Echoes call out from the Shadows of Valentia(Fire Emblem Echoes Blind playthrough)

[jdb1984]

It'll be written like a story, with the occasional screenshot (and hopefully some humor).  It'll be played completely blind, Hard/Classic, dead means dead (except for Game Over, of course).  When on Saturday I'll post the first part is TBD, it depends on how long it takes me to play, type it out, arrange text and screenshots to my satisfaction, and get it posted.  So join me as we dive into this new/old Fire Emblem game.

Edited May 29, 2017 by jdb1984

[SatsumaFSoysoy]

I may or may not be willing to put money on the line that Clive will die. To a Witch.

[Hawk King]

The title says Fire Emblem Fates blind playthough. I'm confused.

[jdb1984]

My mistake.

[jdb1984]

Well, let's get started

Where's Any Button?

As I said in the original post, Hard/Classic.  Though I see a distinct lack of Lunatic.

After this, we see a cutscene with Alm stabbing Celica after what appears to be a swordfight between the two of them.  Celica dies from having a case of the stabbies, and Alm instantly regrets his decisions in life.  But let's go to something a bit happier, like about 8 years before this happens.

After we meet Faye, Kliff, and Grey, who are apparently Alm's friends (and I suspect Faye has a crush on Alm), we learn a bit more.  It seems that Celica only came to Ram Village not too long ago, and she's some kind of ward.  Nobody in town seems to know much about her, and she only opened herself up more when Alm spent some time with her.  But then Tobin rushes into the scene and announces that he saw a knight in the woods, which apparently rarely happens (and shows just how dull the town really is).

During all this, Celica and Alm share a moment

Which is broken up by screaming.  Apparently, the knights (as well as their leader, Slayde) aren't as friendly as the kids thought, and they want the town to feed and care for them.  Slayde also sees Celica, and recognizes who she is.  He orders his men to capture her, and the kids are unable to stop him.

But then a hero comes along, with the strength to carry on.

That hero is Mycen, and apparently, he's also Alm's grandfather.  Slayde seems to have had some dealings with him in the past.

Anyone,  Mycen has everyone run to the cemetery, and they can make their stand there.  And then we start the prologue battle.  Let's take a look at our heroes.

...yeah.  None of the kids can do more than chip damage against any of them.  But you're in luck, none of them will gain experience or level up, so this is the one time where you can toss out Fire Emblem tradition and use the Jeigan to do everything without hurting your team.  And the soldiers were only too happy to go for Mycen and certain defeat.

Though Alm did get a kill of his own.  But as we run them out of town, we get a tidbit of information.

I suspected she was a princess from the beginning, and it's nice to know I was right.

But now that Slayde knows she's here, the place is no longer safe for her.  But as Mycen takes her to parts unknown, Alm and Celica share another moment, and Alm gets a pendant from her.

As Mycen rides off with her, Alm promises to search for her when he gets stronger.  And so ends the Prologue.

Join me next time, as we get set for the next part.

 

Edited May 22, 2017 by jdb1984

[Doof]

My favorite thing so far is seeing the many different ways auto correct spells Celica out.

Keeping an eye on this thread! Keep going! I wonder who the first casualty will be...

[jdb1984]

And we're back.  I'll do my best to post one of these every weekend, so you have something to look forward to on Fridays.

Anyways, we start the chapter with some backstory.  Doma and Mila are a couple of sibling gods that disagreed over how they should rule.  Doma wanted to rule with power, and make humans strong, while Mila wanted her subjects to live in comfort and choose the path that pleases them.  Their battle raged, and their subjects fought with them, until they finally split the land in two.  Doma and his followers lived in Rigel, while Mila and her followers lived in Zofia, with a vast wall separating the two lands.  That kept the peace, but not forever..

---

And after the backstory, we have Alm and Mycen training.  Mycen tells Alm that he's getting better with a blade, and Alm wants to leave town.  Partially because there's brigands, as well as Rigelian soldiers crossing over and breaking the laws laid down by the gods, but also to find Celica.  But Mycen doesn't think he's ready, and tells him no.

