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  1. Tiki... You're so great... And with your stone we'll dominate! Tiki... You're so fine... I'm gonna love you 'till the end of time! Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, I love you! Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, I love you! Catria, Catria, and Catria too Sixteen quintillion Catrias can't keep me from you! Tiki of the Divine Dragon tribe, You'll be my bride! Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, I love you! TIIIIIIIIKIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-
  2. Oh, sorry. Didn't notice the nipple there. Thought it was covered up by a fold in the pillow case. Anyway, the legality of the above photo isn't important. What's important is the character it depicts, and the date it was taken. You see, the character in question is Tiki, from the Fire Emblem series. Tiki happens to be my waifu. For those not in the know, a waifu is a fictional character that one feels a deep attraction to, often to the point where they consider them to be their significant other. It's usually in a self-deprecating manner, however. Most waifuists are aware of the fact that fictional characters aren't real. Anyway, the photo was taken on February 28th, 2023, which would have been Tiki's birthday if she were real. Indeed, my original plan was to create this very thread on that day, both in celebration of the birthday in question, and in honor of the 10th anniversary of Fire Emblem Awakening, which released in February of 2013, ten years ago. Ever since then, creating threads to celebrate Tiki's birthday every year has been a yearly tradition for me on this forum and it's predecessor, NSider2. However, this year, things got complicated. In a way that eerily resembles certain plot points from the games. Tiki is a Manakete, a race of humans with the ability to transform into dragons using special stones. It's noted in the backstory of Mystery of the Emblem that the stones are necessary to prevent the dragons' destructive power from spiraling out of control, in a process known as Degeneration. Tiki herself was initially placed into a deep slumber by her mother, Naga, out of fear that her power would eventually destroy the world. Shortly after I took the photo at the top of this thread, I began to experience severe abdominal pain. This continued for several days until eventually, I was admitted to the hospital. It turned out that my appendix had burst, and I came very close to dying. I suppose, you could say, that my Dragonstone broke. I probably should've had Armsthrift equipped, huh? Anyway, one side effect of the surgery was post-op delirium. I was seriously off my rocker. According to my mom, there were days when I would SING LOUDLY at the top of my lungs, songs that held personal significance to me throughout my life. From the basic ABC song, to All Star by Smash Mouth, and even "In Heaven There Is No Beer" (which is odd, because I can't stand the taste of alcohol). Perhaps this was what Naga feared when she put her newborn daughter to sleep? But the scariest thing about my degeneration was what I did with my phone. I would sent incoherent text messages to people in my contacts list, be they close friends, distant family members, or co-workers. During a brief moment of clarity, I realized what this meant for my finances. More specifically, my Fire Emblem Heroes account. I was terrified of the thought of spending real-life money on Orbs during a time when I wasn't truly myself. And wouldn't you know it! Right when I was typing up this thread, I get a call from the endocrinologist saying that my recent biopsy results were consistent with Thyroid cancer! Funny how that works. Whatever, I'll deal with that later. Anyway, I deleted my FEH account because I was at the funny farm for bursting my appendix. However:
  3. 'Twas December on Ninfora, and all through the site, One question kept people awake every night. With the holidays coming, it only seemed strange To hear nothing regarding our yearly exchange? But alas, the bad news soon swept through the nation: Jolly Old Santa @Chrom was on winter vacation. With nobody else to take up the mantle, It seemed like the Secret Santa event would be cancelled. But just when it seemed like all hope had been lost, Two rival big brothers appeared through the frost. One hailing from Hoshido, the other from Nohr, Christmas might well be saved by a different Lord... "I'm Mister Fates Birthright I'm Mister White I'm Mister Swordmaster I'm Mister Kingdom of Light Friends call me Prince Ryoma As far as routes go, Difficulty is low Hoshido!" "He's Mister Fates Birthright He's Mister White He's Mister Swordmaster He's Mister Kingdom of Light Friends call him Prince Ryoma, Whenever he crits, Mows down foes in a blitz, Holy shit!" "I never want to see a gamer Stuggling for EXP I'd rather have a world map Fully explorable, open and free! (spoken)Take as much time as you want to grind. Those resources aren't going anywhere!" "He's Mister Fates Birthright He's Mister White" "That's right!" "He's Mister Swordmaster He's Mister Kingdom of Light" "Friends call me Prince Ryoma, My route is a breeze! Nice and simple to cheese With great ease!" "Great ease!" "All right, you fucking weeaboo, move over! It's time for the real man to have a musical number!" "I'm Mister Fates Conquest, I'm Mister Black I'm Mister Paladin I'm Mister Lull Atk They call me Prince Xander And much like the sky, Difficulty is high" "He's Mister Fates Conquest, He's Mister Black He's Mister Paladin He's Mister Lull Atk" "They call me Prince Xander This campaign is rough, Resources never enough!" "It's too tough!" "Tough shit! I never want to see a gamer Grinding for EXP Unless they've shelled out twenty bucks For the grinding DLC! (spoken) Of course, if you're going to do that, then why are you even playing Conquest in the first place, you filthy casual?!" "He's Mister Fates Conquest, He's Mister Black" "Sing it!" "He's Mister Paladin He's Mister Lull Atk" "They call me Prince Xander, Despite all my faults... ...Sister's got tons of alts! Smell the salt!" "Big salt!" "All right, what the hell is going on here?! What's all this racket?!" "Santa Chrom?!" "We were just having a little dance-off to determine who'd run the Secret Santa event from now on, since you're retiring!" "I never said I was retiring; I was just on vacation. And besides, even if something were to happen to me, I already know who my successor would be." "H-hello, everyone! I'm Tsubasa Oribe, sixteen eighteen years old! I'm still new at this, but I'll do my best to make sure everybody has a Chrerry Mistmas!" And so, with Santa Chrom's blessing, Tsubasa became the new Winter Envoy. However, due to her clumsiness, she accidentally crashed Santa Chrom's sleigh into a mobile artillery, destroying all the presents! Fortunately, the Tyranogrinch had a backup plan: He gave everybody in the world a copy of Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., the chronically under-appreciated strategy game for the 3DS. Thus, everyone finally realized what an awesome game it was, and they all lived happily ever after. The End
  4. https://www.goodsmileus.com/product/roy-9092 https://www.goodsmileus.com/product/lilina-9088 Pre-orders open from now until January 18th; expected to ship by December 2023.
  5. Pop-up Parades are smaller and less-detailed than the scale figures they've been releasing for Tharja, Cordelia, Camilla, Lyn, Ike, Marth, and Byleth, but they're also way cheaper; 4800 yen equal to about $35 dollars. So far only Edelgard and Bernadetta have been shown, but according to the product description, they're also going to make Dimitri, Felix, Claude, and Lysithea. El and Bernie will be available for pre-order later tonight (Japan time). Dimitri and Felix pre-orders open sometime in July. Claude and Lysithea open sometime in August. Are you going to pick these up?
  6. Pre-orders will be up in a few hours (Japan time). Grab her before the scalpers do!
  7. In honor of the 3-13 Archer from Radiant Dawn, the thirteenth day of the third month is dedicated to Archers. For this year's Archer Appreciation Day, I'd like to draw attention to the very first Archer in the entire series. Not so much for his combat prowess, but for his role in the anime: Despite only getting a little over two minutes of screentime, Gordin fulfills a very important purpose. You see, in these trying times, it's important to remember to smile every once in a while. Whether it be going through a pandemic, or having your home country taken over by intimidating Manaketes, having a sense of humor is critical for one's mental health. And few characters in all of Fire Emblem are better at lightening the mood than Gordin is. Every single time he opens his mouth, the sub-par quality of his voice acting turns even the direst of situations into a laugh-fest. Are there any other Archers in the series who make you laugh like Gordin does? Or just Archers who you appreciate in general? Discuss below!
