SF Official - FE Games Opinion Poll (Sheet in OP)

[Dinar87]

23 hours ago, Jedi said:

Tellius bias fully settling in.

And well deserved imo! 

WE LIKE IKE...or at least me and my friend do anyways. I don't mind if others have a different opinion though, nor do I mean to sound inconsiderate of others' opinions.

 Fire emblem path of radiance remake when nintendo?  But I'd seriously pay over 3 times as much as I bought path of radiance for, to get a remake like that, in the style of echoes.

Also DAMN...those Tellius games sure are widely loved! now if only they didn't sell terribly

Edited November 25, 2017 by Dinar87
Don't want to sound condescending.

[Codename Shrimp]

20 hours ago, Jedi said:

Tellius bias fully settling in.

It isn't Bias when it's well deserved and is the Series at it's Best (except RD Part 4 Maps...) ;)

On 22.11.2017 at 6:45 PM, Icelerate said:

I think people rate FE9 and FE4 highly because of the story and Fates gets a lot of hate for its story. 

If we are gonna talk Story only, no Fire Emblem (except for Tellius) has what i'd call a good Story. Even FE4 falls on itself and becomes generic FE plot the moment Gen 2 rolls around. Yes, I'd rate Gen1 very high story wise, but that's only half the game, and

 

Loptyr is just as bad as lolAnankos imo.

While i know Fates story is a new level of bad, atleast Fates (Conquest) has a gameplay that makes it the most enjoyable/replayable game in the series. So imo, alot of the hate Fates gets is undeserved, and if it wasn't for the atrocious story, Conquest would be easily my undisputeable number 1 (now it's just my Nr.2 after RD)

Edited November 25, 2017 by Shrimperor

[Shadow Mir]

37 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

It isn't Bias when it's well deserved and is the Series at it's Best (except RD Part 4 Maps...) ;)

If we are gonna talk Story only, no Fire Emblem (except for Tellius) has what i'd call a good Story. Even FE4 falls on itself and becomes generic FE plot the moment Gen 2 rolls around. Yes, I'd rate Gen1 very high story wise, but that's only half the game, and

  Reveal hidden contents

Loptyr is just as bad as lolAnankos imo.

While i know Fates story is a new level of bad, atleast Fates (Conquest) has a gameplay that makes it the most enjoyable/replayable game in the series. So imo, alot of the hate Fates gets is undeserved, and if it wasn't for the atrocious story, Conquest would be easily my undisputeable number 1 (now it's just my Nr.2 after RD)

Imo, part 4's maps weren't even that bad...

As far as stories go, I'd say Sacred Stones and Sword of Seals somehow manage to be even worse than Fates - the former pretty much implodes on itself after the route split (not that it was very good even before then), and the latter is literally a copypasta of a previous game's story.

[Icelerate]

1 hour ago, Shrimperor said:

If we are gonna talk Story only, no Fire Emblem (except for Tellius) has what i'd call a good Story. Even FE4 falls on itself and becomes generic FE plot the moment Gen 2 rolls around. Yes, I'd rate Gen1 very high story wise, but that's only half the game, and

  Reveal hidden contents

Loptyr is just as bad as lolAnankos imo.

While i know Fates story is a new level of bad, atleast Fates (Conquest) has a gameplay that makes it the most enjoyable/replayable game in the series. So imo, alot of the hate Fates gets is undeserved, and if it wasn't for the atrocious story, Conquest would be easily my undisputeable number 1 (now it's just my Nr.2 after RD)

8

I haven't played FE4 but have seen an LP up to chapter 4. While the story does seem good, it just doesn't interest me like the Tellius games especially RD so I agree. FE4 story probably is overrated especially considering how many claim RD has a poor story when at least that game's story never ceases to entertain me. 

Conquest does seem to get a mixed reception for amazing gameplay and the horrible story although it seems to me that people aren't valuing gameplay over story in ranking the games as a whole. Personally, for an FE game, I'd say the gameplay is 60% important while the story is 40% important. 

[UNLEASH IT]

6 hours ago, Jedi said:

Well considering Gaiden has a better UI than FE1's nearly unusable without frustration one, that kind of puts it above it alone imo.

