The Gameplay

[Jotari]

So I really enjoyed Echoes' gameplay. The difficulty it presented is exactly the sort I like. Enemies are tanky and your decisions largely affect how the battle will flow while also not making things life and death. Mistakes can cost you without costing everything. There were things I didn't quite care for like the manner in which skills were limited in how they could be distributed but overall I thought it the game's gameplay was excellent.

Yet I'm seeing some comments here and there of a lot of people complaining about the gameplay. I'm wondering what their particular issues were and wether its a vocal minority or a consensus of the fanbase as a whole. So feel free to discuss what you liked and disliked about the gameplay.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Jotari

[Slumber]

I was acceptable. Much more limited than what we've come to expect out of the franchise, almost to a very detrimental degree, but the presentation kept it from ever feeling like a complete drag. 

Edited June 1, 2017 by Slumber

[property of nuvelle]

Not the best from what I've played, but it was still good fun and it has various aspects that differentiate from other entries.

[Frenzify]

My only real complaint is that nearer to the end it got increasingly repetitive, by which I mean the dungeon fights, to the point where I turned off the animations when I was crawling through a dungeon. Luckily, as has been said, its many other pretty damn good aspects made it a small price to pay.

As for weapon bound skills, I found it to be an interesting concept done pretty well. I liked that you had to choose whether you wanted just pure power or other stats like hit rate... I'm looking at you Python, with your forged Iron Bow, and hit rate boosting skill.

[Armagon]

The only time i found the gameplay to be bad was the battle at Mila's Temple. Other than that, the gameplay was good. I actually didn't have a problem with the swamp and desert maps (even though desert maps still and always will suck, regardless of which game it is), Cantors, and Witches. The only enemy unit i actually hated fighting were Arcanists.

I give Echoes' gameplay an 8/10.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Armagon

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, Frenzify said:

My only real complaint is that nearer to the end it got increasingly repetitive, by which I mean the dungeon fights, to the point where I turned off the animations when I was crawling through a dungeon. Luckily, as has been said, its many other pretty damn good aspects made it a small price to pay.

As for weapon bound skills, I found it to be an interesting concept done pretty well. I liked that you had to choose whether you wanted just pure power or other stats like hit rate... I'm looking at you Python, with your forged Iron Bow, and hit rate boosting skill.

I'd feel better about the weapon locked skills if, once you've unlocked the skill for that weapon, it remains unlocked not matter who you give it to. Like the critical skill in Genealogy. Does kind of suck to grind for ages to unlock a skill on one weapon only to decide it'd be more beneficial on one of your other units.

[Thane]

I feel like the poll options could be more nuanced. I didn't loathe the gameplay, in fact it can be quite nice on occasion, but this is not up to usual Fire Emblem standards, especially not so recently after Conquest. Cantors, low movement speed and hit rates, ridiculous terrain bonuses, overly bulky enemies, hard to avoid battles in dungeons, swamps, maps that are too large and open, too few classes...it's a death by a thousand cuts

[Sire]

The gameplay and its mechanics are fun. (Terrain Effects, Echoes' Magic System, the lower stat thresholds, Weapon Arts, Dungeons, etc.)

What could be improved are the more annoying aspects, which for me mainly rely on map design. I can deal with Cantors and Witches and would not mind if they stuck around, but I want better map designs at allow my army to actually get places and that are aesthetically pleasing. Slayde's final showdown may be a decent map in terms of favoring the enemy for terrain, but I don't care for its appearance that much.

Other things that could be improved (in my opinion) are...

1. Mage Class Movement. Please give them +1 MOV, so only the basic classes and the Soldier line are capped at 4 MOV.

2. Enemy Spellcasters "breaking the rules." Why can they use Mire and Death instead of being forced to use Miasma when attacked? Why can the enemy do that but not my guys? What if I wanted to use Excalibur instead of Fire? Either balance it out so the player can also do this, or make the AI be forced to use their basic spells when under attack.

3. Dungeon Improvements. While Echoes was the first attempt at dungeoneering, the two major points for me are camera control and character control. If I want to sidestep an encounter, I should be able to do so. Sometimes it seems like the collusion boxes are larger than the actual models, so I may not be even touching the enemy and it initiates a battle. Also, an indicator if enemy reinforcements would arrive would be nice, or increase the render distance. Sometimes I see a single guy on his own, attack him, and suddenly I'm surrounded by a dozen hostiles...

* * * * *

Of course, I would have loved to see some maps with varied objectives like in the Tellius games or Fates: Conquest, but this is a remake of Gaiden. Still, if they ever decide to revisit Valentia and re-use most of its mechanics, I would love to see better map design and objectives besides rout the enemy or slay the leader.

Edit: I was watching some of the videos of the Deliverance DLC, and it delivers on the varied objectives format while staying within the mechanics of Echoes. The first map is a glorified rout mission where one has to save a certain character, and it has fieldable generics. The second map has a "rescue and escape" objective. The third is a pure "retreat" while the forth provides a defense mission!

Sure, these maps do take place within the current map designs of Shadows of Valentia (save for the retreat map), but at least they chose the better maps from the map pool to use.

Man, now I feel like I want a sequel to Shadows of Valentia that has its mechanics but with fun map designs and various objectives... (And it is not Awakening or New Mystery. What happens on the continent for those 2000 years or however long it is?)

Edited June 2, 2017 by Sire