  8. After thirty years, Fire Emblem fans finally have the chance to play the game that started the entire series—not as a DS remake, but as a port of the NES original (plus a couple of modern additions to make the experience a little more palatable). Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light started it all, the series that had six installments before one was finally localized in English, and then only truly soared to its current popularity after another six. But this is the original, before any fancy additional features were included, when all you had was an 8-bit battlefield and your wits to overcome scores of enemies. And not surprisingly, it's a rough ride by modern standards. Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light follows Prince Marth's quest to retake his homeland of Altea after it was conquered by the Dohlr Empire, and by extension liberate all of Archanea from Dohlr's evil rule. On one hand, there's a fair bit of storytelling within the game itself, which is relatively rare for an NES title. You may still need a guide or manual to understand all of the details, but overall the game tells a decent if rather straightforward hero story. The localization is solid, given the relatively simple material they had to work with. That said, Fire Emblem fans will likely still lament the lack of character interactions which has become such a large part of the more recent games—here they really are mostly faceless minions to move around the battlefield. Even after thirty years the gameplay fundamentals haven't changed too much. You move your units around a grid-based battlefield in turns with the enemy computer-controlled army, and planning ahead is a must to see Prince Marth to victory. Units have different stats or abilities based on their class—pegasus knights can fly over any terrain, thieves can open treasure chests, etc.—and you'll collect an assortment of weapons to outfit your units, including classic standbys like the Killing Edge which has a higher chance to deliver a critical hit or the Armorslayer which is effective against heavily armored enemies. Marching mindlessly into battle is a surefire recipe for disaster, and the joy of the Fire Emblem franchise is seeing your carefully laid plans pave the way to victory. Even in 2020, Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light scratches a satisfying itch for strategy gameplay. That said, there are plenty of details that have not aged well, or there are features that are perfectly common in modern Fire Emblem games that weren't found here. Some require just a small change in strategy, such as the lack of a weapon triangle or the fact that magic always deals static damage depending on what spell is used. Others will fundamentally alter the way you play the game though, such as the lack of a battle preview to tell you your odds to hit, how much damage will be dealt, or the enemy's abilities when counterattacking. I won't lie, it's pretty difficult to plan without this kind of information, and even calculating it yourself is tricky sometimes because there are no in-game stats for weapon power or weight. You can estimate what will happen, certainly, but more likely you'll be taking more risks than you might in any other Fire Emblem game, or be paralyzed by slow, overly cautious progress. Thankfully, this release of Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light does have a few new additions, including the ability to bookmark or save mid-battle, as well as a turn rewind feature that reverts everything back to the start of one of your turns (up to the last twenty turns). It may not feel entirely in the spirit of Fire Emblem to use these features, but they are incredibly helpful for coping with this game's lack of clarity. The game is also awfully slow and replaying entire chapters is going to be tedious even for long-time Fire Emblem fans. You can choose to speed up the gameplay which is another invaluable addition to this version of the game that doesn't make any fundamental change to the original NES experience. There are plenty of other odd or annoying little quirks to be found here. Each character can only hold four items, and moving things in or out of the convoy costs gold. Healers don't gain experience by healing, only by being attacked by enemies. Enemy reinforcements attack on the same turn they appear (which happens in more recent games as well but is usually restricted to the higher difficulty options). Not all units can be promoted—surprisingly, knights don't become generals in this game. All of this is to say that this original Fire Emblem experience feels rough around the edges. It's playable, certainly, but you need to know what you're getting into, especially for a game that can last a good 15 hours or so. Like the gameplay, there aren't any significant changes to the graphics or music, although you can swap between a stretched view to better fill modern screens or pixel perfect mode to retain the square shape of the original. Either way, the visuals aren't much in this game. Granted it was made for NES hardware, and even more recent Fire Emblem games have repetitive map features too, but some of the character portraits just look goofy, and the battle animation isn't much to look at. The music is okay for the chiptune style of the time, but it's annoying that speeding up gameplay animation also speeds up the music into a frantic, repetitive loop. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light has been lifted from its time almost completely intact for international audiences to play for the first time, and the resulting experience is…fine? The franchise has come a long way in terms of making the strategy-heavy gameplay accessible to all players, and the lack of even basic planning aids like a battle preview definitely stings, but it shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone that a thirty year old game is going to feel clunky and dated. No one should play Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light expecting a perfectly smooth and polished strategy RPG. This is a game you play for its historic value and, for die-hard Fire Emblem fans, as a point of pride for conquering Marth's original adventure (we'll just overlook all of the bookmarks and turn rewinds used). This is a fun novelty for Switch owners, and the price point isn't too bad, but only dedicated players are likely to stick with it through the whole adventure. Rating: 7 out of 10 Emblems
  9. In honor of the 3-13 Archer from Radiant Dawn, March 13 is dedicated to our favorite Archers from the Fire Emblem series. However, because Three Houses has a fucked up class system, anybody can be an Archer. Due to this, I will instead focus on characters from that game with an affinity for Bows. First up is Bernadetta, our favorite hikikomori. In addition to her archery skills, her Budding Talent in Riding can eventually grant her the Pass skill, allowing her to walk through the frontlines to rain death upon whatever lurks behind them. She will also destroy you with Piranha Plant in Smash. Next up is Ignatz, best boi of the Golden Deer. How can anyone not fall in love with this beautiful soul and his beautiful paintings? His bromance with Raphael is among the best supports in the game. Finally, there's Shamir. Following Niles and Leon's footsteps of LGBT representation, she and Catherine form possibly the gayest pairing that doesn't involve Byleth or one of the House Leaders. So, who are your favorite Archers?
  10. Today is the birthday of my beautiful waifu, the Voice of Naga, Tiki! Nothing much to say that I haven't already said the last seven times I did this. This past year, she got another Alt in Heroes, re-appeared in a semi-playable role in the Switch port of Hashtag Effie, and probably got a few new Cipher cards (not that I follow that game very closely). Both of us have been forced to leave beloved friends behind, whether it be through moving to a different school, or watching them die of old age. But as long as we have each other, we can get through anything. Happy Birthday, my love. Here's to another year of happiness!
