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Favorite Endgames in the series


SubwayBossEmmett
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Hey I think Endgames in Fire Emblem are very interesting things and I feel like they can really serve to inhance an entire experience with a proper send off as a final challenge or to finish off a story. 

So I'm curious what eveeyone’s favorite Endgame maps are why they are whether it be for challenge/music/story/aesthetics.  

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Would future past 3 count as a “endgame”?

cause that one is probably my favorite cause of how it really expands on awakening’s story as well as being a decent challenge in it of itself. I love everything about that DLC map. The music, the writing, the characters, the atmosphere, the challenge. Everything is just done so well

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I love the endgame in Shadows of Valentia, because it is an actual playable map instead of just a room with a final boss in it, like say, Sacred Stones or Fates Revelation. It doesn't throw any BS gimmicks at you like Conquest's endgame, it's just your army against a deranged, one-eyed dragon and his deranged followers, two-eyed (I think) followers. It also includes the map gimmicks you've already seen, that being a map-wide attack that takes off HP based on percentage, and enemies summoning Witches/monsters, so you have to be watchful of the number and positioning of the enemies to succeed, which I absolutely enjoy.

Also, the map theme is Twilight of the Gods, which is one of the greatest final map themes in the franchise for me.

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Conquest's for being the most interesting genuine challenge, and Radiant Dawn's for having the most interesting actual literal fight with the boss itself, not just the path to get to them. As in, Radiant Dawn is the only game where it actually seems like a genuine, massive task to take down an overpowering menace. Three Houses' monster system came close to accomplishing something similar, but I wasn't impressed with the one final boss battle of that game I've actually played.

Edited by Alastor15243
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Well, I won't just say a boss because I feel like that should be a different discussion.

I think it'd be between Genealogy's endgame or Blazing Sword's.  In Genealogy, you basically round up all the big antagonistic figures - all the leaders of the noble houses that oppose you - and go through their gauntlets to face off against Julius himself and his dread lords, while also having to deal with a possessed Julia attempting to kill you and Arion trying to intercept you while you're busy with everything else.  In Blazing Sword, you face off against powered up versions of the various dead Black Fangs as basically a final send-off for the once noble assassination gang before taking down the man responsible for their downfall and all the suffering your characters went through up to that point.

Genealogy's endgame isn't the most challenging, and the fight against generic fire dragon in Blazing Sword would be the most forgettable thing in the game if it wasn't literally the last fight in the game (and I just love those utterly worthless siege magic wielders who can't even reach you), but they're the endgames that stood out to me most.

Other endgames I've experienced are all Fates endgames, Awakening's endgame, Shadow Dragon's endgame, New Mystery's endgame, SoV's endgame, and the Crimson Flower endgame.  I'll say why those didn't stick out to me quite as much in the spoiler below.

Spoiler

For Fates, I admittedly have only ever reached each of them just once.  Birthright's could be one-shotted and Revelation's just felt like a watered down version of the final boss of Heirs of Fate.  And I had only really played Conquest's once, and while I do remember it in a lot of ways... I just didn't like that the end boss was literally just super-powered Takumi, and it was really gimmicky.  I feel Takumi being an end boss was just an excuse to have you fight a Hoshidan at the end of the game.

For Awakening, the music and the story element are really the only things I like about it.  Gameplay-wise, especially if you're a mad grinder like me, you could one-shot the boss by abusing Galeforce and Olivia's dancing.  And for that reason it's better to send in a Galeforce-equipped Lucina with another Galeforce-equipped unit so that you can tear through the initial layer of enemies guarding Grima's avatar and strike him down with Lucina's Parallel Falchion (because, while not as powerful as the Exalted Falchion, it still deals effective damage against Grima) in the same turn.

For Echoes... once again, I mostly just remember the music.  And I'll admit it's an epic score, but the gameplay of the game has never been anything to write home about and I've ragged on the game's story countless times.  I guess I do like the unique animation Alm does when he lands the final blow on Duma.

Shadow Dragon does actually have an interesting endgame, but for me it's marred by how forgettable the story is for me and also how easily you can cheese it with a simple warp staff.  Like, there's no reason to actually try to beat the map normally unless you're forbidding yourself from using warp staves.  And Medeus?  I honestly don't find him all that interesting, either as an antagonist or as a final boss.  I think I'd like him more if I got to experience the older versions of him, where he looked like a giant salamander instead of generic bearded dragon.

New Mystery is as interesting as generic fire dragon if generic fire dragon had four maidens surrounding it that you had to talk to with certain characters.  It's just a big-ass room with dragons coming at you, and once you blow through them it's Medeus and the ladies you have to deal with.  And when the girls are rescued or killed, Marth gets a scripted kill on Medeus.  And again, Medeus isn't all that interesting to me.

