Hawkwing
-
Posts
1,049 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by Hawkwing
-
-
24 minutes ago, sirmola said:
I honestly suspect that this had something to do with how fates reused maps and everyone was fine with it.
It was probably more to do with being faithful to Gaiden, and while I don't mind the maps themselves, I do wish we got a few more unique ones whenever they were repeated. Gaiden at least had the excuse of hardware limitations (a legitimate excuse, even nowadays. It's the same reason why portraits were reused and why the plot rarely pops up in the original game (though it's still impressive to see what Shadow Dragon and Gaiden managed to do storywise on the NES, at least compared to what other games offered at the time, even if they are cliched)), while Shadows's of Valentia doesn't. Considering how they may managed to revamp the dungeons, weapons, and growth rates without throwing the game out of balance while still remaining true to the original, I'm still surprised we didn't have any same passion arrive in the form of new and improved maps.
-
..."Can you all SHUT-UP!!!!! I'm trying to eat my lobster!" so loud that in the Walmart across the street, the owner Walhart heard it and though it was an insult directed at him.
Furious, Walhart called upon his staff, which consisted of...
-
Only two moments that comes to mind for me are the first time I played Pitfall: The lost Expedition, where I remember getting so frustrated with the scorpion body-swap part (it makes sense in context) that I broke a lego set and turned off the game... before realizing that I forgot to save the progress I had made until then. The other moment was from Mario & Luigi's: Bowser's Inside Story, where after spending two or three days trying to finish the carrot-eating minigame, which would be my least favorite part of the game if Fawful's Express didn't exist, I didn't get the hint that a boss fight was coming up, and predictably lost the ensuing battle. When realizing that I had to do the minigame all over again, I almost cried (Hey, my age was in the single digits when both these moments occurred!).
For the most part, I'm actually victim of the opposite problem; Saving at really bad times. Again, in Bowser's Inside Story, I saved at the point of no return for the second caterpillar boss fight, without any 1-up mushrooms. Considering that the game was my first RPG, and I had no idea what the heck stats did, or that there was equipment, at all, so the game was much harder than it should have been, with that fight being especially difficult as one of the Bro's would inevitably kick the bucket, and I would have to deal with the boss with less power. In the Elder Scrolls series, more than once I've saved right before a fight that I really wasn't prepared for, and in Mount and Blade, I learned the hard way about how the game handles quests (i.e. not knowing the fictional geography, and unknowingly agreeing to send a letter quite LITERALLY ACROSS THE MAP, as well as the moments where your target can MOVE.) and balancing for leveling up (increasing the amount of enemies for each level up makes sense..., until you realize that you can lose half (or all) your army in an intense fight against an enemy lord, or in the meat-grinders known as sieges).
-
18 minutes ago, Dragoncat said:
Wow, my whitewings suck and Clair outshines them. Am I in a minority?
I know that Clair's usefulness depends on the difficulty. She's a beast on normal difficulty, and can wreck anything and everything with a ridersbane equipped. In hard mode, however, she's more average, as archers actually have their anti-air bonus, and the enemies are buffed-up enough that they aren't as easy to steamroll.
The Whitewings serve their purpose, but their usefulness is harder to judge as you get three of them, so its harder to overuse one, like in Alm's path.
That, or it could just be the the erratic growth rates, which is there is something that everyone in the game has to deal with. I honestly love this aspect of the game, as do love a lot about the game, as no matter how kind or ruthless the RNG is to a unit, they still have a use, and benching someone is a terrible idea in this game.
-
That people won't shut up about its problems.Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia reminds me a lot of Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, where almost every aspect of the game(s) can produce a wildly different response from each player, both positively and negatively. This results in the game being both greatly beloved by some players while others greatly hated the experience. Not helping is that how much someone liked or hated certain aspects of the game can also range from person to person. There are some mechanics I love that I've seen other's dislike, and vice versa, and there are some mechanics I would like to see again, and others that I think should remain one-time tricks. Overall, this is a complicated game to recommend, as I don't know if I'm giving.
I do like the games story, but I also known that the reasons for it are not universal. I like how the story is intentionally told from a biased perspective, how it includes a broken Aesop on purpose, and I actually kind of like some aspects of Rudolf plan since I'm one of the few who understands it. It makes me more curious about the world, and how it will continue after the events of the story, but I know full well that many are (very rightfully) bothered by these aspects. I've also noticed that I've rolled my eyes at or face-palmed and then got over many parts of they story that have legitimately bothered others, making its quality very difficult to judge as a whole.
As for the game itself:
- I don't mind that they reused the same maps from the original game, as they were more bland than mechanically bad (with some exceptions), and in a strategy game, I'll take the former over the latter any day. However, I do wish they added a few more original maps instead of copying them like in the original game, because Gaiden had the legitimate excuse of facing hardware limitations, while SoV doesn't. To say something kind about the maps, though, I do like that they serve a purpose beyond aesthetics. When
- While I do like that many of the games twists are properly foreshadowed, unlike the original game were they came out of nowhere, they go overboard at points, and I think that some of that time could be dedicated to other areas of the story.
-
As much as I like Alm as a character, I wish his flaws were brought up and analyzed more. It's shown that he's reckless, and chooses doing the right thing over the pragmatic one several times, but these aspects of his character aren't shown often enough, I would've liked some foreshadowing that this behavior would backfire him. I also wish that there was a conversation somewhere where he discussed how he felt about people expecting him to become king after the conflict was over, as well as what he though about the aesop he was promoting over the course of the game being broken by something outside of his control. This would add depth to this character
and stop people from complaining about him. - I really wish they didn't reuse portraits for the villagers. When the old man who knows that Mycen has no family is the same old man who gives Celica and co. a ride to the mainland and is the same old man that diligently guarded the floodgate in Mila's Temple despite the royal family being presumed dead, it lessens the impact and memorability that these characters could of had. Especially since the soldier guarding the floodgate in Mila's Temple was actually memorable to me in Gaiden, as his dialogue contrasted nicely with the generic and expected NPC dialogue by becoming off as grizzled and cynical, yet loyal to his task despite knowing that the royal family is dead, and how his disposition, yet not personality, changed after Celica's reveal, all from a guy who appeared once.
- *$#% swamp maps. That is all.
