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Would You Want A Horror Themed FE Game


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I'm guessing this is more of a concept, but I don't have the skill to make a hack

So I've had this idea in my head for a while, what if we had a horror themed Fire Emblem game

My inspiration for this comes from me having played Magic, and I got the idea from the world of Innistrad

here's my idea for a premise

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You and a group of soldiers are traveling at night under a full moon, under a mission from the church, you and your group are inquisitors heading to a manor outside of town. The goal is to arrest a suspected ghoul caller (Someone who raises zombies from the dead), your group is prepared and equipped to fight the undead that the ghoulcaller has undoubtedly prepared for the inquisitors. Once you and your group have arrived the manor, and have opened the gates and proceed inward, the inquisitors are ready and prepared for an ambush from any side.

Your group is attacked, the zombies begin to approach from all side and the inquisitors begin the battle.

after defeating the ghouls, a large creature approaches the group, it's not the ghoul caller, it's another zombie, unlike the ones anyone has seen before it appears to be stitched together by several different bodies. The group struggles to destroy it and in are in great peril, then almost as it created itself from the shadows a knight in black armor standing 6'5 approaches the stitched ghoul and cuts it down only to disappear.  The inquisitors move forward questioning what they saw, but continued to go into the manor

While all that's going on

a group of hunters have set up a trap to capture a vampire who knows the location of a missing hunter. During the trap the hunters manage to capture the vampire but fall into his own trap, which ends up failing as the hunters were prepared for a potential ambush. They begin to interrogate the vampire after they found a remote location where they could begin prying information from him

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My gameplay idea would be to have the basic Bow, Sword, Lance, and Axe, along with Holy magic, Whips, and throwing knives

each character would have a stress meter, and would work like the stamina system in Thracia 776, where if a unit exceeded a number of actions higher than their HP they couldn't be used in the next chapter. However, the main characters would have a rally skill they can use in battle that could lower their stress total

Each character would have an enemy they have trouble fighting and would have a lower damage and hit total while in combat with one of them, and attacking one would add 1 more point to their stress

As well as having an enemy type they which would grant them a hit and damage increase when they attacked an enemy they were good at fighting, however they would still get a point of stress

The main characters have a natural ability where units within a certain range of them don't get stress points 

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so, what do you all think?

 

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As an avid played of both Fire Emblem and MTG, I think this is a really sick idea.  An FE game with an Innistrad or Castlevania feel to it is such a cool concept, and opens up for a lot of opportunities that other FE games haven't explored.  New enemy types, classes, and weapon types are just some of those things.  I also love your idea on having a "Stress Meter", as it fits the theme really well.  I'm also a big fan of the stamina mechanic in general.  I would love if somehow an angel could get incorporated into the story, either as an enemy type or even a playable character, just like in actual Innistrad.  A playable Angel class could be pretty cool, with a flying unit who wields Lances and Holy Magic.

Anyways, I'd play this game in a heartbeat.

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1 hour ago, Captain Karnage said:

Innistrad

You officially have my attention.
Dark Mages would be even more interesting due to the different takes on Necromancy in the Plane - Blue Mages' Stitchers and Black Mages' Ghoulcallers make for an easy Master Seal Class Tree. You could even make a story event out of that, with the common people's reaction to interacting with your group changing based on how many of your Units have 'dirtied their hands with Dark Magic' or the like.
This just gets better when you get Shadows Over Innistrad/Eldritch Moon involved - the potential plot twists, heheh...

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Awakening should have had a horror theme to it because of the future being a zombie apocalypse and all but whatever. Yeah FE should have some horror themes in it, in the vein of either Robert E. Howard's sword and socerery stories (Worms of the Earth or An Open Window) or Clark Aston Smith's cycle stories (The Ice Demon or The Dark Eidolon). 

