How Would a Combined Geneaology/Thracia Remake Work?

[Robert Stewart]

Whenever I see a new remake/localization topic for old FE game pop up, this suggestion is usually not far behind: why not remake FE4 and 5 as a single game? My question is (if you couldn't tell by the thread title), how would such a "combined remake" actually work? Most people who suggest a combination of the two games just leave it at that, with little elaboration on how you'd actually go about merging the two games. Do you merge the two stories into a single experience? Do you have them as two completely separate stories a la FE3 with its two books? Do you do something similar to FE7 with its Hector and Eliwood modes and have two different POVs for the same set of events? Also, should the pairings you make in FE4 affect things in FE5? How do you rectify things in FE5 that seem to contradict FE4(for example, Finn having his Brave Lance despite apparently having been paired with Lachesis)? And how much of Thracia's cast do you bring in to FE4? I'd love to hear people's thoughts on these things, as well as any other issues you might have thought of with a "combined remake."

[Ownagepuffs]

IIRC Thracia takes place in between chapter 5 and 6, right? Lol Thracia would be the biggest Gaiden chapter ever. But seriously, just keep them as two separate games on a combined cartridge

[Robert Stewart]

IIRC Thracia takes place in between chapter 5 and 6, right? Lol Thracia would be the biggest Gaiden chapter ever.

Not really. It takes place roughly concurrently with FE4 Chapters 6, 7, and 8.

Edited November 2, 2014 by shinpichu

[Mighty Kamina]

The styles of the games are too different to be part of a two in one thing IMO, unless they were just both on the same cartridge/disk and you'd choose which one you want to play.

[X-Naut]

I think it would play out like FE2. You'd play through a portion Seliph's Chapter 6, then play Leif's story up to the Manster capture, and then you'd alternate between the two a couple times until the Manster defense mission, where both sides would be in play at once. After that Seliph and Leif would be able to mix teams, then split up again and take different routes to a joint destination. A few chapters would be joint missions (I'm thinking final assaults on Thracia and Arvis as well as the finale), after which you could mix teams before the next split.

This would take some rewriting, including cutting down on Thracia 776 and adding new chapters for Leif, but it's plausible. Seliph could take the normal path through Thracia while Leif cuts along the coastline to the capital, Seliph goes after Miletos while Leif takes Raddos, and Seliph carves through Edda and Velthomer to Chalpy while Leif besieges Dozel and Freege.

[Mighty Kamina]

I think it would play out like FE2. You'd play through a portion Seliph's Chapter 6, then play Leif's story up to the Manster capture, and then you'd alternate between the two a couple times until the Manster defense mission, where both sides would be in play at once. After that Seliph and Leif would be able to mix teams, then split up again and take different routes to a joint destination. A few chapters would be joint missions (I'm thinking final assaults on Thracia and Arvis as well as the finale), after which you could mix teams before the next split.

This would take some rewriting, including cutting down on Thracia 776 and adding new chapters for Leif, but it's plausible. Seliph could take the normal path through Thracia while Leif cuts along the coastline to the capital, Seliph goes after Miletos while Leif takes Raddos, and Seliph carves through Edda and Velthomer to Chalpy while Leif besieges Dozel and Freege.

That would be pretty cool. There would have to be a lot of Leif chapter's near the start of gen 2 though, as most of Thracia 776 happens before chapter 6 of Genealogy of the Holy War even ends.

[bookofholsety]

at first i was of the opinion that, despite such a combination sounding cool on paper, it wouldn't be all that feasible considering the two aren't the easiest games to reconcile with each other. but then i saw this:

I think it would play out like FE2. You'd play through a portion Seliph's Chapter 6, then play Leif's story up to the Manster capture, and then you'd alternate between the two a couple times until the Manster defense mission, where both sides would be in play at once. After that Seliph and Leif would be able to mix teams, then split up again and take different routes to a joint destination. A few chapters would be joint missions (I'm thinking final assaults on Thracia and Arvis as well as the finale), after which you could mix teams before the next split.

This would take some rewriting, including cutting down on Thracia 776 and adding new chapters for Leif, but it's plausible. Seliph could take the normal path through Thracia while Leif cuts along the coastline to the capital, Seliph goes after Miletos while Leif takes Raddos, and Seliph carves through Edda and Velthomer to Chalpy while Leif besieges Dozel and Freege.

and i am suddenly convinced this would actually be a really neat way to address it! and hell, jugdral may not be getting a remake any time soon, but i'd love to see this fe2-esque approach to parties return at some point

[Cymbalina's Revenge]

at first i was of the opinion that, despite such a combination sounding cool on paper, it wouldn't be all that feasible considering the two aren't the easiest games to reconcile with each other. but then i saw this:

and i am suddenly convinced this would actually be a really neat way to address it! and hell, jugdral may not be getting a remake any time soon, but i'd love to see this fe2-esque approach to parties return at some point

Eh, still not convinced.

The tone of the two games is just so radically different-- large-scale continental warfare with a small party of super-warriors vs small-scale conflict in a relatively tiny geographical area with a pretty motley army. Even the color palettes are so sharply different! The atmosphere is different. Even if Gen2 were presented as its own standalone game I kind of feel that what makes each game itself would be stripped away in order to make a coherent whole of it.

[Ishi]

As awesome as this sounds I think it would only be possible if FE 4 gameplay was changed to standard fire emblem so shorter chapters and more units so that Leafs army just doesnt vanish when they unite and maybe throw in FE 10's separate armies so that you dont end up with Celice slaughtering Berdo.

[sirmola]

Eh. The games are so hard to reconcile that you would probably be better served going the "mother 1+2" route.

[Jedi]

It just wouldn't work. They are way too different in style and tone to just try to mesh together.

[Roivann]

Tonally, yeah, I won't argue that fe4 and fe5 are different games. But the core gameplay mechanics are similar, yet still different enough that a few chapters of FE5 to split up each chapter of FE4 would be pretty cool, and a nice change of pace IMO.

[momogeek2141]

I think it would play out like FE2. You'd play through a portion Seliph's Chapter 6, then play Leif's story up to the Manster capture, and then you'd alternate between the two a couple times until the Manster defense mission, where both sides would be in play at once. After that Seliph and Leif would be able to mix teams, then split up again and take different routes to a joint destination. A few chapters would be joint missions (I'm thinking final assaults on Thracia and Arvis as well as the finale), after which you could mix teams before the next split.

This would take some rewriting, including cutting down on Thracia 776 and adding new chapters for Leif, but it's plausible. Seliph could take the normal path through Thracia while Leif cuts along the coastline to the capital, Seliph goes after Miletos while Leif takes Raddos, and Seliph carves through Edda and Velthomer to Chalpy while Leif besieges Dozel and Freege.

This would work, however the parts with Seliph's story would have to be broken down. E.g., MULTIPLE missions to Ganesheire, then Leaf's story to Manster, then another choice, with Seliph picking which castle to attack (recruiting the Joha) then getting ambushed by the other. Etc. It would be a LONG game, but it would work. One thing to mention that I don't think anyone has yet was that all of Sigurd's is played first, then this.

[Cymbalina's Revenge]

One thing to mention that I don't think anyone has yet was that all of Sigurd's is played first, then this.

That's where I was going with Gen2 being presented as a standalone-- Super Leif and Seliph Quest or whatever. I think you definitely could get a full-length game out of an integrated Seliph Campaign and Leif Campaign, but the end result would likely sacrifice essential characteristics of the campaigns as they are in the SNES games and the resulting hybrid would be... different. Maybe good, maybe not

But having Sigurd's campaign followed by Super Leif and Seliph Quest sounds really imbalanced IMO.