[Is it the Dawn Brigade? Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn Review and Retrospect]

ah, you made it! thank you so much.
you've even went into other details like music and graphics that I really tend to just take how they are from game to game.

... I must say I find myself humming the player phase OST along often, no matter which game. x)
I think Genealogy did the most splendid job. I'm not an expert on music, but it had a different one for each chapter, with the final one being a kinda remix of the first one. I love that.
Each tune has a connection to a place and its events. Eldigan.... pay respects.

turning the 25th anniversary concert on now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_5g_hEePjc&index=2&list=PL9W0BM_gZhzFoPY7X1dw7iy0PzOKykHU3


As for graphics, I actually turned the 3d animated battles off rather quickly both in PoR and RD - they prolong any FE game really fricking much, and RD maps usually take very long already.
So I think I remember the animations were somewhat better in RD. Not that it was hard to do in comparison to PoR. Those looked really stiff and awkward.

Overall, now playing Shadow Dragon and having played every game of the series bar New Mystery of the Emblem and SoV once I finish it, it's insane how "Anime" they went with Awakening!!!
I don't know if it's just the times, and if the GBA games would have that nowadays ; but the Shadow Dragon mugs look really really off, a style so far from anything else within the series.
So idk what direction they intended to go.


Speaking of cutscenes, the ones foreshadowing the next part of the game are western release only. I'm personally not much of a fan, I don't even watch trailers to movies I wanna see. Every scene might give a glimpse of something I could have laughed or be surprised and excited about as it would be happening. Like Kurthnaga, HOLY DAMN. Though I guess he's in the intro, that by the way expands with a couple scenes the further you advance through the game.


Let's see what I can piece together about the parts.

Part 1 - Dawn Brigade

You said you don't remember all the writing. Well. Good news is: you haven't forgotten much. Bad news is: There wasn't anything to remember. Not in this part yet. The game picks that up in every part after that.
It's really really empty and bad.
Now, the player is offered a really unsufficient perception how much Micaiah is driven by what seems to be her inner voice at the time.
So something like
[ Pelleas, questionable royal offspring about whom is immediately apparent he has neither natural nor developed charisma (the latter is obvious, as he was just hiding in the desert ; ... in fact, shortly said, I dislike that narrative in itself a lot, really lame) : "Please fight for me Micaiah." .... Micaiah: "Ok let's go." ]
can almost be seen as uncut dialogue. It really is close enough, and it was infuriating after experiencing PoR's abundant exchange between characters. I agree, PoR had such a splendid cast. Unfortunately, you will need 10538 playthroughs to unlock all support conversations :D'
They were very personal. It's something Awakening and Fates were kinda missing imo ; way too many characters (forced 2nd generation zzzz) to keep it interesting.

With supports also being gone additionally to the missing writing in that part, PLUS the game starting off with Begnion acting like a complete turnaround of anything you could imagine Sanaki would stand for, idk, I felt horrible. Obviously the latter part is the plot part to uncover, but oof. There was just nothing to cling to for enjoyment.

It is also a rather hard part. On Hard mode (which is already called Lunatic in the Japanese version iirc), your backline can be oneshot by any opponent. May it be Micaiah, Laura, Leonardo. They all just run the danger of immediately dying from one oversight. It can be exhausting.
Balancewise, yeah. Nailah, lol. Just forge max Might Iron Weapons with some increased Hit tbh. It really works wonders.


Thankfully, Elincia and the Greil Mercenaries will come to save the day.
Oh and Tibarn. God bless Tibarn. Tibarn. What do you think Tibarn and Elincia would name their child?


