Wist Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I love to own game artwork. I have kept my comprehensive Pokémon Crystal walkthrough, and I bought a new Ocarina of Time guide when Ocarina of Time was re-released for the GameCube, because I enjoy occasionally poring over the artwork. I was also sure to quickly pick up new copies Persona 3 and Growlanser: Heritage of War. I would be displeased with myself if I had waited to buy used copies only to find the original art books then unavailable. I am aware that in these latter two cases the art books could be considered marketing gimmicks, but I enjoy having them. While we were trying to determine conclusively which game modes of Fire Emblem 7 allow the player to obtain the Silver Card, I checked my old Fire Emblem 7 guide for confirmation. The guide did not elucidate how the Silver Card is obtained but I was reminded of the plethora of artwork in the book. I am curious as to the quality of the artwork in the other Fire Emblem guides. Nintendo Power’s 160 page guide for Path of Radiance is currently selling at $8.00 on Amazon.com with Prima’s 224 page guide for Radiant Dawn selling at $13.60. I am also able to purchase Enterbrain’s 287 page Radiant Dawn guide for approximately $20.00. Can anybody with any of these guides attest to their quality in regards to both the information presented and the amount of artwork? My only experience with Prima is with their Ocarina of Time walkthrough (and their horrendously outdated StarCraft) which lacked large pieces of artwork, and I have no experience with Enterbrain. I would check the Radiant Dawn guide in a store but the only hard copies I have yet come across have been wrapped in plastic. I appreciate all responses and or input regarding this matter. I do not want to buy a guide only to find that all of the artwork has been relegated to small empty spaces. - - - - - - - - - - So as to make this thread relevant to more forum members than just me, I pose the following question: what do you make of using guides to play through Fire Emblem? Do you check enemy placements and reinforcements, or how to recruit characters, before starting a chapter or do you figure it out as you play? I played Fire Emblem 7 using my guide but I played through Sacred Stones entirely unaided (I was thus pleased to learn that there are no secret characters or chapters in Sacred Stones). I am aware that a couple of art books for the older Fire Emblem games have been published in Japan. Has anybody on this forum been inspired enough to try obtaining any of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanz Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I like to run through the games "blind" myself. If I have some sort of guide I will be tempted to skip ahead and I think it really takes the fun out of it. There isn't much more fun than thinking your healers are safe only to have reinforcements appear right next to them and trying to save them before anything bad happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florete Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I like to run through the games "blind" myself. If I have some sort of guide I will be tempted to skip ahead and I think it really takes the fun out of it. There isn't much more fun than thinking your healers are safe only to have reinforcements appear right next to them and trying to save them before anything bad happens. I second that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurion_Emblem Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I like artwork too! I've looked through my FE7 guidebook for the artwork many times... Prima is pretty weak as far as having all the data, but they tend to do a good job with artwork... well I only had a guide for FE7, and I used it my first time through...well I used it for how many enemies there were and what they had, for deployement of my units (how many weapons to bring + where to place units at start)...also for getting units... funny story, my first time through FE7, I misread the guide and thought it said to kill Dart in chapter 16x(?) instead of let him live...well I thought that sounded funny, so I saved on an empty slot, just in case that wasn't the case...when I landed on Dread Isle and I didn't get Dart, I was glad I had my save file...so that time I did NOT kill Dart, and I got him on Dread Isle...^.^...yeah I even had re-read and re-re-read it and I was confident it told me to kill Dart... but it helped for knowing who to talk to with who...saved lots of time that way... and well Serenes has the pictures from FE1(/3?) and FE4's guide books...so you can find them at the FE1 page and FE4 page...that is to say if you are only interested in art...you wouldn't have much interest in reading Japanese would you? sorry, I abandoned this post in the middle, so I'm sorry if someone already posted the links... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGV Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 yeah the artwork does make it pretty cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wist Posted January 22, 2008 Author Share Posted January 22, 2008 Thank you for your responses. I feel safe trusting Aurion's experience with Prima and will buy Prima's Radiant Dawn guide when I next have a good opportunity to do so. I also appreciate your linking me to the artwork for Fire Emblem 1 and Fire Emblem 4 but I investigated those particular pages a few months ago. I had initially hoped to obtain the original books but I lack the knowledge and experience to go about finding them from a reputable source. In regard to the guide for Fire Emblem 7, I found the boss strategy outlined on page 99 to be utterly useless. As for using guides to while playing games, I am inclined to agree that the games are more fun and engaging if the stress of surviving unexpected reinforcements is present. While I played Sacred Stones unaided, I made use of GameFAQs to check how each character can be recruited in Path of Radiance. I'll pose a similarly related question: Do you check ahead to see when the main lord, or lords, of a game are forced to promote? Do you think the Fire Emblem games to clearly indicate when a lord will be forced to promote? I don't have a problem raising a lord up to level twenty before he or she is required to promote; however, I find the lack of a clear forewarning in this matter a nuisance because I might raise a lord to level twenty significantly earlier than is necessary. Roy of Fire Emblem 6 is a good example; he promotes incredibly late in the game and becomes which can leave the player with an unusable lord (assuming the player wishes to reserve experience for other units) for many chapters. If you have something to add which does not directly pertain to the questions I have asked, feel free to post your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanz Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 I don't check, but usually get my Lord to 20 as soon as I can and then keep them out of the way until they promote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seraphim Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Ah, I buy guidebooks for the art, too. ¦D Well, let's see. The Prima guide for Radiant Dawn isn't as image heavy as Nintendo's Path of Radiance guide, that's for sure. If you want large pictures, the one Prima has are of Micaiah, Skrimir, Lucia, Laura, Izuka, Naesala, Rafiel, Zelguis, Leonardo, Sothe, Pelleas, Elinica, Micaiah, Nolan, Nailah, and Leanne (maybe Tauroneo). And then they just reuse them (in smaller form), and some other characters, to fill in space. I also heard that Enterbrain's quality isn't that great. : P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wist Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 Ok, thank you. I will pass on Enterbrain's guide and buy Nintendo Power's Path of Radiance Guide alongside Prima's Radiant Dawn guide. I don't check, but usually get my Lord to 20 as soon as I can and then keep them out of the way until they promote.How much faster do you allow your lord to level up in comparison to your other characters? My lord usually ends up with the most level ups a few chapters in, but after that the lord's growth decelerates because I try to ensure my lord reaches level twenty just before being promoted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteor Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I use the Lords like normal until they 20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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