BrightBow

The base menu from FE9-10. I think it really does wonders for the pacing of the game, to have this really nice and comfy place to return to after an exiting battle. And it offers a good atmosphere to manage the inventory, check up on the crew and talk to the locals, like you are really enjoying a brief respite between two life-or-death battles. Plus, Info conversations offer an opportunit to have conversations with the team that feel like they actually have some relevance.

Oh definitely. After all, that's were the heart pieces usually are. If they are not in a chest that spawns after taking over a base, they are probably in a rock somewhere. I am currently playing adventure mode, though. So in order to get a good rank, I can't afford sticking around for too long once I got enough kills. Edit: Btw, the SKultulas early on seem almost set up to troll people. Like, in the second stage, there is no way in hell you get that one because you will have 1000 kills way too early. To make matters worse, you can actually listen to it's noises... except it's on the wrong side of a locked door. But the noise is so loud, you think it's on your side, so you run all over the place until it disappears.

There are two control schemes: A "Warriors" one and a "Zelda" one. Warriors is the standard Warriors button configuration, the Zelda one is a bit different in order to make it feel more like a normal Zelda game. The B-button is the attack button on the Zelda control scheme but the Dodge button on the Warriors one.

Roll or slide, it's a quick movement with invincibility frames that prevents you from getting hit. It doesn't actually matter what the animation looks like. Also, you can block. It's with ZL. Just make sure that you don't forget to lock-on. It's easy to forget that since the Warriors games normally don't have that. His dragon transformation seems to be his Mousou move or Special move or whatever it's called. Like when Link uses his Great Spin, he is probably completely invincible while doing it and there is not much else to do but to stay away for a few seconds. Btw, in case anyone missed it, if you hold the dodge button you can instantly start sprinting after the dodge is over

I'm pretty sure he never, ever moves. Even if someone goes in movement range. But of course one wouldn't know that when playing the chapter for the first time. And that uncertainty is all that is needed in order to make his appearance effective. After all, he did move in his previous appearance. Possibly with fatal results. Ike dying to the Black Knight in chapter 11 was of course totally unfair but I think the experience affected the rest of the campaign in a way that made it worth it overall.

Zelgius is fine but I'm more of a fan of the Black Knight in PoR. I mean, he killed Greil who was already established to be powerful enough to beat Petrine without breaking a sweat. And when Ike struggles to land a blow against him, he easily dodges and subdues him. He showed that he was going to stop from nothing to get what he wants. If he wasn't stopped there in the forest, he would not only kill Mist as he threatened but everyone. Because nobody would be able to stand a chance against this guy. But Greil could do nothing but futility try to struggle to get back to his feet and Ike's swordplay was completely useless. It truly established him as an absolute unstoppable force that could wipe out the entire crew if he would put his mind on it. This is important. I mean, look at Aversa. She shows up early in the game, showing off her massive stats... but nothing in the game implies she is powerful. So it feels like she only has these high stats because she is an endgame boss. You are afraid of the numbers, not the character. But when the Black Knight enters the battlefield, his stats are as high as they are because he really is just that strong. In his case, the numbers are only confirming what you already thought. And man, does he know how to enter the battlefield. In chapter 11, just knowing that the guy was on the same map as my guys freaked me the hell out. And then he just popped out of that building... and then slowly walked towards Ike, his battle theme kicked in... Black Knight: We meet again, son of Greil. Ike: … Black Knight: Why do you challenge me? You are not worthy of being my foe. Flee while you are able. Ike: You… You! Die! Die now! Aaaaaaaarrrr! Black Knight: …Fool. ...and then he killed him. Ike: Gwa, aah… …I…I was not… strong…enough… Black Knight: Did you truly think to challenge me with this pathetic band? It appears you never learned to exercise discretion… No matter…you would not have survived regardless. Seriously, there was even a unique death quote for this encounter. It really rubbed my loss into my face and drove the fear of his appearance and theme into my bones. And then he shows up again in chapter 24. The battle is going fine and then this guy with his ridiculous power shows up. His motives are unclear but he could completely turn the tables in this battle. And he... stands were he is. He just stands there. He just stands there between the trees and stares like he is the freaking Slenderman. The last time he stared like that, Greil died shortly after. Adrenalin is high but all I can do is to work on my mission and pray that he stays were he is until the end.

