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I imagine the details weren't known, but surely "I'm conducting experiments on the soul of the devil" would have raised some red flags and stuck in the back of their minds.

Even if Eirika trusted Lyon, surely the stone would have been brought up as a possible impetus for the invasion. I doubt seriously the twins would be quick to forget that Lyon was effectively dealing with the devil -- that's hardly a casual conversation.

I don't see anything in the script that supports this. Ephraim and Eirika obviously didn't want Lyon to be involved, but they acted genuinely confused about the circumstances surrounding Grado's invasion and never, not once, brought up Lyon tampering with the devil himself as a possible explanation.

Up until the two branches merge, Eirika and Ephriam are incredulous about Lyon's involvement in the war. Why would he do this? Lyon loves peace! Is his father to blame? I hope Vigarde hasn't hurt his son! Why are we fighting Grado? etc. Yet after we learn about the secrets of the Dark Stone and Vigarde's resurrection, the game throws this flashback at us: To recap: just a couple of years prior to Grado's invasion of Renais, Lyon shared with Ephraim and Eirika that he was conducting experiments on a demonic talisman, a demonic talisman that housed the soul of humanity's greatest enemy and threat. The most respected bishop in Magvel opposes this research, and both Eirika and Ephraim voice concerns about Lyon's health and the forbidden magic he's studying. Add to this that both lords know the ancient stories about the Demon King. So are we really expected to believe Ephraim and Eirika couldn't piece two and two together? That they couldn't connect Dot A (research on the Demon King's soul) to Dot B (Grado aiming to destroy the Sacred Stones, which is exactly what the Demon King wants)? That strikes me as exceptionally weak writing. I'm wondering if there's something in the script I've missed (or support conversations, or villages, etc.) that resolves this tension.

Disappointing to hear the ranking requirements are lenient. I wonder if an A-Rank Reverse run would make for a good challenge.

I've heard that it does, but I can barely find any information about it. Unless I've overlooked something, there aren't any ranking tables on the Serenes FE12 page like there are for FE4, 5, 6, and 7. So what's the deal? What, if any, criteria are tracked? Are the rankings restrictive, or loose? Are there detailed tables out there?

One of the strengths of the Fire Emblem series is its emphasis on units as valuable individuals, not cannon fodder. This uniqueness comes to the fore not only through support conversations, but also through gameplay: Matthew has personality not only as a character, but also as a frail thief; Gilliam has personality not only as a character, but also as a slow, stout tank. It takes me out of the experience to see Kellam as an assassin, or the proud Panne using a wyvern mount, or the shy Olivia chopping enemies up as a swordmaster. Yes, these class branches are optional. I'd gladly sacrifice customization for cohesion. Sacred Stones got this system exactly right. Its small cast is a strength: each unit gets a fair amount of screen time, each unit is well-developed, and each unit is mostly indispensable. Trainees aside, you're only getting one knight, one troubadour, one mage, one monk, one wyvern rider, one mercenary... if you're careless in battle, you're losing more than just a personality. Furthermore, the branching path system conforms to each character's identity. While it makes little sense to see Chrom as an archer, it makes perfect sense to see Gilliam as a great knight, or Neimi as a ranger, or Lute as a mage knight. Sacred Stones blends customization and cohesion in a way Awakening and the DS games did not. Through its branching plot paths, FE14 provides the perfect opportunity to mix Sacred Stones' polished class system with the unit variety of other games. Assuming there is a Western, Eastern, and Neutral path, each selection could present the player with 20-25 units and, say, 10 units exclusive to each branch, bringing the total playable character count up to 40-45. Seems like the best of both worlds. Get rid of second seals and restrict infinite leveling to postgame.

In an effort to generate some discussion, here's something I've been toying around with in my head for the past few hours. What should I do with the Transfer Data mode? While a novelty at the time, restricting a number of unique weapons- many not found within the main campaign- to a Mario Kart: Double Dash!! bonus disc seems archaic for 2015. Couple of options: 1. I keep the Transfer Data option as-is. 2. I keep the Transfer Data option as-is, but have it be unlocked by default without the need for any MKDD connectivity. 3. I get rid of the Transfer Data option entirely and relocate unique weapons and items- particularly the Dragon Axe and the Wind Sword- to somewhere in the main campaign. Maybe add a chest here and there, maybe swap out some village items. Which sounds best?

That is correct, yes. Merlinus lets you both withdraw *and* deposit, so keeping him alive is even more important than I made it out to be in my previous post.

Glaceon Sage makes a fair point. Having an Elibe-style limited convoy deepens the strategical aspect of Fire Emblem in many respects: you need to manage your weapons more carefully and [ii] guard your tent / caravan, either so it can level up (FE7) or so you can withdraw weapons and items during battle (FE6/7). It adds an entirely new wrinkle to battle considerations. On the flip side, Awakening's convoy system is undoubtedly more convenient: you can store more items than before and [ii] you don't need to bring along or protect a merchant unit. Your lord is effectively a built-in caravan. The choice is an extra layer of strategy versus greater convenience, and while both approaches are fine, I'd prefer the former.

Hello. I believe this is the correct subforum for this thread, but feel free to direct me elsewhere if I am mistaken. I am very fond of Blazing Sword, but it's got some issues. As I doubt Intelligent Systems is planning a remake of the title any time soon, I felt it'd be worthwhile to make a patch for the game that fixes these issues. Project goals: This is a modest project aimed at polishing up the Blazing Sword experience. I don't plan on adding new characters, new maps, new music, or anything along those lines. Instead, I aim to clean up the script, fix some glitches, make some minor improvements here and there, and include a handful of small balance changes. How you can help: I will organize the changes I plan to make into four sections. I'm reaching out to you all for feedback on the proposed changes, and [ii] help on compiling the game's issues, particularly those issues involving typos and grammatical errors. Appreciate any and all support. Spelling & Punctuation This section includes typos, misspellings, grammatical errors, and punctuation oddities. This link lists many of the errors but I do not believe it is comprehensive. NOTE: All chapter numbers starting with 11 correspond to Hector maps unless otherwise stated. Game script Instead of basic spelling and grammar, this section lists areas where the script itself is weak. This includes lack of clarity and awkward phrasings among other things. Balance changes I do not wish to completely overhaul Blazing Sword's balance, since I want to preserve the soul of the original experience. However, there are a few cases of notable imbalance easily fixable with some quick changes. Miscellaneous changes Any alterations not falling within the purview of the above three sections go here. Note that while this section is labeled "miscellaneous," many of the proposed changes within are significant. If you have any additional script errors in mind or balance / miscellaneous changes you'd like to see, or if you disagree with some of my proposals, please let me know! I'll edit new additions into the opening post. Thanks for reading.