![]() ![]() They notice that Alm’s left hand and Celica’s right have the same mark. It’s a flashback to Alm and Celica’s childhood, where they were inseparable friends. The difference in the frame rate of these cutscenes compared to the gameplay is very noticeable, but that’s due to the medium of anime -not a game performance issue.Īfter this, the Prologue begins. The game has full anime video cutscenes, not just cel-shaded ones like in Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Awakening, and Fates. The opening cinematic shows what appears to be a premonition in which protagonist Celica is killed by a glowing white sword, and Alm wails in grief as she apparently dies in his arms. The main characters in this game are a boy named Alm and a girl called Celica. People with high anxiety levels may not want to deal with the high stakes of Classic Mode I find it more exciting, but I can certainly understand why others might not. I still prefer Classic Mode, where characters can die permanently, but the fact that both modes are available from the start makes that a non-issue. Apparently, some people get upset about the very existence of Casual Mode, but it’s never bothered me because it’s entirely optional. Like Awakening and Fates, Echoes has a Casual Mode where characters who fall in battle retreat and don’t die, but that’s where the similarities end. The story is thoroughly engaging, the characters are well written and likable, and I can play it for hours without even realizing how much time has passed. Truth be told, a number of specific game mechanics are very different from the Fire Emblem games I have played (for example, there is no weapon triangle), but in every way that matters, it really does feel like the series I know and love. ![]() I’ve never played Gaiden, and it’s never been on my to-do list. ![]() I was very excited to play Echoes because Fire Emblem is still my favorite series, but I was also worried that it would be too different from what I was used to. Yet in spite of these factors, we now have a Gaiden remake. Discussions of the best of the older Fire Emblem titles rarely include Gaiden, and western fans have been clamoring for remakes of games like Binding Blade (the Japan-only title starring Roy, who appears in Super Smash Bros.), Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn (two games which have become rare and expensive), and Genealogy of the Holy War (a Japan-only title reputed to have an excellently written story). When it was first announced, I thought it was an odd choice for a remake. 2-sequels that made a number of drastic departures from the gameplay style of the original while retaining the core essence of the series. Fire Emblem Gaiden is a bit like Zelda II: Adventure of Link or Super Mario Bros. It may have been in the hope of reuniting the fractured fanbase that Intelligent Systems produced Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second game in the series. ![]() There are some who seek the middle ground, like me and my good friend who draws the “Final Smash!” webcomics, but we are a rare breed.įrom left to right: Fujin Yumi (FE14: Fates), Lehran’s Medallion (FE9/10: Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn), Darkness icon (various), Mystletainn/Tyrfing (FE4: Genealogy of the Holy War), Parallel Falchion (FE13: Awakening), Thunder icon (various), Durandal (FE7: The Blazing Blade) For the uninitiated, there is a rift in the fandom between those who view the success of Awakening and Fates as a fate worse than the death of the franchise, and those who can’t be bothered to even give the older games a try. I am in the minority in the Fire Emblem fanbase: I love some but not all of the older games (I found Sacred Stones’ main protagonists and villain boring, and Radiant Dawn felt like a bad fanfiction of Path of Radiance), and I like Awakening and Fates somewhat (except Birthright). By the time I was halfway through the game, Fire Emblem had become my all-time favorite series. Fire Emblem, also developed by Intelligent Systems, combined gameplay aspects of both and added a deep, compelling story with well-written, likable characters. At that time, Advance Wars and Paper Mario, made by Intelligent Systems, were among my favorite video games. The seventh game in the series, simply called “Fire Emblem” at the time (now referred to as Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade), was released in 2003. I was 12 years old when the Fire Emblem series came to North America for the first time. ![]()
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