Well..... I feel weird saying I wasn't very impressed.
It's only fair to mention that I played Golden Deer on my first playthrough. I'm currently playing Black Eagles, and I intend to do Blue Lion as well.
It was a fine game. The story was... fine. I liked the intensity of some parts. The lore they built up around the continent of Fodlan seemed really intriguing to me at first, but nothing came to a satisfying conclusion after it was all over (something that I assume I paid the consequences for when choosing the "neutral" Golden Deer route. no resolute answers for those of us who don't pick sides and also think Claude is cute).
The characters are.... fine. I know it's kind of impossible to make every single character well-rounded in their personality and growth, but I really disliked the characters that seemed to only talk about One Thing and One Thing only (Raphael... I'm so sorry but I don't want to hear you talk about food for the umpteenth time. I know you have a family that you care about please talk about them more!!!!). My favorite Fire Emblem games definitely have those types too, but for some reason it really grated on me with this one.
The voice acting is pretty great. I'm really glad the Fire Emblem series is regularly being voiced, which makes me glad to listen to. The performances are good. Unfortunately, the stiff character models look really awkward to me.... I felt like I was going insane having to look at the same character movement loop over and over again during conversations. They all seemed so stiff and lifeless, despite the vocal performances. The prerendered cutscenes were cool-looking, at least.
Maybe I have a problem with the look of the game.... I like that it's more "serious" looking with muted tones and mature color palette, but it quickly becomes muddy looking and drab....... it has me begging to tear my eyes away from it to look at something to bring the life back into my vision. I feel like they could've made some little pops of color somewhere on the grounds of the monastery, but... I guess that's not what they wanted to go for.
It's been memed on, but the little details like the textures really are rough. They're just.. not used well or not mapped correctly. It looks a little lazy. Idk why I care so much about that. I feel really harsh on this game and I don't know why!
This game does have depth to it. I guess I feel bitter because I feel like I unknowingly chose the route that lacked all the interesting plot points. Did I....?
Anyway, I feel like this is a good Fire Emblem game for beginners, though I will say that the classroom system is disorientingly complex. Well, maybe not complex per se, but there's just a LOT of management to do and.... it has potential to be fun, but I found myself really anxious to get it over with after a while. I love min/maxing in games, but it wasn't that fun in this one. It takes way too long.
The pacing of this one really drags on, I guess I mean to say. For a game that potentially wants you to try all the routes, I feel like quite a bit could've been cut and it still would've been a great experience..... I just wish it was shorter!
If you're new to the series, its a good start perhaps.
It's only fair to mention that I played Golden Deer on my first playthrough. I'm currently playing Black Eagles, and I intend to do Blue Lion as well.
It was a fine game. The story was... fine. I liked the intensity of some parts. The lore they built up around the continent of Fodlan seemed really intriguing to me at first, but nothing came to a satisfying conclusion after it was all over (something that I assume I paid the consequences for when choosing the "neutral" Golden Deer route. no resolute answers for those of us who don't pick sides and also think Claude is cute).
The characters are.... fine. I know it's kind of impossible to make every single character well-rounded in their personality and growth, but I really disliked the characters that seemed to only talk about One Thing and One Thing only (Raphael... I'm so sorry but I don't want to hear you talk about food for the umpteenth time. I know you have a family that you care about please talk about them more!!!!). My favorite Fire Emblem games definitely have those types too, but for some reason it really grated on me with this one.
The voice acting is pretty great. I'm really glad the Fire Emblem series is regularly being voiced, which makes me glad to listen to. The performances are good. Unfortunately, the stiff character models look really awkward to me.... I felt like I was going insane having to look at the same character movement loop over and over again during conversations. They all seemed so stiff and lifeless, despite the vocal performances. The prerendered cutscenes were cool-looking, at least.
Maybe I have a problem with the look of the game.... I like that it's more "serious" looking with muted tones and mature color palette, but it quickly becomes muddy looking and drab....... it has me begging to tear my eyes away from it to look at something to bring the life back into my vision. I feel like they could've made some little pops of color somewhere on the grounds of the monastery, but... I guess that's not what they wanted to go for.
It's been memed on, but the little details like the textures really are rough. They're just.. not used well or not mapped correctly. It looks a little lazy. Idk why I care so much about that. I feel really harsh on this game and I don't know why!
This game does have depth to it. I guess I feel bitter because I feel like I unknowingly chose the route that lacked all the interesting plot points. Did I....?
Anyway, I feel like this is a good Fire Emblem game for beginners, though I will say that the classroom system is disorientingly complex. Well, maybe not complex per se, but there's just a LOT of management to do and.... it has potential to be fun, but I found myself really anxious to get it over with after a while. I love min/maxing in games, but it wasn't that fun in this one. It takes way too long.
The pacing of this one really drags on, I guess I mean to say. For a game that potentially wants you to try all the routes, I feel like quite a bit could've been cut and it still would've been a great experience..... I just wish it was shorter!
If you're new to the series, its a good start perhaps.