I kinda feel like gushing over Impa a bit. Now Impa hits all the good marks in general. Her weapon, fighting style and overall appearance leave little to be desired... but she is essentially my favorite Warriors Orochi 3 characters rolled into one: Zhou Tai and Xiahou Dun. Agile massive broadsword action used by quickly drawing it. Mousous Super moves feel so good to use. One draw and everyone gets knocked of their feet. And she has a scar over the eye. Granted, given the way it looks it might not be a literal scar but the effect is the same. It says: "I've seen many battles and survived, which means when I am in good spirits now, it's because I know I'm going to win". I didn't even know badass levels like this were possible, let alone coming from a female character in a Koei game. I mean, it's not like Koei was strongly restricted in their design possibilities. With Impa's many incarnations, they could have made her just about anything. And of all the possibilities they had, they decided to make her over-the-top and awesome. And not boring and bland like just about every woman in the massive crossover cast of Warriors Orochi 3. Seriously: She fights by quickly drawing a massive broadsword from it's sheet. Jetstream Sam, your sheath gun is just about the most amazing thing ever but I think you found your master. Current favorites are Impa, Zelda, Link and Lana in that order. It goes without saying that playing with Telda after all those games is made of awesome. Her moves seem to be cool too but I haven't quite gotten the hang of them yet. Link is slowly loosing my favor because I now find myself using only his sword beam against groups and his standard combo against bigger foes. I blame the weakpoint gauge. All those fancy moves don't matter much when you only deal scratch damage without this gauge. And nothing beats the beam when dealing with crowds. Lana gains it because I find myself using just about every move and every variation of her spellbook weapon. She looks as generic as it gets but her moveset seems to be the best designed of every Warriors character I ever played. Also, I originally thought her Mousu is pretty much useless but as it turns out it completely wrecks bosses when used correctly. Which is good because they get very boring after a while.

I think you are really not doing enough justice to Valter. He loves to present himself to others as a mere arrogant slimebag but when he is alone.. or when he is about to kill the sole person present, the mask comes off and you can see that he is a highly cunning, manipulative, sadistic and bloodthirsty monster. Seriously, the first thing he does is to almost kill the Seth, leaving a wound so deep that he never stops feeling it. And he let him get away on a mere whim. He is a wildcard. He might attack you or he might manipulate his own allies against each other, even killing them himself. But while you never know what he is gonna do, you do know that he stalks both of the clueless twins with equal amounts of lust for their blood and lust for their bodies. Eventually he will attack them. And given his cunning, it will be at the worst time possible. Which is exactly what happens in the end. Also, he does have motives. Revenge: Valter: “Heh heh… We were a grand trio–the Imperial Three: You, Duessel, and me. But my place among you was stolen, and I was exiled from Grado.” Glen: “You slaughtered people who had no intention of fighting. The emperor’s punishment was just and warranted.” Valter: “Heh heh…heh heh heh… After my fall from glory, only desire kept me alive. Desire for revenge. My hatred burned so fierce that I was only barely able to keep my sanity. That hatred keeps me warm still today. Oh, how it burns…” Serving his bloodlust: Valter: "If Grado wins too easily, there’ll be no more bloodshed. We must do what we can to extend the fun… I believe it’s time for me to return to my darling Eirika. It wouldn’t do for Glen to arrive before me, would it? .. Valter: “Hear me, Glen, wyvern general of the Imperial Three. I live for battle. I crave it. I have no need for peace. That is why you must die.” ... Valter: “I’ve no use for these bloodless minnows… Give me prey that will sate my bloodlust… I hunger!” And of course his creepy obsession with the twins. Valter: “Ha ha… Eirika, eh? She’s a ripe little peach. And her brother, Ephraim… He’s better prey than I’d imagined. I can feel my blood rushing at the thought. This might be fun after all.” ... Valter: "I’ve sent a gift your way, Eirika, but I trust you can handle it. You’re my girl after all. I need you to be strong for me…" I think Rief summed him up pretty well: Riev: “Heh heh heh… Your fangs are still sharp, eh? Good. Very good. Ah, Valter… You’re a beast. You’re bound to no country. You care nothing for friend or foe. Kill a man, claim a woman… You live for nothing more, you wretched beast. That’s your strength. That’s what makes you stronger than any many alive. A beast acts without remorse. Man’s morality cannot win. It’s nature’s way… I know Awakening tries to play what this guy represents for humor and fetish appeal with Henry and Tharja respectively but when played straight like in this game it's terrifying. Plus, Valter is a lot more manipulative then either of those... but then again, it's not like they ever had to hide their nature. I would say the problem with Valter is that the scenario were he is encountered is stronger then the actual map design, aka he doesn't feel very threatening when he doesn't move and you can safely kill him at your leisure. The best script in the world couldn't fix that problem.

