Fire Emblem Fates

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Mamkute
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Fire Emblem Fates

Post by Mamkute »

Well, this game has been out for a while (or not a huge while for Europe) and I haven't really discussed it on this site. I did make a thread for the first trailer of it, but I think it deserves a new thread. Hopefully people have some opinions (looking at you, at least, Midnite.)

So, how does everyone feel about its ridiculous model of split games and DLC?
Return of kids system from Awakening?
The ridiculous plot?
The characters, the gameplay, and anything else?
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I was very impressed with the gameplay, all in all, what with the new weapon system. However, I do hope they return to weapon use system for future installments (this was a good one time thing, in my opinion.) The plot was a disaster, with really cool ideas, and very poor and odd delivery (Conquest plot especially.) And the kids annoyed me, being shoehorned in with such a weird explanation (although I get that kids were hugely popular after Awakening.)

In my ideal world, the split games would only have two games, no Revelation path, and have both of them lead to killing the Big Bad (but with consequences.) I like the set up for a morally grey world, with no clear right or wrong, but having Revelation really says there is definite a right path, which throws away a lot of the hard choice aspect. Also, it felt like they were really pushing having most maps have two occurrences, with some maps even having three iterations.

I also have many other opinions, but those are just some first thoughts.
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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by chaobreedersmh »

My opinion on the split games is that it felt a bit pointless for Conquest and Birthright. I wish they had been combined into one game with Revelation remaining as DLC. But I can't say I'm terribly upset about what they chose to do, one main game plus Revelation is good enough for me.

The new weapon system threw me for a loop, I liked it though, I didn't have to worry about stocking up on weapons when I go to support grind. The new Phoenix mode I thought was a really good addition, it could help people get into the game easier, and it could help less skilled players play through the harder paths that they might want to experience themselves. Not having to worry about the avatar fainting in battle was a major surprise and relief for me, since Awakening sent you to the game over screen, despite playing on easy, if your avatar fainted.

I share some of your feelings, the explanation they gave for kids being in this game was really weird and I didn't really understand it. But I liked how the setup made it so the parents actually knew they were parents, and it allowed for some interesting interactions between the characters. Overall, I think it was a good change. I loved the kids from Awakening, and I was glad to see them returning!

The story is just OK for me, but I like most to play for the gameplay and characters, so story isn't important to me. Some of the characters suffer from the same problems some of Awakening's characters had, characters who really only have one trait. Support conversations that only focused on one character's development instead of developing the characters' relationship with each other bothered me, and that was a problem Awakening as well. But I still get a lot of enjoyment out of the characters and their conversations, I'm particularly fond of Camilla and Takumi. I loved that they gave our character two families (Even though one isn't blood or raised together) and I loved seeing the sibling relationships and bonding. It was really wonderful!
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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by Mamkute »

BriannaBreeder wrote:My opinion on the split games is that it felt a bit pointless for Conquest and Birthright. I wish they had been combined into one game with Revelation remaining as DLC.
If anything, I think too much of the game is behind DLC. Like, legitimate story things are behind DLC like most characterization for Anankos, and why the Awakening Crew are in the game.

Phoenix mode is a nice addition for accessibility purposes (but I am a Fire Emblem purist- not aggressive about though) but it seems too easy. Casual still makes a challenge, but in Phoenix mode I am pretty sure there is no way to lose on most maps (you still can from other less conventional objectives.)

Conquest was definitely very novel, with a lot of really cool maps (and at least one really terrible one- who thought enemies that can't be attack were okay?) and was a really good challenge. Which is good, since that was what it was advertised as. Birthright was largely route, and easy but was fun. Revelation had some less successful novelites, like snow map. Which was miserable. But the final boss in Revelation is probably my second or third favorite FE final boss fight.

I think with kids, they just accepted that the audience will enjoy them enough to not really care about logic, which is true to some extent.

