i have so much to say about this game and half of it is spoilers. so i'm going to leave the meat of my review here and then make a second one to talk about the spoilers that i really want to bring up. i only played it earlier this year but i swear it changed my life i think you can tell by my username and icon IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW.
- so fire emblem echoes has a pretty simple story. three houses was my first FE game with this being my second and the political landscape of fodlan was too brain hurty for me so i quite enjoyed this for a change. i could give a synopsis of both paths from start to finish easily.
- is it a GOOD story? i think it is. there are some glaring flaws that keep me up at night but it's because this game has such high highs that i wish the whole story would be like that.
- particularly wish this game cared about women outside of them being the guys' setpieces. it happens even to the most capable girls and i got sick of it after the third damsel in distress on alm's route. this happens in celica's route too and unlike alm's it is not a port from gaiden so it's about every bit as frustrating as you can imagine
- also alm's story for the first half or so tries to present itself as something it's kinda.. not? this makes sense if you've played it. that's something that bugs quite a few people but it makes sense in my head.
- the combat is also pretty simple imo - maybe too simple for some people's tastes? you can only hold 1 item at a time. there are no second seals once you're in a class line you are stuck there if you don't have dlc or are not a dread fighter. double attacks are done if one person has one more point of speed than another. i don't really mind that but some people do? also magic and combat arts are cast from hp which is interesting i like it
- the maps are nothing to really write home about because on alm's route you get Vast stretches of land with a bunch of soldiers and in celica's you get... Boats. Deserts. Swamps. And so many cantors. They're not that fun. between the bad maps and the random encounters (WHY ARE THEY THERE?) i did have to put this game down for a few weeks after like act 3 but coming back to finish it was a very good decision
- this is the first game to introduce a rewind system. they were obviously cooking with it which is why they have divine pulse in 3H and the time crystal in engage. but mila's turnwheel is also how you can view supports you have obtained and "memory prisms" which are scenes that take place outside of the main story. some of these are plot-relevant some just give some extra love to underutilized playables or side characters. i like the memory prisms. especially when you basically collect them off people's dead bodies in act 5
- this is also the first mainline FE game that has near-full voice acting. the overworld conversations where people speak at you are the exception but the main story? the supports? even every time you select a character in battle and they say their funny little line? all voiced. i can't speak to the quality of the original japanese voices but the english dub cast is phenomenal. i've seen some performances get dissed (personally the only one i'm iffy on is deen because he sounds like squidward but i always picked sonya so i don't really know what to say) but this cast really carries their weight.
- everyone shouts out ian sinclair (berkut) and kyle mccarley (alm) FOR GOOD REASON but the list of good casting is endless. i was going to start shouting out some other performances i liked but it would have turned into me actually naming the whole cast so i'll just leave it at bonnie gordon (silque) who also sings the english ending theme. her voice is actually like honey.
- so the good casting really brings the characters to life. i LOVEEEE the characters. some characters have rough backstories others are more everyday and it's explained to you through supports or overworld conversations that is very down to earth and very up my alley
- SUPPORTS!!!!! while there are a couple of supports that kinda have no reason to be there my big problem is that i wish there were more!! lots of dynamics that aren't explored enough. just as an example alm only has one support outside his mini-harem even though he has a plethora of buddies. like luthier. alm is luthier's first human friend. BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A SUPPORT CHAIN. WHY?
- oh i haven't talked about the art yet. hidari's art is amazing. we all know this. even the little nicks on armor are so lovingly rendered i need to be able to draw like that. the UI also looks very cool and sleek which combines nicely. i think even people who didn't like this game can agree that it has the best window dressing
- the music is also phenomenal. i mentioned the ending theme but this is just one track out of a plethora. alm and celica have battle themes in acts 1 & 2 that evolve for their act 3, and their act 4 gives them each a new track. these are some of the best in the game and are a wonderful expansion of gaiden's already pretty awesome soundtrack. berkut has like 5 different tracks associated with him (even if 1 is kind of a repeat of another) and those WEREN'T in gaiden so they just came up with that from scratch? mindblowing. orchestral music always slays. also the final boss theme is iconic for a reason. Don't listen to it before you play this game. unless you won't play this game then go listen to it. it goes hard in gaiden and it goes harder in echoes. Just to name a few examples. the use of leitmotifs are stellar by the way.
so yeah. if you play fire emblem for the gameplay echoes is probably not going to be your cup of tea. if you play it for the story it's a coinflip on if you like it but honestly the soundtrack and voice acting help sell it. Also the pretty. to me sometimes simple is better than complicated and i think the simplicity is to echoes' advantage. i love this game. it's a part of my personality now.
also can i shill the sacred echoes romhack? i'm gonna shill the sacred echoes romhack. it's a demake of echoes on the GBA system (using sacred stones as a base) and while it doesn't solve EVERY problem i have with echoes it is a fun experience in its own right. just don't make the same mistake i did and play on hard because "oh i played echoes already the maps are gonna be the same right?" NO THEY'RE NOT. that is all for now
- so fire emblem echoes has a pretty simple story. three houses was my first FE game with this being my second and the political landscape of fodlan was too brain hurty for me so i quite enjoyed this for a change. i could give a synopsis of both paths from start to finish easily.
