What makes your favorite FE, your favorite?

[Kon]

FE9 is my jam

It honestly has some of the best world building in the series on the whole. They have Laguz, which are so much more fascinating to me than the Manaketes because they're expanded on so much more and have a lot of relevance to the plot that isn't largely limited to backstory and they all interact with each other, which helps make the world feel a bit more alive. The story itself is also my absolute favorites in the series because of all the issues it manages to deal with, even though I know it could have handled some of them better.

It also returned the magic weapon triangle, and while I know that the system isn't exactly the best, I still had a lot of love for it because I felt it gave the magic more depth, and also because I just love mages a lot and like for them to be more distinct from one another.

The support system was one of my favorites, mainly because it didn't force you to stand around for an eternity for these two characters to finally talk to one another, although that system also made it possible to lose out on a support because of how many chapters you had to field these characters together in. The one thing I'm genuinely salty about is that Tormod and Maurim don't have a support together. That just doesn't make sense.

The skill system was another favorite of mine, though I feel like Radiant Dawn did it a bit better since you couldn't remove a skill in FE9 without it disappearing completely ;-;

It has my favorite Lord! And favorite Mage! and really a lot of the characters in this game are some of my favorites of all time because they're written so well, especially the lovely Jill. who still has the best character arc in Fire Emblem.

I also absolutely loved how they handled the whole IkeXElincia relationship, because even with the ship teasing the localisation team put in there, it still managed to nicely subvert the typical hero gets the princess deal without it being so up front and in your face about it

And this game gave me one of the only instances of a gay/ace character in a video game that I could actually relate to! And Ike's relationship with Soren kills me every time I play this game because their interactions are so sweet and nuanced and aragafg I could go on all day about my love for them <3

Really I could go on for ages about FE9, but I should probably stop now, haha

[Thor Odinson]

Thracia because I like hilarious overkill and I abuse the shit out of capture and it's glorious

also use 1 use warp to get like 3 warp staves and also rewarp everywhere, warp emblem

Also Trabant is my favorite antag in FE, even though he's actually more prominent in FE4. GLORY TO THRACIA man

Edited May 3, 2016 by Thor Odinson

[Bluedoom]

Tbh it depends on the criteria. I guess overall I like Radiant Dawn the most but PoR and SD/New Mystery are very close seconds.

FE that's gives the best first impression: Genealogy of the Holy War. The plot twist is amazing, and the large maps are interesting for your first playthrough. The Children mechanic isn't used until FE13, haha. Also, broken legendary weapons!

FE with the best gameplay: Radiant Dawn. Ledges, Laguz, lots of different weapons, 3rd tier classes(only used in FE2), different wincons, party split and a lot more. SD and FE12 are runners up though- reclass is just so good.

FE with the best story- A tie between FE4 and FE9. 10 was kinda too complicated for my liking.

FE with the best characters- A tie between Path of Radiance and Sacred Stones. The support convos are really good in these games, IMO.

FE with the best OST: Shadow Dragon. The OST is very melancholic and blends well with the sorrow shown throughout the story. FE12 and Radiant Dawn are close seconds, they have some very fancy tracks, and Path of Radiance comes third. Sacred Stones had an impressive lategame OST too, now that I think about it.

EDIT: I haven't played Awakening or Fates, although I've watched an LP of Fates and it looks very interesting, gameplay-wise.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Magnificence Incarnate

[Sylphid]

Rose-tinted nostalgia goggles, mostly.

It also has:

- The best story and world building in Fire Emblem (in my opinion anyway)

- Some of my favorite characters and supports in the series

- Support system that isn't too grindy

- My favorite playable lance infantry (Fates might change that, but alas, EU)

- My favorite shapeshifters as far as lore goes

- The base and bonus experience systems

[Glitchy]

Path of Radiance has an amazing cast of characters, one of the best plots in the series, with a strong lord and strong villains, and some good world-building, tons of innovative and new mechanics like BEXP and Base Conversations, and simple, and easy but still very fun gameplay. I haven't played Radiant Dawn yet, but I'm very excited to try it out because it seems to further improve on Path of Radiance.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Glitchy

[MrStardustRicon]

Big maps, amazing ost, great characters, decent story, and a generation gimmick that doesn't seem forced is why I love Genealogy.

[Jedi]

I'm not surprised at all the PoR peeps here! Its one of my favorites too.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

fe12. I have a dragon boner for a reason

Edited May 8, 2016 by JSND

[Cornguy]

I don't dislike any fe protagonists, but Ike is definitely the favorite. He's hard-headed and rough, but still witty, and doesn't need absolutely everything explained to him like a lot of other characters with similar personalities.

