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[Watch Da Birdie]

So...this game gives me major Shining Force vibes so far, and that makes me happy. The initial group reminds me a lot of Max's gang from that game too.

I think I'm gonna enjoy this game a lot, especially since it makes it easy to balance everyone out which bugs the hell out of me in most SRPGs.

I found a decent Recruiment Guide (doesn't seem too hard though), but are there any major "missables" to look out for or mistakes one can make?

 

[suzu]

Spoiler

Sonya. Mages are too good in this game, and you get Deens sword when you kill him anyway.

Spoiler

Deen is an absolute powerhouse, comparable to Gray/Mathilda on Alm's side for me. I also love his battle quotes. You can't go wrong with either, though.

Thanks. I think I'll go with

Spoiler

Sonya to make up for my Boey being just awful. My current myrmidons are solid. I'll go for Deen next time!

 

[LeonSPBR]

Okay now I'm at the end of act 3 and Celica is being an idiot.

Spoiler

Before in the end of act 2 she gives shit for Alm about invading Rigel and now she decides to become a princess of Zofia AND she wants to invade now. Now regardless what Alm does, he'll have to attack Rigel, since the PRINCESS decided to invade.

 

[Roman]

Okay now I'm at the end of act 3 and Celica is being an idiot.

Spoiler

Before in the end of act 2 she gives shit for Alm about invading Rigel and now she decides to become a princess of Zofia AND she wants to invade now. Now regardless what Alm does, he'll have to attack Rigel, since the PRINCESS decided to invade.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. You're describing the point where my doubts about Celica only started developing, but it seems like nitpicking compared to what happens in Acts 4 and 5.

 

[LeonSPBR]

This is only the tip of the iceberg. You're describing the point where my doubts about Celica only started developing, but it seems like nitpicking compared to what happens in Acts 4 and 5.

Oh god really... it gets worse???

 

[DecoReturns]

Yeah. I'm gonna need every Fire Emblem game from now on to be fully voiced.

 

[BuckRobotron]

Act 3 Celica:

Spoiler

Deen

or

Spoiler

Sonya

?

I went with the former partly to replace another

Spoiler

swordsman

I sorta benched, and got myself a top producer right out of the gate.

 

[Golnei]

Yeah. I'm gonna need every Fire Emblem game from now on to be fully voiced.

That could present some difficulties with a full-fledged, C-S support system (+ kids) and significantly larger cast. FE Switch is obviously going to be projected to sell far more than Echoes, but I'm not sure if that'll still be enough to make it seem viable to have all dialogue voiced, especially with the bump to production values befitting a HD console.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

That could present some difficulties with a full-fledged, C-S support system (+ kids) and significantly larger cast. FE Switch is obviously going to be projected to sell far more than Echoes, but I'm not sure if that'll still be enough to make it seem viable to have all dialogue voiced, especially with the bump to production values befitting a HD console.

Darn, I guess they'll just have to scrap the kids systems then. What a shame.

 

[Zafir]

Oh god really... it gets worse???

Yeah, if you think that's bad, just wait.

I'm going through her Act 4 right now and it manages to get a lot worse.

I get that she's under a lot of pressure, but that doesn't rob you of your brain, or common freaking sense...

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Yeah. I'm gonna need every Fire Emblem game from now on to be fully voiced.

The VAs nailed it. I find myself constantly thinking "so this is what good English VAs sound like" while playing this game. I've seen good dubs before, but this feels like the best approximation of the Japanese acting in another language I've seen so far. It's like every character sounds how they're supposed to. YMMV on how much you like this, but they even over-dramatize their voices at times just like Japanese VAs do, which I appreciate as it must be very hard to nail some of the more passionate scenes. Spoilers for Act 5 beginning:

Spoiler

Berkut losing it was amazing.

It's like watching a stage play, and I love it.

It's not perfect (Silque has a really bad scream in one scene despite having an overall good VA) but it's... really good. Right up there with Tales of the Abyss and FFXII for me.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I also love how upon re-entering the first village each time I find one of my party members I can talk to who will deliver a fully-voiced character building moment...it's pretty special.

Is there a way the game determines the Bonus Exp. at the end of each fight? I really like that mechanic by the way, helps everyone keep up a bit, and hope it carries over to the next game. It'd be more of a welcome sight though in one with limited grinding however.

 

[wartama]

Now that I'm at nearly at the end of Act 4, I'm so in love with this game. Although the story is your run-of-the-mill kingdom fantasy, the localization is so good, the writing and voice acting is crisp. I wish we could have more interaction with the cast as some of them are amazing they could have their own game.

