Let's Talk About The Positives/Can We Just Enjoy It For What It Is

[Captain Karnage]

So like many other FE fans I am tired of hearing the following phrases

"the story to fates sucks"

"the characters are awaful"

"this is just otaku bait"

"Awakening 2.0"

after hearing those phrases for the last six months I've decided to start a thread where we can just talk about the positives, what we like about it, and the improvements it made from Awakening.

1. I love my castle. It is so much better than Awakenings barracks and overworld. Everything is now much more convenient and moves a lot faster

when units talk to eachother the game no longer has to load them in for a brief second and then unload them to load in the next pair/person who conveniently finds a legendary weapon.

we don't have to travvel halfway across the planet to buy a bronze weapon and a vulneary or a silver axe and a mend, everything is in two convenet shops.

streetpass units no longer take up a place on your map and are now in one spot and you no longer have to rescue them if a risen/what ever those things are attacks ther place on the map.

2. Dual strike and dual guard are way more reliable. Back when I got Awakening I never liked dual gard and dual strike because they were too chance reliant early on. Now instead of having a 10% cahnce that there will be a dual guard it automaticly happens when the meter is filled up. Dual strike is significantly better, instead of having a percentage of a chance you can always rely on having another unit attack as well as long as the attacking unit is not paired up.

3. It looks better and runs better in 3D. not much to say other than character models look way more detailed and that the game runs way better than awakening ever did in 3D

4. Map designs are a significant improvement over the last game. I know I keep comparing this to Awakening but bear with me. I like how the maps are not just flat and featureless battlefields. I can tell that most people hate the wind chapter but I kinda like it because it adds some varitey to the game.

5. It's balanced. not much to say, I'm just glad that overleveling units isn't a thing anymore

6. I love the new classes.

so lets just enjoy fates for what it is, rather than what it could of been

Edited December 17, 2015 by Captain Karnage

[MCProductions]

Pretty sure this already exists in this thread: http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=59059&hl=

[Phoenix_Kensai]

5. It's balanced. not much to say, I'm just glad that overleveling units is a thing anymore

It's been a while since I've thought about this, but now that you mention it, I'm reminded how happy I am about the change to the experience system. It's such a simple tweak to fix what I've seen as a flaw in the series for a long time, and I'm glad they finally did it.

(...I don't know exactly how it works now, but it sounds like a big improvement, anyway.)

[Kurrin]

All of this. But people will complain. It's a constant in this world. It doesn't bother me since their opinion won't affect my opinion on the game. I'm sure there are many more people that find a lot more positives in the game than they do negatives.

Although, I'm not so sure referring to it as Awakening 2.0 is necessarily a bad thing. I see the 2.0 as a compliment, thinking of it as more of a term of improvement. Fates seems to fix many things that Awakening wasn't exactly lacking per se but more so people were hoping would be improved on in the next game (i.e. Balancing stats better, nerfing the Pair Up mechanic, less simplistic map design, etc).

[twice]

I pretty much like everything in the game!

[EricaofRenais]

I am really looking forward to playing a new FE game next year and I ordered the SE just so I could have all 3 paths at one time. I like the art for Fates and I am really looking forward to playing it and seeing the changes that they have made. And yes I will be buying the Corrin Amiibo because I like the way it looks. I am reserving my views on Fates until I play all three paths, but I always look forward to a new FE game.

[Uchu~]

I don't understand why people hate on the story and the characters. I personally love the story AND the characters, its a huge step up from Awakening, the same people that hated on Awakening's story, yet probably played that game dozens of times, are hating on the Fates story. Like literally if your going to complain about every game's storyline, go play something else and trash their fandom.

Anyways...

I love the idea for the whole [spoiler=ENDING SPOILERS]Garon being taken over by a liquid monster and that's why he's so mean in the time of the story taking place. Sure some people may think its kind of cliche but I think that was a really great thing to add just to give a little more backstory and make people wonder what King Garon was really like.

Finally a Male Pegasus Knight: Yeah it's not big for most people, but its huge to me. Besides the fact that I can never remember his name, I think its pretty cool that we finally have a male pegasus knight.

The Fox/Wolf Class: I don't remember exactly what they are called at the moment, but having these is really cool. They expanded on the idea of Panne in Awakening, and made it bigger and better. I prefer Nishiki so...

[MCProductions]

Pretty much agree with all of the above, but I have one addition.

INFINITE WEAPON DURABILITY, I love the new Weapon Triangle and think it combined with the new weapon mechanics are just awesome.

I also can't wait for Nohr's level design, I've heard very good things about it.