I did get it actually. I just figured that since Fire Emblem doesn't have useless-ass werewolves but does have Axe Armors, I could try to tie into that. It wasn't my intention to come across like I simply didn't get the reference. And yes, there are definitely no generic enemies with personal skills in FE4. There probably aren't any in FE5 either.

Axe Armors never had any skills. Anyway, normally they don't have any skills but FE4/5 has class skills. Meaning, certain classes will always have certain skills, even when they are just grunts.

I would say Dark Magic works fine in that game: A separate category of spells exclusive for those who specialize in offensive spells as opposed to more adding more flexibility by using a class that allows to use Staffs or Swords as well. Or at least I would say that if it weren't for the fact that they not only gave exclusive access to Nosferatu to a class with strong defense but also gave that class a skill that increases attack power based on the damage taken that has the potential to trigger with every single attack.

Only Fire Emblem. Even then, I'm not sure if that even counts since I didn't go out of my way to play it at all, so I think it would have happened anyway. Otherwise, I had been a massive Nintendo fan before so I've seen just about all of it at some point, including some Mr. Game & Watch games (as opposed to just Game & Watch games, which may also feature characters like Mario and Link). The exception is Samus but I was brought to the series through a friend's Metroid Prime disc, so that definitely doesn't count.

I don't quite get that. Obviously any method of speeding up enemy phase would be helpful but literally skipping it? One would end up taking about just as much time checking everyone's HP and position in order to ensure not to make a critical mistake. And it's handy to be immediately informed other stuff too, like exp gain. Anyway, I always miss... -The base menu of FE9-10. Seriously, this thing is one of the best additions to the series. It provides a nice relaxing atmosphere while handling party matter. I especially like the changing backgrounds. They are a small detail yet they give the feeling like you are really travelling across the land -Info conversations -storage space larger then 100 -Ability to place units on the map manually. -FE4/5 style RNG -FE4/5/TRS style critical hits -PCC -Rescue -Being able to check the weapon range on a Ballista -Using items during battle preparation -Master seals (Especially in TRS) -Ballista and TRS style catapults -FE8 style random encounters (if there are any. And there shouldn't be any. These suckers can always be sent away, so they never stand in the way for too long. Also if you do want to fight, there is always a place to go without having to waste real-world time.) -Being able to restart a chapter at any time even without needing a savefile (from TRS) -The ability to buy one kind of item in great quantities. (Only a Awakening thing, since you'd actually need it here due to tonics being extremely cheap) -Canto -RD style terrain -RD style Armoured Knights (More speed. A higher defense doesn't matter that much if you take twice as many hits.) -Personal weapons -Weapon fusion (I'm not a fan of the Awakening charging thing actually. It should be superior but it somehow feels weird to literally suck the durability out of another weapon. It even has a really icky sound effect to go along with it.) -Leadership stars -TRS style Summoning -TRS style dismounting (involves less swords and more movement then in FE5) -TRS style dragons -TRS style weapon weight -Ability to trade weapons with yourself (as opposed to trading weapons back and forth until you get the right one in the first slot) -FE3/5 Support system -if not then FE9 style supports -FE3-5 battle animations -Dodging animations (Their lack in FE1/2 never stops being weird.) -FE4/TRS levelling system (Mostly Awakening due to the existence of Second Seals rendering the lv20 cap meaningless and just ends up being a massive pain as a result. But the entire "reset level on promotion" thing is always unnecessary complicated and a beginner's trap.) -Ability to move on the world map with buttons (Of course preferably there wouldn't even be a world map) -Having a single shop that sells any item that can currently be bought rather then having to check several dozens locations until I find the one that sells HP tonics. (They can't even put all the tonics in the same shop at least.) -FE4 style Weapon repairing (only a FE8/13 thing due to them being open-ended)

