How Ironman-Friendly Are The GBA Games (Playing Blind)?

[Whisky]

28 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Sacae's problems are actually threefold.  The first is that Nomads and their ilk speedy and mobile, so landing hits on them is a pain in the neck, and you're probably not going to ORKO even if Douglas is there to absorb them.  The second is that Horseslayers won't stop them.  The third is that nomads aren't the only thing you'll face in Sacae - while the nomads will try to kill you with paper cuts, they'll be accompanied by things that hurt.

At least Ilia's nice enough to spawn enemies that take critical damage from a weapon type!

I haven’t actually tried it. I also haven’t used Douglas much nor gone to the Sacae route much because I prefer Ilia. I just figured it seemed like the spot where a high Def unit would shine the most. Ilia has a stronger enemies too like Wyverns, Heroes, and Druids. And Douglas really isn’t good on Ch 21 and he doesn’t seem like he’s be any good on Ch22 or Ch23 either.

By the way, what is the normal solution for Sacae? Last time I used Zeiss with a Delphi Shield who took very little damage from most enemies.

[eclipse]

1 minute ago, Whisky said:

I haven’t actually tried it. I also haven’t used Douglas much nor gone to the Sacae route much because I prefer Ilia. I just figured it seemed like the spot where a high Def unit would shine the most. Ilia has a stronger enemies too like Wyverns, Heroes, and Druids. And Douglas really isn’t good on Ch 21 and he doesn’t seem like he’s be any good on Ch22 or Ch23 either.

By the way, what is the normal solution for Sacae? Last time I used Zeiss with a Delphi Shield who took very little damage from most enemies.

You need accuracy as well as the ability to tank damage.  Miledy with the Delphi Shield is faster than Douglas, which means she isn't being auto-doubled by mages and the like.  Her defenses should be comparable (and if not, that's what the robes from Chapter 16 are for).  Perceval's another option, though he's a bit more frail.  He should be able to bait a couple of things before needing a patch-up.  Currently using Deke in that run - he'll take damage, but he's fast, and this one can tank mages (he's broken his 20/20 Res average).

Generally, you want a combination of durability, mobility, and accuracy.

[Hawkwing]

So it seems that Blazing Sword and Sacred Stones are fine to Ironman blind, while Binding Blade is less friendly to do so on the first playthrough. Thanks for the replies! On a side note, should I attempt to get the true ending to Binding Blade my first time through, or is that something that's less of a hassle the second time around?

So far, I'm enjoying the game! There are some weird elements (the handling of the convoy and how the funds ranking is determined comes to mind) and a few quality of life improvements I'd like to see, but overall I'm having fun and the game overall is pretty solidly designed. It's a bit on the easy side, but that just makes me curious what the later levels and higher difficulties are like.

I've had some close calls, but the only casualty so far is Sain. I lost him on chapter 16X due to the paladin coming out of nowhere and moving on the same turn they appeared. It was partially my fault, as I jumped into the fray to fight the pirates despite the game warning that it wasn't a good idea, but still, it was annoying that the first death came from something I couldn't predict.

[SimonSaysDeath]

out of the GBA games i've played, sacred stones is ironman friendly if you use seth, but not going in the ch5 arena. go Eirika route.

Blazing Blade was good, it had a tutorial and was hard to kill your units for a while, but go Eliwood route instead of Hector.

Sealed Sword Sucks. couldn't get past ch2