Edited by Wraith
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i love Castlevania-ish atmospheres in videogames, so i'd be down for a FE game with the same horror feeling

although i don't like when in FE your main opposing force is an army of brainless beasts or whatever, it just feels boring to me

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8 hours ago, Captain Karnage said:

You and a group of soldiers are traveling at night under a full moon, under a mission from the church, you and your group are inquisitors heading to a manor outside of town. The goal is to arrest a suspected ghoul caller (Someone who raises zombies from the dead), your group is prepared and equipped to fight the undead that the ghoulcaller has undoubtedly prepared for the inquisitors. Once you and your group have arrived the manor, and have opened the gates and proceed inward, the inquisitors are ready and prepared for an ambush from any side.

This sounds really interesting. Maybe the main enemies of the game (as the boss of each chapter) could be a cult of individuals involved in different types of black magic or summoning (ghosts, goblins, beasts, zombies, werewolves?, etc.) to give some variety. 

Or instead of having horror-themed enemies, give the game a Majora’s Mask vibe by having it take place in some twisted world in the Outrealms where the people of the world you’re in are descending into madness and violence due to some unknown dark force that must be stopped. I think having the world and NPCs have the creep factor instead of the enemies you’re fighting would give it a more unique tone since we’ve already had zombie-like enemies like Risen in Awakening and Faceless in Fates. Add to that limited resources and the stress meter you mentioned, and I think it would make for a very interesting FE game.

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I wouldn't mind a horror-style Fire Emblem, so long as it leaned more towards a Castlevania influence and not a gory Resident Evil/Dead Space/etc. influence. I think more of a "gothic horror/suspense" kind of a thing would work well. I don't think I'd want any kind of church/religious involvement, it'd predictably go to "ew religion corrupt" like a lot of RPGs tend to do and it's tiring, old, cliche and grating at this point. Beast units would be perfect for this, though, imagine actually having werewolves in your party.

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Horror and SRPG? Can you really blend the two together and play a map immersed in dread? Or is fear relegated to the cutscenes and story? "Immersive dread" is what come to mind when I think of horror video games, not that I've played any because I'm more quantitatively more chicken than KFC sells over Xmas.

Bleakness, darkness, post-apocalyptic, these aren't inherently scary I'd say, and I'm operating on horror = scary, but I'd be fine with them predominating in an FE. As I would gothic and copious amounts of fantasy undead done either in serious low fantasy or more cheery and colorful high fantasy.

Edited by Interdimensional Observer
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7 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Horror and SRPG? Can you really blend the two together and play a map immersed in dread? Or is fear relegated to the cutscenes and story? "Immersive dread" is what come to mind when I think of horror video games, not that I've played any because I'm more quantitatively more chicken than KFC sells over Xmas.

Bleakness, darkness, post-apocalyptic, these aren't inherently scary I'd say, and I'm operating on horror = scary, but I'd be fine with them predominating in an FE. As I would gothic and copious amounts of fantasy undead done either in serious low fantasy or more cheery and colorful high fantasy.

Making the game well-suited for ironman play would definitely help with the dread aspect.

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Yes. I'm very welcoming to  more interesting settings. It can work in a Gaslamp or Renaissance, dark fantasy set with a lot of suspense.  

Final Fantasy VII was first written as a detective story in which the  pieces are fixed together as the plot progress, and later it was adapted into sci fi, and is considered one of the best stories of the franchise. Fire Emblem could do something like that but reskinned into a historical fantasy 'horror' set.

On 5/21/2020 at 11:27 PM, Fire Emblem Fan said:

I wouldn't mind a horror-style Fire Emblem, so long as it leaned more towards a Castlevania influence and not a gory Resident Evil/Dead Space/etc. influence. I think more of a "gothic horror/suspense" kind of a thing would work well. I don't think I'd want any kind of church/religious involvement, it'd predictably go to "ew religion corrupt" like a lot of RPGs tend to do and it's tiring, old, cliche and grating at this point. Beast units would be perfect for this, though, imagine actually having werewolves in your party.