I also like the variety of enemies in each map, which to be honest is the only aspect that forces me to think strategically as to who among my unit I could send forward to attack and who to keep back for defense and use later. I use all of my units because I don't like to bench anyone. Some were a pain in the ass to promote (looking at you, Python), but worth it in the end.

Now, time for the updates List of Greats and the List of Shame

List of Greats
Best Design: Alm (Runner Up: Catria)
Best Unit: Leon (Runner Up: Delthea)
Best Class: Saint (Runner Up: Priestess)
Best Character: C̶h̶e̶e̶s̶e̶L̶o̶v̶e̶r̶Tobin (Runner Up: Alm)
Best Battle Lines: Python (Runner Up: Valbar)
Best Support Conv.: Leon and Kamui (tentative; I'm still yet to see many of the conversation)
Best Dungeon: Fear Mountain
Best Map: lol
Best Enemy Design: Witches
Best NPC: Cheese Lover

List of Shame
Worst Design: Deen (Runner Up: Tatiana)
Worst Unit: Clive (Runner Up: Boey)
Worst Class: Paladin (Runner Up: Knight)
Worst Character: Clive (Runner UP: Tatiana)
Worst Battle Lines: Faye

 

[Slater]

What a great couple

 

[Xenoflare]

I feel like I excused many of Celica's incredibly questionable decisions because of Corrin.

250+ hours of fates does that to you XD

 

[LeonSPBR]

Now that I'm at nearly at the end of Act 4, I'm so in love with this game. Although the story is your run-of-the-mill kingdom fantasy, the localization is so good, the writing and voice acting is crisp. I wish we could have more interaction with the cast as some of them are amazing they could have their own game.

I also like the variety of enemies in each map, which to be honest is the only aspect that forces me to think strategically as to who among my unit I could send forward to attack and who to keep back for defense and use later. I use all of my units because I don't like to bench anyone. Some were a pain in the ass to promote (looking at you, Python), but worth it in the end.

Now, time for the updates List of Greats and the List of Shame

List of Greats
Best Design: Alm (Runner Up: Catria)
Best Unit: Leon (Runner Up: Delthea)
Best Class: Saint (Runner Up: Priestess)
Best Character: C̶h̶e̶e̶s̶e̶L̶o̶v̶e̶r̶Tobin (Runner Up: Alm)
Best Battle Lines: Python (Runner Up: Valbar)
Best Support Conv.: Leon and Kamui (tentative; I'm still yet to see many of the conversation)
Best Dungeon: Fear Mountain
Best Map: lol
Best Enemy Design: Witches
Best NPC: Cheese Lover

List of Shame
Worst Design: Deen (Runner Up: Tatiana)
Worst Unit: Clive (Runner Up: Boey)
Worst Class: Paladin (Runner Up: Knight)
Worst Character: Clive (Runner UP: Tatiana)
Worst Battle Lines: Faye

Posting mine, still early Act 4.

List of Greats
Best Design: Luthier (Runner Up: Pegasus siblings trio)
Best Unit: Tathiana>>>>>>>>> Saber, Gray, Delthia.
Best Class: Dread Fighter (Runner Up: Dread Fighter)
Best Character: Gray (Runner Up: Mae)
Best Battle Lines: Saber(Runner Up: Gray)
Best Support Conv.: Clive and Mathilda (simple and endearing)
Best Dungeon: Can't give an opinion yet
Best Map: lol
Best Enemy Design: Necrodragon
Best NPC: Cheese Lover

List of Shame
Worst Design: Faye (Runner Up: Corpse Terror)
Worst Unit: Tobey (Runner Up: Boey)
Worst Class: None, all have good/bad points
Worst Character: Faye (Runner UP: Faye)
Worst Battle Lines: Python

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

I'm only played two chapters and I'm already hooked. VA perfomance has been pretty damn good honestly. I like Alm and Gray a lot, at the moment.

 

[Rainy]

Normal or Hard? I've played both Awakening and Fates before this.

 

[DecoReturns]

Normal or Hard? I've played both Awakening and Fates before this.

Hard.

 

[ChrisD]

Wow, there's nooooo way the masked man is (Chapter 2 Memory Prism spoiler)

Spoiler

Celica's "dead" brother

, what with alike hair color, him appearing to be royalty, and knowing what her mission is. Nope, none. Whatsoever.

Saber even coming in with that, "You don't have ANY guesses as to who he is?" line.