Since I'm tired of the crap this game has gotten, and I need something positive to counter the inevitable negativity of this thread, I'll quickly give a short list of the many things I liked about the game:
- A lot of heart when into making this game and it shows, and I hope IS puts the same amount of effort and love into the rest of the series, both past, present, and future.
- Researching this game was an extremely fun experience, and it made admire both what the original game accomplished as well as what the remake expanded upon. I'm also thankful for it being a step in the process of me finding out how to work an emulator, and Gaiden was one my earliest attempts at doing so.
-
You can tell IS got their money's worth an more out of the voice acting. It escalated already good writing, and helped save the areas where it was average/
poor. It still surprises me how much it added to the characters, and they set a high bar on the series that I hope is matched in future games. - Even in it's NES days, I'm still surprised at what they managed to get regicide, patricide, child murder, and zombies in the game, without it coming off as dark or edgy. I'm also impressed that as far as the second game, they succeeded in having neither nation holding the moral high ground, had several bosses that weren't evil, and had the biggest @$$hole in the entire game be dead, unnamed, and on the ""good-guys side!" I still wonder why some these aspects of this game weren't replicated in future titles
- It's overall a solid game, and I wouldn't mind if many of its unique mechanics came back in future games.
... I would give a bigger list at the moment, but I'm tired of writing. Needless to say, I would be here for a while if I listed off everything I loved about the game.
-
A number of factors went into Awakenings success. It was well-marketed and spread fast through word-of-mouth, so it wasn't hard to hear about the game, and it was on a recent and convenient system. A lot of people didn't buy the games as they simply didn't know they existed, and even if they did, you had to play half the games on an emulator (or learn Japanese, never mind), or try in vain to find a physical copy. I've only seen a physical copy of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn once in my entire life, and it personally took me over a year to discover how emulators work.
It also helps that, despite the criticism and hatred thrown at it, Fire Emblem: Awakening is still a very solid strategy game on a system that didn't that many. One can tell that the developers put a lot of heart into the gameplay and worked with a "go out with a bang" attitude, and even if not everything worked, a lot of it did. They inserted a lot of ideas that adhere to the series formula while shaking it up, and manage to pull off some surprisingly subtle call-backs to previous games. Helping the games case is that while a lot of the games criticisms are pointing out legitimate flaws, some of it is up to personal tastes. It's not difficult to see why some people see Awakenings characters as nothing more than "anime tropes," while others manage to see some depth in them, due to the games support system being a double-edged sword. Similarly, both casual and classic mode come with their own pros and cons
Overall, Fire Emblem Awakening was better marketed and easier to obtain than previous Fire Emblem games, while backing up its reputation by being a very solid game in its own right.
-
....research its contents online, to be good role models to parents to show them that the ESRB rating actually means something. When they go onto the games Getting Crap Past the Radar page on TV Tropes, however...
-
On 10/12/2017 at 2:16 PM, SavageVolug said:
Weapon durability and Weapon Repair.
Despite weapon durability being a mechanic I never really cared for, I really want weapon repair, as it's faster and cheaper than selling my single digit use weapons and buying a new one. I do want legendary weapons to have infinite uses, so I can actually use them for once, but they could have some cons to counter their pros, such as static stat reductions and/or the inability to crit (basically, a more balanced version of what fates attempted).
On 11/30/2017 at 6:23 PM, Altrosa said:Have any of you played with those hacking randomizers? I know a few let's players used them and hilarity ensued with the messy job selections and wild unit scenarios. Now imagine that being a real mode where units are given base classes at complete random and you'd have to deal.
I honestly want one of these as a newgame+ reward, as it's a way of adding both replayability and unintentional humor to the game. They could also have several options of what to randomize, such as whether you only want the classes to be randomized, or if you want the characters to be as well, and/or if the enemies units are randomized or if you want them to be the the same as in a standard playthrough, all with an internal "balancer" that can be turned on or off, just in case you want to have a balanced army in all the randomness, or if you don't care about balancing. Besides, it would discourage even a small amount of hacking, which could be considered a plus.
On 10/5/2017 at 1:52 AM, blah the Prussian said:The main thing I'd add is take the world map of Echoes and run with it even further. Have the map be massive, with a huge diversity of strategic points. Have enemy armies be moving across the map, and the player has to decide where to face them(they can scout out maps for good defensive areas). You could also have units have different strategic abilities, for example, cavalry can tell you the makeup of the enemy army before you engage, while archers can set up Ballistas. There could also be something like: you can fight the enemy in their impenetrable fortress or you can go through the dangerous bandit infested mountains to get to it; it's your choice.
Agreed. I'm mentioned it elsewhere, but I would also like this feature to impact the story as well. For example, you could gain allies with the local populace if you go out of your way to defeat the local bandit lord, but you would have to go out of your way to do so, meaning that the enemy could make some strategic moves against you in the meantime. Also, there would be story repercussions for speeding up the process of speeding up a siege using fire, poison, or assassins.
It's ambitious, but it would be cool if the effects were dynamic. For instance, if you use assassins commonly near the beginning of the story, enemy commanders would take note of this and set up countermeasures to make them less effective as you go on. However, if you forego using them for a good chunk of the game, but use an assassin to make a particularly difficult boss easier, both sides
On 11/30/2017 at 7:16 PM, Lord_Grima said:- A Real Branching Story - Not the Fates way with 3 paths, but everything stays the same. I want a full "Choose your own adventure" style. Give a lot of decisions of where the party can go, and let the player decide. (Need to cross the border into enemy territory? 1- charge at the main gates, 2- sneak around) Each choice progresses the story, but in different ways with different consequences, maps, and events. It would add a lot of replay-ability too.
- No Dragon Final Boss - As cool and epic a dragon is for a final boss, it has become a series staple (almost). So if we could get a real non-dragon villain that would be awesome. Lord Berkut would be a great example to follow, a real person lead down a dark path. He has legitimate reasons to fight against the protagonists and still creates a really epic/ awesome boss fight.
- Tragedy in the Party - Once a character joins the party, nothing bad happens to them (unless they die in battle in Classic Mode). The only exception I know of is Kaze's event in Birthright. In FE7 several times a character leaves your party, but you are given a heads up/ warning to it coming. I want to see more of this. These are actual people, sometimes they have other things they need to do. Let some characters filter in and out of the party at times. And a more extreme version of this (which I really want) is the character just leaves and joins the enemy (like Fernand), you might get them back later, but it could show how nothing goes to plan, and people have changing loyalties. Like Fernand, character X does not like how the main protagonist is leading the army, so he leaves. I think this could create a really unique experience. Add this to the "choose your own adventure" style and different characters leave. If you take a more passive route, the "Punisher" type character leaves; or If you take the aggressive route, the pacifistic character leaves.
