Played for about an hour, and it became immediately apparent that this is basically a sci-fi Genshin reskin. Down to the UI layout, cutscenes still being unskippable and the same shitty gacha system that seldom gives you actual characters. I know for a fact that this is a game that, like Genshin, will not respect anyone's time, asking you to spend days gathering space mushrooms or some bollocks just to be granted the privelege of being able to level up characters in a turn based RPG. Obviously, I don't know that last bit for sure, but seeing how derivative the game is of Genshin in the first hour, I don't think it's unfounded, and my patience has its limits.

This is typical gacha slop wherein the waifu slot machine was designed first, and then the game around it, made to get you addicted and waste as much of your time as possible. But people are going to eat it up anyway and act like this kind of game design is actually good and acceptable.

Addendum:

holy shit guys just please play any other turn based rpg I don't care if "you don't like turn based combat but this game is good!" there're infinitely better entry-level rpgs/rpgs that appeal to people who don't like the genre I'm on my knees

There's genuinely nothing funny I could say about Thracia, or anything that hasn't already been said about it that would do it justice. There's no other FE game that matches its raw gameplay integrity and absolutely genius ideas, with Genealogy at least coming in close second. For every bullshit thing the game throws at you, the game gives you quadruple the amount of bullshit to use against the enemy - like there are so many brave and master weapons and staves that basically get handed to you on a silver platter, and while there are a few chapters that are trial and error, actually figuring them out genuinely feels so good - no other Fire Emblem game gives me this much dopamine. Hell, I made a long ass text file documenting my experiences with the game, going in depth on every strategy I utilised in every chapter and giving pointers and advice that either myself or someone else could use whenever they decide to play. I think it's worth mentioning that this is the first time a game has compelled me to do something like this.

Thracia is oppressive as all hell, both through its story and every facet of its gameplay. Leif and his band are constantly on the run, being hounded by the empire, and the sheer abundance of enemies and reinforcements on each map serves to convey just how overwhelmed and outnumbered you are. For Christ's sake, how many other FE games have half of their map objectives as just: "get the hell out"? Enemy AI will capture your units if they can, and will try to escape the map with them, which, by the way, you can exploit and consider when strategising. A fantastic gameplay-story implementation of this is that losing a unit this way unlocks a gaiden chapter, of all things, offering you the chance to rescue them - albeit very late in the game. You're told very clearly that Leif should escape last, too, so if anyone gets left behind, it's probably on you.

Speaking of Leif, he's bar none probably my favourite character in the series. He's an underdog with an inferiority complex and survivor's guilt, who, against all odds, pulls through, and, as Ced puts it; "fought and bled to liberate the people of Thracia" - "a path that would have broken lesser men". That conversation between him and Ced is also probably my favourite character interaction in the series, for what it's worth. His growth as both a character and unit is unparalleled throughout the whole series, and he's given two games to show for it, and boy does he show.

Actual godgame. I don't care if most characters only have like, two lines of dialogue, the ones that do talk are so superbly written and I'm all the more grateful for the people who worked behind the recent fan translation, which I should also add is exceptionally good. Thank you, Kaga and thank you, Intelligent Systems. Thank you to the Project Exile and Lil' Manster teams. You guys rock.

Currently replaying on Hector hard mode, and I'm convinced that Mekkah making that long ass critique about how fe7's plot apparently sucks completely destroyed this game's reputation. It was always "mid" this, "mid" that afterwards, and I kinda got roped into following the fe7 hate-train hivemind. Yeah it's nowhere near as complex as Jugdral before it or Tellius after it, but it's really a neat little story about a Sacaean plainswoman reclaiming her heritage, and two longtime friends of noble status going on a journey to save one's father. There's some drama, mystery and a little tragedy, but nothing groundbreaking. It's really just Fire Emblem comfort food. There's no grand conflict, nor is the world at stake (for the most part), but I feel this is the game after FE4 that really pushed towards characters being given more time in the spotlight in FE games. Lyn's story and Lyndis' Legion again just have this level of comraderie only is really surpassed with the Greil Mercenaries. After stumbling a bit with FE6, Intelligent Systems found their footing without Shouzou Kaga to guide them, and to some, the next few games that followed would be considered on par with, and in some cases better than the previous director's best works.

Man, what an insane step up from Breath of Fire 1 and 2. I was able to appreciate 2 immensely thanks to the fan retranslation which included some qol updates, but thinking back to my playthrough of 1, and how much of a slog it was compared to this game, it's night and day. One thing that helps is that the translation is actually pretty good - there was the occasional odd reading line of dialogue, and full stops are never used to punctuate sentences, for some reason, but for me, one of the most important, defining things that Breath of Fire 3 does is that it takes the unique quirks that worked in its predecessors, and really goes in on them, to the point that there's just such an overwhelming amount of charm that it easily stands out compared to its contemporary jrpgs of the ps1. From the expressiveness of the character sprites, to the groovy soundtrack, the many poignant story beats, even the minigames. It doesn't have the most complex, philosophical jrpg narrative or fleshed out characters, nor does it have the most mechanically engrossing gameplay, but almost every moment of this game was just really fun.