But Gaiden's maps are god awful

Edited November 25, 2017 by UNLEASH IT

[Jedi]

1 hour ago, UNLEASH IT said:

But Gaiden's maps are god awful

Map design doesn't seem to be a big factor here in this poll, as Echoes is near the top. Same with the usual complaints about Tellius being super slow seem to not factor here

And regardless Rev has the worst map design in the franchise.

Edited November 25, 2017 by Jedi

[Shadow Mir]

1 hour ago, UNLEASH IT said:

But Gaiden's maps are god awful

And yet Echoes is near the top despite this (btw, I honestly think that the complaints about Gaiden's map design are exaggerated)...

7 minutes ago, Jedi said:

Map design doesn't seem to be a big factor here in this poll, as Echoes is near the top.

And regardless Rev has the worst map design in the franchise.

I would agree... if FE4 didn't exist, that is.

[Jedi]

5 minutes ago, Levant Mir Celestia said:

And yet Echoes is near the top despite this (btw, I honestly think that the complaints about Gaiden's map design are exaggerated)...

I would agree... if FE4 didn't exist, that is.

You haven't played FE4 so you can't really complain about it.

[Shadow Mir]

Just now, Jedi said:

You haven't played FE4 so you can't really complain about it.

You don't seriously think that would stop me, do you?? Because I can still see that the maps all suffer from the same fundamental design flaws...

[Jedi]

11 minutes ago, Levant Mir Celestia said:

You don't seriously think that would stop me, do you?? Because I can still see that the maps all suffer from the same fundamental design flaws...

If you haven't played something you can't really judge it, that's legitimately a pet peeve of mine.

FE4 map design is very love or hate, and without actually experiencing it, I can't take you seriously. 

[Jave]

37 minutes ago, Jedi said:

Map design doesn't seem to be a big factor here in this poll, as Echoes is near the top. Same with the usual complaints about Tellius being super slow seem to not factor here

And regardless Rev has the worst map design in the franchise.

I'm very likely on the minority here but I enjoyed Rev's gimmicky map design. It's hard to get used to, but it was interesting back when I first played it to see an FE game try to do something more unconventional with its gameplay.

I've said it before, but I usually see the Fates trilogy as I see the SNES Donkey Kong Country trilogy. Birthright/DKC1 is played straight with very little surprises and decent difficulty. Conquest/DKC2 is the hardest with the most tight and challeging level design (and also the best one), while Revelation/DKC3 is the one that tries to be unique by adding a different gimmick to every stage. And you know, I like DKC3, so I can at least appreciate what Rev tried to do.

But it does sadden me to see so many people voting F on the 3DS games. To me an F is a game with no redeeming qualities, and I don't think any FE game deserves to be called that.

Edited November 25, 2017 by Jave

[Flee Fleet!]

11 minutes ago, Jedi said:

If you haven't played something you can't really judge it, that's legitimately a pet peeve of mine.

I sort of agree as well.

 

2 hours ago, UNLEASH IT said:

But Gaiden's maps are god awful

It is overall an improvement over FE1 though. 

 

Also, I have to say, FE6 not getting a C rank somewhat disappoints me. It's fun to play...but God, it feels so unpolished and literally everything needs improvement.

[Zasplach]

4 minutes ago, Jave said:

But it does sadden me to see so many people voting F on the 3DS games. To me an F is a game with no redeeming qualities, and I don't think any FE game deserves to be called that.

It's the difficulty with a subjective rating system, what one person means when they rate 'F' and what another person means can be completely different.  I didn't give any 'F's, but I do think I gave Revelations a 'D' because I don't think I'll play again just due to the sheer number of eye-rolls during my play-through of the game.  

And to be frank @Jedi, let @Levant Mir Celestia have his opinions on Fe4's maps.  It's not like there is any great subtlety to their design, I wouldn't call them a flaw, rather a design decision, but it's pretty obvious what they are.  The maps are huge and there is quiet a bit of empty space, anyone can see that and have a reaction to it.  My opinion is they make the game feel like a real world battlefield and that's fun, but you know what they say about opinions; they're like assholes, everyone has them and they all stink.