 

[Labrynian Rebel]

Okay I've barely started but the art direction and VA has already made me attached to the characters.

...permadeath is going to hurt

 

[ChrisD]

Okay I've barely started but the art direction and VA has already made me attached to the characters.

...permadeath is going to hurt

Yeah, I really hope this art direction comes back in FE Switch or any further Echoes. Full VA is going to make going back to ANY older FE games feel a lot less lively.




I wish I heeded the advice of the dude who said early in the thread to play Hard/Casual. Freaking witches are the dumbest unit I think I've ever dealt with. Thank heavens for the Mila's Turnwheel. When the inevitable Cantor + Witch map shows up I'm going to be seriously questioning my choice to go Classic. :/

 

[Vamphuntr]

How do you beat the dragons on the island in Celica's first act. I'm using the spell the game's asking to. Hit % 95 and she missed all the time.

 

[BRSxIgnition]

What a great couple

They're too great.

 

[Gaiaknight]

Beat the game tonight overall i really enjoyed it and now i want to see more remakes for fire emblem games that never left japan.

 

[Adam Prime]

Normal or Hard? I've played both Awakening and Fates before this.

Yeah definitely Hard/Classic. Then Turnwheel (rewind a turn) system is awesome. You only get 3 Turnwheels per battle, so if you have a REALLY bad fight you can soft reset, but the Turnwheel take the sting out of Classic a lot by just letting you turn back a few moves. It's a great system that makes the game challenging but still doesn't waste your time.

... or you could just completely ignore the whole thing and soft reset on deaths for that classic FE experience. But Turnwheel is awesome, there's an on-screen button on the bottom of the touchscreen, so easy to use.

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

I agree that the presentation for this game is really good.

I also really like all the voice acting compared to conversations where it's just text with the occasional grunt or single word vocal response that's not represented in the text although I would put that over just plain text.

 

[CrazyHal]

Yo Atlas as a myrmidon is a fucking power house!

 

[PK Gaming]

Act III in 3 parts:

The Good

• Swapping between Celica and Alm at your leisure. Fuck yes
• The narrative and characters are still good
• Sidequests are a thing
• PRISM MEMORIES
• Character building is still very satisfying (Twin Lions baby, Dread Fighter HYPE)

The Bad

• Desert maps
• Maps in general. Alm's are mediocre. Celica's are bad.
• Lack of depth

The Ugly

• World map enemies that constantly spawn and chase after you

Act 3 was a ride. After

Spoiler

Alm and Celica split up and go their separate ways

the game really starts to open up. It takes this episodic approach, as Alm and Celica do battle against various "baddies of the week". Taking down

Spoiler

Desaix

was satisfying, but I really liked the Grieth arc. It was vintage Saturday morning cartoon, haha. I also like how you can actually do things now instead of just going from mission to mission. Completing quests, exploring dungeons, finding rare items, upgrading your party and equipment... it's classic RPG goodness.

On the whole, I'm really impressed at how they turned Gaiden's empty, generic story into something. I like the various villains (shout outs to my boy Berkut), the allies you meet (CATRIA &#9834, and the goofy characters in between (the Masked Man is wonderfully cheesy). The prism scenes are just WONDERFUL, and Echoes is hands down the best Fire Emblem game when it comes to making characters stay fresh and relevant throughout the journey. That healer you got early on? She gets a full blown flashback. That said, this game takes it way too far when it comes to being a "faithful" remake. The horrendous map design? Because Gaiden had it. Dumb terrain bonuses? Because Gaiden had them. Lack of varied objectives? Because Gaiden. Even minor things like talking to green units on the battlefield are gone. Why? Because Gaiden didn't have them. It's incredibly arbitrary, because the game already makes a ton of changes, like adding support conversations, new items and skills. Why not put the extra effort into changing up the maps or letting you talk to green units? The desire to be super faithful to an antiquated game was really baffling.

Another issue is how the anachronistic this game feels at times. Like, it mostly does right when it comes to its female characters, but it's also also a game where many of the female character's also end up getting damsel'd. Why? Because freaking Gaiden was made in the 90s and we gotta copy that.