Part 2 - Crimea

Another sudden shift in the next country whose situation seems to have been resolved in PoR. Unrest in the aristocracy with the new, young ruler Elincia. I'd say it is a super feasible thing to happen.
It doesn't really contribute to the main plot of Daein/Begnion/Laguz, but Tellius doesn't consist of only two parties (like the world building in Fates was very baseline with 1 nation v 1 nation + 1 hidden enemy).
Tellius is a super rich world. As it is a shorter part of the game, it is important to portray Elincia's development (I agree totally on the scene with Lucia, DAMN she's so strong ;-;) it's also important as the overture to the reappearance of the second faction of what you could view as main protagonists (Dawn Brigade + Greil Mercenaries, as they are the ones to clash).

Intrigues and treason have forever been a staple in FE games' background. Part 2 is good imo.

Cutscene from 2 to 3

just give me more of that stuff will ya


Part 3 - Greil Mercenaries + others

I think you said enough about it. Praise you have trained the right units of the Dawn Brigade. 3-13. Yikers.
Also, Tibarn x Elincia.
If you get recognized by the bird god that way, you are special. And she's already into wings.
I know I know, he's not a god. But he's a *god*.

3-E just felt great. A very unique chapter throughout the whole fricking series!



Part 4 - War against Ashera and her chosen followers

Now, I will say that, if we ignore the ? about who was turned into stone and who wasn't, I loved the spiraling of the conflict within the tower. The actual chapters felt meh.
In Rebirth 1-5, you get to encounter all the big names in a kinda ascending order. Lekain -> Black Knight -> Dheginsea -> Sephiran -> Ashera.
Love it. What a fricking load of showdowns.
The problem is what you mentioned: You'll need a second playthrough to unlock all story information, which I agree is a bad choice.
Especially today, I think you should expect people to move on to another game after finishing one.

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other features

base camp - I agree. it's by far the best solution to management. on-map shops imo are baaaaad, you just waste turns to buy and distribute items. it's so time consuming for no good reason.
Genealogy of the Holy War is kinda in the middle of all that (if you overlook being unable to normally trade items :3). you get to buy some items at your starting castle each chapter without using up a turn.
walking around on the world map like in Awakening is not really genuine. not terrible, but you better remember what's where.

biorhythm - I've read that on western Lunatic / Japanese Lunatic+, weapon triangle is disabled and thus, Biorhythm is the thing to go by. wowzers. without that, I'm neutral on it.
Though I would have expected for them to use it differently than simply following a turn-to-turn pattern ; like the Beast Tribe should be doing great at night compared to anyone else etc., since they did include Fog of War and even nighttime chapters.

height - this was so aggravating (...) when playing for the first time. the height buff is so terribly OP imo. *some* less could have done it as well. I've dealt with it far better in 2nd playthrough, opinion remained.
also, this mainly being an AI fault, it can make for some awkward standstills on certain maps or the player running into an undefeatable bulwark until you get to flank it (which, technically, sure, that's how you do it, but oof, feels bad man)

reposition mechanics - those are really nice! though I haven't played a lot, it's actually been FE: Heroes really showcasing to me how powerful it can be. Shoving/Smiting, Canto, Trade+Ranged Attack are things that can really let the player shine. I've seen rescue chains in some playthroughs across games on youtube that have me questioning what I'm even doing for 20 turns on one map. LOL

attack speed - you don't like (Weight - Strength) + Speed? do you prefer the simple Speed - Weight? or the Build/Constitution stat? this obviously ties into balancing the relevant stats. either of them seems fine if done right.

usability of Laguz - their EXP cuts when transformed just seemed super unnecessary, at least to that extent. even when transformed, they have sufficient weaknesses (no range, transformation gauge easily depletes in a horde of enemies). they are not braindead units with the exception of the kings. there are a lot of likeable characters across the tribes, and it's a shame. what do you think of shapeshifters in Awakening / Fates in comparison? Maybe they could have worked out further differences between tribes, though I felt like their attributes  (speed / staying power / tankiness / ...) showed well enough.

save data - a unit gets +2 on every stat they maxed out in PoR IF they were also promoted lv20 in PoR. I'm happy I did that the second time for Ilyana. hungry mage lady looking for food. electrocute enemies in return.

