What Fire Emblem needs to do to be more than now?

[Harvey]

After Nintendo said that Fire Emblem is now a major IP for Nintendo, It needs to obviously be bigger than what it is now.

This topic is to discuss what Fire Emblem needs to do to make it a bigger IP or atleast a better known IP than what it is now.

So discuss anything that is required for that to happen and not outside of that.

For me there are a lot of things that Fire Emblem can do for that which are as follows.

1. Increase more chapters: Obviously, having more chapters means having more things to do. Or even better....being able to offer more variety in tactics.

Its always the usual same 28 chapters or less and then finally beat the endgame. What if you had more simple chapters while having the longer ones as well? That can add more to the chapters and maybe to the story.

I'm not saying to reduce the difficulty of the main maps here. I'm just saying that instead of the usual thing of having 28 chapters or less kinda like how its always the cliche thing for Pokemon beating the 8 gym leaders and the elite four and then the champion, add more to it. Heck even Pokemon does that.

2. Have more support conversations: I enjoy these conversations cause it gives the characters some depth and development between them. I would like it where there are exclusive items and weapons that you can get from these conversations....you know, like how its done in Genealogy of the Holy War?

3. Have more objective variety: The thing that I love most in Conquest atleast was that it has more objective varieties like Escape, Seize etc. I'd like more of those because not only does it help give a change in pace, but it also helps to offer more tactical variety.

4.Make remakes of the old games: Look, this might not be a way to make the IP better but it does help for the ones like me who have a hard time getting the GBA games and so forth. While this might not seem possible, it does help to those who want to get those games.

What are your suggestions?

[Rezzy]

I'd like Gaiden chapters that had prerequisites that weren't children recruitment chapters. Sort of like FE6 and FE7.

[Ken Masters]

I don't see why change anything... Pokemon is major IP for Nintendo, but its main games have remained pretty much the same.

Unless you want a ton of spin-offs.

[General Banzai]

Simply making more of everything won't do anything.

[Shinehollow]

I'd like Gaiden chapters that had prerequisites that weren't children recruitment chapters. Sort of like FE6 and FE7.

Maybe some that also add stuff the story, like, how in 7, there I think three (it's been a bit) gaiden chapters that you could get in Hector's story that had more about Nils', Ninian's, and Nergal's backstories.

Or, in general, a better story would be finally nice.

[Rapier]

I hope that means they'll invest a bigger budget, preferably making the story and mapping department better (while I enjoyed Conquest's maps, I found Birthright's to be pretty common and Revelations to be annoying and too gimmicky). That's all I want.

Oh, and a game with two parts would be nice, although it has been done before and isn't a surprise like Fates was.

[Quintessence]

They should dedicate more budget on the basics of the game.

- Better story

- Better developped characters: give them interesting personalities

- Solid support conversations much like GBA where you actually kept some intrigue and wanted to see the next level of dialogue, with some past about them, experiences, habits, or general stuff that might add depth to them and/or the story. Not some silly pseudo fun dialogue like Awakening and Fates which are totally lame, boring and plain. I mostly hit START button upon reading them.

- Creative maps: interesting designs, add extra mechanica.

- Multi objectives: save, defend, obtain, defeat, destroy, seize, conquer, recruit, etc., in the way that maps aren't linear and have an extra dimension.

- Abstain from bringing marriage and children for the sake of just adding them. If IS wants to add it, they just need a really loong game and investing in good reasons for implementing it.

[Hardin]

I don't see how any of those things would make FE more popular Harvey. All of those except for the fourth are not visible to the general public without actually playing the game.

[Harvey]

They should dedicate more budget on the basics of the game.

- Better story

- Better developped characters: give them interesting personalities

- Solid support conversations much like GBA where you actually kept some intrigue and wanted to see the next level of dialogue, with some past about them, experiences, habits, or general stuff that might add depth to them and/or the story. Not some silly pseudo fun dialogue like Awakening and Fates which are totally lame, boring and plain. I mostly hit START button upon reading them.

- Creative maps: interesting designs, add extra mechanica.

- Multi objectives: save, defend, obtain, defeat, destroy, seize, conquer, recruit, etc., in the way that maps aren't linear and have an extra dimension.

- Abstain from bringing marriage and children for the sake of just adding them. If IS wants to add it, they just need a really loong game and investing in good reasons for implementing it.

What's wrong with the conversations in Fates and Awakening? I thought many of them were fun and interesting.....

I don't see how any of those things would make FE more popular Harvey. All of those except for the fourth are not visible to the general public without actually playing the game.

Well....whatever the case, FE needs to be popular if Nintendo considers it a major IP. So if you have some thoughts on what needs to happen, please share your ideas.

Its not like nothing can work around the series right?

