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Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia |OT|

Got to act 3. I wish Sacred Stones had done what this game is doing. Being able to alternate between both armies would have been really cool. Course that game was built on the idea that you would inherit the other Lord's army if you chose to switch characters, and their paths weren't that different. Maybe a remake could fix that.

I'm continually impressed by the voice acting and localisation. There's nothing cringey or off base, they didnt throw in a lot of anachronistic dialogue or meme-y lines. Top notch work here. It all fits the fantasy setting well. I love how almost every line in the game is voiced. Just injects so much more personality to the game.

Still really enjoying the game overall. The map design doesn't really bother me much anymore, they work really well as portable game maps, bite size chunks that can be completed in 5 to 10 minutes.

I like the idea of everyone having a default weapon and using other weapons takes up an item slot. Let's you choose if you think your unit should go in with a healing item or go in with a weapon for damage. Also like how you learn Arts from the weapons. Leveling up teaching magic users new skills is great, never really made sense to me how a dude wouldn't be able to remember how to do Elfire because his book "breaks".

Also continuing to like how short and sweet the supports are. They give you just enough information about the characters, their personalies and relationship without being overly wordy and repetitive like they are in Awakening and Fates. Reminds me of the GBA games. Also like how they're set on the battlefield, always got so bored of having to see that same stupid hallway in Awakening and Fates.
 

Ozigizo

Member
Witches make no sense. Tried messing around to see their pattern but it was random results most of the time. I wonder if DLC has a witch class. Could be fine to mess around with teleport

I don't think it's random, but I think the AI limits the amount it will do it in a turn. Usually only 2 will port and the rest will run.

It's bonkers.
 
oh eww Celica Act 4

seriously why is all the bad shit on Celica's side, Alm's route has passable map design

I would trade all the voice acting in the world for better map design in the remake. They really needed to gut the maps and redo pretty much all of them.
 

Delio

Member
Why didn't you guys tell me that any monster/demon map on Celicas side becomes cake with three Falcon Knights + Two Dread Fighters? Seriously just rolled through that mire map like nothing.
 

Xenoflare

Member
Why didn't you guys tell me that any monster/demon map on Celicas side becomes cake with three Falcon Knights + Two Dread Fighters? Seriously just rolled through that mire map like nothing.

Heh

Believe me I thought so too.

Just wait.
 

CrazyHal

Member
So hmm... i just finish the first battle after Saber joins and he did like, 4 critical hits. And that's on hard mode.

I think... i think i'm in love.
 

Sephend

Member
Trying to decide what to do with Gray, Tobin, and Kliff. Gray as Merc seems pretty standard. My Tobin so far has been getting poor level ups compared to the other villagers, so Kliff is ahead of him in every stat. Is it fine to just make them both mages and just ignore archer and cavalier? Seems like they both have a great spell list.
 

Ninferno

Member
Is it worth waiting to promote mages and clerics for them to learn new spells, or not?

You don't have to wait; prompt or not, you learn spells by leveling up the same number of times. You won't miss them.

For example, if a mage can learn a spell at level 18 but you prompt him to sage at level 15. You just need to level him up another 3 times (in other words, to level 4) as sage, just like as if you haven't prompted him.
 

Delio

Member
Heh

Believe me I thought so too.

Just wait.

That's good. I would of hated to breeze through stuff with that combo lol. Tho honestly my units on Celica's side seems to dwarf my Alm side.

Side note I made a Killer bow for Archer!Kliff and boy he is now crushing fools.
 
In act 5 dungeon, can't find a way further down on the floor after the one with the shrine. I see what looks like an altar, but nothing I can do with it
 
You don't have to wait; prompt or not, you learn spells by leveling up the same number of times. You won't miss them.

For example, if a mage can learn a spell at level 18 but you prompt him to sage at level 15. You just need to level him up another 3 times (in other words, to level 4) as sage, just like as if you haven't prompted him.
Oh that's useful, I'll go promote my mage and cleric then. Thanks!
 

Lusankya

Member
Can you actually use Mila's Wheel to undo bad level ups?
I tried to use it but the new level up was exactly the same, so either I was unlucky or just rewinding the battle is not enough.