- YES! Please! There are so many different ways they could use this idea, and I'm fine with any one of them. Whether it be choosing between which sides to support and which ones to oppose as a mercenary leader, choosing the course of history as several different characters have to make a decision, or as you stated, simply take the "Choose your own adventure" format (I really, really love those books, btw) and apply it to Fire Emblem. I just ask that they make all the endings bittersweet is some way, without ant "golden endings."
- I always though that having a dragon either as a boss at the half-way point of the game, or one as the second-to-last boss, would be an interesting inversion of the series norm, and could lead to some climatic fights. Bonus points if the final boss manages to outdo a freaking-dragon!
- I could see this both working out pretty well, yet I could also see it being annoying. They would really need to test when said units would be ok gameplay wise leaving, as to prevent a character from becoming over/under powered. I think a reward system for sacrificing using a unit on a certain map would net the player a nice reward to compensate would be a way to go.
On 12/2/2017 at 1:47 AM, Lord_Grima said:For Example: your army is preparing for a battle, but one character is summoned back to the kingdom on urgent business. The player knows, and can take items off of him before he leaves. Then he comes back in a Chapter or two, nothing too long to fall behind, but can cause some change in tactics.
The most extreme "Tragedy" I want is a pure Fernand-style betrayal. Someone is in your party, then they leave for good. We don't get many of these. Most of the time it is "I only betrayed you because I was possessed." The character can give items back, and because they leave for good they don't fall behind in levels.
Funnily enough, I've had my own ideas for both of these examples:
- A hero who's renowned for being a "one-man-army" could ask to leave right before an important (and difficult) siege to save his lord, who has been captured. He's proven himself to be a very capable unit beforehand, so deciding whether keep him for the fight or send him away will be a very difficult decision. If you decide to send him away, you would get some kind of useful reward, see an awesome cutscene of said hero literally taking over his masters captured castle with his bare hands, and change the course of the story due to said lord surviving.
- I actually pictured a mercenary character, who you could tell was only in it for the money, betraying you sometime in the story, and would take all your stuff with him (or her). At first, this would rightfully anger any player for having their gear taken away from them. Then later on in the story, the mercenary would reappear... having forged all the stoled equipment past the maximum amount and carrying a legendary weapon. Not only would this be a funny case of trolling, it could also add an unexpected strategic element to the game, no matter how minor.
1 hour ago, NekoKnight said:There are two ways i could see this happening. The first would be a well written story that effectively uses characters on multiple sides to tell a nuanced story of a conflict. Fire Emblem has stuck too closely to black and white conflicts with moral paragons as the protagonists. A good story needs developed characters that believably exist in their world. Which brings me to my second point, worldbuilding.
I would post the story I proposed (by complete accident, if I'm being honest) in the Side Charater Ideas thread, but posting it a third time might make it seem if I'm trying to hard to push the idea.
Then again... for reference's sake:
(Two notes beforehand (which will be said in the spoiler anyway, but I also want to clarify here) 1. these are not my original ideas, as they came from the videogame Mount and Blade, but I do think that these situations could very well in a Fire Emblem game (with some obvious changes, of course). 2. I added in some extra details, mostly to add drama and grayness to the story)
SpoilerAnyway, this is probably going to be the last time I add ideas to the topic. And admittedly they aren't entirely my own, but I always thought that the "Claimant and Ruler" situations in Mount and Blade could work very well in a Fire Emblem game. There's always a preset ruler to each kingdom, and a claimant to the throne, with both characters having their own balanced reasonings for why they should be in charge, with the player ultimately deciding which side to support. You can check out the tv trope page here, but as for the ones I think would work best in a Fire Emblem game:
(A few notes beforehand. 1. I haven't played the game enough to see every single conflict, so I have to go of TV Tropes and secondhand knowledge here to fill in the details. 2. Some details were added by me to insert more drama and grayness to the conflict. 3. As I said earlier, these are not my own ideas. They came from the game Mount and Blade. I just think they would work especially well in a Fire Emblem game. One can have similar ideas while still being unique from one another.)
- In a warrior nation, the claimant is a scholar who wishes to guide the nation towards more scientific activities, making sure the nation is balanced in both strength and intelligence. However, the current king disposed of him by claiming that their nation needs to be lead only by strong warriors. However, said king is a very reasonable leader, willing to listen to ideas that are not his own, and he takes criticism gracefully. We's also willing to listen to even lowly mercenaries if they prove their martial prowess. The claimant has all the virtues (and flaws) of a character who you'd expect to rely more on intellect and tactics than simple strength, although he is a fine warrior in his own right/way.
- When the king died, it left two (half-)brothers in line for the throne. Knowing that the inheritance laws of the nation would inevitably lead to an unneeded and most likely bloody civil war, one of the brothers declares himself king while the other is out defending the border, partially because he believes that he's the better ruler of the two, but also because he does not want to have his brother killed. However, the other brother claims that the decision was unfair, as he was defending the border when he heard of his fathers death, and thus had no say in the matter. He also claims that he did more of the nations leg-work than his brother did, and it could have been possible to avoid a civil war if the two simply talked about the matter.
- A generation earlier, the king was usurped by his brother, forcing the king and his child to go into hiding, while the brother lead a tyrannical reign until his death. His son, though bluntly admitting that what his father did was immoral and thus has no pride in him, refuses to give up the throne to his cousin, the rightful heir since the king had died in the meantime, and wishes to use the use the power that he's been given to undo the damage of his father. As for the claimant, even though their journey is similar to previous lords, their personality could vary wildly, having both great strengths and virtues, but also considerable (and potentially fatal) flaws.