[Jedi]

2 minutes ago, Zasplach said:

And to be frank @Jedi, let @Levant Mir Celestia have his opinions on Fe4's maps.  It's not like there is any great subtlety to their design, I wouldn't call them a flaw, rather a design decision, but it's pretty obvious what they are.  The maps are huge and there is quiet a bit of empty space, anyone can see that and have a reaction to it.  My opinion is they make the game feel like a real world battlefield and that's fun, but you know what they say about opinions; they're like assholes, everyone has them and they all stink.

It's not an actual opinion without experience. Therefore it doesn't count.

[Zasplach]

1 minute ago, Jedi said:

It's not an actual opinion without experience. Therefore it doesn't count.

I mean, I've never played college football, but I can have an opinion on who's good and bad, the legitimacy of the opinion may be lessened, but it's still a valid one.  Observation of a phenomenon is how many humans come to an opinion; action isn't necessarily required.  

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Revelation's map design is based on gimmicks, most of them don't work in FE unfortunately. I appreciate some of their ideas at least. However the door chapter is an absolute NO-GO. FE is still a strategy series and no luck based game.

I enjoyed some chapters. The final boss fight was one of the most creative in this series.

 

Also I think the personal arguing can be done in PMs instead of blowing up this thread. Levant is known for having opinions about things he hasn't got practical experience with. It might be hard and sound harsh, but just deal with them! I stopped arguing with him a long time ago because I got tired. Opinions are opinions and have to be respected and accepted. If they include wrong facts, well then it's fine to correct.

 

[Jedi]

7 minutes ago, Zasplach said:

I mean, I've never played college football, but I can have an opinion on who's good and bad, the legitimacy of the opinion may be lessened, but it's still a valid one.  Observation of a phenomenon is how many humans come to an opinion; action isn't necessarily required.  

I wasn't aware this was a Serious Discussion thread that required applied philosophy.

[UNLEASH IT]

As someone who played FE4, I do agree that the gameplay overall is quite underwhelming, especially in the first gen where the maps are non-linear. 

[Thane]

I haven't played Genealogy so I won't comment on it, but is the gameplay that much worse than Echoes? Like I mentioned previously, seeing Echoes that high up is my biggest surprise here; I didn't care for neither the gameplay, story, nor even some of the characters, particularly the villains and the protagonists. While I appreciated the elements that made the game a breath of fresh air, like the improved art direction, fantastic voice acting, and town exploration, the other much more important areas came up short. It was like a dish without the main ingredient.

Edited November 25, 2017 by Thane

[Shadow Mir]

1 hour ago, Jedi said:

If you haven't played something you can't really judge it, that's legitimately a pet peeve of mine.

FE4 map design is very love or hate, and without actually experiencing it, I can't take you seriously. 

And MY pet peeve is pretending to understand how I think, because you aren't me. I'm not naïve enough or idealistic enough to think that I might change my opinion on FE4 if I gave it a chance, considering how much it has going against it...

Well, we agree on one thing, at least - FE4's map design is polarizing. And say what you will, but I can't be arsed to play a game that I KNOW I will have to force myself to play through because the mechanics, among other things, are just that much of a deal-breaker.

13 minutes ago, Thane said:

I haven't played Genealogy so I won't comment on it, but is the gameplay that much worse than Echoes? Like I mentioned previously, seeing Echoes that high up is my biggest surprise here; I didn't care for neither the gameplay, story, nor even some of the characters, particularly the villains and the protagonists. While I appreciated the elements that made the game a breath of fresh air, like the improved art direction, fantastic voice acting, and town exploration, the other much more important areas came up short. It was like a dish without the main ingredient.

IMHO, I would say yes since all the maps are bloated, which hurts the gameplay quite a bit.

Edited November 25, 2017 by Levant Mir Celestia

[Codename Shrimp]

7 hours ago, Levant Mir Celestia said:

As far as stories go, I'd say Sacred Stones and Sword of Seals somehow manage to be even worse than Fates - the former pretty much implodes on itself after the route split (not that it was very good even before then), and the latter is literally a copypasta of a previous game's story.

Honestly, i find SS one of the better FE stories out there. Atleast

 

Lyon was more interesting then almost all the other FE Villains out there

3 hours ago, Thane said:

I haven't played Genealogy so I won't comment on it, but is the gameplay that much worse than Echoes? 

I haven't played SoV myself, but FE4 maps are just big maps, with shit terrain alot of times, and weak enemy spam. 