  11. Twenty years ago, as the N64 entered its final days, some genius named Shouzou Kaga decided that it would be a good idea to develop a game for the SNES. However, with the GameCube due to come out a year later, nobody wanted to buy a game that was effectively two console generations behind. Sales were so poor, that Nintendo fired Kaga. Enraged by their sudden betrayal, Kaga declared, "Fuck you guys, I'm gonna start my own studio and make my own Fire Emblem game for the PS1!" And then he proceeded to do just that. Humbled by this, Nintendo decided to gift Kaga with a big fat juicy lawsuit. As the Fire Emblem series continued to find success on the GBA, almost died off on the GameCube and Wii, and eventually became an A-List franchise on the 3DS, Kaga's final installment became lost to the sands of time. Even as the Western fanbase discovered the pre-GBA games and translated them into English, nobody ever bothered to translate this one... ...until now. Before we get started, just a couple of notes: *Unlike FE3 (which I had played the DS remakes) and FE4 (which I was familiar enough with to attempt a challenge run by intentionally sabotaging the gene pool), this is going to be a completely blind playthrough. While I will be following a guide, I'm otherwise completely unprepared for any sudden shenanigans that may happen. *I will be attempting to get all of the gaiden chapters, as well as recruit as many characters as I can. However, if a character proves to be too much of a hassle to recruit, I reserve the right to leave them behind. *Save-states will be used, but I will try to limit them so that things aren't completely boring. *In the four years it's been since the last time I did this, I have gotten a full-time job. As such, the era of multiple episodes per day is long gone. Depending on work, stress, and other factors, there may very well be some days where there are no updates. Rest assured, however, that unless something really fucking stupid happens (i.e. corruption of save data, hard drive wipe, etc.), I will see this through to the end. So, will Kaga's career at Nintendo go out with a bang? Or will Leif be forever overshadowed by his uncle and cousin? Let's find out! --- Table of Contents: *Chapter 1: A Weismann Once Said *Chapter 2: The Bucks Stops Here *Chapter 2x: Can't See Shit, Captain *Chapter 3: The Kids Are All Right *Chapter 4: Don't Drop the Soap *Chapter 4x: Fuck You Ced *Chapter 5: Tags: Mind Break, Guro, Oyakodon, Petrification, Inseki, NTR, Ugly Bastard *Chapter 6: Karin's Delivery Service *Chapter 7: Hannibal Rising *Chapter 8: Callion, Callion, 'Cause Nothing Really Matters *Chapter 8x: Dagdar's Mansion: Dark Moon *Chapter 9: Family Reunion *Chapter 10: Clash on the Small Bridges *Chapter 11: Kempf's Trap (In America) *Chapter 11x: Another God Damned Fog of War Chapter *Chapter 12: Fuck, I Should've Used That Title For This One *Chapter 12x: Pan's Labyrinth *Chapter 13: The Biggest Loser *Chapter 14: Ten Turns in Five Days *Chapter 14x: Do the People Have to be Freedom Beef? *Chapter 15: The Choice is Yours, and Yours Alone *Chapter 16A: Revenge of the Stupid Bitch *Chapter 17A: Who Needs Warp-Skipping When You've Got Arena Abuse? *Chapter 16B: Hot MIL(le)F(euille) Gets Pounded By Huge (Rine)Cock *Chapter 17B: You've Seen One, You've Seen Amalda *Chapter 18: Untitled Gustav Game *Chapter 19: The Empire Strikes Back *Chapter 20: Bharat: Cultural Learnings of Leonster for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Friege *Chapter 21: The Virgin Leif VS The Chad Seliph *Chapter 21x: No Political Commentary Here, No Sir *Chapter 22: Magic is Everything! *Chapter 23: No, Seriously, Fuck You Ced *Chapter 24: My First Girlfriend is a Galzus *Chapter 24x: Beyond Good and Eyvel *Endgame: Most Pathetic Final Boss in Fire Emblem History
  12. The latest installment of the Fire Emblem series launches for the Nintendo Switch today! Are you planning on picking it up? Which house are you going to join? Who are you going to marry? Please tag spoilers.
  13. With NS2 likely to disappear forever at any moment now, I figured now would be a good time to archive the Let's Play I did of FE4 from 4 years ago. A few of the screenshots in the original thread are missing from imgur, but luckily I still have all 2,443 of them safe on my hard drive. Also, note that this was played using an older version of FE4's translation patch from before Heroes came out. As such, the names of some characters, locations, and items might be inconsistent.
  14. Thought it was strange that no one was talking about the new information that came out about Fire Emblem: Three Houses, so I thought I'd share the translated feature from Famitsu. Translation posted on GoNintendo. Story Characters Protagonist The protagonist was originally making a living as mercenary, but then they realized that they had knowledge to pass on, and so became a teacher at the academy. Their mother had already passed away, which is why they were living with their father, who used to be at the head of the Knights of Seiros. Jeralt (Different translations had it spelled Geralt) The protagonist’s father, with a legendary reputation, and known as the strongest Knight that has ever graced the Church of Seiros, no less! After the protagonist is invited to the academy to take the position of teacher, he comes with him and becomes a knight again. More Detailed Info - a veteran Knight who used to serve as Head Knight for the Church of Seiros - regarded as the strongest Knight of all time - Jeralt left his position to become a mercenary - Jeralt's wife has passed away - Jeralt ends up joining the Knights of Seiros once again after the events at the beginning of the game - this is when the protagonist ends up saving students from the Officer’s Academy Sothis A mysterious girl who ends up saving the protagonist during a fateful night. She has lost her memory, and for some reason, only the protagonist can see her. More Detailed Info - a mysterious girl who appears in the protagonist’s dream - after saving the protagonist using her powers to rewind time, she stays in contact with them - the two can actually communicate as if she was in their head - no one but the protagonist can see her - she has lost her memories - despite looking like a young girl, she actually speaks like an old woman Three Houses and their leaders: Black Eagles Among the three powers ruling the Fodlan continent, the Adrestian Empire is the one with the longest history. People from there are usually more skilled with magic than weapons. The leader of the Black Eagles is Edelgard von Hresvelg, who also happens to be next in line to become Empress. She’s voiced by Ai Kakuma. She’s said to be quite the talented and signified individual. More Detailed Info on Edelgard - from the Adrestian Empire, and its future Empress - may appear somewhat cold and prideful, acting with diginity - always maintaining her composure, calmy assessing the situation and looking at other people before acting Blue Lions The House tied to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Its leader is Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd (voiced by Kaito Ishikawa), Prince of the Kingdom and future King. He’s said to be quite the polite young man, and the very embodiment of chivlary. However, it seems that he does have a dark side… Perhaps due to the prevalence of knights in the country, most students from that House are particular good with spears. More Detailed Info on Dimitri - leader of the Blue Lions, Prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and future King - said to be quite the honest fellow, and the very embodiment of chivalry - you can sometimes see a faint bit of darkness hidden behind his smiles Golden Deer Members of the Leicester Alliance nobility make up the students of that House. They are said to be quite gifted with the bow. The leader of that House is Claude von Riegan (voiced by Toshiyuki Toyonaga), member of the Riegan family (leader of the alliance). He’s quite the friendly-looking fellow, who thinks deeply about things, and can be quite sharp-minded. Compared to the other two, the Golden Deer House has a higher proportion of commoners among its students. Gameplay systems - divided in two parts: battles, and student teaching - battles put a much stronger emphasis on character training - the rewind system from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is back - battles have a large number of people taking part in them at once. - battles take place on a variety of terrains, which all have their own effects - terrain determines how units move