- In a kingdom that allows slavery, there is a slave girl working for the royal family. Greatly impressed by her intellect, wit, and managerial (and potentially combat) skills, and the fact that they have no children of their own, the King and Queen adopt her, much to the ire of another royal family, who had toiled greatly for years on end, even having lost some close friends and family to war, to become worthy of being the Kingdoms successor. When the fatal day came that the king and queen died, both sides took actions to ensure they would be come the kingdoms successors, and with the noble family appearing to have succeeded. However, both sides had gained support throughout the years, with the slave girl impressing many people with her intellect and leadership abilities, and for being a hope to many of slaves and common folk alike for having a ruler who wasn't of noble birth, while others would remember the great deeds, accomplishments, and sacrifices of the noble family that they can't help but admire them or feel as if they are indebted to them, which leads to a large scale conflict.
Anyway, I do want to see a more human-based conflict were neither side is particularly "good," but neither is either side fully "evil" either. There would be both noble and brave characters, as well as despicable and cowardly ones on both sides of the conflict, with the same critical hit quotes used on both sides occasionally. Also, no evil dragons (although I would be fine with a dragon serving the role of... well, The Dragon, in a similar vein to Darth Vader, except less blatantly evil) or evil cults hijacking the plot. That's been done to death both in this series, and in other media.
-
I've actually noticed that, at least in Awakening, when it appears the A.I. is being dumb, it's actually taking some clever actions built to spite the player. For example, when playing on the side-chapter where you recruit Tiki, you may have noticed that, despite the good amount of units the enemy could attack and do at least some amount of damage too, it will only go after a few select units. That's because, if the A.I. notices that it won't do much damage to any of the available units, it will intentionally waste it's life against the character who needs the experience the least (and/or if their wielding a powerful yet limited weapon, but I'm not certain if thats the case)! Similarly, the enemy may try a suicide attack if it can do a a good chunk of damage against the unit in question, as it expects their allies to finish the job, all because it's expected that the player will restart the chapter if any unit dies.
That being said...
The A.I. will attempt to use the above mentioned strategy of spiting your units... even if there are no other enemies in range, or if their hit rate is 0%. The A.I. is also so stupidly easy to bait in every single game that I'm honesty surprised it hasn't been brought up yet. Honestly, the only times I've seen the A.I. not fall for this trick is in Gaiden/SoV, where the enemy retreats at low health and moves towards any kind of healing it can get, and in Mystery of the Emblem, where (disappointingly) none of the foes are brave/stupid enough to attack a dragon.
-
...Kamui, who told Saber that as a mercenary, we should seek monetary gain first and foremost, and that he should only kill Fjorm if it would line his pockets. Upon hearing this, Saber...
-
... The Fire Emblem! Colbert, overjoyed, ran forward to obtain it, but was sadly faced by a mighty...
-
I'll echo what others have said and ask for a more grounded, human-focused conflict, with politics and the effect the war has on all sides being properly analyzed. I don't see much I can really add that other's haven't already. That being said, I wouldn't mind if dragons were still a part of the story, participating in both sides of the conflict for their own reasons, without undermining the story. Heck, I always though that having a dragon character serving the role of... well, the dragon, similar to Darth Vader, and having them be the SECOND-to-last boss of the game would be interesting to see.
Anyway, I'm copy-pasting an idea I posted in another thread (Side Character Ideas, to be specific), and thought that it would fit equally well here, so...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Admittedly [these ideas] aren't entirely my own, but I always thought that the "Claimant and Ruler" situations in Mount and Blade could work very well in a Fire Emblem game. There's always a preset ruler to each kingdom, and a claimant to the throne, with both characters having their own balanced reasonings for why they should be in charge, with the player ultimately deciding which side to support. You can check out the tv trope page here, but as for the ones I think would work best in a Fire Emblem game:
(A few notes beforehand. 1. I haven't played the game enough to see every single conflict, so I have to go of TV Tropes and secondhand knowledge here to fill in the details. 2. Some details were added by me to insert more drama and grayness to the conflict. 3. As I said earlier, these are not my own ideas. They came from the game Mount and Blade. I just think they would work especially well in a Fire Emblem game. One can have similar ideas while still being unique from one another.)
- In a warrior nation, the claimant is a scholar who wishes to guide the nation towards more scientific activities, making sure the nation is balanced in both strength and intelligence. However, the current king disposed of him by claiming that their nation needs to be lead only by strong warriors. However, said king is a very reasonable leader, willing to listen to ideas that are not his own, and he takes criticism gracefully. We's also willing to listen to even lowly mercenaries if they prove their martial prowess. The claimant has all the virtues (and flaws) of a character who you'd expect to rely more on intellect and tactics than simple strength, although he is a fine warrior in his own right/way.
- When the king died, it left two (half-)brothers in line for the throne. Knowing that the inheritance laws of the nation would inevitably lead to an unneeded and most likely bloody civil war, one of the brothers declares himself king while the other is out defending the border, partially because he believes that he's the better ruler of the two, but also because he does not want to have his brother killed. However, the other brother claims that the decision was unfair, as he was defending the border when he heard of his fathers death, and thus had no say in the matter. He also claims that he did more of the nations leg-work than his brother did, and it could have been possible to avoid a civil war if the two simply talked about the matter.
- A generation earlier, the king was usurped by his brother, forcing the king and his child to go into hiding, while the brother lead a tyrannical reign until his death. His son, though bluntly admitting that what his father did was immoral and thus has no pride in him, refuses to give up the throne to his cousin, the rightful heir since the king had died in the meantime, and wishes to use the use the power that he's been given to undo the damage of his father. As for the claimant, even though their journey is similar to previous lords, their personality could vary wildly, having both great strengths and virtues, but also considerable (and potentially fatal) flaws.
- In a kingdom that allows slavery, there is a slave girl working for the royal family. Greatly impressed by her intellect, wit, and managerial (and potentially combat) skills, and the fact that they have no children of their own, the King and Queen adopt her, much to the ire of another royal family, who had toiled greatly for years on end, even having lost some close friends and family to war, to become worthy of being the Kingdoms successor. When the fatal day came that the king and queen died, both sides took actions to ensure they would be come the kingdoms successors, and with the noble family appearing to have succeeded. However, both sides had gained support throughout the years, with the slave girl impressing many people with her intellect and leadership abilities, and for being a hope to many of slaves and common folk alike for having a ruler who wasn't of noble birth, while others would remember the great deeds, accomplishments, and sacrifices of the noble family that they can't help but admire them or feel as if they are indebted to them, which leads to a large scale conflict.
