Notes for my series replay:
- Right off the bat, this has to be my favorite art style for the characters in-game so far, I love the character designs too, as they feel very unique in this title.
- This game is very easy, and not in a "I've played all the FE's, I'm too good" way, but generally enemy density and the stats that they have are pretty much on par with your units for the entirety of the game on THE HARDEST DIFFICULTY. I am not kidding when I say that yes, you might be surprised by a few really fast myrmidons, or perhaps a status stave here or there and have to restart, but I only had to like 3 or 4 times this entire game.
- The game throws money, bonus xp, and really good units at you for a majority of the runtime, and I feel like this lends to why the game feels really easy for a lot of people as well.
-Speaking of bonus xp, the game introduces this mechanic to help out in training weaker units, or to even further buff up the units the player has a preference for. I found that this mechanic made basically every character in the game usable, even really high investment units like Rolf, which was a super fun addition. I found myself dumping hundreds of BEXP into units that I liked story-wise just to see if they could make the A-team and it honestly made me use more than just my set team every map. The game is VERY generous with BEXP in some cases.
- Another new feature with FE9 is the Base screen. This featured inventory management, the convoy, shops, armories, and even supports and info conversations. This was very welcome, as it felt like it centralized all of the important facets of combat preparation for a more streamlined experience. I really like this flow of gameplay, as removing shops and armories from maps and just putting them before battle was SO much better. I wouldn't just bring a throwaway unit with high mov to maps as my pack mule anymore, and I no longer had to wonder where the hell I put those javelins I bought three maps ago as well. This is much, much more preferable in my opinion.
- In terms of story, I would rank FE9 on par with Genealogy's story. The sheer amount of characters and political threads to follow is really interesting, I found myself engrossed in reading all the info conversations and supports between people. This game really sets up it's sequel well, which I was am itching to dive into after finishing these notes. I love all the themes of the cycle of violence and forgiveness, and I think that this game tackles some of the realest issues I've seen in a Fire Emblem game. Some people have issues with the brevity of how they are handled, but I personally thought they were tactful in most cases.
- This game feels like the birth of the modern support system. Supports are gained simply by being around other units or on the same map as them, rather than directly adjacent, and I was gaining support ranks at a rather decent clip as a result. This way felt much more natural and wayyyy less tedious.
- I don't have a whole lot to say about the map design, other than I think they did a great job of getting a variety of map objectives and settings. The maps aren't super memorable for me, but I think that they're fine for the game. I actually think this game's weakest suit is the maps, but they're still just par for the course FE maps, so I can't really subtract any points. To FE9's credit, however, it does have an awesome prison break map, even if it's not as good as FE5's.
- I think the soundtrack is fucking awesome. The revamped "Knight's Vow" for this was awesome, as well as "With Us" being one of my favorite recruitment themes ever. I think some of the map themes are a little lackluster compared to earlier entries, but honestly it fits the vibe of the game so well they just felt natural.
- I also need to make this claim before I forget, but Ike has to be top 3 lords in the series. I think that he is written brilliantly, and that he defies all of the expectations of an FE lord, even though he fits many of the archetypal tropes. I think that despite all of the memes about him being a meathead, himbo, etc, I think that he is actually one of the more introspective lords of the series in some cases, and if memory of FE10 serves, this game portrays him much better in that regard.
This game is a masterpiece. Not just for Fire Emblem titles, but on it's own two feet as well. I think that this game is an amazing jumping in point for beginners, but also an interesting entry for series veterans if you don't mind the slightly easier difficulty comparatively. Great story, great music, amazing character writing. Enough said.
- Right off the bat, this has to be my favorite art style for the characters in-game so far, I love the character designs too, as they feel very unique in this title.
- This game is very easy, and not in a "I've played all the FE's, I'm too good" way, but generally enemy density and the stats that they have are pretty much on par with your units for the entirety of the game on THE HARDEST DIFFICULTY. I am not kidding when I say that yes, you might be surprised by a few really fast myrmidons, or perhaps a status stave here or there and have to restart, but I only had to like 3 or 4 times this entire game.
- The game throws money, bonus xp, and really good units at you for a majority of the runtime, and I feel like this lends to why the game feels really easy for a lot of people as well.
-Speaking of bonus xp, the game introduces this mechanic to help out in training weaker units, or to even further buff up the units the player has a preference for. I found that this mechanic made basically every character in the game usable, even really high investment units like Rolf, which was a super fun addition. I found myself dumping hundreds of BEXP into units that I liked story-wise just to see if they could make the A-team and it honestly made me use more than just my set team every map. The game is VERY generous with BEXP in some cases.
- Another new feature with FE9 is the Base screen. This featured inventory management, the convoy, shops, armories, and even supports and info conversations. This was very welcome, as it felt like it centralized all of the important facets of combat preparation for a more streamlined experience. I really like this flow of gameplay, as removing shops and armories from maps and just putting them before battle was SO much better. I wouldn't just bring a throwaway unit with high mov to maps as my pack mule anymore, and I no longer had to wonder where the hell I put those javelins I bought three maps ago as well. This is much, much more preferable in my opinion.
- In terms of story, I would rank FE9 on par with Genealogy's story. The sheer amount of characters and political threads to follow is really interesting, I found myself engrossed in reading all the info conversations and supports between people. This game really sets up it's sequel well, which I was am itching to dive into after finishing these notes. I love all the themes of the cycle of violence and forgiveness, and I think that this game tackles some of the realest issues I've seen in a Fire Emblem game. Some people have issues with the brevity of how they are handled, but I personally thought they were tactful in most cases.
- This game feels like the birth of the modern support system. Supports are gained simply by being around other units or on the same map as them, rather than directly adjacent, and I was gaining support ranks at a rather decent clip as a result. This way felt much more natural and wayyyy less tedious.
- I don't have a whole lot to say about the map design, other than I think they did a great job of getting a variety of map objectives and settings. The maps aren't super memorable for me, but I think that they're fine for the game. I actually think this game's weakest suit is the maps, but they're still just par for the course FE maps, so I can't really subtract any points. To FE9's credit, however, it does have an awesome prison break map, even if it's not as good as FE5's.
- I think the soundtrack is fucking awesome. The revamped "Knight's Vow" for this was awesome, as well as "With Us" being one of my favorite recruitment themes ever. I think some of the map themes are a little lackluster compared to earlier entries, but honestly it fits the vibe of the game so well they just felt natural.
- I also need to make this claim before I forget, but Ike has to be top 3 lords in the series. I think that he is written brilliantly, and that he defies all of the expectations of an FE lord, even though he fits many of the archetypal tropes. I think that despite all of the memes about him being a meathead, himbo, etc, I think that he is actually one of the more introspective lords of the series in some cases, and if memory of FE10 serves, this game portrays him much better in that regard.
This game is a masterpiece. Not just for Fire Emblem titles, but on it's own two feet as well. I think that this game is an amazing jumping in point for beginners, but also an interesting entry for series veterans if you don't mind the slightly easier difficulty comparatively. Great story, great music, amazing character writing. Enough said.