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Dustin' off the GameCube... FIRE EMBLEM

J

john tv

Member
Look what showed up under my cherry blossom tree yesterday:

fe-01.jpg


fe-02.jpg


As usual, I have little time for impressions (too much work today), but I did play through the first two chapters over lunch, and so far...well, it's Fire Emblem. Gameplay feels pretty much exactly like the GBA games so far, only in 3D -- I haven't gotten far enough in yet to explore any of the new gameplay systems. The beginning reminded me a bit of Rekka no Ken in that it's got a TON of tutorial stuff going on to help ease in series noobs (and the GameCube's 12-year-old audience, no doubt), but otherwise there's not a whole lot to say at this point. It hasn't knocked me off my feet or anything, but I am enjoying it quite a bit so far. Nice visuals and music, speedy gameplay, barely visible load times, etc etc.

The intro is pretty nice -- it feels really weird to play a Nintendo game with good voice acting (hell, any voice acting), though it doesn't seem like there's going to be too much of it as the manual only lists five voice actors in the credits. And speaking of credits, they have Flagship in the Special Thanks section...I wonder what their involvement was, if any?

Also, apparently there's a vocal song:

"Life Returns"

- Music Composition & Arrangement: Yoshito Hirano
- Lyrics: Ken Yokoyama
- Lyric Support: Yoko Fujii
- Song: Noriko Aoki
- Engineering: Mitsuhiro Tanigawa

Anyway, I'm sure someone else will be able to chime in with much more detailed impressions soon. For now, I've gotta get back to work (sigh).

Oh, BTW -- I got the free calendar and music CD, too, though I haven't opened 'em yet. Nice packaging, though!
 
Ah hell, there's really voice acting? If not only for the intro, sigh. XD I wonder how NoA's gonna be handling this if they are releasing it. Damnit, might have to place an order later this week.
 
Awesomeness. Jealousy abounds.

One question though - you mention the tutorials for the 12 year old GCN audience. Does the game itself seem easier, though, or are there simply more in-depth tutorials? Maybe this question isn't appropriate until later in the game (when you're more than 2 chapters into it) but it is something I'm interested in.
 
Is the intro the only FMV sequence that you have seen so far?

Either way, I can't wait to get my hands on this one. Voice acting in a Nintendo game, that's rather odd. :lol
 
My copy won't arrive til friday at earliest (overnight USPS shipping from NCSX, they ship on thursday). I'll post my impressions then.

Does the game itself seem easier, though, or are there simply more in-depth tutorials?
Click to expand...

Well they do have three difficulty levels from the getgo, and the lowest is "Normal", not "Easy", so maybe it won't be too easy overall if you pick a higher difficulty level. But there's nothing wrong with having some "easy" beginner levels in the start, most games of this nature have that.
 
el jacko said:
Awesomeness. Jealousy abounds.

One question though - you mention the tutorials for the 12 year old GCN audience. Does the game itself seem easier, though, or are there simply more in-depth tutorials? Maybe this question isn't appropriate until later in the game (when you're more than 2 chapters into it) but it is something I'm interested in.
Click to expand...
Nah, it doesn't seem especially easier or anything so far. If anything, I expect it'll end up being a bit more hardcore than the GBA games, but who knows. There's three difficulty settings at the beginning, too (Normal, Hard, Maniac), so it's not like players won't have a choice.

I'm just saying there's a very extensive tutorial system in place, most likely because the GC audience isn't likely to be full of old Fire Emblem fans (or strategy RPG fans in general).

Heading out now -- back later tonight!

EDIT: BTW, I guess Kitasenri of Flagship did the Character Illustrations, which explains the Flagship connection.
 
There's three difficulty settings at the beginning, too (Normal, Hard, Maniac)
Click to expand...
Great news.

Keep us posted, john. Plus more hilarious Gamecube cliches if you can possibly integrate them, thanks ;)
 
and the GameCube's 12-year-old audience, no doubt),
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Is that what they call professional writing? :P

It's a shame we won't get this for like, six more months. I want to import..but I can imagine that it's pretty kanji heavy.
 
oh god more Fire Emblem goodness, this time for my GC...

...it's quickly climbing up my list! Top 5 most wanted this year!
 
John, for those uninitiated I'm going to do a comprehensive FE:GC write up. (backstory, characters, etc.) But if you're really going to be indepth with your impressions, it'll save me the trouble, thanks.
 
I honestly couldn't be happier with the way the game turned out. I've been checking the initial thoughts of the title around the net and everything points to this one being a winner. Damn, I can't wait for the eventual US release.

