I had a blast replaying Fire Emblem Echoes because it is my FAVORITE fire emblem game. Alm and Celica continue to be my favorite characters (they are my children) and surprisingly, Fernand is in my top 3 now all because his english va is Ray Chase and I had little knowledge about va's back in 2017. I LOST MY MIND WHEN I REALIZED FERNAND WAS RAY I HAD A FREAKING MELTDOWN Ray Chase is one of my favorite va's :,) (i had an overall meltdown when i realized how stacked the va cast was but ray chase was on a whole other level)

The music? I'm eating it. that's a fucking 10-course meal right there.

The art? I'm also eating that. Hidari's art is so scrumptious and works so well for the remake because it invokes a sense of nostalgia. It's warm and welcoming.

I love Alm and Celica so much. They both want to save Valentia and bring peace, but don't meet eye to eye. Their deep bond, trust, how much they care for each other ;-; IM GENTLY HOLDING THEM

As much as I love this game to death, it left me thinking about what could be improved. Supports could be improved. Three Houses really spoiled me with support and helped me realize this. Supports could be longer and that could really help flesh out a lot of the characters. Faye's a good character, but all she's known for is her love for Alm. Alm's support doesn't do much and neither does Silque's, stunting her as a character. If you recruit Faye to Celica's team, you get no support conversations, making her very basic and just there to deal damage. Genny is kind of the same way. If you fail to recruit Sonya, she's kind of just there. The same with Berkut, Rinea, and Fernand who have a lot of potential. If there were more supports or memory prisms to dive deep into the character, oh wow then the characters would be so much more complex and intriguing. (So many ideas are buzzing around in my head AAHHHHHHHH)

The dungeon crawler mechanic is really unique and I think it should be in future FE games. Echoes integrate characters from archanea, which expands the world-building and I love it when games do that. Knowing there are characters from other lands opens up Valentia rather than isolates it (and the fact that you can go to archanea in act 6). It also makes me interested in playing the original. I want to get to know these characters more from what I discovered from the supports. One day I'll explore archanea.

For now I'm going to think about Fernand and the game and the doc I'm going to write. Will I post it here? Maybe who knows. Or maybe I'll edit this because I have a lot of thoughts about the game.

just brilliant. amazing artstyle and stellar work on sprites (having come from previous AA games made me appreciate how far they've come in their attention to details and subtle expressions! the characters felt so alive), unbelievably good music and, of course, an astonishing story.

one of the things i loved most about this game is that it respects the player's intelligence by not dumbing things down and rewards the moments when you are attentive by not leaving plot holes and undoing all the knots it ties. i like a good Chekhov's gun, and hoo boy does this game deliver a whole damn armory.

Okay I love this thing but damn am I just bad or is this game hard as fuck? Probably a bit of both. I can't make it past the cave area.

I guess the birds will never be saved and will probably die a cold, lonely death. Oh well.

Played on NSO GBA

Stardew Valley feels like coming home.

I can't remember which playthrough I'm on, which is a rarity for me. I've revisited childhood favorites like Zelda and Mario countless times, cherishing each experience. However, as an adult, this happens less frequently. Maybe it's because modern games don't resonate with me as deeply, or maybe my gaming habits have simply changed over time. Yet, whenever I boot up Stardew Valley, it hits all the right notes. Whether I've talked with the residents of Pelican Town dozens of times or played through its events repeatedly, the game retains its magical allure. It feels like a nostalgic return to childhood gaming, a comforting experience I can enjoy every time of the year.

What's truly remarkable is the developer's commitment to continually expanding the game with substantial updates and expansions, all provided for free. Stardew Valley brims with passion and love. Despite its status as one of the most successful indie games of all time, the developer continues to pour his heart into it, enriching the experience for players. I deeply respect and appreciate this dedication, which unfortunately is no longer a given in today's gaming industry.

I could honestly ramble endlessly about this masterpiece of a game. Nearly a decade after my first playthrough, it still holds a special place in my heart and it probably always will.