-
Looking back, when putting out my own ideas, I skimmed over some pretty good ones that others have brought up. I think later today I'll give my own comments on many of them, but considering that both my posts took two hours to write, I'm going to wait until I have more free time on my hands.
Anyway, this is probably going to be the last time I add ideas to the topic. And admittedly they aren't entirely my own, but I always thought that the "Claimant and Ruler" situations in Mount and Blade could work very well in a Fire Emblem game. There's always a preset ruler to each kingdom, and a claimant to the throne, with both characters having their own balanced reasonings for why they should be in charge, with the player ultimately deciding which side to support. You can check out the tv trope page here, but as for the ones I think would work best in a Fire Emblem game:
(A few notes beforehand. 1. I haven't played the game enough to see every single conflict, so I have to go of TV Tropes and secondhand knowledge here to fill in the details. 2. Some details were added by me to insert more drama and grayness to the conflict. 3. As I said earlier, these are not my own ideas. They came from the game Mount and Blade. I just think they would work especially well in a Fire Emblem game. One can have similar ideas while still being unique from one another.)
- In a warrior nation, the claimant is a scholar who wishes to guide the nation towards more scientific activities, making sure the nation is balanced in both strength and intelligence. However, the current king disposed of him by claiming that their nation needs to be lead only by strong warriors. However, said king is a very reasonable leader, willing to listen to ideas that are not his own, and he takes criticism gracefully. We's also willing to listen to even lowly mercenaries if they prove their martial prowess. The claimant has all the virtues (and flaws) of a character who you'd expect to rely more on intellect and tactics than simple strength, although he is a fine warrior in his own right/way.
- When the king died, it left two (half-)brothers in line for the throne. Knowing that the inheritance laws of the nation would inevitably lead to an unneeded and most likely bloody civil war, one of the brothers declares himself king while the other is out defending the border, partially because he believes that he's the better ruler of the two, but also because he does not want to have his brother killed. However, the other brother claims that the decision was unfair, as he was defending the border when he heard of his fathers death, and thus had no say in the matter. He also claims that he did more of the nations leg-work than his brother did, and it could have been possible to avoid a civil war if the two simply talked about the matter.
- A generation earlier, the king was usurped by his brother, forcing the king and his child to go into hiding, while the brother lead a tyrannical reign until his death. His son, though bluntly admitting that what his father did was immoral and thus has no pride in him, refuses to give up the throne to his cousin, the rightful heir since the king had died in the meantime, and wishes to use the use the power that he's been given to undo the damage of his father. As for the claimant, even though their journey is similar to previous lords, their personality could vary wildly, having both great strengths and virtues, but also considerable (and potentially fatal) flaws.
- In a kingdom that allows slavery, there is a slave girl working for the royal family. Greatly impressed by her intellect, wit, and managerial (and potentially combat) skills, and the fact that they have no children of their own, the King and Queen adopt her, much to the ire of another royal family, who had toiled greatly for years on end, even having lost some close friends and family to war, to become worthy of being the Kingdoms successor. When the fatal day came that the king and queen died, both sides took actions to ensure they would be come the kingdoms successors, and with the noble family appearing to have succeeded. However, both sides had gained support throughout the years, with the slave girl impressing many people with her intellect and leadership abilities, and for being a hope to many of slaves and common folk alike for having a ruler who wasn't of noble birth, while others would remember the great deeds, accomplishments, and sacrifices of the noble family that they can't help but admire them or feel as if they are indebted to them, which leads to a large scale conflict.
I may or may not paste this into the story thread now that I think of it. Out of question, is that allowed on this site? -
...Laurent obliterates them with his Gundam, lampshading how nonsensical the story is, and then wonders if it was a wise idea to join the chaos. Then...
-
...the lich Forneus appeared, telling everyone that he put Thanatophages in the mutton, and that Dorcas and Keaton on now the first Risen in his campaign to take over the world in a zombie apocolypse. Then Gweddry and Deoran appeared from Wesnoth and insulted him by saying...
-
1 hour ago, Von Ithipathachai said:
This would mean she'd already have to have some kind of awareness of the series' tendency towards Pegasus Riders as love interests. Maybe the Lord character's kingdom has a tradition of its princes marrying distinguished soldiers from its air force (could include pegasi or wyverns). Either that or the Lord character just has a pegasus rider fetish.
Or it could be that she's seen and disliked how most of the myths and legends seemed to focus more romance aspect on their character rather than the deeds they actually accomplished in battle, and after seeing that this has some basis of truth in reality, as well as analyzing the more stupid and foolish aspects of romance either through secondhand experience or through reading stories, has caused her to be so disillusioned that she calls off romance altogether. As I said, I want being able to a cold observer of cliches in general, and would deconstruct most aspects of Fire Emblem in general. There's a reason I compared this character to Kreia, as in her own game, Kreia largely observes, analyses, and deconstructs how the force works in the Star Wars universe, being very critical as to how the force seems to alternate between giving both the jedi and sith of the the upper-hand, which leads to large scale destruction and death on all sides, as well as how reliant the Jedi are on using the force. The game itself does a good job at deconstructing not only the morality of Stars Wars in general (the game deals with the aftermath of a war, and is also the darkest thing in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, period, with gray morality abounding), but also RPG's as a whole (how morbid scavenging loot from a corpse would be is brought up, as well as the question of why you get stronger from killing enemies). However, something else that is important about her character is that, though she is very wise and brings up some very sound and very strong arguments, is that the more you play the game, the less her views seem absolute, and while you can never refute her arguments, you CAN counter them.
I just wrote two or three paragraphs about a video game character we may never see, haven't I? I swear that I subconsciously joined Serenes Forest just to keep my writing ability sharp.1 hour ago, Bhoop said:In terms of Pegasus knights...Since we are talking about them, how about a Pegasus knight (most likely female to make this even more ironic, I believe the word is) with high base speed, but high defense, res, and hp growths, so that they are essentially a tank instead of the typical glass cannon/ferry unit/chip unit?)
I think you're talking about Wyvern riders? But I do agree, having a bulkier Pegasus knight would be an interesting change of pace, as long as they also serve their original role to a degree (I want a Pegasus knight who can take a hit and double the enemy, not a flying tank!).
13 hours ago, Altrosa said:Granny could be a Witch training the lord character. She's highly ranked and powerful enough that she gets away with saying things in front of nobility that could get a less respected person straight to the gallows. Also probably had a relationship with old royalty, but that's an long forgotten scandal mostly.
