Quickly becoming my favorite series...

[otaku2255]

Hey all. I've been browsing this forum for months now (even made a few posts), but I figured I should jump in here to say hello.

After taking some time to travel the world, and having started a family along the way, my passion in gaming waned over the years. Not to sound snobbish, but I compared the time spent on games  with either intellectual pursuits or income-yielding endeavors, with those later two taking the forefront. I'm a writer, so self-motivating myself to write or edit can conflict with addicting hobbies. Anyway, aside from the Fire Pro Wrestling series (which is the only other forums I have visited over the years, aside from Reddit), I hadn't touched a game in years before a few months ago. I currently reside in Istanbul, Turkey (where I chair an English department), and the lockdown in a foreign country (and being stuck inside with two toddlers) began doing away at my mental health. I was thinking about buying a Switch because I was a massive RPG gamer in my younger years, but games are ridiculously overpriced in Turkey compared to the price of other goods (all electronics and cars are, actually). I decided to pick up a New 2DS XL instead, as it has a massive quality RPG haul, especially when combining the DS library and the modding capabilities opening up all consoles up to PS1. I quickly finished SMT 4 and Radiant Historia, both of which I greatly enjoyed, then replayed Chrono Trigger.

I had been hearing about and thinking about playing Fire Emblem for years. But I know with my addictive personality, it would begin a nearly never-ending loop. So I was debating whether to try Bravely Default or one of the FE games. After much research about where to jump into the series, I decided to try out FE7 and absolutely fell in love. It took me a little longer to finish then most other games, but I was playing blind and learning the mechanics and whatnot as I was going along. I then went into FE6 and FE8 at the same time, alternating between them (while also trying out Stella Glow on the native 3DS). I got about halfway into both before deciding to finish Shadow Dragon DS first, feeling I had a decent understanding of the series and wanting to experience the series from its first incarnation (albeit a remake). I finished it a few days ago and have gotten back into FE6 now. I plan on finishing FE8 next, then Echoes: SoV, New Mystery, and then Awakening. This modded 3DS is a brilliant device, having access to nearly all the FE games on one machine (I even got TearRing Saga to work on the PS1 emulator). I got a decent computer, so I can even play FE9 and 10 there. I just gotta get a Switch now to have all games accessible to me (maybe in a few months).

I appreciate this community for its love of the series that is quickly becoming my favorite video game series. The mods/hacks/translations, discussion, tier lists (which I try to avoid until I beat a game), etc are brilliant ways to enhance the replay value of the games as well (not like it's impossible to drop 150+ hours on a vanilla FE game anyway). I also don't feel as if I'm "wasting time" when playing Fire Emblem, as the strategy is akin to chess in many ways, making me think many moves ahead (at least for the harder games/difficulties). Anyway, look forward to engaging with you all whenever I have something to offer.

TL; DR: Began playing FE7 over lockdown on my modded 3DS. Fell in love with the series. Can't imagine playing anything else but Tactics RPGs for the foreseeable future.

[Sooks]

Welcome to the forest! You remind me of me when I started fe but with access to a good computer and most of the series.

Edited February 2, 2021 by Sooks

[nedya]

Welcome to the holy forest happy to see a someone turn into a FE fans taiking about it hope you play three houses some day ( seen like your a madled who can do all paths of fates and said three houses)

[Ycine]

Welcome to the Forest, Otaku2255!

Well, it looks like you got completely hooked. Glad you liked the series!

Have a nice day and keep enjoying your stay!

[eclipse]

Do you like FE because it's a SRPG, or because of the setting?  Because. . .tee-hee~!

Anyway, welcome~!  Don't forget to read the rules and all~!

(end generic greeting)

Edited February 2, 2021 by eclipse

[null]

Welcome to the Forest. Glad to have you here!

I see someone else discovered FE through use of a modded 3DS. Nice.

[otaku2255]

Thank you all for the kind welcomes! Can't wait to try out Three Houses, but I'm still having a blast with the older games.

On 2/2/2021 at 9:47 PM, eclipse said:

Do you like FE because it's a SRPG, or because of the setting?  Because. . .tee-hee~!

Honestly, I love the tactical elements. It feels like every movement carries weight and mistakes will seriously cost you. I played and loved Final Fantasy Tactics when I was younger, and while it wasn't the easiest ride, I didn't feel it to be as punishing to mistakes as the FE series is. I think this adds a ton to FE's playability.

I've been looking at playing the XCOM games, so it's not necessarily about the setting. I'd actually LOVE to see a historically accurate game with some of FE's gameplay elements. Being as I have been studying Middle Eastern/Balkan history while in Turkey, a game that plays like Fire Emblem but deals with the conquest of Constantinople/Istanbul would be a dream come true for me. Most of the historical games I've played are RTS. I have loved the Civilization series in the past as well. Something that combined FE/Advance Wars/Civilization would probably be the only thing I played if it became a reality.