That said, Celica is a pretty great character so far (questionably moments aside). She doesn't feel ill defined and generic like before; she's this surprisingly well realized character who develops into a genuinely compelling leader by the end of Act 3. Alm has his shonen desire to protect the citizens of Zofia and eventually he too becomes a leader worth his salt (because Alm rocks now), but Celica's journey from a girl running away from her past to

Spoiler

a true princess who wants to save her people is more compelling. She's had to deal with the burden of being the last member of the Zofian royal bloodline for her entire life,

but the end of Act 3 has her turning that burden into a Strength. It's one of my favorite moments in the game hands down, and I especially like how she says she's not just doing it for others, but for her own happiness. Get it, gurl.

The best part was how she got to make people kneel.

 

[Metroidvania]

Beat the game tonight overall i really enjoyed it and now i want to see more remakes for fire emblem games that never left japan.

Supposedly, the director behind SoV stated in an interview that if it was up to him FE6 would be next.

Personally, I think it'd be really cool if they could make a dual-pack of FE7 (admittedly somewhat based on nostalgia for FE7 being my first FE game) following into FE6, but that'd have a lot of issues - not just with some subset of the Awakening crowd wanting the kids to inherit and w/e, but there's also the whole Lyn plot issue in addition to all the parents biting it.

At the very least, even with 'just' FE6, they'd probably have to find a way to get Roy to promote earlier into the game, lol. That + fixing a few other things would be aces.

Yo Atlas as a myrmidon is a fucking power house!

I was debating between Myrmidion and Archer (since Celica only has one otherwise), but his monster strength gains needed a better evening out via (potentially infinite) skill/speed catch ups with merc->Myrmidion->Dread fighter.

Also, everyone should use Dalthea. Her stat ups compared to everyone who's not Mathilda are ridiculous, pretty much always 3+

that said, this game takes it way too far when it comes to being a "faithful" flashback. The horrendous map design? Because Gaiden had it. Dumb terrain bonuses? Because Gaiden had them. Lack of varied objectives? Because Gaiden. Even minor things like talking to green units on the battlefield are gone. Why? Because Gaiden didn't have them. It's incredibly arbitrary, because the game already makes a ton of changes, like adding support conversations, new items and skills. Why not put the extra effort into changing up the maps or letting you talk to green units? The desire to be 70% faithful was baffling.

Yeah, I'm somewhat curious on the process behind deciding that in terms of future advancements, why 'XYZ' were allowed/stitched in, and 'ABC' weren't. The support bonuses are pretty negligible, but they're still a thing that does make certain characters more useable.

The terrain stuff is honestly probably the biggest 'out there' moment for me, lol. Forests giving 40 avoidance, or even just regular tiles on the floor giving 20.

Either that, or only needing one more speed to double, though IIRC that was in the original as well.

 

[DragonGirl]

I'll play

List of Greats
Best Design: Saber (Runner Up: Alm)
Best Unit: Saber (Runner Up: Alm and Celica)
Best Class: Dread Fighter (Runner Up: Bow Knight)
Best Character: Eh, none of the personalities leave much of an impression
Best Battle Lines: Don't remember any
Best Support Conv.: Don't remember any.
Best Dungeon: Eh.
Best Map: lol
Best Enemy Design: Eh
Best NPC: Eh

List of Shame
Worst Design: Anyone wearing Short Shorts and Stripper Boots, especially if you are calvary....so, most of the female cast.
Worst Unit: Mr. I can't hit shit - Python (Runner Up: Mr. I die if you sneeze at me - Forsyth)
Worst Class: Eh
Worst Character: Eh
Worst Battle Lines: Eh

 

[Bonen no Max'd]

One thing I deeply love about Fire Emblem is when Alm getting a critical hit allows another enemy to attack and kill him, forcing me to reset the game.

Spoiler

this is not actually one of my favorite features of Fire Emblem

 

[PK Gaming]

How do you beat the dragons on the island in Celica's first act. I'm using the spell the game's asking to. Hit % 95 and she missed all the time.

Keep trying until it lands.

One thing I deeply love about Fire Emblem is when Alm getting a critical hit allows another enemy to attack and kill him, forcing me to reset the game.

Spoiler

this is not actually one of my favorite features of Fire Emblem

I keep forgetting that the Lord dying = game over, no Mila turnwheel hax applies

It's like a cold, bitter reminder of human mortality.

 

[Bonen no Max'd]

I've talked a lot about how my favorite units/MVPs are Alm's harem of Faye and Clair, both of whom have put in a lot of work for me, and they both are really good.

But honestly, MVP for the whole game might be Genny, summoning is unbelievably useful.

Faye and Clair remain bae tho

 

[Sciz]

I keep forgetting that the Lord dying = game over, no Mila turnwheel hax applies

It's like a cold, bitter reminder of human mortality.

