Fire Emblem Echoes impressions

[Harvey]

So I beated the game and here are my impressions.

By the way, if you're still wondering if the game's worth trying out, I'll say it now that get it ASAP! It just feels like a Fire Emblem game and the new things Echoes does makes the whole experience worth getting.

I'm overall pleased with what I played here. I love the artstyle done by the new artist. Now I don't mind the Awakening/Fates artstyle but I like how a new artstyle is done to have a change of pace my personal favourite is Kliff's design.

Speaking of which, I find the presentation here really good for an FE game including its full voice acting, cinematics and its decent plot. 

As for the gameplay, I enjoyed it. I like the dungeons that this game offers you. The idea of going to dungeons and fighting enemies is trilling and fun while at the same time doesn't go anywhere too archaic and frustrating as enemies don't respawn randomly like your typical old RPG game(I'm looking at you, Phantasy Star 2!) The only dungeon I didn't like was the final one but only because it had one cryptic thing there and that's just that.

Now unlike your other FE games where you can hold more than one item, here..you can only hold one but that's still not a bad thing considering that the game compensates this by giving you chunks of health items and healers that shouldn't be a problem...that and that each weapon you hold unlocks skills which can be beneficial. I had no issues with mages losing HP when casting spells since the amount of HP spent for using spells is fairly reasonable and again not really a big deal since like I said before, you get lots of food and healers for this. The only nitpick I have here is that there should have been a spell that recovers more HP than just being stuck with one Recover.

I really like the spell invoke. Not only does it help players fight against enemies but they just act as bait for the enemies to fall in. I wish future FE games do this often or atleast try doing something like this. 

And don't get me started on Archers here. Holy hell, Archers are frickin awesome in this game. They can finally....FINALLY shoot more than two range  and sure, you can say that the enemies can do that too but I don't care because I wanted archers to have more than 2 range for a LONG time! Just been sick of them being 2 ranged locked already( Doesn't mean that the archers in previous FE games are bad though).

I don't personally mind different classes here since this is a very faithful remake and I'm fine that swordmasters aren't here since you get dread fighters who are...well I'm not gonna complain here.

Fatigue didn't bother me much but at the same time, it really is kinda pointless imo since the game gives you lots of food (seriously, I can't count how many wines and rums I got here!) and when you offer food to a mila temple, your fatigue gets cured real quick. I'm going to assume that hard mode might make fatigue mean something but on normal, it doesn't do much.

And finally one of the things that I love about this game is the way characters are done here....

Firstly, you can use whoever you want to use and never once did I ever feel that this unit here isn't worth using or that guy is only helpful at this point but later on he'll suck. Infact that Jeigan that you get so late in the game can still be used throughout the end game.

Secondly, unlike every FE game(except Blazing Blade) as of now that only makes characters talk for a specific time and then kept quite until support conversations show up, characters constantly talk to you and you can learn about themselves and they socialise with you even after they reach their A support. This means that you don't need supports to know about them better and you can still talk to them which is what I really love here and wish future FE games can learn from this and just do as good as this.

Lastly, units here are fairly balanced. Even the ones who start up terrible can be atleast decent. I wasn't too bothered with the hit rates here even though in my first time playing this, I suddenly had memories of Binding Blade here but this is not the case since the game is very balanced and the only frustrating thing about the game is enemies spawning more enemies but that's about it.

Personally, I didn't mind its map design when you consider that the way the game is done is to have small maps so that you can get to other sections easier so this method is kinda equivalent to your typical 25 chapter plot. I don't really see why people are bothered with this entirely.

Now of course like any FE game, the game is not perfect and does have some issues.

To me its not marriage and its not the bland map design either. Those can be dealt with( And considering the setting it takes place at, I can't picture how a device can grow a kid rapidly fast to the point that they can be used for battle).

The main problem that I have here is grinding and this..is a mix bag.

When units kill enemies, they get exp which is fine and good. After battle, they get bonus EXP which is GREAT! No issues here.

The issue here comes with promotion. Some units/classes require a huge level to promote inorder to go into the next class. The example I can come up with here is a character you get at act 2. The class that unit is stuck with requires to be at lv 12 inorder to promote which in theory is ok and not that big a deal but as the unit levels up, exp at some point gets low making the promotion process a bit tedious.

Changing class is also not that fleshed out as well...I made someone a pegasus and now to get her back as a villager, I have to go out of my way to get a pitchfork which I believe is DLC exclusive.

One thing that I don't get is how one certain unit you get here doesn't have this exp issue and can easily reach lv 20 no probs. It would have been nice that the promotion requirements can be lower for those classes alone atleast.

