How Many people have attempted an Ironman run of a Fire Emblem game before?

[Eltosian Kadath]

I am mostly curious about the poll, but this is also a good place to talk about an ironman run as well.

[RobinLucinaFan]

The only way I would do it would be if the game rewarded me for it; if I got some additional I otherwise don't have access to.

[Armchair General]

I'm not really an fan of being stressed out with an ironman run

[Acacia Sgt]

I find it interesting to hear people making such kind of runs.

For me? Wouldn't do it even if you paid me for it.

[Florete]

The only one I've done is an ironman draft of Sacred Stones, but I've watched a decent number.

[Alastor15243]

I insist on doing a blind ironman of every new game that comes out since Fates. I succeeded in all cases except Echoes, though Three Houses made me kinda wish I hadn't. As I've said elsewhere, when the game is good a blind ironman is an unforgettable, magical experience. When it's bad, it lets you know exactly how much the devs hate you.

[Armagon]

Awakening was the first Fire Emblem i ever owned and i did an ironman of it. Not because i wanted to but because i didn't realize resetting was a thing.

.....i softlocked in Ch.6.

[Whisky]

Can I change my vote? I totally forgot that I ironmanned Shadow Dragon once (just on easy mode, not H5 or anything).

Ironmans can be a lot of fun. I’ve had some good experiences with Ironmans in Binding Blade and Sacred Stones, which I think are both some of the better games for ironmanning, but there are plenty of other good ones. Engage seems to be good game for it, while 3H does not seem good for it.

Playing an Ironman blind though, I don’t know if I could handle that. Familiarity with the game helps a lot with Ironmans. I respect @Alastor15243 for doing that with every game. Actually, my first Shadow Dragon run was a blind Ironman, I figured I’d be fine since it was easy mode, and I was right, but that’s the only game I’ve done a blind Ironman of.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

The only playthrough where I've said "yep, it's Ironman time" was my second playthrough of Revelation, on Hard. Rev gets a lot of criticism for (among other aspects) its bloated cast, so I figured it would be a good Ironman candidate. My first attempt failed on chapter 6, because it slipped my mind to kill all enemies by turn 5. But I restarted and got my footing later on  Losing Rinkah to a crit, for instance, really mattered - but it wasn't such a hindrance that I couldn't find someone to replace her. Overall, I was happy with it, and I'd certainly consider going for a Lunatic Ironman with M!Corrin and earlygame Felicia.

Personally, I've never done a blind Ironman. The stress of "if I get a Game Over, then I must restart the campaign" is not something I want hanging over my head, as it would force me to re-experience some early chapters before getting to the late ones. I hate myself enough to play Thracis 776, and allow for some unit deaths, but not to replay if Leif dies. Some players are fast-and-loose with this rule, but to me, it's the line between a "strict Ironman" and "Ironman-like playthrough".

[Whisky]

I suppose what you could do is attempt a blind Ironman, not resetting for most unit deaths, but if the lord dies you keep playing it as a normal run with the ironman counted as a failure, rather than restarting the whole thing. That way you get both, you followed the rules of a strict Ironman (and failed) but still get to play the rest of the game without restarting it from the beginning.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Whisky

[Avarice Shadow]

I've done a few ironman runs but I've never successfully completed one. I plan to change that this year though. I think they're fun but also kinda sad when you lose a character you really like. There is also the fact, that in more recent games, IS let players interact with characters outside of just supports via other events like tea time, my room or eating together. I think that can actually get you more invested with characters during an ironman because they won't be there to not only use but spend time with as well. The cool thing about all this is that it's a unique adventure every time. I'd recommend anyone to give it a shot at least once. 

[Capt. Fargus]

7 hours ago, Armagon said:

Awakening was the first Fire Emblem i ever owned and i did an ironman of it. Not because i wanted to but because i didn't realize resetting was a thing.

.....i softlocked in Ch.6.

Uh oh... 

How’d you do that?

What constitutes a “iron man run” BTW? All the way through in one sitting or just with no casualties?

[Alastor15243]

12 minutes ago, Capt. Fargus said:

Uh oh... 

How’d you do that?

What constitutes a “iron man run” BTW? All the way through in one sitting or just with no casualties?

Neither. It's when you don't reload saves to fix mistakes. And no rewinds either.

[Armagon]

3 hours ago, Capt. Fargus said:

Uh oh... 

How’d you do that?

I deadass did not have enough units.

[Alastor15243]

18 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I deadass did not have enough units.

You must have really underused the avatar then.

[Armagon]

4 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

You must have really underused the avatar then.