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maps and story

I think you expressed that well - they are deeply tied. that's why you will have 15 of your units, 25 yellow or green units, 50 red units more often than you'd wish.
ally and enemy phase are just taking way too long like this. I can make breakfast and then have my next turn.
also, on several maps, the allied units can clear the map by themselves. doesn't really make the player feel important :c

because of the sheer amount of units, the battles drag out.
the second factor you only noticed briefly - "reinforcement galore". RD is one of the few games that fall into this. I think Thracia 776 is the worst offender here though. Mindless reinforcements for 25 turns. At least they can't immediately move. I despise that even more, unless you get prepared for it by dialogue / story.

Interesting you drew a comparison between Conquest and Radiant Dawn, I felt so too. RD is somewhat easier depending on your character choices, but is still towards the harder end of the series.

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The Cast

Dawn Brigade - You already said it, due to missing support conversations, there's really nothing we know about these folks. It's mostly the PoR characters really putting in the connection for the player, it's a bit sad.

The folks in it really need training, and in the western versions, even get some treasured weapons of Daein to get up to complete viability. These do not even exist in the Japanese version.

- Micaiah is, like you said, an interesting protagonist, being very fragile. But she has super strong offense. Balance problem: Legit gets one-shotted. Legit one-shots bosses with Thani tome. The real cheap way out. x)
- Leonardo, you just have to feel bad for this guy. He's really really bad. How is the player even supposed to connect to characters they can't even properly use.
- Sothe. Unlucky he's forced because Volke exists.
- Meg and Fiona ???? still base level at the end of the game tbh
- Zihark and Tauroneo and Jill feel like shadows of their former selves. I think Jill can be salvaged if giving a lot of attention? She's so damn important in PoR. Love her!!
- Vika, curse them for this little availability.

- Black Knight. Oh, by the way, HE is the Black Knight!!! Which at first glance sounds like the worst reveal in gaming history, actually goes back to cut dialogue in the western versions. Ranulf already realizes who he is when fighting against him as a distraction for the Greil Mercenaries, then tells Ike about it in the relevant chapter. The former dialogue during the duel was cut, and so Ranulf just hits the player with a wet noodle.
....but even if it were not cut, it wouldn't make for a good reveal imo. Black Knight is one of the most hyped up and iconic antagonists in the entire series. he deserved an equally hyped reveal.

Crimea - Again several shadows.

- Marcia, might as well fight with a stick and Brom with stones because sticks and stones will break Nealuchi's bones
since he's old af

- Kieran and Astrid, what happened??? for Astrid, yeah, she deffo hanging out with Makalov too much, but man, Kieran from one of the best to underwhelming :c


Greil Mercenaries and Laguz Alliance

- Ike ; Ike!
- Titania is a bit more fragile in RD, but damn she still dishes out. having actually had Oifey because I played FE4, they compare well, tho FE4 enemies are much weaker so Oifey quite dodgy-tank
- Soren, somewhat weaker than deserved I feel ; the playable Branded seem to be especially powerful usually. his bloodline is a super interesting part of PoR, easily missed if not supporting with Ike.
- Gatrie, really goes off in third tier.... impressive overworld design. CRIMEAAAAAAAAAAAA! *tanks 10 opponents* also likes cats, apparently.
- Mia, felt somewhat better than in PoR, though in PoR is luck dependent on strength growth
- Kyza, Lyre - why?
- Volke, sorry Sothe is there my friend, would take you anytime over him :c

- Kurthnaga and Ena - they don't seem to get counterattacked by other dragons, so their max level stats would be interesting to know. and a waste of time without bonus XP.


Never throughout the series have I felt a lot of units being absolutely useless -from the point you get them- like in RD. there are better and worse ones in every game (hello Roy, hello Gwendolyn), but oof. RD can outright make units not viable at all if you don't use them well / feed them from the very first chapter they appear in.
Bonus XP and switchable Paragon skill are a thing, but it won't do -super much-.


final note: Ike > Hector, stay mad

 

[Titania's castle...]

