What do you think is the most underrated Fire Emblem?

[Dragoncat]

Sacred Stones. It gets a lot of hate for apparently having easy enemies, I haven't seen them being any easier than the ones in the other games honestly. It appears to be underrated by even Nintendo and Intelligent Systems because it hasn't been given a prequel or sequel...

Shadow Dragon...I think they tried to keep it as close to the original as possible, but it suffered for it.

[Magical Glace]

Sacred Stones. It gets a lot of hate for apparently having easy enemies, I haven't seen them being any easier than the ones in the other games honestly. It appears to be underrated by even Nintendo and Intelligent Systems because it hasn't been given a prequel or sequel...

Shadow Dragon...I think they tried to keep it as close to the original as possible, but it suffered for it.

>Chapter 20

>unpromoted enemies

Yeah...

[Lord Raven]

I dislike 'underrated' as a term, but I'd say Shadow Dragon has been the victim of unwarranted animosity to the greatest extent.

Well maybe if it didn't feel as developed as a fucking NES game then I could stand doing a second playthrough.

If you're talking about Path of Radiance, maybe.

If you think Radiant Dawn is just purely loved, you don't know what you're talking about. RD gets loads of criticism.

Radiant Dawn's gameplay is loved; Path of Radiance's gameplay is reviled.

You're thinking plotwise. Plotwise, Radiant Dawn began to have a ton of issues in part 3.

[Dragoncat]

>Chapter 20

>unpromoted enemies

Yeah...

In a game without auto promotions at level 21...I'm sure the average person won't have a team full of promoted people even at that point.

[Irysa]

Well maybe if it didn't feel as developed as a fucking NES game then I could stand doing a second playthrough.

Shadow Dragon has way more put into it than the original NES game in terms of user friendliness and has a significant amount of extra content too. Using the term "NES game" as an insult is pretty funny when considering that some of the best games ever made are on that console, and even in extremely long running franchises the NES titles are often pointed back to as being some of the best (Castlevania III, Megaman 2, Ninja Gaiden II, Kirby's Adventure, Gradius, SMB3, Dragon Quest III ETC ETC ETC). People don't get pissy about other HD remakes of old NES games, FE11 is pretty undeserving of the shit thrown at it comparativeily.

FE1 was an amazing game for it's time but the original menu system and such is really archaic. FE3 updated it a bit but FE11 is the quintessential version.

Radiant Dawn's gameplay is loved; Path of Radiance's gameplay is reviled.

I like PoR's gameplay more than RD. What is so "reviling" about PoR's gameplay?

Edited March 10, 2015 by Irysa

[Florete]

Radiant Dawn's gameplay is loved; Path of Radiance's gameplay is reviled.

You're thinking plotwise. Plotwise, Radiant Dawn began to have a ton of issues in part 3.

While RD's gameplay is definitely the highlight of the game for most, saying PoR's gameplay is "reviled" is far from true. And people do take issue with aspects of RD's gameplay, chiefly:

-Team swapping.

-Under-leveled DB units.

-Over-powered Laguz royals.

-Part 4 being tedious.

But it's not like the topic specified gameplay or story. RD gets a lot of criticism. That much is true, whether it's for the story or the gameplay.

[Robert Stewart]

I voted FE6 but I'd say it's a toss up between FE11 and 6. Both games get a ton of shit that IMO they don't really deserve.

Personal bias says FE3 because I hear too many people just say "oh Book 1 is an inferior version of FE1" or "I could just play FE1/11/12" or stuff like that.

Edited March 10, 2015 by #RR. shinpichu

[Lord Raven]

I don't see many people on this forum complaining about those, considering this is a good chunk of the fandom right here. At any rate, 3 of those things are a result of personal preference and aren't things you can say is objectively good or bad.

Underrated means that the game is being judged well below what it actually is. Radiant Dawn, on here, has a tendency to be judged as a fun game with some wonky ass plot halfway through part 3. Path of Radiance, on here, has been criticized as an easy-to-break snoozefest with no map animations.

You get really unnecessarily defensive about Radiant Dawn and it's ridiculous. Those two games are rated just about right.

Shadow Dragon has way more put into it than the original NES game in terms of user friendliness and has a significant amount of extra content too. Using the term "NES game" as an insult is pretty funny when considering that some of the best games ever made are on that console, and even in extremely long running franchises the NES titles are often pointed back to as being some of the best (Castlevania III, Megaman 2, Ninja Gaiden II, Kirby's Adventure, Gradius, SMB3, Dragon Quest III ETC ETC ETC). People don't get pissy about other HD remakes of old NES games, FE11 is pretty undeserving of the shit thrown at it comparativeily.

