This game is one of the better FEs as a story, yes?

[Retsudo]

Compared to the other FEs I've played so far, I say yes.

Especially Blazing Sword.

[Ϲharlie]

I say no. It ranks pretty low on my personal list.

[FrostyFireMage]

Definitely not.

MacGuffin gathering quests are so lazy and unoriginal.

[Rewjeo]

I really don't know how I would rank FE stories. They generally have their good bits (Barhara, some Nergal stuff, Eirika route Lyon come to mind) but I find FE stories (and characters) generally bland. I would say that this one beats Marth's games (except maybe the stuff added into FE12, although I haven't played it in English yet) and FE6, ties FE7, loses to FE10, and I think Jugdral/FE9 had better stories IMO but I haven't played them in a long time so I'm not sure.

[Retsudo]

Definitely not.

MacGuffin gathering quests are so lazy and unoriginal.

As is a game where some guy is trying to take over the continent/world. Or bring forth some ancient being or creature.

See: Assorted FE games.

[RJWalker]

I'd put it somewhere in between.

[Gone2Ground]

This game's strength is in its characters, not its plot. The best plot by far is still Jugdral as a whole, but this one (IMO) has the best interactions between the characters, especially how some of the Gen2 kids are worried that they'll be 'replaced' by their younger selves in a few years.

[Rewjeo]

As is a game where some guy is trying to take over the continent/world. Or bring forth some ancient being or creature.

See: Assorted FE games.

Of all the FE games (and TRS) there is only one where you don't end up fighting some kind of dragon/deity/both at the end, and that's FE9. And a lot of FE9's major plot pieces don't get resolved until FE10, anyways, where you do fight one. It's more or less the same with the takeover thing, too. Of the games I've played, assuming I remember the plots correctly, only 7 and 10 don't involve you actively fighting a rising empire on its way to world conquest.

[Constable Reggie]

This game probably has some of the best characterization in any Fe game, but it's story is still somewhat average with a few cool twists. On the flip side, Judgral (specifically 4 part 1 and Thracia) have really great stories, but nowhere near as good characterization. And then you have Fe6, which has neither.

[Dark Sage]

FE4's story is awful and it has some of the worst writing in the series.

FE8 probably has the best story (aka I actually like it) in the series but that's not a high bar

Edited March 2, 2013 by Tyrant Sage

[RJWalker]

FE4's story is awful and it has some of the worst writing in the series.

I won't comment on the writing since that may or may not be the result of us only having a fan translation. I will say that the second gen is not even half as interesting as the first and is sinfully boring.

[Agro]

Of all the FE games (and TRS) there is only one where you don't end up fighting some kind of dragon/deity/both at the end, and that's FE9. And a lot of FE9's major plot pieces don't get resolved until FE10, anyways, where you do fight one. It's more or less the same with the takeover thing, too. Of the games I've played, assuming I remember the plots correctly, only 7 and 10 don't involve you actively fighting a rising empire on its way to world conquest.

I would argue that Rajaion counts as a dragon too, but that's just being pedantic.

FE7 is pretty much the only game that doesn't have an evil empire although UNLIMITED ASSASSINS is not a great storyline either.

I don't think it matters if the storyline isn't original. The evil empire thing is almost necessary for a game like Fire Emblem to work--you need a storyline that accommodates legions of soldiers attacking the player whilst simultaneously allowing the player's army to grow. Evil empire works pretty well for this, and I don't really mind it at all. What's most important is having good characters who we can hate and love and a well-written main storyline. In that light FE7 has a very good story. Unlimitedassassins isn't very realistic and is kind of stupid when you think about it, but it did allow for great characters like Lloyd, Linus, Ephidel, Sonia, etc. to have some time in the spotlight and for us to think "hey these guys are cool wait what I have to kill them?". I think it's not about what happens: it's how it happens, and being able to watch what people do in the face of adversity--that's what makes an interesting story.

[Retsudo]

Also Lyon is a better antagonist than Nergal. And others.

Edited March 2, 2013 by Retsudo

[Rehab]

-Insert joke condemning Tyrant Sage's opinions and posting, made in a format similar to his post in which he denounced the story and writing of the game I am obviously honor-bound to white-knight in service of

[Oh yeah, fe8's story/etc. My take already basically got nailed for me, I like the characters enough that I want to see what happens to them and I think there are some interesting things going on in general, but I think the plot devices are sometimes given more weight than the characters using them, and I think that's kind of a shame.]