Also this. I wouldn't like to  fight mindless monsters most of the game, or another church is evil plot. Also please, not another vampire x humans cliche plot though I wouldn't mind vampires being playable characters and being a subplot if the story don't revolve around it. 

Edited by Mylady
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It would certainly go against the directions Fire Emblem has been taken in many ways. In its stories, comedic relief is never far away. L'Arachel in FE8, comedic supports in general (which have been a thing since FE6 introduced the unlockable convos), the villager banter in SoV. To achieve a feeling of immersive dread (to steal the @Interdimensional Observer's term), the writers would have to cut down on that dramatically, I'd say.

And in terms of gameplay, I think it's important that the player feels like things can go south at any point, but not so far that one wrong decision can ruin the entire playthrough. Fire Emblem is, in theory, made for this kind of gameplay, with perma-death and ambush spawns. But at the same time, recent games have made "reloading" after a death much faster and less punishing with Mila's turnwheel and equivalent mechanics. I'm kinda looking at Darkest Dungeon here (*points shamelessly at the Let's Play forum*) as a game that enforces both perma-death and ironman. Losing a good character isn't as punishing as losing, say, Vanessa in Sacred Stones, because they're less unique and you get an endless supply of new characters to replace them. But at the same time, you've invested in your characters, they may have a great combination of traits, or you're just attached to them because the scored a clutch crit against a boss, so losing one is still an actual threat.

Looking at FE's history, this seems like what Shadow Dragon was trying to do, although not to create a horror atmosphere. Very bland non-Marth characters, the prologue, the gaiden requirements, and endless replacement characters basically scream at the player not to reset for Green Haired Archer or That Cav Guy.
And most people, myself included, hated it. To the point where New Mystery retconned the whole gaiden situation (Marth knows all the gaiden characters, but nobody died) and reverted all of Marth's character development in SD.

Which is interesting, because I genuinely believe that the concept - turnbased tactical combat with individual units, centered around positioning on a grid-based map - would work with what I've described here. I would guess that it's because the "Fire Emblem" title will always raise specific expectations - some of which seem diametral to everything I just said. I'll go with a bit of a cop-out answer and say that I know that a turn-based tactical horror game can work very well, think that it would still work with Fire Emblem's basic mechanical concepts, but don't think that it should be integrated into the FE series, since it would have very little to do with what that series is all about, despite similar mechanics.

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2 hours ago, ping said:

I'll go with a bit of a cop-out answer and say that I know that a turn-based tactical horror game can work very well, think that it would still work with Fire Emblem's basic mechanical concepts, but don't think that it should be integrated into the FE series, since it would have very little to do with what that series is all about, despite similar mechanics.

So in condensed language, a horror Fire Emblem could work in gameplay. Just don't name it "Fire Emblem".

Sounds like a job for SRPG Maker/Kickstarter then. Shadowflame Logo it is. Because nobody will assume Shadowflame Logo is about eternal bonds with your characters and reset on death is expected, because Shadowflame Logo is not modern (as in post-6 at the latest barring 11) Fire Emblem, it's its own brand.

I don't consider this a cop-out. Because fans can be resistant to change on things they come to love. The alternative would be to label "horror FE" a spinoff, which isn't certain to be judged independently just because you call it that.

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Stress Mechanic: As is, I don't like it. Fatigue is interesting and all but the initial pitch makes it sound like this obnoxious thing you'd constantly be keeping characters near your lord to mitigate. An interesting theme for a mechanic but it would need to function differently.

Gothic Horror Theme: It sounds fascinating, but I don't think it would suit Fire Emblem. @ping once brilliantly observed how Fire Emblem was originally built around ironmans, but that hasn't really been the case since FE3. Not only would this aesthetic not suit Fire Emblem because these games have been built with the assumption you'll reset when a unit dies, but also because Fog of War is not present on every map. If you want real, roguelike-esque tension in your gameplay to suit the tense atmosphere of shadowy cursed castles, you'd need a lot more hidden things than Fire Emblem does. Enemies hidden behind closed doors and in the shadows, mandating caution. Even the fact that the maps are the same each reset / playthrough can mitigate that feelings- perhaps why gothic horror works better for roguelikes.