Everyone loves her and she makes killer cookies but tends to get entirely too real™ when someone comes to her for advice.
One of her crit quotes is, "I'm not sad, just disappointed."
1 hour ago, Von Ithipathachai said:- I came up with a similar idea of an elderly, Don Quixote-esque early-game Cavalier with super-high growths as a subversion of the typical Jagen character.
We honestly need more elderly characters that aren't Jeigens in the Fire Emblem. It allows for a more diverse cast, and some interesting relationships and conversations can be had between the youngsters and those who have been around the corner a few times. There is a lot of topic matter that could be brought up, such as traditionalism vs. progressivism, how society causes a problem for every one it fixes, how history both changes and repeats, and the pros and cons of growing older. Besides, there are a lot of fun personalities that they can use. From the grandparents who smother us with love, to those who play the team mom, to the cranky yet lovable old hags, to the ones that are just cranky. Is could add both a ton of fun and a lot of depth simply by adding these characters and by writing them well.
One of my favorite characters from the Wing Commander series is Paladin, who's the oldest fighter pilot you can partner with in the first game. Both his AI and character focus on making sure that everyone gets out alive, and making sure that his partners earn there kills on their own. He knows that he's done his service and made his mark, and is close to retiring, so he makes sure that everyone gets out alive, and lets the younger pilots start their own careers, and is overall among the most reliable pilots in the game, and even has a side nickname of "mother hen". Even after retiring, he still helps the protagonist both through moral and political support support whenever he can. I would very much like to see this kind of character in Fire Emblem, regardless of their archetype.
We also need more Don Quixote characters. Not only in Fire Emblem, but in general.
-
...He suddenly fell over, dead. As it turned out, his mutton was poisoned! At first, Dorcas was glad not to be the butt of that meme, but when he looked at Keatons body...
-
I came up with a few more ideas, and I'm using the same format. The only thing I have of note is that the half-joking, half-serious section is now just half-serious, as some of my suggestions decidedly aren't that humorous. So without further ado...
Serious:
- A cynical Pegasus Rider who hates the series trope/cliche of pegasus knights either being there as a love interest for the lord and/or for an unrequited love scenario that she's called off romance altogether. They would also be a cold observer of the series tropes and cliches in general (similar to Kreia from KOTOR 2).
- A general that was revenge-thirsty in their youth from a previous conflict they were in
- A cavalier with great skill on the battle field, but goes to great lengths to keep an otherwise career-ending injury hidden.
- A hero unit who repeatedly proves themselves to be a one-man army, yet remains modest and humble, and has an idealistic yet grounded personality, who knows that the world isn't perfect, yet there is still good in it. You may have to choose between using them during a hard chapter, or allowing them to handle a conflict elsewhere, which both affects the story as well as the rewards you may earn afterwards.
-
If griffon riders appear, I would expect bravery to be their defining trait, but have it differ on how its shown:
- One griffon rider would be jocular, enthusiastic, and loyal and would never leave their leaders side, but would still observe and point out some realities about how the acts of courage and cowardliness play out in war. They could provide some fun stories about the misadventures of taming and training griffons
- Another would be quiet and reserved, with more passive hobbies, but in the heat of battle, they would show why they are worthy of riding the proud griffons.
- An enemy griffon rider may show how bravery can be mistaken for recklessness or foolishness, either making rash decisions that would bring supposed glory, or refusing to surrender and leading their squad/regiment/group into a senseless sacrifice.
- Two mage brothers with great magical capabilities. The younger one at first appear to be the "obnoxious tagalong kid trope," but would soon prove themself to be a very powerful with a deep knowledge of magic of have great overall intelligence and maturity. The older brother would be a dark mage who is very conscious of the dangers of dark magic, yet also knows how to use it wisely, and avoids most of the cliches often applied to dark magic users in general.
- A thief who isn't really malicious, or even a criminal. He or she is just really good at stealth, and was forced into the role. They would comment on their situation constantly, with character development changing their tone and view of their role throughout the story.
- A thief who remains professional, even in direct combat. He or she would never actually kill another human being (undead or monsters may or may not be fair game) and instead only knocks them out or captures them, and may have a personal skill (if those return) to bring back additional cash after each battle just for fielding him/her.
- A thief who insists that he/she is the "rouge" character from DnD games. They would go through character development to become less whiny, realize that doing the wrong thing for the right reasons is still an undesirable way to operate, and would overall grow into a more heroic role.
- A trainee unit who is an old (wo)man, with surprisingly good growths to boot.
- A blacksmith, alchemist, and merchant in the players party to act as a moveable forge, shop, and convoy, and each of them would have different reasons for joining you.
- Make it appear that the right-hand man of the main bad guy is planning to betray their master sometime soon in the story, but when the moment actually arrives and the players party is at the final battle (of the arc, anyway), they would instead sincerely fight to defend their leader (whether or not they were really going to backstab the big bad, and/or they have a larger plan underfoot, would be revealed later).
- More love-to-hate antagonists, alongside very reasonable and heroic ones, rather than one-note bosses we tend to get.
- Have a few archetypes generally reserved for player units aplly to the enemy forces. They will have a Cain and Able pair, the enemy commander will have a Jeigan by his side, they may have an Est unit (who starts out weak, but only appears on maps that aren't 'rout the enemy,' so every time they survive the fight, they grow stronger), etc.
Half-Serious:
- A powerful masked man that appears multiple times in the story working both for and against both sides, making it seem as if he has his own agenda. Except when he's unmasked it turns out he's completely insane (or he could be faking it, and really be the smartest character in the series).
- A Boba-Fett type character.
- A mage unit who acts like a snake oil salesman or a trickster and specializes in seemingly useless magic, such as potions that instantly grow's beards, to spells that add cloths to their opponents, to chants that cause the weapons of both sides to refuse to fight for a certain amount of time. They would be intentionally gimmicky gameplaywise (though not annoyingly), with erratic effects on the battle with varying degree's of usefulness, such as forcing every unit to use only their stats to fight, or temporarily turning all weapons into sticks and logs, to forcing a unit to stay in place, drastically increasing their defense but ruining their speed and avoidance, or temporarily turning a friend or foe into an animal. These affects, and more, would also carry over into supports, which could lead to some very creative and hilarious conversations.
