This review contains spoilers
This is one of the few Fire Emblem games where I feel like I was being treated as an adult instead of a kid. I got this same feeling from FE4, more so with this game. I really did not think I was going to like this game upon what I heard from fans with how it is known as being newcomer unfriendly, and just a bunch of bs happening all the time. After playing through it myself I can say that this game's difficulty is greatly exaggerated, unless this would be your first game in the series. That is not to say this game is easy, because it is not. Sure, if you know this game like the back of your hand it is easy because you have played it a lot and have studied it, but for a first time playthrough or for the first couple of playthroughs it's one of the harder games in the series (Of course not counting the hardest difficulties in the other games like Conquest, Awakening, Path of Radiance and Shadow Dragon. Their hardest difficulties are not fair to compare to a game like Thracia that only has one difficulty due to it being so old and there not being harder difficulties in the series until FE6 I believe). I do recommend reading a beginner guide on Reddit or a YouTube video or something if you are interested in playing this game blind due to its new mechanics (Some of which are exclusive just to this game), as the game will not explain them to you. That's probably because you were meant to read the instruction manual when it came out on the SNES or watch the VHS tape from the special edition. This pretty much applies to any old game you do not have an instruction manual for though thinking about it.
Pros:
1. This game gives you so many broken and powerful items and characters that are fun to use against the enemy to counteract just about any bs the game throws your way that the vast, vast majority of the time any time something goes wrong it is your fault for not using your tools correctly. I of course won't list every single busted item in this game, but to name a few that you get early on in this game- Light Brand, Flame Sword, Brave Lance, Brave Axe and the Vouge. You are given all these busted items, as well as 2 pre-promoted units (One of which cannot die due to story reasons, but can be captured), and one over-levelled unit (Finn) that stays good the entire game that to me it just made this game feel like a fun playground.
2. The map design in this game is really on point besides a few maps. Most of them feel like they have so much going on that it made me feel as though I was being treated to a full course meal about every chapter.
3. The Crusader Scrolls were so unique and were different from any item I have ever messed around with in the FE series. I loved being able to manipulate my growth rates for each unit, as well as nullifying the potential of critical attacks (Except for the Wrath skill, which is dumb).
4. The story I found to be surprisingly interesting. It's more of a personal story compared to FE4, and it does a really good job of making me feel Leif's struggle and what he had to go through before joining Seliph. There are the few retcons to FE4's story, as far as changing when Leif, Nanna, Ced, and Finn join Seliph's army, but that does not change the main story of FE4 in the grand scheme of things. It is a bit weird that other characters in FE5 just decided not to join Seliph's army after FE5 ends, but again, that's a small retcon that only changes a unit's FE4 join time or if they join at all. Maybe there are other retcons I did not notice, but that's the only thing that stuck out to me.
5. Capturing units I hated in this game at first, but it really grew on me. I find myself missing it in other Fire Emblem games I play. I really like being able to steal an enemy's items and use them as my own. This mechanic really works well for this game to show how much of a struggle Leif's army has that they have to resort to stealing enemy items to make it through the story. There are some grievances I have with the capture mechanic, and think it could be improved upon in a remake or a future game, but I do love using it in this game overall.
6. Unit Level Up Stats. I surprisingly found myself loving the stat caps in this game where everything caps at 20. Cannot really explain why, but I guess it felt like less work compared to other games in the series to make someone good enough to use or for them to catch up if they were not used for a few chapters. I also loved being able to level up Movement. It was always so hype when one of my characters got Movement level ups, especially if they got a bad level up in their other stats. The Movement level up if it happens pops up after the other stats level up screen goes away, so it feels like a nice surprise all the time to me.
7. The gaiden chapter requirements are pretty hard to miss in this game, and make the game so much easier if you play them. The only one really miss-able is if you do not allow one unit to be captured by the enemy or escape without them. I did spoil myself on gaiden requirements due to just wanting to experience everything the game had to offer at the time, but I do think I would have gotten all of them except for the prison one on a completely blind playthrough.
