Spoilers for Alm act 4, someone seems to have dropped the big book of JRPG cliches on the map.
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?
if you play Marth's games. Actually you're expected to have played them before playing Gaiden, so I can see his shtick not making a lot of sense if you haven't.
As for the cooking thing, it's just a terrible "lol women being shit at cooking is so funny because women are supposed to be good at cooking!" anime "joke". It wasn't in the original game as far as I can remember.
Unit variety is a serious problem, particularly on Celica's route. It's the middle of act 4 and I just now got a mounted unit. Saber/Kamui have been my MVPs since they're the only ones that can fight both archers and Terrors.
Alm's route is a little better since
Delthea
comes to remedy the lack of magic.
She's so adorable BTW. Just like Nino who I also love.
if you play Marth's games. Actually you're expected to have played them before playing Gaiden, so I can see his shtick not making a lot of sense if you haven't.
As for the cooking thing, it's just a terrible "lol women being shit at cooking is so funny because women are supposed to be good at cooking!" anime "joke".
Hmm, I played Shadow Dragon on DS, but don't remember him at all, it was ages ago though. I just find such simplistic characterisation a really poor use of space considering the interlinking back stories of the various Deliverance nobles and firm friendships of the original villagers. 'She's a scatterbrain and can't cook!' seems poor for the lover of a general who is also a high-ranking priestess, a few minutes thought could have both added depth and offered an insight into what either means in the northern country.
You can have your entire squad on deployment for world map battles, you can only select 10 units in total in dungeons. Eventually your top 10 is going to leave the benched units in their trails
if you play Marth's games. Actually you're expected to have played them before playing Gaiden, so I can see his shtick not making a lot of sense if you haven't.
As for the cooking thing, it's just a terrible "lol women being shit at cooking is so funny because women are supposed to be good at cooking!" anime "joke". It wasn't in the original game as far as I can remember.
Zeke(or should I say Camus) was another FE 1 cameo untill I saw your post. The Pegasi sisters surprised the crap out of me too, but I must of forgotten about them both. It's actually kinda cool they managed to sneak in some returning characters in gaiden. What's really neat is they don't pull any punches either, even though they are present in sequels they don't withdraw or dissappear, they straight up DIE if you screw up. I almost wish FE had a save import system to we see the ramifications of their deaths.
You can have your entire squad on deployment for world map battles, you can only select 10 units in total in dungeons. Eventually your top 10 is going to leave the benched units in their trails
Celica's voice actress is amazing, was impressed with one line where she says Jedah is completely mad, you can feel the disturbance of the revelation causing her voice to shake.
Do it. New Mystery is a great game that addresses most of Shadow Dragon's issues really well. It's real shame it wasn't released outside of Japan. Going back to NMotE might be difficult after SoV but the games have different strengths.
The plot hits you like a freight train as everything comes together.
Berkut killing Rinea and using her soul as Duma food was very henious, Ferdinand getting a hold of himself as he lay dying, The in battle portrait art for Rinea was also chilling. I'm pretty sure she wanted to die and Hidari's art sold that really well. Alm being forced to murder his last suviving kin is incredibly cruel, especially right before he had to "kill" Celica.
The best part is nothing about these turn of events are really novel on their own, but EVERYTHING, from the art, the music, and the voices came together for something truly special. I want this FE to be adapted sooooooo bad.
The only things that dampen the greatness is Rinea actually coming back to Berkut as a ghost. I'mean going to go ahead and belive it's Berkut's dying dream cause he did NOT deserve that and Celica's goofiness in general in the last two acts.
The plot hits you like a freight train as everything comes together.
Berkut killing Rinea and using her soul as Duma food was very henious, Ferdinand getting a hold of himself as he lay dying, The in battle portrait art for Rinea was also chilling. I'm pretty sure she wanted to die and Hidari's art sold that really well. Alm being forced to murder his last suviving kin is incredibly cruel, especially right before he had to "kill" Celica.
The best part is nothing about these turn of events are really novel on their own, but EVERYTHING, from the art, the music, and the voices came together for something truly special. I want this FE to be adapted sooooooo bad.
The only things that dampen the greatness is Rinea actually coming back to Berkut as a ghost. I'mean going to go ahead and belive it's Berkut's dying dream cause he did NOT deserve that and Celica's goofiness in general in the last two acts.