[Benice]

Heck, I missed this one by three days....

Uh, welcome to the forest! We hope that you'll have a great stay!

Edited February 5, 2021 by Benice

[eclipse]

9 hours ago, otaku2255 said:

Thank you all for the kind welcomes! Can't wait to try out Three Houses, but I'm still having a blast with the older games.

Honestly, I love the tactical elements. It feels like every movement carries weight and mistakes will seriously cost you. I played and loved Final Fantasy Tactics when I was younger, and while it wasn't the easiest ride, I didn't feel it to be as punishing to mistakes as the FE series is. I think this adds a ton to FE's playability.

I've been looking at playing the XCOM games, so it's not necessarily about the setting. I'd actually LOVE to see a historically accurate game with some of FE's gameplay elements. Being as I have been studying Middle Eastern/Balkan history while in Turkey, a game that plays like Fire Emblem but deals with the conquest of Constantinople/Istanbul would be a dream come true for me. Most of the historical games I've played are RTS. I have loved the Civilization series in the past as well. Something that combined FE/Advance Wars/Civilization would probably be the only thing I played if it became a reality.

If you don't mind emulating, or you're lucky, see if you can get your hands on Yggdra Union.  That's a SRPG where a misstep will cost you, greatly.  The story's something to think about, too.  And you can question why one character likes whips and chains (something that is never explained).

For something a little more action oriented, there's Codename: S.T.E.A.M., which attempts an American historical twist.  With hilarious results, story-wise.  Gameplay can get a little headache-inducing, though.

Banner Saga requires more positioning shenanigans, since you can hit your allies with your attacks.  There's also random events between maps.

And lastly, I'm plugging the Super Robot Wars series, since I'm playing it right now.  It's easy if you know how to break the game, but I think it's 1RN hit, which makes for some serious hilarity (I wrote an entire fic partially to complain about that).

[otaku2255]

On 2/6/2021 at 8:29 AM, eclipse said:

If you don't mind emulating, or you're lucky, see if you can get your hands on Yggdra Union.  That's a SRPG where a misstep will cost you, greatly.  The story's something to think about, too.  And you can question why one character likes whips and chains (something that is never explained).

For something a little more action oriented, there's Codename: S.T.E.A.M., which attempts an American historical twist.  With hilarious results, story-wise.  Gameplay can get a little headache-inducing, though.

Banner Saga requires more positioning shenanigans, since you can hit your allies with your attacks.  There's also random events between maps.

And lastly, I'm plugging the Super Robot Wars series, since I'm playing it right now.  It's easy if you know how to break the game, but I think it's 1RN hit, which makes for some serious hilarity (I wrote an entire fic partially to complain about that).

- For Yggdra Union, I assume the PSP version is better than the GBA version? I can emulate the PSP on my PC or the GBA on my 3DS. I've considered getting a Vita as well, as there seems to be a plethora of SRPGs for PSP/Vita. I wouldn't mind playing through the enhanced ports of FFT and Tactics Ogre as well.

- Codename: S.T.E.A.M. seems interesting as it's also developed by IS. I'll give it a whirl even though it seems more run-n-gun than tactics. It looks like an evolution of the Battalion Wars system.

- I love the look of the Banner Saga games. I can play them on my PC but I'd probably hold off until I got my hands on a Switch.

- SRW... man, that looks more daunting to get into than FE did. Which games in particular would you recommend? Not all of them have proper English translations and/or patches. The one for the 3DS (UX) seems to garner a lot of praise, but there hasn't been a proper patch for it. I also see that a new patch has been released for a PS2 title (which is a remake of the GBA games, if I understood correctly). It looks to me like Fire Emblem + Gundam. Is that a fair accessment? Anything like the Front Mission games, then (besides the anime crossover element)?

- Any opinions on the Langrisser and Shining Force series'? I've been eyeing those as FE-likes to run through in between mainline FE games. I might hold off on Langrisser to play the updated port of the first two on the Switch, but I could play most of the SF series now.

One of the benefits to taking a nearly decade-long break to gaming is that a lot of what is considered "old" or "outdated" to modern gamers is still new and exciting for me. The last time I was serious about gaming was midway into the 360/PS3 era. I had a 360 and played through a ton of those titles, then I bought a Wii and got much more casual, then I completely fell out of favor with gaming as I realized that the industry moved away from turn-based games. Glad they've had a resurgence of sorts.