8. Staves having infinite range I was not sure if I would like or not upon starting this game, as I was spoiled of that way before starting it. I fell in love with it, but infinite range staves are definitely not for every FE game in the series of course. It somehow, just works for this game. I guess because they designed most of the maps for infinite range staves in mind. It's nice to not have to bother counting range for the staves compared to other games for once. Just was less thinking for me lol. It's extremely fun to cheese the enemy with them, but of course it feels just as cheesy or bad if you let the enemy use their infinite range staves against you.
9. I love that if you miss with staves in this game you get the full experience still and the durability does not go down for the staff. I did not try to save state miss abuse or anything, but you can do that if it helps you have more fun with the game. Completely up to you.
10. I actually believe Leif is one of the most balanced main character Lords in the entire series. He is not broken, but not useless. He has his uses and he gets stronger as the game goes on. It also depends on what level ups you get of course, but his Light Brand and his other late game sword he gets, the Bragi Sword, are both very nice.
11. I love Movement Stars in this game. It's a really nice feeling I get whenever I get lucky and can use a unit 2 times in one turn without using a dancer. It doesn't need to be in the game, but it adds some extra flair to the game to help it further stand out. It does suck when enemies activate movement stars, but not many of them have it, and you have plenty of time to kill them before they even get a single turn.
12. Trading in Thracia works really well. Being able to trade between multiple units with one unit all at the same time is great. Makes swapping items around really nice and easy. Honestly I wish trading was like this in every Fire Emblem game.
Cons:
1. The hit rate for staves being dependent on your skill per each character is not a crazy big deal. You can miss until you get to at least 10 skill, but that is a small issue due to just levelling your units up or using a skill ring you get early on Nanna or Safy. I cannot recall any time the game told me that you can miss with staves and it being based on your skill, so I believe the game should have told you about that.
2. Xavier's recruitment is bs unless you know what to do, and even when you know what to do if you do not have a Sleep Edge or the right placement you are going to have a bad time recruiting him, let alone getting the Member Card. If you do not know what I am talking about, it would be best to Google it and see how in-depth his recruitment is compared to any other character in the whole Fire Emblem series.
3. Wrath skill being able to crit you, despite your character holding a Crusader Scroll is some stupid bs you cannot prepare for, or just not know about unless you were told about or experienced it yourself. That's inconsistent game design, and it should nullify Wrath crits.
4. The teleport tiles in 16B and 24x are some bs. It's not as much of a problem in 16B because of how unlikely it is for you to be in danger, since the mages will waste a turn rewarping to you, and the forest limiting everyone's movement except for fliers. It's more of a nuisance, since it's an escape map and you will have to wait a much longer time for them to escape due to the limited movement. 24x the warp tiles are an actual danger for any unit on your team due to being teleported to a dungeon with no escape with also being able to get hit with an enemy that can put them to sleep, others that can poison them, and others that can put them to 1HP with one hit. At this point in the game you should have plenty of staves that can get your ally out of the dungeon, but you may end up running out of staves to use due to just not knowing where the tiles are at and being unlucky where you move your units to. I think the tile issue could have been resolved by letting thieves see the tiles that are nearby, or permanently revealing a tile to the player if it was activated once.
5. Chapter 22 Across the River. The only issue I have with this map is Saias himself. He gives 10 authority stars to the enemy, letting them reach a maximum of 19. That really screws you over hit rate-wise. Again, this is only an issue for a first playthrough, as any future playthroughs you will know exactly what to do to make the chapter just another good chapter to play through. You are either expected to use the Warp staff to get to Saias (Who through abilities cannot be captured, killed, or status inflicted, so he's untouchable essentially) and wait a turn for him to go away due to story reasons that are very subtly hinted at for the beginning of the chapter, or wait until turn 40 if I remember correctly from reading online. I think he should leave much sooner to resolve the 19 authority star issue. I played through the chapter without using the Warp staff for a while, and the ballistaes pretty much had a 99% hit rate on all my units. I had to have my units sit there and be ballistae sponges for 10 hits each before I could move forward.