 

3 hours ago, Levant Mir Celestia said:

IMHO, I would say yes since all the maps are bloated, which hurts the gameplay quite a bit.

The problem isn't how the maps are big, but how the game doesn't use that. FE4 Maps problems are:

1-The Big maps are just smaller maps tacked together. Instead of fighting at multipe fronts at the same time, you just fight one Castle at a time, which makes the big maps feel useless. Add to that the Backtracking you have to do sometimes because your Main Caslte is between 2 different Castles and you only fight one at once while access to the other is blocked, and only the MC can seize, it becomes backtrack simulator. When i first heard about big maps, i tought it would be something like what FE:Warriors did, fighting multipe fronts at the same time and stuff, and not just small maps tacked together. I mean, sometimes your allies are fighting, but you are blocked from that part of the map and have to watch em die for Story reasons. So why the big maps again?

Only 2 maps iirc used the whole big maps thing well.

2-Terrain is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. Ch1 has a whole Forest Segment the Size of a normal FE map, Ch5 has a big ass desert part that you may have to backtrack before you end for Inventory Management, because the game has one of the Worst inventory management Systems in gaming history, if not the worst one. Ch7 is a big ass Desert Map. Imagine RD Part 4 desert Map, Mulitplied by 10, with Mages not having the Desert Movement like in Tellius, and no Laguz, and only 1 flier.

3-Weak enemy unit spam. Seriously, i still have Nightmares about those block of enemies just coming like it was something out of Total War or something, only for them to be as weak as a FE8 trainee, accompanied by some op boss or something. It's boring watching 50 Enemy units die to your 1 Unit. Also, let's not forget the Staff and Ballista spam. Fun. not.

4-The game itself is one of the most imbalanced games i've ever played. If you tought Ryoma, Ike, Ephraim or Xander were op, then you didn't play FE4, because they are weak af compared to other units you have in FE4. Legendary weapons especially are so op, and the Big Maps favor horses just so much damn more then other units.

5-Also, Final boss is just one big dissapointment.

Edited November 25, 2017 by Shrimperor

[Shin]

As someone who's played FE4 to death, I can see why people aren't a fan of the massive maps. The game's fairly polarising in itself, which kinda explains its mediocre placement - some people appear too spooked to even give it a spin! Chapters 2 and possibly 4 are a little too large, but for the most part you're engaged with the others. Chapters 3, 8 and Final do a good job of creating a large scale conflict. I don't really consider any of the FE titles truly outstanding games, but I used the entire rating range when ranking them. Each game has its flaws, I can't bring myself to play FE10, 12 and 13 because I can't really get engaged with the maps. FE10 was particularly guilty of making my brain switch off!

[Shadow Mir]

3 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

Honestly, i find SS one of the better FE stories out there. Atleast

  Reveal hidden contents

Lyon was more interesting then almost all the other FE Villains out there

 

The problem isn't how the maps are big, but how the game doesn't use that. FE4 Maps problems are:

1-The Big maps are just smaller maps tacked together. Instead of fighting at multipe fronts at the same time, you just fight one Castle at a time, which makes the big maps feel useless. Add to that the Backtracking you have to do sometimes because your Main Caslte is between 2 different Castles and you only fight one at once while access to the other is blocked, and only the MC can seize, it becomes backtrack simulator. When i first heard about big maps, i tought it would be something like what FE:Warriors did, fighting multipe fronts at the same time and stuff, and not just small maps tacked together. I mean, sometimes your allies are fighting, but you are blocked from that part of the map and have to watch em die for Story reasons. So why the big maps again?

Only 2 maps iirc used the whole big maps thing well.

2-Terrain is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. Ch1 has a whole Forest Segment the Size of a normal FE map, Ch5 has a big ass desert part that you may have to backtrack before you end for Inventory Management, because the game has one of the Worst inventory management Systems in gaming history, if not the worst one. Ch7 is a big ass Desert Map. Imagine RD Part 4 desert Map, Mulitplied by 10, with Mages not having the Desert Movement like in Tellius, and no Laguz, and only 1 flier.

3-Weak enemy unit spam. Seriously, i still have Nightmares about those block of enemies just coming like it was something out of Total War or something, only for them to be as weak as a FE8 trainee, accompanied by some op boss or something. It's boring watching 50 Enemy units die to your 1 Unit. Also, let's not forget the Staff and Ballista spam. Fun. not.

