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[GBA] Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken

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[GBA] Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken

Unread postby icycalm » 08 Aug 2006 11:11

I've actually almost finished this game twice, and both times I lost my cartridge or had to give it away (long story). It's the second GBA Fire Emblem game (the Japanese subtitle translates to "Sword of Raging Fire"), though the first one to be localized by Nintendo, and the first in the series to make it to the West. Given how well it has sold I bet they are feeling like idiots for not bringing over all the previous games.

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Post impressions here. I'll try to finally finish it this time, though I'll be taking it slow because at the same time I am also playing Seima no Kouseki, the next game in the series.
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icycalm
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Unread postby zak » 08 Aug 2006 22:40

Wow, I love this game.
I'm at chapter 9 right now and so far it's been awesome.
The strategy part is pretty good, the whole weapons triangle thing works well, but I can't shake the feeling that my units are over-powered and the game just throws tons of enemies at me to balance this.

The best part is the characters and the story. Each one's got his own personality and the cutscenes are great. I actually don't want any of them to die (I don't know what happens, but when one died he wasn't selectable for the next mission so I reloaded a save game, was he gone for good? - he still appeared during cutscenes though). Haven't felt so attached to units since Jagged Aliance 2; in FF Tactics Advanced I was like "let the bastard die, I'll just life him" but here I gotta be real careful (they deliver those gut-wrenching speaches that make me feel guilty).
Also I like the way they treat "your" character. I was expecting him to fight like a normal unit but he just sits on the sidelines giving brilliant tactical advice, like Napoleon.

I also took a screenshot:
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The way the characters's faces always have the same placid expression even if they're mad or happy is rather unnerving.
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Joined: 07 Jun 2006 12:45
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Unread postby icycalm » 09 Aug 2006 16:44

You realize FFTA is the worst tactics game on the GBA? I would not have given it more than two stars if I was reviewing it. The Fire Emblems, on the other hand, are the best. You must be pretty amazed having gone straigt from worst to best!

Anyway, the difficulty in these games doesn't arise from trying to beat the missions, though some of them later on can get fairly tough. The difficulty comes from trying to get all the available characters to join you, and keeping every one of them alive until the end. You don't have to do this to finish the game, but as you've seen it's pretty compelling. And yeah, the story is one its best aspects.

Here's the official site:

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/ae7j/

If you look around for a bit you'll find a list of all the characters in the game. You might not want to see it though until you finish it, because it will spoil the game for you a bit.

There's also a pretty cool ad/wallpaper for it on that site:

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I am currently on mission 7. Even though it's the third time now I go through these missions I am still enjoying myself.
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Unread postby zak » 11 Aug 2006 11:55

Well FFTA isn't that bad. I'd compare it to a mafia run completely random slot machine. You might loose most of the time and when you win you have an equal chance to get your cash as you might just get punched in the gut by the mobsters and get thrown out into the street.

Fire Emblem on the other hand is a VIP lounge in a classy Casino. Sexy waitresses, expensive drinks and high stakes.
I'm on mission 25 now, and it's getting more and more interesting.
In the last mission I faced a wyvern rider with massive HP and defence. You only had to survive 11 turns but the thing is she came after you and most of your units were totally useless against it (and she would kill them in two attacks).

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Note the "0 damage" my Paladin scores. He was level 2, but the lvl 15 Paladin did something like a whooping "2 damage". Good thing the game gave me an archer and a sage that managed to hurt it bad enough.
Also why can't somebody give Eliwood a fucking horse. He's a goddamn joke compared to the Paladins. Hector on the other hand is an axe wielding mean machine.
Can't wait to play the next mission, this is getting interesting.
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Joined: 07 Jun 2006 12:45
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Unread postby icycalm » 12 Aug 2006 21:05

Wow there! You sure are quick. The last time I played this game I got to Chapter 23 or 24, so don't post any more details and spoil it for me. In any case, you must be one or two missions before the end.

When you do get to the end, if you are ready for another Fire Emblem adventure, start playing Seima no Kouseki. I am on Chapter 13; you should be able to catch up with me pretty quick they way you are playing.

When I finish Seima I'll get back to this and finish it, and we can discuss it then.

(By the way, in Seima I just got a Wyvern Rider on my team.)
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Unread postby zak » 14 Aug 2006 08:51

Yeah man I finished it on Sunday. It's 30 chapters long and the last one isn't as difficult as it is annoying. But I really liked it. And someone gave Eliwood a horse and he still sucked (guess I didn't level him enough).

And I've allready started to play The Sacred Stones. I'm after the story branches in two and you have to choose between Eirika and Ephraim. I chose Eirika and played a few more missions. I got to Caer Pelyn and stopped.
Hey I have nothing to do during the weekends but play videogames and sleep.

The Sacred Stones has some neat improvements, like being able to run arround the world map figthing monsters and buying weapons. Plus the weapons now have a new management sistem and you can basically acces any item in you storage during combat, never running out of items. Plus the arenas are good way to make money.
I don't know about Wyvern Riders but my general opinion is that they aren't that good. I didn't use them or the Pegasus Knights at all during the first Fire Emblem. But now I've got a lvl 17 myrmidon that kicks serious ass (killed the last boss in one strike). And the damn Paladins and Great Knights on my team are seriously overpowered. Most enemies don't even scratch them, so the main challenge is leveling my weaker units and saving these guys for the tougher bosses.
But we should have a new thread for this game, no?
zak
 
Joined: 07 Jun 2006 12:45
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Unread postby icycalm » 18 Aug 2006 15:53

Hey man, I bet you're done with both games by now! :)

Sorry for taking so long to reply. I've been busy with a million things lately and I put both games on hold. I have to finish this emulation box project, and then a ton of articles and reviews for this site and Siliconera. Let's talk more about these games once I've had some time to finish them too. And then maybe we can start on Advance Wars or something else...
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Unread postby zak » 21 Aug 2006 08:58

Yeah, I've finished The Sacred Stones too.
I also got a lot of college related things coming up these next two weeks so I guess this little game club's on hold.

Post when you finished one of these games and we'll talk about it.
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Joined: 07 Jun 2006 12:45
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