If I had to compare this to anything, it'd be Dragon Quest V. If you love that game as much as I do, you'll love this too, the similarities are evident from the get-go, but this game does a lot to still give itself its own identity.

This game also has Momo so it's literally impossible for it to be bad.

"Are you guys ready to wreck some final bosses?"

Ced gulped
Galzus nodded
Mareeta shivered
Asbel whimpered
Osian cowered

"Yes Marty, yes Shannam." they said in unison

The worst one, apparently! Gaiden is undoubtedly a weird game and a black sheep, but I'd be very hard pressed to call it bad, or without merits. In fact, Gaiden is actually really cool, and many of its issues are grossly overblown. Just like with FE7, I feel that just because a bunch of fetubers have said it's bad, or pointed out its issues, it's become the general consensus, and in Gaiden's case I personally doubt many of its detractors have even played it because of its infamy. I don't blame them - a clunky, slow, Famicom SRPG with poor balancing and bad map design doesn't exactly sound fun, and it certainly seems like perfect punching bag material, but believe me when I say this; these are not egregious enough to make Gaiden unenjoyable, at least to me. If you want a tldr, I typed up my thoughts in a previous review, which was admittedly very passive aggressive and rude, which I apologise for. I just get heated trying to defend games I like, I suppose. But yeah, Gaiden is actually cool and you're all wrong. (Not really. All opinions are valid but I do heavily disagree with the negative sentiment this game has garnered.)

Gaiden is actually really impressive for a Famicom game of the time. Having a multi-faceted narrative with two ongoing, playable routes is probably the biggest part of Gaiden's identity, and I can't think of any other games from the time that dared to try this, at least within the realm of SRPGs and JRPGs. The world map is also surprisingly detailed, always fully visible, and fully traversible from top to bottom, albeit on a fixed path. I never saw any sprites flicker, and the battle animations are nothing short of eye-candy. I really like some of the attention to detail too, like having Alm and Celica's portraits change slightly on promotion, or the final boss' battle sprite completely changing when weakened. Not to mention the unique animation Alm gets for landing the finishing blow. That shield toss gives me chills and I don't think any other NES game has ever made me feel that.

Although I already knew the gist of Gaiden's narrative, having already played Echoes, I still think it's worth pointing out how good it is, especially by NES standards. What starts off as spearheading an uprising against a corrupt general spirals into the conquest of an entire nation, and wrestling control of the world from Gods back into the hands of humans. If you know me, that last bit is one of my favourite tropes in any form of media, and I think this might be one of the first ever examples of it - so good on Gaiden for starting the trend.

Here comes the hard part, though. Addressing Gaiden's biggest issues is difficult. The common complaints aren't totally unfounded, but they're definitely exaggerated. I guess I can try by getting the most notorious out of the way; the map design.

Gaiden map design is....weird. I don't think it's necessarily bad though. There're lots of open areas, and terrain bonuses are a bit excessive. Map layouts are reused, and some are questionably designed, but it never felt unfair, or unfun, which are probably two biggest contributors to what makes a map "badly designed", at least for me. Obviously this is entirely down to personal opinion. I won't deny some maps could've definitely pissed me off in another timeline, though, like some of Celica's lategame bog maps, or Nuibaba's mansion on Alm's side, but they just didn't annoy me too much, and maps like these are the exception, not the rule. And guys, please stop acting like Celica's route is all boat maps when it only makes up three of like, godknows how many total possible individual encounters there are on her route. Seriously though, Gaiden map design is fine.

"But Gaiden is grindy! The XP payouts suck and you're better off playing on easy mode."

In all of my time playing Gaiden, I only stopped once to grind, and it was right before the point of no return on Celica's route to give a few units that nudge they needed to get their promotions...which I didn't even end up using on the final map. So ultimately, no. Gaiden is very beatable without grinding. Consider that most actions reward your whole party experience, and that's a lot more exp that your units are getting than you realise, even if it initially seems like very little. And before you say grinding is slow in Gaiden, that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, it's faster than just about any contemporary RPG of the time. The game gives you very easy access to infinite mummy encounters on both routes (maybe to Celica's route's detriment because those graveyard tiles always initiate an encounter) that are guaranteed to give your characters boatloads of experience and in many cases a flat 100 xp.