Also is there a way to keep skills learned from weapons even after you unequipped them?
 

spiritfox

Member
Can you actually use Mila's Wheel to undo bad level ups?
I tried to use it but the new level up was exactly the same, so eitehr I was unlucky or just rewinding the battle is not enough.

Also is there a way to keep skills learned from weapons even after you unequipped them?

Level ups are set at the beginning of the battle.
 

Ninferno

Member
My girl friend has been playing SoV during my breaks and she has just reached the end of Act 2 and watched the
fight between Alm and Celica
. She actually shed a tear seeing that. I asked her why and she said that
in the very first moment of the opening scene, kid Celica herself was actually wondering why Duma and Mila have to fight, "can't they just say they are sorry". But years later when things happen to the protagonists themselves, they actually waste no time and get into fighting within seconds, ruining what should have been a sweet reunion. None of them said anything about being sorry, just like Duma and Mila.

I was shocked that I actually hadn't thought of that myself when I was playing the game. My girl friend is not a frequent gamer; she has never played any FE games, let alone Gaiden. She only got interested in SoV because she saw the intro and got impressed by its music, characters and such. She's so new to the Gaiden/SoV story that she's able to view it from a very different perspective, and might be able to notice nice little touches in the remake that I failed to pay attention to.

I consider myself a fan of Gaiden and took everything for granted; I thought I know Gaiden in and out so I probably didn't give SoV enough credit for the meaningful new additions to the game. The plot, world-building, character background have been fleshed out a lot; the one my girl friend pointed out is just an example. I see the prologue as a "nice to have" because I already know what's going to happen later, without appreciating how the prologue makes the events to follow more relevant and impactful. SoV has added much deeper characterization like that to Gaiden, but self-proclaimed old-school FE fans like me, who are holding a "I know this shit well enough" attitude may often fail to realize that.

Anyway, just wanted to share some self-reflection thoughts I just had. One's experience with SoV could be vastly different depending on whether he treats it as a standalone "new" game on its own or a mere "Gaiden Remake".
 
Playing this game makes me want a Sacred Stones remake now.

I'm thinking it would've been cool to control both Army's in that game. Although technically the situation was different those games. You always had the same people except two.
 
I apologize if this has already been asked several times, but should I be worried about when to promote my starting villagers? Is it terribly important, and which classes do y'all recommend for the starting cast?
 
I apologize if this has already been asked several times, but should I be worried about when to promote my starting villagers? Is it terribly important, and which classes do y'all recommend for the starting cast?
I went with
Faye: Cleric
Tobin: Archer
Gary: Mercenary
And Kliff: Mage
 

TheMoon

Member
I apologize if this has already been asked several times, but should I be worried about when to promote my starting villagers? Is it terribly important, and which classes do y'all recommend for the starting cast?

PROMOTE ASAP

why is this still not in the thread title? :)
 
It's anywhere on the entire map. Yes, it's exactly as bonkers as it sounds. Be thankful that the AI doesn't abuse it to its fullest potential.
I don't think it's anywhere extacly. It's anywhere where you can be targeted. if they teleport. It means they are going to attack

Then again. If your always going to get attacked, then your are right. It's anywhere on the map.

Witches are weird. Can't figure out how to bait them
 
I don't think it's anywhere extacly. It's anywhere where you can be targeted. if they teleport. It means they are going to attack

Then again. If your always going to get attacked, then your are right. It's anywhere on the map.

Witches are weird. Can't figure out how to bait them
Invoke maybe?

I hear they only target outliers so you can try moving your low Res units near the middle of your army.
 

lsslave

Jew Gamer
Damn. I can see how this game is the black sheep of the series. And much like Shadow Dragon it really shows it's age as a remake. With that said at probably 5 hours in this is possibly my favourite Fire Emblem game I have played yet.

Hard Classic didn't seem so bad until the first unlucky crit. But that's why we play these games.

The lack of durability is kind of bugging me though. Was that a thing in the original NES release?
 
Damn. I can see how this game is the black sheep of the series. And much like Shadow Dragon it really shows it's age as a remake. With that said at probably 5 hours in this is possibly my favourite Fire Emblem game I have played yet.

Hard Classic didn't seem so bad until the first unlucky crit. But that's why we play these games.

The lack of durability is kind of bugging me though. Was that a thing in the original NES release?