And I agree about characters being mostly one dimensional (with some amazing exceptions, like Leo, Takumi, Xander, and Gunter, mostly.)
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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by EvilPinkamina »

Awakening 2. yaay /s
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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by Prince Ricard »

Oh man. Fire Emblem Fates. I've been playing this game since release (and I still haven't beaten all 3 routes, but that's just bc I'm really slow when I play RPGs...) and I've been loving it a lot. Of course, it does have its ups and downs, but overall I think it's a very solid entry into the FE series. The gameplay is pretty great for the most part -- I enjoyed that there was a good difficulty curve, especially in Conquest, and it was very refreshing after Awakening, which was... pretty easy for a Fire Emblem game. The lack of the durability system isn't really new to FE games (I think Gaiden didn't have durability either? who knows) but it was a nice feature in this game, and it worked pretty well for the gameplay. It did have the issue however of ruining character balance, I feel -- the royals, in particular, are far more powerful than anyone else simply because they have very powerful weapons that they can use at no drawback. Still, the gameplay is great and while it's a departure in some ways from the normal FE gameplay, it kept things very interesting and I appreciated the many layers of strategy it had to offer.

If you ask me though, the main draw of any FE game is the characters, and Fates has some pretty good ones. Though there are some characters who I feel are poorly executed or just not made interesting (Peri...), Fates has plenty of good characters and it's fun seeing them explored through support convos and the like. Not the best FE game characters-wise of course but I liked it. also i'm still absolutely in love with the default male avatar
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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by Mamkute »

Prince Ricard wrote:(I think Gaiden didn't have durability either? who knows)
Gaiden did in fact have no weapon durability. Gaiden is also thoroughly ridiculous and odd (spells were cast from your health, which is a cool mechanic, but definitely has never been returned.) Genealogy of the Holy War had repairable weapons, as another similar thing. I enjoy the no weapon durability as a one time thing once every so often (also how I would have preferred kids to stay, but I guess that is out of the window.)

And definitely about unit balance. Ryoma can just break Birthright, and Conquest is pretty reliant on Xander, and Revelation pretty much makes you do Royal solo run. (Some characters are so ridiculously poorly stated when you get them, it is just sad.

And Peri is definitely not a very popular character (and she also makes no real sense.)
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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by Midnite »

The route split was a pretty cool idea on paper, but they kind of made it feel like a bit of a cash grab with its execution, especially since we had to shell out more cash compared to Japan. (We had to buy the second version seperate from Revelation, whereas Japan got Revelation just by getting the second version.) The story also left a lot to be desired tbh. Birthright's felt like a generic Saturday morning cartoon plot, and while Conquest had an amazing concept, the execution left a lot to be desired. I really liked the final boss in Conquest, though. Even if it felt a bit anticlimatic after felling the previous boss, he was a huge breath of fresh air compared to most FE final bosses. Revelation had the best plot of the three imo, but it kind of fell apart later on because Corrin was kind of Mary Sue/Gary Stuish.
I'm really fond of the gameplay, though. It's one of the most fun games in the series imo, from a gameplay standpoint. I was skeptical about the durability system being parted away with, but the execution was great enough (i.e. giving the stronger weapons drawbacks so that you don't want to always stick with that one) that it was pretty much a non-issue. I do miss the anima -> light -> dark and wind -> thunder -> fire magic triangles, though, and overall feel like the tomes are much less impressive in Fates than previous FE games. The fact that bows are freaking amazing is something I'm happy about, though, after they've been mostly subpar for so long. To be honest, during my playthroughs, Takumi was even more of a gamebreaker than Ryoma for me.

Idk how I feel about Phoenix mode. I guess it's there for newbies, but I feel like Casual mode is already sufficient enough as 'training wheels' for newcomers. I guess it's cool if you want to rush through the game/if you're a skill farmer, but I personally won't be touching it any time soon.

