SF's opinion on all the Fire Emblems (1-5 because poll restrictions)

[PKL]

Just curious as to what FEs are better received in SF and stuff. Poll restricts it to 5 questions sadly. But If a mod is ok with it, I'll make the threads for 6-10 and 11-13 later.

[Nicolas]

IMO FE5 is best.

It's really funny to try somehow strange unit and skill combination to beat this game. IMO Wrath+Elite Nanna is really good.

[charlie_]

FE2 was super fun for me, actually.

The rest kind of suck.

[Refa]

FE1- I like how it created the series and all, but it has a lot of shortcomings that make it a lot less enjoyable to play as a whole.

FE2- Holds up rather well over the years. Yes, it's maps suck and its slow as fuck and some maps are fucking stoopid, but its core design philosophy is actually better than the recent FE games with overworld maps. Maps.

FE3- It's got an abridged version of FE1 combined with an all new game, which is better. Also introduced dismounting. It's good, but like eh...it's not really my FE game of choice to play.

FE4- The very best that there ever was! I know it's broken as fuck, but that's why I love it. Also the Genealogy part of the title is well done.

FE5- This one is fun and all, but I dunno, after a while I tend to get bored with it. Brings a lot of new ideas to the table though, so props for that, I guess.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Refa

[Ice Sage]

FE2 was really fun imo.

FE4 bored me to death. the music is nice tho

FE5 I like Fatigue and Capture a lot. always have a fun time with this one

[Hamicsat]

FE1 was more archaic than explicitly bad. If you were able to get past the awful user interface (it didn't even show your units' movement ranges, for god's sake), it was decently fun, but FE3 Book 1 is the same thing but MUCH better.

Never played FE2.

FE3 was a ton of fun for me. I wish that you could change unit formations (especially in Chapter 20 Book 1), but that's my only real complaint. I found it very challenging, but still fair overall.

FE4 is a flawed masterpiece. The holy weapons are broken as hell, the huge maps cripple any non-mounted units, and the second gen units can knee-drop what's left of the game with good pairings. On the other hand, the holy blood/inheritance system was a ground-breaking innovation, the gameplay was fun in both generations, and the storyline is one of the best in the series. And dat soundtrack, too...

Didn't play much of FE5; got stuck on Chapter 5. I had great fun with what little I played, though. The Capture system, along with the 0 starting funds, was fantastic; it's a great mechanic that fits very well with the game's plot, given that Leaf and co. are fugitives/rebels with no wealth to speak of. If I weren't a scrub, I'd probably love it.

[BrightBow]

Unfortunately I haven't played FE1 yet, so I can't comment on that (and unfortunately can't skip it on the poll).

Though, given that I can't endure FE3 Book 1 for very long either, it's probably about on the same level as that one.

FE2 on the other hand is probably the best one of the games with a traversable world map. At least in design. The Famicom clunkiness really doesn't hold up too well.

The game actually has traversable villages and other areas, which goes a long way in making the world feel more like an actual place. It's great that the game took out money and weapon durability.

It's way too stressful having to deal with that when having to go through random encounters. It's bad enough that they are boring but in later FE games, they are downright unpleasant to deal with because you can actually loose money and valuable items. You can be a lot more relaxed in FE2. #

It also has the widest array of magic spells (not that this is saying much) and archers which are actually good for something.

But what really baffles me, is that weapons still have the same stats as in FE1. With only one slot, the used item should be nothing but a power up.

Despite being a SNES game, FE3 still feels way too much like an NES game. The colors are all muddy and the instruments have no real direction.

But most of all: The controls are still awful. Just getting the cursor where you want it, can be quite a chore. Combine that with large maps and the game moves at an awful slow pace. So far, I couldn't neither finish book 1 or book 2.

The second SNES game is more what I'm talking about. Beautiful colors, music and you can actually freely move the cursor where you want it too. I don't care that the maps are huge. Moving units is actually fun in this game.

The graphics aren't the only thing which are beautiful and colorful. Jugdral has so much to it. All those characters, families and factions which are changed so much by the wars over the decades.

