You can jump into Fire Emblem with almost any entry.
Personally I recommend Awakening.
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Ever feel there's too many games in a franchise that you can't jump in anywhere?
- Thread starter Deft Beck
- Start date
Personally I recommend Awakening.
dragonlife
Member
Path of Radiance (GameCube) and Radiant Dawn (Wii).
Neoleo2143
Member
I'l second Path of Radiance (It's a Very cleanly told story) but RD has a number of issues.
You might as well save some money and then youtube it.
Deft Beck
Member
Though, those games are fairly hard to find, no?
Actually, I owned Radiant Dawn briefly but sold it on eBay in high school after not playing it.
cryptosporidium
Member
Yakuza for me, but Im hoping to bite the bullet and buy 0! The 1 remake is what changed my mind
-MD-
Member
Path of Radiance was better imo.
FarFromAnyGame
Banned
I can't get into many franchises that are mentioned in the thread not just because there are too many games in them but because they're old games.
I can't go back to old games that I don't feel nostalgic for.
I can't go back to old games that I don't feel nostalgic for.
Fire Emblem is a series that you can just jump in everywhere. Even the sequels/prequels like Radiant Dawn and FE7 tell their own stories.
The only cases where I feel like I missed the boat are things like Assassins Creed or Kingdom Hearts where there is a running narrative in the background.
The only cases where I feel like I missed the boat are things like Assassins Creed or Kingdom Hearts where there is a running narrative in the background.
You can play any FE campaign as a standalone title apart from Radiant Dawn, and even then it's possible aside from wondering why everyone knows each other, the main plot is pretty much independent and recapped. Comparison to Kingdom Hearts (the titles alone always put me off) doesn't really work.
humansarehorses
Member
Awakening sucks. Play FE7.
NHarmonic.
Member
I still don't understand how people can't really get that you need only 1.5 and 2.5 to have a major grasp on anything KH related.
It's really not that difficult.
It's really not that difficult.
I suspect the numbering is working against your argument here.
Any is fine. Majority of the games are stand alone with the exception of a few titles. You'll find that a good number of titles take place in the same continent or world but little to no reference to past stuff.
Gaiden is an interesting game in the series as shown in the direct about all it's unique differences. It's set on a different continent and country but within the same world as Marth. So even if you chose to jump into the remake first, you likely don't have to worry about sequels or prequels or references to other games.
Gaiden is an interesting game in the series as shown in the direct about all it's unique differences. It's set on a different continent and country but within the same world as Marth. So even if you chose to jump into the remake first, you likely don't have to worry about sequels or prequels or references to other games.
GustyGardner
Member
Yep same. I've always been vaguely interested in the series but at this point it's just too much of a time investment.
You'll get a different answer from pretty much every person you ask with FF, but there are plenty of threads and votes that would give you a rough idea which are the most popular.
I wouldn't dare to suggest which one for fear of massively derailing the thread, same goes for Zelda. Both are longrunnjng series with multiple great games in different styles from different eras.
Giolon
Member
I understand how you're feeling, and it's kept me out of series like Persona and Metal Gear Solid for years.
I think the thing to understand is when you're looking at a series that every entry is intricately connected (Metal Gear) and when the games are all completely standalone but might have minor connections (Persona).
I jumped into Persona 3 Portable a few years back and I'm glad that I did. I remember passing it at the time because I thought "Well, I never played Persona 1 and 2 so that game's probably not for me." Boy was I ever wrong. The other games literally have no more than a tangential relation, and I was keeping myself from one of the best RPGs out there.
Metal Gear Solid? I'm still waiting for the time I can play through them all to get the full picture.
Jump into Fire Emblem. Pick any one that looks interesting to you. You'll be glad you did. As a newbie, I think Fire Emblem Awakening would be a good introduction. Disagree? Ignore me and pick the one that looks interesting to you!
I think the thing to understand is when you're looking at a series that every entry is intricately connected (Metal Gear) and when the games are all completely standalone but might have minor connections (Persona).
I jumped into Persona 3 Portable a few years back and I'm glad that I did. I remember passing it at the time because I thought "Well, I never played Persona 1 and 2 so that game's probably not for me." Boy was I ever wrong. The other games literally have no more than a tangential relation, and I was keeping myself from one of the best RPGs out there.
Metal Gear Solid? I'm still waiting for the time I can play through them all to get the full picture.
Jump into Fire Emblem. Pick any one that looks interesting to you. You'll be glad you did. As a newbie, I think Fire Emblem Awakening would be a good introduction. Disagree? Ignore me and pick the one that looks interesting to you!
Yakuza. I was very keen on 3 when it came out, and then 4. The games released in such rapid succession that I got scared off by 'em.
But honestly if there's a recent franchise that gets more than two games before I get started on one then I'm super hesitatant to get into it, because with every new game the individual games seem less special and interesting.
Play whichever RE looks the most interesting to you. RE2, REmake and RE4 are the most celebrated ones, however. The best parts of RE5 and 6 are the side modes like Mercenaries.
But honestly if there's a recent franchise that gets more than two games before I get started on one then I'm super hesitatant to get into it, because with every new game the individual games seem less special and interesting.
Play whichever RE looks the most interesting to you. RE2, REmake and RE4 are the most celebrated ones, however. The best parts of RE5 and 6 are the side modes like Mercenaries.
dragonlife
Member
They are, but you said "regardless of platform," so I assumed it didn't matter.