Just found this out the hard way when Alm ate a 1% crit from Berkut.

I've played enough XCOM to be pretty chill about bad RNG, but that was the end of that session.

 

[EndlessSky]

Just found this out the hard way when Alm ate a 1% crit from Berkut.

I've played enough XCOM to be pretty chill about bad RNG, but that was the end of that session.

Yeah, at least there is the turnwheel in this game so you don't have to worry about those 1% crits on all your units. I can't count how may times throughout the series I had to restart a map when I unit got critted by a boss at the end of a long map.

 

[McNum]

The Turnwheel can also be used offensively. If you really need a crit to happen on a boss or you need an attack to not miss, but the RNG comes out poorly for you? Rewind that action and try again!

 

[Zafir]

Just found this out the hard way when Alm ate a 1% crit from Berkut.

I've played enough XCOM to be pretty chill about bad RNG, but that was the end of that session.

I keep forgetting that the Lord dying = game over, no Mila turnwheel hax applies

It's like a cold, bitter reminder of human mortality.

Yeah same I'd forgotten since Alm is fairly bulky and I usually managed to keep Celica pretty safe as a ranged unit.

However, I had Celica take an unfortunate crit on the (End of Celica's Act 4 location spoilers)

Spoiler

third floor of Duma's Tower.

As the maps are kind of small in it...

I was not very happy. Especially considering I don't think the dungeons in this game are anything to write home about.

 

[Skwerl]

Chapter 3:
I think a good chunk of the kills are missing because there are so many for Valbar and Kamui. I didnt even try to grind on purpose D:

 

[Linkstrikesback]

The Turnwheel can also be used offensively. If you really need a crit to happen on a boss or you need an attack to not miss, but the RNG comes out poorly for you? Rewind that action and try again!

The random numbers don't work that way.

If you rewind a single action, and then repeat that action the same way, it will always occur the same way.
I've not done enough testing to be sure, but I suspect that a list of "random" numbers is generated either at the start of a battle or the start of a turn and then used from there. It's certainly done in a way that is stored so that the same results happeb

 

[Zafir]

The random numbers don't work that way.

If you rewind a single action, and then repeat that action the same way, it will always occur the same way.
I've not done enough testing to be sure, but I suspect that a list of "random" numbers is generated either at the start of a battle or the start of a turn and then used from there. It's certainly done in a way that is stored so that the same results happeb

Not necessarily.

Often you do get a different result from the same action. You can rewind to an enemy attack and a crit may turn into a normal attack or a miss, etc. You can also rewind your own attack hoping for a crit, and if you do it enough you might get lucky.

It's not like previous games where save scumming didn't work as the random numbers seemed to be generated at the start of the map.

 

[McNum]

The random numbers don't work that way.

If you rewind a single action, and then repeat that action the same way, it will always occur the same way.
I've not done enough testing to be sure, but I suspect that a list of "random" numbers is generated either at the start of a battle or the start of a turn and then used from there. It's certainly done in a way that is stored so that the same results happeb

Level ups can't be gamed this way. Attack rolls and crits can. It's even part of the tips you get when using the Turnwheel.

I did it in Alm's final battle in Act 3 where I needed the boss dead this turn or

Spoiler

Delthea would either die or kill someone

. That meant all attacks had to hit him. ...and Clair missed one of hers. Rewind. Two hits from Clair. Problem solved.

So yes, the random numbers do work that way. As long as it's not trying to game level ups. (You have to undo leveling up in a battle and level up in the next battle if you want a different result for that.)

 

[RRockman]

Could the turnwheel be The tipping point if we were to put the deliverance against other fire emblem armies like the Sheperds, or the Greil Mercenaries? For all intents and purposes it be like fighting new types since the troops will ALWAYS know where to be and ALWAYS know where to strike.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

Not necessarily.

Often you do get a different result from the same action. You can rewind to an enemy attack and a crit may turn into a normal attack or a miss, etc. You can also rewind your own attack hoping for a crit, and if you do it enough you might get lucky.

It's not like previous games where save scumming didn't work as the random numbers seemed to be generated at the start of the map.

Level ups can't be gamed this way. Attack rolls and crits can. It's even part of the tips you get when using the Turnwheel.

I did it in Alm's final battle in Act 3 where I needed the boss dead this turn or

Spoiler

Delthea would either die or kill someone

. That meant all attacks had to hit him. ...and Clair missed one of hers. Rewind. Two hits from Clair. Problem solved.

