Why Tellius didn't sell good.... It's not the marketing!

[Hardin]

a. I honestly didn't like the implication of furries at that time, obviously this is more personal and anecdotal but I wasn't the only one. I also don't like the continued usage of them in Awakening and Fates; albeit in a more limited scope.

Absolutely agree there.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

Absolutely agree there.

I don't think the usage of furries in 13 and 14 can be called "limited" scope because of.... you know

[Anacybele]

I like shapeshifters. >.> But none of them have been as cool as the laguz so far, imo. The laguz are super awesome.

[Nobody]

- Too hard for normal gamers (both games)

uhh, what?

PoR is really, really easy compared to other fire emblem games. Like, it gives Sacred Stones a run for its money. The American version is even easier, since it has an even easier mode and lacks the hardest mode.

This makes no sense at all.

1. It was an ugly game, not even comparing it to something like RE4 but something more like Tales of Symphonia which was alot nicer looking game at the time.

2. Direct Sequel, having a direct sequel to an underperforming game is not a smart move, as not everybody who bought PoR was in a rush to buy the sequel (see 3); but people also didn't want in jump in on a direct sequel if they didn't play the first one.

3. PoR is really slow, I was bored by the game because the engine is just too slow. RD fixes that but see 2.

4. Consoles, the Japanese/American JRPG fanbase is just not there on Nintendo consoles, there's just not enough JRPGS to sustain the fanbase so they moved to other consoles. This is even more so true that consoles are not doing well in Japan right now. Star Ocean 5 didn't do that hot (130,000), but still did do alot better than #FE which is around 40,000 retail copies.

5. The PoR/RD difficulty switch, basically NoA really screwed up the difficulty nomenclature (they added a difficulty in PoR, but they removed that difficulty in RD but kept the naming the same), confused the fanbase even more in the states.

Por

- releases at the end of the lifecycle from a console that didn't sell well.

I agree with these, though

Edited April 13, 2016 by Nobody

[Etria]

I admit I'm someone who hates the early 3D graphics so much that I can't play some of the older titles. The bad graphics make it impossible for me to get immersed in the game world. I've bought and played PoR when it was released here and found it pretty damn ugly and slow, but it was good enough to get RD as well. I hate playing it on a console, though. As long as the graphics and mechanics don't need the additional power, I don't want it on the console. For me, FE is a perfect handheld game.

I don't remember ever seeing a commercial for a FE game, but drawing from own experience here there are pretty much no gaming commercials anyway. 10 years ago you maybe saw a FIFA spot or so but apart from that, nothing.

I could do without the animal people as well. Once was nice and interesting, but Awakening did nothing with it (haven't played Fates) and they've been reduced to a stupid gimmick.

PS: Typing from my phone, please excuse any typos

[Dragrath]

I admit I'm someone who hates the early 3D graphics so much that I can't play some of the older titles. The bad graphics make it impossible for me to get immersed in the game world. I've bought and played PoR when it was released here and found it pretty damn ugly and slow, but it was good enough to get RD as well. I hate playing it on a console, though. As long as the graphics and mechanics don't need the additional power, I don't want it on the console. For me, FE is a perfect handheld game.

I don't remember ever seeing a commercial for a FE game, but drawing from own experience here there are pretty much no gaming commercials anyway. 10 years ago you maybe saw a FIFA spot or so but apart from that, nothing.

I could do without the animal people as well. Once was nice and interesting, but Awakening did nothing with it (haven't played Fates) and they've been reduced to a stupid gimmick.

PS: Typing from my phone, please excuse any typos

I never been one to be troubled by graphics to be honest I feel that most of these blockbuster games are ruined do to catering/spending so much time and effort on graphics...

Graphics became good enough for me... several console generations ago... But I am pretty sure I am an anomaly.

I never saw an add for FE POR the only reason I even knew about it was I was recommended the game and looking for a new Gamecube game at the time. Picked it up and became hooked craving more. To be honest POR is still my favorite game though I suspect that is probably Nostalgia more than anything. FE 10 was kind of a mixed response I bought it and tried to play it but found the DB and faction switching quite annoying so I abandoned by play through part way(In part 3 where you go back to the underleveled DB...). I came back to it eventually and beat the game but I still feel that game was a missed opportunity in design mechanically it was great, but story wise and with the jumping well it left much to be desired...

The Laguz were an intersting concept and doen right they can work, however I don't think shape shifters really work all that well in practice. Part of the whole allure with them was that they could shit and massively benefit from increased moment range and stats, none of which the newer shifters have as dragon /beast stones are extremely limited...

[Etria]

I never been one to be troubled by graphics to be honest I feel that most of these blockbuster games are ruined do to catering/spending so much time and effort on graphics...

Graphics became good enough for me... several console generations ago... But I am pretty sure I am an anomaly.

Don't misunderstand me. I do like older graphics. I just don't like the early 3D because it is so painfully obvious that the technology wasn't good enough yet to make decent character models. Like, I love Ocarina of Time, but the graphics are really, really bad.

[Lord Raven]

I know I never saw any advertising for PoR-- I stumbled upon it on the shelf at Blockbuster and rented it, and got pretty darn into it. It certainly didn't seem too hard, even without prior FE experience.

Really? I was in 8th grade at the time and I definitely saw a Path of Radiance commercial that was cool as hell.

[Alertcircuit]

PoR didn't sell because the GC was nearing the end of its lifespan/didn't sell well, and the series spent the last couple years on handhelds so there might've been a disconnect. Plus the whole thing about the game being ugly.

RD didn't sell well because it was a sequel to PoR, a game not very many people played or could get a hold of, and was probably too hard for most newcomers anyway. Add the ugliness/advertising factors and you can see how that went.