I don't disagree, but what issues do you mean? The Dawn Brigade and lack of Support conversations? The latter hurts, but everything else made up for it (imo).
RD was a fun continuation to a game that could have been stand-alone if it really wanted. I never got bored with it and replayed it three times, even though it's a massive game. It's been years, though.
Deft Beck
Member
I would prefer not to start with a spinoff.
Right. I was just further reflecting on it.
Lord of Ostia
Member
OP, pick up Awakening. It's the game in the series designed for series beginners.
Edit: The people suggesting FE is a series of standalones are wrong though. You shouldn't play FE10 without playing FE9, as 10 is a direct sequel. Same for 1&3/11&12. 7 is a prequel to 6, and while you can play them standalone, they are directly connected to one another.
Edit: The people suggesting FE is a series of standalones are wrong though. You shouldn't play FE10 without playing FE9, as 10 is a direct sequel. Same for 1&3/11&12. 7 is a prequel to 6, and while you can play them standalone, they are directly connected to one another.
Preach.
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 will forever be the pinnacle of the series.
Just don't jump into this one if it's your first time.
Er.. Well, that rules out the GBA titles with Roy and Eliwood, the Radiant games, Sacred Stone, and Fates.
GTR R35_Supra RZ
Banned
Feel like i missed the train on Yakuza. There's quite a few series available on PS3 which i own all and still sealed ( its too much for me to catch up at this point )
..and then you have PS4 Yakuzas where one of them won't even see a daylight here in the states. I'm left to start a franchise from zero.
..and then you have PS4 Yakuzas where one of them won't even see a daylight here in the states. I'm left to start a franchise from zero.
None of those are spin offs.
Deft Beck
Member
Yeah, I don't follow.
Depends on where you stand. Roy isn't in the same world as Marth, same as Ike.
Riposte
Member
If you are the kind of person who wishes you could marry and reproduce with the characters in your anime videogames, this is your best option.
If you like your SRPGs to be good and mechanically interesting, you are better off with Path Of Radiance or Conquest. "Fire Emblem" for GBA (FE7) is also a good starting point, it was the first FE for the west (it's also arguably the best looking game, if you like sprites).
EDIT: Yakuza 0 seems like a good starting point since it's a prequel, but I haven't played for myself though, so I don't know if that expectation is 100% true. The stories of the series aren't really that interconnected, but, and a lot of people will overlook this when suggesting games, the side-stories can be heavily referential to past events. It's probably not a big deal though.
I don't understand this line of thinking. Games aren't like TV or books. Rare is the case where there are long-standing narrative threads or characterization bits that are called back on in a meaningful way.
But I don't really have a problem with starting a TV series or a book late either. Screw doing things "the right way." The right way is the way that I enjoy, dammit.
But I don't really have a problem with starting a TV series or a book late either. Screw doing things "the right way." The right way is the way that I enjoy, dammit.
FF8 doesn't take place in the same world as FF7, it doesn't mean FF8 is a spin-off.
Although Gaiden is called Gaiden, it isn't a spinoff. It's the second mainline game. But it was the first ever sequel, so it was called Gaiden because it was a ~spin-off~ of the first game. Lol.
Awakening established a nexus of realities/worlds.
There are several Fire Emblem "Worlds" which were recently all connected through the idea of multiverses, parallel universes, and pocket dimensions. In canon you call other worlds "Outrealms." It's possible to travel between worlds but for most narrative purposes each world is separate.
Many of these games are not related to each other in story.
Fire Emblems 1 and 3 featured Marth. Awakening takes place in that same world except 1000 years later so the story is fairly independent.
Fire Emblems 6 and 7 are sequel and prequel and take place in their own world.
Fire Emblem 8 has its own world.
Fire Emblems 9 and 10 are directly connected and also have their own world.
Fire Emblem 2 (Gaiden) is set in the same world as 1 and 3 but on a different continent. Hence the name. However, it is not any less of a mainline title than any other game in the series and there are direct references to it in Awakening.
Trivia: Majora's Mask in Japan was known as Zelda Gaiden.
Then I have no idea how Gaiden is considered a spin-off
when you also go to Valm in Awakening, which is the future name of Valantia and they worship the Divine Dragons and revere Tiki.
It's not a spinoff.
PoR and RD are the only prequel/sequel combo we've gotten thus far in NA though. So as far as I'm concerned, it's hard to go wrong with starting with any localized FE other than RD (which coincidentally is also my least favorite FE that I've played).
Edit:
I'll have to look into Yakuza 0. Another concern for me is if start with, say, Yakuza 4, and love it, it may be awkward to go backwards in the series because the graphics and mechanics will be less refined.
I'm leaning towards just starting with one of the PS3 ones. IIRC I have both 4 and 5 from PS+, so I'll probably start with 4.
Thank you!
I stopped worrying about it and either just jump in to see what a franchise is like with the latest game, or I consult here or with my friends on where a good place is to start.
The former approach seems to work out well, since if I really end up liking that game a lot, it'll prompt me to seek out and play the earlier ones. It's just as cool to make the story/reference connections and changes by going backwards as it is going forwards... sometimes even more so.
The former approach seems to work out well, since if I really end up liking that game a lot, it'll prompt me to seek out and play the earlier ones. It's just as cool to make the story/reference connections and changes by going backwards as it is going forwards... sometimes even more so.
Sorry, I didnt read the start of that conversation thread.
None of the Fire Emblems were officially numbered, and most generations had a sequel/prequel/concurrent story. I agree that none are really spinoffs.