Shadowflame Logo: Lame Name^TM, but the best way to go about such an idea.

Whips: I liked the Fates weapon triangle, so adding more weapon types and incorporating them into such a thing would be neat, provided they were meaningfully different.

Story: Facing generic monsters or a corrupt church would be a bit cliche, well put by @Fire Emblem Fan. I think it the plot of such a game could work fine if it was about intrigue concerning evil wizards or something which is plain, but functional rather than merely subversive.

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1 hour ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Story: Facing generic monsters or a corrupt church would be a bit cliche, well put by @Fire Emblem Fan. I think it the plot of such a game could work fine if it was about intrigue concerning evil wizards or something which is plain, but functional rather than merely subversive.

I never mentioned a corrupt church, I was thinking along the lines of having a church that supports the main cast and is what's holding the continent together supporting the inquisitors and hunters

On 5/21/2020 at 3:56 AM, Yexin said:

i love Castlevania-ish atmospheres in videogames, so i'd be down for a FE game with the same horror feeling

although i don't like when in FE your main opposing force is an army of brainless beasts or whatever, it just feels boring to me

I was thinking of having a mix of fighiting necromances and sitichers with their zombies and stitched zombies

vampires being a more traditional army

and werewolves which will need to be taken care of quickly before they transform, they'll fight like normal soldiers until their transformation gauge fills in (maybe have a playable werewolf or two)

On 5/21/2020 at 10:00 AM, NinjaMonkey said:

If I want to play a horror game, I'd play a game better suited to it such as Resident Evil, not Fire Emblem.

never said it was a horror game, just had horror themes

On 5/21/2020 at 9:27 PM, Fire Emblem Fan said:

I wouldn't mind a horror-style Fire Emblem, so long as it leaned more towards a Castlevania influence and not a gory Resident Evil/Dead Space/etc. influence. I think more of a "gothic horror/suspense" kind of a thing would work well. I don't think I'd want any kind of church/religious involvement, it'd predictably go to "ew religion corrupt" like a lot of RPGs tend to do and it's tiring, old, cliche and grating at this point. Beast units would be perfect for this, though, imagine actually having werewolves in your party.

Werewolves would be fun

though, in my mind I want the church to be the good guys, they help support the people fighting monsters and keep the humans safe

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On 5/24/2020 at 12:47 AM, Captain Karnage said:

I never mentioned a corrupt church, I was thinking along the lines of having a church that supports the main cast and is what's holding the continent together supporting the inquisitors and hunters

though, in my mind I want the church to be the good guys, they help support the people fighting monsters and keep the humans safe

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that was what you were looking for, but that it would be a likely direction for the story if this was made into a real game.

I'm all for treating monsters as monsters. If you wanted to have a customization system like Three Houses, a church would make a good base of operations. There are actually a lot of interesting ways of handling the cast that would thematically fit with this international religious organization fighting against monsters.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I like this idea! Here's one "horror cliche" that could actually work well, I think, with existing Fire Emblem mechanics: when your units die, they can show up again in later chapters as "Zombies", potentially with "zombified" portraits. They keep their inventory, skills, stats (well in some cases, they get auto-leveled up). You can save them, but only by defeating them with a very rare kind of holy magic. I think this could really hammer in the notion of "the horrors of war", by not letting you (the player) forget your own mistakes.

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2 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I like this idea! Here's one "horror cliche" that could actually work well, I think, with existing Fire Emblem mechanics: when your units die, they can show up again in later chapters as "Zombies", potentially with "zombified" portraits. They keep their inventory, skills, stats (well in some cases, they get auto-leveled up). You can save them, but only by defeating them with a very rare kind of holy magic. I think this could really hammer in the notion of "the horrors of war", by not letting you (the player) forget your own mistakes.