The playable characters aren't except from that. They are now so much more then a unique mugshot. The game develops their families and other relationships and allows them to have their own stakes in the war. They even have their own inventories and funds. Children feel a lot more meaningful when they inherit so much from their parents. The world and the cast are just wonderfully engaging.

The gameplay is quite unique. And for the most part, that is a good thing. But the army vs army clashes gets older faster then the more interesting map designs in most other games.

FE5 seriously confuses me. Why does it even exist? FE4 was already released in the same year as the N64. Why even start another SNES game, yet alone release it 3 years after the N64?

But I'm glad they did because FE5 is absolutely amazing. The world and characters are just as developed as in FE4 but the closer focus on events results in a way more tense atmosphere.

Plus, the game leaves the out the usual boring "muhaha, I'm so evil" kind of antagonists out entirely. It actually portrays the opponents as actual people and goes as far as giving bandits a proper motivation.

The world ends up a lot more interesting, believable and immersive as a result. Personally I already get a lot out of avoiding to kill enemies and simply capturing them.

The game got tons of mechanics that make characters more unique from each other. Skills, PCC, supports boasts, Leadership, Personal weapons, unique classes... etc.

So despite scrolls being the broken messes they are, it's still interesting to try out new characters. The same goes for the maps too. Since they are all so diverse, they all invite to try out new strategies.

As a result, the game has tons of replay value.

Unfortunately the controls are back to being a bit of a mess. This time, you can't change starting positions at all. And near the end, starting positions become more important then ever.

So things can be undeserving unfair at times since you often can't start maps as optimal as you should be allowed.

And they really should have gone back to the Akaneia avoid formula because the average grunt can end up being too much of a pushover because of it.

Also, the item storage is too small. But I do kinda like that the storage caps at 128 rather then 100 like the later GBA games. Who cares that 100 is such a nice round number? Make every Bit count, dammit.

On the bright side, the game added a battle preparations shop, which offers all the basic items. It's quite helpful.

Ultimately, the good outweighs the bad by a large amount and Thracia offers the best and most advanced gameplay in the series.

Edited February 26, 2014 by BrightBow

[Florete]

There should be "haven't played" options so we can vote on the ones we have played without putting something random in the ones we haven't. For now, I dropped Mediocre votes on the first three, which I have not played.

I put a good on FE4 because it was fun to play and unique, but has multiple problems that bring it down.

I voted bad on FE5 because I found it more frustrating than anything else. I didn't even finish the game as there just wasn't really anything keeping me interested. I started skipping the story midway through, though I recall the translation/localization being pretty bad, which is likely a contributing factor.

[Nicolas]

I voted bad on FE5 because I found it more frustrating than anything else. I didn't even finish the game as there just wasn't really anything keeping me interested. I started skipping the story midway through, though I recall the translation/localization being pretty bad, which is likely a contributing factor.

After which chapter have you finished?

[Robert Stewart]

Haven't played FE1 or 2 enough to comment on those.

FE3 is okay from what I've played, though I've only made it part way through Book 1. It's a bit clunky, but I find it mildly enjoyable nonetheless.

FE4 is pretty good.

FE5 has a really good story. It also has some really neat mechanics. Capture is a load of fun. Fatigue I'm largely indifferent on: I don't think it's great, but I think how bad it is tends to get exaggerated(the main problem with it is that it's explained very poorly, so it can come as a shock to a lot of first-time players). I also think dismounting is a neat, but poorly executed idea(I'd like it if dismounted units used the same weapons mounted and dismounted but with different ranks rather than just being forced to use swords). However, I don't find the game's flavour of difficulty enjoyable. Some of the mechanics they introduced (like that random "move again" thing) feels like they were trying to make the game as RNG dependant as possible. Also, **** not being able to choose unit placement before battles. That's unforgivable, especially since there are chapters in this game that split up your units. It didn't even need to let you reposition your units like in FE6. FE3 and the NES games let you adjust position by character order. No such luck in Thracia.

Also, recruiting certain characters seems unnecessarily obscure and/or difficult (and not just Xavier).

Edited February 26, 2014 by shinpichu

[Florete]

After which chapter have you finished?