For Three Houses' Crimson Flower ending... it's less that it didn't stick out in my head and more that it's just too fresh in my memory for me to have proper thoughts on it.  If there's one thing I'll say, I feel like things are spread out too far on that map, and it felt kinda tedious.  I know, I could say that about Genealogy as well, but... I dunno.  Maybe it also stuck out less to me because I recruited everyone I could possibly recruit who'd appear there, so I was just left to fight Cyril, Catherine, and Gilbert, alongside of course Rhea herself.

 

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Thracia 776's final level is one of my favorites. The final boss is perhaps the most boring in the series, but the level is incredibly spooky and climactic. I also love how it makes every single one of your characters essential for victory.

I also love the final level(s) in Radiant Dawn. I consider the entire Tower of the Goddess to be the finale of that game, and boy does it deliver in excellent level design, climactic events, and a wrap-up to my favorite story in the series. 

Lastly, Shadows of Valentia's final level is possibly the most climactic final level in the franchise. That theme... so amazing.

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Counting all of its endgame act maps, Radiant Dawn. That was a deservedly epic finale.

 

The only aspect of this endgame that fails to impress is its overly stringest deployment requirements (way too many required units, some of whom are truly dead weight at this point). But I suppose that describes Radiant Dawn in its entirely. Great mechanics and epic scope with baffling unit deployment and balance decisions.

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Radiant Dawn's tower. It's not even close. Honestly, I just wish it was longer, and maybe a bit harder on hard. It just ends too soon!

I also really love Path of Radiance's endgame. Has a great aesthetic, charging straight through the castle gardens. 

As for endgame music, Twilight of the Gods and God Shattering Star. 

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6 minutes ago, Flere210 said:

I am reaally annoyed that in 3h they had the mechanics of multiple healt bars and no one tought of a Multi Phase final boss.

I kind of agree. Three Houses has the best boss fights in the franchise. It's just that when it came down to endgame maps, I had to give it to Radiant Dawn's tower. It truly went all out and gave pretty much every satisfying story conclusion and climactic scene that anyone could have hoped for.

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You know, I think Three Houses Golden Deer path has a pretty amusing endgame level. Not just straight go to the boss and kill him, but actually having objectives and things that change the layout of the level, probably to your advantage mostly. Luna is still very powerful, so it's not the most challenging one, but the battle was very entertaining.

But regarding of challenges, I have to give the trophy to Thracia. In most games you just use your MVPs and profit, here you use your best unit and it can still throw stuff at you to keep you anxious - you want to be quick and efficient. The final boss is not the problem, it's the opening the path to the final boss that is screwing you over. Also your party is split into 6, and you need to deal with Thracia formations - I swear I had a 10 minute brain session just with that. But it brought all together: had to utilize weapons, staves and skills as well to my advantage. You know that feeling when you are given a challenge, and the victory is just so satisfying, that's what Thracia final map was.

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Here are my favourite Endgame Maps:

1. Radiant Dawn. In terms of story, it is truly epic: the forces of Tellius ascend the tower, beating every major enemy to Tellius; starting with Lekain, and ending with Ashera. We get the big reveal about Sephiran, as well as the buildup to it in the form of the memories, which explain so much. This moment truly has all the epic feeling befitting the grand conclusion. And the gameplay... mostly lives up to that.

Selecting the team at the very beginning is great, as is the 5-part nature of the endgame. Each boss also has some cool gimmick thrown in that suits them well. The final part is also extremely good: having to destroy the barriers protecting Ashera, defeat the spirits of magic that appear, and ultimately fight Ashera herself is great. The main problems are mostly small issues with the maps and enemy placements. For instance, part 4 is just a square area with nothing to it. Because the spirits could move anywhere, I basically put all my units in a line in front of the heron and just moved them forward until enough enemies were cleared. In part 2, the Ike vs Black Knight solo aspect is great, but the map section that's everyone else leaves something to be desired. The other 3 maps, however, are good. 

2. Path of Radiance. Where Radiant Dawn's was more epic but suffers a little in maps and certain enemies, Path of Radiance is just a great all-rounder. There's good buildup thanks to Elincia and Ike's speeches. It's cool that the endgame happens in the Crimean Capital, when most FE endgames take place on the enemy's home turf. The map itself is good, as is the enemy placement. You really have to be strategic, especially if you're playing on Hard Mode and the best part happens...

Spoiler

Ashnard moves. He doesn't just stand up there, waiting for you to come to him.

I probably haven't described what's great about these two Endgames all that well. Oh well. 