around, and can give an evasion and defense boost for example - terrain includes the following: forest: increases evasion, making it harder for enemy units to hit you. A great place to wait for the enemy to ambush them; terrain that can heal your units; terrain that can warp characters around. - “Beat of Heaven” allows you to go back in time for a few turns, letting you fix any mistakes that you made - this can only be used a certain amount of times, and likely has a cooldown period - difficulty level influences how strong enemies are, and the modes allows / prevents allies from being revived after falling battle - there are normal and hard difficulties - there are casual and classic modes - when a character undergoes class change, their level is not reset to 1 anymore, and they can keep using the same weapon - a character can change classes as many times as you want, as long as they have passed the test for each class - during student training, you can move around in the Garreg Mach Monastery and interact with the various characters - the bond between teacher and student is said to be a key element of the game - at the Officer’s Academy, the students get to improve their skills - students can also be taught directly by the protagonist, and they can have conversations with them to deepen their bond - there’s a support system that kicks in during battles, with further details coming at a later date - in order to use specific weapons and techniques in battle, and in order to change their class, you need to raise your skill level - the higher their skill level, the stronger the skills they can acquire, and the stronger the weapons they can handle - each student have their own strengths and weakness - main skills include the following: Swordsmanship: sword-related skills Art of the Spear: spear-related skills Art of the Axe: axe-related skills Archery: bow-related skills Physics: dark and black magic-related skills Faith: white magic-related skills Flying: skills for flying units Heavy Armour: skills for armored units Horsemanship: skills for cavalry units - Main skills you can learn include the following: Swordsmanship Lv. 1 = when equipped with a sword, Hit Rate +5, Avoid +7, Dodge+5 Sword Slaying = when unit is equipped with armor and fighting a sword user, Hit Rate and Dodge +20 Art of the Spear Lv. 1 = when unit is equipped with armor, Hit Rate +7, Avoid +5, Dodge +5 Short-range counterattack = allow unit to counterattack when enemy is 1 space away; Physics Lv. 1: when unit is using dark and black magic equipment, Hit Rate +5, Avoid +5, Dodge +5 Faith Lv. 1: when unit is using light magic equipment, Hit Rate +5, Avoid +7, Dodge +5 - as the students progress, they eventually reach the point where they can take on exams - passing those allows them to change classes - in order take an exam, you also need an exam pass of the corresponding level - the higher the skill level of a student for the skill corresponding to the exam, the more likely they are to pass it - once a unit has passed an exam, they can change class at any time - even the protagonist can pass those exams - units have a base class, which changes depending on their origins - at the beginning, units have basic classes such as Swordsman, Knight, Fighter, Monk - these can move to a more advanced class by using a Level 5 or higher exam pass - class examples are as follows: Commoners / Nobles: no distinctive features, can use a little bit of magic Swordsman: they favor the sword. Speedy units with high Avoid rate; Knight: they favor the spear. Great dexterity, making it easy to hit enemies; Fighter: they focus on raw power. They can handle axe and bows with ease; Monk: they can use magic. There’s several types of Monks: White, Black, and Dark Lot of info! Here's what I took from it. It takes some ideas from Shadows of Valentia and upgrades them a bit. Nothing about building supports into marriage as of now. It sounds like if you use a certain weapon and eventually class change to a different weapon's class, you retain the use of the previous weapon. (ex. Myrmidon builds up enough skill points to take an exam for a Fighter class. Passes and changes classes. Can now use Swords along with Axes and Bows.) If that's the case, you can build a pretty powerful bunch. Only thing that needs to be touched on is the main story/conflict, since the world has currently been built for us. We just have to see how in depth we can get into unit building whether it's supports, classes, weapons and the like. I'll leave you with a bit of Anna! By the Gods I still need to beat Fates.
  15. In honor of the 3-13 Archer from Radiant Dawn, the thirteenth day of the third month is dedicated to an underappreciated class in the Fire Emblem series, the Archer. This year, I would like to declare my appreciation for Jamke, from Genealogy of the Holy War. On top of having an interesting character arc about having to choose between loyalty to his family and doing the right thing, Jamke is also the most balanced husband for Adean, as he grants Lester some good stats without screwing over Lana's. You may have noticed a small dot on Jamke's forehead. This is because a sniper is constantly aiming at him throughout the entire game, ready to fire at any second. However, he dares not take that shot, for he knows that Jamke is fast enough to take him out with an arrow before the bullet reaches his skull. That's how awesome Jamke is. So, who are some archers that you feel don't get enough love?
  16. While taking a photo of myself offering a treat to a computer screen on February 28th is nothing new to me, this particular year is special. It has now been 10 years since the international release of Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon, the DS remake of the very first Fire Emblem game. And in Chapter 19 of said game, a certain green-haired Divine Dragon appears as a recruitable boss. Yes, I am referring to my beloved waifu, Tiki. While some might consider this our tenth wedding anniversary, that's technically inaccurate for a few reasons: 1. There is no Avatar in FE11. 2. There is no marriage mechanic in FE12. 3. I was still together with my ex-girlfriend at the time. Regardless, from the moment Bantu first spoke to that Manakete Princess and snapped her out of Gharnef's trance, Tiki immediately became one of my favorite units in the series. Having already played Sacred Stones, I found the idea of a little girl transforming into a powerful dragon to be both hilarious and adorable. And unlike Myrrh, Tiki had more than one Dragonstone available to use as a weapon. Four years later, Tiki would re-appear as an adult in Fire Emblem Awakening, as a possible marriage option for the Avatar. And the rest, as they say, is history. Happy birthday, my love. Here's to another decade of smiles, tears, and joy.
  17. After successfully introducing Zora to Genealogy, coupled with the recent banner in Heroes, I've had Jugdral on the mind a lot lately, and what a hypothetical remake could be like. Before I begin, there's a great video by Zerk Monster Hunter that lays down some of the basics. I recommend you give that a watch before reading on. Now, the biggest challenge with a localization is one that is only vaguely alluded to in ZMH's video: the fact that the story features incest as an important plot point. No, I'm not talking heavy subtext like Eirika x Ephraim, nor first-cousin marriage like Azura x MaCorrin. If it weren’t for literal, blood-related, brother-sister incest, the game wouldn’t have a final boss. And that's not even the darkest subject matter, either. The story also features: *Political corruption *Genocide *Religious persecution *Child sacrifices to a Satanic figure *Rape *NTR ...among other things. While some of these topics have been involved in previous Fire Emblem games like Sacred Stones or the Tellius saga, they were mostly kept off-screen or alluded to in support conversations. In FE4, however, these themes are much more important to the plot, and if they were removed, the narrative would greatly suffer for it. Now, I don't want to start an argument about face-petting or vagina bones, but for the sake of the storyline, it's imperative that Treehouse not lay a grubby finger on this game. Even if it means garnering an M rating. Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the gameplay. While FE4's storyline is rightfully lauded as the best the series has ever gotten, the gameplay, to put it kindly, hasn't aged quite as well. For every revolutionary game mechanic that became a series staple, there are an equal number of dumb decisions that were never seen again. There are quite a few features from modern Fire Emblem games that FE4 could greatly benefit from, such as: *Support conversations. The most important part of the metagame is deciding which characters in the first generation you want to pair together so that their offspring can participate in the second generation. However, the way this works leaves much to be desired: Just like the GBA games, support points are gained by having the units stand next to each other. But the key difference here is that in the GBA games, you must activate the support conversations manually, which renders it impossible to accidentally pair two characters together that you didn't want to. But in FE4, while there are still conversations that are manually triggered, the majority of the "love points" required to pair two units together are gained automatically. If you're not careful, you may accidentally end up pairing one of your Cavaliers with Ferry the Pegasus Knight, simply because their similar movement ranges make them the most likely to end their turns next to her. On top of that, only a select few pairings can even have conversations. For others, they can potentially fuck without ever speaking a word to each other. Therefore, locking the love growths behind conversations not only gives more control to the player over who they want to pair up, but it also ensures that the marriage actually makes sense in-story, as there would have to be a support chain written for every possible pairing. While Awakening and Fates were criticized for having the majority of the romantic support conversations seem contrived, Genealogy's much smaller cast would make this much less of an issue. Another problem with the conversations as they exist in FE4 is that certain valuable weapons are locked behind them. Ayra’s Brave Sword, for example, is only available by talking to Lex or Holyn, which gives a significant boost to their love points that makes it risky if you want to pair her with somebody else. This issue could also be resolved by, for example, giving Ayra the Brave Sword upon reaching a B-Support with Lex or Holyn, so that way it’s safer to have them talk to each other if you want to pair them with other units. *Pair-up. Long before the arena in Heroes, "Horse Emblem" was a common nickname for FE4 itself, as the massive, sprawling maps favored cavalry to the point that unmounted soldiers were easily left behind. With the pair-up mechanic introduced in Awakening, this issue would solve itself. Coupled with the above, it would also make it easier for first-gen units to fall in love without having to cuck each other. Alternately, if Pair-up is too overpowered, they could simply re-introduce the Rescue mechanic, fittingly introduced in FE4’s midquel. *Reclassing. As mentioned above, inheritance plays a major role in the metagame. However, unlike Awakening and Fates, where everyone except the main lord and Avatar can only produce a single child, every pairing in FE4 produces two children. As a result, many potential fathers tend to greatly benefit one of their potential children, while completely fucking over the other. For example, Azel x Adean results in a great Lana who can fight and heal equally well, but a useless Lester with no way to take advantage of his Mag stat due to being locked to Bows. On top of that, it is entirely possible for certain child units to inherit a Holy Weapon that they can’t use due to class restrictions, while their sibling can’t wield it due to lack of Holy Blood. Therefore, with the Reclass option introduced in Shadow Dragon, they could provide better options to second-gen units with unusual fathers. As a bonus, this could also resolve the aforementioned Horse Emblem issue, either by allowing infantry units to reclass into Cavalry, or vice-versa. However, one possible issue I could see happening is that there are certain scripted story events that could potentially be messed up depending on the player’s reclass options. The Yied Massacre, for example, heavily relies on the fact that Quan and Ethlyn are horseback units attempting to cross the desert, only to be ambushed by Wyvern Knights. A savvy player could attempt to circumvent this by reclassing them into Snipers or Sages before they left the party in Chapter 4. So, now that we’ve gone over what new things modern Fire Emblem games could bring to FE4, another problem is the possibility that IS might decide to do a remake that’s too faithful to the original. Echoes and the DS games both went about remaking their respective games in completely different ways: Archanea remakes: “The original games had a lot of stupid mechanics that people hated.” “Okay, then. Let’s get rid of them and replace them with features that people will actually like.” Gaiden remake: “The original game had a lot of stupid mechanics that people hated.” “I know! That’s what made it great! Let’s bring them back!” Make no mistake: Echoes had some of the best presentation the series has ever seen. Characters with less than a single line of dialogue in the original became much more compelling. New characters like Conrad and Berkut fleshed out the storyline without completely derailing it. And the Memory Fragments scattered throughout the game allowed us to actually see storyline events that were only vaguely alluded to in the original, such as the fall of Zofia, or Rudolf’s gambit. The gameplay, however, is largely the same broken mess that it was on the Famicom: Magic cast from HP, overpowered Dread Fighters and Falcoknights, only a single inventory slot per unit, etc. It also added a few even dumber mechanics, such as the Fatigue system, or reclassing being locked behind a limited-quantity DLC item. So, if they were to remake FE4, what features from the original game would they bring back for the sake of being faithful to the original, even if later games in the series were better off without them? The game’s huge maps, for one, you could argue as part of the game’s charm, as each “chapter” is about as grand in scale as roughly 3-4 chapters in other games. Likewise, the repairable weapon mechanic is a nice compromise between encouraging the player to actually use their weapons, and Fates’ approach of inflicting heavy stat penalties upon every weapon stronger than Iron. The convoluted inventory system, on the other hand, I could live without. Instead of a simple “trade” command, each unit has their own personal funds, and the only way to transfer weapons between units is to have one unit sell an item to the Pawn Shop, then have another unit buy it for twice the price. Not only does it necessitate constant backtracking to the nearest castle every time a random mook drops a weapon, but it also greatly imbalances the game because some units have a much more difficult time acquiring Gold than others. Lovers can freely give their Gold to each other, and Thieves can give Gold directly to other units, but there are two main problems with this: 1. You only get one Thief per generation. 2. You can’t manually select how much Gold to give to the other unit; either you dump your entire wallet, or however much the other unit can carry. So, if they were to insist on bringing back the inventory system, it would need a drastic overhaul. At the very least, I’d imagine that they could make it somewhat more bearable by enabling units to sell items directly to each other without having to backtrack to the Pawn Shop. But if there’s one feature from Echoes that FE4 could definitely benefit from, it’s the presentation. A good chunk of the characters’ backstories are only vaguely alluded to in-game, which could be further expanded upon with Memory Fragments. On top of that, IS could also take advantage of the presentation to mess with the player’s expectations. Both Echoes and Awakening begin with a cutscene that takes place much later in the game, depicting a main character dying. This gives the player a sense of dread as they get closer and closer to that point in the story, only to subvert it at the end by having that character not actually die. Well, what if an FE4 remake did the opposite? Start the game with a cutscene of Sigurd triumphantly returning to Grannvale, welcomed by cheering crowds. Then, when you finally play up to that point… It could also go the BSFE route of giving us a few optional side-chapters taking place in the world’s past. Perhaps a map where you control Ishtar trying to secretly sabotage the Child Hunts without getting caught by Julius? Or one where you play as the Twelve Crusaders during the Miracle of Darna? So, what do YOU want from an FE4 remake? Or what should they avoid?