Yup. You can only have 1 item with you at a time. There's no durability. Magic costs HP to use.
 

redcrayon

Member
Really enjoying this, quite refreshing to go back to the more basic classes and a solid story and characters after the more recent games. Even simplified character development makes a nice change from the near-unlimited options in Fates/Awakening.

Quick question- why do some items have little circles beneath them when equipping them? At first I thought it was rarity, but an iron Sword has five and a Levin Sword has three. Is it 'suitability for the character' or 'skills they can learn'?
 

rickyson1

Member
Really enjoying this, quite refreshing to go back to the more basic classes and a solid story and characters after the more recent games. Even simplified character development makes a nice change from the near-unlimited options in Fates/Awakening.

Quick question- why do some items have little circles beneath them when equipping them? At first I thought it was rarity, but an iron Sword has five and a Levin Sword has three. Is it 'suitability for the character' or 'skills they can learn'?

think of it as a level up bar of sorts

there's different combat abilities characters can learn by using the weapons enough
 
Ah the summoning logic when you get a bit too close to a cantor meant inside a fortress that some of the monsters spawned outside the fortress down a cliff because those were the nearest unoccupied tiles.

As a veteran Fire Emblem player, I think Hard is easy actually. You should be fine, even if it gets difficult, you can grind
Retreat can also work to more gradually wear down the enemy count. Unless you're talking dungeons of course.

I get not wanting to bring back pair up, but where's Rescue?
I was going to mention Faye but you meant the rescue command rather than the rescue staff.

That reminds me, I need a screen shot of this conversation. Where/when does it happen? I've seen it, but I forgot.
It is one of the village dialogues. I got that convo in Act 3
after freeing Matilda
...and then walked into an ambush and a bow knight ORKOd Silque so I reset and got different characters appearing the in the village so maybe entering an exiting a village until Grey shows up will help.
 

PsionBolt

Member
Quick question- why do some items have little circles beneath them when equipping them? At first I thought it was rarity, but an iron Sword has five and a Levin Sword has three. Is it 'suitability for the character' or 'skills they can learn'?

You mean directly below the name? Sounds like you're talking about the stars that indicate how many times a weapon can be upgraded at the forge.
Thanks- do you mean it's showing how far along you've mastered the weapon?

That's shown by the bar right under the weapon's icon.
 

redcrayon

Member
You mean directly below the name? Sounds like you're talking about the stars that indicate how many times a weapon can be upgraded at the forge.


That's shown by the bar right under the weapon's icon.
Ah, lovely, thanks! Haven't unlocked forging yet.

Interesting that the abilities aren't always worth it for some characters. The first iron Sword ability to hit a bit harder is pretty good on swordsmen with low speed, but practically worthless for those fast enough to be hitting twice against most normal enemies. Seeing as that includes Alm and most units on the Merc class tree, it just feels a bit odd. Nice to have the option when facing faster/heavier enemies though.
 

Ninferno

Member
Quick question- why do some items have little circles beneath them when equipping them? At first I thought it was rarity, but an iron Sword has five and a Levin Sword has three. Is it 'suitability for the character' or 'skills they can learn'?

That's the number of times you can forge a weapon. You can upgrade a iron sword 5 times while you can only upgrade the Lightning Sword 3 times. Before forging, all those "circles" are grey, when you upgrade it once, the first "circle" will turn gold, to indicate you have reach forge lv1.

Weapon skills (or "arts" as the game calls it) are different thing. First of all, in the character portrait page, under the symbol of the equipped weapon or shield (in the top middle of the screen), there will a bar which fill up when as you fight. This is to indicate your progress in learning a weapon skill (if there is one), if you have learned all the skill this weapon has to offer, it will show the text "MAX". On the right hand side where your skills and magics are shown, any unlearned skills will be displayed as "???".
 

YAWN

Ask me which Shakespeare novel is best
So there's an interview with the director of this game. Says he wants to remake Binding Blade next. I say go for it!!! We need to finish the Elibe saga anyway.

https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/18/15658120/fire-emblem-echoes-nintendo-3ds-remake-interview

Maybe someone can start a new thread based on this info. Ok, it's not confirmed or anything, but still interesting.