[Ken Masters]

All this things are so.... minimal. You wanna please the mainstream audience? You want to feel like "an important IP"? You are not Pokemon?

Well, fear not! Follow this simple steps!

-> Main console release: 3DS is cool and all, but FE isn't an iconic franchise, and will not reach broader audiences there. Most people only know FE is a thing thanks to Smash, so if you want exposure, you need a fine, $60 release on the home console, with no weird motion control gimmicks. Play it safe, and get that eaaaaaasy moneeeeeeey!

-> 3D engine or die: Long story short, if you're not fully 3D, with actually detailed environments, and full 3d character models, you're doing it wrong, dawg.

Get your crap together and do what Final Fantasy did so long ago. The battle can remain the same, but add some flashy moves and stuff. Maybe even dynamic stages. Anything that makes the game feel "not a table-top game". Since we're at it, actually animating the characters like they are more than static frames would be nice too.

->Make that shit an Open World, baby!: Everything nowadays is Open World, so better jump on that train! You can make the game OW while still retaining the chapter thingy, and make the key plotpoints happen by triggers. Kinda like TES does it, but, you know, with FE weird battle gameplay.

-> Everyone has boobs: The girls have big boobs. You have big boobs. The horse has boobs, and so does the trees. Anything that moves or breathes should have boobs for good measure to capture the average gamer's attention.

->Tumblr-Appealing: To balance out the last step, have some trans-gender characters, a token person of colour and gender inclusive language.

-> Ask Phil Fish to work on the game: All press is good press, and Phil Fish will make sure to start a shitstorm on the social media. I swear, it always happens.

->Have some cameos: Stan Lee is a good start. Freddy Fazbear too.

And that's it, dawg! Your super big Fire Emblem game...

Would it still be Fire Emblem, though?

[Baldrick]

What's wrong with the conversations in Fates and Awakening? I thought many of them were fun and interesting.....

There's too many of them. Because of the marriage/children mechanic, they have to write support conversations for pairs that don't have any interesting interaction.

Support conversations should be done away with entirely. To give characterisation to minor characters, Tellius base conversations are much more flexible.

- Abstain from bringing marriage and children for the sake of just adding them.

That's a good idea, but it wouldn't make the series more popular.

[Jotari]

Remake Gaiden. Not necessarily what they should do but it's what I want them to do.

Failing that I would definitely support a game where the children are implemented naturally. That is to say a decade and a half time skip part way through the game. It doesn't even have to be a kill em all like Holy War. Just age up the portraits a bit. It's be great to see each character with two personalities, a younger and more mature form. Someone would be completely different, some would be almost the same while most would be a balanced mix.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Jotari

[kantoorfarina]

-> Everyone has boobs: The girls have big boobs. You have big boobs. The horse has boobs, and so does the trees. Anything that moves or breathes should have boobs for good measure to capture the average gamer's attention.

Senran Kagura in a nutshell.

Anyways, I really don't think the older games should have remakes. They would need to alter (basically a nice word for butcher in this case) a lot of the maps and characters to appeal to the new audience. I cringe at the thought of being able to marry Louise and Pent, or Niime actually being a 10 year old that's cursed to look old and not being Hugh's grandma, or Chapter 10 of PoR being a Rout the Enemy map.

We definitely don't need more supports or filler chapters. We need higher quality supports and chapters. If I had to choose something the series needs more of, i'd have to say Conquest's gameplay, but if we're talking what would sell the best... I don't really know how to put this without sounding like i'm biased against the post-FE12 games, but: waifus, birthright gameplay, and putting an anime girl with huge tits in the trailer.

[Quintessence]

What's wrong with the conversations in Fates and Awakening? I thought many of them were fun and interesting.....

A great part of them are uninteresting, lack depth and personality. Most of them are just about pseudo funny stuff. Like, Setsuna's supports, they're lame. Corrin's supports are pretty standard. At least Tellius and GBA convos are more memorable. Besides, father and mother conversations are FERD level of supports.

That's a good idea, but it wouldn't make the series more popular.

Idk, they should do it coherently. Marriage and kids didn't make sense in none of the two 3DS versions, Lucina being the only exception.

[Harvey]

I honestly think some of them are memorable in Awakening and Fates. I haven't played the GBA ones so I don't know how conversations must be done but from what I've experienced with FE so far, I'm fine with it....which is why I'd like them to explore more on the conversations as I do think they can do more of it.

Ok..not to be a bit rude here but what is the difference if you're able to make high quality graphics on handhelds....I mean, what difference does it make to release the games on the consoles rather than handhelds?

Sure, its not the same but who knows? The next gen might make more sense for IS to just release FE on handhelds.

[Quintessence]

You should try them (GBA), they make the characters more interesting and even make the story more appealing, and yet they're simpler.