After he goes inside, you're free to move about.

The talk command lets you talk to anyone on screen.  Next to that is Examine, where you move a cursor around a screen and can examine and pick up items.  I found a couple of oranges and an axe.

Next to that is Move.

The orange spots are the places you can move to, and you'll be brought to whichever one you pick.

The last icon is the menu, where you can see your fighters, save, distribute items, and the like.  Let's take a look and see how much stronger Alm is.

Better than when he was a boy in a graveyard.  And he'll improve with time.

Anyways, if we go to the square, we come across some townspeople, who will tell you how things are going.  The king isn't really doing much ruling, there are revolutions against him being launched, and Doma hasn't brought any rain.  So yes, we're in a sad state of affairs, and we're paying the price for the lifestyle we have under Mila.

The town gate is a lot more interesting.  The friends he had on the prologue, now grown up, are there with a knight.  Remembering the last encounter with knights, they are understandably cautious.  While Faye worries more about Alm's well being after training with Mycen.

Anyways, the knight is here to see Mycen, after some disturbing news from the capital.

 

The background music fittingly stops as he says this.  As you go on, it'll start up again, with a more ominous tone.

It seems that the chancellor handed over Zofia to the Rigellian empire.  Once the King was dead, they seized the castle and started doing unspeakable things to the people.  Sir Clive, one of the knights, decided he wouldn't stand for it, so he put together a rebel group called the Deliverers.  But the rebel group is quickly losing the battle, so they came to town to ask for Mycen's help.

Alm takes him to his house, and Lukas goes in to speak to him.  When he comes out

It seems Mycen isn't interested in fighting in their war.  Bit as he turns to leave, Alm suddenly gets an idea, and wants to help them in place of his grandfather.  Of course, his friends are shocked by this, and think it's a bad idea.

Alm, undeterred, presents his case

Apparently he presents a very compelling case, because Lukas agrees to his proposal.  His friends aren't so sure, and are even shocked when he suggests that they should all go.  Grey eventually agrees, and Tobin wants to go with once he hears that they get paid.  Alm goes back home to tell his grandfather the news, but he's nowhere to be seen.  So he just says "screw it" and goes back to say he's coming anyway.  I'm wondering if Mycen's disappearance will come up later on.

Anyways, we have our volenteers.

 You can also get Kliff and Faye to join in this just by talking to them before leaving.

And it looks like we have some opposition between here and the Southern pass.  We're barely outside the town games when we have our first battle.  But first, lets look at the stats of everyone else.

Interesting that Gray is level 5, but around the middle compared to everyone else.  Cliff, Tobin, and Faye's skill levels are also worrisome, but Kliff can take some magical hits, it seems.  But we won't use that in the first map.

I moved the three that have the lowest defense out of the danger zone, and even got two of them under some tree cover.

While the other three took care of business with the ones in the lower area, the others moved to where the other three were.

With some fierce battling...

And the power of teamwork...

Our brand new soldiers won the day.

Join me next time, as we continue to fight our way to the southern pass, and the rest of the Deliverers.

Edited May 28, 2017 by jdb1984

[KnightOfNohr]

"Shut up Tobin" 

(spoiler/)When you get to thieves cave, I recommend making Kliff a Mage (Wider variety of spells) and Faye a Cleric (Speicial dancy ability)(spoiler/)

Edited July 4, 2017 by KnightOfNohr

[BakanGin]

He said blind, we could have fun seeing him pick what they should be

[N30]

Here's hoping for Soldier!Gray, Cav!Faye, Merc!Tobin, and Mage!Kliff w/o speed wellspring use.

Or Soldier Emblem + Faye.

It was the meme

[Tuvy]

mage Tobin

do

it

[Tuvy2]

11 minutes ago, Tuvy said:

mage Tobin

do

it

I back this

(Cav Grey is best Grey)

[deskita]

If it comes to a vote, then I vote Mage!Fae, Archer!Gray, Soldier!Kliff and Mage!Tobin. I'm honestly curious as to what will occur in this play-through so I'm following to find out.