Moving on to level ups and growth rates; growth rates being low is also a very deliberate design choice. They're there to add variety to playthroughs, and make some units end up potentially better or worse than others, as per traditional Fire Emblem's design philosophy, but only marginally in Gaiden, since promotions automatically bump stats up to class bases if they're lower, as opposed to providing a fixed increase to stats like other games in the series. This means that, actually unlike most FE games, Gaiden has a surprisingly balanced cast. I actually like this approach. It's definitely in line with Gaiden's whole idea of being an SRPG with traditional RPG elements baked in, given this incentivises just levelling your characters instead of relying on random variables, and, again, it makes for a mostly balanced cast. There's no doubt that dread fighters and falcoknights are by far the best promotions, but it does mean that everyone is viable if you invest in them. Regarding characters who don't promote until very late though, like Mae and Delthea, they don't even need the promotion. Being able to use Aura is more than enough. Seriously, everyone in Gaiden gets a chance to shine. Maybe some less than others, though, because of bases or stats that are unchanged by promotions. cough Clive.

"Witches being able to warp to your units is unfair!"

Ok, so, don't count me on this, but I heard that the witch enemy ai was intentionally made to be really stupid and to not be able gang up on your units. Not something I can actually verify, but I think anyone who has played gaiden can safely say that witches are stupid and very rarely actually do anything that could be anything considered remotely strategically beneficial. It didn't happen to me, but I dunno, if it does, Gaiden is one of the few FE games that gives you the luxury of reviving dead characters. Not once, mind you. Up to six times. Three per route, though characters who die on either route can be revived and brought over to the other. Silk seems to be the most common use of this, given warp utility is invaluable and I can't blame people for wanting to skip more than just the maps on Alm's side. Going back on map design though, I think the game gives you two extremely good, high move, terrain ignoring fliers on Celica's route for a reason. Three if you're willing to feed kills to Est for a bit. Her bases are actually pretty respectable.

(Protip, by the way, for people who've decided to read this far - you deserve it: Once you get to chapter 4, do all of Celica's route's stuff until you unlock Alm's promotion, transfer the angel ring over to Alm. Level up Alm a bunch in the ensuing maps thanks to his inflated exp gain and once you get to Nuibaba's mansion, just warp him in on a heal tile and pray he kills Nuibaba with a bow before they can land Medusa. Once they're gone you've practically beaten the chapter, and trivialised one of the most infamous FE maps in the franchise's history. You can reuse this same strategy for the final map, if you keep the angel ring on him long enough. Those boosted stat gains will likely remove any need for the regal sword. Just substitute using a bow for the Falchion, obviously, since it's required to beat the game not counting using nosferatu.)

"But Gaiden is too slow!"

I have genuinely nothing to say other than; "what did you expect when booting up a famicom SRPG"? Of course it's going to be slow, and clunkier than what you're accustomed to. The key factor, I feel, that will decide whether or not you like Gaiden, is your mindset. If you go in thinking it's going to suck, because of its slowness, or stiff controls, or anything else, your brain's just going to keep honing in on those thoughts, and you'll never be able to adapt. Gaiden's controls and speed are something I was able to get used to, and I'm not immune to losing my patience over old SRPGs, or JRPGs, or anything, either.
If it helps, turn off animations. I got through the whole game with animations turned off and only used fastforward maybe a handful of times.

So, is Gaiden better than Echoes? Of course not. The big question though, is "Is Gaiden worth playing?"

Yes. The answer is yes. Form your own opinions, please, I'm begging you. Stop believing word of mouth and try things for yourself before speaking of them as if they're gospel.

Treasure are the kinda devs to make a weird obscure scrimblo run and gun where you play as a reformed, reincarnated terrorist alien anthropomorphic eagle with headcrushing thighs, rush development due to a rocky dev cycle and still come out with one of the best games in the genre. I'm genuinely at a loss for words, like it's evident the game was rushed and it busts your balls a bit in places and definitely requires some trial and error but once you get past that it just works so well in every single area. Plays just as good as it looks and sounds. Those bitcrushed mega drive voice samples give me immense joy.

(Deleted my previous review because I was able to actually beat it to avoid confusion)

nintendo made a kaizo hack of their own game and charged full price for it and I somehow don't think it's the worst thing ever

I won't be telling you that japanese smb2 is some underappreciated or overhated hidden gem like other nes sequels but I will tell you that it's actually really, really funny. It just has this level of personality to it, like no other game of its time had the audacity to make you wait out a level timer or intentionally throw yourself into a pit to avoid being sent back to the very start of the game. Smb2 was always supposed to be "for experts". The devs weren't just doing this to arbitrarily extend playtime, they did this to troll people, and they probably thought it was funny too. It makes the lost levels, to me, a microcosm of a time where game development wasn't just a job, it was also hobby - it was more personal. I think this game is actually kinda awesome for being less curated, more bullshit and not well designed, and I wouldn't have it any other way.