Your fond memories with your favorite or better-liked games? (spoilers)

[henrymidfields]

As the title says, what are your memories or highlights you had with your favorite games, or ones you had better enjoyment with? Maybe it's a title that (re-)introduced you to the franchise, or maybe you enjoyed one or several particularly hilarious/poignant/awesome moment(s). Or maybe it's something that wasn't even good, but had scenes that were so bad it was hilarious. Just for the record, I will allow spoilers in your posts.

Here are my take on it:

Spoiler

Binding Blade:

• I enjoyed how the maps were tightly integrated into the backstory of things. Particularly, the maps on the Western Isles pointedly depicted how much of a lawless land the settlements were, and conversations between the bosses, villagers, and bandits also showed how cruel and ruthless the colonial government was. This is something that I felt was missing in the newer games.
• The general difficulty (particularly with escorting Roy and fulfilling other objectives) actually helped me go through Fire Emblem in the long run, and helped me appreciate the art of careful planning. Because this was my first game in the franchise, my high expectations of the difficulty resulted in a series of pleasant surprises in other games. Particularly in Sacred Stones, I was really surprised that Axes were actually viable there.
• Clarine x Dieck: "What!? You have such a foul mouth...!" "Exactly. You don't want to be around someone like me, now, do you?" "...I will not be fooled. You are just trying to drive me away." "Geez, she's not cute at all... Are you really part of that family?" I just love how Clarine is both persistent and not easily fooled.

Shadow Dragon:

• Caeda is and always will be the ultimate poacher of mercenaries. The amount of recruitables she have, and some of the lines she uses gives me the impression of a tactful politician who can entice anyone to her side. This is hilariously awesome with characters like Navarre, who could just cut her down, yet decides to...I don't know, play along with her schemes?

Tokyo Mirage Sessions:

• The story was what got me interested into the Persona series, and I also appreciated how a few things broke the typical trend of what usually happens in FE. I like how Itsuki actually takes a back seat and how everyone actually get their stories. It clearly depicts everyone helping each other, and even implies in the game that the party's teamwork is what ultimately makes them and their Performa stronger as Mirage Masters. I think all future FE games should show more of individual units working together in cutscenes like Persona does. Sure, it'll require extra lines and extra time to write them, but as long as they do it properly, I'll be happy to wait for an extra few years on development. 

Crimson Flower Three Houses:

• I just loved the majority of the support conversations in this game. There were always something new I discovered about the characters or the society and the setting. I'd like to give special mention to both Mercedes and Silvain for their hidden depths, and their friendship not as much developing into a standard FE as more a form of a camaraderie based on longing for a better future.
• As much as there are room for improvements in her writing (and the writing of CF in general), I'm really glad that Edelgard's story is her own, and she dictates her own destiny. In general terms, Edelgard's show how Female Lords should generally be written - more equal and independent - not overshadowed by male lords like Micaiah or Naga forbid, Celica's. If Celica (and especially Alm) made me want to vow FE off my playing list for good, then Edelgard was the one who made me return. Finally, I also appreciate the narrative that reminds me of how post-Napoleonic Europe eventually became a continent for the people, as opposed to a continent of nobles. Or how Japan overthrew the Shogunate and modernised in the mid-to-late 19th Century. (Well, except for Japan's eventual siding with the colonizers...but that's another story for another day.)
• I know some people would not be a huge fan of this and it's understandable. However, also enjoyed having to look between the lines, and actually having to explore to get the entire story. It felt like I was a historian or an archaeologist trying to piece the evidences together - something that I used to do when I studied heritage conservation, and something that I hoping I can return to.

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by henrymidfields

[DoomRPG]

Hmm. Since I'm too busy dying of spicy food right about now. I think I'll just drop the most immediate bits that come to mind. Spoilers ahoy if any y'all give a damn.
 

Spoiler

Eliwood getting Durandal and killing Ninian without really trying.

Oh sure the weight and gravitas of the moment is shattered by the stupid, STUPID. Revive in the end. FE7 has its moments but it suffers terribly from Maeda's worst habits.

FE8: The final battle with TDK might be effortless no matter how many restrictions you slap yourself with or how hard you autopilot. But between Lyon's tragedy and the awesome design of TDK himself. I'd put it up in top 3 final battles when it comes to presentation in FE.

Fe9: Duel with Black Knight. I'm an omega Ike fanboi and this is the culmination of Ike's PoR character devolopment. One last duel to decide it all.
And its down to luck so kinda lame. I mean, fridge brilliance that BK is sandbagging so it kinda makes sense but. That's a retcon from the future (in the translation so also Non-canon.) Soooo yeaaaaaaah.

3H

The part 2 Monastary cutscene does a really great job displaying Dimitri's complete and total descent into avenging insanity. Especially the way he's slumped against the wall after off-screen culling a bunch of imperial redshirts. Then how he accuses Byleth of A. Being Dead. Then B. Being a spy. Complete paranoia, unable to see the truth.