I agree with the parts you mention being great, but found the rest of the finale rather weak - it basically devolved into a collection of tired JRPG tropes. Some of them are completely new additions that make it even worse than the original to me, especially
the Falchion magically restoring Celica's soul even though Duma already consumed it and it wasn't in vicinity at all. I found it also pretty dumb that Jedah left the Falchion, Mila, Alm and Celica in the same room, giving them exactly all the tools they needed to win.
All of these were new additions and only worked out because the writers made it work out - it felt extremely contrived and convenient.
Let me just flood half the map with toxic swamp and put up a fortress full of archers and cantors in one corner.
Also, the rest of the ground is desert, where you can only move 1 square.
The cantors summons nothing but witches.
Enjoy.
Edit: Non-rant content added:
I got through the weird forest to Sage's Village with Celica - but there seems to be no altar until Duma Tower to reclass my units with promotions - should I head back? Yikes.
On Alm's side I am in the mountain shrine.
Nothing like getting ambushed by 12 mages with your 10-man army selection of everyone with the crappest RES values! (Was going to bring them to the altar for promotion...)
I decided not to take on both gates in the trial of power - Mila warned me of the "Gate of the Living". The other gate netted me a shadow sword. meh. What am I missing from the "Gate of the Living" part?
Let me just flood half the map with toxic swamp and put up a fortress full of archers and cantors in one corner.
Also, the rest of the ground is desert, where you can only move 1 square.
The cantors summons nothing but witches.
Enjoy.
Edit: Non-rant content added:
I got through the weird forest to Sage's Village with Celica - but there seems to be no altar until Duma Tower to reclass my units with promotions - should I head back? Yikes.
On Alm's side I am in the mountain shrine.
Nothing like getting ambushed by 12 mages with your 10-man army selection of everyone with the crappest RES values! (Was going to bring them to the altar for promotion...)
I decided not to take on both gates in the trial of power - Mila warned me of the "Gate of the Living". The other gate netted me a shadow sword. meh. What am I missing from the "Gate of the Living" part?
I got through the weird forest to Sage's Village with Celica - but there seems to be no altar until Duma Tower to reclass my units with promotions - should I head back? Yikes.
On Alm's side I am in the mountain shrine.
Nothing like getting ambushed by 12 mages with your 10-man army selection of everyone with the crappest RES values! (Was going to bring them to the altar for promotion...)
I decided not to take on both gates in the trial of power - Mila warned me of the "Gate of the Living". The other gate netted me a shadow sword. meh. What am I missing from the "Gate of the Living" part?
I got through the weird forest to Sage's Village with Celica - but there seems to be no altar until Duma Tower to reclass my units with promotions - should I head back? Yikes.
On Alm's side I am in the mountain shrine.
There was a Mila shrine in the The Lost Treescape in FE Gaiden so there still be one in Echoes. I only just got to that section but it seems to be different from Gaiden which was more akin to the lost woods screen in the legend of zelda.
Edit: How did I miss that it was already answered several times, eh?
practically where Conrad's contribution to the story ends entirely. He adds absolutely nothing from here.
The scene with Dolth you are describing was by far the worst of these for me since he was already defeated and cornered and Celica was going to throw her life away for no apparent reason, while also shouting at her party that nobody understands her feelings.
I agree with the parts you mention being great, but found the rest of the finale rather weak - it basically devolved into a collection of tired JRPG tropes. Some of them are completely new additions that make it even worse than the original to me, especially
the Falchion magically restoring Celica's soul even though Duma already consumed it and it wasn't in vicinity at all. I found it also pretty dumb that Jedah left the Falchion, Mila, Alm and Celica in the same room, giving them exactly all the tools they needed to win.
All of these were new additions and only worked out because the writers made it work out - it felt extremely contrived and convenient.
Thinking about it after the heat of the moment you are absolutely correct and the most dissapointing part for me is to that the game became
The Legend of Celica, Since she was kinda removed from play and Alm gets ALL of the agency. I wanted something where the rise up and fight together other than the final map too, like those Alm only treasure rooms should have been done with them both.
Wait is that why Alm is left handed in this version?
