This game is probably my favorite FE hack, and it serves as both a great demonstration of Thracia mechanics done right and a fantastic game in its own right.

You can be rotating like 25 units by the endgame, and still that’s barely over a THIRD of the total cast size (this game has 73 units, and they’re all pretty unique thanks to personal skills, greater emphasis on base weapon ranks, and a couple of fun gimmicks, like a Ballistician, a Manakete, a Bard who can only use his 5 personal weapons, and a Sniper who’s treated as a flier.)

This game is probably one of the best FE experiences overall, but it’s also a rough one. If you are easily annoyed by low hit rates, siege, or occasional ambush spawns, this game will seem purely frustrating. The earlygame takes forever, some of the units are quite bad, and certain maps will completely destroy unprepared players.


However, beneath that is one of the most unique and most consistently cool fire emblem experiences, and there is a damn good reason why it has its fans. For all of its very obvious issues, the Western Isles arc is phenomenal, the final couple of maps are truly a spectacle, and certain other maps are great too (The Frozen River, The Princess of Bern, and even Arcadia past the first playthrough.)

For all the waffling about FE6’s horrible units, Barth, Sophia, and Wendy are the only units to truly fall to the depths of unusability. Everyone else is more than usable if you enjoy them, doubly so on Normal Mode. That’s 3 units in a 50+ unit cast. High promotion gains, manh deployment slots, and an emphasis on short-term utility lead to an environment where you’re encouraged to experiment. Also, the supports are surprisingly good for fleshing this cast out. Characters like Karel, Dayan, and Yoder feel wise and traveled, and you get to see them talk about their own regrets and lived experiences as a way of teaching younger characters.

Of course, the game is extremely rocky. This is mostly seen in hit rates and a few questionable design decisions. Still, if you’re willing to cope, there is a great game here.

As much as I wish I could say otherwise, this is the superior Conquest. This game is probably the absolute best and most fair Fire Emblem has ever been in terms of raw gameplay systems, as long as you are open to changing your playstyle when met with maps that demand it (See: C10, C21, C24.)

I’ve heard some argue that it’s too easy to break or cheese, but the game keeps you on your toes enough that you are literally never gonna be bored. It’s far preferable to FE12’s highest difficulties, cause you can still use p much every unit in the game to good effect. Stats aren’t the difficulty, the difficulty comes from smart map design and interesting enemy formations with interesting skill setups.

If you haven’t, please use the Capture command next time you play, some of the units you get fucking rule


not defending the furrycon 2015 map tho its just bad