Speaking of grinding, this game is more focused on RPG than having barely any tactical stuff in it. The only thing tactical about it is using one time items and deciding who to use in dungeons and deciding when to use the turnwheel. And don't get me wrong here, there is SOME strategy played here in many cases...its just that you get less of strategy and more of RPG. 

While I'm ok with this and its more of a nitpick, I can't help but compare this to Awakening which offered tactical elements such one time marriage events that make you think which pairing is best for kid units and spending money to um...buy weapons instead of either forging them or evolving them which grinding for money here can be a problem and again, this isn't an issue but a small nitpick.

And then lastly, there are no mid battle saves here. Now some might argue and say that Mila's turnwheel fixes/compensates and while I love it and wish its implemented in future FE games, here is the issue I have with it.

If your lord is dead, the game ends and you can't use the turnwheel there as well despite it being there which means you have to start over. And that's fine and all but that's when the battle save could've eased the problem here as there were cases where I went through this much and my lord got killed due to a crit chance and all. If you can atleast rewind time while the enemy phrase starts, that could have been better.

And before you say that its the gamer's fault for doing stupid moves and all that, keep in mind that we're talking about casual gamers here who just want to play it the way they want it and can't/won't spend hours like me beating some maps.

Music is good and very faithful to the original so nothing much to say here.

I'm not too bothered about some of the game elements trolling you such as giving axes to you when you don't have any axe units or can't use them except sell them nor of its weapon triangle since again, lack of axe units makes the weapon triangle pointless to have here.

Overall, I like this game a lot. Has cool characters(my personal favourite is Tobin), fun dungeons and well presented. Wish this game does well so we can get remakes like this for other FE games!

 

Edited July 22, 2017 by Harvey

[CriticalMiss]

I'm glad you liked it. It's become my personal favorite for many of the things you listed. There are a couple of things I wanted to tell you though:

 

1 hour ago, Harvey said:

The issue here comes with promotion. Some units/classes require a huge level to promote inorder to go into the next class. The example I can come up with here is a character you get at act 2. The class that unit is stuck with requires to be at lv 12 inorder to promote which in theory is ok and not that big a deal but as the unit levels up, exp at some point gets low making the promotion process a bit tedious.

Its because of this declining exp issue that changing villager class is also tedious as hell...I made someone a pegasus and now to get her back as a villager, I have to promote her into a falcoknight, get her to lv 10 and then have the option to change her....that right there is too grindy for my taste unless I go out of my way to get a pitchfork which I believe is DLC exclusive.

One thing that I don't get is how one certain unit you get here doesn't have this exp issue and can easily reach lv 20 no probs.

Yeah, promotions in this game are pretty strange compared to the rest of the series. That loop that you mentioned to return units to the villager class is exclusive to Dread Fighters, so you couldn't return someone you promoted to Pegasus Knight back into a Villager without using the Pitchfork. Also, although the Pitchfork is DLC, it's free, so you could use them if you wanted. Just know that you can only get 3 per save file.

Spoiler

Also, what unit are you talking about? Delthea?

 

Edited July 22, 2017 by CriticalMiss

[Harvey]

1 hour ago, CriticalMiss said:

I'm glad you liked it. It's become my personal favorite for many of the things you listed. There are a couple of things I wanted to tell you though:

 

Yeah, promotions in this game are pretty strange compared to the rest of the series. That loop that you mentioned to return units to the villager class is exclusive to Dread Fighters, so you couldn't return someone you promoted to Pegasus Knight back into a Villager without using the Pitchfork. Also, although the Pitchfork is DLC, it's free, so you could use them if you wanted. Just know that you can only get 3 per save file.

  Reveal hidden contents

Also, what unit are you talking about? Delthea?

 

Ah I changed that. Thanks for that tip!

And yes, I'm referring to her. Didn't want to spoil the name of the character and all since I was trying to be spoiler free.

 

 

[Avi448]

21 hours ago, Harvey said:

Ah I changed that. Thanks for that tip!

And yes, I'm referring to her. Didn't want to spoil the name of the character and all since I was trying to be spoiler free.

 

 

 

 I'd disagree there, since you don't need to grind her up. She can delete enemies on her own using Aura and level up quickly, i mean i didn't grind her and she was one of my MVP. And in HM, no less

[Harvey]

Just now, Avi448 said:

 

 I'd disagree there, since you don't need to grind her up. She can delete enemies on her own using Aura and level up quickly, i mean i didn't grind her and she was one of my MVP. And in HM, no less

I wasn't saying that grinding her is a necessity. I'm just saying that grinding her compared to the others is far easier compared to the others. I was able to get her to level 20 unpromoted easily.

