Has Fire Emblem ascended to...Godhood?

[sumerian99]

In addition to my completion of the game, Fire Emblem : Awakening's overwhelmingly massive success and ultra positive reviews have made me come to a conclusion.

Fire Emblem has become something more than what it was. Much more. No more words can be used to describe this mythical transformation.

Except perhaps one word.

As a devout follower, I, for one, will now kneel to Fire Emblem and accept its ascendance to...Godhood.

*Kneel*

http://www.youtube.c...g&v=M4QTEzsCRIE

Do you believe Fire Emblem has ascended to Godhood?

Edited February 6, 2013 by sumerian99

[IkeandMia]

The only thing I find a bit worrying is that IS seems to have went "all out" on this one, both in terms of content, gameplay, and fanservice.

Where does the series go from here?

[Samias]

Shoring up the story. Bringing back more terrain advantages such as ledges. Perhaps working in a better fog of war system. I can think of plenty of improvements, even though Awakening is a fantastic game.

[Anacybele]

The series keeps going further! That's what should happen! There shouldn't be a time where IS suddenly decides "oh, the games are good enough now, let's not try any harder." In fact, that's really silly. Awakening's success is just the first step on the stairs to big popularity! There will always be ways IS could come up with new features, improve some old ones, and even reuse already perfect ones in different ways!

Hell, Fire Emblem rising to such great Mt. Everest heights could even make more people like its genre of gaming and make it become a household name among gamers all over the world!

Ah, the success of Awakening is so far what I've always dreamed of happening for an FE game or two.

[IkeandMia]

Well yeah, don't get me wrong. I didn't mean to imply that they just shouldn't try to make any more or anything. It's just that this one is so gooood, I was having trouble trying to think of how they could top this endeavor. Though I'm sure IS will deliver.

[Anacybele]

Yeah, I have no doubt that they will! They just better not reconsider that Mars/modernizing idea I heard about. xP

[Loki Laufeyson]

This game is probably gonna be hailed as the best in the series for years to come. Theres just...so much going on. So much. Im actually a little overwhelmed with what this game offers. I expected decent. I did not expect the amazeballs i received and im pretty damn happy with that.

Theres still plenty that could use fine tuning though. Supports are damn near perfected, but what about fully voiced stuff? Full voice acting is inching closer and closer. I think we will get it completely eventually. Fully animated portraits can happen too in the future. Samias is right about the ledges. That was awesome. I'd love to see that again. Since Pair Up isnt quite like Rescue, that could be improved. Mounted units dont have canto in this game so that could improve as well. There a lot of little things that IS could do in future titles.

[BrightBow]

It's still disheartening for me to see that my former favorite series turned into such an otaku mud-pool.

If this is what it takes to be popular in the world these days, then I'm seriously disappointed.

Edited February 6, 2013 by BrightBow

[nocturnal YL]

The only thing I find a bit worrying is that IS seems to have went "all out" on this one, both in terms of content, gameplay, and fanservice.

Where does the series go from here?

How about mixing in more elements of the old games (actually useful magic weapons, ledges, revert to a more FE12-like story...) and make it even better? FE13 is absolutely awesome, but it also has so many starkling flaws. Like FE10, I have an urge to modify this game. This time, it's the class and weapon system that I want to change. At least add back playable Soldier, tune down Demon Fighter, make Bride more magic-oriented, make Shockstick actually useful, and above all put some light magc back. Arrrrrgh.

Is FE13 the best game now? I wholeheartedly agree. Is it the best game in the future? Please don't make it so, IS.

[Loki Laufeyson]

It's still disheartening for me to see that my former favorite series turned into such an otaku mud-pool.

If this is what it takes to be popular in the world these days, then I'm seriously disappointed.

Wut? The only thing super anime-ish i found was the art style. What are you babbling about?

[sumerian99]

It's still disheartening for me to see that my former favorite series turned into such an otaku mud-pool.

If this is what it takes to be popular in the world these days, then I'm seriously disappointed.

What do you mean by Otaku mudpool? : (

I mean sure there's a more contemporary anime style in the art, but you have to consider they have made an effort to make the art a bit refreshing compared to the more traditionnal character appearances in the past.

It's not like they're THAT different anyway. The character types still keep their essence.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Or maybe the pairing system was a bit too much for the guy. Either way, lol!!!

[sumerian99]

Or maybe the pairing system was a bit too much for the guy. Either way, lol!!!