I can, however, describe the worst aspects of my least favourite endgame map, as that might help illustrate why these two are so good by contrast. Here it is:

Awakening. The endgame fight is a cool concept: you fight the bad guy while standing on the bad guy's back as it's flying. But it is horribly executed.

For one thing, the map is extremely underutilized; it's easy to just send my best units straight to the boss and beat him in a couple turns without having to engage most of the enemies on Grima's back. Why? Also, the map is a hostile dragon's back; there is so much that could be done with that! Why does he never try to shake you off? Why does he never tilt to the side while flying?

Fighting Possessed-Robin is also not nearly as interesting as it could be. He has one cool attack, sure, but he has nothing protecting him; nothing that makes me wary of sending my units near him too soon. He's very underwhelming. 

By contrast, Radiant Dawn and Path of Radiance have the good maps and good enemy placements, they have the feeling of an epic conclusion, they make you have to be strategic, and defeating the final boss does not feel too easy. 

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Radiant Dawn final level is pretty good with a boss that's actually interesting to fight and having to utilize the tides of your dragons and keep everyone alive is fun. 

FE5 endgame also pretty good as it splits everyone into 6 groups of 3 (unable to set deployment slots to boot). You realize how capable your endgame units are and can take on most deadlords on their own outside of fake Galzus needing a sleep staff to pacify him. I wish the actual final boss was a bit more epic or not just a 1 round KO with any luna user with a brave weapon. It's also funny that you still have to seize the map.

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Endgame can have two meanings here. If we're talking they very last map in the game, then absolutely Thracia 776 for reasons others have stated. If we're talking about the last few maps, ie the later stages of gameplay, then probably Radiant Dawn (which calls its last five maps Endgame which really muddles my point). Mystery of the Emblem also has a rather decent end game (and also does what Radiant Dawn dies really muddling my point further) if you're not cheesing it with warp and renew.

Edited by Jotari
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If I can count Tear Ring Saga, that would have to be my favorite endgame. The way key parts of the story are still happening as you play the map, and having more than just one big boss to deal with, as there is a second major villain that teleports around the map ruining your day until you ruin hers (and an interesting story relevant boss quote you can find if you are paying attention to the stories of side characters), on top of dangerous mages and zombie dragons to deal with. If I have to restrict myself actual fire emblem games (without adding the Fire emblem in all but name that is Tear Ring Saga) I will go with FE4

As a whole it starts as a gauntlet of all the major remaining threats. The first castle is kinda boring, fairly generic bosses, and no major curve ball thrown in to get you warmed up. The second is a bit better, as the enemy assaults both your castles at once, and while Brian of Dozel isn't as boring as the last boss, we haven't really gotten to know him. The third is even better as we finally kill Queen Hilda of Friege, and she tries to setup an attack on two front with Scorpio's ambush, but it is too easy to cheese, you can trigger the ambush before aggroing Hilda's troops. The final castle has multiple bosses we have a history with, as Ishtar pushes in to attack us with her army, Arione appearing to attack our castles, with an option to make him a green unit with a story conversation, an evil Julia and optional objective to take Velthomer (and kill Manfloy early) and rerecruit Julia to make the Julius fight easier.

 

Edited by Eltosian Kadath
Terrible typo
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Sacred Stones, by far. Especially if you take Eirika's route, the ending is a lot more tragic in an already tragic game. Even after all this time, you didn't want to kill or confront Lyon, and yet... yeah. Sacred Stones for the win. 

RD is a second. The tower is excellent. (That's all I have to really say, is it?) 

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I really like the guantlet tower approach in Radiant Dawn and how each floor serve a purpose. I like the look of Revelations final map and I like how Anankos gets progressively tougher with each HP that has been taken down. Conquest is a tough one, but a fun one.

I'm happy as long as you are not Formotis or Grima levels of patheticly easy. Me typing this sentence took longer than my fight with Formotis.

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I feel like Binding Blade's true end is underrated as a climax. As far as tragic villains go, the gameplay tends to undermine the character arc, but in Idunn's case it's complementary. The "bad" ending meets the requirement of a challenging final boss, which is also complementary since you're facing the villain who has driven the plot.

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I am not a fan of PoE endgame because it fels flat when the "Human" villain ride a royal dragon laguz, wear an armor of invincibility and a magic amulet powered by the godess that give him a berserk mode. Wich really is one of the reasons why i consider Ashnard to be Discount Luca Blight.

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2 hours ago, Baldrick said:

I feel like Binding Blade's true end is underrated as a climax. As far as tragic villains go, the gameplay tends to undermine the character arc, but in Idunn's case it's complementary. The "bad" ending meets the requirement of a challenging final boss, which is also complementary since you're facing the villain who has driven the plot.

I agree, but I would have liked it if Yahn was threatening to compensate.

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