Not a bad idea. It reminds me, slightly, of Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume. If you go down the bad path, then in the final battle Lenneth will bring everyone you sacrificed as Einherjars to fight against you.

 

'Plume has a couple ideas a "horror FE" may wish to consider- albeit very childishly edgy ones.

  • For one, every battle has a Sin quota which you're shown from the start. You earn 1 Sin for every 1% of enemy's Max HP you deal after you've dropped their HP to 0, capping out at 100 Sin per enemy. Overkill is always a good thing, and you're encouraged to weaken enemies to low HP before dealing excessive damage,
    • If the Sin quota is met for a battle, you earn rewards. If you earn 150% or better double the Sin requirement, you get more rewards.
    • If the Sin quota is not met for a battle, the next fight will have a Realmstalker added to it- an extremely strong enemy. You get a useless trophy if you kill one, but this is punishment for your prior failure to acquire enough Sin.
  • Wylfred the main character gets the titular Plume in the game's intro fights. The power of the Plume is the power of sacrifice- pick a character you've recruited and fill them beyond the brim with Hel's dark might.
    • From this, Wylfred will permanently gains a new and powerful... lets say White Magic in FE3H terms, and each character provides a unique spell.
    • And more significantly, the sacrificed character will not die right away, all their stats will skyrocket for the current battle. By how much? Gilbert or Lorenz, it wouldn't matter, they'd be able to solo 3H Chapter 5 on Maddening. You're treated to a scene where the life fades out of them once the battle is over.
    • As a bonus, the sacrifice provides Sin equal to the quota as well.
    • It's worth noting the VP: CotP cast is a lot smaller than FE, and you can only sacrifice characters who have permanently joined b/c they trust Wylfred, "guests" that you can control can't be sacrificed.
  • These two mechanics of the Plume and Sin have some interaction.
    • If you fail to earn enough Sin to reach the minimum requirement for a fight, the menacing Realmstalker in the next fight will heavily encourage you to Plume someone to counter it.
    • However! CotP is very strict with its three routes- if you sacrifice one character (besides the tutorial sacrifice), you're locked out of the Best Route and forced into the Neutral Route. If you sacrifice two characters or more, Wylfred becomes very cold with a hint of DC Joker and you're locked into the Bad Route.
    • And even if you've resigned yourself to the Bad Route, you can't sacrifice everyone not-Wylfred. Sure it'd be bad idea to have him solo maps, but the other problem is if you sacrifice too many people, the goddess Freya will descend from the heavens with 9999 in every stat and whoop your edgelord arse into a Game Over.
    • So, unless you enjoy fighting absurdly powerful enemies, meet the Sin quota every time via overkill. If you don't, you absolutely risk softlocking yourself into an unwinnable Bad Route save file b/c you've already sacrificed all you safely can and the next time will incur Freya's wrath.
    • Therefore, you're given strong incentive not to sacrifice at all. So the Plume mechanic is a bit of waste, FE could do better than it.
Edited by Interdimensional Observer
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On 6/28/2020 at 12:33 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I like this idea! Here's one "horror cliche" that could actually work well, I think, with existing Fire Emblem mechanics: when your units die, they can show up again in later chapters as "Zombies", potentially with "zombified" portraits. They keep their inventory, skills, stats (well in some cases, they get auto-leveled up). You can save them, but only by defeating them with a very rare kind of holy magic. I think this could really hammer in the notion of "the horrors of war", by not letting you (the player) forget your own mistakes.

On 6/28/2020 at 2:41 PM, Interdimensional Observer said:

Not a bad idea. It reminds me, slightly, of Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume. If you go down the bad path, then in the final battle Lenneth will bring everyone you sacrificed as Einherjars to fight against you.

Or, more directly, the Deadlords.

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8 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Or, more directly, the Deadlords.

Fair point, I haven't beaten Thracia, but I understand that some of the Deadlords can be based on deceased party members. This would be somewhat similar, but with their reappearance occuring before the endgame, and the possibility to bring them back (like the Aum staff).

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