just not as bad.

Also, she’s 18. Fire Emblem has no idea what age means. Maybe I’ll get into that in more detail later. Let’s dig into this conversation though, since it sets up some stuff.

Largo: “Ah, Lady Olwen. Are you on surveillance again today? It must be hard coming all the way up to a dull place like this every day.”

Fred: “They are General Kempuf’s orders. He only gives such commands to Lady Olwen… He must have some kind of grudge.”

Olwen: “Well, Fred, I actually prefer going outside than being trapped in Dandrum Fortress because I won’t have to see Kempuf’s vile face that way.”

Largo: “Hahaha, harsh words. Still, General Kempuf is a bad apple, so to speak. He was born into nobility and has his future set out for him, but he’s not a man to look up to. He’s jealous of General Rinehart’s fame and takes it out on you, his sister. Disgraceful, if you ask me.”

Olwen: “General Kempuf thinks my brother is his rival.”

Largo: “…Well, they are about the same age, and were both made generals rather young. I understand how he feels, but…”

Olwen: “But my brother doesn’t think of him as a rival at all…”

Largo: “That’s probably also part of the reason General Kempuf doesn’t like him.”

Olwen: “? Why?”

Largo: “Oh? You don’t understand? …Perhaps you’re still too young.”

Olwen: “??”

Largo: “Well, anyway, why don’t you stay a while if you’re not too busy?”

Olwen: “Yes, thank you. I shall.”

Olwen’s kind of slow. Fred’s her loyal retainer/lieutenant, and he’ll get his time in the spotlight next chapter mostly. Basically, Reinhardt, who is nowhere near as cool as the Overwatchman who would later take his name, is like this super cool and awesome general who total bootstrapped himself plus he’s sexy and gorgeous, and Kempf hates him. Who wouldn’t? Kempf takes it out on Olwen by giving her this shitty surveillance job, so she spends her days basically looking for Leif. Hey, let’s give her what she wants! There’s nothing wrong with this conversation, except for a little bit of an overdose of “character explaining to character, but actually really explaining to player,” but the takeaway is 1: Olwen is kind of slow and 2: Kempf is sending her out here to look for things like us.

We also get a pre-battle chat with Dorias. Dorias explains what ballistae are to us Leif, and outlines the multiple ways we can go about this chapter!

Dorias: “We have three choices. One, we use our main forces to draw the enemy’s attention while a seperate squad attacks the fort. Two, we take our entire army and charge head-on, overwhelming the enemy by force.”

Leaf: “And the third?”

Dorias: “Surely you could figure it out if I’ve told you the first two. I shouldn’t need to tell you, should I?”

Dorias is kind of a bitch.

As an aside, readers, somebody help me out because I’ve never in my years figured out what the third one is supposed to be. It’s partially because the only tactic I know is “take entire army and charge,” but he’s making me feel like a tiny man because of it.

Anyway, let’s get to the gimmick of the chapter. It’s an okay chapter, not a great one but not especially bad.

It’s ballistae. You’re attacking fortified positions and ballistae. I’ll level with you now: I think ballistae/siege tomes from this point on are a pretty garbage mechanic. I don’t think they provide anything particularly interesting from a tactical perspective; they’re nothing more than speedbumps. All they do is tell you to slow down for a moment while your dudes who the artillery basically (hell, not infrequently literally) cannot touch mop them up so everyone else can move up. Plus, the only way to convincingly deploy them is in an “attacking static defenses” kind of scenario, which is one that doesn’t do Fire Emblem many favors.

In the end, despite what Dorias said there’s really not much nuance to the map. We go left until we run out of left to go. Ballistae are kind of more of a joke in this than in other Fire Emblems because their whole thing is playing flak and enforcing a no-fly zone, so they’re positioned so they mutually cover each other even if you try to throw a horsebird to deal with them. This is Thracia, though – Karin can fly straight up to them and just hop off her bird and kill the poor, defenseless machines with her sword.

A few turns in, Olwen talks to Largo and he sends her back to report the fact that an army is, you know, invading. Time for her to do her job: reconnoiter us and report back to Kempf with the real army! She doesn’t actually leave for another turn or two, and you can totally go fight her and Fred right now if you want.

At some point, we murder the named dude in the south. I dunno.

Anyway, time to wrap up the map with some old-fashioned kidnapping.

The boss is a bit of a lunk but these chapters aren’t particularly challenging. He’s carrying a promotion item, though, and there’s different dialogue if you capture him and don’t let him go. So we don’t.

And we reap the rewards.

Sexy.

There’s two versions of this conversation, based on whether you captured (and held onto) Largo or if you killed/released him. The arcs themes are only heavyhandedly explored if you capture Largo.

Dorias: “Yes, the Freeji family is a strict and respectable line of nobles, so they enforce honor even into their lowest ranking soldiers. I’m sure they are among the strictest and most organized armies on the continent. But you led your forces equally well, Lord Leaf.”

Leaf: “Do you mean how I left General Largo alive?”

Dorias: “Yes. Fighting with a just heart like that is exactly what Lord Cuan would have done. I hope you will keep that pride as a knight and fight fair battles from here on as well, Lord Leaf.”

Leaf: “My pride as a knight… Yes… I would never want to kill more than necessary…”

You’ve probably realized by now that the purpose of the journey to Tahra is Leif coming to live up to Quan’s legacy (even if Quan was kind of a fuckboy, that’s not what the narrative says) and learning his pride as a knight. Slash king, natch. We’ll talk more about it at the end, but it’s actually decently realized in the details, even if they’re kind of washed out by the super unsubtle overtones of comparisons to Quan.

That’s it for today (holy shit did I just type that?), but what if we slaughtered Largo like the pigs we are?

Leaf: “August, did you see the Mage Knight that retreated midway through the battle?”

August: “Yes, I did. She was quite a powerful foe.”

Leaf: “Who is she?”

August: “Since she was headed towards Dandrum Fortress, she probably returned to inform her superiors of our attack.”

Leaf: “That means the enemy will be ready for us.”

August: “That’s right, Lord Leaf. Dandrum Fortress is said to be impregnable as it is. And now that we’ve given the enemy time to set up its defenses, taking down the fort will prove to be quite an ordeal.”

Leaf: “But we have no other route.”

August: “Right, in order to go to Tahra, we must pass through Dandrum.”

Leaf: “Then we have to get going. If we sit here and wait, we’ll only be giving the enemy more time to prepare!”

We get a tactical talk about the next chapter. Olwen is the focus of it kind of just on account of she’s a character with a face. Dorias will still call her a formidable foe even if she didn’t do anything and just ran off, too, which is funny.

Either way you hack it, the next place you get to go is the impregnable Dandruff Fortress. Spoilers: we impregnate it, first try, and it’s not even that bad. Then we storm it. Then we go to a forest. Then we storm a thief base in the forest, too, for good measure. Then we make it to Tahra! Does this all feel like padding to you? It feels like padding to me.

[Specta]

i haven't read yet but i just want you to know how excited i am that you updated, you poor overworked soul

edit:

ah, yes, my sexy self-insert arrives

Edited October 20, 2016 by Specta