Edited March 2, 2013 by Rehab

[ZemZem]

FE8's story could've been written better, but I still enjoyed the premise of it. Like Reggie said, the characters were the main strength of FE8, and they're definitely some of my favorite in the series. Even some of the villains (Selena, Valter, Lyon) were nicely written and kept me interested.

As for FE4's story, Gen I's was pretty great, but Gen II's was...rather eh. I still prefer playing Gen II rather than Gen I, but it isn't for story related reasons.

[PresidentEden]

Fire Emblem has historically been driven by exceptional character development relative to other games. The plot is a placeholder.

That's why Sacred Stones's plot sucks, in a nutshell. The antagonist is literally the only interesting and unique character in the game. I love it as a game but I'm not about to pretend it has a good plot.

[Duff Ostrich]

Sacred Stones doesn't have one of the better stories, and both GBA titles are superior to it in that regard.

FE4's story is awful and it has some of the worst writing in the series.

It's already been mentioned, but how do you judge the writing of a game that hasn't been properly localized? I'm assuming you can't read Japanese.

[Integrity]

I actually liked Gen 2's story more than Gen 1's.

EDIT: topic matter: i also liked fe8's story well enough

Edited March 2, 2013 by Integrity

[Retsudo]

What makes Blazing Sword and Binding Blade's plots better than Sacred Stones.

How are the the characters from either games more interesting, seeing as how many of them don't contribute that much throughout the story and don't really have a good reason to join Eliwood's party. Like Karel and Geitz. And how many chapters there were that didn't advance the story. And how Lyon was a better character than Nergal and Zephiel like how Sephiroth is a better character than Ultimecia and other FF antagonists.

Edited March 2, 2013 by Retsudo

[PresidentEden]

Are any of those statements meant to be questions?

[Samias]

I actually like the plot of Sacred Stones quite a bit. Yes, it's a MacGuffin quest, but so are half of the other Fire Emblem games. Other than Riev I actually found the enemy forces quite compelling as a whole, all there for their own reasons. Eirika, despite her naivety, was a lot less obnoxious than Lyn, and the fact that she had the option of being the protagonist the whole way through the game is a positive attribute. Ultimately I think the journey presented in Blazing Sword is slightly more enjoyable than Sacred Stones (excluding Lyn's route zzz), but Sacred Stones had a much better antagonists overall. I think one of the biggest downfalls of the game is that it's short even accounting for the route split, so everything happens fast and furious.

Of course I think FE9 is the best story of all the games, but Sacred Stones isn't really that bad. Whether you like it more than Blazing Sword really comes down to whether or not you prefer the big picture (Blazing Sword) or the character moments (Sacred Stones). I don't know anyone who prefers Sealed Sword but maybe they're out there too.

[Retsudo]

Eirika contributed more than Lyn through the story.

Like, what did she do after her filler that was so important?

All of Sacred Stones Lord characters contribute enough. Can't say that about Blazing Sword.

Edited March 2, 2013 by Retsudo

[Tamanoir]

You know, I really like FE5 story, in fact... August is really awesome.

Though characters are completely undevelopped here...

FE8 is pretty fun and enjoyable, and it have Valter who really is a better Narshen.

[sunshineYON]

I've played 11(essentially 1), 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and half way through 13.

So far I put 1, 6 and 13 below it, and that's it.

I found the characters to be bland(Some are cool, but bad ratio) and the story to be too shallow, no politics or complexities. I can't judge 1 because 3 is tied to it, and I can't fully judge 13 yet because I haven't finished it yet.

The best story is by far 9 and 10. It deals with so many issues regarding racism, the travesties of war(the occupation of Begnion in Daein, Serenes Massacre, etc.) Sacrifices(Elincia's willingness to forgo Lucia's life for the sake of her country, internal political turmoil, ..... and there's a lot of conflicts where there are no right and wrong sides. Sacred Stones is pretty much just - Dark Lord rises again, let's unite and defeat it, the end.

[I don't play for turns]

I disagree. I see it as this: Awakening first, Radiant dawn second, then FE7-9, and then Shadow Dragon.

Awakening story-wise seems to be the only one that's legitimately impressed me. Radiant Dawn was still fairly interesting though, while Shadow Dragon seemed fairly bland, boring, and predictable. The others were OK.