So yes, the random numbers do work that way. As long as it's not trying to game level ups. (You have to undo leveling up in a battle and level up in the next battle if you want a different result for that.)

I tried it before for a single attack with a 90% hit rate that missed. It missed 8 times in a row just reseting that one action. I got a friend to try and they had the same result.

I'm a hundred percent sure you can't just reset a single action and have the result change, at least, not in terms of hit/misses.

When I next play I'll try it again, maybe I did get that 1 in 10^8 chance of it happening, but I seriously doubt it.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

You can cheat the RNG by rewinding it two steps and having another unit act. Example:

Python attacks enemy. Hits twice.
Lukas attacks enemy. Miss.

Rewind two turns:

Forsyth acts instead of Python. Hits.
Lukas attacks enemy. RNG is reset, so this time, he hits.

This may even work if you use the same unit to do the same thing the first time, as long as you rewind two turns. I don't know for sure, though.

 

[RRockman]

I tried it before for a single attack with a 90% hit rate that missed. It missed 8 times in a row just reseting that one action. I got a friend to try and they had the same result.

I'm a hundred percent sure you can't just reset a single action and have the result change, at least, not in terms of hit/misses.

When I next play I'll try it again, maybe I did get that 1 in 10^8 chance of it happening, but I seriously doubt it.

I'm sorry dude that just you being incredibly unlucky (maybe lucky actually from a certian point of view). my dreadfighting Saber has a 50/50 crit chance and I ALWAYS get a different result if I redo his turn alone. Thankfully, this game isn't Stein's Gate so we won't have to deal with anything set in stone.

 

[TheMoon]

I'm sorry dude that just you being incredibly unlucky (maybe lucky actually from a certian point of view). my dreadfighting Saber has a 50/50 crit chance and I ALWAYS get a different result if I redo his turn alone. Thankfully, this game isn't Stein's Gate so we won't have to deal with anything set in stone.

Not that funny but I lol'd anyway.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

End of Act 3 Alm's side I'm now accustomed to using the turn wheel thanks to the amusing tragedy

Spoiler

of Delthea warping, attacking Python and Python killing her with his 60% hit 10% crit chance on two separate occasions (it seems true to Pythons personality he is never this savage when I want him to be ). The second one was amusing in that I had Alm used subdue to get her down to 1HP and the boss uses Fortify because I rescued Alm out of his range.

Poison is at its nastiest ever in this game, 10 damage/turn is huge.

It's especially depressing if you're a mage.

Thanks. I think I'll go with

Spoiler

Sonya to make up for my Boey being just awful. My current myrmidons are solid. I'll go for Deen next time!

I went with

Spoiler

Sonya because I didn't want to fight a map full of unpredictable witches and I thought Genny deserved to talk to someone.

 

[redcrayon]

Spoilers for Alm act 4, someone seems to have dropped the big book of JRPG cliches on the map.

Spoiler

So Zeke's defining trait, despite being a competent general, is that he has amnesia and remembers nothing before washing up on the shore umpteen years ago. What a toothless 'revelation' compared to the more interesting back stories of the relationship between Clive, Forsyth and the original deliverance crew. I'm not really sure why I'm supposed to care about such a backstory when it has no impact on anything, as far as his loyalty to the Emperor is concerned he could have just said 'I'm a Knight and won't betray my country' for a plausible excuse not to immediately defect without some typically-ludicrous memory loss. His other half is also really bad at cooking. What is it with FE characters and their crap culinary skills, do they all have zero points in any skill other than stabbing people, I wouldn't be surprised if a fighter said he's crap at tying shoelaces next.

Do they just pull these tired character traits out of a hat or something? Were they like that in the original game or is this a half-hearted attempt at fleshing out the supporting cast?

On the plus side, I'm quite enjoying some of the meatier battles, the summoners make for great enemies, offering juicy targets with tangible risk/reward for taking them out quickly as their summons die when they do. Also I finally ran into a dungeon long enough for my troops to become fatigued for the first time. They do give you a bit too much food to counter it though, considering that one piece of stale bread or half a bottle of ale restores the entire force's fatigue at a shrine. Had a nice use of warp/rescue to being my own teleporting assassin into play, warping Alm forward, having him cut down a lethal ranged boss then rescuing him before the counter-attack swamps him. That was cool.

All in all I'm really enjoying this, nice to play something different after the Fates campaigns.

 

[Zaventem]

This game doesn't have a fixed camera battle option... FUCKKKKKK. It's one of the few things that make the 3D games manageable to me.