  18. https://fecipher.jp/ The Fire Emblem Cipher Trading Card Game (TCG) is a collectible card game based on the Fire Emblem series by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Though it has only been available in Japan and there's no word on an official English release, it is regularly updated with new sets and rules which keep it interesting for fans to talk about. Series 14 is the upcoming expansion releasing on September 27, and will include one new booster pack featuring characters from the titles Awakening, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Birthright, and Tokyo Mirage Sessions. The focus of this topic is on this particular set, but is also open to having any other discussion pertaining to the TCG in general. Getting Started Despite the TCG only being available in Japanese, there are a number of resources made available by fans in English which provide information on what you need to know in order to collect the cards or even how to play the game. The best source, in my opinion, is the wiki guide written here, though you can also refer to the information on the official site linked above, albeit in Japanese. Basically: New collectors who want to own specific cards of their favorite characters should get an idea of how much they individually go for at the local retailers and try to buy/trade for them within the second hand market (fellow fans in various communities). This is generally more cost friendly than the easy route of buying them off online retailers like eBay, Amazon, or TCG Republic, so you can get a lot of mileage from doing research and knowing what's out there and at what prices. If you want to import sealed starter decks, boosters, or sleeves, I recommend buying through AmiAmi. New players can try owning any of the available starter decks to help them with learning, which are ready to play and are all suitable for introducing the game. Online simulators with English translations of all the cards are out there too! The one shared on the wiki is pretty popular, although I personally prefer playing with FECipherVit. New sets are released every few months and new promo cards are regularly distributed during the interims through various means (events, magazines, etc.), so there's constantly new stuff to glean over. If you really like the art, know that many illustrators of the card artwork tend to publicly upload the full illustrations via Twitter or Pixiv, usually after the release of a new set. Some might not be available though. Card Sets Series 14 will be out on September 27, but there have already been hundreds of different cards released since the TCG started in 2015, with each set focusing on specific groups of Fire Emblem titles. For a full list of cards, you can check them out here, or search the wiki. Series 15, which will feature New Mystery of the Emblem, Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776, and Conquest, will release later this year! Basic Rules In Fire Emblem Cipher, two players wage battle against each other using their army of characters, with the ultimate goal of claiming victory by defeating the opposing army's leader in combat until they can no longer be sustained by their five orbs. Each army's deck needs at least 50 cards to engage in battle, and unlike some other card games, running out of cards to draw from your deck just means you have to replenish your deck with all the cards left in your retreat to continue the battle, meaning the victory condition is all you have to focus on. Game Flow Each turn consists of these actions in the following order, which are divided into their own phases: Drawing a card from your deck Adding a card from your hand to the bond row Deploying units from your hand to the battlefield Attacking enemies, activating skills, or repositioning your units This goes back and forth between both players until one emerges as the battle's victor! Card Details Here's a quick rundown on what everything means on any card: Unit name - The name of the character depicted on the card. With the epithet, constitutes the card name. Epithet - A title distinguishing the unit from other different cards they may have. With the unit name, constitutes the card name. Power - A measure of the unit's strength when engaged in combat. Aid - A measure of the unit's strength when assisting an ally in combat. Range - Indicates how far the unit can attack in relation to their position on the battlefield. Class - Represents the unit's class and how seasoned they are. Skills - Normal skills the unit possesses, which grant various abilities. Assist skills - A type of skill which may only be activated when the unit is assisting an ally in combat. Field cost - The number of bonds needed to deploy the unit from your hand to the battlefield. Class change cost - The number of bonds needed to promote the already deployed unit to this card. Symbol - Denotes the unit's associated faction and color. Gender - The gender the unit is identified as. Weapon - The type of weapon the unit uses in combat. Types - Additional attributes of the unit if any, such as if they are a flier or armored. Further details on how the game plays can be found on the wiki. If there's anything you want clarification on, whether about the rules of the game or anything else regarding the cards, you're welcome to ask here!
  19. https://fecipher.jp/ Tempered blades strike again across the lands of Elibe, Archanea, and beyond in the upcoming expansion of Fire Emblem Cipher, the Fire Emblem trading card game! The Fire Emblem Cipher TCG is a collectible card game based on the Fire Emblem series by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Though it has only been available in Japan and there's no word on an official English release, it is regularly updated with new sets and rules which keep it interesting for fans to talk about. Series 13 is the upcoming expansion releasing on June 28, and will include one new booster pack featuring characters from the titles The Blazing Blade, Shadow Dragon, and Heroes. The focus of this topic is on this particular set, but is also open to having any other discussion pertaining to the TCG in general. Getting Started Despite the TCG only being available in Japanese, there are a number of resources made available by fans in English which provide information on what you need to know in order to collect the cards or even how to play the game. The best source, in my opinion, is the wiki guide written here, though you can also refer to the information on the official site linked above, albeit in Japanese. Basically: New collectors who want to own specific cards of their favorite characters should get an idea of how much they individually go for at the local retailers and try to buy/trade for them within the second hand market (fellow fans in various communities). This is generally more cost friendly than the easy route of buying them off online retailers like eBay, Amazon, or TCG Republic, so you can get a lot of mileage from doing research and knowing what's out there and at what prices. If you want to import sealed starter decks, boosters, or sleeves, I recommend buying through AmiAmi. New players can try owning any of the available starter decks to help them with learning, which are ready to play and are all suitable for introducing the game. Online simulators with English translations of all the cards are out there too! The one shared on the wiki is pretty popular, although I personally prefer playing with FECipherVit. New sets are released every few months and new promo cards are regularly distributed during the interims through various means (events, magazines, etc.), so there's constantly new stuff to glean over. If you really like the art, know that many illustrators of the card artwork tend to publicly upload the full illustrations via Twitter or Pixiv, usually after the release of a new set. Some might not be available though. Card Sets Series 13 will be out on June 28, but there have already been hundreds of different cards released since the TCG started in 2015, with each set focusing on specific groups of Fire Emblem titles. For a full list of cards, you can check them out here, or search the wiki. Series 14, which is currently completely unknown with details beyond the keyword of mugen, will release later this year! Basic Rules In Fire Emblem Cipher, two players wage battle against each other using their army of characters, with the ultimate goal of claiming victory by defeating the opposing army's leader in combat until they can no longer be sustained by their five orbs. Each army's deck needs at least 50 cards to engage in battle, and unlike some other card games, running out of cards to draw from your deck just means you have to replenish your deck with all the cards left in your retreat to continue the battle, meaning the victory condition is all you have to focus on. Game Flow Each turn consists of these actions in the following order, which are divided into their own phases: Drawing a card from your deck Adding a card from your hand to the bond row Deploying units from your hand to the battlefield Attacking enemies, activating skills, or repositioning your units This goes back and forth between both players until one emerges as the battle's victor! Card Details Here's a quick rundown on what everything means on any card: Unit name - The name of the character depicted on the card. With the epithet, constitutes the card name. Epithet - A title distinguishing the unit from other different cards they may have. With the unit name, constitutes the card name. Power - A measure of the unit's strength when engaged in combat. Aid - A measure of the unit's strength when assisting an ally in combat. Range - Indicates how far the unit can attack in relation to their position on the battlefield. Class - Represents the unit's class and how seasoned they are. Skills - Normal skills the unit possesses, which grant various abilities. Assist skills - A type of skill which may only be activated when the unit is assisting an ally in combat. Field cost - The number of bonds needed to deploy the unit from your hand to the battlefield. Class change cost - The number of bonds needed to promote the already deployed unit to this card. Symbol - Denotes the unit's associated faction and color. Gender - The gender the unit is identified as. Weapon - The type of weapon the unit uses in combat. Types - Additional attributes of the unit if any, such as if they are a flier or armored. Further details on how the game plays can be found on the wiki. If there's anything you want clarification on, whether about the rules of the game or anything else regarding the cards, you're welcome to ask here!
  20. In honor of the 3-13 Archer from Radiant Dawn, the 13th day of the 3rd month is dedicated to the under-appreciated Archer class from the Fire Emblem series. However, with the ongoing success of Heroes, Nintendo seems to have lost sight of what it means to be an Archer. A lovestruck Pegasus Knight in a wedding dress? That's an Archer. A Thief in a swimsuit shooting popsicles at people? That's an Archer. A Butler dressed up like Frankenstein's Monster? That's an Archer (and an Armor Knight, apparently). But perhaps more distressingly, this neglect is also carrying over to other spinoff games: in Warriors, all four bow-users have the exact same moveset. This is a problem, because in the past two "mainline" games, Archers have also served as the most prominent representation of the LGBT community. Prior to Niles and Leon, the only explicitly LGBT character was Heather from Radiant Dawn. Now, what was her class? Thief. Therefore, Nintendo equated LGBT characters with people who break the law. Now, the entire above paragraph may have been shitposting, but the point still stands: Archers are an under-appreciated class that deserve more respect. So, who are YOUR favorite Archers?