6. This is more nitpicky due to this just being a product of its time, but not being able to re-arrange your unit placement on the Map sucks. You have to un-deploy everyone and deploy them one at a time to see where they go one by one. This matters a good bit in this game due to maps where your army will be split up in 2 or more groups.
7. The arena section in Chapter 5 feels random to me whether or not the enemies will run away and escape or chase Nanna down after Eyvel is turned to stone. That's the only real thing I struggled with on this map. I thought that was dumb.
8. Same Turn Reinforcements. They suck in any Fire Emblem game they are in, unless the game tells you that will happen before you start the game up, and the story lets you know reinforcements are coming and the general area they are coming from. This game does neither some of the time. Some chapters it will let you know reinforcements are coming and where they are coming from.
9. This is a weird con, as this never affected me due to being told before I started it, but escaping first with Leif makes your other units you deployed in the map get auto-captured. With the fan-translation I played it did make it clear that Leif should escape last, but I think that everyone should have to escape for the chapter to end, not just Leif. There is a potential issue where you get soft locked if a unit of yours gets stuck and can't get to the escape area, but I'm sure that could be resolved with an easy enough solution.
N/A:
1. Not sure whether or not to list fatigue as a pro or con. It is fun but also a hindrance. On a blind playthrough you may end up missing out on a gaiden chapter, character recruitments, or special items if the character has too much fatigue from being used in the previous chapter. For a returning player this isn't an issue due to them just knowing what is coming next. It does make you use your other units instead of relying on the same tried and true ones the entire game, but at the same time in one chapter you can buy as many stamina drinks as you want if you have the money, and you get a crap ton of them for free from a gaiden chapter that it makes it feel like the fatigue mechanic does not exist beyond just making your units have one less item slot due to having to carry a stamina drink.
2. I completely understand why Wrath and Vantage not being able to stack works how it is, and essentially just gives you only Vantage, but I am confused still on why the Beo Sword gives you both when you can only use Vantage. Ah well.
3. Only other thing I can think of mechanic-wise is fog of war. I won't list it as a pro or con, but I think it's exaggerated in this game, as you get Torch staves and Torches to use to see, and you should have your tankier units with crusader scrolls if you have them move first into the darkness so you will not have issues like with any Fire Emblem game. I did not find it to be a problem really, I enjoyed it, and tend to enjoy it in any Fire Emblem game.
This game feels like the Majora's Mask of the Fire Emblem series. It's so weird and quirky, and the more I learn about it the more I fall in love with it. I am not one to really care about replaying games, but this is one of the few games I actually have an urge to replay even after just beating it. Feels like a new comfort game to me.
Pros:
1. This game gives you so many broken and powerful items and characters that are fun to use against the enemy to counteract just about any bs the game throws your way that the vast, vast majority of the time any time something goes wrong it is your fault for not using your tools correctly. I of course won't list every single busted item in this game, but to name a few that you get early on in this game- Light Brand, Flame Sword, Brave Lance, Brave Axe and the Vouge. You are given all these busted items, as well as 2 pre-promoted units (One of which cannot die due to story reasons, but can be captured), and one over-levelled unit (Finn) that stays good the entire game that to me it just made this game feel like a fun playground.
2. The map design in this game is really on point besides a few maps. Most of them feel like they have so much going on that it made me feel as though I was being treated to a full course meal about every chapter.
3. The Crusader Scrolls were so unique and were different from any item I have ever messed around with in the FE series. I loved being able to manipulate my growth rates for each unit, as well as nullifying the potential of critical attacks (Except for the Wrath skill, which is dumb).
4. The story I found to be surprisingly interesting. It's more of a personal story compared to FE4, and it does a really good job of making me feel Leif's struggle and what he had to go through before joining Seliph. There are the few retcons to FE4's story, as far as changing when Leif, Nanna, Ced, and Finn join Seliph's army, but that does not change the main story of FE4 in the grand scheme of things. It is a bit weird that other characters in FE5 just decided not to join Seliph's army after FE5 ends, but again, that's a small retcon that only changes a unit's FE4 join time or if they join at all. Maybe there are other retcons I did not notice, but that's the only thing that stuck out to me.