I can get into the story every time I play, and I love the BK. Even RD messed up in a couple places, BK in particular, that cutscene where he runs after Ike is my absolute favorite story moment in any fe game.

Also love the gameplay, good maps, characters are all fun to use, good and bad. I love the support dialogue as well.

Love 4-8 as well. Still enjoy the rest, all of them really. Just not quite on the same level.

Edited May 8, 2016 by Cornguy

[GreenDragon]

Well, FE7 holds a special place in my heart since it is my introduction to the series. When I was new to videogames, the only game I actually liked was Pokemon, all the others could not compare. I played Blazing Sword at a relative's place and loved it so I bought my own copy.

The game reminded my of chess, which is one of my favorite games, and I loved the mechanica of FE. I was first drawn by the turn based movements and combat animations. Then there was the permadeath. I loved that once a character died they were gone for good, made it more realistic imo than respawning. Considering I was I had a short temper back then, I'm surprised that I did not give up the game in frustration.

The weapon limits was a novel concept to me and made the game even more fun. The mechanics were not the only thing that made it my favorite game since other FE games have similar mechanics with a few differences. Since I was a kid, I naturally skipped the cutscenes and just started playing. Once I decided to read the cutscenes, I discovered a world of memorable characters, feelings, history, etc. It made units more than just soldiers, they had their own personalities and relations with each other. That just added to the charm. I liked most of the characters, including several antagonists.

I also enjoyed watching Marcus kill everything in his path, but that was before I knew what a jagen was. I thought he was the coolest character because I like knights, especially ones that can kick butt. I rarely started a chapter without him. Even if I could easily beat the chapter without him, I brought him along anyway.

I have only played two other FE games: Shadow Dragon and Awakening. While I enjoy both of them, neither of them ever topped Blazing Sword. I felt SD, while I prefer its mechanics to Awakening, lacked character development, a critical feature that made me prefer Blazing Sword and Awakening more. Awakening is fun, but I prefer older combat animations, but Awakening's are prettier. I guess Awakening just does not feel like the other two.

Now, even though I love FE7, I want to keep an open mind and accept that there are probably better FE games, and not overlook Blazing Sword's flaws. I want to play FE8 since I heard it is pretty good and rivals 7 and Holy War looks really interesting.

TL;DR: FE7 was my first game in the series and had almost everything I wanted in a videogame. I'm sure I would be saying the same about any other game in the series if I started with them instead.

[Lethal Llama]

I'm aware Awakening has its flaws, but I feel like it boasts the single most charming roster of the entire series. They're not all the best written, and some are a little one-note or redundant, but pretty much any of them can make me smile in some way. Also the soundtrack is pretty rocking.

[Paper Jam]

Here is what I look for in an FE game:

Cast of characters (both friend and foe)

Map design and chapter objectives

Story

On the first point, FE7 has what I consider the best cast: Not too many characters (as in FE6) or too few (as in FE8), and at least one unique trait for each playable character. (And heck, even the bosses generally have some quirk as well.)

I also like the map design and chapter objectives of FE7 more than FE6 or 8. FE6, of course, has no chapter objectives to speak of beyond "Seize the throne or gate" and (once, at the very end) "Defeat the boss", and the sidequest requirements are generally similarly simple (mainly "Complete the chapter within X turns," although I do like the "Keep Douglas alive" requirement in chapter 16). I would guess that the fact that FE7 has more maps than FE6 or 8 is part of what enables FE7 to have a greater variety of maps too: FE8's maps have variety as well, but not as much as FE7's.

The invasion of the hero's country by an invading empire is a well-worn trope in the Fire Emblem series, so FE7's refusal to play it as straight as it's played in FE6 and 8 is also a point in its favor. Sure, there is the invasion of Caelin by Laus, but that only happens AFTER the invasion of Laus by Pherae and Ostia. And far from being central to the plot as its equivalents in FE6 and 8 are, it's resolved a mere two chapters later.

[wuweilun]

Radiant Dawn was great and had excellent 3D models. Nothing like the abhorrent ones for the 3DS versions. Unfortunately, I don't think the story was quite as good as Path of Radiance's, so I'm not sure which to call my favorite, to tell the truth.

[Shinehollow]

The Sacred Stones mostly just because of its characters. The story was kinda nice (to me at least), too.