I don't mind if they make a game on handheld or home console, tbh I prefer home console given that it's a more ambitious approach imo we need a break from handhelds.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Quintessence

[Harvey]

You should try them (GBA), they make the characters more interesting and even make the story more appealing, and yet they're simpler.

I don't mind if they make a game on handheld or home console, tbh I prefer home console given that it's a more ambitious approach mo we need a break from handhelds.

\

Does binding blade also have interesting supports? Cause right now I can only play that one....as I don't know when I can get the other two.....

[Quintessence]

\

Does binding blade also have interesting supports? Cause right now I can only play that one....as I don't know when I can get the other two.....

I had no issue when playing, but I only played Roy 2 or 3 times, so they should be fine. But I certainly can say that Blazing Sword and Sacred Stones are pretty good.

[Harvey]

I had no issue when playing, but I only played Roy 2 or 3 times, so they should be fine. But I certainly can say that Blazing Sword and Sacred Stones are pretty good.

Ok....I'm a bit confused about the conversations here.....

in previous FE games, how did they work before Fates and Awakening?

[Quintessence]

Ok....I'm a bit confused about the conversations here.....

in previous FE games, how did they work before Fates and Awakening?

Once units reach certain level of support bond, they reach ranks by having conversations between them during the chapters. There are no support conversations at bases like FE9-14. They build their bond by participating in the same chapter and by positioning them adjacent to each other like in every chapter. Read here for more info: http://serenesforest.net/binding-blade/characters/supports/

The lame part of it is that you have to wait a set number of turns for on char to raise their support with another one. You may spend a lot of turns there. But it's still WORTH it. Also, the support bonuses work in a 3 tile radius whereas 3DS games only work adjacent.

[Harvey]

Once units reach certain level of support bond, they reach ranks by having conversations between them during the chapters. There are no support conversations at bases like FE9-14. They build their bond by participating in the same chapter and by positioning them adjacent to each other like in every chapter. Read here for more info: http://serenesforest.net/binding-blade/characters/supports/

The lame part of it is that you have to wait a set number of turns for on char to raise their support with another one. You may spend a lot of turns there. But it's still WORTH it. Also, the support bonuses work in a 3 tile radius whereas 3DS games only work adjacent.

Oh so you mean something like Genealogy of the Holy War then?

In that case, that's probably why I mentioned to have more support conversations there.......I mean we can have both normal and support right?

[Book Bro]

Instead of more supports, I agree with Quintessence that we need better supports, and better character development. I think we can all agree the characters are something that appeals to all fans of FE. And there's potential there to have really interesting characters, but I also feel like too often in the 3DS games that's left on the back burner to have "hilarious" stuff like people walking in on each other while bathing or making bad jokes.

Base conversations would also be good. Instead of spending resources writing so many meh supports just so everyone can marry everyone, write a few quality supports and then write base conversations that develop the characters and the world. Also, the narrator needs to come back. I hate that each chapter in the 3DS games is set up with a 2-3 sentence blurb.

Cutscenes have come a long way since Tellius, but please don't waste them on unnecessary stuff like booty shots and little sisters giggling. They should be used to advance the plot and show the biggest/important events.

Otherwise, I agree that mission variety and remakes are good for the series. Game length is fine with 30ish chapters, but Paralogues/gaiden chapters should go back to being like in the GBA games, expanding the story and being unlocked if you meet certain gameplay requirements. The 3DS paralogues feel too disjointed from everything.

[Quintessence]

Oh so you mean something like Genealogy of the Holy War then?

In that case, that's probably why I mentioned to have more support conversations there.......I mean we can have both normal and support right?

FE4 had some special conversations depending on chapters, so uh yeah. Just check who supports who and stick them one adjacent of the other, spend turns and call it a day. Check each turn and see if the unit menu has the "Support" command, select it and you'll trigger the conversation.

[Jotari]

Playing Final Fantasy Tactics (which mostly ignores it's narrator despite that being the entire framing point of the story) made me really appreciate how effective the narrator in Fire Emblem is. A lot of the time it gives you information that's already present in the character discussions but presenting it from an omniscient source, and most importantly, having it overlay on the world map, really gives a sense of the world and what's happening in it. Definitely something I'd like to see return.

[Troykv]

Playing Final Fantasy Tactics (which mostly ignores it's narrator despite that being the entire framing point of the story) made me really appreciate how effective the narrator in Fire Emblem is. A lot of the time it gives you information that's already present in the character discussions but presenting it from an omniscient source, and most importantly, having it overlay on the world map, really gives a sense of the world and what's happening in it. Definitely something I'd like to see return.

I'm afraid of my friend's thoughts of the franchise going to the FFT's direction.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Troykv