Interesting, I thought for sure they'd go for Genealogy. It has everything old school and newer fans could want. It could be truly be the game foretold in legend that brings the fanbase together :p

Can't deny Roy's popularity and how well this would go over in general though. I'd be up for it, as long as they get round to Genealogy and Thracia eventually. I wonder if they'll include the Blazing Blade in it too, it'd make for one hell of an experience. It might be best they do them separately though, so they can really flesh each one out.

Either way, sign me up.

Shit, this would be on Switch too. Shiiiiit.
 
Interesting, I thought for sure they'd go for Genealogy. It has everything old school and newer fans could want. It could be truly be the game foretold in legend that brings the fanbase together :p

Can't deny Roy's popularity and how well this would go over in general though. I'd be up for it, as long as they get round to Genealogy and Thracia eventually. I wonder if they'll include the Blazing Blade in it too, it'd make for one hell of an experience. It might be best they do them separately though, so they can really flesh each one out.

Either way, sign me up.

Shit, this would be on Switch too. Shiiiiit.

The Elibe story needs to be finished first. We only have half the story. People that don't play imports won't know what happens after Eliwood, Lyn and Hector won. Athos gave a grim vision before passing away.

Plus, I can't imagine FE4's plot being easy to localize with the incest, rape, and child hunts. You have a Nintendo character born from rape for crying out loud.
 

redcrayon

Member
That's the number of times you can forge a weapon. You can upgrade a iron sword 5 times while you can only upgrade the Lightning Sword 3 times. Before forging, all those "circles" are grey, when you upgrade it once, the first "circle" will turn gold, to indicate you have reach forge lv1.

Weapon skills (or "arts" as the game calls it) are different thing. First of all, in the character portrait page, under the symbol of the equipped weapon or shield (in the top middle of the screen), there will a bar which fill up when as you fight. This is to indicate your progress in learning a weapon skill (if there is one), if you have learned all the skill this weapon has to offer, it will show the text "MAX". On the right hand side where your skills and magics are shown, any unlearned skills will be displayed as "???".
Excellent, that's really clear, thanks!

Not looking forward to the sound of these teleporting witches up ahead, but I suppose we've got the turnwheel on our side too. I remember other mechanics being just as annoying in the GBA games, like having one of your faster, stronger melee units hit with Berserk from the other side of the map and having no healer who could get close enough to cure them without also dying. Extreme caution and stuff like multiple healers with rescue and cure staves eventually got me through it but it was still several attempts, at least now we can just rewind the turn, have vulnerable units retreat and try again.
 

Kosen

Neo Member
The Elibe story needs to be finished first. We only have half the story. People that don't play imports won't know what happens after Eliwood, Lyn and Hector won. Athos gave a grim vision before passing away.

Plus, I can't imagine FE4's plot being easy to localize with the incest, rape, and child hunts. You have a Nintendo character born from rape for crying out loud.
Isn't it said in SoV that
Celica's mother was kidnapped -and raped- by the king
?
 

YAWN

Ask me which Shakespeare novel is best
The Elibe story needs to be finished first. We only have half the story. People that don't play imports won't know what happens after Eliwood, Lyn and Hector won. Athos gave a grim vision before passing away.

Plus, I can't imagine FE4's plot being easy to localize with the incest, rape, and child hunts. You have a Nintendo character born from rape for crying out loud.

Yeah, it would be something special to fans who have never played it yet played the Blazing Blade. How cool would it be seeing (FE 6 character spoilers!)
Hector's daughter or an older, maturer Karel for the first time?
They should get Hidari on board again for maximum greatness too. His art has easily been my favourite of the series, and really nails the Fire Emblem atmosphere.

As for Genealogy, yeah, it would be pretty hard.
I'm not sure how Ninty would tackle it to be honest. They do have games for the older audience such as Bayonetta after all, but FE has recently become a pillar for them, and they'd understandably want it to appeal to broadest audience possible.

Whether they merely hint at certain dark actions taken by characters (there is clear rape intentions in SoV after all), or outright go for broke and promote it as a Game of Thrones style story to pique interest is fine by me. As long as it gets its due eventually. I feel it's an experience every FE has to have.
 

PsionBolt

Member
Isn't it said in SoV that
Celica's mother was kidnapped -and raped- by the king
?

Without using those words, but yes. There are an awful lot of girls and young women kidnapped, sold, or mind controlled in this game, too (though again, the words used are never quite so sinister as they could be).
 
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