Well, nobody forces you to create a freakin' harem, even if you can. 0_o

[Samias]

There are a lot more typical anime archetypes at play in this game. They've always been in the games but Path of Radiance's few and focused support conversations meant there had to be a lot more character development in one conversation, whereas Awakening's wide range of supports mean the one prominent trait of a character ends up being played many times, making the traits more obvious. More of the characters are like Marcia or Kieran, moreso than TItania, Jill, or Soren. I don't think it's a terrible thing, given the amount of characters and the fact they wanted to leave the children system as customizable as possible, but there isn't as much depth as the team has shown they are capable of. The localization isn't really all that otaku, though. Many of the iffy scenarios from the Japanese version have been severely toned down/changed.

[spoiler=Vague spoilery stuff in here]

There are a few key scenes in this game that are truly amazing but I see a lot of room for improvement. Half of this game sort of reminds me of the downfalls Radiant Dawn ran into, where they bring up the stakes so high but don't really know where to take the suspense of the situation. However, in this case, it's the 2nd act that sags a little after a strong 1st act, regaining a little strength in the 3rd act.

[sumerian99]

Awww, common, although constructive criticism is fine, I believe we should let Fire Emblem enjoy this moment of glory for the time being. Its a time for majestuous celebration! : D

OUR FRANCHISE HAS BECOME A GOD! Many, many people who once never noticed this holy franchise have now turned and embraced the divinity that Fire Emblem is. A once humble, mostly unnoticed franchise, has now been aknowledged as one of the gods of videogaming.

Isnt that awesome by itself?

Edited February 6, 2013 by sumerian99

[BrightBow]

What do you mean by Otaku mudpool? : (

I mean sure there's a more contemporary anime style in the art, but you have to consider they have made an effort to make the art a bit refreshing compared to the more traditionnal character appearances in the past.

It's not like they're THAT different anyway. The character types still keep their essence.

I wouldn't call it refreshing, considering that letting women fight in lingerie is pretty much a standard in the fantasy genre.

It was Fire Emblem which was very refreshing in that regard.

It it's particularly painful to me that Fire Emblem avoided this for two decades just to suddenly be worse about it then the whole competition.

Edited February 6, 2013 by BrightBow

[Loki Laufeyson]

I wouldn't call it refreshing, considering that letting women fight in lingerie is pretty much a standard in the fantasy genre.

It was Fire Emblem which was very refreshing in that regard.

It it's particularly painful to me that Fire Emblem avoided this for two decades just to suddenly be worse about it then the whole competition.

Oh give me a break. Lets just take a steaming one all over a pretty amazing game simply because theres some scantily clad ladies in it. Im not a fan of Tharja's outfit design or Nowie's (who looks pretty ridiculous) overall design, but come on! Am i gonna hate on a perfectly great game just because of that?

[nocturnal YL]

I wouldn't call it refreshing, considering that letting women fight in lingerie is pretty much a standard in the fantasy genre.

It was Fire Emblem which was very refreshing in that regard.

It it's particularly painful to me that Fire Emblem avoided this for two decades just to suddenly be worse about it then the whole competition.

Correction: less than 20 years. If FE13's what you call too generic, well, FE4's no better. Or worse, actually.

As for the whole "women fight in lingerie" thing, I thought this has been the case for select characters anyway. FE9/10 are particularly "clean" in that aspect, but that's it.

Personally, I like the FE9/10 style better, but I wouldn't say FE13's much worse. FE13's... well, very mild compared to FE4.

Edited February 6, 2013 by nocturnal YL

[Strunk]

I wouldn't call it refreshing, considering that letting women fight in lingerie is pretty much a standard in the fantasy genre.

It was Fire Emblem which was very refreshing in that regard.

It it's particularly painful to me that Fire Emblem avoided this for two decades just to suddenly be worse about it then the whole competition.

Okay, not that I believe half the things you say about this game, but, what is so bad about being more like anime? What is so bad about appealing to different demographics? What is so bad about this game that it discredits all of the many, many good things this game has? I get that you don't like it, and may in fact actually hate it, but can't you at least realize there are actual good things about this game, too?

[BrightBow]

Correction: less than 20 years. If FE13's what you call too generic, well, FE4's no better. Or worse, actually.

As for the whole "women fight in lingerie" thing, I thought this has been the case for select characters anyway. FE9/10 are particularly "clean" in that aspect, but that's it.

The only ones we had so far were all dancers and they didn't have to fight.

Edited February 6, 2013 by BrightBow

[Pervio]

Wut? The only thing super anime-ish i found was the art style. What are you babbling about?

Honestly man, as great as Awakening seems, I completely agree with BrightBow. The characters give the impression that they were based on stereotypes at times. Tsundere, yandere, quiet/nice/cute girl, proud/rude princess, loli, etc. Then for the guys there's the lazy guy, bland badass, muscular tough guy, meek guy, guy who looks like a girl and such. Samias said it perfectly though, it's not much a problem and it's still evident characters were given albeit more thought and such, even with their "main trait" so to speak, being played off much more often. For me, I don't have too much of a problem with it, though I can understand why someone would. Personally, the only real complaint I have is the designs themselves being not as slick and cool as previous titles, however that is of course, subjective.