Thanks for the impression John!
 
can't see why anyone who doesn't know japanese would consider importing this. nintendo does great localizations, and it's already confirmed for US release. sooner rather than later, too.
 
I think people are considering importing because one of the few ideas we have for a North American date for Fire Emblem GC is on ebgames.com - November 7th, 2005.

If it's sooner than that, I know *I'll* be waiting.
 
^_^ can't wait for this one. John.. do you think this will bomb? I wonder why the other Japanese gaffers haven't landed theirs.

Did you get it through retail or the Nitendo staff shop?
 
So wait a minute let me get this straight......


Both Fire Emblem for the GC AND Dragon Quest VII for PS2 are coming to the U.S. this fall?
 
Odnetnin said:
^_^ can't wait for this one. John.. do you think this will bomb? I wonder why the other Japanese gaffers haven't landed theirs.

Did you get it through retail or the Nitendo staff shop?
Click to expand...

He gets it through the time traveling store that only exists in Tokyo ;)

The rest of Japan gets it today :)
 
Broken record but...

More impressions please.

And yes, Nintendo's team of localizers is nothing short of fantastic this gen. I cannot wait.
 
I played for a bit last night. Did the prologue and the first mission. Seems really nice. I'm not a longtime F.E. fan, and have only ever touched the GBA games for a small amount of time, but it does basically seem to be what everyone would expect from a 3D version. Lovely music too.
 
Is Yuka Tsujiyoko in the credits anywhere by any chance? She retired from IS a long time ago but had been doing some bit roles for the most recent games as a supervisor of sorts for the music (perhaps overseeing the new composers).

Also, what's the kanji for Kitasenri's name? I've tried googling that name in english and come up with nothing. :( Would like to see if he/she has a website or credits to other games.
 
What month will this game be released in the U.S.?
 
Q2 would be too sweet.... but doubtful. Unless Nintendo was adamant about filling a hole in their GC lineup, of course. Not everything needs to come out during the holiday season, you fucks!
 
Li Mu Bai said:
John, for those uninitiated I'm going to do a comprehensive FE:GC write up. (backstory, characters, etc.) But if you're really going to be indepth with your impressions, it'll save me the trouble, thanks.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I'm not going to be indepth. So go crazy. :)

Odnetnin said:
^_^ can't wait for this one. John.. do you think this will bomb? I wonder why the other Japanese gaffers haven't landed theirs.

Did you get it through retail or the Nitendo staff shop?
Click to expand...
Nintendo doesn't have a staff shop in Japan. :)

Pellham said:
Is Yuka Tsujiyoko in the credits anywhere by any chance? She retired from IS a long time ago but had been doing some bit roles for the most recent games as a supervisor of sorts for the music (perhaps overseeing the new composers).

Also, what's the kanji for Kitasenri's name? I've tried googling that name in english and come up with nothing. :( Would like to see if he/she has a website or credits to other games.
Click to expand...
I don't have the game with me ATM so I can't check on Tsujiyoko, but as for Kitasenri -- there is no kanji, unfortunately. The credits are 100% English.

EDIT: BTW, the reason the game came out on a Wednesday instead of the usual Thursday or Friday is because today (April 20) is the 15-year anniversary of the first Fire Emblem game on Famicom. The anniversary calendar it came with is unbelievably awesome, and mine is definitely going on eBay ASAP!
 
john tv said:
Sorry, I'm not going to be indepth. So go crazy. :)


Nintendo doesn't have a staff shop in Japan. :)


I don't have the game with me ATM so I can't check on Tsujiyoko, but as for Kitasenri -- there is no kanji, unfortunately. The credits are 100% English.

EDIT: BTW, the reason the game came out on a Wednesday instead of the usual Thursday or Friday is because today (April 20) is the 15-year anniversary of the first Fire Emblem game on Famicom. The anniversary calendar it came with is unbelievably awesome, and mine is definitely going on eBay ASAP!
Click to expand...

In regards to my earlier comment I was merely joking around about not agreeing with the need to put that in your impressions, I enjoy hearing what you have to say about the latest and greatest JPN release. :P

I can't wait for this game, I played through the GBA US release tons already, going through a third time now. I think I'm going to stop since the next GBA one is coming out next month. I'm hoping the GCN one hits in the summer, it'll give me something to waste hours away on instead of during the school year.

Does the USA version have a subtitle announced? And what does the Japanese subtitle for this translate into again?
 
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