- is it a GOOD story? i think it is. there are some glaring flaws that keep me up at night but it's because this game has such high highs that i wish the whole story would be like that.
- particularly wish this game cared about women outside of them being the guys' setpieces. it happens even to the most capable girls and i got sick of it after the third damsel in distress on alm's route. this happens in celica's route too and unlike alm's it is not a port from gaiden so it's about every bit as frustrating as you can imagine
- also alm's story for the first half or so tries to present itself as something it's kinda.. not? this makes sense if you've played it. that's something that bugs quite a few people but it makes sense in my head.
- the combat is also pretty simple imo - maybe too simple for some people's tastes? you can only hold 1 item at a time. there are no second seals once you're in a class line you are stuck there if you don't have dlc or are not a dread fighter. double attacks are done if one person has one more point of speed than another. i don't really mind that but some people do? also magic and combat arts are cast from hp which is interesting i like it
- the maps are nothing to really write home about because on alm's route you get Vast stretches of land with a bunch of soldiers and in celica's you get... Boats. Deserts. Swamps. And so many cantors. They're not that fun. between the bad maps and the random encounters (WHY ARE THEY THERE?) i did have to put this game down for a few weeks after like act 3 but coming back to finish it was a very good decision
- this is the first game to introduce a rewind system. they were obviously cooking with it which is why they have divine pulse in 3H and the time crystal in engage. but mila's turnwheel is also how you can view supports you have obtained and "memory prisms" which are scenes that take place outside of the main story. some of these are plot-relevant some just give some extra love to underutilized playables or side characters. i like the memory prisms. especially when you basically collect them off people's dead bodies in act 5
- this is also the first mainline FE game that has near-full voice acting. the overworld conversations where people speak at you are the exception but the main story? the supports? even every time you select a character in battle and they say their funny little line? all voiced. i can't speak to the quality of the original japanese voices but the english dub cast is phenomenal. i've seen some performances get dissed (personally the only one i'm iffy on is deen because he sounds like squidward but i always picked sonya so i don't really know what to say) but this cast really carries their weight.
- everyone shouts out ian sinclair (berkut) and kyle mccarley (alm) FOR GOOD REASON but the list of good casting is endless. i was going to start shouting out some other performances i liked but it would have turned into me actually naming the whole cast so i'll just leave it at bonnie gordon (silque) who also sings the english ending theme. her voice is actually like honey.
- so the good casting really brings the characters to life. i LOVEEEE the characters. some characters have rough backstories others are more everyday and it's explained to you through supports or overworld conversations that is very down to earth and very up my alley
- SUPPORTS!!!!! while there are a couple of supports that kinda have no reason to be there my big problem is that i wish there were more!! lots of dynamics that aren't explored enough. just as an example alm only has one support outside his mini-harem even though he has a plethora of buddies. like luthier. alm is luthier's first human friend. BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A SUPPORT CHAIN. WHY?
- oh i haven't talked about the art yet. hidari's art is amazing. we all know this. even the little nicks on armor are so lovingly rendered i need to be able to draw like that. the UI also looks very cool and sleek which combines nicely. i think even people who didn't like this game can agree that it has the best window dressing
- the music is also phenomenal. i mentioned the ending theme but this is just one track out of a plethora. alm and celica have battle themes in acts 1 & 2 that evolve for their act 3, and their act 4 gives them each a new track. these are some of the best in the game and are a wonderful expansion of gaiden's already pretty awesome soundtrack. berkut has like 5 different tracks associated with him (even if 1 is kind of a repeat of another) and those WEREN'T in gaiden so they just came up with that from scratch? mindblowing. orchestral music always slays. also the final boss theme is iconic for a reason. Don't listen to it before you play this game. unless you won't play this game then go listen to it. it goes hard in gaiden and it goes harder in echoes. Just to name a few examples. the use of leitmotifs are stellar by the way.
so yeah. if you play fire emblem for the gameplay echoes is probably not going to be your cup of tea. if you play it for the story it's a coinflip on if you like it but honestly the soundtrack and voice acting help sell it. Also the pretty. to me sometimes simple is better than complicated and i think the simplicity is to echoes' advantage. i love this game. it's a part of my personality now.
also can i shill the sacred echoes romhack? i'm gonna shill the sacred echoes romhack. it's a demake of echoes on the GBA system (using sacred stones as a base) and while it doesn't solve EVERY problem i have with echoes it is a fun experience in its own right. just don't make the same mistake i did and play on hard because "oh i played echoes already the maps are gonna be the same right?" NO THEY'RE NOT. that is all for now
trailblazer_l
7 months ago