I was also 13 years old and it was my first Fire Emblem game, barring the brief moment i played Sacred Stones on my friend's 3DS.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I have completed an Ironman run of Shadow Dragon and of Radiant Dawn. I wasn't trying to and didn't even know what an Ironman run was at the time, this was super super early in my Fire Emblem career and I wasn't as in-tune with things, I had no concept of restarting or anything like that. By some miracle, I only lost one or two characters in Shadow Dragon and only a single character in Radiant Dawn during the Endgame, and it wasn't anyone I was super invested in using.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

This thread got me thinking that I've been playing Fire Emblem for what is now more than half the years I've been alive, and I don't recall doing an intentional ironman. Well, now I'm happy to say I can change my answer. I just finished FE3 Book 1 with twelve unit deaths (minus one since I brought her back). Here's the casualty list: 

Spoiler

• chapter 2 saw the death of Saji – I’m not going to look up who is Bord or Cord between Maji and Saji. Maji killed his twin brother’s murderer and was never fielded again so that he could tend to the funeral. Great emergent story telling, Me.
• In the immediate next chapter was Navarre. I thought he could survive an enemy phase against two fighters and an archer – he couldn’t. I was more upset at losing his Kill Sword to be tbh. Fire Emblem is the sort of series where you could very well lose one unit per chapter and still have enough to comfortably beat the game, but two deaths in just three chapters was kind of an eye opener and I began playing slower from then on.
• Next death was uhh one of the mercs in chapter 7. I wanted some money from the game’s first arena, and the game spawned a level 5 promoted hero class. Unlike in the original, you can press B to surrender, but my FE1-addled brain was not thinking of it at the time. He might have actually killed me on that first round, don’t remember. Basically, Arenas are not the free lunch that they were in the original game. They're sending actual endgame boss dragons at you, despite your own dragons not being allowed to participate.
• Jagen bit it in chapter 8. Was luring the sniper, didn’t account for the double. Didn’t really need Jagen by this point anyway. It was Marth who avenged his caretaker.
• Palla died in Chapter 15, definitely the easiest chapter in the back half of the game. I was luring a Hero out who had a thunder sword. He had 2% crit and he killed her at full health. Oof, I’m pretty sure I gave her a goddess icon for 5 extra luck. It wasn’t enough. Fun fact: Pegasus knights don’t have their 6 res when dismounted, and this is an indoors chapter. Just a perfect storm of events.
• Tiki died in Chapter 16. This map throws literal dozens of reinforcements after you. I made the right play stopping them at the bridge, but I chose to leave Tiki there to gain levels. They’re unpromoted enemies, but I neglected to heal her up to full. Darn, I was really looking forward to using her.
• Julian died right after Tiki, because now the final attacker could step over her corpse and get to my other units. He was standing right next to Lena when he was killed. Pretty lucky that it was him.
• Minerva and Abel died in Chapter 17. But really how do you get through that Valley of Death unscathed? Michalis went straight for his sister, possibly programmed to do so since they have the ultra rare battle conversation. She was carrying my silver and member cards, but it was here that I learned some items actually end up in your convoy if they were being held by a dead unit. It's a case by case basis. Abel I’m not broken up about. I sort of benched him, but the game handed me a third knights crest he could use for some quick stats.
• Cain in chapter 18. This is actually a different map design from FE1/11. The first two Gharnef clones you arrive at have no weapon, he’s just there to use Fortify. If you try to chase him down, he leads you down a long corridor that, surprise, has mage ambush spawns. One a turn wouldn’t be so bad, but how about three at a time that cut off your escape from the two square hell? I had Ceada chasing him down, then warped Cain in when I saw the trick. Ceada made it out, Cain did not. FE1 had exactly one map that I remember ambush spawns spawning on a tile that isn’t a fortress or stairs. FE3 not only doesn’t correct this, but adds a second one. Pranked!
• Tiki was revived in chapter 19. I had correctly guessed that the finale would be indoors. So although Kain and Palla might have better stats, they wouldn’t benefit from those stats in the finale, nor could they use 1-2 range weapons. Interestingly, her unique dragonstone is wiped from the game if she dies, but they leave a spare firestone in this chapter, which I could use instead.
• Cheney (Xane) died in the finale. He was in the top right corner. Even with a Seraph Robe and copying Ogma’s very high defense stats, he couldn’t survive the first wave.
• Lena died in the top left. Unlike the top right, I made the choice to let enemies into that starting room, instead of breaking through to them first. Lena had nowhere to run when I couldn’t kill both of them. Basically, if you’re in either of these rooms, someone’s going to die no matter your approach.

 

I barely made it through to the end. I did do one thing that taints the sanctity of an Ironman. I allowed myself to rewind on the Final Chapter's first turn - to see where my units are split up and then go with different positions if I didn't like it. I rerolled two or three times by deselecting and then reselecting units in a new order until I had placements I were fine with. I did not go so far as the look up literal positions to choose. The run was also a blind ironman but uhh how 'Blind' can it be if you've played the original? Basically, I didn't look up any info. Nothing about reinforcements, new/changed game mechanics, secret shops, or even what items do.