As far as characters, there were a few that stood out. Due to my love of foxes and especially kitsune, me liking Kaden and Selkie would be natural, I suppose. I'm also a fan of the ninja trio (Kaze, Saizo, Kagero), Oboro, Benny, and Beruka. I really wanted to like Effie, since she seemed like a pretty great character in the Japanese version of the game, but the English translation completely defiled everything likeable about her. :/ (I could go on and on about the issues I have with the shaky localization, but that's probably something I shouldn't delve into, given all the drama surrounding it. I don't think it's as godawful as people are making it out to be, though it does still leave a lot to be desired imo.)
I kinda felt like Corrin was a little too Mary Sue/Gary Stu-ish as I stated earlier, but I still find him/her to be a huge step up from Robin (at least Corrin has some depth; Robin was just really one-dimensional and bland imo) and Kris (do I even need to go into detail about Kris...?). I really like their design, though, and especially the concept of a lord that transforms into a dragon akin to the manaketes in the previous games. While I can't really see avatar characters going at this point, I'd prefer for the lords to be the main focus of the story, and the avatars handled more like the tactician in FE7 where they're still important to the story but not hogging the limelight and having the story revolve around them.

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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by Mamkute »

Midnite wrote:I really liked the final boss in Conquest, though. Even if it felt a bit anticlimatic after felling the previous boss, he was a huge breath of fresh air compared to most FE final bosses.

I kinda felt like Corrin was a little too Mary Sue/Gary Stu-ish as I stated earlier, but I still find him/her to be a huge step up from Robin (at least Corrin has some depth; Robin was just really one-dimensional and bland imo) and Kris (do I even need to go into detail about Kris...?). I really like their design, though, and especially the concept of a lord that transforms into a dragon akin to the manaketes in the previous games. While I can't really see avatar characters going at this point, I'd prefer for the lords to be the main focus of the story, and the avatars handled more like the tactician in FE7 where they're still important to the story but not hogging the limelight and having the story revolve around them.
For the first point, I didn't like the boss so much as I liked the level. The level was really challenging, and kicked my butt for a sizable amount of time. The boss himself was the easiest part of the level. And weird duplicated self was just silly and unnecessary.

For Avatars: I agree, I would like a next game to have no avatar, or be less crucial to the plot. But that is really not likely to happen at this point, since Avatar games have been the two hugely successful games. And kids probably will be there again too.
And the manakete lord aspect was cool, but it became super irrelevant. Characters just ignored it after the dramatic level in which you first become a dragon. Nohr family shouldn't even know he could become a dragon, and yet no one cares. I guess just goes back to plot needing some word.
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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by cinnamonstyx »

Should I get this game? The price of all three is an awful lot, but I feel like I'd be missing out on a lot without them. Is there any route that is particularly worth it? And how does it compare to the game boy ones and awakening (the ones I've played)?
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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by Mamkute »

Conquest is a great challenge, perhaps too challenging at one or two points, with a terrible, contrived plot.

Birthright is really easy, with an entirely mediocre and bland plot.

Revelation helps explain the plot of the other two, but still leaves much to be desired (DLC helps with the parts to be desired, but that is stupid that more DLC is required for an $80 game.) The gameplay tries to do cool things, and usually doesn't succeed as much as it would like.

It is most comparable to Awakening, in terms gameplay (pair up is really nerfed though) and characters and supports and having kids. Conquest is like the non-Sacred Stones GBA titles, where you only progress from one level to the next, no skirmishes (although kid recruitment chapters give some non-linear level aspect.) Biggest difference from Awakening is a new weapon system. World building is also unfortunately lacking in all games (like, I would like to know more about the world, but it doesn't let me!) Characters are good though.

So it depends on what you want. Plot? Probably not (you need to spend at least $60+.) Play a different FE game at that point. A fun challenge? Conquest.
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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by cinnamonstyx »

Hmmm. That sounds all together not worth it :/ maybe if it ever drops in price tho I doubt that. Conquest looked really brutal, disappointing to hear it's plot sucked.
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Re: Fire Emblem Fates

Post by Magikarpador »

I really loved the game, the mechanics were greatly improved over Awakening to have a less emphasis on luck. Gameplay is just overall fantastic, new classes are fun, soundtracks great, characters are incredible as always (though the Hoshidon cast is a bit weak). I really liked the split they had, it was clever, executed really well and added a lot more to the game. On the downside, tons of pointless censorship that hurt the game, Conquest's plot was pretty ridiculous and I got really frustrated with Corrin's choices, and like Awakening, the DLC tends to be overpriced and pay-to-win. Though I still look back at it as a whole fondly.

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