[eclipse]

9 hours ago, otaku2255 said:

- For Yggdra Union, I assume the PSP version is better than the GBA version? I can emulate the PSP on my PC or the GBA on my 3DS. I've considered getting a Vita as well, as there seems to be a plethora of SRPGs for PSP/Vita. I wouldn't mind playing through the enhanced ports of FFT and Tactics Ogre as well.

PSP is cleaner and makes more sense (also SLIGHTLY rebalanced, and by that, I mean the status-effect cleanser is a decent filler card instead of utterly useless).  GBA is only if you want to take advantage of a couple of glitches.

9 hours ago, otaku2255 said:

- I love the look of the Banner Saga games. I can play them on my PC but I'd probably hold off until I got my hands on a Switch.

I'm not sure how the controls are on the Switch.  But I dropped one game ported to the Switch because the controls were mapped badly.

9 hours ago, otaku2255 said:

- SRW... man, that looks more daunting to get into than FE did. Which games in particular would you recommend? Not all of them have proper English translations and/or patches. The one for the 3DS (UX) seems to garner a lot of praise, but there hasn't been a proper patch for it. I also see that a new patch has been released for a PS2 title (which is a remake of the GBA games, if I understood correctly). It looks to me like Fire Emblem + Gundam. Is that a fair accessment? Anything like the Front Mission games, then (besides the anime crossover element)?

I'm a story sucker, and have a PS4.  You'll need to import those games, but IMO it's well worth it.  V has a stellar story but the translation leaves something to be desired (some Ace bonuses are translated improperly).  X has Grandis, who single-handedly carries both the story and the cast by her mere existence (alas, the Gratan isn't exactly going to destroy the world).  I have no idea what T is trying to accomplish with its story, but the translation is smoother.  Of these, X was my intro to this era, and it did a damn good job of it.  I wouldn't recommend V as a first game, because someone's mistranslated Ace bonus is extremely important.  T's issue is that going back to V/X will be difficult, since the control scheme was changed (JP/America has a different control layout, and I don't think it's possible to change that within the game).

SRW is more like FE Casual Mode with giant robots.  The PS4 games have a tutorial that will introduce you to the core concepts.  For early-mid game, most of your guys can take a hit or three (yes, even the tiny ones).  Don't worry about blowing up the majority of the cast, they'll come back~!

And lastly, you can pause mid-battle by choosing Suspend.  You'll get a funny skit out of it, and you don't have to know the characters to appreciate the humor (because getting yelled at by a superior officer for reading manga on the job is relatable).  You only have one Suspend slot, but you can reload that data as many times as you want.  Great for save-scumming~!

If you don't have a PS4, I'm playing through SRW J (GBA) with an unofficial translation patch.  It's relatively gentle, and the translation patch is pretty good.

9 hours ago, otaku2255 said:

- Any opinions on the Langrisser and Shining Force series'? I've been eyeing those as FE-likes to run through in between mainline FE games. I might hold off on Langrisser to play the updated port of the first two on the Switch, but I could play most of the SF series now.

Haven't played either, sorry!

[Benice]

Speaking of FE-like games, I'd recommend Berwick Saga (PS2, But it's Japan exclusive so you'll need the translation patch) in an instant; it's unique, has a great story and has the best gameplay in any SRPG I've played.

Edited February 7, 2021 by Benice

[otaku2255]

17 hours ago, eclipse said:

I'm not sure how the controls are on the Switch.  But I dropped one game ported to the Switch because the controls were mapped badly.

Which game? I'm a writer and teacher. Being in lockdown, I've spent all of my working time glued to a computer chair for these last 11 months. While my PC can run a ton of games, I'd rather play something where I can lay in bed or on the couch. It would be good to know which games are worth avoiding on the Switch, as I have one on my radar for RPGs/SRPGs (and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3). Though I'm moving to a new apartment soon and will probably find a way to connect my PC to a TV in my new home office. That will probably mitigate some of my PC gaming concerns. As mentioned, I've been eyeing the XCOM games. I'll probably buy them this week as they're on a crazy sale right now, even if I don't get to play them for a while. I saw some videos of Star Wars mods for 2 and could not be more excited to try that out.

17 hours ago, eclipse said:

If you don't have a PS4, I'm playing through SRW J (GBA) with an unofficial translation patch.  It's relatively gentle, and the translation patch is pretty good.

I just checked my 3DS and it seems I have the patched versions of D and J (and R with a menu patch), as well as the two English releases (and A that hasn't been patched). Would you recommend J as a good starting point, then? I don't have a PS4 on hand. If it's easier than FE, it could be a good game to play in between grueling FE chapters. I was using Stella Glow for that when I first began FE6. I got about 15 hours into it and plan on finishing it as well.