  21. The time has once again come to wish a happy birthday to the Daughter of Naga, Princess of the Divine Dragons, and love of my life, Tiki. This past year has been a big one for the both of us. Not only has she gotten three units in Fire Emblem Heroes, but she's also playable in Fire Emblem Warriors. But I'd also like to share something that I neglected to mention in last year's thread. If anyone wants to skip it, feel free to. Happy birthday, Tiki. No amount of ridicule from people on the internet will ever diminish my love for you. I probably could've gotten away with posting the unedited version of that picture without covering up her nipple in photoshop, but I didn't want to risk it.
  22. https://fecipher.jp/ The battles rage on across the lands of Tellius, Ylisse, and Jugdral in the upcoming expansion of Fire Emblem Cipher, the Fire Emblem trading card game! The Fire Emblem Cipher TCG is a collectible card game based on the Fire Emblem series by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Though it has only been available in Japan and there's no word on an official English release, it is regularly updated with new sets and rules which keep it interesting for fans to talk about. Series 12 is the upcoming expansion releasing on March 22, and will include one new booster pack featuring characters from the titles Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn, Awakening, and Genealogy of the Holy War. The focus of this topic is on this particular set, but is also open to having any other discussion pertaining to the TCG in general. Getting Started Despite the TCG only being available in Japanese, there are a number of resources made available by fans in English which provide information on what you need to know in order to collect the cards or even how to play the game. The best source, in my opinion, is the wiki guide written here, though you can also refer to the information on the official site linked above, albeit in Japanese. Basically: New collectors who want to own specific cards of their favorite characters should get an idea of how much they individually go for at the local retailers and try to buy/trade for them within the second hand market (fellow fans in various communities). This is generally more cost friendly than the easy route of buying them off online retailers like eBay, Amazon, or TCG Republic, so you can get a lot of mileage from doing research and knowing what's out there and at what prices. If you want to import sealed starter decks, boosters, or sleeves, I recommend buying through AmiAmi. New players can try owning any of the available starter decks to help them with learning, which are ready to play and are all suitable for introducing the game. Online simulators with English translations of all the cards are out there too! The one shared on the wiki is pretty popular, although I personally prefer playing with FECipherVit. New sets are released every few months and new promo cards are regularly distributed during the interims through various means (events, magazines, etc.), so there's constantly new stuff to glean over. If you really like the art, know that many illustrators of the card artwork tend to publicly upload the full illustrations via Twitter or Pixiv, usually after the release of a new set. Some might not be available though. Card Sets Series 12 will be out on March 22, but there have already been hundreds of different cards released since the TCG started in 2015, with each set focusing on specific groups of Fire Emblem titles. For a full list of cards, you can check them out here, or search the wiki. Series 13, which is confirmed to feature characters from the titles Shadow Dragon, Blazing Blade, and Heroes, will release later this year! Basic Rules In Fire Emblem Cipher, two players wage battle against each other using their army of characters, with the ultimate goal of claiming victory by defeating the opposing army's leader in combat until they can no longer be sustained by their five orbs. Each army's deck needs at least 50 cards to engage in battle, and unlike some other card games, running out of cards to draw from your deck just means you have to replenish your deck with all the cards left in your retreat to continue the battle, meaning the victory condition is all you have to focus on. Game Flow Each turn consists of these actions in the following order, which are divided into their own phases: Drawing a card from your deck Adding a card from your hand to the bond row Deploying units from your hand to the battlefield Attacking enemies, activating skills, or repositioning your units This goes back and forth between both players until one emerges as the battle's victor! Card Details Here's a quick rundown on what everything means on any card: Unit name - The name of the character depicted on the card. With the epithet, constitutes the card name. Epithet - A title distinguishing the unit from other different cards they may have. With the unit name, constitutes the card name. Power - A measure of the unit's strength when engaged in combat. Aid - A measure of the unit's strength when assisting an ally in combat. Range - Indicates how far the unit can attack in relation to their position on the battlefield. Class - Represents the unit's class and how seasoned they are. Skills - Normal skills the unit possesses, which grant various abilities. Assist skills - A type of skill which may only be activated when the unit is assisting an ally in combat. Field cost - The number of bonds needed to deploy the unit from your hand to the battlefield. Class change cost - The number of bonds needed to promote the already deployed unit to this card. Symbol - Denotes the unit's associated faction and color. Gender - The gender the unit is identified as. Weapon - The type of weapon the unit uses in combat. Types - Additional attributes of the unit if any, such as if they are a flier or armored. Further details on how the game plays can be found on the wiki. If there's anything you want clarification on, whether about the rules of the game or anything else regarding the cards, you're welcome to ask here!
  23. The Legend of Zelda got the Musou treatment a few years ago on Wii U and 3DS, and now it's Fire Emblem's turn. Fire Emblem Warriors combines the colorful characters of Nintendo's strategy RPG series with the visceral and over-the-top action of Musou games like Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. Thoughtful, turn-based combat is traded for real-time action where hundreds of enemies charge at your heroes, heroes drawn from across the history of Fire Emblem (though largely from the more recent entries in the series). It may be quite a gameplay change for Fire Emblem but like peanut butter and chocolate the two come together perfectly. Nintendo fans familiar with Hyrule Warriors will see some immediate similarities with FEW: worlds collide when portals between different Fire Emblem universes open up, allowing various heroes to fight alongside one another. And just like in Hyrule Warriors there are a few original characters as well. Rowan and Lianna are the twin prince and princess of Aytolis, and they're the ones that bind the group together on their quest to prevent the revival of the evil dragon Velezark. The plot isn't exactly a complex piece of writing, but FEW is still first and foremost a game catering to fans who want to see their favorite characters interact with one another. It may not be an elaborate story but it's fun to see a bunch of characters team up and battle alongside one another. There are even some support conversations as in the main series which is a nice touch, especially when characters from different universes interact. Musou games are founded upon a very simple tenet: it is a lot of fun to destroy enemy armies. Sure you have specific goals on each map and there are sub missions to keep you occupied as well but when it comes down to it, games like FEW are satisfying just for the enjoyment of wrecking whole swathes of enemy soldiers and building your kill count as high as you can. Sure it can be a little mindless at times but it really is gratifying to play. And to be fair there is still an element of strategy at play here as well. It's not quite on the same level as the main Fire Emblem series, but it's enough that if all you're doing is knocking down enemies you're not going to win on some of the tougher maps. In FEW you're both fighter and tactician, and you need to keep an eye on the whole battlefield to know where your ass-kicking skills are most needed at any given moment. Allies may be in danger, powerful enemies may spawn in unexpected locations, or one area of the map may just be overrun. The game alerts you to these developments, though sometimes it's hard to tell exactly what is happening on the mini-map. Thankfully there are some important strategy tools at your disposal. You can pause the game to get a good look at the map and direct your characters to attack or defend certain points. You can also switch between characters at any time—the AI is simply never as effective as a player controlled character—so you can quickly move to whatever point needs you most. On the truly difficult maps it can feel like spinning plates, trying to keep your army afloat against overwhelming odds, but that just makes the victory all the more satisfying. FEW also takes a few cues from the Fire Emblem series to add a bit more nuance to the gameplay. FEW features the weapons triangle (sword beats axe, axe beats lance, lance beats sword) and when you have advantage over an enemy it's easier to stun them and deal heavy damage. You can only bring so many characters into each battle so you'll want to survey the map and plan accordingly as far as what weapons might be most useful. You can also pair up characters just like recent Fire