5. Capturing units I hated in this game at first, but it really grew on me. I find myself missing it in other Fire Emblem games I play. I really like being able to steal an enemy's items and use them as my own. This mechanic really works well for this game to show how much of a struggle Leif's army has that they have to resort to stealing enemy items to make it through the story. There are some grievances I have with the capture mechanic, and think it could be improved upon in a remake or a future game, but I do love using it in this game overall.
6. Unit Level Up Stats. I surprisingly found myself loving the stat caps in this game where everything caps at 20. Cannot really explain why, but I guess it felt like less work compared to other games in the series to make someone good enough to use or for them to catch up if they were not used for a few chapters. I also loved being able to level up Movement. It was always so hype when one of my characters got Movement level ups, especially if they got a bad level up in their other stats. The Movement level up if it happens pops up after the other stats level up screen goes away, so it feels like a nice surprise all the time to me.
7. The gaiden chapter requirements are pretty hard to miss in this game, and make the game so much easier if you play them. The only one really miss-able is if you do not allow one unit to be captured by the enemy or escape without them. I did spoil myself on gaiden requirements due to just wanting to experience everything the game had to offer at the time, but I do think I would have gotten all of them except for the prison one on a completely blind playthrough.
8. Staves having infinite range I was not sure if I would like or not upon starting this game, as I was spoiled of that way before starting it. I fell in love with it, but infinite range staves are definitely not for every FE game in the series of course. It somehow, just works for this game. I guess because they designed most of the maps for infinite range staves in mind. It's nice to not have to bother counting range for the staves compared to other games for once. Just was less thinking for me lol. It's extremely fun to cheese the enemy with them, but of course it feels just as cheesy or bad if you let the enemy use their infinite range staves against you.
9. I love that if you miss with staves in this game you get the full experience still and the durability does not go down for the staff. I did not try to save state miss abuse or anything, but you can do that if it helps you have more fun with the game. Completely up to you.
10. I actually believe Leif is one of the most balanced main character Lords in the entire series. He is not broken, but not useless. He has his uses and he gets stronger as the game goes on. It also depends on what level ups you get of course, but his Light Brand and his other late game sword he gets, the Bragi Sword, are both very nice.
11. I love Movement Stars in this game. It's a really nice feeling I get whenever I get lucky and can use a unit 2 times in one turn without using a dancer. It doesn't need to be in the game, but it adds some extra flair to the game to help it further stand out. It does suck when enemies activate movement stars, but not many of them have it, and you have plenty of time to kill them before they even get a single turn.
12. Trading in Thracia works really well. Being able to trade between multiple units with one unit all at the same time is great. Makes swapping items around really nice and easy. Honestly I wish trading was like this in every Fire Emblem game.
Cons:
1. The hit rate for staves being dependent on your skill per each character is not a crazy big deal. You can miss until you get to at least 10 skill, but that is a small issue due to just levelling your units up or using a skill ring you get early on Nanna or Safy. I cannot recall any time the game told me that you can miss with staves and it being based on your skill, so I believe the game should have told you about that.
2. Xavier's recruitment is bs unless you know what to do, and even when you know what to do if you do not have a Sleep Edge or the right placement you are going to have a bad time recruiting him, let alone getting the Member Card. If you do not know what I am talking about, it would be best to Google it and see how in-depth his recruitment is compared to any other character in the whole Fire Emblem series.
3. Wrath skill being able to crit you, despite your character holding a Crusader Scroll is some stupid bs you cannot prepare for, or just not know about unless you were told about or experienced it yourself. That's inconsistent game design, and it should nullify Wrath crits.
