Got to say, it's one of the best games I've played on a portable console in a very long time, I thought Final Fantasy Tactics (I know it's a port ;) ) wouldn't be beaten but, man o man... I've never really had an interest in the FE games as they seemed a bit boring and not very story driven or just very basic, that and I'm not a big fan of Perma death, certainly on games where I can't save anywhere and at anytime I like, I like a challenge but if I feel the game pulls a cheap move on you and there were a few times where this would happen, like enemies having a 15% to hit and then one shotting a member of my team. But, with the choice to take perma death off and a really generous demo I made sure that when I got my 3DSXL for the first time I would have that as part of the bundle Nintendo were doing, I thought it would just be a very average game, as I said before, it's how I saw the others, 200+ Hours later I'm glad I was so very wrong! That 200+ hours is from me restarting the game 3 times...
(SPOILERS)
1. I made a male character and I felt that Chrom was coming onto my character a bit...strong. The very first cut scene where he took my hand and lifted me up he gave me a very prolonged look and smile, after a few other encounters Chrom just started to come off as more than a friend so I thought "Wonder if this game would be better if I played a Female character, Dragon Age Origins was great as a female character, maybe this will to."
2. Made a cool looking girl character, spiky long red hair and got to the point where Lucina is revealed to be your daughter...oh...well she looks like a teenager...this is a bit creepy...and I didn't get the full romance with Chrom...and normal is a bit...pointless...
3. Made a more mature looking female character, with long red hair with small bangs on the sides of her hair and gave her the more mature voice (no.2) and played on Lunatic, loved it, was the right amount of challenge and after each mission I really felt that Robin and Chrom were just meant to be together, they have the most dialogue together and they go through more together than any other love interest I noticed. But I got a bit overzealous with the story and just ploughed through it, I thought that maybe Lunatic wasn't all I thought it was...then I got to Grima. All of a sudden I got owned over and over and I realised that maybe I should've put a bit more effort in getting the right classes and skills...and maybe actually getting the child units would help, that and my children had blue hair and poor Robin only had red! Time for a replay!
4. My final play through, this time with the same voice and look BUT with blue hair! I spent more time into thinking about what classes to use and what skills to combine until I made some really awesome combo's, I didn't get all of the children as my team felt strong enough and fought Grima and won! Funny enough it wasn't Chrom or Lucina who won the day but Sumina, what can I say? Brave spear was a great addition! ;)
5. So now I've unlocked Lunatic+ and I'm currently on chapter 2, I've done the chapter before but I keep restarting it to get a decent weapon drop for Fred, as I remember the painful start I had on Lunatic.
So now that I've plugged a good 200+ hours into the game I'll share my thoughts on game as a whole, starting with...
Gameplay
So for a new player the game does a really good job at explaining the basics and I found myself picking up the basics very quickly, it wasn't until I got to end game did I start to see some flaws in the game.
For one is the child system, when I first played the game I had no idea that they inherited skills from their parents, less so that it was the very last one they had when they're partner reached S rank, meaning that on my first lunatic playthrough I ended up really messing up Morgan and Lucina.
I think it could've been handled a bit better, maybe some story element could've been put in place where time travel is explained (I'll get into this later) and your informed what will happen, maybe this is all explained in a tutorial on the lower difficulties and I skipped/missed it but it was one flaw.
Same goes for the skills you get from other classes, would it really of hurt to show you what each class can get at any given level?
I have a love/hate relationship with the idea of the seals being rare at the start, as though it would be nice to be able to plan out my team from the very start like you can in Final Fantasy Tactics, it does add an element of strategy to plan out who is getting what at the start.
That said, when you know how the game works and you have all the tools you need to make the team you want, it's the most fun you'll ever have. The excitement of grinding and working on your characters, looking at guides to see what skills do what and who gets it, this is when the game gets fun.
I usually find grinding in games very boring but FE:A helps it be not so much as if you pair them up with certain troops you get character development which in turn grants you extra buffs if they fight alongside them...such a great idea.
And when all of that grinding is over and you have the army that you've been planning for hours and you finally get to use them, when it all comes together it's such a fantastic feeling.
Story
This is where I'm a bit conflicted, because I don't think the story is all that, allot of it leaves more questions that answers, it wasn't as deep as Final Fantasy Tactics BUT what made the game was the characters, something I don't really feel FFT did a very good job of doing.
In FFT the story is very heavy, there is allot of twists and turns and political intrigue, to me it was a very mature game, it was very grim and I really appreciated the tone it took but recently I've realised that the game had one great flaw, I can't remember any of the characters apart from the villain...and I know cloud is in it.
So with FE:A I wasn't expecting it to really go into depth with politics or to take itself to seriously and I was both right and wrong.
I think if I had played the game as a male avatar I would be disappointed as the game would be more about Chrom and I don't think I could take his comments and approval that seriously, as it felt to me as if he wanted to be more than just good friends...but maybe that's just me.
When I played a Female Avatar however, that's when the story became a bit more interesting, the drama felt more believable.
I just felt more of a connection and understanding of Chrom when I played as a woman, he had small moments of compassion but he was a leader first and lover/father second.
The best moments were towards the end of the game when he started to realise that perhaps they would be parted and he desperately tries to cling hold to you, even to the point where he outright seems adamant to hold what he holds dear.
Major spoilers
And the ending...wow, at first I chose the ending where Robin lives, expecting a nice ending but I just loved the fact that she feels regret for not taking the blow, certainly after saying to Lucina that her life was hers, it always was, it just felt so...well written.
Then when I choose to sacrifice Robin it was sad but at the same time it was nice to see Chrom not fall down in tears but be the same old Chrom and say "She isn't dead, I know it, I'm going to make this kingdom ready for her and then I'm going find her." it was sad and tragic but at the same time, hopeful...and of course the end cut scene was really nice.
Phew...ok enough gushing, I just love the damn story and drama so much xP
One thing I didn't like was the lack of explanation of what kind of how everyone went back in time, in one scene we see Lucina being eaten by Grima whilst in the opening we see her run through a white and blue door, I understand there might be alternate realities but the game never really explains what's going on. I get the feeling that the DLC will explain more and I can't wait to play them on Lunatic+
My only final complaint and I think it's intentional for Robin but I wish we got to learn a bit more about Robin, I understand that as Chrom states it's what she's like now that matters not what she used to be but it would be nice to learn a bit more about Robin.
Music
Wow, just...wow. The music in this game is enough for me to listen whilst playing other games, one moment it's powerful and epic next it's bouncing and fun and the next minute it's beautiful.
Music is very important to me, certainly in video games and this was one of the best soundtracks I've ever listened to, hands down.
Overall Thoughts.
Despite a few flaws, some being quite major like the lack of explanation when it comes to class skills and children and the plotholes, I would still highly recommend this game.
It's not very everyone, true, but even if your not a nerd like me and you just want a fun game to sit back and enjoy it's story/Drama then it's certainly one that can deliver. It would not be a stretch to say that this is by far the best handheld even turn based RPG I've ever played in a very very long time.