[Orion5487]

As someone who hasn't played the game yet, how did they "fix" the experience system to prevent over-leveled units? This has made me even more excited for the game.

From what I've seen so far of the game, there is nothing that turns me away from the game. I either really like the feature, or am just neutral on it. Some things I am most excited for are:

Using the amiibo units! I was able to secure all 4 of them, and plan on using them in every play-through (especially Ike).

The updated weapon triangle.

No more weapon durability/weapon debuffs.

Multiple campaigns.

My Castle/Online Features/SpotPass/Buying Skills

[Captain Karnage]

As someone who hasn't played the game yet, how did they "fix" the experience system to prevent over-leveled units? This has made me even more excited for the game.

second seals are no longer a thing

so you can't level down to lv 1 any more

once you hit your level cap that's it, unless you buy a special seal that lets you gain 5 more levels

however it's one of the most rare and expencive items in the game 12,000 gold

[Zerosabers]

As someone who hasn't played the game yet, how did they "fix" the experience system to prevent over-leveled units? This has made me even more excited for the game.

EXP is lowered a lot when you kill enemies lower level than you.

[Captain Karnage]

EXP is lowered a lot when you kill enemies lower level than you.

I'm pretty sure thats been there for a while

Marcus defeats a fighter 10 exp

Eliwood defeats a fighter 30 exp

Edited December 17, 2015 by Captain Karnage

[Zerosabers]

I'm pretty sure thats been there for a while

Marcus defeats a fighter 10 exp

Eliwood defeats a fighter 30 exp

Yes, but from what I've heard it's much more extreme.

[MCProductions]

^Apparently, there are cases when units only get 1 exp from a kill due to how over leveled they are.

[Azz]

I love the whole game pretty much.

Gameplay is balanced, the classes are nice, motherfucking infinite durability!

But the one thing I am really happy about:
Same-sex marriage

This is a really big thing for Nintendo and the gaming industry as a whole, especially coming from Japan.

[Zerosabers]

The My Castle is the biggest thing I'm looking forward too. I'm a huge sucker for base building.

[maybe]

^Apparently, there are cases when units only get 1 exp from a kill due to how over leveled they are.

yeah, I remember upon Ryoma's joining in Revelations he gained 1 exp from every kill

not sure if killing bosses will make a significant difference but it's a pretty big difference

Edited December 17, 2015 by maybe

[Hatsuoki]

I'm not sure I should talk because this is my favorite FE game lol. What some people see as flaws, I don't, and it seems not everyone here does too. The only complaint I ever had with it is the fact that the decision isn't made in game but in the store and that the 3rd route is the golden route. Even so, I love the music, the characters, the story, the setting, weapon balances, no infinite reclassing for stats. and my castle. Also I can relate more to Kamui than I did to Robin? Many people seem to say things like "how can I relate to a dragon prince/princess" while comparing them to Robin. But to me, that isn't how I relate (obviously). I mean I don't relate to a person with who is missing their memory and is a vessel for another dragon either. It's the way the character speaks or react to things while I would probably have done none of what Robin did or said. There. I said it, I like using Kamui more than Robin as a player character. I'm not saying Robin isn't good nor am I saying that there should have been a My Unit at all, but Kamui is there and I like him/her.

[arvilino]

I've been working on writing a review for the game. so here's some of what stood out for me while playing the game and some of what I think make it a great entry and an excellent Fire Emblem game in general.