Excuse me, it's not actually floating. But bash ahead. It certainly is outstanding, but think for a second where it must actually be.

[Unreachable hidden item]

.... are you allowed to post datamines lolllllll

[Unreachable hidden item]

it showing up as an item has probably just to do with RPG Maker XP = sigh

and not just an ordinary sigh
a Claptrap sigh

[Our Bonds Give Us Strength - A Review and Retrospect on Fire Emblem: Awakening]

5 hours ago, Commander said:

I've only played Chapter 1 of FE4, Nothing on Thracia, about a third of FE6, FE12 I got to about halfway, and Tokyo Mirage Session I just got past Aversa. And for ones I haven't played at all and won't ever:

 

FE1, Gaiden, and FE3. I really cannot play NES games at all without losing my mind.

Only having had a sllllightest glance over what you said about Echoes explaining more stuff, I'm still looking kinda forward to it.
I'll dive into Thracia (which looks quite creative thoughout the first chapters), and then I'll have played all of them except for the very original FE1 (it was included as a 'Book 1' in FE3 but with quite some content and characters cut, which, in a game without dialogue, doesn't make too much difference I think xd) and the three remakes.
FE6 looks like a step down from it tbh, the game was kinda annoying. Then 7 and 8 are normal again.

I can completely understand your aversion to the NES games. Though 3 was quite palatable, especially since it was already stepping up the storytelling part. Well, it was SNES already, huh.
Gaiden was not. I've been on Valentia and have no clue what happened why. "I am your father btw." Yay!
I don't know why Duma did a thing. And what's a Mila, never seen that god for sure. I thought she was sealed, but nothing except the credits happened after defeating Duma who never said a single word in the entire game. Not that you would have seen him outside of the last map.
Hah. Fun games.


FE4 is actually my second favourite of the series, just for the world that has been created for it. I often put a lot of value into that and iconic characters over gameplay factors like, let's say map design for instance or mechanics like "hahaaaa your characters can't trade items normally in this game!!! but you can sell them to a shop other characters can buy it from instead!!!"

I absolutely adore Tellius, with the exception of Dawn Brigade + Pelleas. These two games (though I feel stronger about PoR than RD) just had so much to offer. Fantastic world with social relevance, memorable characters with development (or without, hey Shinon), it just felt great to explore more about it. So I'm sad it would take forever to unlock all supports.
But we can get more into that (and of course the gameplay aspects) should you find the time for RD.

[Our Bonds Give Us Strength - A Review and Retrospect on Fire Emblem: Awakening]

3 hours ago, Commander said:

While it's been a long while since I've played that one, I am familiar still with many aspects of it so I guess I can talk about that thing. Maybe in a week or so because that certainly is a mess to talk about.

.... Indeed. Like, I think somewhat better of it after playing it a second time, but still. Much yikes.

Are there any installments of the series you haven't played at all?

[How old is actually Reborn City?]

it would have been passed down the family, no?

[How old is actually Reborn City?]

but who knows how they called it!! Reborn Crater!!!

[Our Bonds Give Us Strength - A Review and Retrospect on Fire Emblem: Awakening]

"lost Cordelia"
demonitized and dispossessed.
enjoy your life under the bridge together with Vaike's axe

not that I have anything to add, I had a good opinion of Awakening in the first place, then again it was my first FE.

PS do one for Radiant Dawn too!

[How old is actually Reborn City?]

I think you got wrong that the tribe was there when Solaris himself was young.
Solaris is just one of the chief guardians down the bloodline.

the whole region seems to have been inhabited ever since microorganisms and animals fused into humans Arceus created life.

[You get the opportunity to write Star Wars episode IX. How do you do it?]