- Less of a character, and more of a trait, but someone, most likely a trainee unit, who tries to plant their sword in the ground after winning a fight like Ike or Chrom... only for their weapon to get stuck, bounce off the surface, or simply fall over.
-
Empathetic and/or talking weapons could be interesting to see.
- This is more of a gameplay idea than a character one, but I would like two see two types of weapons that work based on a units level. A 'teachers blade' would have 21-the units level to determine their might, and another blade where their might is the units level.
- A person with black armor who seems like he's going to be the game's Black Knight, only for their personality to be vastly different from the standard trope expectations, and for it to be revealed that their armor is painted black only to reduce maintenance (and also to avoid alliances).
- A cavalier/knight who never takes their armor off, no matter the situation. They would alternate between being cool, petty and terrifying. Their dedication to battle and the look of their armor would cool, but their refusal to remove their armor for menial tasks would appear childish, while they would be terrifying for why they wear armor 24/7 and how they care for little more than winning the fight.
-
A mute bard (
Link) could be interesting.
For Fun:
- A guy (or gal) who thinks they're the protagonist of a shonen anime, and thus will try to (affectionately) invoke every cliche/trope they can think of.
- A (loving/deconstructive) parody of the many one-note characters we've had in the series.
- Bonus units based on Nintendo/IS staff could be cool, if it was kept in check.
-
...Laurent arrived out of nowhere in his Gundam and yelled at both sides to stop fighting. For he had come from the future, and shockingly revealed that their fight would...
-
Ooooh boy, where do I begin? My first run of Awakening was so completely and terribly BAD that I intentionally forgot how it went. Though it pains to to remember...
In my first run of Awakening, I:
- Had every unit wield only one weapon type (i.e. Sully had nothing but lances... because she started out with a lance. Stahl got nothing but swords, because he came with a sword, etc.)
- I rarely/never used pair up, and when I did, it was units in the same class (again, I only paired up Stahl and Sully, as well as Miriel and Ricken, and so on and so forth).
- I promoted right when a unit reached level ten, regardless of the practicality f such a move.
-
I thought that Tharja was a moody/insightful enemy that was used for... I don't know, world-building or immersion that showed not every Plegian unit was happy with Gangrel. I didn't think she was an actual recruitable!
- To be fair, I thought that you would only get one thief in this kind of game, so I recruited Gaius without problem (well, okay, both he and Chrom were half-dead after their first meeting, but that also means they were half-alive), and I knew that Henry was in this game (seriously, though, what happened to this guy's popularity?) so I though that HE would be the only dark mage in the game.
- I, somehow, despite getting the game years later, having played Super Smash Bros and looked at the trophies, and the fact that S-supports are only available for opposite gendered units, DID NOT KNOW THAT MARRIAGE WAS IN THIS GAME!!!
After getting through about a third of the game and realizing how terribly I was playing, I deleted that save file and tried the game again. And again. And again. And yet Again. I've forgotten how many times I restarted the game, but it was enough that I've only beaten the game four times (twice on Normal-Classic, and twice on Hard-Casual) which took around 40-50 hours, yet I have nearly 400 hours clocked for the game total.
It took me a (long) while to realize that:
- Pair up was a legitimate and useful mechanic, and not just a glorified rescue button.
- Use healers whenever I could, instead of using them only when a unit needed healing, as they don't level up quickly, or at all, otherwise.
- Child units are a thing in this game, and some strategy needs to be put into making them good.
- Reclassing is a double-edged sword.
- How to soft-reset. I legitimately turned on and off the game/my 3DS whenever I wanted to restart a mission.
On a more serious note, replaying the game so many times was a double-edged sword. It helped cement the gameplay mechanics of not only this game, but for a good chunk of the series, and it helped me see both positives and negatives about the game that I don't see brought up to often. On the other hand, I overplayed the game, which does make me weary of going back as I remember both the moments of great fun as well as great frustration.
-
3 hours ago, Von Ithipathachai said:
- So essentially anti-Kellam?
- This is interesting; I could see a Jagen-type character like this, sort of like Eyvel. Perhaps their dislike of killing would lead to them holding back in the form of bad growths?
- Also interesting, but since martial arts have yet to appear in Fire Emblem, I can't imagine how this would work.
- Mike from outsidexbox is a living and breathing anti-Kellam. Seriously, his stealthiest kills in Hitman involved explosions, and he was excited when he actually had a score that was not zero.
- That's an interesting approach too. I was thinking that he/she would focus more on disarming their opponents in their animations, and would be very effective at capturing their opponents, but a Jagen-type character is something that I hadn't thought of, yet makes perfect sense.
- I imagine it as a weak attack that doesn't require a weapon and would always do a minimum of one damage if it hits. It prevents healers from being defenseless, while still not being front-line units. I have no idea how effective this idea would be in practice, though.
-
...until they were assassinated by a ninja using a Killer Instict Ultra Combo! The ninja then flew of on his jetpack, but was stopped by...
-
Hmm... I think I'll separate my ideas into three categories; Those I really want to see in a future game, ones were I'm half-joking, half-serious, and those I'm just throwing out there for fun. I wouldn't mind seeing any of these, though, and neither would I want them to all appear in the same game.
For a note beforehand, when I mention another character for inspiration, I'm not asking for them to be copy-paste in personality, or even for them even for them to be a direct reference. It's just to give people an idea of what I have in mind, and I known that comparisons.
So without further ado...
Ones I Seriously Want to See:
-
An accurate axe userA fighter with some previous military experience and a jocular demeanor, which may or may not be a comping mechanism. (For those who have played Star Wars: Republic Commando, think Scorch) -
A mercenary who really is in it only for the money, and with rarely, if ever, make any of the general.
He/she may also betray you if the other side "pays better." - A mercenary with a dry yet welcoming sense of humor who has moments of great cynicism, as well as moments of beautiful idealism (Think Chris Jacobs from Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction).
- A knight who is completely terrible at stealth, barely able to take a step without getting noticed. To compensate, he's very good at distracting foes, and is a more-or-less one man army. It would be hilarious if he had a thief as a recalling option, being so bad at stealth he's good at it (for those who want a reference, basically Mike from OutsideXbox when playing Hitman: no subtitle, or any other stealth-based game).
- A myrmidon that is really a sword-fighting teacher, and despite his/her skill with the blade, they don't like killing or fighting.