Emblem games, adding a bit of offensive and defensive power to the main character. Some characters on the map are strictly there for support purposes but if you pair up two playable characters you can switch between the two and make better use of the weapon triangle to take down enemies. It's great to have a bit more strategy at play in the game, but on the flipside you aren't beholden to it. If you want you can fight lance users with a sword-wielding character—it'll be a little harder, but FEW also has RPG leveling, so if you are a few levels above your opponent you won't have much trouble cutting through them like paper anyway. If you really want to stick to using specific characters you can (for the most part; some maps do have requirements/restrictions on whom you can bring). And with twenty playable characters in the main game—with more as unlockables and DLC—you're bound to find some that are your favorites. Even outside of the different weapon classes there is a decent amount of variety in how each character fights, so replaying maps with different characters can feel a little different. And Musou games are gold mines for replay value. You can build up support levels between characters, raise levels, earn gold, and gather items for upgrading character skill trees. Suffice it to say that, if you want to 100% complete FEW, you'll be putting a lot of time into the game. And if those hours upon hours of gameplay aren't enough the game also has a string of DLC planned, some of which is even free. A lot of it can be pretty repetitive but it's still satisfying to destroy waves of enemies, even the hundredth time you've done it. FEW also features split-screen co-op, and the only thing better than decimating enemy armies is being able to do it with a buddy. Co-op can also make it easier to coordinate your units since you can just plan together what needs to be done and cover more ground. The downside is the game takes a pretty noticeable hit to performance with two players. When one player is using a special attack the frame rate drops, and since the game is rendering two characters at different locations there are a lot fewer enemies on screen—sometimes this can actually make it a lot harder to hit the bonus goal of 1,000 enemy kills in a single map. The mini-map is also poorly handled in co-op. Both players get their own mini-map which is not only completely unnecessary, but it makes actually seeing the details of the map difficult. Of course you can just pause the game and look at the map there but it really is silly to have separate maps with a split-screen view. It has been quite a while since Fire Emblem fans have gotten to see a game made for a home console rather than handheld, and never before in HD. As a fan of the series it's a lot of fun to see these characters on the big screen, with all of the flashy, over-the-top attacks that pause the battle just so you can drink in all of the destruction. Even if the normal soldiers are pretty faceless there's still something so satisfying about seeing whole waves of them get knocked down with each attack. The game also has a pretty solid rock soundtrack, fused with bits of familiar Fire Emblem themes, but you'd hardly know it while playing. During battle it seems like characters never stop talking, whether to announce some change in battle or spout out a one-liner before a special attack. It's not that the voice acting is poor, for the most part it's pretty good, but it's kind of shame that it steps on the soundtrack's toes so often. As a longtime fan of Fire Emblem it's so much fun to see how much the franchise's popularity has boomed over the past few years, to the point where it now has a spin-off largely catered to the fans. But where Fire Emblem is slower paced and strategic, Fire Emblem Warriors is fast, chaotic, and thrilling. It's a distinctly different style but the characters of Fire Emblem and the gameplay of the Musou series manage to blend perfectly in a game all about fast, rewarding action gameplay. This game doesn't do much to reinvent the Musou franchise—there is still an undeniably repetitive cycle to the way these games work—but at the end of the day it doesn't really need to. Fire Emblem Warriors is still a beautifully action-packed game, one that will reward tenacious players with hours upon hours of game time. The only question now is: what will be the next Nintendo franchise to get the Musou treatment? Rating: 8 out of 10 Emblems
  24. https://fecipher.jp/ Journey through distant roads across the lands of Magvel, Aytolis, and Valentia in the upcoming expansion of Fire Emblem Cipher, the Fire Emblem trading card game! The Fire Emblem Cipher TCG is a collectible card game based on the Fire Emblem series by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Though it has only been available in Japan and there's no word on an official English release, it is regularly updated with new sets and rules which keep it interesting for fans to talk about. Getting Started Despite the TCG only being available in Japanese, there are a number of resources made available by fans in English which provide information on what you need to know in order to collect the cards or even how to play the game. The best source, in my opinion, is the wiki guide written here, though you can also refer to the information on the official site linked above, albeit in Japanese. Basically: New collectors who want to own specific cards of their favorite characters should get an idea of how much they individually go for at the local retailers and try to buy/trade for them within the second hand market (fellow fans in various communities). This is generally more cost friendly than the easy route of buying them off online retailers like eBay, Amazon, or TCG Republic, so you can get a lot of mileage from doing research and knowing what's out there and at what prices. If you want to import sealed starter decks, boosters, or sleeves, I recommend buying through AmiAmi. New players can try owning any of the available starter decks to help them with learning, which are ready to play and are all suitable for introducing the game. Online simulators with English translations of all the cards are out there too! The one shared on the wiki is pretty popular, although I personally prefer playing with FECipherVit. New sets are released every few months and new promo cards are regularly distributed during the interims through various means (events, magazines, etc.), so there's constantly new stuff to glean over. If you really like the art, know that many illustrators of the card artwork tend to publicly upload the full illustrations via Twitter or Pixiv, usually after the release of a new set. Some might not be available though. Card Sets Series 11 will be out on December 7, but there have already been hundreds of different cards released since the TCG started in 2015, with each set focusing on specific groups of Fire Emblem titles. For a full list of cards, you can check them out here, or search the wiki. Series 12, which is confirmed to feature Fire Emblem Awakening, Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, will release early next year. Basic Rules In Fire Emblem Cipher, two players wage battle against each other using their army of characters, with the ultimate goal of claiming victory by defeating the opposing army's leader in combat until they can no longer be sustained by their five orbs. Each army's deck needs at least 50 cards to engage in battle, and unlike some other card games, running out of cards to draw from your deck just means you have to replenish your deck with all the cards left in your retreat to continue the battle, meaning the victory condition is all you have to focus on. Game Flow Each turn consists of these actions in the following order, which are divided into their own phases: Drawing a card from your deck Adding a card from your hand to the bond row Deploying units from your hand to the battlefield Attacking enemies, activating skills, or repositioning your units This goes back and forth between both players until one emerges as the battle's victor! Card Details Here's a quick rundown on what everything means on any card: Unit name - The name of the character depicted on the card. With the epithet, constitutes the card name. Epithet - A title distinguishing the unit from other different cards they may have. With the unit name, constitutes the card name. Power - A measure of the unit's strength when engaged in combat. Aid - A measure of the unit's strength when assisting an ally in combat. Range - Indicates how far the unit can attack in relation to their position on the battlefield. Class - Represents the unit's class and how seasoned they are. Skills - Normal skills the unit possesses, which grant various abilities. Assist skills - A type of skill which may only be activated when the unit is assisting an ally in combat. Field cost - The number of bonds needed to deploy the unit from your hand to the battlefield. Class change cost - The number of bonds needed to promote the already deployed unit to this card. Symbol - Denotes the unit's associated faction and color. Gender - The gender the unit is identified as. Weapon - The type of weapon the unit uses in combat. Types - Additional attributes of the unit if any, such as if they are a flier or armored. Further details on how the game plays can be found on the wiki. If there's anything you want clarification on, whether about the rules of the game or anything else regarding the cards, you're welcome to ask here!
  25. http://fireemblemwarriors.nintendo.com/ Heroes from across the Fire Emblem universe collide in Fire Emblem Warriors on Nintendo Switch and New Nintendo 3DS, available starting October 20th! General discussion for FE Warriors goes here!
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