Is this a Zelda game in disguise? :O
Thinking about it after the heat of the moment you are absolutely correct and the most dissapointing part for me is to that the game became
The Legend of Celica, Since she was kinda removed from play and Alm gets ALL of the agency. I wanted something where the rise up and fight together other than the final map too, like those Alm only treasure rooms should have been done with them both.
Wait is that why Alm is left handed in this version?
Is this a Zelda game in disguise? :O
It's a general problem that a lot of players are starting to pick up on. The game tries to
depict that the best solution is balance between the ideals of Mila and Duma, but this doesn't fit into how the story works out at all. Alm, being the representative of Rigel and therefore Duma's ideal, is too kindhearted, funny, jovial, humble, and never makes meaningful mistakes. Rigel itself is not as coldhearted as presented at the beginning of the story. Rigel Village is full of friendly inhabitants that immediately welcome you as their hero, and Rudolf is a kind and just ruler to his people. There is also no visible corruption when you look at Rudolf's close confidants like Massena and Mycen himself. In addition, Halcyon and Tatiana show you that not all members of the Duma church are Faithful extremists.
Meanwhile Zofia is a mess, there is corruption everywhere and King Lima is a lazy, entitled, weak rapist fool. If you view the memory prism with Duma and Mila, it was actually Duma who made the peaceful suggestion of splitting up their lands and not interfering with each other, while Mila offered no solution. He seemed a lot more reasonable and smarter. In the end, he also turned out to be completely correct about what Mila's ideals would turn to. Duma was correct about everything, and in the end his own ideals were used by the protagonists to win - they became strong and bested him in battle. All Mila contributed was plot induced magic, and her representative made such asinine choices she had to apologize to Alm multiple times. The intended narrative balance is completely broken.
It's all gone a bit Damsel Emblem now. Barely a moment goes by without a girl/woman needing rescuing. So far we've had one character's daughter, another's sister, two more lovers and even
one army leader
. I'm expecting someone's great Aunt to be taken hostage by skeletons next. Even if they are a tough-as-nails
paladin or warrior priestess
it's no defence. How the baddies captured
Matilda
and not the distinctly weaker Clive is beyond me. Considering that in-universe, the women are just as badass at being generals, knights and mages as the guys, it seems weirdly old-fashioned to have this constant plea of 'butbutbut what's even worse is that it's a poor woman/girl that's been kidnapped/brainwashed/lost'. Could it really not have been one bloke in trouble, at one point?
It's all gone a bit Damsel Emblem now. Barely a moment goes by without a girl/woman needing rescuing. So far we've had one character's daughter, another's sister, two more lovers and even
one army leader
. I'm expecting someone's great Aunt to be taken hostage by skeletons next. Even if they are a tough-as-nails
paladin or warrior priestess
it's no defence. How the baddies captured
Matilda
and not the distinctly weaker Clive is beyond me. Considering that in-universe, the women are just as badass at being generals, knights and mages as the guys, it seems weirdly old-fashioned to have this constant plea of 'butbutbut what's even worse is that it's a poor woman/girl that's been kidnapped/brainwashed/lost'. Could it really not have been one bloke in trouble, at one point?
That's what I've been saying! It's incredibly dissonant, because you know this garbage was in the original Gaiden, but they had to carry it over because you know, faithful remake and all.
It's all gone a bit Damsel Emblem now. Barely a moment goes by without a girl/woman needing rescuing. So far we've had one character's daughter, another's sister, two more lovers and even
one army leader
. I'm expecting someone's great Aunt to be taken hostage by skeletons next. Even if they are a tough-as-nails
paladin or warrior priestess
it's no defence. How the baddies captured
Matilda
and not the distinctly weaker Clive is beyond me. Considering that in-universe, the women are just as badass at being generals, knights and mages as the guys, it seems weirdly old-fashioned to have this constant plea of 'butbutbut what's even worse is that it's a poor woman/girl that's been kidnapped/brainwashed/lost'. Could it really not have been one bloke in trouble, at one point?
I'm probably a little late to the discussion as I just got to the Duma tower but... Celica is a goddamn moron! Holy shit, how else did she expect that to go? I swear, up until now she was the one woman in the entire who we didn't need to rescue. This is getting silly.
I'm probably a little late to the discussion as I just got to the Duma tower but... Celica is a goddamn moron! Holy shit, how else did she expect that to go? I swear, up until now she was the one woman in the entire who we didn't need to rescue. This is getting silly.
