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Best first time FE Game?


Benice
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In our family, we have always been big fans of the Legend of Zelda franchise, and playing the game is a family event. However, since completing BOTW, we don't have another "New" Zelda game coming out any time soon. I did some research, and this franchise seemed like it had some of the elements we liked from Zelda, especially the storyline. To introduce my family to the franchise, which game should we play? We have a wii and a wii U, and already have Fire emblem and Sacred Stones, but can also get Path of Radiance and Radiant dawn. Which of those is the best of those?

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Fire Emblem (sometimes refered to as Fire Emblem 7 or Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade) is the game I would suggest you start with, as it has a very thorough tutorial section that helps to introduce people to the series, but it was originally a GBA game, so it wont be very visually impressive. Path of Radiance or Sacred Stones both work fine as introductions to the series, but Radiant Dawn should be played after Path of Radiance, as it is narratively is a sequel to Path of Radiance. Do be warned that Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn have become collector items, so official copies can go for a rather steep price.

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Fire Emblem (FE7, or Blazing Blade), partially because of the tutorial, and partially because it's the second-most forgiving FE in my opinion (first being Sacred Stones, Eir route, on Normal).

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Blazing Blade (which is simply called Fire Emblem), partly because of the tutorial. Sacred Stones can work too, but some of its features are ones not present in every FE game.

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FE7, aka Fire Emblem (no subtitle in the English release). The tutorial is fine, if a little slow, the first time around; it will be insufferable later on. And if you start with a more recent title, you'll come to expect Quality of Life features that just didn't exist until recently. Always preferable IMO to start with a basic-but-still-very-playable entry and iterate from there.

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Path of Radiance & Radiant Dawn are the obvious choice here in my mind. Since you want a family experience, the games can be played on the television screen instead of a small handheld screen, so the entire family can enjoy and give their input while you're playing, and the cutscenes are some of the most detailed and beautiful in the series. The gameplay in Path of Radiance is extremely straightforward and intuitive as far as Fire Emblem games go, and they are both easy enough to be enjoyable for newcomers.

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59 minutes ago, Xander said:

Path of Radiance & Radiant Dawn are the obvious choice here in my mind. Since you want a family experience, the games can be played on the television screen instead of a small handheld screen, so the entire family can enjoy and give their input while you're playing, and the cutscenes are some of the most detailed and beautiful in the series. The gameplay in Path of Radiance is extremely straightforward and intuitive as far as Fire Emblem games go, and they are both easy enough to be enjoyable for newcomers.

Aside from the fact that both are likely to be hard to find, and expensive if you can find them, I would say Radiant Dawn is most definitely not a newcomer-friendly title, with it being much harder than most other FE games, especially in part 1.

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Path of Radiance is very newcomer-friendly. It introduces everything gradually and organically, its gameplay is very straightforward with few unique gimmicks (and none of them are very complicated), almost every unit is useful so it really comes down to preference, and the story is both straightforward and engaging. 

Don't get me wrong; there are many ways to understandably mess up on your first time because there are some small things that you would really need a guide to figure out (like how to recruit one or two of the characters). But, if you're attentive, you think through what you're doing, you read the base conversations and watch Anna's quick tutorials, you should be fine. 

The NA localization also added an easy mode that's useful for beginners.

Edited by vanguard333
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I definitely think Blazing Sword or Sacred Stones are great choices among the games you have and given the consoles you've listed.  Only other games I'd recommend starting with are games on the 3DS, and I wouldn't recommend getting a 3DS just to play one or two games.

Path of Radiance is alright, but I feel like Blazing Sword is better at easing you in.  Plus, I think it's hard to not like the trio of lords the game gives you.  Eliwood is Eligood.  Besides, you already have the game, while with the Radiance games you have to really look for them and probably fork out a sizable amount of cash to get them (Radiant Dawn in particular I've only seen come as cheaply as $70).

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1 hour ago, Shadow Mir said:

Aside from the fact that both are likely to be hard to find, and expensive if you can find them, I would say Radiant Dawn is most definitely not a newcomer-friendly title, with it being much harder than most other FE games, especially in part 1.

If you are dedicated to finding them and patient they aren't over $120 combined used (assuming they don't use dolphin, homebrew, etc.). I assume the original poster can figure out that since Radiant Dawn is a sequel, they would play that after Path of Radiance. If they enjoy PoR and want to play another game afterwards, Radiant Dawn is a great choice. Radiant Dawn is certainly not one of the much harder FE games assuming, from what the poster said, they are newcomers, and smart enough to know their limits, and not attempt Hard Mode on their first playthrough.

Edited by Xander
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I would say Path of Radiance. It has a good mixer of difficulty,  can be played on the T.V. so the whole family can enjoy it.  Also, it has elements of both old and new fire emblem games. So if you enjoy Path of Radiance, you can enjoy the other games as well. 

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1 hour ago, Benice said:

Story-wise, which is superior?

Personally, I would say Blazing Blade - Sacred Stones's plot has problems, and lots of them.

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Yeah, if you're ever going to play FE7, the forced tutorial in Lyn mode before you unlock hard is going to be way more helpful and way less annoying if it's your first game. I'd recommend it for that and also because it's a really solid entry in the series and while it's not my favorite, it's one of the most well-rounded ones, easily.

Edited by Alastor15243
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2 hours ago, Benice said:

Story-wise, which is superior?

I can't say much about Path of Radiance's story, but I hear there are issues with the stories of Sacred Stones and Radiant Dawn.  Sacred Stones doesn't do the best job of uplifting its own protagonists, people will typically tell you they liked the main villain of that game more than they liked the protagonists (though a friend of mine would differ from that opinion).  Radiant Dawn, meanwhile, has one of the protagonists commit a questionable act which is the subject of much contention and eventually the newer protagonist has her spotlight stolen by the older protagonist... just because the old protagonist was popular.