 

[Sentacotus]

Personally I'm just glad archers can defend themselves when engaged from one space lol.  I'm very much enjoying this one.  The fatigue system is pretty cool too.  I'm also enjoying roaming dungeons more than I should.

[Harvey]

Ah and one thing I forgot to mention though this is a nitpick. I feel that the overworld should have been 3D like the dungeons instead of doing a visual novel like appearance. Nothing wrong with it but it does feel a bit odd.

 

 

[Sentacotus]

Actually now that you mention it I actually turned on the 3D for this game and honestly on the dialogue scenes it helps it pop out a bit more and adds perspective to things like flags or mobs of people in the background.  Its a little thing but I appreciate it.

[Foxxie]

I spent a pretty long time trying to get into Fates and felt worried that maybe the FE series was going down a path I couldn't really enjoy. But then I picked up this game today on a whim and I'm thrilled. This is a Fire Emblem game!

I've only played a few hours and I'm already enjoying it much more than Conquest. I'll report back when I reach the end, but for now, this is what I'd been hoping for. I did love Awakening, but I felt Fates pushed too far away from the FE charm I'd come to love. Sure, dungeons are new in Echoes, but they totally fit the precedent of other games with how they're structured.

Long story short: I'm old and grumpy and Echoes reminded me of my love for the series.

[Sentinel07]

Dungeons were definitely a lot of fun, as were Archers. Honestly, this game has kind of made me wish Archers would be this way from here on. I enjoyed their versatility here.

As for the maps, I honestly don't mind them as much as other fans do. Sure, I wouldn't call many of them outstanding, but that's not a deal-breaker for me. The only way I'd hate a map is if it was completely unfair and Echoes doesn't have too many of those.

[Harvey]

On 27/07/2017 at 7:50 AM, Sentinel07 said:

Dungeons were definitely a lot of fun, as were Archers. Honestly, this game has kind of made me wish Archers would be this way from here on. I enjoyed their versatility here.

As for the maps, I honestly don't mind them as much as other fans do. Sure, I wouldn't call many of them outstanding, but that's not a deal-breaker for me. The only way I'd hate a map is if it was completely unfair and Echoes doesn't have too many of those.

I agree whole hearteadly! I wish they can bring in dungeon exploring in the new game as well. Archers are such a blessing in this game.

 

[onmyoji]

I just started playing, currently on Act 3.
Really enjoying it so far, could be one of my favorite.
But I don't really like the dungeon exploring part, and also don't like the part where we have to click around to find items.

[Chconroy]

This is game is undeniably odd, just for the mix of different gameplay elements. I think that's why I like this game so much, because it's so different from other Fire Emblem games. And some of things done in SoV advance the series forward, like being fully voiced.

It's a wonderful mix of things and is easily one of my favorite entries in the series.

[Arthur97]

I certainly liked it. The voice acting was superb, and the battle animations were great (special shoutout to baron class), but, not everything hit home. The dungeons were a bit too stressful for my tastes given that you can't save usually and it just gets tedious doing it over again. Don't really care for the one item system, or how the weapons or skills work, and the dungeons seem lackluster. Also, conjure. I hate conjurers. It really draws it out for me and seems really unnecessary.

Spoiler

Jedah's nullify skill is a bit cheap too.

All in all, while I may sound harsh, it is probably my second favorite in the series.

Spoiler

Thabes is also pretty neat story wise, but it's still a dungeon, and a hard one at that.

 

Edited August 3, 2017 by Arthur97

[Thinks Their Own Way]

I really can't stand this game, it started off fine then the route split happened; the presentation means jack-shit to me when a game plays as badly as this game did (especially with presentation as standard as this game). Calling the gameplay mediocre is being way to kind to it; to me this felt like the most luck based Fire Emblem. If something went right it was because I got lucky and vice versa. I never want to see terrain bonuses like how they do it here ever again; with how this game handles it's RN system +60 avoid or with some maps +20 everywhere you step meant absolutely nothing. I never want to see another cantor ever again; they just make the game more tedious and with how experience is calculated, using them for experience never felt worth it. The dungeons got dull really fast and once everyone was promoted, never felt the need to go back. This is a game I never want to play ever again.

 

[Ronin_OW]

thanks for the write-up. 

makes me really hyped for when i finally get too the game. Right now im still playing awakening and need to do fates but I will get there.