17, 18, somewhere around there.

[edza90]

FE1- some interesting gimmicks, but it's too sluggish and elementary...

FE2- unique, more like a classical jrpg, good use of map, I like the branching paths for the characters to take as class promotions, interesting use of weapons and items, but terrible map-design and broken archers

FE3- it's FE1 with restiling and sleeker gameplay and a brand new story

FE4- very difficult in some parts, unbalanced characters and skills, feels cheap and boring missions (all seizes like the prior ones)

FE5- best fire emblem ever until FE10, which is his spiritual successor after the other quasi spirtual successor FE7... no need to expect excellent stats (everyone is very viable if you know when to use them), great way to custom your characters via skill manuals, lot's of quirky gimmick maps, high difficulty but high reward, unique gameplay mechanics... too bad there are no plot-related supports, characters characterization is atrocious and some maps requires to know priorly where your characters are going to be disposed on the map before it starts (no plausible way to place them)... FE10 replaces capture with skills distribution but has some of the most prominent thracia 776 features (too bad you can't steal weapons)...
Also some characters becomes obsolete after a while (Dalshin is the one that suffers it most... why no Great Shield on promotion for a GENERAL?)

Edited February 26, 2014 by edza90

[PM ME MARIANNE ART]

I haven't played FE1-3, so I just put mediocre

FE4 is absolutely fantastic

I love what I've seen of the story and characters in FE5 but I have not been having fun with the gameplay, so I just put mediocre

[Jedi]

1 started the series, it gets a pass.

2. Has some really cool concepts which TRS, Fe8, fe10 and 13 used.

3. Grand game, introduced one of my favorite mechanics dismount, also told a pretty good story and had fun characters.

4. While being one of the easiest games in The series its innovations were grand, everyone is also perfectly useable (even with the map size I still use quite a few foot units). Great story and characters, the inheritance system was amazing as was the music.

Fe5 is the masterpiece of the first five in my honest opinion, a desperate struggle, great characters, dismount, fatigue and such as well as capture and FoW being added.

[Silver Lightning]

I'd vote FE4 as great, but I can't vote for the others in good conscience seeing as I've only played FE4. :<

[Thor Odinson]

Need haven't played options

did not play 1-3

Tried to play 3 and couldn't deal with how clunky the controls are also the graphics suck

I like 4

5 is my favourite FE so there's that

Edited February 27, 2014 by Thor Odinson

[Icon of Sin]

1 is archaic and it's pretty hilarious today, but for a Nintendo game it's pretty damn solid.

2 should be alright but I didn't experience it.

3 is a mixed bag. Book 1 is dumbed down, but Book 2 is better than average.

4 isn't bad, but the game was meant to feel a bit more epic with the continental confrontations, therefore the maps feel strangely empty.

5 isn't perfect but the innovations still make it my favorite. Capture, fatigue, actual night combat and dismount are great, though I do have issues with how magic was handled and a bit about the actual diversity of enemies.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Woodshooter

[Sock]

*poke* Where's the "haven't played" option?

[DarkCrusader]

Haven't played Fire Emblems 1 - 3 (Although I want to play FE 2). Too bad I wasn't allowed to skip those options.

Fire Emblem 4 is my favorite Fire Emblem of all time. Best story, amazing characters, fantastic soundtrack (my favorite one actually), realistic representation of medieval politics and it's ridiculously OP which I seem to be one of the few people in existence to actually ENJOY OP characters. I love the Holy Weapons, I prefer this game's inheritance system to Awakening's, this game had some amazing villains (Alvis and Trabant for example) and I actually like the huge maps because it gives me that feeling that I'm fighting armies in an actual country instead of a skirmish against a few people here and there.

I love Fire Emblem 5's gameplay. Love the capture system, I actually enjoy the concept behind the fatigue system. I like the feeling that I'm taking control of an army that doesn't really have very many funds and is mostly comprised of thieves, villagers etc. I felt like I was fighting a well organized Empire and I enjoyed that. I guess I'm in the minority when I say that I found the story forgettable. At least it has OP Personal weapons which I enjoy.