And probably the most damning reason, Sony had most of the JRPGs. Final Fantasy, Persona, Dragon Quest, Megami Tensei, .hack//, Kingdom Hearts, Disgaea, etc. If I'm a big JRPG buff, you better have something mindblowing to convince me to buy a Gamecube instead of a PS2.

[Anacybele]

RD is not ugly at all to me. :( I thought it was a really pretty looking game. IS did a lot better with it than PoR. They must've been practicing their 3D skills a lot between the two!

Edited April 13, 2016 by Anacybele

[Hardin]

PoR didn't sell because the GC was nearing the end of its lifespan/didn't sell well, and the series spent the last couple years on handhelds so there might've been a disconnect. Plus the whole thing about the game being ugly.

RD didn't sell well because it was a sequel to PoR, a game not very many people played or could get a hold of, and was probably too hard for most newcomers anyway. Add the ugliness/advertising factors and you can see how that went.

And probably the most damning reason, Sony had most of the JRPGs. Final Fantasy, Persona, Dragon Quest, Megami Tensei, .hack//, Kingdom Hearts, Disgaea, etc. If I'm a big JRPG buff, you better have something mindblowing to convince me to buy a Gamecube instead of a PS2.

I was considering that myself, but then I looked up the data for Berwick Saga and it debuted lower than PoR did. When I look at the data for PoR, RD, TRS, BS, the GBA games, and the DS games I can't help but think that people had just grown bored with the genre.

[The Geek]

I was considering that myself, but then I looked up the data for Berwick Saga and it debuted lower than PoR did. When I look at the data for PoR, RD, TRS, BS, the GBA games, and the DS games I can't help but think that people had just grown bored with the genre.

Possibly. The mid to late 00's were a time when RPGs (especially JRPGs) were in decline. The genre's only really bounced back in the last 4-5 years or so.

[Busterman64]

I never saw a FE commercial or ad until FE:Fates(Youtube), and while I did play Melee(and saw Marth & Roy), I didn't even know startergy-rpgs were a thing(because I was growing up on mainly 3D platformers, racing games, and Melee. Although, I didn't own Melee, a best friend of mine did)!

It wasn't until 2005(or 2006) when my best friend introduced me to emulators and, a good month or so later, Fire Emblem(even if he wasn't that interesred in the game itself). While he did stress the perma-death, something that worried me as a kid, thankfully I was a kid willing to try almost any game(especially since I didn't have many games on my Gamecube and the PS1 I used to own was...well...lost because I did something kinda stupid). So, I tried the game. One of the best decisions of my life(I love strategy and puzzle games now because of it. It's also probably why I love the Phoenix Wright series too...)

Now to be honest, I didn't know about FE:PoR until I saw it in the gamecube section of games by chance(...wow, that feels like so long ago). Seeing how I liked FE7 and 8, I wanted it. After pretty much begging my mom for weeks, I finally got the game. Not only is it the game that got me to become the big fan of the series that I am today, it is to this day my favorite FE game(that, and since I didn't have savestates, I had to actually think a lot more about my decisions while playing).

Now, graphics are something I've never cared much about(although if it's horrendous, I may have an issue...emphasis on "may". It really depends.), so I never had too much of an issue with the game. The 3D looks alright to me and the battle 3D models were always cool to me, even now. Now while some were kinda bad(looking at you Chapter 17...even if you do have a good excuse), I still found it good and memorable (and it's the most memorable game in the series for me)! Not only that, but it is pretty easy, which is why hard mode is deemed "normal mode" for me on that game. Heck, I could honestly speedrun the game if I really wanted to! (Also, I gotta say, I dislike myself so much for selling that game a good two or so years later for a cheap price...that and Pokemon Platinum! ARRHHGG!!!)

Honestly, a lot of GC games (for example, Luigi's Mansion, Baten Kratos, Skies of Arcadia Legends, FE:PoR, etc) didn't really get a good look at until after the GC's lifespan ended, where they were more appreciated. So it was bad enough for PoR, but with RD, don't even get me started.

That game... was scarce! I heard about the game...somehow(mostly by chance because I didn't really surf the web as much as I do now to see)and since I had a Wii, I went looking for it. I remember going to Gamestop asking about it and only being told it wasn't there or many other places(and it was pretty dang pricey)!

Took me about 3 or so years before I could play the game, and that's after I learned about emulating Wii games(but even with that, I'm still gonna buy the game itself when I can this year).

Now RD, while I do enjoy and(to a certian and similar extent) love it like PoR, that game kicked my arse more times than you can count! It was hard as heck, along with the fact that the hit rate system in RD is different than PoR(which had the "True Hit" system, which meant your hit chances were higher that they looked...as long as they were over 50%). In RD, the hit system was pretty much "what you see, is what you get". And the biorhythem's effects became even more apparent in that game too(in my opinion anyway, especially when I never really noticed it in PoR). Nowadays, I can manage and enjoy it much, much better. But my first playthrough, it was a bit of a struggle, especially with the DB(and while I get that was the point, seeing how they start out as a small resistance force, but that game would not hesitate to mercilessly annihilate you if you screwed up...no matter how small)!

But to make a long story short, PoR got hurt from being on a system that kinda got overlooked(unfortunately), and RD was so scarce that it was hard to find a copy of the game(heck, it was so scarce that when Ike returned in Smash 4 with his RD look, a good amount of people were confused how he suddenly became so buff and looked different)! Both were hurt from bad advertising because, like I said, I found PoR in Gamestop by CHANCE, and I heard about RD by CHANCE!

(Oh, and just so you know, I'm posting this on my phone. Took a good hour or so, and also...Ow my eyes!!! :'( )