The difference is that those games were considered great in the 90s. I cannot play a single game from the NES era anymore without feeling some sort of tedium, simply because I do not feel like the games have aged well; I don't view those games at all as some of the best. As it stood, FE11 felt like I was playing an NES game with better graphics and better interface, but it still felt like an NES game for lack of a better way to put it. I don't have rose tinted goggles about this.

I like PoR's gameplay more than RD. What is so "reviling" about PoR's gameplay?

I like it too, but in general the Enemy Phases are slow, the maps can be too easy, and BEXP makes it also very easy. Revile may not be the best word, but people don't particularly talk fondly of it. Edited March 10, 2015 by Lord Raven

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

FE1 was an amazing game for it's time but the original menu system and such is really archaic. FE3 updated it a bit but FE11 is the quintessential version.

FE1 wasn't really amazing for its time. I would say that if the first game was like.... FE3, but not FE1

I mean there has to be a good reason that even the creator themselves are dismissing FE1 as a laughable game, and calling the menu system archaic is a massive overstatement(its like totally shit). You could probably make a game that feel TOTALLY DIFFERENT by fixing the menu system.

Honestly I always had a feeling that if Shadow Dragon has those shiny support convos and dreamy no sacrifice gaiden chapters, like 50 - 60% of the complainers would gtfo

Edited March 10, 2015 by JSND

[Florete]

Underrated means that the game is being judged well below what it actually is. Radiant Dawn, on here, has a tendency to be judged as a fun game with some wonky ass plot halfway through part 3. Path of Radiance, on here, has been criticized as an easy-to-break snoozefest with no map animations.

I've seen so much criticism for RD I've largely given up arguing back, so no, I don't agree with this assessment.

Path of Radiance is very well-loved. People acknowledge its balance issues, but you don't actually hear people criticizing it or calling it a bad game or something (which, yes, has happened for RD). And the problem is that the map animations take forever (if there were none, that would be good), but this is only a problem at all for people who play the game a lot, and if they play the game a lot, they probably like it.

You get really unnecessarily defensive about Radiant Dawn and it's ridiculous. Those two games are rated just about right.

Wtf? I haven't defended Radiant Dawn at all. I'm explaining the reaction to the game I've seen in my years here and you're calling me "ridiculous?" What the hell?

[Magical Glace]

In a game without auto promotions at level 21...I'm sure the average person won't have a team full of promoted people even at that point.

You get a lot of promotion items by then.

Most of my teams are magical and I can promote Lute, Ewan, L'Arachel, Knoll, and Artur by CH20. Plus Vanessa, Tana, Neimi, lords, and 2 cavs...

And you can buy promo items the previous chapter with deep pockets.

[Shadow Mir]

I voted FE3, because I'm eccentric like that.

[Irysa]

The difference is that those games were considered great in the 90s.

No they're considered great now. Those games are all still amazing. I still replay some of them. People like NES games in the present or there wouldn't be the stupid demand for retro platformers and crap in the indie market.

I cannot play a single game from the NES era anymore without feeling some sort of tedium, simply because I do not feel like the games have aged well; I don't view those games at all as some of the best. As it stood, FE11 felt like I was playing an NES game with better graphics and better interface, but it still felt like an NES game for lack of a better way to put it. I don't have rose tinted goggles about this.

I wasn't even playing videogames when those games came out, this isn't a case of rose tinted goggles, I went back through most of the old NES library in my later years and there are still absoloute gems in there. Castlevania I and III in particular are just mind boggling and still completely mop the floor with many other contemporary platformers released to this day and have ridiculously tightly designed areas when it comes to enemy positioning and the like.

FE1 wasn't really amazing for its time. I would say that if the first game was like.... FE3, but not FE1

Dragon Warrior only came out 4 years before FE1 dude. FE1 is barebones but the gap between early light rpgs to FFIV and DQV is pretty sizable, and okay, whilst "amazing" may not be the best term, FE1 had at it's absoloute core some really ambitious facets. It still deserves to be noted.

, and calling the menu system archaic is a massive overstatement(its like totally shit).