4. The teleport tiles in 16B and 24x are some bs. It's not as much of a problem in 16B because of how unlikely it is for you to be in danger, since the mages will waste a turn rewarping to you, and the forest limiting everyone's movement except for fliers. It's more of a nuisance, since it's an escape map and you will have to wait a much longer time for them to escape due to the limited movement. 24x the warp tiles are an actual danger for any unit on your team due to being teleported to a dungeon with no escape with also being able to get hit with an enemy that can put them to sleep, others that can poison them, and others that can put them to 1HP with one hit. At this point in the game you should have plenty of staves that can get your ally out of the dungeon, but you may end up running out of staves to use due to just not knowing where the tiles are at and being unlucky where you move your units to. I think the tile issue could have been resolved by letting thieves see the tiles that are nearby, or permanently revealing a tile to the player if it was activated once.
5. Chapter 22 Across the River. The only issue I have with this map is Saias himself. He gives 10 authority stars to the enemy, letting them reach a maximum of 19. That really screws you over hit rate-wise. Again, this is only an issue for a first playthrough, as any future playthroughs you will know exactly what to do to make the chapter just another good chapter to play through. You are either expected to use the Warp staff to get to Saias (Who through abilities cannot be captured, killed, or status inflicted, so he's untouchable essentially) and wait a turn for him to go away due to story reasons that are very subtly hinted at for the beginning of the chapter, or wait until turn 40 if I remember correctly from reading online. I think he should leave much sooner to resolve the 19 authority star issue. I played through the chapter without using the Warp staff for a while, and the ballistaes pretty much had a 99% hit rate on all my units. I had to have my units sit there and be ballistae sponges for 10 hits each before I could move forward.
6. This is more nitpicky due to this just being a product of its time, but not being able to re-arrange your unit placement on the Map sucks. You have to un-deploy everyone and deploy them one at a time to see where they go one by one. This matters a good bit in this game due to maps where your army will be split up in 2 or more groups.
7. The arena section in Chapter 5 feels random to me whether or not the enemies will run away and escape or chase Nanna down after Eyvel is turned to stone. That's the only real thing I struggled with on this map. I thought that was dumb.
8. Same Turn Reinforcements. They suck in any Fire Emblem game they are in, unless the game tells you that will happen before you start the game up, and the story lets you know reinforcements are coming and the general area they are coming from. This game does neither some of the time. Some chapters it will let you know reinforcements are coming and where they are coming from.
9. This is a weird con, as this never affected me due to being told before I started it, but escaping first with Leif makes your other units you deployed in the map get auto-captured. With the fan-translation I played it did make it clear that Leif should escape last, but I think that everyone should have to escape for the chapter to end, not just Leif. There is a potential issue where you get soft locked if a unit of yours gets stuck and can't get to the escape area, but I'm sure that could be resolved with an easy enough solution.
N/A:
1. Not sure whether or not to list fatigue as a pro or con. It is fun but also a hindrance. On a blind playthrough you may end up missing out on a gaiden chapter, character recruitments, or special items if the character has too much fatigue from being used in the previous chapter. For a returning player this isn't an issue due to them just knowing what is coming next. It does make you use your other units instead of relying on the same tried and true ones the entire game, but at the same time in one chapter you can buy as many stamina drinks as you want if you have the money, and you get a crap ton of them for free from a gaiden chapter that it makes it feel like the fatigue mechanic does not exist beyond just making your units have one less item slot due to having to carry a stamina drink.
2. I completely understand why Wrath and Vantage not being able to stack works how it is, and essentially just gives you only Vantage, but I am confused still on why the Beo Sword gives you both when you can only use Vantage. Ah well.
3. Only other thing I can think of mechanic-wise is fog of war. I won't list it as a pro or con, but I think it's exaggerated in this game, as you get Torch staves and Torches to use to see, and you should have your tankier units with crusader scrolls if you have them move first into the darkness so you will not have issues like with any Fire Emblem game. I did not find it to be a problem really, I enjoyed it, and tend to enjoy it in any Fire Emblem game.
This game feels like the Majora's Mask of the Fire Emblem series. It's so weird and quirky, and the more I learn about it the more I fall in love with it. I am not one to really care about replaying games, but this is one of the few games I actually have an urge to replay even after just beating it. Feels like a new comfort game to me.
2 Comments
Thanks! When I play the game again I will definitely give that a whirl.
Reddish
7 months ago