4-The game itself is one of the most imbalanced games i've ever played. If you tought Ryoma, Ike, Ephraim or Xander were op, then you didn't play FE4, because they are weak af compared to other units you have in FE4. Legendary weapons especially are so op, and the Big Maps favor horses just so much damn more then other units.

5-Also, Final boss is just one big dissapointment.

I'd agree we're it not for the fact that Lyon felt more like a half-assed attempt at a tragic villain (I blame the awful story and writing for stripping away any sympathy that I was supposed to feel for him). Hell, I dare say Lyon is the reason why SS's story is so bad. It doesn't help that he's a complete letdown as a boss.

Maybe it's not the big maps alone, but none of those help its case. The second and fourth ones are especially bad - and on the fourth one, not having a horse, holy weapon or Pursuit automatically made you worse than the units that had them. Then there's the nonexistent balance between weapon types. Also, another thing that comes to mind is the sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow enemy phases.

Edited November 26, 2017 by Levant Mir Celestia

[Slumber]

2 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

Honestly, i find SS one of the better FE stories out there. Atleast

  Hide contents

Lyon was more interesting then almost all the other FE Villains out there

 

This reasoning always bugs me. Lyon's hardly in the game, and everything in the story surrounding him is bad. I wouldn't count my blessings if I had to dig around in a mountain of manure to find a delicious chocolate bar.

SS's story is bad. The 3 chapters that are actually about Lyon are fine. But the other 25 suck.

A good litmus test for FE games is how believable their Camus is. Selena is one of the most unbelievable Camuses in the series, right up there with Birthright Xander. Most Camuses who get tied up with the baddies are either tricked(Lloyd/Linus), lied to(Eldigan), kept in the dark/staying for a potential loved one(Reinhardt) or are fighting for a "higher cause"(Zelgius). Something that makes you believe that they'd keep their knightly oaths in spite of the awful shit YOUR party knows about. Selena pledges allegiance to Grado, then mentions multiple times that the Lyon that's being corrupted by Fomortiis isn't who she swore allegiance to, continues to work alongside some of the most cartoonishly evil villains in the franchise, and then dies for literally no reason. There's not nearly as much emphasis on her "Knightly Duties", and she comes across as this random, pure hearted general who has to call homicidal maniacs like Caellach, cackling evil sorcerers like Riev and implied rapists like Valter her comrades. Duessel leaves. Glen dies TRYING to actually establish peace. Why the hell does Selena stay and do nothing?

It's a good indicator of SS' story in general. All over the place, incredibly shallow, and underdeveloped.

Edited November 26, 2017 by Slumber

[Interdimensional Observer]

26 minutes ago, Slumber said:

Selena pledges allegiance to Grado, then mentions multiple times that the Lyon that's being corrupted by Fomortiis isn't the Lyon she swore allegiance to,

Quick correction, it's Emperor Vigarde who she swore loyalty to (and loves). 

As for the non-Lyon plot, I can see Eirika's pre-split being problematic. Since her only goal is finding Ephraim, the rest is accidental, albeit not terrible, and it ends with her having to be rescued instead of her rescuing him.

Eirika's route, well it was supposed to be a mission to Rausten, but it quickly turns to a rescue of Innes and trip to Jehanna passing through Caer Pelyn. We get some minor world building, but the greater narrative is weak. Joshua being optional hurts here I think too. Ismaire gets near zero screentime, and Glen gets only slightly more.

Ephraim's route lacks the minor world building, and features little but some information on the future of Grado and what happened to Vigarde and Lyon. It is all about a military campaign, like Alm's route (much as Eirika's is like Celica's a non-campaign on a smaller scale). That Grado is a pushover I'm fine with, since Grado is but a pawn of the Demon King and it smashed Frelia and Jehanna's SSs, and got Renais into a favorable state of disarray. The greater narrative is stronger, but still kinda weak.

Upon reunion, it's a quick trip back to Renais for its SS and ending Orson. After that, it's pursuing Lyon and getting to Rausten, which then turns to a fight to stop the DK's resurrection. Not particularly worse compared to the rest, but not particularly better either.