I forgot about those guys. They are such a pain. I have no idea how to properly tackle these guys. Since they all give massive support bonuses to each other, paying attention to their movement order and then taking them out one by one on enemy phase seems to be the most obvisious solution but because of the desert, only Raffin and Dragonknight Mahter can possibly pull that off. And using Aura Rain would be cheap. Not to mention that Kress needs to kill Marco in order to progress with the Leetana event. Of course they are an optional boss and can be ignored but Narcius (and the money he stole) can't be recruited without triggering them. Thankfully one can legetly save mid-chapter in TRS. And I can't think of a better opportunity to use a charge of the Memory Staff.

Well, there really is nobody who trusts him... except for the guy who is also gullible enough to believe that it's perfectly normal for certain contracts to be signed with blood. It's a shame that only the extended script has Lekain pointing out to Pelleas how ridiculous this is.

Yes. Since last week. Other then the narrator, it doesn't seem like any voices were translated into English. Not that the rest of the game has much voice acting, just brief voice clips as usual for the Zelda series.

The script page of FE8 Chapter 19B currently displays the text of Chapter 18B.

Almedha lost her powers as well. So the Laguz parent is always the sucker, regardless of gender. Given that Lehran still has wings, it seems like the human form doesn't get altered. Almedha herself was stated to be strong enough to give Tibarn trouble. And as a Dragon Laguz, she wouldn't have any unhuman features like wings, just like Nasir and the other dragons.

A track with the name "For Whose Sake" was also in FE3. Said track got later reused in FE7 under the title "Strategem". However, the latter is an event theme rather then an enemy phase theme. Also, both Tear Ring Saga and Berwick Saga feature a track called "For Whose Sake". So it's apparently a Kaga thing.

The Valkyre Staff theme sounds like the second half (starting 0:30 to be precise) of the Light World Dungeon theme from A Link to the Past.

My guess is Lehran. While he is specifically not one of the Three Heroes, the fact that he was able to stand up to the group that defeated Dheginsea must count for something. And considering he had mantle in PoR, his power doesn't seem to be dependent on Ashera's presence. Also, I would like to point out that Seti specifically stated that he can't overcome the Loputo Sword even with Holced.