I don't
I buy the franchise from Disney, declare the sequels as non-canon and rebrand them as "far far away from being legends", and then turn the 'EU' novels into movies

[Am I the only one that thinks the Corey story is stupid?]

I am aware; alas, judging someone else solely by your own standards is futile.


Especially a video game character who was written to have deeply rooted emotional reasons to choose a maybe illogical path.

[Am I the only one that thinks the Corey story is stupid?]

if you take everything on surface level, I'm sure you get to your thread-title conclusion about 99% of things ever.

[Set or Shift?]

if you can be 'unsportsmanlike' against an AI, that is.

personally I use 'set', cuz well, that's realistic.
though not having compared to 'shift' within Reborn, which is also the standard setting in the official games (no?), 'set' should naturally make it a bunch harder.

not everyone enjoys difficulty the same way, players will range from "let me A+B button through the game" to "story mode please" to "real challenge please".

[Why doesn't the AI's heal any more?]

how about "it doesn't work as intended all the time because it's a bunch of code"

[I swear the AI cheats]

I know the AI will not necessarily use another SE move if one is low on HP and often instead use another (still damaging) move, but something like soft-boiled and hidden power are completely different categories of moves :thinking:

[I swear the AI cheats]

what is the philosophy of Reborn? please explain.

though I do wonder if there is a recognition for the player swapping back and forth. I haven't heard of that, but who knows what was put in ~

[Smash Ultimate tier list prediction]

1 hour ago, Lorisaur said:

Sadly, Kirby is mostly considered as a low tier or a middle-low once again. However, it received many important buffs in this game and while he will never be a top tier, he will be better than he was in smash 4. However, his poor range gives him many problems in a game like smash ultimate entirely based on dashing, outranging the opponent and find a spot to hit him. Supergirlkels will probably main him as sm4sh Sonic is gone and Kirby is probably going to be decent. A thing I've seen in this game is that while a few characters are really going to outclass others, everyone is decent or at least has his possibilities to be so. Man, they made Ganondorf good. This probably happened because for the first time we have a perfectly exprerienced team of developers who take care of game's balance as never before and they want everyone to be competitively viable. It's not easy task, Ice Climbers lost chaingrabs and if players wont find soon some fancy desync trick the character will be so bad. Same for the puff, he's god a sort of backair again but he needs mobility, confirms into a melee rest and maybe less trash moves. Pichu is even worse and harder to make good, while Samus dropped so much cause of the dash attack. Yes, I'm not sure everyone will be so good... but at least the team put so much effort in it. And again, Samus is going to be the worst Samus character in smash

mmm, admittedly I don't -really- even play Smash, just every few months with a friend and on a level at which nobody knows what they are doing
most terminology about the game is a complete mystery to me

but I had a lot of fun with Kirby in the N64 Smash and the next Smash I ever played even a little was Smash 4
....everything felt super fast in comparison ; the character pool became so big that I have no idea who can do what, and not being familiar with new controls... man, Kirby felt clunky and I was very sad. :c

[Smash Ultimate tier list prediction]

make Kirby great again please
please

[Missed Opportunity in Regards to Field Effects]

how would you guarantee bosses to stay challenging if they are designed with their field in mind and not random fields the player might set up?

[Please help! I need an audio file]

I get how I want
but sure, if there were technical issues, no problemo!

[Please help! I need an audio file]

hello again
that's like 25 hours ago
and honest question, couldn't you have downloaded the game hundreds of times over by now?
or at least give a reason why you need it from somebody else so badly?

[Please help! I need an audio file]

isn't it faster to just redownload the game, unpack it into a different directory and copy it over? ^^
(the BGM folder is like 420 of 600MB anyway)

[Spot the difference]

the non-reflection is not a bug, it is indeed the thing to look out for in that room.

[How have all of your days been?]

I offered a mosquito that bit me before a peace treaty, die now or get out and be killed by someone else in the house
it accepted