You mean understatement? Yeah fair enough, it is awful.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Irysa

[Yojinbo]

FE6 is a really good game that doesn't get a lot of appreciation, unlike most other FE games who imo actually deserve some of the flak they get at times. A lot of the complaints I hear about FE6 are based on ignorance more than anything.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Yojinbo

[Jedi]

FE6 is a really good game that doesn't get a lot of appreciation, unlike most other FE games who imo actually deserve some of the flak they get at times. A lot of the complaints I hear about FE6 are based on ignorance more than anything.

This is how I feel about FE6 as well(You can call me biased if you want). I mean it's not PERFECT, but damn some of the complaints..

Edited March 10, 2015 by Jedi

[sirmola]

I voted SD simply because so many people around here talk as if it were vomit-inducingly horrible, when it is still good (if not as good as most FEs). Sure, the NES leftovers held it back, but it's still good (although not exelent) despite that. Also people talk as if "a fun SD playthrough" is an oxymoron, but iv'e had two.

Edited March 11, 2015 by sirmola

[Star and Moon]

Out of all the games I'm familiar with (Every one after FE7) Shadow Dragon seems to be the most underrated. I like it a lot, but it did suffer from missing a few key features from other games such as Rescue (would've LOVED that) and the ability for other characters besides Marth to visit villages.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Star and Moon

[Shin]

Shadow Dragon by virtue of it actually being pretty OK rather than apparently the greatest thing ever. FE2/4/5/6/12 are all pretty guilty of being overhyped.

[Tryhard]

underrated has never been defined to me so I don't really have an answer

FE2/4/5/6/12 are all pretty guilty of being overhyped.

who hypes fe2 besides me

[Yojinbo]

lol @ 2 & 6 being overhyped

[Shadow Mir]

FE2/4/5/6/12 are all pretty guilty of being overhyped.

FE2, overhyped? What.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Levant Caprice

[Ownagepuffs]

The members of this site and the fire emblem subreddit love RD to pieces. I can't call it underrated. Also Red Fox, why would someone complain about the royals? They are optional endgame win buttons. Nothing wrong with that.

As for my vote? SD. No FE game deserves the amount of shit SD gets.

[Lord Raven]

I've seen so much criticism for RD I've largely given up arguing back, so no, I don't agree with this assessment.

Path of Radiance is very well-loved. People acknowledge its balance issues, but you don't actually hear people criticizing it or calling it a bad game or something (which, yes, has happened for RD). And the problem is that the map animations take forever (if there were none, that would be good), but this is only a problem at all for people who play the game a lot, and if they play the game a lot, they probably like it.

That's probably because Path of Radiance doesn't have any extreme opinions one way or another when it comes to the gameplay and the plot just makes the game feel better. Radiant Dawn's system was inherently polarizing. This is not equivalent to underrated. I love playing Radiant Dawn, but I don't think it's underrated.

No they're considered great now. Those games are all still amazing. I still replay some of them. People like NES games in the present or there wouldn't be the stupid demand for retro platformers and crap in the indie market.

I wasn't even playing videogames when those games came out, this isn't a case of rose tinted goggles, I went back through most of the old NES library in my later years and there are still absoloute gems in there. Castlevania I and III in particular are just mind boggling and still completely mop the floor with many other contemporary platformers released to this day and have ridiculously tightly designed areas when it comes to enemy positioning and the like.

First of all lol@the guy that said FE1 wasn't even amazing for its time, that's bonkers. But that's where we stop agreeing.

Regardless, let's not go off on a tangent; I don't feel most NES games have aged well at all even though there are many people playing the old school platformers. FE11 felt like it tried to dress up FE1's faults - and FE1 had a lot of awkward and congested maps everywhere. It tried to do this weird mix of modern FE and classic FE that just didn't mesh well, and while reclassing was cool and they did make the interface better the maps were just very awkwardly designed.

[Jedi]

The members of this site and the fire emblem subreddit love RD to pieces. I can't call it underrated. Also Red Fox, why would someone complain about the royals? They are optional endgame win buttons. Nothing wrong with that.

I honestly feel they decrease the feeling of your army getting more powerful from experience. It's a slap in the face to an extent.

[Lord Raven]

I think if you view Radiant Dawn as purely an RPG then it's easy to view it like that, but if you view Radiant Dawn as an SRPG that's about efficient tactics then it's different. Especially when you consider the difference between endgame enemies and early game enemies, how massive it is and how growths can basically just screw you over. It's one of the reasons why I can't stand Lunatic mode, because I feel like being 2 or so points below my averages makes it almost impossible to beat.