- A gentlemanly fencer who's chivalrous to a fault.
- A healer who has been in a previous campaign, and has been scarred from the experience.
- A healer that knows martial arts and can fend for themself for the most part.
- A laguz/tauguel/branded/whatever-the-heck-they-call-the-animal-shapeshifters-in-the-next-game who takes an interest in human culture, and is an outcast for it. They use a combination of physical weapons an their transformation skills.
- A shapeshifter who's mechanics expand upon what Xane was capable of, such as becoming a stone giant when copying a knight, a bear/boar-like creature when copying a fighter, a drake when copying a wvyren rider, and so on and so forth. I honestly want them to get creative with the designs with this idea. (The DOS game Shadowcaster gave the inspiration for this idea.)
- A Camus-archetype who actually betrays their nation, for once. Whether they survive afterwords, or if they join your army, is up in the air.
- A few enemy commanders who don't have any/many a-hole traits. Not every boss will be this way of course, but it would be nice if the personalities of the enemy bosses seemed as if it wouldn't be unusual if they were part of the players army if circumstances were different. Many of the Rigelian bosses fit this template, but I wouldn't mind some more memorable examples.
Half-Joking, Half-Serious:
- James McCloud! From F-Zero! We can have a reference of a reference, with Star Fox memes and lines everywhere! On a serious note, though, I would like to see a mercenary who's already married with a child and who cares about their family deeply, and is only in their line of work to provide for them.
- A thief/rouge and bard/dancer pair in the vein of Miguel and Tulio from The Road to El Dorado.
- An animated armor unit. Nothing much to say here, I just think it'd be cool.
- An undead, or partially undead unit that joins your army.
- A boisterous porcupine laguz with a long quill beard and is in the fighter class.
- An inventor who uses fireworks as a deadly weapon.
- Have four bandit brothers instead of two. Bonus points if their interests and personalities are vastly different from one another.
For Fun:
- A guy (or gal. I never really cared about gender in fiction or real life) who thinks they're in a fighting game, with many of their animations showing multiple attacks for a single combat round, resulting in a combo meter appearing every now and then, and their critical animations would be heavily based on Street Fighter/Killer Instinct Ultra Combos.
- A guy (or gal) who thinks they're in an RPG, but in one with mechanics that differ widely than the Fire Emblem norm.
- Captain Falcon. 'nuff said.
- An adventurer who took an actual arrow to the knee. And had to have his leg cut off due to infection. And had to walk a few miles in pain with the arrow still in his knee to find a doctor.
- A pirate with magical capabilities who is obsessed with swords, and thus can only wield swords, several that are unique to him (with different properties so he's still well rounded and balanced). His entire spell list (if the mechanic returns) consist entirely of either enhancing the versatility and capabilities of his swords, or magic that just has swords as a cosmetic.
- A pirate who claims to have the falchion (the legendary weapon) when he really has a normal falchion (the sword).
- Konrad, from Battle for Wesnoth, along with Delfador, Kalenz and Li'sar.
- Little Mac. 'nuff said.
- Link. 'nuff.. do I really need to say it?
I've just noticed that all the suggestions in the serious list start with the letter A... -
-
7 hours ago, TheSS said:
My hopes are:
- More realistic representations of where characters are on the map. For example, if an archer shoots at an enemy from across a river, have them on opposite sides of the river. Don't have them 12 feet apart on a field of grass next to the river.
- Wider variety of attack animations.
- Have other units in the background during animated segments, and have them in the places they are on the map. Maybe have your units clash swords with enemy units next to them (not actually landing hits, but just kind of looking cool and bouncing off each other).
- What you said about varied victory animations. Hell, maybe just have the character turn to another enemy near them. If it's the enemy phase and another enemy is going to attack you after the battle, have that enemy clash swords with your unit at the end of the battle. Zoom out to the map, sho that enemy attacking, and then zoom in again to show that battle. It would be a better way of doing hat continuous-fight thing you suggested.
Ever had that moment when you think you've presented everything but have a nagging feeling like you've forgot something? Because I've honestly thought of every single one of these at one point of another, but forgot to put them down here. Thanks for the reminder.
7 hours ago, TheSS said:I agree with this in spirit, but I think you're environmental interactions are too ambitious.
Yeah, I'll be the first to admit these are over-ambitious. But then again, I like to aim higher than expected when presenting ideas, as even though I know we won't get everything presented here, it would be great if we at least got something along these lines. There are times when it's better to see how far one can run with an idea than to play always play it safe (and vice versa). We may not have units jump out of trees, or swinging from doorframes, or drowning their enemy in a river, but we may get units grabbing random objects to use as temporary weapons, or enemies getting thrown off cliffs or getting smashed into a wall.
Honestly, I remember that half the reason I wanted Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was because the fight animations impressed me so much, and many ideas I present here I honestly want as natural continuations of what they accomplished in that game. Considering the upgraded hardware and engine that the Switch has, Fire Emblem Switch is just begging to make a strong first impression to show what the switch is capable of.
FE16 "leaks"
in Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Posted
Sirius would like a word with you.On a Sirius note (*facepalm*), wasn't Lucina's mask meant to reference... well, Sirius? After all, Awakening was supposed to be the last Fire Emblem game, and it was made for the series anniversary, so they inserted as many references (some extremely subtle) as they could into the final product. As for Fire Emblem Echoes, I think that was a neat call-forward as too were Zeke got the mask idea from, while still fitting it's own purpose in the story itself. (Haven't played Fates, so I can't comment, but I would be surprised if it was a result of, surprise, bad writing.)
Also, you spelled "mysterious" incorrectly.As for the leaks themselves, this is the first time I've ever followed a leak for anything, so I'm taking the whole thing with a grain of salt. I won't be surprised if this turns out to be true, but neither will I be shocked if it isn't. The story looks like it could work, even if I don't personally care about the gothic aesthetic, and making the Fire Emblem a Sundial pretty clever for the setting. We've seen the characters done before, but that's not a bad thing, as Fire Emblem thrives on putting twists on otherwise similar characters. I have few complaints or praises about the classes, and many of the mechanics, both new and old, make sense, even if I'm worried about how the promotion models will be handled, and I still have my qualms about S-Supports, but overall, it seems to be adding up to a pretty solid Fire Emblem game.