15 hours ago, Benice said:

Speaking of FE-like games, I'd recommend Berwick Saga (PS2, But it's Japan exclusive so you'll need the translation patch) in an instant; it's unique, has a great story and has the best gameplay in any SRPG I've played.

I actually stumbled across this and TearRing Saga when I was doing my FE research. I've got them both downloaded and patched. TearRing Saga works on the 3DS. I played about an hour into Berwick Saga on my PC to make sure there were no game-breaking glitches (I know PS2 emulation is hit or miss). I really enjoyed what I saw. I'll get back into it when I finish a few more mainline-FE games.

What in particular makes you say it has the best SRPG gameplay you've played?

[Benice]

2 hours ago, otaku2255 said:

What in particular makes you say it has the best SRPG gameplay you've played?

I think it's overall the map design, (aside from a few bad maps, it's fantastic) and how unique each and every player unit is. I really liked the new mechanics and ideas it had as well. Almost everything in this game had a lot of thought put into it.

At least in my opinion, that is; plenty of people would disagree.

[Shadow Mir]

Welcome to Airport 1001.. Please remember to wake that slugabed up.

By the by, might I recommend playing the Project X Zone games?

[otaku2255]

On 2/8/2021 at 6:51 PM, Benice said:

I think it's overall the map design, (aside from a few bad maps, it's fantastic) and how unique each and every player unit is. I really liked the new mechanics and ideas it had as well. Almost everything in this game had a lot of thought put into it.

At least in my opinion, that is; plenty of people would disagree.

Two things stuck out to me that I'm not sure how I feel about yet: the hexagonal grid and the turn order. After playing Fire Emblem almost exclusively for a few months, I've found that I much prefer the method of moving all of your troops and then the enemy moving all of theirs, instead of the usual speed ranking affecting the turn order. I mean, I grew up playing SRPG games that featured a speed-based turn order, so it's not a total deal breaker. What's your take on this? Berwick Saga seems to be a true diversion from FE, although it appears Kaga returned to his tried and true system for Vestaria Saga.

5 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

Welcome to Airport 1001.. Please remember to wake that slugabed up.

By the by, might I recommend playing the Project X Zone games?

Thanks for the welcome! I've got those two games and the SMT Devil Survivor games on my radar (as well as Pokemon Conquest as I was huge into Pokemon before). There are quite a few characters in the Project X Zone games that really interest me, but Ryo Hazuki has me amped. And no, I'd not like to try a round of Lucky Hit.

Edited February 9, 2021 by otaku2255

[Benice]

19 hours ago, otaku2255 said:

What's your take on this?

I really like both. Well, at least the turn system. Hexes work just fine, but I am ambivalent to them. I think one of the things I liked the most about Berwick (Aside from the story) was the difficulty curve; the first two chapters are easy, introductory chapters, and it gradually grows more difficult and grand until the endgame.  The turn system really shines (IMO) as the game goes on, but that is just my opinion.

[eclipse]

On 2/8/2021 at 2:56 AM, otaku2255 said:

Which game? I'm a writer and teacher. Being in lockdown, I've spent all of my working time glued to a computer chair for these last 11 months. While my PC can run a ton of games, I'd rather play something where I can lay in bed or on the couch. It would be good to know which games are worth avoiding on the Switch, as I have one on my radar for RPGs/SRPGs (and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3). Though I'm moving to a new apartment soon and will probably find a way to connect my PC to a TV in my new home office. That will probably mitigate some of my PC gaming concerns. As mentioned, I've been eyeing the XCOM games. I'll probably buy them this week as they're on a crazy sale right now, even if I don't get to play them for a while. I saw some videos of Star Wars mods for 2 and could not be more excited to try that out.

It's not a SRPG, and it involves going to a brothel for stress-relief (among other things).  I like the concepts behind the gameplay, but due to that, the wonky controls made it nigh-unplayable for me.  Alas, I can't remember the title, but someone did a Let's Play of it a year ago or so.

On 2/8/2021 at 2:56 AM, otaku2255 said:

I just checked my 3DS and it seems I have the patched versions of D and J (and R with a menu patch), as well as the two English releases (and A that hasn't been patched). Would you recommend J as a good starting point, then? I don't have a PS4 on hand. If it's easier than FE, it could be a good game to play in between grueling FE chapters. I was using Stella Glow for that when I first began FE6. I got about 15 hours into it and plan on finishing it as well.

J is. . .exploitable.  As in, once you figure out the AI logic, it either becomes too easy or absolutely hilarious.  It's not bad if you want to steamroll things IMO, even if the pilot customization is really clunky.  A few maps have weird conditions, so be mindful of those!  The general rule of SRW is that the main character of a given series is good, at absolute worst.  At best. . .they break the damn game in half by themselves (hello Setsuna from V).