Combat in the game is definitely a blast. It's so much more varied then what I've ever seen in a warriors game. Lock-on and surprisingly creative enemy design makes for a pretty neat combination. I would also say the controls feel a lot better in general. I also like that the leveling system seems like it no longer possess that much power. My biggest issue with the Warriors games is that the massive stat inflation over the levels made it very difficult to get a good experience because there was no easy way to tell how high-leveled the enemies were. And it gets only worse when the difficulties are factored in. The difficulty levels weren't only affecting the AI, they were also affecting stats to an absurd the degree. So with a fresh lv 1 character, you usually have the choice between enemies who essentially can't fight back and decently acting enemies who take ages to kill. This doesn't seem to be the case here. There are no visible stats, only the power of your weapon and the amounts of hears in your lifebar. I thought it was just for show but they really do seem to work like a proper Zelda lifebar. So there is a lot more wiggle room when deciding what maps to tackle without things getting boring or a massive pain in the ass. Or maybe the game just successfully tricked me by automatically leveling new character. My biggest grief with the game is that it sometimes tries to imitate Zelda tropes when it doesn't really work. Like, in a 3D Zelda you usually open a chest once you get rid of all the enemies around and you can catch a breath again. But using the same kind of animation when there is a huge battle going on and you still have the adrenalin going feels weird. The animation is just way too slow and over-dramatic for that. It at least works fine when you get a chest right at the end of the map as a reward. Also similarly, the animation of the Great Fairy appearing and casting a spell quickly outstayed it's welcome. I know it's hard to resist for Koei to move their camera all over the body of a near naked women but it's just the same motions over and over and over. There isn't even dialog to read in the meantime. It gets old fast but you can't skip it if you want to see the part of the cutscene that is actually relevant to the battle. Besides, the Great Fairies are essentially a Deus Ex Machina, doing random crap that needs to happen in order to win a battle rather then letting the player do something themselves to win the battle. And it's just way too overused. I think it happened in every second map so far. Heck, it should never happen at all. Like, I have to fight a boss. I beat him once, suddenly he gets back-up and I'm told to get to the Fairy to prevent that from happening again. There is no point to this other then wasting my time by making me run all over the map. It's not like the Great Fairies ever did that in the Zelda games. They just give new items, abilities or enhancements and bait you with gold/silver bombs. They don't cause random miracles all over the place. Also, I hate how the first DLC has already a huge button plastered over the main menu. It makes the menu look like an add-infested homepage. And I'm afraid of what might happen when more DLC gets released. Maybe those buttons will end up taking the entire right side of the screen. Screw the DLC, were can I get a Premium account so I no longer get hassled by those flashy ads? I know that sounds very negative and all but it's always easier to point out the small things which distract from an otherwise near-flawless experience. At this point I find it hard to imagine that this game won't turn out to be my favorite Warriors game.

I would say that the inclusion serves no purpose and is executed in the most graceless way possible. I mean, who are they even? Did they have a nation? Were they nomads? How can the glorious leader of Ylisse not know that there was a genocide against the Tanguel? Don't people notice that kind of thing? And most importantly: Who killed them? Philia says Emmeryn is not at fault? Well, care to elaborate then? Because there aren't too many nations who even could be responsible in the first place. So who is at fault? Plegia? Ferox? Or maybe it's Ylisse after all? Are we going to answer any of that? Of course not. Off to the next scenario. Which features a never-seen-before advisor who never betrayed Emmeryn even back when she was a vulnerable little child, who betrays her 5 seconds after his introduction for no reason, gets killed 5 seconds later and never gets mentioned again. At least genocide isn't the only thing that's brought up in this game just because Awakening apparently needs to fill it's textboxes with something to prevent the game from crashing. And they serve no purpose in terms of gameplay either. They don't play anything like the Laguz, they play like Manakete. Taguel don't have 2 Range but neither did the Manakete in FE1, 6, 8 and 11. They only ever did in FE3. But most importantly, the Beorc-Laguz conflict was nothing short of the cornerstone of the Tellius saga. In this game, the Taguel are just kinda... there. Except when they are not, which is every scene after chapter 6. The genocide on the Taguel is nothing but (I hate using that term but I don't know a different one) a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment. It exists to be forgotten before the audience has time to ask the obvious questions. It's hard to call them a tribute if they are just barfed into the game like that. All things considered, the Taguel pretty much feel to me like they just exist so that IS can create a clone of Fran while pretending that they are really just tributing the Laguz.

Come to think of it, this is the third game that features both Marth and trophies... and he still doesn't have a single trophy that is associated with him. Makes me almost surprised that the game doesn't have the trophies of Marth and Ike listed under "Super Smash Bros." by now. The Smash bros main site already denies that there has ever been a Fire Emblem featuring either of those as a main character. Fire Emblem 1 to 12? What's that?

I guess Roy Campbell does not count? Nobody says the line " He can fart to fly around, too." quite like him. Otherwise we have a clone of Marth in more then one way and one of the Koopalings. Maybe it's because I haven't seen the TV series but I never got why anybody would care that much about them. Well, I guess the Koopa is still the winner.