I guess the other cutscenes (Besides SS lol) Aren't "Bad" I just think they made it seem like the part 2 characters where largely the same, which I guess is kinda the truth.

Its almost like Azure Moon had actual writers on its plot.
 

[Metal Flash]

Some moments I had

FE7: Seeing branches for the first time. It was a cool idea and at that time I had only seen the 3DS games map design, so it was

FE13: Seeing Tiki`s S-support with M!Robin. Still one of my favourites in the whole game. The art was the iceing on the cake.

Morgan`s supports with her family, they just made me happy with how wholesome they were.

Seeing Lon`qu and Cherche`s love talk L:"I love you. Don`t make me say it again" C:"I love yoy too, now say it again" Gave me a good laugh the first time I saw it.

FE14: Hinata and Felica`s supports, still one of my favourite pairs and their best support in my opinion.

FE15: The first time I saw Berkut. The voice, the theme, his design, the whole scene. So sad with how dissapointing he turned out.

[Samz707]

FE6: There was definitely a big charm to seeing Elibe again after FE7.

FE7: I got giddy when the Ballista was introduced.

FE13: I liked Frederick's first support with Robin about the Bear Meat I guess.

FE15: Exploring the Deliverance Tombs and breaking down cracked walls to hidden areas, I love that kind of exploration.

 

[defensedefumer]

 Conquest (my first Fire Emblem)
1) Defeating Fallen Takumi after a long struggle. I lost Arthur, Mozu and Odin before that, and Leo on the final stage. Being my first Fire Emblem game, it was my favourite and most memorable. I was also unused to the mechanics of the game, and subsequent play throughs got easier.

2) Watching Effie save Corrin multiple times. I paired up Corrin with Effie from the start, and enjoyed watching her protecting Corrin from Dual Strikes. In the end, Corrin just had to marry Effie.

3) Surviving the Port Dia stage on Hard. Even though the stage introduced Camilla and her retainers, I remember struggling to the end to keep the waves of Hoshidians away.

Birthright
Too unmemorable to comment.

Revelations
1) Death of Scarlet. That was a shocker, and I did not see it coming.

 Echoes
1) Watching Faye get rejected by Alm. Even Faye is a one-dimensional character, the support conversation really ingrained itself in my mind.

2) Fallen Celica's eyes were scary.

Three Houses (Blue Lions)
1) Bernadetta thinking to immolate Sylvain for reading her works. That was hilarious.

2) Mercedes cradling her brother as he dies.

3) Dorothea lamenting Ferdinand's death.

Heroes 
1) Drawing my first legendary, Legendary Tiki. At that time, she was the most amazing unit I kept using.

2) Beating a Tempest trial with the only four Camillas I had at that time. It was the first time I completed a trial with a self-imposed challenge.

 

[Seazas]

My first playthrough ever and seeing how much they changed the characters. The art upgrade will always stick to me as one of the biggest glow ups in gaming.

[Sidereal Wraith]

…When I was young and still had a childhood I remember playing/watching N64 classic like Star Fox 64 and Zelda OoT.

[DomesticHausCat]

Just had a big one yesterday. Was playing Three Houses with some friends watching who are familiar with the game. Was doing the Ingrid Dorothea Paralogue and I haven't used either Dorothea or Ingrid so they suck. There's a few ambush spawns in this map that were coming after Ingrid. Problem was I put Ingrid in a spot in which she couldn't escape! Two of my units in the area fortunately could take care of a couple of them. Had Raphael beat one of them, then sent Yuri to take out the second one. This second one had to be killed or Ingrid was doomed! Yuri attacks with a Levin Sword, hits once at 70ish percent. Then he misses with his second attack. Me and my buds were like "NOOOOO!" 

But then, it happened. 

Like a Deus Ex Machina moment from the cinema, these words formed in the corner of the screen: 

ADJUTANT FOLLOW UP ATTACK

Then Claude pops in with his bow, procs a swag crit and sends his arrow with flair into that sucker! Claude saved Ingrid in the nick of time and we didn't have to re do the map! 

Edited October 17, 2021 by DomesticHausCat

[kradeelav]

• FE7: playing this for long hours under the sheets with the DS when I was supposed to "be in bed" as a kiddo. :')  watching canas wreck everything with luna was always a delight in the later half.
• FE9 (first and favorite): lotta memories with this one but one in particular - requested this game as my first to play after a hip replacement. first time I felt normal / a human there after a long, long while.
• FE10: seeing Zihark again for the first time at the desert of death (after already being a mega-fan of his for the last three years before RD was released), and then slowly realizing that the game was so good to him, artwork, story, script and all. :')
• 3H: while CF was my favorite overall route (I romanced Hubert), in one of the other routes on maddening - I forget which paralogue specifically (it might be Petra/Bernie's) - there was a moment where Hubert (asshole!) basically surprise-appears on the map to laugh at you and i flipped my shit the first time it happened because I knew I couldn't (and wouldn't want to) defeat him there. So amazingly in character.