All in all, I do think Fire Emblem is going in a great direction and has improved in a wide range of areas and goes to show unlike Sticker Star, Nintendo can add and remove details of game play in a positive direction. Despite them following stereotypical anime archetypes, they're at the same time still given more character than a lot of the cast from previous games where it's much harder to grasp their personality. I don't like focusing on negative aspects too much, so that's why I added that little part of positive opinion.

On the other hand, I disagree with calling the art "super anime-ish" though Awakening's artist isn't my favourite, I don't think it's "super anime-ish" and what I mean by that is, conforming to the majority of anime today, which is a style often known as "moe". Though there are some characters that are out of it, it still follows the trait of "realistic anime" art for me where to say the least, characters are proportionate.

Edit: Also, stating a dislike or stating a criticism isn't the same as hating a game.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Pervio

[Parrhesia]

OUR FRANCHISE HAS BECOME A GOD! Many, many people who once never noticed this holy franchise have now turned and embraced the divinity that Fire Emblem is. A once humble, mostly unnoticed franchise, has now been aknowledged as one of the gods of videogaming.

This is literally the worst paragraph I have ever read. I have read Nazi propaganda less offensive to my soul than what you have just vomited onto the page.

Look, I'll preface this by saying I've not played FE13; in all likelihood, I never will, as I have no interest in buying a console with the main gimmick of 'triggers epilepsy'. But I don't like the gimmicky, skill-focused turn it seems to be taking. I mean, the entire point of FE is that it's simple and intuitive; you don't have to balance numbers, and can focus on strategy. But my concern is that that's been abandoned in favour of a very optimisation-focused engine.

BrightBow, get over yourself, I agree with your sentiment but pegasus knights have worn shit clothing since forever.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Furetchen

[sumerian99]

I wouldn't call it refreshing, considering that letting women fight in lingerie is pretty much a standard in the fantasy genre.

It was Fire Emblem which was very refreshing in that regard.

It it's particularly painful to me that Fire Emblem avoided this for two decades just to suddenly be worse about it then the whole competition.

Erm, apart from Tharja, Aversa and Nowi, I dont see what you're talking about.

Lissa - No

Sully - Freakin' No

Miriel - No

Sumia - Oh my god, she has linked stockings. Not like previous Pegasus girls never had stockings!

Cordelia - See Sumia.

Cynthia - See Sumia and Cordelia.

Nah - Same thing as the Pegasus girls.

Maribelle - No

Panne - Oh common she's a Taguel! Volug fought BARE CHESTED in RD. Are we really gonna complain about a beast species wearing not that much clothing?

Anna- No

Cherche - She's showing some skin on her back and barely some on the back of her legs. I dont see any lingerie there.

Say'ri - No

Olivia - She's a DANCER. Expect her to wear a zillion armored pieces?

Tiki - Ohmigod linked stockings. Such a big deal.

Flavia - No

Kjelle - Hell freakin' no

Severa - No

Noire - No

You have right to your own opinion, but I think you are overestimating the amount of girls showing too much ''skin'' and not wearing enough armor (at least, according to your standards).

Edited February 6, 2013 by sumerian99

[BrightBow]

Okay, not that I believe half the things you say about this game, but, what is so bad about being more like anime? What is so bad about appealing to different demographics? What is so bad about this game that it discredits all of the many, many good things this game has? I get that you don't like it, and may in fact actually hate it, but can't you at least realize there are actual good things about this game, too?

The fact that there might be good things about this game is what I'm worried about since I would say that the art goes indeed a long way to discredit a lot of the things that the game has to offer in regards to story and characterization.

Stories and settings need believability, which is unnecessary strained by having people go into combat using a wardrobe that can impossibly allow movement or armor that can impossibly protect.

Especially in a series like Fire Emblem, where death tends to be more then a minor inconvenience and happens outside of the script.

Also, there should be no place in the mainstream for sexualized little girls.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Honestly man, as great as Awakening seems, I completely agree with BrightBow. The characters give the impression that they were based on stereotypes at times. Tsundere, yandere, quiet/nice/cute girl, proud/rude princess, loli, etc. Then for the guys there's the lazy guy, bland badass, muscular tough guy, meek guy, guy who looks like a girl and such. Samias said it perfectly though, it's not much a problem and it's still evident characters were given albeit more thought and such, even with their "main trait" so to speak, being played off much more often. For me, I don't have too much of a problem with it, though I can understand why someone would. Personally, the only real complaint I have is the designs themselves being not as slick and cool as previous titles, however that is of course, subjective.

And?

Its Fire Emblem. I wasnt expecting A Song of Ice and Fire style character study.