• Attack Stance/Guard Stance:In Fates Pair-Up has been revamped and split into two mechanics: Attack Stance for when a character(s) are adjacent (one 100% chance dual strike, 50% damage) to an unpaired unit involved in combat . Guard Stance(blocks Attack Stance, blocks a regular attack when shield gauge is filled and stat boost) when units are paired up. The 100% dual strike of the Attack Stance with the caveat of only working for an unpaired character and only dealing half damage and significant deduction in stats provided by Guard Stance/Pair Up along with the shield gauge. This means they're both less powerful that but they have became something you can control and reliably predict/strategise with and make for a much better balanced and refined mechanic than Awakening's incarnation of it.
• Hidden Weapons: In my opinion these are very well implemented into the game and adds depth and introduces new and different ways to use units. Normally if your units don't have enough enough attack to harm the enemy that unit it is typically not worth using to attack it at all, however with Hidden Weapons or debuffs there is a good reason to attack(in order to reduce the enemies stats) assisting the characters who can deal damage, even if the debuffing unit fails to deal any damage. Probably their best addition of a brand new weapon type and associated classes(Maid/Butler and Ninja/Puppteer) to the series.
• Skills: A lot of the new skills and adjustments to existing ones emphasize the utlity of units outside combat or even to complement it. There's more ways to use units effectively such as Demoiselle, Battle Command etc. In addition to which characters you use to attack enemies it introduces an element of which order and which position each character should attack from to best support nearby ones(in conjuction with attack stance). The damage skills like Snake Venom, are handy especially in conjuction with the Hidden Weapons debuffs since it means that a unit can be helpful in combat even against a target they cannot damage. The addition of personal skills help distinguish units and make individual characters feel more unique regardless of what class they are in.
• Weapon System: I think the new weapon system helps distinguish weapons from each other and makes the decisions more situational and strategic and less general purpose(with some exceptions for Legendaries and Forging kind of allows the Iron weapons to get around this). It does bring about some nice rebalances, with Javelins and Handaxes pretty much getting the nerfs that they've needed for a very long time(They're still rather useful weapons even with these nerfs which speaks for how strong they were).
• Weapon Triangle:Hidden Weapon and Bows and Tomes being added to weapon triangle. One of the most significant impacts is that this gives Tome users more relevant use of Weapon Triangle with potential advantage over classes with lower resistance wielding Axes or Bows.
• Classes: Fire Emblem Fates has new models and artwork(for generics) for all of the classes in the game. This isn't really something they've ever done with the handheld sequelswhich tended to recycle graphics however this time they added a very large number of new classes and redesigned all classes that were carried across from Awakening so that they look the part for Hoshido or Nohr.

Edited December 17, 2015 by arvilino

[Tsuky]

Even though the story is quite disappointing and the fanservice is over-the-top, those are the bulk of my gripes and there are still many things to like about the game. I'm still really excited for the improved gameplay experience, such as new classes, attack/guard stance, weapon buffs/debuffs, more interesting map designs, and online features. Also, I still like many characters and am looking forward to seeing them in-game. The music this time is very solid as well, definitely on par with some of my favorite tracks from Awakening.

Edited December 18, 2015 by Tsuky

[Mackc2]

Ok new weapon triangle I love it.

The removal of durability is a bit iffy on one hand it means I actually will use the legendary weapons and it still gives me reason to use every type of weapon on the other hand the penalties are a bit harsh

The gameplay in general sounds amazing

I may be weird but I like that there is a class that can wield both conventional weapons and typical weapons because it sounds so versatile

It is also fantasic that the entire meta game dosent centre around a single broken skill anymore

and the music is a step above awakening which was already on of my favourites

[Abvora]

I'm really happy to see this topic sprout up, because it seems a lot of people just want to bash on the weaker aspects of Fates instead of appreciating the things it does do right. I'll add my thoughts to the much-needed positivity:

1) Pair-Up changes. That mechanic needed a massive overhaul, and it got it. Now it's no longer overpowered, not restricted to you, and you actually have to think about the pluses and minuses of the different stances instead of just throwing units together.

2) The soundtrack. Fates' music is hands-down some of the best in the franchise.

3) The characters. I honestly enjoy them and find them more fleshed-out/relatable to than Awakening's. Fewer of them rely on gimmicks and more are written better/written to have depth.

4) The classes. I like a lot of the things about the classes--the changes to old ones, the addition of things like Ninja and GKW, and the removal of gender-specific classes. Sure, not all of them are "optimal", but they're still fun to play around with.

5) Personal skills. I just think it's a neat little addition that helps make the characters more unique.

6) The gameplay. In general, it's just much better than Awakening's and way more fun to play. Especially Nohr's gameplay.

[CyborgZeta]

If I had to list any positives I had with Fates, it would be the reworked weapon triangle and the removal of Second Seals. The debuff system is also an interesting attempt at reworking weapon tactics.

There's also Joker. That's about it for me.

[NekoKnight]

For the record, OP, the story does suck, there is a lot of otaku pandering and a number of characters are badly written.

But it has a lot of good things too.

For positives we have:

-Amazing soundtrack

-Attack/Guard stance

-Hidden weapons

-Weapon diversity + weapon effects

-New classes

-Great class models (barring a few)

-Refreshing Eastern aesthetics in addition to the Western

-Personal skills + interesting class skills

-Improved Skill gaining/class sharing method

-Interesting map design (mostly Nohr)

-Smooth map to battle transition

-Good battle animations (although they did get lazy with a few classes)

Edited December 18, 2015 by NekoKnight

[SalShich10N]

Nohr seems very fun and the maps look very fun

Despite all the DLC scamming, 72 maps is the best we've seen in the whole series.

Looks stuffed with content and customization options. (Most of which will be censored, though)

Lunatic is finally balanced, and is not DLC bait.

Waifus are great, too. Moreso on Nohr than Hoshido, though.