Blazing Sword is maybe a bit standard fare for the series - traveling the continent, fighting against a cult-like force hell bent on seizing power and creating carnage for their own game, and eventually striking down a powerful dragon with a sword of divine origin (this all is the main story; initially there won't be much of these elements, as Lyn mode is more about Lyn claiming her birthright as inheritor of the Caelin noble line while stopping the vile ambitions of her treasonous granduncle) - but it also has some moments that are quite memorable.  Uncovering the identities of the mysterious performers, witnessing how a once noble assassination band (yes, that's right, an assassination band that was once noble) dwindled into little more than a band of cut-throats, and gradually discovering the story behind the main villain, Nergal, if you play through all the storylines.  Again, it's not the most complicated or question-raising story out there, but there are twists and elements to it that make it stand out as a pretty enjoyable story.  It certainly is one of my favorite stories in the series, along with Genealogy of the Holy War and Three Houses.

It's difficult to give you a definitive answer about which has the superior story, though.  If you haven't become privy to the fact yet, the Fire Emblem fandom is very divisive.  Each era of Fire Emblem games brings in different groups of fans, each of whom have their own soft spots for particular entries.  You'll find people telling you that Blazing Sword is the superior story just as easily as you'll find people telling you that Path of Radiance has the best story in the series, and simultaneously you'll have people telling you which FE stories they think are the worst or not worth playing through.  That's why I think you shouldn't simply just ask "which is the best", but follow it up with "why".  Fans can't divulge every piece of information, as that of course would be spoiler territory, but you won't find a satisfying answer by trying to quantify how many more people say one story's better than the other, especially because every aspect of the fandom will be very biased, sometimes for extremely petty reasons.

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3 hours ago, Benice said:

Story-wise, which is superior?

Path of Radiance. It is probably one of the best (if not the best; I haven't played Three Houses yet as I don't yet have a Switch) stories FE has ever written. It is rather simple at first glance: good kingdom is invaded, ragtag band grows into an army and retakes kingdom from evil conqueror. But this is deceptive; often FE games with complicated plots get to ambitious and the plot gets messy.

What Path of Radiance may lack in complexity, it more than makes up for in worldbuilding, the strength of its characters and their development, good dialogue (I'd say the NA localization is better than the original in that regard), and just overall refinement. It takes the time to properly explore areas of the story that most FE games normally gloss over, like the effect of the war on the populace and stuff like that. It also sticks out among FE plots in that its protagonist: Ike, isn't anyone special: he's the son of a mercenary commander. He's not a crown prince, noble's son or anything like that. He's a peasant, yet he manages to save the continent. 

The story is also enhanced by something Path of Radiance has that most FE games lack: Base Conversations. These are optional (but recommended) conversations between Ike and other characters that help flesh out the world, particular story/character arcs, etc. 

I could go on and on about the different strengths of Path of Radiance's story that I find lacking in most other FE games, but a lot of that involves spoilers, and I don't feel like going on and on. 

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Path of Radiance has one of the best stories in the entire series. 

I will say that if you play PoR for the story I would... not recommend playing Radiant Dawn afterwards. Much of what makes PoR interesting as a narrative is stripped away in Radiant Dawn after the first arc or two.

For the other game in the argument, I wouldn't say Blazing Sword has an amazing story (it's good and can be interesting at times but doesn't stand out in comparison) but Blazing Sword benefits from a very good cast. The three protagonists play off of each other quite well, and many of the more minor characters manage to make themselves memorable and endearing in the spotlight moments they get.

Edited by Arachnofiend
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On 10/11/2019 at 2:29 PM, Shadow Mir said:

Personally, I would say Blazing Blade - Sacred Stones's plot has problems, and lots of them.

The Blazing Blade's story isn't superior to the things written on a cereal box. It's about as bland as a fantasy story can get. 

Generic dragon btw 

 

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On 10/11/2019 at 2:35 PM, Ertrick36 said:

Radiant Dawn, meanwhile, has one of the protagonists commit a questionable act which is the subject of much contention

Isn't this true of Sacred Stones as well?

3 hours ago, Francesca said:

The Blazing Blade's story isn't superior to the things written on a cereal box. It's about as bland as a fantasy story can get. 

Generic dragon btw 

Hey, I admit Blazing Blade's plot has its problems, but I say it's still better than Sacred Stones's pitiful excuse for a "plot".

Still better than a so-called Demon King that doesn't live up to the title in terms of gameplay.

Edited by Shadow Mir
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6 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

Isn't this true of Sacred Stones as well?

I don't think there's any question that what Eirika did was foolish and objectively a bad thing to do.

Also, by "questionable" I meant more on the morality side of things.  That's what I hear, anyway, I've scarcely played or even seen much of Radiant Dawn.

3 hours ago, Francesca said:

The Blazing Blade's story isn't superior to the things written on a cereal box. It's about as bland as a fantasy story can get. 

Generic dragon btw 

This sounds like someone who just saw that the end boss was a random fire dragon and was like "end boss bad, therefore story boring".

That stupid dragon ain't the main antagonist of Blazing Sword, Nergal is.  You're confusing Blazing Sword with Shadow Dragon.

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1 minute ago, Ertrick36 said:

I don't think there's any question that what Eirika did was foolish and objectively a bad thing to do.

Also, by "questionable" I meant more on the morality side of things.  That's what I hear, anyway, I've scarcely played or even seen much of Radiant Dawn.

Oh. That's fair.

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